Okay. I just want to open this chapter with a very brief, but also very genuine THANK YOU! Across all of the platforms that I have posted The Pig, The Mask, and The Slayers on, you absolute legends have gotten this story to (as of writing this chapter) 54,725 views across all platforms! That means, if I were to take this as a literal 1 person per view, 54,725 people went out of their way to read this one story. Of course, that's not the case, but still, even if I were to divide it, that's still, at the bare minimum, 700 people consistently reading this one plot that I've come up with.
You guys have no idea how much this means to me!
Fun fact about this story in particular: The first chapter was written as a joke! Yeah, a joke. That joke slowly turned into a genuine idea, and now, here we are, 7 months later. And now, I have no intentions of slowing down.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for sticking around for this long. If it hadn't been for you guys, my undying addiction to Demon Slayer and The Dream SMP, I wouldn't be here right now.
And as always! Thank you to my one (and only) P/atreon: ZazzyB!
If you want to donate to my P/atreon, all you have to do is go to my profiles on Fanfiction dot net, Wattpad, or Qoutev, and you should be able to find/rebuild the link there.
Now, with that sap fest out of the way, let's cut straight to this chapter!
"The first step into learning a breathing technique seems simple, but it is far from that." Kokushibo's voice rang out through a large wooden room with a sliding door behind him. The floor was carpeted with traditionally woven covering, depicting a battle between a singular man and a multi-armed monstrosity with six eyes, long wild hair, and razor-sharp teeth.
Nezuko, Dream, and Technoblade all sat in front of Kokushibo, sitting cross-legged with their hands firmly folded in front of them.
"In order to begin your training with using a Breathing Technique, you must first understand the original breathing technique of which you wish yours to split off from. Technoblade, if I am correct, you learned what you know from the Water Hashira, have you not?" Kokushibo asked as the piglin nodded silently. "Hmm… did he teach you the first form of Water Breathing, at the very least?" The Demon's question was followed up with a shake of the head, causing Kokushibo to frown.
"I see… I should have seen that coming. However, you know about Total Concentration Breathing, so at the very least you have more knowledge than these two," Kokushibo said, gesturing to Dream and Nezuko.
"Then, in that case, learning Total Concentration Breathing will be your first task, Nezuko and Dream," Kokushibo stated, standing up as the door behind him opened, revealing yet another massive, outdoor room. Snow covered the ground as the moon's light shone down on the clearing that had magically appeared. In the center were eight separate vases of varying sizes, all lined up from smallest to largest.
"The training I will put you two through will be torturous beyond belief." As Kokushibo spoke, his eyes narrowed in their direction, causing Nezuko to flinch, and Dream to choke on his breath.
"I will work you two the bone if I have to. Your goal is to break all of those vases, only using your breath. The sharper your breath, the stronger your attacks will become. But first, before any of that, each of you, do 500 laps around that entire area, then, when you are done, you can come back to me," Kokushibo said, pointing towards the outside area.
"5-500 laps?!" Nezuko nearly shouted, blinking as Kokushibo's straight face deepened into a frown.
"I did say I was going to work you to the bone. Human or not, I won't let you learn any sort of breathing technique with such weak lungs. Go," Kokushibo stated as both Dream and Nezuko walked outside of the room, and when they did, Kokushibo snapped his fingers, signalling them to start.
Technoblade looked impressed, standing up. "500 laps, that's kinda weak. But, eh," Technolade said as Kokushibo snapped his attention to him.
"And you, 5000 jumping jacks. You might be a Demon, but I could care less. They're just starting out, but you have advanced knowledge. Start."
And it was at that moment when Technoblade regretted his decision as he started the jumping jacks.
Explosions shook the earth as Hanako and Wilbur exchanged fast-paced blows between one another, Hanako visibly struggling to keep up while Wilbur seemed no worse for wear. The wind generated between their attacks whipped around like blades. The leaves of the trees around them were sliced off, and the power of the explosions they were releasing destroyed nearby rocks contained within the blast radius.
The area they were in was secluded, and far away from the house that Hanako had lived in. The location was closer to the village that they had massacred a night ago than to the house. This was a decision made by Wilbur so that the house wasn't destroyed in the process of their training.
As each of their movements grew faster and faster, Hanako had found it harder to keep up with her teacher's speed. She ducked and dodged blows and countered them with as much force as possible, though Wilbur seemed to be able to block them with ease.
Where she was slowing down, Wilbur was only speeding up.
"Try to keep up, Hanako-chan," Wilbur said, winding up a kick before slamming his metal-toed boot into Hanako's knee, completely dislocating the limb as Hanako bit her lip in pain. Wilbur then shot out red mist in a large cloud before smirking.
"Exploding Cloud – Bite the Dust" Wilbur said as the entire cloud of red smog erupted, creating a massive explosion strong enough to blow Hanako through several trees and burn the skin off of her right arm. She slammed into a massive boulder, shattering it on impact. She tumbled for a few seconds, catching herself with her damaged arm as the skin began to regenerate, and the leg began to force itself back into place.
Wilbur landed in front of her as she caught her breath, wiping the sweat off of her forehead as the older man reached out a hand. "You did a good job. Most other Demons I've fought haven't been able to keep up with me, though I guess you'd be the exception, considering I used my blood to turn you into a Demon," Wilbur said as Hanako took his hand, getting back up on her feet.
"Thank you, Wilbur-Sensei," Hanako said, bowing as the brown-haired Demon sighed.
"No problem kiddo. Although, I have to ask, do you like being a Demon?" Wilbur questioned, causing Hanako to blink.
"Huh?"
"I said, do you like being a Demon?" Wilbur asked as Hanako raised from her bowing position. For a split second of hesitation, Hanako adverted her eyes from the Demon, which was all the confirmation Wilbur needed. "I'm sorry…." Wilbur said, yet again, catching the younger Demon off guard.
"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Hanako asked as Wilbur raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry for turning you into a Demon. I know you don't like it, considering how yesterday went when you… ya' know?" Wilbur stated as Hanako's breath hitched.
"I… Yeah…" Hanako said, looking away from Wilbur again, this time without looking back at him. There was a moment of silence, that was, until. "But I know for a fact that if you didn't, I would be dead by now," Hanako said.
Wilbur's eyes widened, confusion on his face as Hanako smiled ever so slightly. "My older brother… Takeo. I check on him recently… he's not doing too good. He hasn't woken up from his coma yet, and he's getting sicker every day. He can't eat… Enmu tried to wake him up last night, but he was unsuccessful. I fear for him… I really do…." Hanako said, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
Wilbur laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder as Hanako glanced at it. "I could always wake him up the same way I woke you up… if you want, that is," Wilbur said as Hanako shook her head.
"No. I don't think his body could handle it in the state that he's in," Hanako retorted as Wilbur frowned, letting go of her shoulder.
"Do you think he's ever going to wake up?" Wilbur queried as Hanako shook her head.
"No… I don't think so. If he does, I would be surprised."
Once again, there was silence. The sound of the wind flowing past them caused made the area around them feel eerie. The air suddenly got colder, and as Hanako perked her head up, she caught a glimpse of someone in the treelines.
"What was—"
"Hanako, move!"
And at Wilbur's command, Hanako moved out of the way as a girl wearing a purplish-black shirt and skirt zipped past her, a sword in her hand as it grazed her neck ever so slightly. Hanako's eyes widened in shock as she stumbled backwards.
Wilbur took a defensive step in front of Hanako, glaring angrily at the person who dared to hurt his disciple. And it was at that point that Wilbur's eyes widened with curiosity. On the back of their shirt was a singular phrase that Wilbur was easily able to read within a split second.
Kanoto
"A Demon Slayer? Out here? Since when?" Wilbur thought as the Demon Slayer stood up at full height. They weren't all that tall, in fact, they were pretty short for a person who Wilbur had assumed to be a teenager. The girl's hair was done up in a short ponytail with a butterfly hairpin to keep it in place. The boots she wore were white with pink laces, and her skin was a plate white.
When the girl turned around, her dark lilac eyes made contact with Wilbur's own fierce red ones. Wilbur positions himself in front of Hanako, moving his arm out to block the young Kamado sibling from being attacked.
"Upper Moon Six…" The Demon Slayer spoke in a monotone, almost robotic way as she took in a deep breath. "Shinobu-nii-chan warned me that if I should come across an Upper Moon to run away. But as of late, I've decided to do some things on my own. You Demons are all the same, monsters, and so it's my job to make sure you all die, painfully."
Without any warning, the girl closed the distance between herself and Wilbur at breakneck speeds, aiming to cut off Wilbur's head, who, in return, generated a large amount of red smoke in front of him. Seeing this, the Demon Slayer paused in mid-air before moving to the right ever so slightly, her sword clashing against the skin of Wilbur's neck, indenting it a fair bit.
The red mist ignited, causing the Demon Slayer to shift in the air before being blown away by the oncoming explosion. The Demon Slayer landed gracefully on the floor, with little to no burn marks on her sleeve or face, her expression remaining neutral.
Wilbur felt the side of his neck, blood streaming from it as it slowly began to regenerate. "Hmph. Impressive, especially for a low-ranking Demon Slayer such as yourself," Wilbur said, cracking his neck as Hanako kept behind the stronger Demon.
The Demon Slayer said nothing, and instead, launched another attack.
"Fifth Form – Peonies of futility" The Demon Slayer spoke ever so softly as she unleashed nine consecutive blows against Wilbur, who blocked all of them with his arms. The Demon gnashed his teeth before kicking up the snow from the ground, distracting the Demon Slayer.
Wilbur grabbed Hanako and ran, ducking and weaving past trees and bushes. Wilbur made a sharp turn towards some bushes, now switching to more of a leaping run as he glanced behind him. The entire time, the Demon Slayer matched his pace, streams of cold air seeping from her mouth.
"I see. She's using that technique to keep up and boost her physical abilities," Wilbur thought as Hanako held on for dear life.
"You're pretty good at keeping up, but can you keep up with this in your way?" Wilbur asked the Demon Slayer as he produced a thick black fog from his skin. "Black Fog – Choking Fire" Wilbur spat, doing a hard 180 as Hanako let go of Wilburs back, sliding her feet against the ground to stop herself from moving. Wilbur snapped his fingers as the black fog ignited, catching the surrounding area on fire as The Demon Slayer landed just in front of them.
Smoke began to bellow from the fires as The Demon Slayers eyes remained calm. "Smoke?" The Demon Slayer spoke, curiosity in her voice as Wilbur smirked.
"Smoke, if inhaled, damages the lungs. See, here's the thing, I don't want to kill you. In fact, I want to see you grow. For a human, you're pretty strong, and I know you can become stronger. From what I know about Demon Slayers, being a Kanato means you're not that experienced, and instead have very few Demon kills under your belt. Come back to me and my disciple when you're at least a Tsuchinoto, and then, and only then will I fight you properly," Wilbur snarked as the Demon Slayer huffed, rushing at him, only this time, Wilbur moved at near light speed and slammed his elbow into her chest, causing the Demon Slayer to choke on her own breath, flecks of blood spewing out of her mouth as she tumbled to the ground.
"I couldn't even see him move!" Hanako thought as The Demon Slayer slowly stood up, coughing as Wilbur sneered.
"What did I tell you? Leave. Don't make me regret my choice," Wilbur spat as the Demon Slayer gripped the handle of her blade, only to let go, glaring at Wilbur, who huffed. At that moment, the Demon Slayer backed away, then booked it out of the surrounding area.
Wilbur snapped his fingers again as the fires dissipated, withering away as Hanako looked up at Wilbur. "H-How did you move that fast?" Hanako asked as Wilbur smirked.
"I ate a lot. Simple as that. The more humans you eat, the stronger you become. To put it into perspective, that village I helped you and the Lower Moons clear-out was a snack compared to what I've eaten," Wilbur said, looking back at Hanako.
Hanako was in disbelief. The thought of eating more people than that mortified the young Demon. At least, it would have, had it not been for the fact that she seemed less disturbed at that idea, and instead, her brain told her one thing, and one thing alone.
Devour More.
She wanted to become stronger. Just like Wilbur. If it meant eating more people, so be it.
"You fought Upper Moon Six?" Shinobu Kocho said, curiosity in her tone of voice as Kanae Tsuyuri nodded, sitting down on an empty bench beside Shinobu.
Shinobu was a petite young woman with a pale complexion and large, compound-like eyes that lacked pupils, only a haze of gradient purple, making her eyes appear similar to those of insects. She had shoulder-length wavy hair that faded from black into dark purple, styled at the back of her head into a flat yakai-maki bun, fastened with a white, turquoise and light purple butterfly ornament. She had center-split, ear-length, voluminous curtain bangs that flowed down to frame the sides of her face, with two slightly thinner chin-length locks of hair in front of her ears below them.
Shinobu wore a dark purple standard Demon Slayer uniform with gold buttons, consisting of a dark-purple tinted straight-lined black jacket and matching coloured tabi socks and hakama pants, tucked into white butterfly patterned Kyahan fading into pale turquoise then pink around her lower legs, fastened with white ribbons. Over her uniform, she wore a white haori that had previously belonged to her older sister, Kanae Kocho, which had a butterfly wing pattern that faded into a pale turquoise then pink colour on the sleeves and hem which were cuffed with a black and white dotted trim. On her feet, she wore white zōri sandals with purple straps for footwear.
Shinobu wasn't that tall either, only standing at a height of 4'11, and neither was she as physically strong as the rest of the Hashira that she called colleagues. Yet, despite that, she earned the title of Insect Hashira through and through.
However, just because she was a Hashira, that didn't mean that she had been prepared to know that not only was there a Demon nearby, just like scouts had said there would be, but for said Demon to be an Upper Moon, specifically, Upper Moon Six.
It was rare for one of the Twelve Kizuki to be roaming around a forest, let alone a forest that was so close to their last kill zone.
The village of Nagatori Mountain was completely eviscerated. Not a single soul was left alive, not even the children. The bodies of those who weren't fully devoured were buried in a nearby location far away from the village, but close enough that it would be obvious to those who went up the hill to know where they came from.
Which lead up to know, where Shinobu was treating Kanao's wounds and slight burns.
"Well, why didn't you try to kill them?" Shinobu asked as Kanao looked away, despondent. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke up.
"Too much smoke. I couldn't use my breathing technique. His Blood Art revolved around creating explosions and fire," Kanao said as Shinobu hummed. Explosions and fire? She had heard of Demons gaining all sorts of abilities, but this? Well, to say it was slightly unbelievable was in of itself believable.
However, Kanao would have no reason to lie to her, so she had to take her for her word. That, and it was an Upper Moon. A Kanoto had no business dealing with something so powerful.
But then, that raised another question in of itself.
"I see. But now that raises the question, why didn't he kill you?" Shinobu started, gaining a perplexed look from Kanao. "Not to say that I expected him to, but most Demons don't give up the chance at a meal, that's all I meant," Shinobu said as Kanao nodded before responding.
"He said that he wanted to fight me when I got stronger and to come back to find him once I reached the rank of a Tsuchinoto." Kanao paused, allowing Shinobu to absorb that information. It was possible for the Upper Moons to know about the Demon Slayers, so she wasn't surprised in the slightest, but why would he want to wait for her to get stronger? To Shinobu, it sounded like a suicide wish.
"Interesting. Well, go on," Shinobu said, gesturing for her Tsuguko to continue.
"I tried to attack him again after that, seeing as the idea was ridiculous, but then, before I could even reach him, he seemingly… appeared in front of me and elbowed me faster than I could have responded, even with my enhanced vision. I couldn't see it coming."
Shinobu frowned. The explanation was concerning. A Demon interested to see more potential out of a human to later fight them was unheard of. Not to mention, if Kanao was right, that meant that this Demon in question, even for a member of the Twelve Kizuki, was ridiculously powerful.
Demons, for all their animalistic tendencies, were quite the intelligent creatures, at least, when they weren't just recently turned, that is. While Shinobu had limited knowledge on the Twelve Kizuki, someone with that amount of speed and strength shouldn't be, in her opinion, the sixth.
But if he was considered the weakest in the Upper Moons, what were the other Upper Moon's like? How much more powerful were they compared to Six? At this thought, Shinobu shook her head.
"I see. I think we should return then and report back to Oyakata-Sama," Shinobu said, getting up from the bench as Kanao followed close behind. As the pair walked, Shinobu couldn't help but feel as if they were being watched. She glanced to Kanao, who had that same emotionless expression on her face. Yet even still, she could sense that she knew as well that they were being watched.
"I see. So she was with a Hashira, interesting," a voice spoke out, and immediately when the voice stopped, Shinobu stopped dead in her tracks, unsheathed her blade, and went to stab the person who spoke, knowing full well that it was a Demon.
But in a shocking turn of events, the sword was caught by two fingers on both flat sides, and with a small amount of force, was snapped in two. Shinobu jumped back as Kanao unsheathed her blade.
The Demon that stood before them was tall, easily standing at a height of 6 feet or more. He wore a brown coat of sorts with a black shirt underneath, a singular slash mark going across the chest, with there being a scar underneath. The Demon's face was covered in red scars, all of which had no apparent pattern. The Demon wore a strange hat, though, with the tufts of hair, his hair seemed to be both brown and white.
He wore tattered pants and polished black shoes, as well as a belt that kept his pants up. His skin was extremely pale, just like all Demons, and his eyes were a blistering red. However, inside the Demon's eyes were the Kanji for Upper Moon 6.
"So, you're the Demon who attacked my student," Shinobu said, a wash of calm over her face all the while rage boiled within. Upper Moon 6 seemingly didn't move, rather, stared both her and Kanao down.
"I could say the same for your student. After all, an unprovoked attack is a sign of cowardice. Though I guess in that regard, you can call me a hypocrite," Upper Moon 6 said, his tone of voice playful in nature, however, Shinobu couldn't detect any sort of ulterior motives behind his words. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and a smirk appeared on his face.
"Ah, now I remember you. While I've never seen you before, Upper Moon 2 has told me lot's about you!" Upper Moon 6 said, and at the mention of Upper Moon 2, Shinobu's blood ran cold. "Oh, what's the matter? Did I spike a nerve? Eh, not that I care all too much. Don't get me wrong, that guy is creepier than a bag of dead cats, always running his cult in the background, but I digress. That's not why I followed your student to take me back to you. No. I wanted to make a simple request, then, I'll get out of your hair," Upper Moon 6 said as he looked over to Kanao.
"Ah, you have your weapon drawn? Didn't I tell you that you can't fight me yet?" Upper Moon 6 said, smirking. "Oh, where are my manners. My name, call me Wilbur. That's my name, not "Upper Moon 6," not "Demon," Just Wilbur," Wilbur said, his posture relaxed.
It was almost as if he didn't see either of them as a threat.
Shinobu narrowed her eyes towards Wilbur, instinctively pressing her heel down on a button within her zori, which contained a small blade. All she would have to do was get close to him and have it stab into his skin, then the Wisteria poison would kill him from the inside out.
"A hidden blade in your shoe? Clever, but it won't get you anywhere," Wilbur stated, catching Shinobu off guard.
"He saw my blade? But how?" Shinobu thought, taking a brief step back. Regardless of whether or not he saw it, it didn't matter. She still needed to create a window in which to attack him. A Demon was a Demon, and all Demons were monsters. Monsters that had to be cut down.
"Well, I don't suppose you're going to give me the clearance to stat my request, and not have it drawn out into a fight. Oh Hanako, if you would." Wilbur spoke, his smirk turning into a grin, and then, without warning, a red gas covered Shinobu. Her eyes widened, and before she could jump out of the way, the gas ignited, exploding the area around her as the Insect Hashira fell to her knees.
Kanao whipped her head behind her, only to see the other Demon she had failed to kill before Upper Moon 6 stepped in with their hand outstretched, their fingernails peeled back, and their eyes now focused on her.
Blood dripped from Shinobu's arms, face, and legs. It wasn't a lot of blood mind you, but the wounds were plentiful, along with the burns and the inevitable scarring to come from it. Wilbur reached out to grab Shinobu, only for a swift slice from Kanao's katana to slice his arm clean from the elbow down.
Wilbur's eyes widened as he hopped back, landing a few feet away from the Demon Slayer, his eyes narrowing. Hanako, without hesitation, closed the distance between her and Kanao, punching the girl in the face so hard that her whole body recoiled. A sickening crack emitted from the point of contact, a shattered cheekbone, at the very least. The girl fell to the floor, her eyes looking up at the Demon that had punched her with ire.
Kanao felt her eyes grow heavy as blood poured from her mouth and nose. The Demon simply stared at her and made no sudden movement. If she were to die here, Kanao wouldn't mind, after all, she became a Demon Slayer with the knowledge that death was an inevitability.
And so, she accepted whatever fate had in store for her as she slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
Just a few feet away, Wilbur looked down at his arm as it began to regenerate at a fast pace, faster than Shinobu could blink, to be precise. "Hmph, perhaps I misjudged your student," Wilbur said, looking over to Hanako, who stood in front of a knocked-out Kanao. "Don't kill her, remember, I wish to fight her when she is stronger," Wilbur said, cupping one hand over his mouth as he shook his other.
He looked back at Shinobu, kneeling down to her before grabbing her chin. "Do me a favour, and take good care of your student. After all, I heard that the stronger a human is, the tastier they are once they've been defeated. If I had to compare your student to a meal right now, it would simply be a gluttonous dessert, but once she's reached her maximum strength I'd say she'd be like a three-course meal. I would eat you, but I have a feeling that's exactly what you want me to do. Or maybe you want someone else to? Who knows," Wilbur said, letting go of Shinobu's chin before kicking her to the floor.
"Leave them here, either to bleed out or to go back to where they came from. We still have some training to do, Hanako-chan," Wilbur said as the titular Demon nodded, turning away from Kanao. Shinobu glared at the two Demons who simply walked away into the forest.
The Insect Hashira slowly got up from where she laid, her muscles tensing as she looked at her sword. Snapped in two, just like a twig. It was insulting. Had she not been caught off guard, that encounter would've gone differently.
She limped over to Kanao, scooping her hand and lower arm under the girl's armpit and lifted her up with whatever strength she could muster. Luckily for her, she knew that a few Demon Slayer-appointed medics were nearby.
Shinobu Kocho was a woman of many things. She was stubborn, cruel to Demons, and was a master of medicine and poison, but even she knew that there were times to let others help.
"Upper Moon 6… Wilbur, was it. Well, Wilbur. I'll make sure that when we meet again, you'll be the one who's bleeding and on death's door, slowly suffering because of the poison that my sword will induce onto you."
Shinobu's thoughts were clouded by anger, but at the very least, they were clear cut and precise, just how she liked everything to be. And the next time that she met that Demon, she was going to make sure both he and his student were dead by her hands.
-To Be Continued-