Author's Note: Dawg, slap the SHIT out of me if I fucked up in previous chapters and said Lana was 17 or something- BUT since Lana spawned when she was 14 and Tanjiro was 13 and Zenitsu is one year older than Tanjiro, then currently in this chapter Lana is 16 along with Zenitsu (He's older than her by a month), Tanjiro is 15, his birthday is a month away from Lana's and they're a year apart in age. We can assume that since the story starts in 1912 and Tanjiro is already 13, two years training, he's 15, the year is 1914. Since he's already 15 by the time they go to final selection, the selection is during summer and his birthday already passed. And then from the weeks of the arcs and the weeks it takes for them to heal (usually like 5-10 weeks?) then a few months had passed since then, but we also know he's 15 for most of the actual story, only turning 17 by chapter 204. I haven't finished the manga so I don't know how much time exactly has passed for him to turn 17, but I think we can assume that CURRENTLY, it's either late 1914 or early 1915, at least before July 14th since Tanjiro is still 15 and Lana is 16. WHEW! GAWDAMN. THAT'S THE MOST MATH I DID ALL SUMMER BYEEEE! IJDSWAOIUD ANYWAYS ENJOY THIS CHAPTER MY LOVELY READERS! REMEMBER TO DRINK WATER AND EAT, I LOVE YOU ALL!
Warning: Swearing
Disclaimer: Bruh, I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba, all rights go to Koyoharu Gotōge. Please support the official release!
Continued...
The last thing I heard before I let sleep take over was a soft chuckle and a soft, "I love you."
I unconsciously smiled and murmured in return,
"I love you too."
The next morning, after doing our morning routine of getting ready and greeting each other with a peck on the cheek, we made sure Nezuko was safely in her box before we headed out to find the secret weapon Mitsuri mentioned last night. And of course, I brought some onigiri along for breakfast. It's never any good to fight on an empty stomach! That's one thing Mitsuri made sure to drill into me while I was training under her, not that I would argue otherwise anyway!
As I swallowed the last chunk of rice from my breakfast, Tanjiro pushed aside another bush, allowing me to step through first. I sent him a bright smile, internally squealing at the simple gesture as we continued down the dirt path of the forest.
"I wonder what this weapon Kanroji-san talked about is," Tanjiro said curiously. "Is it a sword? Is it buried? It's like a treasure hunt, I'm so excited!"
His eager tone made me smile and giggle, his childlike wonder infecting me and making me feel just as eager to find the secret weapon despite already knowing what it is. Nezuko scratched from the inside of her box, making me smile a bit wider as I placed a hand on the side where she scratched.
"Maybe we'll have to fight to the death for it, I'm down to kick some ass anytime!" I chirped, letting out a small yawn as we ventured further.
"You sound a bit tired, I don't know if you have enough energy to fight to the death," Tanjiro replied with a chuckle, humoring me.
I exhaled in amusement, "You don't trust that your strong, stunningly gorgeous, and- might I add, flexible future wife could whoop some ass even half asleep? I'm deeply offended, Tanjiro."
He laughed, dirt crunching under his sandals as we walked. "You're right, who am I to doubt someone as amazing as you? My future wife."
I flushed, cheeks heating at his last phrase. The way he said my- my- YOU KNOW! Sent butterflies swarming in my tummy and my heart racing.
I playfully pushed his arm and turned my face away to avoid him seeing how red I was, but I knew that either way he could smell how happy that made me. "God DAMN man! I might be one flirty-ass motherfucker, but you just know how to take me down to flavortown, boy!" I squeaked, lips spreading into a stupidly wide grin.
"Flavortown...?" He questioned, once again confused by the weird modern-references I made.
"A mystical land ruled by the one and only Guy Fieri. Only those who achieve true nirvana within the flavors of the world shall be granted access to this place," I said sagely, shaking my head as I stared off into the trees wistfully.
"Ooo," Tanjiro said, nodding in understanding.
We both knew he didn't understand a word I just said.
We continued walking in comfortable silence before Tanjiro rubbed his nose, saying, "This is a nice place, but I still smell the hot spring from here. Hmmm, maybe my nose isn't working well because I haven't fully recovered yet."
"Mm, maybe," I absent-mindedly hummed, too busy staring at a purple butterfly and a blue butterfly circling each other as we passed by it.
He sighed, "I really want to find Haganezuka-san, but..." He trailed off as he noticed something- er, someone in the distance, making me turn as well to see what he was looking at.
A few feet away from us stood Muichiro and the little kid- I forgot his name, sorry! It's literally been YEARS since I read the manga- seemingly bickering at each other. Or rather, the kid was yelling at Muichiro, the 14 year old hashira standing in front of him idlily.
"A kid? And one more person..." Tanjiro muttered beside me.
"He's a pillar. Uh- I forgot which one...?" I answered, squinting at the two as we went closer. "Oh yeah, Shinobu-san mentioned him before..." Tanjiro nodded, their conversation growing louder as we came closer. It was becoming apparent that it wasn't exactly harmless bickering as we heard the masked boy yell at Muichiro to go away and that he won't had over his key. I didn't notice, too busy muttering to myself.
"Stone..? No, that's Uzui- no that's Gyomei, Uzui's bitchass is sound, I'm so dumb. Uhhh...wind? No- Uh, that's Sanemi. OH! MIST!" I exclaimed in realization, clapping my hands.
Only to let out a high-pitched squeal as my obnoxiousness alerted the two to our presence, causing me to quickly hide beside Tanjiro, hands gripping his arm anxiously as we all stared at each other.
"Uh- sorry! Didn't meant to, um, interrupt! Haha," I chuckled nervously, eyes wide as I awkwardly stepped back into the open.
Tanjiro took this chance to speak up, albeit hesitantly so. "Um, excuse me? Is there a problem?"
I remained silent, squeezing my lips tightly as I was unsure of what to do now that we kinda just came out of nowhere while Muichiro was getting yelled at.
"Are you also here to take my key?! Well let me tell you now, I WON'T LET ANY OF YOU HAVE IT! No matter what, I'm not handing it over!" The masked kid yelled, fists clenched in front of him in an attempt to intimidate us.
Before he could yell more, or before we could even say anything, Muichiro silently and swiftly rose his hand and send a firm chop to the back of the kids neck, sending him to the ground wheezing.
Tanjiro and I immediately reacted, me sliding to my knees to check on the kid while Tanjiro confronted the pillar, a look of nonchalance on his face as if he just swatted a bug and not some poor kid trying to protect his family heirloom.
"HEY! WHAT'RE YOU DOING!?" Tanjiro yelled, angered by the uncalled for assault of a civilian.
"You okay? H- Here, um-" I worriedly held the kid in my arms and scrambled to grab my canteen tucked in the back of my belt, a useful item I bought a while ago while on a mission to a village. As I reached to lift his mask, the kid forcefully snatched my wrist, alarmed.
"H-hey! Don't touch my mask!" He exclaimed, voice raspy as he began to cough. I shook my head and frowned, ignoring Tanjiro's furious yells at Muichiro in front of me. "Don't worry! I'm not gonna take it off. I just need you to lift it enough so you can drink some water, okay? I won't take it off, I promise," I reassured him, lifting up the canteen full of water so he could see I was true to my word.
After he saw the canteen and the concerned look on my face, he hesitantly released my arm and instead reached for his face, moving his mask up just enough so that his mouth was visible. I gave him a small smile and uncapped the container, passing him the water and watching as he began to sip at the canteen before a gasp and a wheeze snapped my attention over to see Muichiro standing over Tanjiro, who was currently kneeled over and puking up the onigiri he'd eaten earlier.
I gasped and immediately stood up, rushing to my boyfriends side and watching worriedly as he coughed, his body shaking with every hack. I looked up to send a look heavy with disappointment and disbelief at Muichiro, however the younger boy remained unbothered as he looked down at us with blank, almost bored, eyes.
"You're really weak. I have no idea how you got into the demon slayer corp..." The forgetful boy said, staring as Tanjiro continued to cough and pretty much ignoring me. I glared at him, ready to whoop his ass if needed despite knowing fully well he can make me fold sooner than I can even lunge at him.
I noticed his eyes drift down, making me feel even more guarded as I mentally prepared myself to .
"Hm? I sense something strange in that box. It feels like a demon..." Muichiro muttered, his words causing me to stand up and stand protectively over Tanjiro. "Is that..." "Stay. The fuck. Away," I said firmly, hands curled into tight fists as he lifted his hand, aiming to touch Nezuko's box.
I give a sharp swat at his hand, smacking it away before he could move closer. Surprisingly, he didn't move his hand away to dodge, allowing me to leave a patch of red slowly forming on his pale skin. Tanjiro, hearing the slap, sprung back up to his feet and moved to stand beside me, appearing worried for me before realizing I wasn't the one who got hit.
"What's your problem? You can't just hurt people like that!" I exclaimed, voice rising as I the younger boy could understand that I didn't want a fight, but it wasn't right for him to act the way he did. I still couldn't help but feel bad, knowing he's younger than me and that he's just doing what he thinks he must. But he still needed to learn to do better, no matter how much I hated being assertive and slightly mean.
"What are you talking about? Your voice is annoying..." Muichiro said, voice still monotone. His last comment at me angered Tanjiro, who visibly furrowed his brows as small veins bulged on his face. Before he could say anything, however, Muichiro continued. "Since you're a demon slayer, you should know fully well that I am above you. As a pillar, I've duties that are of great importance. I have no time to listen to senseless frustrations that only hinder my time. In fact, do you know how many people have died just by these few minutes you've made me waste?"
I held my tongue, not knowing how to reply to that statement. He was right in the sense that we could be saving lives rather than getting frustrated at his lack of awareness, but that doesn't excuse his actions.
"I'm done here. Come on. Key. Now," he ordered, turning to the masked boy who managed to pick himself up and stand beside us.
The boy shook his head, trembling. "I- I'm not handing this key over to anyone. Not even under torture. 'It' is gonna break very soon!" His voice shook as he tried standing up to the hashira.
Muichiro sighed, a hint of frustration seeping into his tone. "Have you ever been under torture? Not even adults can endure it, so it's impossible for you. It seems like you're just a dumb kid who doesn't know his place." He looked off to the side before gazing back at the kid. "And so what if it breaks? Just make another. That's all you swordsmiths are good for anyway. You can't fight, you can't save lives. Making weapons is all you're good for."
"Understand your place when you act. You're not a baby anymore, you know." With that, Muichiro reached for the kid once more, only this time, Tanjiro smacked his hand away as I stood protectively in front of the boy, shielding him from the pillar.
"This again...? What is it this time," the Mist hashira sighed, utterly done with our antics.
"This...This just...doesn't sit right with me! I'm not exactly sure why!" Tanjiro yelled, raising his hands up in frustration. "What about consideration?! You can't just forget to be considerate here! That's just cruel!"
"Am I acting cruel? You-" "Are correct!" Tanjiro cut him off, waving his arms. "Everything you said is more or less right. But even though you're not wrong, swordsmiths have a very important and crucial job! They possess amazing skills that are different from swordsmen's!"
"Tanjiro's right!" I exclaimed, joining in and wanting to add my two cents. "Dude, don't you think it's important that the swordsmiths even exist? After all, they are the ones making the swords, not us, and not you, clearly. And even if we are stronger, even if we are more suited for battle, that means nothing without those nichirin blades that truly do all the work in our career!" I ranted, shaking my head and gesturing animatedly.
"That's true! Swordsmen and swordsmiths need each other to function properly, they both fight the same fight! We fight everyday, albeit in different places-!"
"Sorry." Muichiro cut Tanjiro off abruptly. "I don't have time to talk about dumb stuff."
Before I knew what was happening, Muichiro delivered a clean chop to Tanjiro's check, and I watched in complete shock as my boyfriend was sent to the ground once more, only this time completely knocked out. I gaped at the hashira, but before I could say or do anything, he quickly turned to me and did the same, causing me to fall over and black out with a searing pain in my neck being the last thing I felt.
"..." I slowly came to, feeling my body hang limply off a shoulder as the person carrying me kept walking, not noticing I was awake. I held back a groan, feeling a crick at my neck but not wanting to alert whoever was currently holding me, in case I was in any danger.
I slowly blinked my eyes open to see a familiar pattern of cloth, and seeing the familiar color immediately told me who was carrying me. Reassured I wasn't in any danger- at the moment at least, I let out a strained groan, causing Haganezuka to freeze as he realized I had awoken.
"H-Hi, Haganezuka-san," I sighed tiredly, not moving even after he paused. "Nice to see you again!" I greeted him, a bit more livelier this time now that I was fully awake. Wordlessly, he lowered me from his shoulder, letting me stand back up on my own. Noticing the kid from before standing beside him, I beamed and gave him a wave before looking back to Haganezuka to see Tanjiro also being carried on his shoulder.
Walking up to the taller man, I held out my arms and made grabby motions. "I got him! He should wake up soon. Thank you for carrying us, by the way!" I chirped, beaming as he complied and grabbed Tanjiro off of his shoulder and placing him in my arms bridal-style. I turned around and gently placed him on the ground, sitting down with him and placing his head in my lap, watching as he snoozed away soundly.
I scanned his face for any cuts or bruises, thankful to find that he was perfectly fine. I sighed in relief and looked up, glad to see Haganezuka wasn't here to murder us for our past war crimes. "We missed you a lot! Hey, we should go get some dango later-!" "His eyelids are shaking, he's awake! Later!" Haganezuka-san exclaimed before suddenly rushing off into the woods, not giving me the chance to say goodbye before he disappeared.
"Huh..." I pouted, wondering why he took off like that. I turned to the kid and he held out the canteen I gave him earlier. With a nod and a reassuring smile, I took it back, tucking it back into my belt at my back.
"Th-thank you," he told me before looking over at Tanjiro. Looking down at him as well, I sighed before getting up and stretching, groaning as my muscles strained. With another sigh, I turned to the boy. "How about you? Are you okay?" I asked him, thinking back to how he got knocked to the ground by the neck.
"I'm fine, just a little sore," he nodded, reassuring me. I let out a sigh of relief and turned back, only to see Tanjiro's eyes snap open and he shot up, frantically looking around.
"Was Haganezuka-san here?!" He quickly asked us. "Wha- oh. Yeah, he did! He carried us here and then he left," I replied, taking out my canteen and wiping the nozzle with my haori before handing it to Tanjiro. He took it gratefully, chugging down the remainder of the water within the canteen before handing it back to me and wiping his lips with a gasp.
"Thank you. And- he carried us here?" He asked incredulously, and at my confirming nod, he brightened. "That's nice of him! Aw, I wish I could've said hi before he left."
He seemed to relax for a moment, relieving me before-
"AND THE PILLAR?!" "JESUS CHRIST!" I gasped, slapping a hand over my chest as Tanjiro suddenly shot up once more. I whipped around to take a breath before turning back to my sheepish boyfriend.
"Ah, sorry," he chuckled.
"YOU'RE GONNA SEND ME TO MY GRAVE BEFORE I CAN HAVE MY SPECIAL NIGHT WITH YOU AND ZENITSU, YA RASCAL!" I wheezed, laughing it off. "Anyway, so what did happen to Muichiro?" I asked, turning back to the masked kid, ignoring Tanjiro behind me who's face slowly turned red as he realized exactly what I meant, mouth gaping in shock.
"I gave him the key, so he left," the kid admitted, shrugging.
"Mm, not like you had another option, otherwise I'm sure he would've hurt you," I sighed, shrugging in a what-can-ya-do sort of way. "Sorry we couldn't stop him from taking it, that key must've meant a lot to you if you were defending it so much."
I gave him an apologetic smile but he quickly shook his head, waving his hands.
"Oh, no! It's okay, I'm actually really happy that you two stood up for a complete stranger like me," he told us, giving a thankful bow. "Thank you so much."
Tanjiro, who'd finally calmed down, approached my side and shook his head, holding up a hand. "Well, no thanks needed if we didn't even change anything..." After settling down, Tanjiro asked, curious to know why the kid was guarding the key so venomously earlier, "So what kind of key was it?"
"It was for a mechanical doll," the boy replied. "Hm? A mechanical doll?" Tanjiro questioned, confused before the boy went on to explain that his ancestors made it as a powerful training dummy, complete with 108 different moves. Tanjiro was in awe at the thought of an automatic doll being built with so many fight movements, but sagged in realization.
"Oh, I see. He was going to train..." He muttered, a bit guilty for making such a fuss over something so small.
"Yes, but it's slowly deteriorating, and it might break soon-" the boy explained before loud clangs and the sounds of rapid fighting caught our attention, the sounds not too far from us. We jumped up, "Woah, what's that!?" Tanjiro yelled over the noise. "The guy from before started..." the kid trailed off worriedly before leading us into the woods, the sounds growing louder as we neared the area.
We peeked over some of the shrubbery to watch in amazement as Muichiro and the doll, who clearly donned some familiar earrings, engaged in a fierce battle. I could barely keep my eyes on either figure as they went back and forth, dashing around the area as swords and arms swung rapidly.
"That...is the battle doll my ancestors made long ago. Yorichi Zeroshiki," the masked boy told us, eyes trained on the fight in front of us.
"Its arms...Why are there six?" Tanjiro asked, not looking away as well. I tore my eyes away from the battle for a moment to glance at the two boys beside me, only to be brought back by a particularly loud clash of blades.
"Its arms? Well, according to my dad, this doll is modeled after an actual swordsman. They had to give it six arms or they couldn't replicate his movements," I heard the kid reply to Tanjiro.
"Six arms six ways to...heh," I smirked to myself as I muttered this under my breath, some particularly dirty images popping up in my mind.
"So, who is this person? What exactly did he do?" At Tanjiro's question, I looked over, wanting to know more as well.
The masked kid waved a hand nervously. "Sorry, I don't know the details either. But it dates back to the Sengoku era." "S-Sengoku?! You mean- it's more than three hundred years old?" Tanjiro exclaimed in shock, his eyes widening. "How has it not broken after all this time?"
We turned back to the fight, continuing to talk amongst ourselves. "Its construction is so superb that we can't hope to achieve that level even know. So if it breaks, we can't fix it anymore..." The boy explained further.
"My dad died suddenly, and I have no siblings. So I have to be the one to fix it. But I don't have the talent to fix blades, or dolls..." The kid told us with a slight tremor. My lips settled into a frown as I heard this. I felt pity for the boy, knowing that must be a heavy burden to bear. And now, Muichiro is gonna break the one thing that kid had hoped wouldn't.
I wish I could stop him, but what fuckin' idiot is insane enough to get in-between a damn HASHIRA and a training dummy that's built to be extremely powerful?!
Muthafucka, NOT ME! That's for damn sure...
"So that's why...I see, I see," Tanjiro muttered sympathetically before looking off towards Muichiro, pursing his lips. "This person...is amazing. He's just as young as I am, but he's talented..."
"WELL, OF COURSE!" A random voice squawked. "THAT BOY IS A DESCENDANT OF THE 'SUN BREATH' USERS!"
We all whipped around in alarm, looking down to see a black kasugai crow with rather long lashes chortle at us. "HE'S A GENIUS! HE'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM YOU, HOHOHO!"
I paused before squinting at the crow, lips pulled into a grimace. "Eyelash bug..." I hissed under my breath. First impressions, this crow is waaay too cocky for her own damn good, and on GOD I'm bouta scrap with god for giving her longer eyelashes than me...
"Tokito-kun's crow? The Sun Breath is the original breath, so he's really amazing..." Tanjiro said in awe. "But he doesn't use the Sun Breath..." At this, the crow squawked angrily, flapping her wings and flying up to bite Tanjiro's cheek, her beak digging deep enough to draw blood.
"SHUT THE HELL UP! I'LL GOUGE YOUR EYES OUT!" The annoying crow screeched as me and the other boy panicked, wanting the bird to leave Tanjiro alone. Right as I was about to grab the crow and turn it into my next meal, Tanjiro suddenly yelled.
"OH! THE DREAM- I SAW HIM IN A DREAM!" He insisted, confusing me. "What the hell are you talking about?" I said under my breath, raising a brow.
Surprisingly, the crow relented, letting go of his cheek to rest on his shoulder. She huffed (crows can huff?), "What? You're a total moron. Have you ever come to this village before? You're being so delusional that you make me laugh. So you know a warrior from the Sengoku era? How old are you?"
As the crow scoffed, Tanjiro quietly puffed out his cheeks. A cute expression, had it not been more the blood on his cheek that made me worry.
"Sorry about that, I must look weird..." Tanjiro said dejectedly, cheeks flushing in embarrassment as he began to sulk.
"Not weird, more just confusing," I said, patting him on the shoulder and giving him a small smile.
"Maybe...it's a memory that was passed on?" Suggested the masked boy. "It's a common saying in my village. Appearances aren't the only things that are inherited."
He went on to explain that it's said that living things pass on their memories, such as someone having memories of seeing the same scene when they first forge a sword or knowing how to do something they've never done before. Such things are called inherited memories.
"So the dream you must saw must have been your ancestor's memory!" The kid exclaimed, bringing a smile to Tanjiro's face and also bringing one to mine.
My eyes sparkled, "Wow! That sounds so cool!" I squealed, ignoring the crow's cries of, "Ridiculous! RIDICULOUS!" from Tanjiro's shoulder.
"Thanks, you're so sweet," Tanjiro smiled, growing teary-eyed at the thought. "My name's Tanjiro, and this is Lana. What's yours?"
"I'm Kotetsu. You don't have to listen to this bully of a crow," the masked kid, now known as Kotetsu, told us.
I beamed at his bold declaration and laughed. "Nice to meet you, Kotetsu!"
Just as the crow was about to lean over to bite at the kid, we were interrupted by the loud sound of wood being broken apart. We all turned our heads to see Muichiro taking a final swing at the doll, wooden chips and pieces of the doll went flying as he took the final hit.
I gasped, eyes flying between the scene and the poor kid, who already began to shake. "Oh no..."
"I- It's armor..." Tanjiro said in shock.
Suddenly, Kotetsu turned and ran off into the forest, sniffles leaving him as he took off.
"Kotetsu-kun!" Tanjiro and I cried out worriedly as we both turned to run after the boy, Muichiro's crow flying off from the abrupt motion.
"Awe, shit. Look what ya did, poopy head," I cursed Muichiro under my breath, glancing back at the hashira for a moment before running off with Tanjiro to find the boy.
"Can you still smell him, Tanji?" I asked my boyfriend, scanning every bush and tree we came across.
Tanjiro nodded, letting out a positive grunt. "He didn't go too far off, I don't think. We'll find him in no time."
"Good, lead the way!" I chirped, following after Tanjiro as he lead me through the forest.
...To be continued...