Argentum: Alright time to move forward with some plot..
Tecchin: It's also time for my greatness to shine forward!
Nezuko: I'm interested to see the changes made this time around.
Zenitsu: Oh I am especially~.
Tanjiro: I'm going to-
Grel'Slyfer: Ah! No spoilers now.
Tanjiro: Fine.
Hotaru: Time to create the ultimate blade!
Argentum: Still wondering how you got so buff, but whatever. But on another note sorry for not posting for a while. For not only did we get a bit lazy we also went on a vacation, and by we i mean-
Judan: Me and Argentum! Too bad Slayer couldn't join but he's slowly going insane thanks to college classes.
Argentum: Yeah that about sums that up. Still surprised we survived that trip...
Judan: What do you mean by that?
Argentum: You're no longer allowed to drive.
Judan: Really? Honestly you're driving is the worst between us!
Argentum: Pretty sure yours is.
Judan: Says the guy who rear ended a stop sign.
Argentum: That was an accident!
Judan: Mhmm... sure it was.
Argentum: You know what we've talked enough about that. Tecchin since it's your first time how about you start us off?
Tecchin: Sounds good to me! So we here at the Dark Guard productions do not own any of the properties owned. WE do however own the reality building lore's and ocs. Now without further ado…
Everyone: Here's the story!
Judan: Seriously your driving sucks!
Argentum: You're the one who kept getting close to the cliff edge!
Hello= Regular talk
Hello= Thoughts
[Hello]= Radio
(Hello)= Telepathy/Mind reading
Chapter Fifty Three: How I gained some new appreciation or… How we learned just how little shame a certain someone had…
It took a few weeks to finally get everything ready to go to the swordsmith village. During that time I had received some very angry, and yet relieved letters from my princess and goddess. Well besides the first ones that were written in red ink. There was some language used that I won't be repeating. Also some promises that I won't be getting into. Honestly it's just best that you simply know that I had written some compromising replies. Ah! Speaking of letters Tanjiro got one from his blacksmith. Though by letter I meant death threat, also he swore to never make Tanjiro another sword again. It was more terrifying than one could imagine.
Also within that interval was more and more training… some very painful training. On the upside Tanjiro started teaching us how he used the crimson nichirin blade. On the downside he was still terrible at teaching, with the only one truly understanding him being Mitsuri. Unfortunately her own explanation was just as confusing. The only thing I got out of it was something to do with grip strength and energy transference.
When the time did come to leave we actually had to leave behind a few people. Those being Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu which was kind of sad, we had been together for so long it felt weird to not have them in the squad. No instead they were going to meet up with my girls. They would form a temporary squad until we could form back together. The rest of us were carried by Kakushi while blind folded towards the village. I was honestly surprised by the security the village had. Not even Kagaya had this kind of security around himself.
So as we were carried I decided to strike up a conversation. "So this village… any rules or places we should know about before arriving?" The Kakushi who carried Tanjiro spoke up at that.
"Well the main rule is that you can't reveal anything that could somehow hint to the location of the village. As for places to visit there is the hot-springs." Mitsuri spoke up cheerfully at that.
"I remember those! Oh by kami they were wonderful~! You all have to try them when we arrive! We'll have so much fun!" I was going to ask her what she meant when her Kakushi spoke up.
"They're pretty great but don't stay in for too long. Then again as full-fledged slayers you might be able to stand the heat better than the rest of us."
I felt my Kakushi nod in agreement. "She's got a point." He then seemed to sag a bit. "You know I tried becoming a slayer myself, unfortunately I never had the talent for it and gave up. Instead I decided to serve the cause in some other way. So here I am."
That's when Muichiro added his two cents in. "Good, better you do something more you're more predisposed to, instead of just wasting corps resources to be something you're not." That had instantly killed the mood and everyone went silent as the poor Kakushi chuckled nervously.
"Hehe… I suppose." No one had it in them to say anything, so we simply kept quiet as we were carried to our destination. That unfortunately took another ten hours. Once we arrived it was time to meet with the chief to get everything settled in.
Our meeting was… interesting to say the least. "Hmm… I see some old and new faces amongst us. Two being the new Hashira! Now being the most esteemed person that I am, you should all bow your heads to the floor and bask in my greatness!" I was not surprised in the slightest when Mitsuri and Tanjiro did as the tiny old man suggested. Kanao and I decided to at least not be rude and bowed our heads respectively. As for Muichiro and Genya…
""No."" The old man simply laughed.
"HAHA! Didn't think so, you four however are very kind kids." Looking back up the man turned to Mitsuri. "So as the one who created your blade tell me how you managed to damage it. I'll be sure to improve upon it so such a thing doesn't happen again." Nodding Mitsuri told him about how it chipped and cracked against the puppets we fought. After a moment of thought, rubbing the "chin" of his long mouthed hyottoko mask. He snapped his wrinkly fingers. "No doubt the metal used in those puppets things you fought were extremely strong. Don't worry however! Because we now have new and grander ways of forging you a better sword!"
Mitsuri clasped her hands together with a big smile. "Amazing~! I can't wait to try it out!" He nodded at her before looking over to Muichiro.
"I do however have bad news for you." He then turned to Tanjiro. "And some lesser bad news for you." Muichiro simply looked at him while Tanjiro frowned. "First for Tokito Dono, your blacksmith Tetsuido has recently died of a heart attack. So not only will that mean that your sword will take longer, it also means I'll have to assign a new swordsmith to you. Please forgive the inconvenience." The young man didn't seem to really care, and simply nodded his head as the chief turned to Tanjiro. "As for your smith… well Hotaru Kun had run off into the mountains screaming in rage."
Tanjiro lowered his head in shame as Kanao rubbed his back. "It's all my fault… if I wasn't so weak then his swords wouldn't break so much." I was about to add my own two cents to that when the chief spoke up.
"No! No! That's not how it works my boy." Tanjiro looked up at him in confusion. "You see though he'd never admit it, the fault lies in Hotaru Kun himself." While my previous thoughts on the matter now felt validated Tanjiro was more confused. The chief seemed to see this and continued. "While it is true that a swordsman's strength is important, another factor to a fight will always be the strength of the blade they're using. Hotaru Kun is simply too eccentric and shy to ever admit that it was his fault. In fact his asocial behavior has driven off more than one client, and despite how he may behave towards you. He appreciates that you haven't given up on him."
Tanjiro gave his trademarked smile at that. "Well despite everything he's a friend! And I never give up on a friend." The chief nodded before looking towards Kanao and myself.
"Moving on for we are still searching for Hotaru Kun, you two and your scarred friend are in luck. Your swordsmith are actually waiting for you right now. With how long it's been they want to get some measurements done to see if they need to change your swords at all. Smith Dono here especially needs some adjustments. Just looking at him I can tell that's he's even taller than the measurements we received before. That and he needs to tell Hitoshi Kun what he wants engraved onto his sword." As we nodded he turned to Genya. "As for you Judan Dono had heard about your usage of guns. So he brought in a few "pieces" he said you might find interesting."
Though he had never met the arch demon Genya still knew who he was so simply smirked. "Heh, can't wait to try them all out then." Nodding the chief turned to Tanjiro.
"If you still feel that you want Hotaru Kun as your swordsmith than you'll have to wait for your sword. In the meantime please feel free to explore the village or soak in the hot-springs. For now I need to get to work on Kanroji Dono's sword." As we all said our goodbyes, besides Muichiro that is, we all left to go our separate ways.
I have now finished my greatest creation! The one! The only! Line break Sword!
It didn't take my long to find where Hitoshi was at. In fact all I had to do was find the largest crowd in the village. "Then with a with hit with the hammer the enchantment is complete! Any more questions…" His voice died off as he saw me. Not that it was hard to see me, I did practically tower over everyone. "Ahh! I'm sorry but I'll have to cut this short, my swordsman is here and I have no doubt we have much to talk about." With some groans of disappointment the crowd dispersed. Chuckling as he rub his hands on a towel, my smith now garb in traditional blacksmith clothes walked up to me. "It has been a long while Smith Dono." He then looked me up and down. "Two hundred and three and half centimeters… yes adjustments will be made. But fret not! With Judan Dono's teachings I have become an expert enchanter, now come in we have much to discuss!"
Smiling I followed the smith into his blacksmith hut, though I had to ask something. "Am I really that tall now? I mean I don't really doubt you, but I haven't really been keeping track of my height lately."
Hitoshi laughed before waving my question off. "HA! Yes you've become quite tall, though I doubt you'll get any taller. If you do it'll probably be an inch, meaning I won't have to make any more length adjustments. Those have always been a pain to deal with." I personally didn't know if they were or not so kept silent on that as he sat down. "Now! Show me the broken sword."
Sitting in front of him I took the sword from my belt and unsheathed it. Putting the broken handle in front of Hitoshi before wiggling out the other half and doing the same. Picking up both pieces he examined the break. As he examined it so did I with my Lyb'Craeft. The break was clean, no jagged edges, no cracks in the blade, and no missing material.
Damn! Hunter's blade was truly a beast of a sword! I couldn't help but think back on the jian as Hitoshi finished his observations.
"Whoever did this was both skilled and had an amazing blade! Thankfully it will be easy enough to fix the sword and add on the few extra centimeters needed. Thinking three and a half to the nakago and tsuka, and three to the nagasa itself." Looking back up to me he observed my height again before nodding. "Yes that should do just nicely. Though now instead of being just a large O-katana it will be more accurate to call it a Nodachi."
I shrugged at that. "I'll just have to get used to the length and weight then." He nodded before looking back down at my sword handle. Picking it up he undid some of the wrappings before hitting it with his other hand. He did it so smoothly that the mekugi or peg popped right out. Then with another smooth motion the rest of the broken blade slid right out.
"I'll get to work right away, but first what do you wish to have on your sword? You are a Hashira now." I had to actually think on that one. I mean certainly I wanted to think of something cool, but I also wanted to think about what my sword was meant for. After a moment I got an idea.
"Is it alright if I ask for two engravings? One on the tang and one where it usually goes?" He hummed before nodding.
"I don't see why not."
Smiling I told him my idea. "Then I want the kanji for great flame on the tang, and the kanji for protect on the blade itself." He looked at me for a moment before nodding.
"Yes… yes! I can see why you of all individuals would choose those two things. It will be done! And this time I will make your sword stronger than ever before!"
Grinning I held my hand out. "Then I'll be looking forward to seeing how it all turns out." Taking my hand in a rather strong grip he shook it.
"Always looking forward to creating better pieces of art Smith Dono." With that we parted ways I went around exploring. It was actually a quaint place, loud with the sounds of hammer and metal. Made me appreciate my sword more than I already did, for I could just see the work all the smiths were putting into their creations.
Have to take better care of my blade from now on. With that thought I left towards the hot-springs, it was late and I wanted to try them out at least once while I was there. I wasn't really able to enjoy the hot-springs back at the one tourist town way back when. So I was looking forward to it now. As I arrived I saw Muichiro leave without even noticing me. That kid needs to learn some manners. Shaking my head I entered to see Tanjiro and Genya inside.
Seeing me Tanjiro waved. "Nii San! Glad to see you could join us." Genya simply gave a nod towards me as I sat down in the water.
"Well I guess I got a bit distracted looking at all the crafting going around here. Actually makes me want to learn to make a sword myself." Tanjiro raised his arms at that.
"I know! Seeing them all work so hard and creating such beautiful blades is simply awe-inspiring." That's when Genya laughed.
"Ha! That's something I can agree with, though I want to learn how make the guns. Saw some of the models being produces, and whew! I think I fell in love with some of them." That got me and Tanjiro to laugh as he continued. "Hey… You're kind of from the future right?" I stopped laughing to nod. "Would you know a lot of about guns then?"
This time I shrugged. "Kind of, I always loved looking them up but I never really used one before. I mean I've used a few kinds during camps and trips to a gun range. But I was always more into bows and Chinese weaponry."
"Hmm, well you probably know more than I do. Mind if I bounce off some models and ask your opinion on them? Kind of want some advice on what to carry." I smirked at that.
"Oh you got my cooperation on that." So began a back and forth with talking about cons and pros of different guns. With Tanjiro popping in every now and then to ask some questions. It was actually pretty enjoyable and I learned quite a bit myself. Should've known something was going to happen.
"Oh~! Didn't know you guys were in here." Looking over I had no doubt our faces all became matching shades of tomato red. "Oh? Where's Tokito Kun though? Already left I'm guessing?"
That's when another familiar voice spoke up behind her. "Mitsuri San! Please put on a towel!" Turning back to Kanao I could tell the love Hashira was smiling.
"Oh don't be like that! We're all friends here~." As she grabbed the flower girl's hand, Mitsuri dragged her into the spring. "Ahh~! This feels great~!" The poor girl was trying to cover herself with the water. "So what were you boys talking about?" I'll be honest it was hard to get back into a normal conversation then. Especially since my fellow pillar was doing nothing to cover herself up!
I have now finished my greatest creation! The one! The only! Line break Sword!
It took a while to finally be able to look at Mitsuri's face. Though poor Tanjiro couldn't even look at either of the girls, too red faced and embarrassed out of his innocent mind. Kanao was much the same way, though I did see her look towards Tanjiro's scarred chest every now and then. That was before she turned even redder, and turned away so fast I'm surprised she didn't get whiplash.
Huh… surprised to see how Kanao look at him like that. Was still wishing the love pillar would use a towel like the girl. Shaking my head I turned back to Mitsuri who was talking about her family. Sure I knew she loved her family, but it always brought a smile to my face hearing her talk about them. She really was a great big sister. Though I still couldn't believe how she had like… seven siblings in this day and age. Of course that's when I decided to get her back for our current situation.
"Speaking of family Mitsuri San…" She looked at me, a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "Have you tried talking to Iguro San about his feelings for you?" That got the love Hashira to simply freeze. In either concern or confusion everyone looked at her. Her expression had turned into what I could only describe as stony confused happiness, though her cheeks were now as red as Kanao's. "I'm guessing that's a no then?" She now looked as if she was being swallowed by the water. As her face disappeared underneath it everyone looked up at me. "Yeah I had mentioned that the snake Hashira probably liked her, but it seems that she hasn't come to terms with that yet."
For a split moment Kanao and Tanjiro looked at each other before nodding. ""Understandable."" That was when they again noticed their state of dress and turned away from each other. At this point me and Genya simply shrugged at each other.
Thankfully Mitsuri wasn't as catatonic as the first time I brought this up and sat up. "Okay fine! I haven't even tried to talk to him about it yet!" As she looked downcast into the water I couldn't help but pat her head.
"Hey! It's alright; I did give you a pretty jarring revelation. Though I'm honestly a bit surprised right now, after our talk about you wishing to get married. I thought you'd jump at the chance." She sighed as I removed my hand.
"I guess I can see what you mean from that point of view. In fact before you told me I thought much the same way!" She then threw her arms up in exasperation causing Tanjiro to look away. "But to actually have something like that thrown my way is completely different!" Lowering her arms she turned to me. "In fact now that I'm thinking on it, I actually think I may like him back! It's a completely different feeling to like someone and then also know they like you back! What am I supposed to do?!"
As she gripped my shoulder with tears in her eyes I couldn't help but look at the others. The traitors were all looking elsewhere, leaving me to deal with the overly emotional pillar. Calming myself down as I tried to not look directly at her… assets… I gently removed her hands before digging deep to bring up some advice. Was still thinking Cassandra and Eris would kill me if they ever found out about this.
"Alright calm down, take a few breaths and think for a moment." Nodding she did what I suggested as I continued. "Alright, I will be upfront and say I'm not an expert on this. In fact I'm pretty sure Cassandra is trying to set me up with a third woman… or more." Everyone gave either gave me a confused look, Genya, Kanao, Tanjiro, or gave me a look of glee, Mitsuri. "But that's neither here nor there." Cue look of disappointment from the pinked haired woman. "All I can say is that you should be honest, sure it is scary. I was scared when I confessed to Cassandra, and even more so when Eris confessed to me. However you simply won't know what might happen unless you try. I'm sure Iguro San is just as scared as you are, probably why he hasn't said anything. Because while he may act all tough, he is still a human being."
Looking into the water as she turned to me Mitsuri nodded. "I can see your point. Doesn't make it easier though." Patting her head again I simply nodded.
"It really isn't, but I do suggest doing this when you're not in some life or death situation. I'm sure you remember Tanjiro's confession to Kanao?" This got her to calm down and grin at the two blushing teens.
"Oh do I ever~." She then looked at me and smiled. "Thanks for making me feel a bit better about all of this." She then hugged me, much to my own embarrassment. Still manned up and returned the hug though, she was basically like a sister to me at this point.
"Any time." After that we all finally decided to get out, though us gentlemen allowed the girls to get out and ready first. Then it was time for bed, with me and Genya sharing a room. Mitsuri and Muichiro, who was out like a rock, shared another. And through the obvious machinations of a certain grinning pillar, Tanjiro and Kanao also shared a room.
I couldn't help but give her a look for that one. "You do realize what Shinobu will do to Tanjiro if she ever even thinks, he did something to her precious little sister right?"
She grinned mischievously at that. "That's why we'll never say anything. Right?" The look she gave me and Genya froze our bones and forced us to nod. "Perfect~! Now goodnight boys! See you for breakfast~." The two of us could only look at one another.
""Scary cute.""
I have now finished my greatest creation! The one! The only! Line break Sword!
Argentum: There we go, a bit of a follow up on the conversation between myself and Mitsuri.
Kanao: My sister is going to kill Tanjiro.
Mitsuri: Only if she finds out I keep setting these things up~.
Grel'Slyfer: Yeah he's dead.
Mitsuri: Thanks for the faith…
Grel'Slyfer: You're welcome~!
Mitsuri: I think I actually hate you.
Grel'Slyfer: And I hate everyone.
Hitoshi: I can't wait for the sword I forge to kill you.
Grel'Slyfer: I'm immortal!
Argentum: Not really.
Grel'Slyfer: Urk.
Argentum: Alright that's enough of that. Hitoshi! If you could?
Hitoshi: Certainly! This has been once again a Dark Guard production now signing off!
Everyone: Goodbye!