"…This is it," Fuyume announced slowly with an anxious tone as she and Tengen approached their destination just as the sun was setting. "According to my map and all the information I've gathered up until now, the demon I've been hunting down should be here."
Luckily the location in question happened to be in a heavily forested area, far enough away from any civilization so there was a very slim chance that any innocents would be dragged into the potentially dangerous battle they would be fighting.
"Something seems…off though. It's too still and quiet." The hashira commented, looking guarded as they came to a stop. He paused and stilled himself to listen for movement. "I don't hear anything, do you?"
The brunette followed suit and closed her eyes in order to increase her focus, trying to listen for any sound at all. Since starting her training with him, he not only taught her breathing techniques - he also helped her to further hone her hearing, focus, evasion and fighting skills.
"I…don't hear anything either." She concluded after a minute, sounding confused. She opened her eyes and was about to ask him what they should do next when she noticed the overcast skies.
"It looks like there's a storm coming." She continued and right on queue the heavens suddenly opened up and started to pour down on them. "Just our luck…"
"Indeed. This moderately heavy rain will make hearing our enemy difficult if it continues to hide from us. That is unless it's no longer here…"
"No, it is. I can feel it…" Fuyume rebutted ominously. "I have a feeling it knows we're here too. It might've noticed the smell of my blood, which means the rain is good for us too. It'll dampen the smell of my blood, so if I end up getting hurt it won't attract other demons at least."
"That shouldn't be happening anyway if you remember what I've taught you." The hashira stated somewhat strictly.
Fuyume was about to respond but a menacing voice suddenly echoed through the area saying, "We'll see about that," making her tense up immediately.
It may have been spoken with a different tone than she was used to hearing, but there was no mistaking it. She'd know that voice anywhere. It was…
"Taeru's…" she barely managed to utter under her breath shakily. She was almost fooled by it but quickly remembered that it was the demon using it and continued angrily. "Why are you using my brother's voice, you sick fiend?!"
"How rude, calling me a fiend when I was only trying to help you calm down, seeing as you were looking a little…on edge." The demon replied, no longer using the voice of her brother. "I must say though, I am thoroughly impressed that you were able to find me with little to work with." - he then sauntered into view - "You didn't have to bring that slayer with you though…"
He glared at Tengen with disdain as he finished and the white haired male just glared right back at him with silent judgement.
"Good. You've finally appeared," the brunette stated with determination while reaching for her weapon. "Now I can finally have my revenge!" She then got ready to make a dash at him but the hashira stopped her by swiftly extending his arm to prevent her from moving forward.
"Wait, Shinomori. This demon…" he said with thought, looking more guarded than usual.
She whipped her head to gaze at him with pleading anger and determination. "Is the one who killed my brother I'm sure of it, so let me at him!"
He held his stance. "I believe you, but if my memory's correct about the rumors surrounding this one, he's more dangerous than he seems so, we need to approach this battle with more caution and thought. You can tell at a glance that this one's…shifty." Tengen explained, gesturing to the demon's appearance.
Fuyume turned her gaze to the demon, adopting a confused expression. To her he looked like a normal human male at a glance, but upon closer inspection his features didn't really fit together at all, making his guise quite unnatural overall.
"This one uses different guises and backstories to fool anyone gullible enough to let him stay overnight and whoever takes him in ends up being his meal. My memory's hazy but I'm sure that it wasn't a hashira sent to kill him but someone close to one in strength. If he's here now though, whoever was sent must've failed…"
"I'm impressed you know so much about me. I'm not even one of the Twelve Kizuki…Since I'm in such a good mood now I'll tell you my name. It's Kamereon," the demon introduced himself with a pleased smirk. "And as for the slayer that was sent to me, did she happen to look like…this?"
As he finished he started to change his form into that of a well developed woman. One by one his features became more feminine as he started to look like an older version of Fuyume. The only difference was the figure and height of course, along with the hair which was longer, parted in the middle, and tied in a low loose ponytail.
"…That's…my mother…" the brunette uttered with fear and shock but that very quickly changed to anger as she continued in a scream. "What did you do to her?!"
"Hmm. I don't think you're ready to hear the exact details, but I'll at least tell you that her blood had me hooked on your's and your brothers. Her's was the best by far however. Nicely aged and-."
"That's enough!" Fuyume interrupted. "I'll make you pay for harming both of them!" She quickly ducked under Tengen's arm and before he could stop her made a mad dash for Kamereon.
"Shinomori, no!" He shouted after her but he was ignored as she picked up speed.
"You dare attack your own mother?!" The demon asked incredulously, using her voice.
"You are not my mother!" Fuyume screamed, becoming even more enraged.
She was far too angered in fact to even think of using any techniques, swinging blindly at his neck with no hesitation. She felt the sickle make a connection at first, but the demon's flesh gave a little too easily as it cut him. She stumbled forward as a result, then stood up straight and backed up a little, watching with complete confusion as the now afterimage of her enemy disappeared with an echoing cackle.
"What…happened?" She finally managed to ask aloud.
"That's why I was trying to stop you," Tengen stated in reply, sounding slightly angry with her. "He was using a fake to lure you into attacking him in order to tire you out."
"Then that means the real one's still out there!" The brunette quickly concluded, then continued with a shout. "Come out and really face me you coward!"
"Hold on. You need to calm down first." The hashira strictly advised. "You're letting your rage take control, and if you continue in this fashion you could end up in serious danger."
"I know that! I just…He hurt my family so…" She stood there fuming with balled fists, eventually working herself up into angry tears.
He sighed and placed a reassuring hand on her head. She stopped and looked up at him, seeming to be calm enough now to talk some sense into.
"He's using that as an advantage to get under your skin. You need to put aside your anger and focus. Only then will you have the ability to take him out effectively." He instructed calmly. "Listen, the rain's died down a little so it should be easier to try and pinpoint his true location now that we know he's definitely here. Let's formulate a plan and take him down smartly, yeah?"
His companion stood silent in thought. She hated to admit it but he was speaking the truth about her anger. It made her blind to the whole picture, leaving her open to get fatally wounded. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears away.
"Okay then. Let's do this for real." She agreed with renewed determination.
He grinned with approval in response and together the two of them thought of a plan before going onto locating their adversary. They stood still and silent, listening for a long time until…
"You hear that?" Tengen suddenly asked in a hushed tone.
Fuyume nodded once with eager determination, pointing in the direction they both heard the sound from. He brought a finger to his lips, then suggested through gestures that they should go check it out after going over the plan one more time. The brunette nodded and soon they went separate ways to circle around to where the sound came from.
Luckily it was made by the demon in question but she wasn't as stealthy as the hashira yet so she accidentally alerted him to her presence. He noticed and tried to flee but Fuyume made the quick decision to cast her chain in an attempt to catch him.
It wrapped around his ankle and she gave it a good tug to bring him down but as he fell he grabbed the branch closest to him, then immediately started to lift himself up. Because the chain was taut and he was the stronger of the two he began to drag her along with him.
"Ghh!" She exclaimed as she stumbled forward.
She tried to regain her footing but failed and just as she was about to fall Tengen grabbed her with one arm and the chain in the other. He gave the chain a good strong yank then set her down as their enemy came crashing down to the ground.
Kamereon managed to land on his feet despite that but Fuyume wasn't going to give him another chance to run. Quickly she closed the gap between them and swung her sickle eagerly. He dodged away from it just barely, getting a small scratch on his upper chest.
Even though she barely sliced him the brunette smirked victoriously at the results she'd seen. "Good, you're the real one," she said. "Now I don't have to hold back with my next attack!"
She swiftly and gracefully took her stance and easily used her technique with no hesitance. The demon once again attempted to evade her second advance and luckily it missed his neck but his arm got sliced off at the elbow instead.
He stumbled back and gazed at his fresh wound with mild surprise, then glared at her angrily. His arm soon grew back and he took a deep breath before adopting an imposing stance while grinning, thus signifying that he wasn't planning on running anymore.
"Well I had my doubts at first but you might end up being a more delicious meal than I thought," he said with an impressed tone. "Maybe not as delectable as your mother, but perhaps more so than your brother…"
"That kind of talk doesn't affect me anymore!" Fuyume rebutted, still looking angered but more focused this time.
"Please, I was complementing you. I was going to leave to give you a chance to get stronger and therefore more delicious, but if you insist on facing me now…" As Kamereon spoke his expression changed from disdain to gratuitous and then to ravenous. "Then I won't say no to making you my meal tonight!"
"Let's see you try!" She challenged him and he instantly accepted, dashing towards her with claws out and outstretched to do harm.
The brunette swiftly leaped backwards, then jumped up and over her enemy at the exact moment. While she was up in the air she turned and braced herself, then yelled, "Do it now!"
On queue there was a loud bang and a thick smoke covered the area around Kamereon instantly. He paused and glanced around apprehensively for a moment, eventually becoming confused and angered by what was going on. Suddenly he felt a presence behind him and quickly whipped around, seeing a figure looming over him. It took a second but he finally recognized who it was.
"Oh, it's her slayer friend," he uttered half to himself with slight disappointment but still took an apprehensive step back to put some distance between them. "What are you even doing here? Were you not sent here to slay me and if so, why are you letting her run the show?"
"Sorry to disappoint, but we made an agreement. I'm the backup and she'll be doing the slaying." Tengen replied before smirking somewhat condescendingly. "You're not worth a fraction of my time anyway."
Before the demon could respond the hashira had kicked him with so much force that he was flying clear across the area. It was so sudden and forceful that he had trouble stopping himself. Before he knew it he had crashed back first into a thick tree, leaving him incredibly disoriented and open to any attacks.
'This is bad,' Kamereon growled in thought. 'That man…is not just some mere slayer…' He then tried to shake off the dizziness but at that moment Fuyume came back into view.
"Gotcha!" She exclaimed with a triumphant grin before swinging her weapon at his neck.
He had little time to react and dodge so all he could do was take the full brunt of the attack. He closed his eyes, feeling the sickle's blade dig into his flesh. Soon his neck would be severed and it would be over.
Was he really going to go out like this?
Crraack!
