I honestly didn't expect this to get as much traction in one day that this did, so I'm happy! Anyways, here's chapter 3. I planned on posting this like, not this soon but holy hell, did y'all see the recent Babylonia episode? Because King Hassan is Metal as Fuck and I really, really love it. Anyways, here we go.
Ptl: Musashi will not be learning breath techniques in the traditional sense. She'll be observing the others, as any fighter would, but we won't be seeing an official "breath of the void" like "breath of Water" or "breath of flowers". I'm also not going to go too deep into EoR or Musashi's promotional quest, she might mention it some, but it's not a primary focus on the story. If I do decide to have her go into detail about it, it'll be in a oneshot book that pertains to this one and a possible other FGO/KnY fanfiction that I have sorta outlined. Bit harder that one is to do, but I digress. I chose our female protag because I find her more interesting (I don't know what it is, but male protag just feels blander) and also the Manga is great. Also, Also, I use female Ritsuka in my game. So yeah. Musashi is also one of the best girls! I love her and Quetzalcoatl and Gorgon a lot.
Yolea Irk: I agree, Shirou and Emiya are both overused. I like writing and using underappreciated characters as a form of character study— also I rarely see my favorites as characters since all of them are the more underrated ones. Hence why of all fate characters that would have been easy to insert into BNHA, I chose Chiron instead of the obvious "hero" Shirou Emiya. I haven't read any Pixiv stories (not bilingual, sadly, so I can't really read them and translate is wonky af), but that sounds interesting. Musa will only have one love interest, but she will be very friendly with a few others. Anyways, I'm glad you like it!
Reversus12: I'm glad you like it. I was a bit worried about writing for KnY since this is the first time I've done so, but I mean I've been following the manga for a while and decided to act on the idea that hit me.
Kancolle Haruna Chan and hewittlemming: Aw thanks!
The Rapture: Aye!
Icantfindagoodusername: Musashi does what she wants lol
Kanroji Mitsuri and Kocho Shinobu were both, without a doubt, adorable and beautiful.
Musashi decided that within the first few moments of meeting them while she was at the Butterfly Estate. Kocho was the Insect Pillar while Kanroji was the Love Pillar and formerly trained under Rengoku— and the two of them were both glad to have another woman on board with the Pillars. Kocho had said something about being able to deal with the pigheaded brawling, but Musashi had told her that she wasn't sure how much of that she'd be able to stop since she also liked fighting.
Kanorji said something about how her spirit was 'lovely' and then she hugged her.
Both women had taken her tale in stride. Kanroji had been disbelieving, but not out of mistrust, and was very curious about it while Kocho had been a bit suspicious and seemed to have been waiting for a punchline. She eventually accepted what Musashi said as truth before she went on her way to patch up a few of Rengoku's scratches he had gotten from that bramble patch he had fallen into. His hands and neck got pretty scratched up, and he had a shallow scratch right above his left eye, it wasn't too serious, but it did need to be taken care of.
Kanorji seemed to find that hilarious and Musashi didn't blame her. She had seen it happen.
The two women were quite different, despite their friendship, Musashi observed. While Kocho was a gentle, yet terrifying individual (that smile of hers was enough for Musashi to promise not to ever cause too much trouble if she could help it), Kanroji was much more like herself in a way.
A strong woman who loved food.
Musashi liked Kanroji.
Next to Rengoku, she was probably the favorite of the ones she had met so far. Not that she didn't like Kocho— she did. It was Shinazugawa who she didn't like.
The white-haired Wind Pillar had been grudgingly at the Butterfly Estate for a pain killer or something when she and Rengoku arrived. The first thing he did was ask her if she was Rengoku's bitch. Musashi wasn't one to normally be bothered by vulgarity, but rather it was the way he said it. As if she was nothing at all.
She had her pride still, and even when Rengoku— forever smiling, it seemed— had calmly explained that she was to be the newest Pillar and introduced the white-haired man, he had only sneered.
Musashi didn't like Shinazugawa, she decided then and there.
He was the type to step over people's beliefs and scorn them for being weaker than him. She recognized his talent at a glance, but she only hoped that he knew when to quit was. Both Rengoku and Kanroji had apologized to her on his behalf, though she told him that it wasn't a big deal. Which was a lie, because all she really wanted to do was punch his face in. Shinobu only shook her head with an exasperated look.
"Sooo, what are you gonna do about a uniform? Are you planning on wearing a haori?" Kanroji had been asking her as she waited on the engawa of the estate.
Rengoku had offered her a place to stay for the time being, though she had declined at first, saying that she'd be fine out and around on her own, but he was persistent. She caved in, but on the condition that she got to stay up on the roof for the time being. She wanted to see the stars tonight and see if they had changed at all. He had agreed, though reluctantly.
"Uniform?" she asked and the pink and green haired woman nodded, humming.
"Yep. All the Demon Slayers wear one," she said, indicating to the black attire she wore, "Shinobou could probably take your measurements."
Musashi sweat. "A haori I can wear, but hm… I've worn this or something really similar to it for such a long time…" she sighed, shrugging. "I'll probably make my Haori from my cloak? I have no idea in truth!" she laughed a bit, scratching at her cheek. "I don't think I've worn a uniform in my life."
"I'm sure that Oyakata-sama will let you work something out!" she said, leaning back. "Besides, I bet you'll get alllll sorts of leeway with being so cool and stuff! Oh! To be able to take a Lower Moon like that and say that it wasn't anything at all, it gets my blood pumping!"
Musashi laughed a bit at the other woman, nodding. "It certainly was interesting," she admitted, "Though it wasn't that strong, watching it create threads from its blood was something that I'd never seen before."
She blinked, hearing footsteps approach and she tilted her head back, seeing Rengoku and Kocho walk back over to them.
"I still can't believe that you feel into a thorn patch and got that many cuts and still didn't even realize they were there," Musashi said as she stood. Rengoku just laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It wasn't that bad! Besides, a few thorns can't kill me!" he boasted and she snorted.
Kocho rolled her eyes, but smiled. "If the cuts got infected, you could," she warned. Rengoku just laughed again.
"I'll remember that!" he said before he turned to Musashi. "Ready to go?"
"Just waitin' on you, Rengoku," she said, brushing a bit of dirt from her cloak. He nodded before he waved to Kanroji.
"Good luck on your next mission!" he called as the two of them left the Butterfly Estate.
The walk towards the Rengoku Family Estate was uneventful. He had explained that there were two estates in his name, so to speak. There was the Family Estate, though that one was more or less in his Father's name if he was truthful, and then there was the Flame Estate, which was currently unused at the moment. While the ownership technically lied with him, he told her, it was far too big and empty for one person. He used it when he was training Kanroji and a few others, but such is the life of a demon slayer is short, that time was as well.
Musashi understood the feeling, sometimes places were far too big for just one person. And since Rengoku hadn't found anyone who had that 'flare' he was looking for in training, the Estate belonging to whoever held the Flame Pillar spot was empty.
He, of course, was telling her this when the two of them bumped into a young boy with a vacant stare and long black hair. He was no older than fourteen, Musashi guessed, and, apparently, he was the Mist Pillar.
His name was Tokito Muichiro and Rengoku warned her that it might be a while before he remembered she was a Pillar now, much less her name. She didn't mind, he seemed like a sweet kid nonetheless.
Speaking of sweet kids, Musashi had ended up meeting Rengoku's brother.
Who looked exactly like him.
Only, Senjuro was quite the opposite of his brother. He was far more meek and soft-spoken than Kyojuro (as the Flame Pillar insisted on being called, since calling him Rengoku would only being confusion in the house) was. It seemed as if he did most of the housework too.
Senjuro was a good kid, Musashi decided, though she could have done without meeting Shinjuro. Who had been drinking when they arrived.
Her hands twitched at the man's blatant insults to his sons when Kyojuro returned. Shinjuro was every bit like her own father, except he didn't have the excuse that Kyojuro and Senjuro were girls.
It made her blood boil, but a look from Kyojuro made her hold back the volatile retorts she had. She had taken to the roof not too long after that, assuring Senjuro that she was fine and she didn't want to intrude on their meal. So, while the family ate, she had taken a nap in the evening light— her kasa resting over her face to shield her from the setting sun.
She slept off the momentary, boiling resentment of the reminder of her own father.
It wasn't until about an hour or two later when the sound of footsteps alerted her to the arrival of someone joining her on the roof. She didn't move, waiting until there was an indication of who it was.
The person sat down next to her with a sigh and she reached up, pulling the kasa from her face.
"Rough meal?" she asked, glancing at Kyojuro as she sat up. The fiery-haired man just laughed slightly.
"Tense," he said, "But nothing bad! I promise you, he's not normally that bad!"
"I'd hate to see what good is, then," she uttered before she sighed, watching as the last of the stars started to come out.
He chuckled, though it was hollow sounding and she reached over, tugging his hair. He winced, but his attention was on her as she laid back down on the roof.
"You're a good guy for still caring about your old man despite everything he's done," she said, humming as she gazed up at the sky. He blinked, but laid down as well after a moment.
"Someone has to," he said after a moment. "Plus… I remember how he was before he started drinking! So I can't give up! I want him to take care of himself!" he said with a grin and Musashi laughed.
"Seriously, does nothing get you down?" she asked and he hummed.
"Nope!" he laughed before he shifted. "You really sleep up here? Seems uncomfortable!"
"You get used to it after a while," she said, "Most of my money always went to food when I even had it. If I was in an area for more than a day, I would just sleep on roofs and leave before the homeowners woke."
She stretched a bit as she gazed up at the sky. "The stars are the same here as they were in Shimousa," she mused. Kyojuro blinked, turning to look at her and she laughed a bit.
"In the future, they change a lot," she told him, "The sky gets too clouded with artificial light to see them sometimes. Once, there was too much smoke and flame…" she trailed off, her visible eye darkening. "In the future, something awful will happen that no one can prevent. I know better than to try and tamper with time when it comes to apparently major events… the sky gets too clouded with flame to see anything— day, night? No one's sure… An entire city almost wiped from the map."
"Was it demons?"
"Mm, no, I don't think so," she said, resting her arms behind her head. "Something different. Something more like me, supernatural but not like demons."
She yawned. "Well, it's not super important," she said, "I'd say we still have a hundred years until that's even something to look at."
Kyojuro hummed, sitting up and stretching his back. "A hundred years, huh?" he asked. "What's the future like?"
"I don't know," she admitted, "It's always different. In some worlds, events happen that didn't in others. I do know is that swords eventually are laid down for mechanical weapons. Human lives are valued in both a lesser extent and highly prized. The future… is weird," she finished with a laugh.
Kyojuro chuckled a bit as well.
"It's best not to dwell on it, though," she added, sitting up after a moment. "The present is best lived if the future remains unknown, that's what I think at least."
"So in other words, don't worry about what you can't change?" he asked and she laughed a bit.
"Something like that," she said, nodding as he stood up. "Heading back down?"
"Yep," the Flame Pillar said, popping the 'p' ever so slightly at the end. "As much as it'd be fun one day, I don't think I could sleep comfortably on a roof just yet!"
"Suit yourself, Ren," she laughed as he climbed down from the estate roof.
"Good night, Musashi!" he called back up and she just waved in response as she laid back down.
"The future…" she mused, "Yeah, from what Ritsuka told me, it's really weird."
She laughed a bit under her breath as she gazed up at the sky.
The future would be interesting indeed.
Anyways, don't expect a new chapter for a while, since I'm gonna be focusing on some school work that we have. With colleges closed we're doing online work and such...