Chapter 2: Trust Is Difficult
The demon stared down at his feet. There lay two unconscious beings. One human and one demon. Never before has he seen a demon and human working together, not in his over 500 years of life. He deactivated his blood demon art and shrunk back down to his true size. He picked up the two and sat them against a rock, making sure to pick up the boy's shattered sword and place it in its sheath. The demon then went to gather some firewood, it was a cold night and he didn't want them to freeze.
As the fire crackled and burned into ash and embers the demon looked into the fire and thought back to the fight. "Water breathing…" He had come into contact with demon slayers before and water seemed to have been the most frequently used. Breathing in general was a mystery to him, he didn't understand it or how to do it yet wants to learn how to do it. He'd practise it yet never felt a change. Perhaps this boy could teach him. The demon removed his helmet and placed it next to him on his log. Medium length dark midnight blue hair with silver accents blew in the wind. His hair matched his armour with them sharing the same colouration, a simple effect of his blood demon art.
He looked up to the night sky to do a bit of stargazing and let his hair blow in the wind. Living in the night for 500 years gives one an appreciation of the stars and moon as well as the art they create. He took off the rest of his armour leaving only the gauntlets and grieves on and laid down on the log to get a better view of the sky. It was nice and clear tonight, a wonderful night for stargazing he thought.
An hour goes by and the demon began to hear a moan. Sitting up and resting his arms on his legs he looked over towards the two spotting the girl shuffling about. Most demons would have woken up ages ago. She was different from the rest, as if that wasn't evident enough by her working with the boy. She rubbed her eyes before they landed on the demon. "Finally awake." He said, catching her attention. She quickly bolted up and in front of Tanjiro with her arms stretched out in a defensive manner. "Do you have a name?"
"MMMPH MPH!" Was all she said.
"You should remove your muzzle before you speak. Otherwise I cannot understand." Another mmph from the girl caused the demon to sigh in failure. "Are you perhaps incapable of speech?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She did not answer, she just kept her defensive stance over the boy. "That boy called you Nezuko, I think. Is that your name?" She hesitated for a moment before nodding in affirmation. "Now we are getting somewhere. My name is Law and I am not your enemy." Nezuko was in doubt and kept her protection of the boy. Law sighed again and just went back to stargazing, figuring he wouldn't get any answers he could understand from her.
Law immediately rose back into seated position as he heard the boy grunting. A surprise for sure. He slammed his fists into his back with a lot of force, he probably broke something is was that strong. He must have held back more than he thought. Nezuko's glance bounced between Law and the boy, trying to keep an eye on both of them.
The boy grunted and rubbed his back trying to soothe the pain. "Ow…" As he opened his eyes he spotted Nezuko protecting him from something. Looking past her he spotted Law sitting on a log watching him from across a small fire. "You!" he jumped up and felt around for his sword, drawing it at the demon. A quick glance at his sword revealed its broken state, but he didn't relent, he just gripped his sword stronger. "Why are we still alive?" He demanded as Law placed more sticks on the fire.
"Because, I'm no enemy and I want to talk."
"Talk about what." He demanded again.
"A cure." Law's eyes looked up to meet the boy's own eyes. His eyes were shocked and riddled with curiosity.
"Does that mean you know how to turn her back?" He felt his grip loosen slightly as he asked.
"Not exactly, but I do possess information relating to a cure." Law said, watching for any movements from the boy across from him. He wasn't expecting him to bow though. Nezuko seems to be just as confused as him.
"My name is Tanjiro Kamado! Please tell us what you know! I beg of you!" Law was weirded out. He expected more intimidation, not prostration and begging.
"Law… I'll tell you what I know but it will cost you."
Tanjiro reached into his pocket. "I don't have much on me but-" Law raised a hand to stop him.
"Not money. Information."
"Oh!" Tanjiro immediately got on his knees with his back straight. "I'll tell you what I know!" He said with conviction. Nezuko cautiously joined Tanjiro but never took her eyes off of Law.
"Ok… First question." He pointed a stick towards Nezuko. "What's going on with you two? I've never seen a human and a demon team up." He then threw the stick into the fire.
"She's Nezuko, my sister." Tanjiro grew a solemn expression. "She is the last family I have left. The rest were killed by a demon named Muzan. He turned her into a demon and now we're looking for a cure…"
"First of all I would like to give my condolences. I too know what it is like to lose a family." Tanjiro was surprised to hear a demon give him their condolences.
"Thank you and I'm sorry for you as well."
Law shook his head. "Don't be. It happened a long time ago now. As for the second part. You'll find that I too have been searching for a cure for a long time now."
"You have!?"
"Indeed I've travelled far for it. Why does your sister fight by your side? Demons have no sense for family. Judging by the fact she cannot speak, she isn't strong enough to move past her demonic instinct." Law would ask questions about the two of them and Tanjiro would answer each and every one. Ranging from ages, to what the slayer corps is exactly. Law wanted to ask about breathing but figured he had asked Tanjiro enough questions, deciding to let him ask his questions. "You can ask any question you like, I may not answer but I promise to answer the questions about the cure."
"I want to know about the cure. What do you know about it?" Law was expecting it to be his first question.
"It is but a rumour I heard from some demons I had killed. Apparently in these lands you call Japan, there is a demon who fights against Muzan. They are working on a cure and even provide passive demons with donated blood. I had thought that was where your sister had gotten her energy from but I suppose not."
Tanjiro's eyes lit up. He had finally received information about a cure. It wasn't much but it was a lead. He began to tear up, finally having hope. Nezuko noticed this and began patting his head soothingly. She kept an untrusting eye on Law though. "Nezuko… We're finally going to get you cured…" Tanjiro said through his tears.
"I myself am heading to their rumoured location. Would you care to join me?" Law offered.
Tanjiro wiped his eyes clear from the tears. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Law was a demon that ate humans. Law, seeing the hesitation in his eyes, spoke up. "If you're worried about my demon habits, don't be. While it's true I've eaten humans in the past, that was over 500 years ago, back when I first became a demon in fact. Since then I have conditioned my body to live off sleep. I can also go days without sleeping so there will be no problem. Me and your sister are more alike than I first thought." Law moved his eyes to his sister.
This set Tanjiro's heart at ease but there was still a problem. "How will you move during the day?"
"My armour." Law replied. "My armour covers 90% of my body when I'm not using my blood demon art. Any part left uncovered by my armour is covered by the black clothing i'm wearing now. It's designed to not let any sunlight touch my skin. I also have a cloak which can wrap around my entire body for added protection. As long as sunlight does not shine through my helmet's visor I shall be ok." He reassured Tanjiro.
Tanjiro was satisfied, trusting the 500 year old demon knows what he's talking about. He had one last question though. "What is your blood demon art?"
The question wasn't unexpected but was unwelcome. Law stayed silent while looking at Tanjiro. Eventually he came to the conclusion that if he didn't tell him his trust would decay. Law sighed and began putting on his armour. "I'll show you." After his armour was applied and fitted correctly he began to speak again, this time his voice echoing from inside his helmet. "I call it Demonic Armour. Basically I fuse with my armour, giving it demonic properties such as increased strength and durability as well as regeneration." He activated his BDA and grew. "This is what it's like when I activate my BDA, however I can push it further and grow stronger and faster. Doing so gives me a chance to lose myself the longer I'm in it and it exhausts me, so I don't use it very often. It's actually what I used during your attack, when your sword shattered. I guess you could call it my true form."
Tanjiro stood up and inspected his armoured form. He was telling the truth, there really is no skin showing. "Right! Thank you for showing me!" Tanjiro bowed to Law, "And thank you for allowing us to travel with you!"
Law deactivated his DBA and coughed to get Tanjiro's attention then pointed over to his sister. Tanjiro looked back at his sister who looked increasingly tired and about to fall over. He raced to Nezuko's side. "Nezuko! You must be exhausted, let's get you in your box." Nezuko shook her head ferociously.
"MMMPH!" She slapped herself on the cheeks to try and stay awake, but could barely stay awake.
"Nezuko… Are you worried about Law?" Nezuko nodded. "He's a friend, Nezuko." Nezuko Shook her head. Tanjiro sighed and looked back at Law.
Law walked up to Nezuko who tensed up. He removed his helmet, placing it under his arm and got down on one knee, lowering his head and resting his left arm on his leg. "Lady Nezuko. I promise you with my honour as a knight I will not let you or Sir Tanjiro come to harm. Earlier, I simply wished to test a slayer's breathing, that is why I challenged Sir Tanjiro to a battle. I am terribly sorry."
Nezuko looked down at the kneeling Law. It felt like minutes had passed but it was only a few seconds. "Mmmph!" Nezuko turned away sharply. She may not like him but she seems to have chosen to trust him at least. She walked over to her box and got into it, shrinking down to the size of a child to fit. Law rose to his feet and put on his helmet.
Tanjiro placed the box on his back as Law put his hood up. "I'm sorry about that." Tanjiro apologised.
Law shook his head, "don't be. Family should protect family. Lady Nezuko was simply trying to protect you." Tanjiro smiled at Law for understanding. "Come. The sun will rise in an hour and I want to be off the mountain." He waved for Tanjiro to follow as he began to walk. "There's a city within a two week walk from here, Tokyo I believe. That is our destination. We walk with the sun at our backs."
Tanjiro adjusted himself and cleaned the dirt from his backside, finally adjusting the box on his back. "Nezuko. We're going to get you cured. Sleep well." He smiled at the demon before him acting as his guide. He ran to catch up and walk beside him.
As they walked they admired the scenery. As the sun came up Law pulled at his hood and wrapped his black, constellation filled cloak around his armour. Each star was silver and was a part of some constellation. "Why is your cloak like that?" Tanjiro asked.
"You mean with the stars?" Law thought back to when he first received the cloak "It was a gift from a friend many years ago, 300 years I believe. I had saved a man from a demon and instead of fearing me he wished to thank me, even after revealing myself as a demon. He was a tailor, he made robes and clothes. I mentioned how I had no need of clothing but then he said he could make me something to walk around during the day, so I allowed it and he made me my black underclothes as well as the cloak. He designed it after a little hobby of mine, stargazing."
Tanjiro was intrigued and they had a while to go so he pushed on. "What happened to him?"
Law was a bit annoyed at the questions about his past but for the sake of trust decided to continue. "We became friends. He allowed me to live with him and I even taught him how to use a sword and about the constellation I had him put on my cloak. And before you ask, when you live at night with nothing but wandering you tend to grow an appreciation for the night sky. Anyway, the guy was attacked by a demon one night while I was away. I slayed the demon and gave my friend a proper burial." Tanjiro could hear the anger in his voice and smell the sorrow. He decided to stop pressing into his past.
They walked in complete silence for a while, stopping at night to allow Tanjiro to rest as Nezuko watched over him, making sure Law or any other demon didn't try anything. Law would attempt to smooth things over with Nezuko with a conversation but it never seemed to work. Come morning they were back on the road.
A crow came out of nowhere and landed on Tanjiro's shoulder, beginning to speak and shocking Law. It told them to follow it. Law was understandably confused until Tanjiro informed him of the crows and how the corps enlists them for communication. They followed the bird but Law kept his guard up. Eventually they came to a building housing the Wisteria family crest on the gate. "Caw Caw! Stay and wait for a sword to arrive! A few days you shall wait! Caw Caw!" The bird cawed.
"Oh! A new sword. I guess I can't really do my job with a broken one." Tanjiro laughed, embarrassed at the fact he didn't think of this. The crow flew off and Tanjiro and Law entered the residence.
As they entered they were greeted by a couple. They looked curiously at Law but chose not to ask questions as it was not their job. They happily welcomed Tanjiro and Law into their abode and offered food and a place to sleep which they were grateful for and accepted.
After Tanjiro ate dinner he decided to hop into bed. Law sat on the engawa, looking up at the night sky. It was a little cloudy, not so much he could see but enough to where the stars and moon would be covered at times. Normally he wouldn't sit in one place at night but he promised to take Tanjiro to the rumoured cure maker.
Footsteps made themselves present behind Law who turned to face the creator. It was Nezuko, undoubtedly here to make sure he wouldn't do anything. Law wasn't in his armour but a robe the couple had leant him, his sword was back with his armour next to his bed. While not defenceless he was in a weakened state, because of this Nezuko wasn't watching him like a hawk. She sat down next to him and began to swing her legs off the edge of the engawa. Law watched her as she too observed the stars.
"You know, Nezuko. Astronomy is a hobby of mine. In fact, I can even navigate by the stars." Nezuko looked at Law with her untrustful eyes but then they softened up upon seeing Law's soft smile. "When I roamed my homeland all alone with nobody to turn to, the stars and the moon would always follow me. They were my only friends for so long. Even now as I look up towards the sky I can spot the Ursa Major or greater bear." Nezuko looked to the stars to try and see what he meant, but found nothing but a jumble of lights. Law scooched over to Nezuko and raised his arm, pointing at the constellation. "Right… There!" Nezuko was surprised at first but followed his finger. "Follow my finger and connect the stars as you go, like your drawing." He spoke softly. Nezuko did just as he asked. As he repeated the action over and over she began to see a shape. "From the tail… to the head, to the front legs then the back legs and finally the tail again. Can you picture the bear?" He asked, looking back at her. Nezuko began to nod without taking her eyes off of the space bear, almost like a trance. "Right above the mother is her child, the Ursa Minor or lesser bear." He pointed his finger slightly above the Ursa Major to its child."
Nezuko started to connect the dots and see the mother and her son. A slow hum came from her as she stared at them. "Like you and Sir Tanjiro, they too are family. Though if I had to choose I'd say Gemini best suits you two. You can't see them here in Japan sadly. Gemini otherwise known as the twins are two human shaped constellations holding hands. You may not be twins but you are siblings like them, and you protect each other just like they do. Many can only dream of such a familial bond." Nezuko noticed a lone tear run down Law's face. "You want to protect Sir Tanjiro right?" Nezuko slowly nodded. "Then allow me to train you. I only wish to see you two prosper as a family. I failed to protect mine, I do not wish the same for you." Despite the tear rolling down his face there were no faults in his words, not a sniffle nor a crack. "I know hand to hand combat and can teach you proper combat techniques. I understand you do not trust me but I meant everything I said just now." Nezuko's look of concern turned into a serious look. With a mmph she nodded and raised her fists in a fighting stance. "Thank you."
Law got up from the engawa and stepped out into the moon's grace. "Come, I've lots to teach you." He brandished a smile as Nezuko joined him on the dirt for her first lesson in combat.
Ollo! Thanks for reading this by the by, it means a lot that you liked the first chapter enough to move on to the next. I know chapter one was short and didn't give you much but just the fact that it got you interested enough is enough for me.
Anyway I apologise if I got something wrong relating to astronomy, I'm mostly referring to the Ursa Major and Minor. Googles contradicting itself depending on how I search for the info. I need to brush up on my astronomy.
Luv ya you chads. Keep moving and grooving!
