Opening: Inferno by 9mm Parabellum Bullet
Tanjiro opened his eyes to see the familiar wooden ceiling of the infirmary room inside the Butterfly Mansion. He blinked several times, adjusting to the light before hearing a familiar voice call out beside him, "You're awake, Kamado, my boy!" Tanjiro looked to the left to see Rengoku sitting up in bed, looking more healthy than before but still covered in bandages from the top down. Tanjiro called out to his mentor out of respect before the Hashira continued, "Miss Kanao, there, has been taking care of you while you were out cold." as he used his head to point behind Tanjiro.
Tanjiro quickly looked back to see the young girl sleeping on a chair while resting her head against a wall. She was using her white cloak as a blanket to keep herself warm. That's when Tanjiro remembered that Uzui escorted him back to the mansion and once he was on the bed, he was out like a lightbulb. Rengoku asked, "There's no need to tell me where the other boys are, Uzui caught me up to speed on the entire situation." Tanjiro dwelled on the argument he had with his two friends. He had mixed feelings about what had transpired. He felt guilty about treating them as harshly as he did but at the same time, he's not wrong, is he? Zenitsu's running away from the opportunity to help people and Inosuke was just being prideful as always, that's his problem. No one could blame Tanjiro, right?
Rengoku decided to pry on Tanjiro's situation by asking, "Uzui tells me you've been repressing some sort of deep hatred for the demons for quite some time, is this right?" Tanjiro fell back on the bed, allowing his head to sink into the pillow as he didn't feel like talking about this to his master. "Kamado, I understand how you feel. I think most people feel that same hatred. However, it's times like these where we can't let our emotions get the best of us. I agree that demons are despicable, I don't think there's anything that will change that. Although you can use your anger as a driving force, you can't lose yourself in the process of it, do you understand?"
There was a brief pause as Tanjiro fully processed his master's words and responded, "I'm mad at myself more than anything else. How could I possibly show sympathy towards these creatures?"
"It's because you're a compassionate boy, you don't give yourself enough credit."
"Am I though? I had been repressing this hatred for at least two years, I put my parents' words above my own but those were never my true feelings, it was just window dressing to make me feel good about myself. I've never had any confidence, I had to put up a tough act in front of everyone just to put them at ease but acting confident and feeling confident are two entirely different things, all I have is my rage."
"And that rage will make you reckless if you give into it."
Tanjiro and Rengoku fell silent as the doors to the room slid open. Shinobu walked in, taking note of Kanao who was sleeping and lowered her volume before greeting the other two, "Good morning, it looks like you're awake." Both Rengoku and Tanjiro greeted the woman as she kept her eyes on Kanao, worry plastered on her face. "That girl, she doesn't do enough for herself, I swear." She finally turned her attention to Tanjiro and asked him how he was feeling. He has felt better but at least he's alive.
Tanjiro remembered the promise he made to Shinobu and sat up once more to inform her, "Lady Shinobu, I have something important I have to tell you!" The woman took a seat in front of Tanjiro, curious about what the boy had to say that was so urgent. Tanjiro looked her in the eyes and told her, "Lady Shinobu, the answer to the question you proposed to me is: No, the demons can't be reasoned with. After leaving the mansion, I've encountered two Upper Moons along with various other demons and they're all the same. I apologize for failing you and not getting the answer you wanted me to find, but this is the conclusion I've come to."
Shinobu looked disappointed, looking away to stare at the wall as she responded, "I see… I suppose my sister was wrong after all… Thank you, Tanjiro, this will give me a bit of closure for what happened to her. Now all that's left is to find the one who did it."
Tanjiro and Rengoku looked towards each other before Rengoku elaborated, "You mean the one with the sharp fans, right? I remember that's what you told us before." Shinobu nodded and explained:
"Yeah, that's the one."
"Once I'm back on my feet, I'll continue my investigation. We'll find him, don't worry about it." Shinobu was partially flustered by the fact that her comrades would go to such lengths to help her out as she dismissed his gesture and told him:
"It's okay, you don't have to go out of your way to help me."
"Nonsense, that's what friends are for."
Shinobu couldn't help but smile at her comrade's generosity and simply said, "Thank you, Kyojuro." It was at that point when Kanao started to wake up due to all the commotion. She winced before her eyes creaked open. She was surprised to see everyone awake but once it fully registered that Shinobu was in front of her, she focused all of her energy into getting up right away.
Kanao apologized to the woman, "I apologize for my incompetence, master, I'll get back to work right away. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Shinobu stared at Kanao for a few seconds and watched as the girl yawned out of fatigue but remained at attention, ready to do her part. Shinobu told the girl, "Kanao, you can drop the formalities, we're not like that and you've done more than enough, thank you. You can go to your room and get some sleep, that'll make me happy." Kanao looked disappointed but nodded in acknowledgement of the woman's suggestion. Her face lit up once she saw Tanjiro who was unknowingly entranced by her. She gave a playful wave before departing, leaving the infirmary.
Rengoku commented on the situation, "She seems more lively than ever." Shinobu couldn't help but chuckle at the Hashira's statement before also commenting:
"She's been getting really close with me as of recently, though I still haven't gotten her to drop that master business. I don't blame her though, years of abuse does that to someone so it's a miracle at all that she's finally starting to open up like this." Shinobu then looked towards Tanjiro before telling him, "Thank you for helping Kanao, whatever you said to her before really helped her."
Tanjiro shook his head repeatedly as he didn't feel like he deserved praise for doing the right thing and commented, "It's no big deal! I was just doing what I thought I needed to do, that's all." Shinobu got up from the bed and began to take her leave as well before telling the boy the boy:
"Once you're able to move, the girls will help you get back into shape and it won't be long until you're back out. Also, a friend of yours showed up this morning and wanted to see you. I told him to wait until you had gotten enough rest, should I let him in?"
Tanjiro was trying to figure out who would come to see him, he began to wonder if either Inosuke or Zenitsu had returned and got excited at the prospect of seeing them. He exclaimed with excitement, "Yes, please!" Shinobu smiled and closed the door behind her. Tanjiro had to wait several minutes before he heard footsteps approaching the door once more and who came in was someone he was not expecting whatsoever.
A demon slayer he had befriended from Mount Natagumo, Murata, stepped into the room. He has his hair parted in the middle similar to an open bowl-cut. He has dark eyes that match his hair and he wears a standardized demon slayer uniform with no special modifications. The older boy walked towards Tanjiro before calling out, "Tanjiro! It's so good to see you! How are you doing, man?"
Tanjiro was pleasantly surprised to see Murata, he hadn't seen the boy since after the Natagumo incident when he and the other boys were recovering from their injuries. After Tanjiro expressed how he was physically feeling, Murata explained, "I heard you've recently encountered two of the Upper Moons, that's scary stuff, dude." Tanjiro concurred. Murata looked around and noticed Rengoku which compelled him to bow before the presence of the Hashira before continuing his scan of the room and noticing the absence of Zenitsu and Inosuke. He commented on this, "Where'd Zenitsu and Inosuke go? Shouldn't they be here?"
Rengoku knew that Murata just stepped on a tripwire and was anxious to see how Tanjiro was going to respond to the situation. Tanjiro paused before forming his answer, "Zenitsu quit because he's afraid and Inosuke left to do his own thing."
"Ah, that sucks, man."
Tanjiro had a lingering thought in the back of his head and felt like expressing it out loud, "Murata, what compelled you to join the Demon Slayer Corps? Was it debt? Was it family? Or just for fun?"
"None of them, actually." Tanjiro threw his eyebrows up in shock as he gave the boy a puzzled expression and waited for him to elaborate. "I never lost anyone, my family's still alive and well, thankfully. I joined because I think it's the right thing to do with all of these demons roaming about and killing people. It's like, why be a victim when I can play my part and help others, you know?" It was Murata's turn to be surprised as he noticed Tanjiro's bewildered expression. Murta apologized, "Sorry, I know it's not like everybody else. I'm pretty sure you've gone through worse."
Tanjiro explained his reaction, "No- no… I respect that, a lot." Murata scratched his head out of embarrassment, he didn't expect to receive praise from his friend. Rengoku even chimed in from the back:
"As do I, young one, you've got a strong sense of integrity and justice!" Murata turned beet red upon receiving a compliment from a Hashira which made him press his face into the bed before crying out:
"No! It should be ME that thanks YOU, I am unworthy of your praise Mister Rengoku, sir!"
"At ease, young one, I'm not a god or anything. There's no need to treat me any differently than anyone else, I'm only human, after all." Murata complied with the older man's orders and lifted his head.
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The leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, was inside his equivalent of a living room inside of his peaceful mansion. Next to him was his wife and in front of him, his five children. They were enjoying a lovely dinner until they noticed one of the Kakushi nervously run up to the door and bowed, apologizing to the master, "Master! I'm sorry for the intrusion! It's just-" The Kakushi was pushed aside by the Doom Slayer who peeked into the room to see the young man. The family, except Kagaya, was shocked to see the man who's tall stature intimidated them.
Kagaya called out with a gentle and unconcerned tone, "Who is it?" his daughters explained that the Hellwalker was at the door. The man was unphased by this and welcomed the Hellwalker in, asking for his family to step out for a moment to allow the warrior the audience he presumably wanted. His family nervously did as told and left the leader by himself in the room with the Hellwalker. Kagaya indicated to the space in front of him, "Feel free to take a seat, Hellwalker." The Slayer crossed his arms, not budging an inch as he remained standing in front of the leader. "How can I help you, today?"
The Hellwalker spoke up, "I need a new sword. Where do I get one?" Kagaya's face lit up as he remembered that he was told that the Slayer was using Rengoku's sword. The man was happy to oblige, "The Nichirin Blades are crafted in the Swordsmith Village by talented individuals who train their entire lives to perfect their craft. Due to their importance, we've kept their village highly secured and hidden from the public eye. We use… let's say, unconventional methods to keep the village safe. However, it's kept both my household and their village safe after all these years. Considering all of the work you've done for us, I'd be more than happy to give you the directions to the village."
The Slayer uncrossed his arms, waiting to be given the directions he needed to get going. Unfortunately, the man started to cough out blood uncontrollably. The Slayer looked around, believing the leader was under attack but the threat was dismissed with the man gesturing for the Hellwalker to calm down. Once his coughing had died down, he explained, "There's no need to worry, Hellwalker, it's just me." He inhaled greatly to catch his breath before continuing, "You see, my family's been plagued by Muzan's existence for centuries now. Not just in the fact that he's the progenitor of all the demons, but because my family is tied to him by blood. No one in my family gets to live long, I'm not exactly sure what it is but we've chalked it up to some sort of curse that's tied to Muzan's existence. I speculate that once Muzan's out of the picture, this curse that's plagued my bloodline will cease. At least, that's what I hope will happen."
The Slayer had the same thought when Urokodaki told him a similar statement about Muzan. Though this does make the Slayer curious about this Muzan's existence. If Muzan is related to this man by blood, does that indicate he was once human? If so, what turned him into a demon? Presumably the Dark Lord and if so, how?
"I'll inform your Kasugai Vulture about the location of the village. He'll guide you from that point on." The Slayer was fine with this and began to walk away. As he did, Kagaya had one last thing to say to the Doom Slayer before he took his leave, "Thank you, Hellwalker, for everything you've done." The warrior didn't respond, simply continuing on his way as if it was nobody's business.
