Why, hello there, my friend? I see your search for NarutoxDemon Slayer crossovers has led you here. Please, have a seat. Warm yourself by the fire. A moment of respite; a chance to steel yourself against the coming days. I hope I can entertain you well enough in your down time.
For those who have followed my other work, welcome. I know it's been a while and life has kinda been going crazy a bit hasn't it? I published my first, real, story close to 11 years ago. Who'd have thought I'd suddenly get that spark back in me to write? Can't help it. Demon Slayer is a fantastic anime and I wish I'd have given it my attention sooner. It also has a lot of potential in the crossover genre.
That being said! This is a 'Naruto is super old so that's why he is here' story. As a new reader, I ask you this respectfully: Please wait. You might read a few things and go, 'hold on, that doesn't seem right to what I know' when it comes to certain... things from the Demon Slayer lore. That's fine. Please, take note of those and store them in your mind. It will all be explained later - hardly anything is an accident or me overlooking something.
Please enjoy the adventure we are about to embark on. I hope it entertains you enough to stay for a bit.
When I Needed You
"CAW! HINOTO SHINOBU! HINOTO SHINOBU!" An otherwise peaceful morning was disrupted by the raspy, yet distinctly feminine, voice of a Kasugai crow. The large bird's wings fluttered, having just perched herself in the windowsill. The crow's head snapped every which-a-way, quickly taking in her surroundings. She stopped - head sideways as she used solely her left eye to look at the lone bed in the room. Rather, to look at the occupant of the bed. With another flutter of her wings, she glided from the windowsill to the nightstand next to the bed. Upon landing, she hopped to the edge of the nightstand. "CAW! HINOTO SHINOBU! CAW!"
From the bed, a young woman's brow furrowed, her throat rumbling in a groan as she was roused from her slumber. Gradient purple, pupil-less, eyes fluttered open. Shinobu Kocho stared at the ceiling. Blinking rapidly, as if to force the sleep from returning to her eyes, she gained a sense of her surroundings. She noted the ember hue of her room and, upon turning her head to the left, looked out the window to confirm that the sun had begun to breach the top of the woodline in the distance. 'A few more minutes and the sun would have woken me up anyways.' Shinobu mused internally, still looking out the window. Her vision was suddenly blocked by the entire body of her crow, its head craned to regard her with its right eye this time.
"Hinoto Shinobu!" Seeing her demon slayer was adequately perceptive, the crow opted to use more of an 'indoor' voice. "South! Southwest! Suspected demon presence at village! Riverside village!" Even so, it was still quite loud juxtaposed to the dead silence of dawn only minutes prior.
Despite herself, Shinobu sat up, her short bangs coming to rest just above her cheekbones. She turned, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and stood up quickly. Stretching as she moved, Shinobu walked towards the map hung up on the wall above her desk. Finding her current location, the Butterfly Mansion, she traced the direction her crow had just relayed to her. Her finger came to a stop on a small village. Riverside and incredibly isolated, it would certainly appear to be the ideal location for a fledgling demon to try and grab a human or two. Shinobu measured the distance and discovered it to be around forty-eight kilometers away, however. Assuming she had a solid pace, Shinobu estimated she could arrive before nightfall. She turned back to look at her crow. "Alone?" Shinobu asked. "There isn't anyone closer?"
"Nearest Slayers are Hinoto Shinobu and Kinoe Kanae! Both will leave immediately! CAW!" And with that, her crow's message was complete. With a mighty flap of her wings, the crow flew out of the bedroom, leaving a couple of long, ebony, feathers on the floor.
Shinobu rubbed her eyes with another groan, fighting the urge to yawn. At least Kanae would be with her. They didn't always get to go off together due to their rank disparity. Despite entering the corps at the same time, it came to no surprise to see Kanae rank up ahead of her. A smile graced her lips, her eyes sparkling in silent admiration. 'That's my nee-sama for you.'
As if suddenly invigorated, Shinobu straightened up and quickly began to get ready. Slipping out of her sleepwear, Shinobu quickly donned her Demon Slayer Uniform. Pulling her top together and fastening the glistening silver buttons, she grabbed her boots and put them on, tucking the legs of her trousers into them before fastening them completely. Shinobu took a couple steps over and looked at herself in the mirror. Piercing purple eyes stared back at her as she fastened her hair with her ornament of choice - a multi-colored butterfly hairpin that held her hair in place.
Fully dressed stood Shinobu Kocho, proud Hinoto of the Demon Slayer Corps. Her lavender eyes matched the tips of her bangs and completed her look. While still only fourteen, she was regarded as an image of beauty and professionalism among peers of her age and even those several years her senior. With a determined furrow to her brow, Shinobu nodded to herself in the mirror and spun sharply. Grabbing her katana, she left her bedroom.
Making her way downstairs, she stopped by their mess hall. Shinobu made sure to grab herself a couple of rice balls; a handful were usually prepared and stored safely just for circumstances like this. It was going to be a day of continuous movement to the village, and she would need to leave now to beat the danger of nightfall. With a continued spring in her step, the young teen left the mansion. Immediately her eyes fell upon another demon slayer already fully equipped and waiting for her.
"Nee-sama!" Shinobu called, grabbing the attention of the older teen.
Garbed in her own purple Demon Slayer Uniform, the slightly older, yet no less spitting image of Shinobu, turned around. Long, black, hair cascaded down her back stopping just below her waist. Two long trails of hair, one on either side of her head, fell down to the front of her body. They were both quite animate with every motion she made. Two short bangs framed the sides of her face, stopping at her cheekbones much like Shinobu's. Much like her younger sister, her hair ornament, or rather ornaments, of choice were two beautiful butterfly hairpins on the sides of her head. At passing glance, you would almost call them twins. The only difference between the two sisters other than height was their eyes. While Shinobu's was a sea of purple without a point of focus, Kanae's eyes practically sparkled, two dark pupils contrasting lighter purple iris.
"Ara, you took a while to get ready. Sluggish morning, Shinobu-tan?" Kanae Kocho asked with a hand raised to pat her sister's head, a playful mirth to her tone. With Shinobu being regarded as the more serious of the pair of sisters, Kanae had long been hailed as the more aloof of the two, yet no less beautiful and elegant in her posture and mannerisms.
Shinobu slapped the offending hand away, a tick mark appearing on the back of her head. "I was asleep all of five minutes ago-" She explained, grumbling at both the circumstance of her not being asleep right now as well as her older sister's coddling. "-before I got the dispatch orders." She finished, regaining her composure. Shinobu straightened up immediately as Kanae turned to depart. She took a couple of elongated steps to catch up and walk alongside her sister. "I'm only aware of the direction and the isolation of the village." Shinobu stated, prompting Kanae to explain further if she was given any more information being the higher rank of the dispatch.
"They believe that one demon has been lingering in the vicinity of the village and adopted it as a hunting ground." She started, humming as if in thought. "Three innocents have lost their lives already, spread out over the past couple of nights."
Shinobu's brow furrowed. "That's odd." Since the time she and her sister first took up arms to train for Final Selection, they were taught demons were very nomadic creatures. If you received word that there had been a demon attack, odds are it was far too late to do anything unless you were proficient at tracking and managed to get to the site of the attack within a few hours. Her assumption for this assignment was they were going to perform a patrol of the village and surrounding area for any signs of direction the demon could've gone. At best, they could determine the direction of the demon and receive orders to follow and exterminate. At worst, there'd be no sign and the most they could do would be a patrol of the area to try and put the locals at ease.
"I agree." Kanae nodded her head. "A sedentary demon. How vexing." She hummed cutely, as if in thought.
"Shouldn't this be handled by a Hashira?" Shinobu questioned. Kanae shook her head.
"While we're told it's rare, it does happen. I hear some demons do adopt territories from time to time. At least, that's what I've heard from the older kinoe." Kanae had only been promoted to the rank of kinoe a couple weeks prior. Shinobu figured there might already be some Hashira looking to take Kanae in as a tsuguko, given her talent. This was their first mission together since her promotion and, despite the circumstances, Shinobu was happy to be with her sister for this. Kanae looked to her left at Shinobu, a smile adorning her lovely features. "Come, Shinobu-tan, if there wasn't complete faith in our abilities, we wouldn't have been dispatched, would we?"
Shinobu's shoulders relaxed slightly, however the furrow in her brow remained. With a sigh, she closed her eyes. "No, nee-sama. I'm confident in our abilities." Kanae's smile widened affectionately, to which Shinobu could only smile back.
Looking forward, Shinobu's thoughts compounded on the matter. Despite her words, she still shouldered quite a large amount of caution to the whole situation. She spared a glance back towards her sister, who appeared more than relaxed, a tiny smile gracing her features naturally as she hummed quietly to herself. Shinobu felt put at ease further just from her sister's very presence and returned her gaze forward.
Still, there was a distinct feeling in the pit of her stomach. Trying to push her thoughts to the back of her mind, she increased her stride as Kanae did the same. They had a lot of ground to cover.
For the past thousand years, with the world changing more and more every day, there had been two constants. First, demons were a threat that roamed the country sowing fear into the hearts of citizens who would believe the tales. And second, there was a Demon Slayer Corp united to defend the people and slay demons wherever they could. To the citizens who believed in demons, or had experienced their cold and callous brutality firsthand, Demon Slayers were often viewed as beacons of hope. When you looked out your window and saw a Demon Slayer patrolling the street, you felt your shoulders could relax for at least the night.
While Demon Slayers lived solely for the one purpose of exterminating demons, demons lived solely for one purpose as well. As taught by the Demon Slayer Corps principles, a demon's only goal was to devour humans. Demons devoured humans to gain not only physical strength, but strengthen their Blood Arts, all to further that one instinct of devouring more humans. Thousands of families had been torn apart over the past thousand years and despite the Demon Slayer Corps best efforts to be a deterrent, in the end it seems as there was nothing that could truly be done to curb the slaughter of innocents. To many Demon Slayers, thinking big picture was lost on them; if they could save just one person with the sweat and blood of their brow, that was all they needed to keep going.
Knowledge of demons and their behavior beyond the instinct to devour humans was minuscule. Most of the guidelines taught by the Demon Slayer Corps are little more than observed patterns and behaviors. Over the course of the past few hundred years, this is what every new demon slayer was taught:
First, a demon can only hunt safely at night, for exposure to the sun is one of two confirmed ways of killing it. If you can't find the opportunity to best your opponent in combat, then drawing the fight out into the sunlight is a perfectly valid strategy.
Second, demons are incredibly resilient and all but immortal. However, a kill can be guaranteed by decapitating them with a nichirin sword.
Third, demons will hunt and kill humans of any age and sex for sustenance to grow stronger. There has been extremely little variance in humans eaten to suggest certain types of humans are more ideal than others.
Fourth, demons are almost always moving. It was incredibly uncommon to find a demon who had appeared to settle into a territory. This was the most intriguing of the facts taught about demons. After all, if a demon were to find itself a nice little, isolated, village to safely prey upon humans then why wouldn't it stay? Some speculate it's the fear of being discovered by a demon slayer. Demons, by instinct, want to preserve their life and grow stronger. Leaving before being exposed, lest they find themselves executed, makes perfect sense purely in the thought of self-preservation. However, observations have shown that even demons that possessed unnatural amounts of strength still kept moving. There had been reports of demons killing demon slayers and, still, moving on afterwards.
Perhaps it was an instinct of their previous life to migrate somewhere more comfortable, always somewhere else yet always slightly out of reach. If you asked some of the older Demon Slayers, some would say they might be searching for something other than a meal.
"Shinobu-tan." Shinobu started slightly as Kanae broke her out of her musings. Kanae, noticing she had grabbed her sister's attention, continued. "If I recall correctly, the village should be on the other side of this hill." She gestured towards the sharp incline in the road just ahead.
Shinobu blinked. Had she really been that lost in thought? Looking upward at the sky, she answered her own question. While still plenty bright, the sun was late in its arc of the day. It would probably be an hour, an hour and a half at the most, before darkness enveloped the land. They had made good time. "What's the plan, nee-sama?" She asked seriously, focusing on the task at hand.
"Hmmm~." Kanae put a finger to her chin, appearing deep in thought as she looked to the side. A tick mark appeared on Shinobu's temple as Kanae's hum was drawn out by several seconds. "You tell me, Shinobu-tan."
With a sigh, Shinobu tempered her agitation. Her aloof behavior aside, she only knew Kanae wanted to use this as an opportunity for her to become more comfortable making decisions. "We'll get a survey of the village's size when we get to the top of the hill, but for now I can say we'll need to find ourselves a bar or some other such public gathering space where we can get information. We need to figure out if these attacks have a pattern. Age or sex of victims, time of night, location." She finished; brow furrowed in thought. It was probably the only standard operating procedure for staking out an area that a demon was suspected to be operating in.
Kanae nodded. "I agree completely. Prepare to have a rather large area to search, though. For its isolation, I imagine the village would need to be large enough to sustain itself through its own industry."
Shinobu nodded. It made sense. Plus, the more inhabitants, the easier it would be for a demon to snatch away a lone human and be gone before anyone was the wiser until far too late. This, of course, only brought her previous musings up again. She shook her head. That line of thought would need to be shelved for the moment.
At the top of the hill, Kanae's theory was proven correct. The village's boundaries extended to what they estimated to be one kilometer from the river itself and then stretch along the river-line for an additional half of a kilometer in both directions. In short, they had their work cut out for them.
"Ara, best we get started in the daylight, yes?" And with that, they both descended the hill into the village. It was very early in the evening and the usual bustle of traffic was most likely beginning to die down. Even so, there were still plenty of people out and about. Shinobu had expected a tiny, quiet, village based on its description when they had first set out, but this was a lot more active. It would only make finding the demon that much more troublesome.
The smell of fish, both fresh and slightly off, filled their nostrils. Unsurprisingly, fishing seemed to be the village's major export as well as its own internal economy. They walked past dozens of market stalls of fishermen attempting to sell their catches from the morning. At this time of day, however, more than half were already closed. Those still open were just reaching the point of running out of stock, trying to get every last bit of money for their time as possible.
"I imagine there's an inn we can investigate for a lead." Shinobu mused. Kanae nodded. "Depending on how long we might end up staying, securing a room might also not be a bad idea."
"I agree. Even for a couple of hours, respite in a bed sounds lovely." Kanae voiced, smiling.
"I'll ask for directions." Shinobu volunteered, her eyes searching for a couple of seconds before her lavender gaze rested on somebody in front of one of the last few open fish stalls. By the stature and height, Shinobu determined it to be a man. He was dressed in a motsuke koromo - an outfit usually seen worn by travelling monks. The distinct difference was the pants were a dark black, while his top was a very bright orange. A sharp contrast, if she'd ever seen one. Atop his head was a rounded straw hat, extending evenly out in a perfect, dipped, circle. Though with the local industry being focused on manual labor outside, that didn't seem at all unusual. Sure enough, most of the working adults she had spotted so far wore some manner of sun protection on them. The only oddity was a couple of bells that seemed to be attached by a piece of string at the front, just to the right of where you would assume one's normal point of focus to be. He was slightly hunched over the stall, no doubt perusing the last available catches of the day. Behind the stall, the owner was getting a couple of kinks out of a hung-up fishing net and was otherwise occupied. "Excuse me, sir."
The man's body turned slightly, the bells jingling ever so slightly, just enough for Shinobu to recognize he was acknowledging her, though his face was unseen past the brim of his hat. "Yes, young lady?" Was the polite invitation for her to continue.
With a smile she doubted he could even see, Shinobu asked, "Is there an inn my sister and I might see to about lodging for the night?"
The man 'hmm'ed a low, throaty sound that indicated he had not spoken for a while. He cleared his throat before answering. "Yes, ma'am. All you gotta do is follow this road. You'll almost come out the other side of the village, but you'll find one. It'll be on the right."
"Thank you very much, sir. Please, have a good day." Kanae thanked the man in Shinobu's stead, flashing a brilliant smile.
"Excuse me, young ladies." The stall owner spoke up now. It seemed he had turned away from his task just in time to catch them. He leaned forward and placed his palms on his stall, regarding them with a tired, but relieved, smile. "You two wouldn't happen to be... Demon Slayers, would you?" The answer seemed obvious, given their uniformed appearance. Not to mention the presence of their nichirin katanas strapped to their waist.
The jingle of a bell signaled the other gentleman had returned his attention to looking at the fish on display.
"Yes, sir. That is correct." Shinobu answered politely.
"Oh, bless you both. Thank you both for your hard work in keeping people such as myself and my family safe." The man was getting up there in age, most likely in his late forties, but his physical appearance was still of someone who woke up every morning and made his living off his hard work. A graying beard jutted from his chin to his chest, a full head of hair splayed out messily and covered his ears.
"Thank you for your kind words, sir." Kanae smiled pleasantly, closing her eyes and tilting her head slightly at the fisherman. "We do our best for everyone we meet."
Shinobu adopted a more serious demeanor, however. "If you have any information, please do not hesitate to share with us. It is our goal to make sure everyone here is safe."
The man seemed slightly taken aback for some odd reason that Shinobu couldn't readily discern. A few seconds of silence passed, before the older man sighed, shaking his head. "I don't think I know anything that could be of help to you both. I'm hardly here as it is lately with the fishing season coming to a close."
Despite his inability to help, Kanae smiled widely. "Thank you very much, regardless, sir. Please be assured, we're here to help."
The fisherman seemed put at ease by her smile, as noted by his own smile and the slump to his tense shoulders. Shinobu glanced left at her sister in silent admiration, envious of her ability to soothe and reassure those in need. She looked back at the stall owner and said, "We'll let you go about your evening, sir. Thank you again."
Without any form of lead, the two women could only leave in the direction the first man had directed towards the inn. The fisherman watched them leave, before turning his tired gaze to his one and only potential customer. "Sir, if you're not going to buy anything I'm going to close up."
"Of course, apologies; I'll take these." The man with the straw hat gestured to the last row of fish out on display. The fisherman blinked. That was the last of the day's stock. What a stroke of luck.
"Certainly, let me tie those up for you." He knelt down behind his stall to find some rope.
Standing up completely, the man turned his body slightly, facing the direction Shinobu and Kanae had departed seconds prior. He raised a hand to the tip of his straw hat and adjusted it just enough to view the shrinking outlines of the sisters, the two glistening silver bells ringing with each movement.
A toothy grin surfaced on his face, exposing one of his canines. His eyes, blue as the sky, twinkled ever so slightly.
The two demon slayers had kept a watchful eye on their surroundings as they made their way down the road. They tried to look for anything at all that could help with their investigation. Perhaps they would overhear discussion of the attacks? If they were lucky, they could get a location of where someone died and investigate the site. Although, after several minutes of walking both sisters noted something incredibly odd. Everyone seemed very at ease and relaxed for the most part, not at all what you'd expect of an isolated community plagued with the death of innocents at the hands of a demon that would no doubt be somewhere in the dark - resting and strengthening itself for the next hunt.
Nevertheless, people went about the end of their day without a care in the world. Children played in the street, adults greeted each other in passing with wistful smiles, and the atmosphere was eerily tranquil. Observations aside, Shinobu found it prudent to find the inn they had been directed to. Having a clear center to start their search from would make it easier to track and record their own movement, after all. Which led them both to their current situation, having flagged down an older lady to ask for directions once more.
"I'm sorry, may you repeat that young lady?" An older woman asked Shinobu, hunched over her cane.
"Please, we're looking for the inn. We were given directions to this part of town, but we haven't found any indication on where it is exactly." Shinobu repeated her question. They had followed the road, as they were told, and they were almost out of the village. The forest was only a couple hundred meters away at this point. The last bit of sunlight waned in the sky and nightfall was imminent.
The older woman appeared apologetic, much to Shinobu and Kanae's confusion. "I'm sorry, young lady, but I'm not sure who you got your directions from. There's only one inn and it's on the other side of the village. If you came over the hill from the north, you would have walked right past it."
Kanae raised a thin eyebrow, her smile dipping slightly. Shinobu's response was less subtle. A vein bulged in her temple and several tick marks appeared as she grinded her teeth in pure frustration. 'So that fool gave us directions in the complete OPPOSITE DIRECTION?!'
Sensing her sister's ire, Kanae spoke up. "Thank you for your clarification. One more thing, if we may, ma'am?"
The older woman seemed to glance up at the sky for a moment before returning her stare back to Kanae, motioning her to continue. "Yes?"
"I understand the subject is still fresh in your mind and possibly painful to discuss, but are you able to provide us information on the demon attacks from the past couple of nights?" The response only served to completely confuse the two women.
"Demon attacks? Excuse me? I don't get out much anymore in my age, but I haven't heard of any demon attacks here in years." The old woman began to turn, repositioning her cane to assist her balance. "I'll ask you two to not go around asking questions like that without cause, lest you start a panic. Good evening." The lady departed.
Kanae and Shinobu both stared silently as the old woman slowly walked off, her body trembling with each step she took. It was a solid two minutes before she finally rounded a corner out of their line of sight. Finally, the two girls looked at each other, their expressions completely neutral. At least, until-
"Nani/NANI?!"
A half hour passed before the two finally arrived at the inn on the other side of the town. Shinobu's face was beet red in frustration and embarrassment. They had both walked right past this building on their way in and hadn't spared it a second glance, but at night it was obvious given the bustling patronage coming from inside.
They had been lied to by some jerk, causing them both to waste precious time in discerning just what was going on. If Shinobu managed to recognize that man again - someone who most likely had far too much time on his hands to play such a stupid prank - she'd give him an earful. Maybe more, if Kanae didn't put a stop to it.
Kanae, while inwardly agitated at the situation, kept her outward composure. Instead of thinking about the man who had, apparently, intentionally duped them both earlier, her thoughts were on the village and their mission. She recalled the orders her crow had given. 'Three lives lost over three nights at isolated village. Depart immediately and prepare for combat.' Were they given false information? By a Kasugai Crow? Her crow was not the type at all to play a joke anywhere near as dangerous as that. Was the crow's source of information faulty? So many questions circled in her head.
"I swear, if I see him again, I'm going to-"
"Shinobu." Kanae addressed her sister suddenly and without her usual playfulness. Shinobu snapped back to the situation. "We'll acquire a room for the night. After we do so, we'll question the innkeeper as well as a few patrons. We need information right now. Our goal is to either confirm or deny that woman's claims - something that will be easy enough to do after questioning only a couple of the locals. If it is true, then we will do a courtesy patrol of the village until daybreak while I send for more information from the corps. If not, then our original mission stands."
"Hai, nee-sama." Shinobu vocalized her affirmative sharply.
Luckily for them, there was still lodging to accommodate both of them. The main source of business was obviously the bar on the ground floor. Pocketing the key to their rented lodging, Kanae and Shinobu began to question a few of the locals. From the barkeep to a few of the patrons, sober or otherwise, the consensus was unanimous.
"Demon attacks? Here?"
"A bit too much to drink, eh?"
"You look like you haven't had enough to drink. Care to join me?"
Kanae's brow furrowed. Unless something was seriously wrong with the villagers' perception of reality, all seemed well. The only information about a demon attack at all was one that happened a couple of years ago, but even then, Demon Slayers had apparently been dispatched to investigate. The whole situation was uncomfortably vexing.
"I've heard nothing to discredit what we were told earlier, nee-sama. Everyone is in agreement; there hasn't been a demon issue here for a couple of years." Shinobu broke Kanae of her thoughts.
"That is what I've determined as well." Kanae nodded. She allowed a soft smile to grace her features, but she was still concerned. "I'll send word back for an explanation. I shudder to think we were sent to the wrong village." It sounded like a silly mistake, but a lethal one. And mistakes happen from time to time. "For now, we'll do a patrol of the village and ensure all is quiet."
"Should we split up?" Shinobu asked, following her sister as they made for the exit.
"Hmm." Kanae hummed. "We'll stay together for now."
"Hai."
(Midnight)
That night was especially dark. The moon's current position left it barely visible, hardly any light provided to the world beneath. On top of that, an overcast had appeared to set in. It was already humid being so close to the ocean, but it was noticeable in the air that it would no doubt be raining by daybreak. All in all - it was a dreary, dark, and quiet night for the isolated village. The perfect killing ground.
"Hehehee~. A feast has been set out for me tonight~. Yes, indeed~." Atop one of the tallest trees in the surrounding forest sat a shadowy figure, perfectly balanced on one foot as his eyes hungrily took in the sight of the village. Dotted randomly throughout the streets and alleys were faintly glowing lamps, moving slowly to indicate several humans out of their homes walking the dark streets. Alone or in pairs was yet to be determined. "How could I possibly search on an empty stomach~? So many little lambs giving themselves up to the wolf~. Hehehee~."
Jumping from its perch, the demon landed on the grass below silently. Standing to its full height of two meters, the demon licked its lips - the elongated appendage wetting its dry lips efficiently. The demon was pointedly male. Its skin a dirty gray, arms disproportionately long compared to its torso as its fingertips stopped past its knees, almost to its shin. Its exposed muscles rippled with each movement, veins looking near to burst. Unkempt, jet black, hair stopped at its shoulders - parted slightly from the piercing horns that protruded from its temples. Finally, its eyes; blood red sclera with piercing black pupils, shrunk to the absolute limit as they helped themselves to the view ahead of them.
Engraved on its left eye was the kanji for 'Lower Moon Four', signifying this demon's position as the 10th strongest demon currently alive. Its smile became unnaturally wide, seconds before it disappeared completely from view.
(With Kanae and Shinobu)
"What are you thinking, nee-sama?" Shinobu's question broke the silence of the night. The two women walked in unison with each other side by side. The night had been calm thus far, but the occasional gusts of wind were becoming more frequent as the weather set in. They'd been out patrolling the streets for a few hours now with the only other signs of life being the occasional night owl that passed them, dipping their heads respectfully as they passed holding their lamps to light their way.
"I think I would very much like to try the tempura the bar was serving when we return for the night." Kanae remarked with a smile, practically beaming at her younger sister. Shinobu's brow twitched.
"Nee-sama..." She trailed off, exasperated. Sometimes it really did feel as if Kanae was immune to being stressed or anxious.
"Hehehe~." Kanae giggled at her sister's expense, but answered Shinobu's actual question, nonetheless. "Unfortunately, there is little more to be done at the moment. I am waiting to hear back from my crow with an update. Until then, all we can do is be vigilant, yes?"
Shinobu turned and stared at her sister's smiling face and was, once again, put at ease. 'She's right. I'm letting myself get too distracted with my thoughts. The most we can do right now is stay calm and wait for further orders.'
"Besides, if this really is a misunderstanding, then think of the whole thing as an opportunity to stretch your legs. We had been cooped up in the mansion for a while, hadn't we?" Kanae continued.
"Ever since you got promoted." Shinobu noted, nodding her head. With a cough, a light red dusting her cheeks, she said, "Um... perhaps I had been hoping this mission would be... more eventful; to give you the chance to show you have what it takes to be promoted to Hashira." Shinobu took great pride in being Kanae's sister, so much so that the idea of Kanae reaching the rank of Hashira almost felt as her own achievement, let alone Kanae's. Shinobu would truly relish the opportunity to be her nee-sama's tsuguko.
Kanae laughed at Shinobu's statement, which only served to brighten the girl's blush further. "How lucky I am to have such a considerate imouto cheering for me."
"Kanae-nee..." Shinobu groaned out, averting her eyes back to the road. Again, Kanae giggled, hiding her smile behind her hand as her eyes peaked at Shinobu.
"That said, I'm not ready to walk alongside the Hashira. Perhaps someday, but I've a long way to go." She stated truthfully, lowering her hand back to her side. Kanae seemed completely unbothered by her own words, as if she had accepted it as just another inconvenience to overcome.
"A lot of the younger demon slayers really respect you. I think your promotion would be welcomed by many." Shinobu stated as a matter of fact with a curt nod of her head.
"Then all I can do is ensure I do not let them down. I will step up into a position as needed of me when I am fully capable of doing so." The statement was just as, perhaps more, matter of fact than Shinobu's had been. "You'll promise me, Shinobu, that if the opportunity arises for you to become a tsuguko, you'll strongly consider it? Even if, perhaps, it is not your preference?"
Shinobu was silent for a few moments. She knew Kanae was just trying to keep an eye on her sister's personal and professional growth. Having the chance to be taught as an apprentice by one of the Hashira was one of the greatest honors a young demon slayer could earn. It, quite literally, meant one of the strongest human swordsmen alive saw the potential in you to take their place. For a corps steeped in tradition and principle, it would probably be viewed as a great disrespect to deny a Hashira's request to grant their tutelage. That being said, Shinobu couldn't picture herself training under anyone other than Kanae. It didn't stop her from saying, "Of course, nee-sama. I promise to view an invitation practically over emotionally."
Kanae seemed satisfied with the response and opened her mouth to say more.
"AHHHHH!"
A shrill scream pierced through the quiet night. Kanae and Shinobu were immediately put on alert. They both had simultaneously put a hand on their katana's grip, though kept them sheathed.
"This way!" Kanae ordered quickly, jumping to a rooftop and rapidly setting off in the direction of the scream. Shinobu followed behind her sister as she took the lead. Hardly a hundred meters away was the source of the disturbance. From a rooftop, one could look down into one of the alleys and see two figures. One stood up, hunched to the point where its abnormally long arms allowed its fingertips to brush against the dirt. The other was on the ground, desperately crawling away.
"Hehehee~. Don't scream, little one~. Existence is behind you now~." The demon drawled out in its deceptively sing-song voice. It took a couple of menacing steps forward and, with the intent to kill, brought its arm down on the woman. Its hand was open completely as if to smash the human like she was an annoying bug.
The demon's playtime was interrupted, however. A sharp pain filled his senses, and he was forced to take a large leap back from his position. Landing silently, hunched down on the soles of his feet. He looked at his hand and saw the entire upper half of it was gone, sliced cleanly through and leaving but half of his thumb remaining attached. Looking back ahead, his teeth grinded.
Kanae stood in the middle of the road, regarding the demon with a relaxed poise. Her nichirin katana was currently sheathed, though her dominant hand lay rested on its hilt. Behind her, Shinobu could be seen helping the demon's prey to her feet.
"You miserable meat sacks!" The demon hissed sharply, its body vibrating rapidly as its breathing picked up to an inhuman level. It was beyond furious at having its meal interrupted.
"Ara, ara.~" Kanae started, purposefully inciting more of the demon's ire. "Did we interrupt something?"
'What are the odds?! How?!' The demon didn't reply verbally, still inhaling and exhaling rapidly as if in some sort of technique to calm its blood rage. 'No one could have known I was coming! This pathetic maggot nest should be at the back of everyone's mind! Was my hunch just these pathetic little girls?!' Question after question swirled in the demon's mind. It stopped suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped in its head. Its long smile returned after a couple of seconds. "Hehehee~. How appropriate~. A pair of demon slayers offering themselves up as sustenance, as it should be~."
The demon had taken a couple of seconds to analyze the situation. These two girls were much smaller than him. They also had a distinct lack of attire that would otherwise suggest they were Hashira. As far as the demon was concerned, this could only mean his meal was about to get much more nutritious.
By now, Shinobu had led the woman to safety, having opened the door to a house nearby and placed the terrified woman inside. She didn't particularly care if the house belonged to her or not. She was out of immediate danger and appeared uninjured otherwise. "Kanae-nee, I'm here." She announced, landing back down at her sister's side.
Kanae nodded, bring a foot forward to adopt a more ready stance. Shinobu placed herself a couple paces back, offset her sister, her own weapon drawn finally. It was clear by their position Kanae would lead the attack. Shinobu's role was to watch for openings and capitalize on them. More often than not, a demon slayer could find themselves working alone. It added a great deal of additional security adding just one partner alongside you. And the two sisters were especially dangerous as a unit.
Without further words spoken between the two, Kanae moved forward ready to make the first strike. "Hana no kokyū, Ichi no kata: Toge no kizu(Flower Breathing, First Form: The Thorn Wounds)!" Heavily inspired by the samurai's laijutsu, Kanae attempted to end the confrontation swiftly. From her sheath, Kanae unleashed a single sword slash at her opponent aimed right at the demon's neck. Despite the demon's size, he moved out of reach easily. Using its long arms, it followed up its dodge with a wide swipe at Kanae. The graceful woman jumped up, however, dodging the strike. "Hana no kokyū, Roku no kata: Uzumomo(Sixth Form, Whirling Peach)!" Using both gravity and twisting her body, Kanae rapidly spun and unleashed another slash at her opponent.
The demon retracted its long arms into itself to defend. Its forearms guarded its neck, with one placed over the other in a very tight 'x'. Its front arm was cut through, but Kanae's momentum had been stopped by his second arm, her blade lodged halfway into its meaty forearm. Before it could use the opportunity, however, Kanae suddenly displaced herself a few steps backward.
"Mushi no kokyū, Chō no mai: Tawamure(Insect Breathing, Butterfly Dance: Caprice)!" The demon barely had time to dodge as Shinobu attempted to strike from above. It had leapt back a great deal, landing and sliding on the ground several feet before its momentum stopped. Shinobu 'tch'ed as she assumed another ready stance.
"Almost, Shinobu-tan!" Kanae commended, readying to continue the engagement. "It gets better every time I see it!"
'Not good enough, though.' Shaking her head, Shinobu focused on the battle. The time for self-criticism would come later.
"Hehehee~. Entertain me more~." The demon spoke again, smiling widely. Its arm and hand had just finished reforming. Kanae noted the speed in which its limbs replaced themselves. They weren't dealing with a demon of notable strength, it would seem. She estimated it took the demon a full ten seconds before any lost limbs would be restored. That was an incredible amount of time in the heat of battle to be allowed to strike. Even alone, this demon would have been a quick and efficient kill.
"Ara, what a playful individual~." Kanae noted with a giggle. "I have no choice but to oblige."
The demon attacked this time, jumping forward and bringing its arms into the air. It was telegraphing its next strike very loudly and, easily enough, both Kanae and Shinobu dodged as it landed and smashed the ground where they had been standing. From both sides, the sisters encircled and brought their weapons down with the intent if dismembering the demon again.
Suddenly, the demon moved - standing on its two hands. Spinning quickly, its legs lashed out to strike at the two violently. Kanae and Shinobu both had to bring their weapons up in defense. Kanae was knocked back several feet, bracing herself on the ground to steady herself. Shinobu, however, was knocked back into a wooden wall. It was Shinobu the demon decided to followthrough on. Lurching forward, the demon landed on its feet again, swinging its massive arms up and over its body to bring down on Shinobu.
With barely a second to react, Shinobu rapidly sidestepped and was pushed back from the sheer force as the demon completely demolished the wall, kicking up debris and dust everywhere. When Shinobu attempted to pierce her sword forward to inject the demon, she was completely taken by surprise when it fell to the ground, its body completely flat.
The demon gripped the earth with its large hand, the ground cracking as it did so, and launched itself forward. Its other hand, completely open, completely took up Shinobu's line of sight, the hand mere inches from her face. Shinobu gasped, her eyes widening, unable to react in time before her head would be crushed the demon's grip.
The demon howled in both pain and anger as it was relieved of its outstretched arm. "Please do not neglect me~." Kanae taunted with her usual sing-song voice. With a roar of frustration, their opponent let go of the earth and landed back on its feet. It spun its body rapidly and tried to kick Kanae. Kanae ducked underneath the kick but was forced to bring her guard up. The demon continued his spin and used it as momentum to slam his other foot into Kanae's chest. Luckily, the flat of her blade cushioned and otherwise deflected the majority of the momentum but it was enough to force her back. With visible relief, she saw Shinobu had used the moment to gain some ground between herself and the monster again. 'Seven... eight... nine...' The demons missing arm was again replaced and it clenched its fist dangerously as if to flex menacingly at the woman. 'Nine seconds. It's a brute, but it has strength and it's surprisingly limber for its stature. I'll have to create an opening for Shinobu. If I can cut both of its arms off at once, that should be all she needs.'
Shinobu joined Kanae's side once again. "It's slow to regenerate, nee-sama."
"We have a nine second window after relieving the offending limbs to finish this." Kanae confirmed. "Its arms are quite thick, and it has used them to defend itself multiple times - it also seems to favor the use of its arms for mobility in a tight spot over its legs." She noted to Shinobu, who nodded and compiled everything her sister was saying. "I'll remove both its arms at once, you will do the rest, ne?" Kanae with a smile.
"Hai!" Shinobu affirmed sharply, preparing her stance once again to capitalize on whatever opening she was presented with. With that, Kanae dashed back in to exchange blows with their assailant.
Her sister and the demon exchanged strikes rapidly, but Shinobu's eyes managed to follow their movements with practiced precision. The demon did its best to haphazardly swap between fighting with its hands and its feet, performing wildly lashing strikes, extending its reach impressively each time it sought to fight atop while balanced on its hands. Kanae seemed calm, her expression focused and parrying each strike fluidly. It was little wonder why Flower Breathing derived from Water Breathing, given how efficiently Kanae moved herself to meet the demon's onslaught
The demon's arms shot out to his side, stretched completely, before swinging forward quickly almost as if he wanted to hug his opponent. It was slow, however, notably more than previous attacks. Regardless, Kanae took the opening. "Hana no kokyū, San no kata: Saku(Third Form: Bloom)." Her katana flickered several times in the span of a couple of seconds as she leapt back. She landed, steadying herself, before lunging forward to strike again. The demon prepared itself again but stopped and widened its eyes. His hands were mutilated. Starting from the web of skin between his fingers almost down to his wrist, large cuts appeared. Without skin and muscle connecting them, his hands fell apart, the bits of finger-tipped flesh dangling uselessly. "Hana no kokyū, Shi no kata: Beni Hanagoromo(Fourth Form, Crimson Flower)!" With an elegant strike that seemed to leave a streak in the air of her sword's path, both of the demon's arms were lopped off, easy targets as extended as they were from the demon's body.
Shinobu had read her sister's intentions and had already positioned herself to strike before Kanae had even unleashed her final attack. Already airborne, she saw the demon's arms get cut off once more. 'One... two...' With her blade poised like a stinger, she descended quickly, preparing to inject the demon with a healthy dose of her wisteria poison to end the conflict. 'Three... four...' The demon's eyes were wide, sweat dripping down its head as it seemed to realize it was entirely unable to defend itself. 'Five...' The demon's eyes narrowed, a wide grin appearing on its face.
"Hehehee~." Its arms sprout out suddenly, completely restored. Shinobu's eyes widened and tried to maneuver herself back, but she was well within range of the demon's massive arm-span. Faster than either Kanae or Shinobu had seen it do of yet, the demon swung its arms in. Its left arm struck Shinobu's legs, its right arm, her shoulders.
Shinobu's body did only two complete rotations mid-air before the demon slapped her body down violently into the ground.
"Shinobu!" Kanae cried out, her eyes wide and her calm battle facade dropping. A rare moment of righteous fury overcame her as she watched her little sister get smashed into the ground and she leapt forward to try another attack. "Hana no kokyū, Go no kata: Ada no-(Fifth Form: Peonies of-)!"
"Chiratsuki~(Flicker)." The demon vanished from Kanae's sight. Her eyes widened.
'Blood Demon Arts? But it shouldn't be strong enough to-.' "Agh!" Kanae let out a cry of pain as she felt a punch strike her from behind, striking her shoulder so hard it forced the bone out of its socket. She jumped to the side, both to get distance from her opponent and to try and drag the fight away from Shinobu's body. She appeared to still be conscious, if only breathing raggedly and with wide yes, sweat dripping down her face.
The demon responded to her movement by disappearing again. Kanae's instincts screamed at her and she only just barely managed to block another powerful blow from the monster. Her reaction had been enough for her nichirin to bear the majority of the force, but the remainder transferred through to her and sent her backwards into the thick wooden wall. She had clipped the corner of the building and her right arm tried to continue without her, eventually breaking backwards. Her eyes widened and several globs of saliva were forced from her mouth as she struck the building, creating creaks in the wood, before falling down to the ground.
"Hehehee~. I don't get to toy with demon slayers too often~. I had to drag it out~." The demon returned to its normal behavior, its voice becoming singsong, condescending the fallen Flower Breathing user. Kanae grunted as she tried to bring herself to stand up again, looking up at the demon with a glare as her shaky hands tried to push herself up. The demon knelt down, balancing on its heels again. Its long arm slowly came to its own face, opening its eyelid for further inspection and smiling wildly.
Kanae gasped softly. The kanji for Lower Four stared at her, almost mockingly. "Lower Four." She breathed out, trying to regain her breath.
"You could never win~. Your dancing only served to whet my appetite~." The demon's expression was maniacal, its smile somehow managing to get wider and wider. Its breath was ragged, but obviously not from exhaustion. If anything, it seemed to be deriving sick pleasure from the situation. Kanae's glare only served to entice it further. "Such disdain~. Your hatred is beautiful, Little Flower~."
From the ground behind them, Shinobu stared through the demon's legs at her sister. She could feel her broken ribs and right arm. Shinobu looked at said arm, covered in its sleeve, and noticed that something was trying to poke out from the sleeve. A compound fracture. It flared her entire body with raw pain as she tried to move it. She was completely helpless to do anything.
The demon raised his arms up, planning on smashing Kanae into paste. Frantically trying to move, her entire body screaming in defiance, Shinobu's eyes returned to her sister, and she gasped to realize Kanae was staring at her. While Shinobu couldn't hear, she could make out her older sister's words as she silently mouthed, "gomen nesai", accompanied with a smile. Kanae had closed her eyes while Shinobu silently screamed out her sister's name.
Jingle~.
The demon stopped as it heard the distinct sound of bells jingling together. With a curious gaze, it slowly turned its body and looked at the source of the interrupt. Standing not but a few feet away from them was a man; clad in a black and orange mostuke koromo. A curious straw hat rested atop his head, despite there being no practical reason to wear one. It was night after all.
Kanae opened her eyes as well and looked over, inspecting the man who had interrupted her imminent death. 'When did...?' She coughed a couple of times, before trying to gesture with her unbroken arm. "Sir, please evacuate! Ngh!" Of course, her unbroken arm was the one that been, literally, punched out of its socket not even a couple minutes prior. Shinobu could do nothing but stare, her body still trembling as she furiously tried to stand.
The demon, curiously enough, had yet to move since landing his eyes on the anonymous individual. 'I didn't sense... how... and why am...?' It felt as if every single nerve in his body was alight in rage. It felt itself growing furious, as if he was seeing red. "Who~?" It still managed to speak in its usual tone of condescending indifference, but its jaw was clenched tightly, exposing its rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Without a word, but with a jingle of his hat, the man suddenly stepped to Shinobu. He leaned down on one knee and craned forward so Shinobu could see him without having to move her head. He adjusted his hat enough to reveal his face. Shinobu was greeted by the sight of a pair of beautiful cerulean orbs staring at her softly, a sad grin on his face. She didn't even register the six whisker marks on his cheeks, three on each side. "What a relief... you're alive." He breathed a sigh of relief, closing his eyes as if thankful for the circumstances. He opened them again after a moment and spoke again. "You both did your best. I'm sorry." Shinobu had no idea who this man was, where he came from, or why on Earth he was apologizing to her with such a solemn expression on his face. All Shinobu knew was she felt a calm overtake her like nothing had ever before. It made her want to try and direct him away from the danger, to stand up and protect him like a Demon Slayer should to an innocent, to do ANYTHING other than lie on the ground in a broken mess before him. With several groans, she attempted to bring herself back up
"Shh." The man placed a hand on her head, gently pushing her back down to rest. She looked back up to try and see his face again, vying for any form of explanation. Her breath hitched as he smiled warmly, his eyes softening further as if he were regarding a long, lost, family member. He stroked her hair, matted as it was in dirt and grime. "It's time to rest." Just like that, Shinobu felt placated. She couldn't even begin to describe the overwhelming feeling of comfort she was experiencing. Being in the presence of Ubuyashiki-sama was the only comparable experience, and even then she wanted nothing more right now than to go to sleep with a smile on her face.
"...Hai." Shinobu did as she was instructed and stopped struggling.
The man stood up and turned to the demon, his straw hat back down again to obscure his face. The demon, interestingly enough, had yet to move a muscle.
As the man walked away to face the demon, Shinobu wanted desperately to grab at his pants, his sandals, his hands, ANYTHING to keep him from leaving. 'Stop! Don't!' She couldn't bear to see someone who seemed so at peace face their death. Not for her.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to cease and desist." The tone was patronizing, stated almost in a joking manner, but held a warning that anyone with even a semi-decent grasp of their survival instincts could easily pick up on. 'You are seconds from death.'
The demon clenched its fist and faced the man fully. "You will join these two as a puddle of flesh to stain the earth!" It roared, anger overtaking it completely.
"He's incredibly strong, but also incredibly fast! His speed makes it seem as though he is teleporting!" Despite the futility of the situation, Kanae felt obligated to warn the man of the demon's abilities. If nothing could be said to sway his position of helping them, the least she could do is help him understand the threat.
"Teleport, huh? How exciting! Let's see it, then." The man made a 'welcome' gesture with a hand, casually inviting the demon to display its abilities. The demon's anger spiked further.
"Chiratsuki(Flicker)!" He disappeared from sight.
"RUN!" Shinobu finally managed to muster up enough strength to scream at the man, right before the unthinkable happened. The man stepped to the side casually, his arm extended back over his shoulder. With an open palm, he caught the clenched fist of the Lower Four. Kanae and Shinobu's jaw dropped. Firmly grasping the demon's fist, the man swung the entire demon over his body and slammed it into the ground.
The second action he made confused Kanae and Shinobu greatly, until their eyes widened even further. The man jumped forward and seemed to kick the air in front of him. Instead of a quiet 'woosh' to accompany, the distinct sound of a sandalled foot meeting flesh was heard. The dirt in front of him was disturbed, as if something was being dragged through it, before it stopped several feet away from him.
After a moment, a second demon appeared, picking itself up off of the ground. "How did you-?"
"You aren't that fast, are you?" The man interrupted. You could tell by his tone he was speaking through a grin. "Lemme guess, you can use your Blood Arts to create a clone of yourself? You also seem very proficient in using your Arts to conceal yourself." He turned slightly, keeping an eye on the two threats to his front and back - one a demon, the other revealed to be a clone. "You can extend that shroud over yourself or a target of your choice, but you can only completely mask one thing at a time, right? You're not teleporting, you're just using sleight of hand to make it seem like you are, when really there's two of you." All the while, the demon's veins were near to bursting on its forehead at being seen through so easily. The clone, for its part, did not appear angry in the slightest, signaling it being merely a simulacrum of the Lower Four. The man continued. "Not bad, not bad. You could have ended this before it started if you'd been less interested in toying with your victims. Or perhaps you can't perform a lethal attack while concealed? No matter. That mistake will cost you your life."
"So, you've discovered the extent of my abilities?! It changes nothing! You'll be able to tell the rest of the filth in the afterlife how you died!" The demon roared, both it and the clone sprinting towards the man.
Easily enough, the man leapt over the true demon, landing on the other side. Now, both of them were in front of him rather than his flanks. They chased after him, away from the two wounded demon slayers on the ground. Replicating its previous style, the front demon balanced itself on its hands again, both his arms bent to allow him to rest close to the ground, its legs serving as its weapons. Simultaneously, the clone sought to use its extensive reach to fill the offensive gaps the original couldn't with its legs. In other words, a merciless onslaught of attacks given with the intent to kill.
In an impressive display of physical conditioning and flexibility, the straw-hatted man either blocked or deflected each strike easily. With a mixture of his feet, knees, or elbows, he kept himself out of harm's way. Their movement was almost a blur to Kanae and Shinobu, which made the next action seem that much more sudden. The man's position suddenly 'snapped', and he held his arm outstretched, palming the stomach of the first demon viciously and doubling it over in agony. The clone behind the original attempted to step over its host and continue its assault. The man's response was much more violent.
He grabbed the clone's fist and punched its elbow with his other hand, breaking the limb in on itself. The clone gave no sign of discomfort, instead merely trying to use his other fist to attack. At least, it tried to. With a jump and a spin of his body the man shouted, "Konoha Senpuu(Leaf Whirlwind)!" His right leg, strengthened by inertia with the full rotation of his body, kicked the clone right in the temple. The action severed the head cleanly from the rest of the body.
'He doesn't wear the uniform, nor is he fighting with a nichirin blade. He can't be a demon slayer. Then, how...' The clone's head landed and rolled for a few seconds before coming to a stop. The man stood back up straight, returning to a relaxed stance casually. 'How is he able to fight a demon of this caliber?!' Shinobu yelled mentally. She glanced over to her sister and saw that she, too, was watching with complete shock at the events unfolding before them.
The clone's head, and body, dissolved into blood. The viscous substance plopped onto the ground and slowly began to lose its viscosity as the dirt soaked it up greedily. The original, and now sole, demon was just as taken aback as the demon slayers were. "Who are you?!" It demanded fiercely, eyes boring its hatred into his prey.
The man sighed. "Let's wrap this up. My friends need medical attention." He spoke, completely disregarding the demon's query. It only served to further the demon's rage. It turned suddenly, changing tactics, towards Shinobu. He made to grab her head with one of his large hands.
In response, the man blurred. He reappeared in between the two, his back to Shinobu. In his hand, he held the demon's wrist. Struggle as it might, the limb would not be moving unless it was willed by this stranger. The demon made to move but then, it saw.
In the sharp and sudden movement, the man had neglected to brace his straw hat and it now hung down his back, dangling loosely in the breeze. It revealed the face of a young man, who looked naught a day over 20, his piercing blue gaze boring into the demon's crimson. His short, blonde, hair rustled in the wind. At this proximity, you could tell the whiskers on his face were not tattoos or a form of mascara, yet shallow indentations in his flesh.
The demon trembled violently, yet not as if trying to pry himself away. "I-I-I..." To Shinobu and Kanae's confusion, the demon stuttered, tongue-tied and flustered. Their confusion multiplied over what happened next. "I FOUND HIM! MASTER! HE'S HERE! MASTER!" The demon frantically shouted and screamed to the sky, its eyes glancing around frantically, as if something primordial had awakened in it. It tore its arm at the elbow, escaping the blonde's grasp, and turned around as if to flee.
Without warning, the now revealed blonde blurred, appearing ahead of the demon crouched over. The tell-tale sound of a sword being returned to its sheath followed. The demons body slumped to its knees and toppled over, its head bouncing off his own torso and rolling away. Fully expecting nothing to come of it, Shinobu and Kanae found themselves flabbergasted once more as the demon's body began to deteriorate, indicating he had been decapitated by a nichirin sword.
Sighing, the blond stood up and approached Kanae, who was the more readily able to speak of the two. "Who... are you?" She questioned, her eyes wide and staring at his features.
Rather than answering her question, he knelt down in front of her and grabbed her left arm, the one that had been dislocated. Kanae hissed sharply, prompting him to be a tad gentler. "I can reset this." He offered softly. "It will bring you relief sooner than later." Much like Shinobu had experienced earlier, Kanae was soothed by his words, her posture slumping slightly.
The thought confused her greatly, yet she was taken aback by the overwhelming sensation of trust she felt she could place into this man. With a grimace, pursing her lips, she nodded. "Mhm." At his direction, she laid down slowly, her arm outstretched completely at her side. The man grabbed her wrist with one hand and placed his other near the top of her bicep. Feeling his way, he aligned the bone with the socket. With both hands, he gave her arm a few short pumps, each one agitating Kanae greatly and causing her discomfort. The final one was accompanied by a snap. She sucked in a large amount of oxygen to keep herself from exclaiming the pain.
"Use your uniform as a sling." The blonde ordered. "You can walk. Your partner can't and needs more immediate medical attention." Kanae gasped.
'Shinobu.' She made to stand up, the action sending a jolt of pain through her body in defiance.
"Slowly. She will live, but she needs her wounds tended to immediately." The blonde assured her, helping her to her feet slowly.
"My sister." Kanae groaned out. The blonde looked between the two briefly. He could immediately see the resemblance.
"I'll show you both to the doctor's." The blonde assured Kanae. Despite everything that had transpired the past half hour, the woman allowed a playful smile to grace her beautiful face.
"Like you showed us to the inn?" She asked innocently, her eyes closed as she smiled. A chuckle of genuine amusement followed, the man scratching the back of his neck as a sheepish tick. He led her over to Shinobu and he knelt down by the smaller girl.
"I'm going to mind your injuries as best I can, but I need to get you moved somewhere safe before the adrenaline wears off. Okay?" He explained calmly. Shinobu looked between her and Kanae, before nodding her affirmative. Without another word, the blonde began positioning her for transport. Placing Shinobu on her back, he scooped her up in a bridal carry, ensuring her broken arm was at least on the outside and not pressed between their bodies. Kanae made sure to secure Shinobu's weapon as well.
"I... did it..." The blonde stood up, jostling Shinobu lightly who could only groan in indignation. He turned around and stared down at the head solemnly. By now, the body had disappeared. Its head seemed near completely faded away, its mouth the only remaining piece. He said nothing, only watching the head slowly disappear before him. It was a sight he was no stranger to. Not by any stretch of the imagination. It said nothing for a few seconds, before, "Kaa-san... I... couldn't find... any friends... so I made one up... kaa-san... I'm not alone... now."
Kanae studied the man's expression and noted the blonde's reaction to the mouth's final words. He seemed almost... sad? "Quickly. This way." He said abruptly, turning and taking long strides to leave the area behind them. Kanae followed him, matching his urgency through her own injuries.
Shinobu's eyes grew heavy as she was transported, taking in the unnatural, soothing, aura of the man's body. "Ano... what's your name...?" She managed.
The blonde looked down at the woman cradled in his arms. Flashing a grin at her, he gave his answer. "Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."
"Naruto..." Shinobu mumbled, seconds before sleep claimed her.
And that's a wrap for chapter 1. As anyone's first introduction to the story, I hope it did the job of grabbing your attention. I hope you noticed a couple of things said here and there that stood out to you. It will all be explained as we progress. For now, all I ask is you leave your thoughts in a review. Praises, critiques, flames? I'll take them all, to be honest. I haven't had the spark to write in years, not since returning from Afghanistan, and I will shoulder anything you give me and take it to heart. I truly want to provide a fantastic storytelling experience for you all.
Not much else to say but this: I have not read ahead on the manga, I am strictly viewing Demon Slayer in its anime potrayal. I respect the music, animation, and fucking EVERYTHING too much to not. That being said, my lovely and humble beta, Lazruth, HAS read and finished the manga. So, if there's any glaring and crucial facts overlooked that I am simply not aware of, he will correct me tactfully.
I would like to say before I leave that a couple of stories in the NarutoxDemon Slayer category helped me get that last little push to put my thoughts to paper and create this story. Those are:
In Caring Arms - written by CrimsonTale
Once a Shinobi Now a Demon Slayer - Uninspiredusername101
Should either of you read this, I hope it is okay to give you some publicity. Thank you for the inspiration.
I'll see you all in the next chapter! Hopefully not in a few years, ne?