Everybody knows about Yokohama. It is a bustling port city, founded as an inlet for foreign trade. Because of the volume of people entering and leaving, it is not uncommon for people to slip through the cracks and disappear.
But the master has sent me here for a reason. Thirty of us have disappeared, so I have been sent here in their stead. If a member of the Twelve Kizuki resides here, I am to divorce it's head from it's shoulders.
This mission would be assigned to a Hashira, somebody possessing strength of an incredible level. I have been handed this mission to prove myself, if I do succeed in killing one of the Twelve, I will become one of the Hashira.
I don't know why I am even being considered but I will not disagree. If those exceptional people believe that I am capable, all that is left to do is prove them right.
I am a practitioner of two Breathing Styles, but I cannot become the Flame Hashira. I do not know all of the forms, the seventh and eighth are still unknown to me. I was never meant to know the sixth and the ninth, but they have been burnt into my memory forever.
If I become a Hashira, my title will be related to the Hinokami Kagura. It is my primary Breathing Style and I am the only member of the Demon Slayer Corps that uses it. Tanjuro will continue to dance and so will his firstborn child.
My title will be decided by the master, I don't particularly care what it is. It doesn't matter, as long as it has Hashira attached. It takes five years for somebody to become a Hashira, I have been familiar with a blade for little over a year.
Yokohama is a cultural mess. The city suffered from a disaster several years ago, an earthquake followed by a devastating fire. Over a thousand homes were ruined, so poverty is rife within the city of trade. This would be the perfect place for a demon to prey on human beings.
The state of the city is awful, the people milling about the streets have gaunt cheeks and hollow eyes. They are so thin that it is hard to believe that some of them are still able to move.
My clothes are new by Yokohama's standards, my boots aren't worn and my uniform isn't ripped. Eyes linger upon me as I make my way down the main street. It wouldn't be odd for a gang of thieves to attack me in the hopes of making off with enough money to buy food.
I pity these people, but I am not here to fill their bellies. For people to suffer so badly, it hurts to see. Even though my family weren't rich, we had enough food to get by every day.
All I can do to help these people is slay the demon that resides here. At least that way, one of their troubles will disappear. To do that, I will have to gather information.
If it is a member of the Twelve Kizuki, then it will not be like anything I have ever faced before. It will undoubtedly be far more intelligent, capable of evading and entrapping Demon Slayers.
Thirty of my comrades have disappeared as well as many more locals and traders. In total, over two hundred have been eaten. Even if the demon is not a Twelve Kizuki, it has done far too much damage.
The best place to find information is in an inn or a brothel, rumours spread like wildfire in those places. Even though I am only fifteen, I could pass for being twenty. My height and scar make me look far older than I am.
It is not hard to locate the red light district, it is one of the busiest areas in the city. The sun is beginning to descend, so it will only grow busier. Just like Tokyo, this city does not sleep. However, it does not thrive like Tokyo does.
The nights in Tokyo are full of wonder and love, but all I can feel here is sickness and loathing. For a city bustling with trade, it is deprived of the very things that make up the comfort of human life.
The red light district is full of foreigners, sailors that have been at sea for months without laying eyes on a woman. This is a new experience for me, having lived a somewhat sheltered life until I left home.
The air is thick with lust and allure. Women lean from balconies, calling down to the men below. A few of them call out to me, but I ignore them.
Some of these brothels are for Chinese men, some of them are for Japanese men and some of them are for European men. All manner of men lurk about these streets, so my hand remains on my sword.
I can hear everything, a blessing and a curse in this situation. Some things should not be heard, especially when it's sundown in the red light district.
Jinpuro is my destination, one of the most famous brothels in the city. It is a primarily foreign brothel, meaning it is frequented by the traders and sailors that reside in the city. It will be a great place to find information.
The women on the balcony above the door call down to me, attempting to entice me into their rooms. I'm not interested because I'm here for one reason and one reason only.
The building itself is rather grand, a white and gold colour scheme that is reminiscent of Western wealth. It is not traditionally Japanese, but that is to be expected in a city like Yokohama. Cultures blend together here, melting into one another in a sordid cocktail of lust and money.
The No. 9 sign glitters in the moonlight, I wonder just how many people have passed beneath it. Hundreds a night by the looks of it.
As soon as I pass through the entrance, I'm greeted by the sight of a spacious lobby. It is packed to the brim with men and women line the landing above, picking and choosing their customers from the mix.
The noise was incredible, all these people in one place all angling for the same thing. It was like stepping into a different world, something that I had never truly believed existed. I wonder what Tanjuro would make of this.
The sound disappears in an instant, the clamor fades away to be replaced by hushed voices. The men bow their heads and the women remain silent, somebody important has arrived. I am the only person who does not bow their head.
The Oiran has arrived. The air has changed, as if the room itself is bowing to her. She seems otherworldly, I have never seen anybody so beautiful in my life. Her lavender flower patterned kimono is exquisite and her black hair is kept in shape by a number of eloquent pins and ornaments.
Her eyes find me immediately. I always stand out but I am the only person not bowing their head. Her eyes study me, lingering on my face in particular. Her expression relaxes, but her eyes do not leave me even as she makes her way along the landing.
"Tsutaruhime-sama!"
The first person breaks the silence, calling out towards the oiran. It is a foreign man, he is dressed in fine clothing and has attendants bearing gifts for her. It is obvious that he is trying to court her.
Every man in the room glares at him, they all feel the same way that he does. An oiran marries a man of nobility, that is what they are raised for. Many of these men would kill for that opportunity, but it is not possible.
Even though the man has called out to her, she still ignores him. Two aides help her down the stairs and a pathway clears across the lobby. She glides across the lobby towards me. Every eye in the lobby is glaring at me now, I can feel the hostility.
She reaches me and reaches out her hand. I have no idea how to respond. This entire situation is alien to me. The audience wait with bated breath, even the glares have stopped. I feel incredibly uncomfortable, I would rather be fighting demons than the centre of attention.
Time freezes as I lock eyes with the oiran, the atmosphere shifts slightly as she smiles kindly at me. From her body language I can tell what I am meant to do. I drop to one knee and take her hand in my own, before kissing the back of her hand lightly.
I am the one chosen for tonight, which has greatly annoyed every other man in the room. It seems that most of the men gathered today are all of the same ilk. Wealthy men that have come to court the oiran. She chooses to meet a different man every night.
I look incredibly out of place. These men are all dressed tidily, their hair has been finely combed and they all hold themselves incredibly well in their posture. I am dressed in my uniform, roughspun haori and my hair is tied up behind my head in a knot. Not to mention the massive scar that adorns my face.
The oiran begins her ascent back up the stairs and I follow, guided by her aides. I can feel hundreds of pairs of eyes boring into my back. I did not think there would be a time that humans made me feel more uncomfortable than demons.
I am escorted through the building, it is like a maze. The size of the building is deceptive from the outside, it feels much bigger now. The oiran's chambers are located at the back of the building, to give her peace and quiet.
Her aides escort us into the chambers and then they take their leave. Her room is magnificent, but it is not overbearing. The furniture is expensive but it is not gaudy. Everything in the room serves to complement her even more.
She takes a seat at a table near a window and beckons me over. I take a seat opposite her and we sit in silence for a moment as the moonlight falls in through the window. It really is surprising just how beautiful this woman is.
"You're a Demon Slayer, aren't you?"
If I had been drinking, I'm sure I would have choked. From what I understand, in the first meeting between an oiran and a customer, the oiran does not talk. Not only that, but I'm sure she does not talk about the Demon Slayer Corps.
"I am."
Those are the only words I can get out in response, I'm incredibly surprised at this turn of events. This oiran possesses knowledge that I would not have expected most people to know.
"Are you a Hashira?"
Not only does she know about the Demon Slayer Corps, she knows about the rankings within it. It is clear that is not a typical meeting between an oiran and a customer. I assume I was chosen because she was able to spot what I was right away.
"I am not."
She sighs as I say that and for the first time, I see her face fall. In the moonlight, her crestfallen face paints an image of melancholy. She raises a hand to her chin and rests her head on it, a gesture that would cause her aides to go into shock.
"Then you should leave. So many people have been taken, they should have sent a Hashira here already."
She smiles sadly at me. I don't know whether it is out of pity or concern, but it is not something that I want to see. I know this mission is something that requires a Hashira, it is why I am here. To see if I am up to scratch.
"I cannot leave. I am here because all of those people have been taken."
I respond again. I'm lost when it comes to talking to this woman who is on the opposite end of the spectrum to me. I am from a family that lives on a mountain, cutting trees and burning charcoal to make a living. She has been raised to deal with men of the highest class. The divide between us is something I have no experience with.
"Could you not forget that and run away? There is no shame in living to see the sunrise."
She asks again, reaching a hand out to clasp my own that has been resting on the table. Her words cause a memory to come flooding back to me.
There is no shame in surviving. Living to see the sunrise is victory.
I refuse.
"I can't do that. I will do what I have been asked to do, only then will I leave."
She stares deep into my eyes before relenting. I don't know what she sees, but she has decided that asking again would be pointless. I will never run away again, I will fight to the end. Running away means somebody else will die.
Her aides return with plates of food, I have never even heard of some of these dishes. This is what the upper class eat. Some of the dishes are foreign but most of them are Japanese. None of them compare to Ruka-san's cooking, even if they are expensive.
We both say a prayer and begin to eat. I will not refuse her hospitality. I have still yet to learn anything about who she is, leaving would be incredibly rude. I don't really know how to make small talk, I bet Tanjuro would be better at this. He always had a knack for it.
Luckily for me, the oiran notices. She smiles softly and begins to speak. I expect this might be new for her, having to lead a conversation with a customer.
"Why did you become a Demon Slayer?"
She asks a question that not many would. The topic of why people join the corps is very sensitive in a lot of cases, most of the time it is because they have lost family to the demons. I am different however, so I do not mind this question.
"Because I can protect people, I can save lives."
I answer honestly. This is how I feel about my role in the world. I have been handed a position that allows me to save the lives of innocent people despite the awful mark that I was born with. The mark that has now blossomed into a scar thanks to the demon that killed Shinjuro-san.
She smiles again when she hears my answer, raising a hand to her mouth to hide it from sight. In this moment, I feel incredibly comfortable. Despite my reception earlier, I feel comfortable conversing with the oiran.
"Despite your hardened looks, you really are pure at heart."
She is still smiling, her hand preventing me from seeing it. I take no offence at her words, I know what I look like. Now that it is a scar, I look like a warrior that has suffered an injury. The best change that it brought about was the loss of the false sympathy.
"You are quite young, aren't you?"
Her smile is waning as she speaks and I can feel the conversation shift. Most people would assume that I am around twenty years old, give or take a few years. My height and build are not that of a normal fifteen year old. I am unlike any fifteen year old that I have ever met or heard of.
I can feel that she intends to continue speaking, so I don't reply to her question and instead let her continue with what she wants to say.
"You're sixteen years old, give or take a few months. You have worked incredibly hard, the calluses on your hand speak to that. Your breathing is always incredibly controlled and you move silently. Not only that, but the colour of your hair and eyes is peculiar. If you were born into a family that works with fire, it would be a cause for celebration."
She finishes with her observations and I am impressed. It is true that the women of the red light district have incredible observational skills, it would only make sense for the oirans to be the best of the best. It seems as if she is challenging me, she leans back in her chair and smiles at me.
To me, she just looks like an incredibly beautiful girl. I can't discern a lot about her just from looking, but from her demeanour I can understand that she is no regular oiran. I would have expected a highly courted oiran to have been far more formal than she is.
"If I had to guess, I'd say you're nineteen years of age."
That is all I can tell for now. She is still young, but it takes time to become an oiran. To rise so high takes a large amount of time in any organisation. The smile that she gives me tells me that I am right.
We engage in more conversation and before I know it, we have been talking for three hours. I have learnt a lot about Masuyo-san. That is her real name, Tsutaruhime is the name that she is known by. It stems from a story in her childhood, in which she had been dared to climb ivy and gotten stuck. It has led to the nickname that she had chosen as an oiran.
It is time for me to leave, because the moon has been out for sometime. I cannot afford to spend all of my time here, I should be hunting down the demon that resides here. It seems that Masuyo-san is aware of this too. She looks slightly saddened that we have to part ways here, but I will surely return to converse with her more.
I thought my life was lonely, but her life as an oiran is far more difficult. She is almost entirely isolated, idolised as a beauty on a pedestal that no one can touch. For her to be able to shed that skin and engage in normal conversation is incredibly rare. She rarely stopped smiling whilst we talked, so for that reason I absolutely have to come back.
"Goodnight, Masuyo-san. I will return soon."
I bow my head to her as I am escorted away from her chambers, she smiles at me before turning to look up at the moon. I left some wisteria incense with her, so that this brothel will remain safe.
The main hall is less populated now, most of the men have been paired up with women and disappeared off into private rooms. There are those that recognise me, glaring at me as I leave. It matters not.
I did receive information from Masuyo-san. It seems that most of the people that go missing are foreigners that are returning to their lodgings from the red light district. There is one street that the locals refuse to walk down in the night, but drunk sailors pay that no mind.
It is there that the demon takes them. Now would be the right time to strike, so I will make the same mistake as all of those foreigners. I will travel down that street and straight into the demon's waiting hands.
As I follow the route I was told, my conversation with Masuyo-san replays in my head. She respects my position as a Demon Slayer, but I can tell that she is still worried for me. I will return, because it would be unbecoming of me to make her cry if I did not survive.
It feels as if the street is surrounded by an incredible darkness. I'm not surprised that most people avoid it, I can feel the stale air that has been tainted by death. There is a foreign man ahead of me, stumbling his way down the deserted street.
He disappears in front of my very eyes. I cannot see what has happened to him. A demon has taken him. I should have been able to see it, even if it was an Upper Moon.
Steel rings as I draw my blade, the only thing I can do is move forward. As soon as I reach the place that I had last seen the man, I disappear too.
A Blood Demon Art, one that sets up a boundary. It is a snare, one that seizes unsuspecting prey and drags them in.
I am stood on the same street, except it is different. The entire area is red with blood. Blood hangs in the air. There is so much blood that it has dyed the very fabric of the world a deep crimson.
This is an incredibly powerful Blood Demon Art, I can see why nobody stood a chance against it.
There are corpses everywhere, piled high atop one another in the middle of this street. Some of them wear Demon Slayer uniforms, others are men that had gotten unlucky and taken the wrong route home. This dimension covers at least a two hundred metre stretch of this road.
The man that entered ahead of me is lying in the middle of the road. He has been knocked unconscious upon entering. Something has hit him, but not killed him.
I can hear that something as it prowls around. It knows that I am here but it does not attack me outright.
It moves with incredible speed and agility, my enhanced hearing can barely keep up with it. This street separates a residential estate, so it is walled off on both sides. The demon switches from side to side with ease, left to right at a speed that I can barely comprehend.
I have no idea how it is doing that, but it must be related to it's Blood Demon Art. I strain my ears more to try and gauge the demon's movements. It sounds as if the Earth is moving slightly, falling in on itself.
The demon is moving underneath the ground, that is why I cannot see it. If it moves beneath the ground, then it would be capable of ambushing anybody that became trapped in here. Mounds of earth are dotted between the piles of corpses, showing where this demon has surfaced. The ground near the unconscious man is completely flat.
I wonder why it has not yet attacked me, maybe it is wary of me. But it has killed Demon Slayers before, so it should know that it is capable of it. Yet it bides it's time.
If it will not make the first move, then I will. Just because it is below the ground does not mean that it is invincible. All I have to do is strike fast and hard. It might move incredibly fast, but it is predictable.
It moves in linear movements, only in straight lines. This means that it is moving along an already existing set of tunnels that it has dug. Tracing it's movements is not impossible, even in this situation.
It moves along a tunnel that I know exists from it's prior movements and I leap forward. It may be fast, but I am faster.
"Hinokami Kagura: Sunflower Thrust!"
I thrust my sword downwards and into the earth as I come out of my leap, using my momentum to generate more power. My sword plunges deep into the earth and I hear a resulting shriek. I withdraw my sword and flick the blood off of it.
The demon surfaces and glares at me, hissing as it does so. My blade had penetrated it's chest, the area I had been aiming for. It is then that I notice just how different this demon is.
It is humanoid but it's face is incredibly furry and it has morphed it's mouth into a snout. It's hands have been replaced by claws that look perfect for digging, which explains the tunnels. They would also be capable of tearing straight through human flesh.
It's eyes tell a different tale. One eye is normal but the other eye has something engraved into the iris.
Lower Moon Six. The weakest of the Twelve Kizuki. It seems that the master had been right, a Twelve Kizuki did in fact reside here. I will do as I have been asked and claim it's head for myself.
It hisses at me again and that is when my ears pick up another sound. Something else is burrowing through the earth behind me, aiming to surprise me.
I leap upwards as the ground below my feet explodes. An identical demon appears from it, with the same kanji engraved into it's eye. My leap carried me several feet into the air, positioning me above both of the demons.
Lower Moon Six is comprised of multiple bodies it seems, so I will have to decapitate all of them. These two are not the only ones, I can hear two more burrowing around under the ground.
"Ha-shi-ra!"
It speaks in a garbled voice, with a mouth that is not meant to produce speech. Both of them screech the word at the same time, it seems I have been mistaken for a Hashira. Defeating it will earn me that rank, so I guess it isn't too far off of the mark.
I can take advantage of my position in the air, the Hinokami Kagura has techniques that benefit this exact situation.
"Hinokami Kagura: Clear Blue Sky!"
I spin as I descend and my blade removes the head off of one of the demons, it was unable to react at all to my slash. My blade decapitated it and it only reacted after it's head had already begun to leave it's shoulders.
The body crumbles away and the other surfaced demon screeches in agony. It leaps towards me at a fast speed, but not fast enough.
"Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!"
Switching between the two Breathing Styles is taxing, but it has become easier as I have practiced. It is not impossible seeing as the two are very close in nature.
I cut off both of it's arms and it recoils backwards. My instincts flare and I twist and execute a form of the Hinokami Kagura faster than I thought possible.
"Hinokami Kagura: False Rainbow."
I manage to avoid the shower of blood that exploded out of it's wounds, the blood lands on a pile of corpses nearby and dissolves everything it touches. No wonder this demon is one of the Twelve Kizuki, it would be difficult to defeat in a rush because of it's poisonous blood.
Apart from it's digging capabilities and it's blood, it doesn't seem to be too hard to defeat. There is also the fact that it has created this entrapped area, but that is to be expected of even the weakest of the Twelve Kizuki. I have never encountered a Lower Moon, but they should still possess incredible power.
I can hear the two remaining bodies underground and the one above ground. I will have to destroy all three to ensure that this demon is dead. It's bodies do not regenerate their heads, so it does not have to be done simultaneously.
I can also hear the wing beat of my crow as it enters the field. It perches up above on one of the walls and begins to observe the battle.
The surfaced demon begins to regenerate it's arms, but it is far slower to do so than Upper Moon Two. His arm reappeared immediately after Shinjuro-san cut it off, but this demon is incredibly slow.
I dash towards it, I can already predict what it will do. It waves it's arms at me as I appear in it's face. I leap into the air again and strike the finishing blow to this body.
"Hinokami Kagura: Setting Sun!"
I spin in the air and deliver a devastating horizontal slash. My body spins completely, echoing the movement used for False Rainbow as I twist and slash. The blood from it's arms fails to touch me and my blade separates tendon and bone.
It's body begins to crumble to ash as the remaining two keep their distance under the ground. This Lower Moon Six posed a slight threat at the start, but I was able to react to it and adapt. Am I really powerful enough to become a Hashira?
One of the bodies makes a beeline towards me whilst the other flees. It is attempting to preserve it's own life by allowing one body to escape. The demon leaps from behind me and I dodge sideways, slashing as I do so.
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
The blade wreathed in writhing flame condemns the demon to ash. There is only one body left, but it has begun to flee towards the opposite end of the boundary. It is a hundred metres away from me, but I can cover that distance incredibly fast.
I underestimated the expanse of this dimension. I thought it was two hundred metres, but it is seemingly infinite. Even the demon cannot escape from it. It should surely be able to escape from it's own dimension.
I close the distance in less than ten seconds, catching up to the demon even at it's high speed. It surfaces and spews blood towards me, a massive volume at an incredibly close distance.
"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"
I swing my blade in a circular motion, deflecting most of the blood that would hit me. Some of it splatters onto my fingers and clothing, melting it and damaging my skin. It is painful but nowhere near as painful as the damage that I have suffered already.
The fact that it has decided to surface means that it has forfeit it's own life. I begin to move before it can retreat. My blade closes the gap and I can feel every muscle in my body. The Hinokami Kagura is demanding on a lot of muscles, but I have practiced it so many times that I can keep it up for a long time.
"Hinokami Kagura: Solar Heat Haze!"
This is the first slash I ever inflicted upon a demon. It took the head of Takahiro-san and now it will claim the head of Lower Moon Six. This demon was powerful within it's own right, but I am stronger by a large margin. I don't know why I possess such strength, I don't see myself as special or exceptional in any way.
It's snout contorts into an awful smile, thinking that my slash has failed to land. It prepares to spew blood, but it's head falls from it's shoulders before it can finish. I flick the blood from my blade and move to replace it in it's sheath.
I have done it, I have defeated a member of the Twelve Kizuki. Even though it is the weakest of the Twelve, I have killed it. My crow confirms as such with a victory cry.
The domain around me doesn't change, nor does it begin to collapse. I halt my movements immediately because I can feel something else. An awful sound echoes throughout the repeating street, a scream that devolves into a gurgle.
The unconscious man has had his throat torn out. I can hear it and I can barely see it. A man is tearing into his throat and lapping up the blood. This is my fault, I should have ensured his safety first. He is dead because of my neglect.
I sprint back towards the demon that is savaging his body, my blade back out of the sheath and in my hands. What the demon says next causes me to freeze in my tracks.
"Thanks fer takin' care of that small fry. Was startin' to irritate me."
The demon stands up, wiping his mouth as he addresses me. He is dressed in a long trenchcoat, a foreign garment. He is not foreign himself, speaking in a Kansai dialect. It is only when he turns around that I understand the gravity of the situation.
He grins at me, licking his lips and stretching his arms. I ready myself, because my focus is entirely on what is written inside his left eye.
Lower Moon One.
I had a blast writing this one, get to flex a little bit of my otherwise useless knowledge. I wonder just how many of you thought that the Oiran would be Daki, I bet I got some of you good with that one. As always, let me know what you guys think of this chapter, I love hearing your thoughts! -TheGrailsVoice
Sythe-elda: Ahhh the suspense lol now it has me even more intrigued xD
Great chapter! Can't wait to see which demon Yoichi will be facing and how strong he actually is since it's hard to gage when we only seen him go from easy demons to the tippity top lol but I like that! Has me curious. Very cool to see the unique pillars and it opens up great plot points in the future of Yoichi meeting up with the pillars we know of in the cannon and how his relationship with them will turn out to be! Wonder if there will be any romance with any of them? So many questions have arisen lol.
I do quite like the unique Hashira, funnily enough I chose the name for the Leaf Hashira and then realised it is one of the names that Kagaya calls out at the start of the Mugen Train movie! Yoichi's interactions with canon pillars will be interesting, I have already planned a lot of them. In terms of romance with them, it is on the unlikely side as he will be 30 years old at the time of the main story and older than most of them by a lot but that does not mean he will not experience romance at all!
CharmGirlLove: Wow this is really interesting it makes me wonder how Tanjiro would react to having an uncle, plus if he's a hashira by the time it gets to the normal timeline then one of the original Hashira wouldn't be able to be in since there are only 9 wonder who it will be. I love the writing and can't wait to see how it goes.
I think it will be nice for Tanjiro to discover that he does have family that he never knew existed, perhaps his kindness can even help his uncle! I wonder which of the Hashira will fail to make it too, all we can do is wait and see! Thank you for the kind words, comments like yours always put a smile on my face!
RedBurningDragon: Is the leaf hashira going to use the 8 leaves style as his breath style from Trails series?
I have actually not heard of this series, but no. Silence Breathing and Leaf Breathing are both Breathing Styles I invented on the spot whilst out for a long walk. Both have been fully developed already and I am excited to see them displayed in battle!