Hey readers! This is a project I've been working on for a while now, and with the release of the new season of Demon Slayer, I figured this is the perfect time to release it. A new chapter will release every three days, so stay tuned if you like the story.
This story is a prologue to Demon Slayer, set approximately 1 year before Tanjiro finished his training. I made it as accurate to the actual lore of Demon Slayer, so nothing really contradicts with anything that happens in Demon Slayer. (I hope)
That's all, enjoy! :)
The demon snarled, licking its lips hungrily. The woman crouched in the corner of the dark, shadowed alleyway, her eyes wide open with fear. She trembled with terror as the demon advanced forwards, barring its sharp claws. It lunged forwards and began to run at her. She screamed and closed her eyes, ready for the end. There was a bright flash of light and a slicing noise.
Bolts of lightning sizzled around a figure, crouched down with their hands holding a sheathed sword. The demon's head hit the floor, separated from its body. It let out a scream and shouted curses as its body began disintegrating.
"Thunder breathing," muttered the figure with the sword. It was a man, dressed in a black uniform with a yellow haori blowing in the wind. "First form: Thunderclap and flash."
The man opened his eyes, which were an electric blue. His hair was in-between short and medium length, and a vivid, bright yellow. His young face was handsome and cleanly shaven. The kanji 'destroy' was written on the back of his uniform.
The man eased up, releasing his grip from his sword. "Are you okay?" he asked the woman.
The woman nodded, relief in her eyes. "Who are you?" she asked in awe.
The man grinned, flashing perfect white teeth. "Tamaki Utaka."
A loud thunderclap boomed, and he was gone.
"Welcome, my children. It has been a while since our last meeting. Why don't we start by giving a report on how many demons each of you has killed since the last meeting."
The Master's voice rang out, reaching the ears of the nine people assembled before him. They knelt down, heads bowed. Only when The Master addressed them did they look up.
"I killed a total of eighty-seven demons!" boasted Sanemi, the Wind Pillar, eager to share because of his prideful nature.
"I killed ninety-four," replied Tamaki. He glanced sideways at the Wind Hashira, smirking. Heh. Sanemi scowled and turned his head in the other direction.
"Enough bragging, my children," said The Master. "Continue on."
The rest of the Hashira reported how many demons they had killed since their last meeting. Once the last Hashira, Muichiro, reported a total of seventy-six demons, The Master raised his hand for silence.
"The main reason I called you all here today is because you have a new member joining your ranks."
Curious muttering broke out between the Hashiras. The Master held his hand up for silence.
A young woman, probably somewhere around his age, with pink hair in two long braids running down the side of her head stepped out from behind a door. Tamaki's first thought was, why is her hair pink? But then again, his hair was yellow because he had been struck by lightning, which was a peculiar enough event.
As he studied her further, the back of his mind noticed her curves. Hey, stop thinking about that! If he could, Tamaki would have slapped that part of his brain.
"This is Mitsuri," said The Master. Mitsuri held her hands in front of her mouth and blushed slightly. "Hello," she said shyly. Her voice was soft and pleasing to the ear.
Realizing he was glancing at her for too long, Tamaki hurriedly looked away. Okay, enough starring. Tamaki shook his head to clear it and turned his attention back to The Master.
"I am aware that she was once your student, Kyojuro," said The Master. Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Pillar, nodded at his recognition. "But for now, I want Tamaki to travel with her for a while to give her a little experience on what it means to be a Hashira," continued The Master. "That will be all. You are all dismissed."
For a moment, Tamaki was dumbfounded, and he raised his head with surprise. Me? he thought.
As the Hashiras dispersed, Tamaki's eyes found themselves on Mitsuri again. She stood in the shade of an overhang, her eyes glued to the floor. Her face was beautiful and her eyes a lovely shade of green.
Seriously, quit staring! Tamaki slowly approached her. "H-hey."
"Hello," she said, not looking at his face. "You seem like a nice person."
"Uhhh…thanks." said Tamaki slowly, a little taken aback by her introduction. "I'm Utaka Tamaki, nice to meet you."
"I guess you already know who I am," said Mitsuri. She still seemed a little on-edge and shy.
What can I say to make her a little less stiff? "Uhhh…"
Just then, Tamaki's kagusai crow flew over and hovered in the air above them. Tamaki held his arm out and the crow perched on it.
"North-Northeast!" cawed the crow. "Report to the North-Northeast side of Kyoto! Demon spotted there!"
Tamaki frowned. "That was fast. Looks like we have a mission."
"Are we going to fight a Twelve Kizuki?" asked Mitsuri nervously. She finally made eye contact with him, and he froze for a moment. Her eyes are really pretty.
"Who knows," said Tamaki. "They never tell you how strong the demon is, you'll just have to find out for yourself."
"I'm a little nervous. What if I'm a hindrance to you? What if I get hurt and you have to protect me?" Mitsuri's lip quivered slightly.
Insecure, noted Tamaki. I'll have to make sure that goes away before she goes off on her own. Fighting spirit is very important. "I'll protect you with my life if it comes down to it." Tamaki smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry."
Mitsuri looked at him, seemingly a little less nervous. "You will?"
"You have my word."
"How will we get to Kyoto fast enough? It's pretty far away."
Mitsuri and Tamaki stood on a flat plain, grasses swaying in the wind. They had walked there from the Demon Slayer HQ after the meeting had ended. Now, Mitsuri was wondering how they would travel almost thirty kilometers in a short time.
"Well," said Tamaki, "I have a technique for fast travel. It works pretty simply, a few other Hashira can use it too with their own breathing style."
"How does it work?" asked Mitsuri curiously.
"Just hold on to me," said Tamaki.
She blushed slightly. "Are you okay with me touching you?"
Tamaki also found himself blushing. "It's okay," he said.
"Okay." Mitsuri wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Ready?" he asked her. She nodded.
Tamaki took a deep breath, and began running with Mitsuri holding on to his back. He felt his feet began to move faster and faster as his breathing focused more and more on the thuds his feet made. Suddenly, he felt the sensation of traveling extremely fast, and the air around them sparked with electrity. There was a bright flash of light, and then they were just outside the city of Kyoto.
Mitsuri stumbled off of Tamaki, staggered over to, and threw up in a nearby bush.
Uh oh. "You okay?" Tamaki walked over to her and patted her back gently.
"I don't want to do that ever again," she said weakly.
Tamaki chuckled. "That was the first time I've attempted to do that with someone else," he teased.
"You mean something could have gone wrong!?" Mitsuri swatted his arm angrily. "You could have killed me!"
After she said that, Tamaki felt a little guilty. Well, at least she's a little more comfortable around me now. Before she was just really nervous. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay, I forgive you." Mitsuri gave him a slight smile.
"Remember, I promised to protect you," said Tamaki. "If I had any serious doubts about it I wouldn't have done it."
She smiled at him. "Well, it's still noontime, and I'm starving," said Mitsuri. "Can we get some food? Also I need water. My mouth tastes awful."
Tamaki pointed over to the city. "We'll get food and water in the city," he said.
Mitsuri attempted to stand, but fell over. "Ow," she complained, "I think your traveling technique weakened me."
"Need help?" asked Tamaki jokingly. "I didn't know that new Hashiras didn't know how to walk. Do I have to teach you that?"
"Shut up," said Mitsuri sullenly. She stood up slowly. "See, I can walk," she said as she dramatically stepped forwards a few paces.
"I was joking," said Tamaki, holding his hands up in defense.
"I know."
"Come on, let's not waste any more time." Takaki started walking towards the city. Mitsuri hurried to follow him.
Tamaki noticed a ramen stand as they walked in the city. "Do you wanna have ramen for lunch?" he asked Mitsuri.
"Okay," said Mitsuri.
The two Hashiras walked over to the ramen stand and sat down on the stools. "Two bowls of ramen please," said Tamaki. The cook grunted and started preparing the noodles.
"So," said Mitsuri, making Tamaki turn towards her, "how many Twelve Kizuki have you killed?"
"Seven," said Tamaki, "I've only been a Hashira for three years."
"Ehh? But you seem so old and mature!"
"I'm only nineteen years old," said Tamaki. "Do I really seem that old to you?"
"Well, you look young," said Mitsuri, "but your personality makes you seem much older."
"How so?" asked Tamaki.
"Well, you say things like, 'I'll protect you' and stuff like that. And you seem like the kind of person who is experienced and knows a lot of things."
"That's because you were nervous, and I'm really not that experienced."
"So you won't protect me?"
"Well, I will, but you need to protect yourself too. You're not just some innocent little girl, you're a Hashira, one of the strongest demon slayers."
"Then why did the master choose you to guide me, and not a more older and experienced Hashira?"
"I don't know," said Tamaki, "maybe he wasn't feeling well, maybe he just likes me, maybe he randomly chose." His voice unintentionally raised, and Mitsuri shrinked back, hurt. "Okay, take it easy," she said.
Tamaki frowned. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have raised my voice. You had a point there."
"Really?" Mitsuri blushed. "Awww, thank you! You complimented my argument. See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
So first she's upset at me and in a split second now she's happy? Tamaki sighed. She's confusing. Better remember that.
To Tamaki's relief, their ramen was then placed on the table. "Enjoy," said the cook.
Mitsuri grabbed some chopsticks and proceeded to eat faster than anyone Tamaki had ever seen before. She slurped down the noodles in seconds, and drained the hot soup from her bowl like she was drinking room temperature water.
What? How does she do that? Tamaki stared at her in shock.
"Delicious!" She glanced over at Tamaki's shocked expression. "What?"
"How did you…Without burning your…Never mind," said Tamaki, picking up his chopsticks and eating at the pace of a normal person.
"I just like to eat, that's all," said Mitsuri. "Did you know my hair is pink because I eat too much sakura mochi?"
"Huh?" Tamaki was bewildered. "How does food turn your hair a different color?"
"I don't know," said Mitsuri. "It just does."
"You confuse me," said Tamaki. "It's almost cute."
Mitsuri giggled. "I'm gonna take that as a compliment. Why is your hair yellow then?"
"I'll answer that some other time. So what compelled you to become a demon slayer in the first place?" asked Tamaki, hoping to change the topic to something normal, and not food that changed hair color.
"Well…it's kind of embarrassing," she said, looking at the ground.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," said Tamaki.
"No, no, I'll tell you. It's just…I-I wanted to find a man to marry!" squeaked out Mitsuri, blushing profusely.
What? Tamaki's face shifted into an expression of confusion. She joins so that she can get married?
"Isn't it natural that a woman would want to find a strong man to protect them?" She sighed dramatically. "That feeling of protection is so nice!" She finally noticed Tamaki staring at her awkwardly."Is that a normal reason that people join?" she asked curiously.
"No," said Tamaki.
"Then why did you join?"
"My father was a demon slayer," said Tamaki. "He was killed by an upper moon. I've always wanted to become a demon slayer and follow in my father's footsteps. My mother was also killed by a demon when I was young."
"I'm sorry," said Mitsuri, taken aback by his sudden sad story. "I have four siblings, and I can't imagine what it would be like if even one of them died."
"And I wanted to protect people from demons too," said Tamaki, his voice lighter. He drained the soup from his bowl. He placed it, now empty, on the table. "Thank you," he said to the cook. "Let's go," he said to Mitsuri. "We have some time to kill before sundown."
For the remaining time until sundown, Tamaki and Mitsuri tracked the demon down, asking people in the area about disappearances. Mitsuri talked contentedly with Tamaki as they went along, confirming that she was growing more comfortable alongside him. As the sun dipped beneath the trees, they had a pretty good idea of where the demon was going to come out from. They were led to a small public park where strange rocks jutted out from the ground.
I don't think these rocks are supposed to be here, thought Tamaki cautiously. Closing his eyes, he focused on his sense of hearing. Voices echoed around him. Suddenly, he heard something from behind them. It was a malicious, violent sound, exactly like a demon.
"Watch out!" Tamaki realized it just before it was too late. A pair of glowing eyes opened on one of the groups of stalactites behind them.
"Thunder breathing," exhaled Tamaki, his breath leaving his mouth with a sharp whistling sound, "First form: Thunderclap and flash!" He flew forwards and hit the cluster of rocks with his attack. It leaped backwards, revealing a demon covered in sharp stalactites with a now-severed arm.
"Wow, not one, but two meals?" It laughed maniacally. "I'm that lucky today?"
"You look like a porcupine," said Mitsuri. "Or maybe a sea urchin."
Huh, she's got a point.
He suddenly flung a stalactite at Tamaki, who parried it easily with his sword. It unexpectedly ricocheted off the ground and flew at Tamaki again. This time, the thunder Hashira sliced it clean in half. It fell to the ground and began sinking into the earth.
The demon flung more and more stalactites at Tamaki, who sliced them all down.
"Now Mitsuri!" Tamaki suddenly shouted. Mitsuri suddenly sprung up from behind the demon and swung her sword, which extended, snaking around like a whip. It was close to slicing its neck off. Come on! Thought Tamaki, hoping that the battle would be ended with this attack.
"Blood demon art," said the demon, closing its eyes, "Porcupine quills!" A large amount of stalactites suddenly shot out from his back.
"Mitsuri, watch out!" yelled Tamaki. She deflected them all fairly easily except for one, which sped towards her back.
Tamaki dashed over towards her and hit the stalactite away. Mitsuri turned around quickly and accidentally bumped into Tamaki.
"Sorry!" she said, blushing and stepping backwards.
"Be careful. That plan isn't going to work anymore," said Tamaki. "We need to attack him together. I'll take out all the stalactites, you go for his head."
Tamaki used Thunderclap and flash and sliced down all the stalactites being fired at them, clearing a path for Mitsuri. She leaped forwards, going for the demon's head, but she was too slow. The demon was able to fire a small cluster of stalactites at her while she was still out of range to decapitate him.
"Breath of love, Second form: Love pangs!" Mitsuri swung her sword all around her, deflecting the attacks.
"Keep going! You're almost there! You can kill him! I'll take care of the stalactites!" Tamaki rocketed forwards to slice all the incoming stalactites in front of Mitsuri as she came in for the killing blow.
"Breath of love, Fifth form-ack!" Lower Two punched Mitsuri in the stomach before she could use her breathing form. She flew into the air, coughing. Tamaki caught her and set her down gently.
"Come on, I'll take his attention again. This time, remember he has arms, okay?" Tamaki said with a slight chuckle.
"You're so funny," said Mitsuri sarcastically.
The demon summoned its stalactites again, fury in its gaze. As they flew at Tamaki and Mitsuri, they leaped forwards.
"Thunder breathing," said Tamaki, steam venting from between his teeth. He felt the exhilarating surge of a mid-battle high in his body, bolts of electricity appearing in the air around his sword. "Second form: Rice spirit!" One, two, three, four, five slashes. Tamaki counted them out in his head. The stalactites fell towards the ground, arcs of lightning sending them crashing down.
"Breath of love." Mitsuri's voice rang out through the air as she flew forwards at the Lower Moon. "First form: Shivers of first love!" Her sword whipped through the air, winding around the demon's head. With a sharp tug, the demon's head was sliced off. It screamed curses as its body began disintegrating.
"Good job, Mitsuri!" Tamaki smiled at her encouragingly. "Look at that! You've killed your first demon as a Hashira!" Secretly, Tamaki admitted to himself that the demon hadn't really been that strong, but he kept it in his thoughts so as to not burst Mitsuri's bubble.
Mitsuri blushed at his admiration. "Thanks."
Tamaki looked up at the bright, full moon. "Hey, it's not that late, wanna grab some dinner?"
At the mention of food, Mitsuri's eyes lit up. "Yes!" she said excitedly.
Tamaki smiled at her excitement, and the two Hashira walked out of the park and back into the main city.
To be continued…
Next chapter coming 4/13/23