Disclaimer: The following is a fan-based parody. Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and Boruto are all owned by Masashi Kishimoto. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release.
Chapter 13: Meet the Hashira
When the implications finally hit Shirou and Ruby, they both felt their breaths hitch. It was basically coming face-to-face with a secret society, impressive itself in a world of shinobi who blend in the darkness of all aspects.
"I don't understand." Ruby muttered.
"Remember when I said the Breathing Styles was a lost art since the rise of Ninshu." Isshin said. "I never said it was extinct. In the past, users of this art were as common as shinobi but now reduced to a number to fit within the lands of Iron Country, or scattered within nations without shinobi. Ruby, you are worthy to be granted an audience by the pillars, masters of a Breath past down from the very first practitioners. No one before you in this age has been given this honor."
(Cue "The Hashira Theme")
"If I may?" Asked one of the people standing behind Isshin, taking a step forward. "Greetings, Ruby-san. I am Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Pillar and successor to my predecessor Genryusai Yamamoto. Please, call me Rengoku if you will."
Rengoku was a man in his early twenties with the most bizarre hair she had ever seen. It looked like he had a mane of literal fire from the bright yellow, almost golden locks tipped in crimson. His white haori had a white-yellow gradient pattern and a flame designs at the edges that reminded Ruby of the robes of the Hokage. The Flame Pillar drew out his sword and Ruby watched with wide-eyed fascination as the blade roared with fire almost seemingly alive. A more bizarre detail Ruby noticed was how his facial expression carried literal dazzles of light.
A sudden realization crossed Ruby's mind as her silver eyes trailed across the assembled group. 'No way. They are all Breathing Style users with their own art.'
Another of these 'Pillars' stepped up next with a wide smile. "I am Tengen Uzui, founder of the Sound Pillar."
Tengen as he named himself was a massive man towering at 6'6" in height with the body of bulding muscles. His coat lacked sleeves to leave his arms bare to the world with golden bangs on around his biceps, and his face had red tattoo marks under his head of white where a sky blue bead hanged down the side of his forehead. Unlike the rest, he lacked a haori leaving only in his coat and on his back were two katana blades connected by a chain at their pommels.
"Konichiwa." Introduced a woman this time with a warm smile. "Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Pillar. A pleasure to meet you."
Giving a slight bow, Ruby studied the Insect Pillar of the Breathing Style users and instantly noted how her haori was styled in a way she had butterfly wings. She had black hair fading into purple at the tips, pale skin, and eyes that were just a haze gradient purple. A butterfly ornament on the back of Shinobu's head held her hair up in yakai-maki style. The Insect Pillar was quite petite at only five feet in height.
"Muichiro Tokito. Mist Pillar."
The next one was the most 'empty' to Ruby complete with an unfocused expression. Mint green eyes showed how aimless Muichiro's attention was, but his posture was still ramrod straight ready to jump into action. He was the youngest out of the group evident by his youthful features and height of 5'3". Like the ones before him, his hair was also peculiar with it being initially black but transitioning to mint green at the tips.
"Umu~, I am Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Pillar." Spoke a woman in a shy tone. "It is nice to meet you, Shirou, Ruby. You look like quite the couple."
While the sudden compliment went over Shirou's head due to his lack of knowledge, the words from the so-called Love Pillar made Ruby erupt in a crimson blush. The woman was the most 'forward' in appearance, with the chest area left open to reveal a peek to her modest bosom and her haori was cut at the waist to have her thighs bare to the world. Her hair was a rarity of being a bright pink with an greater peculiarity of it ending in light green the same as her eyes.
At this point, Ruby was seeing a pattern with some of the gathered Breathing Arts users and dual-colored hair. With her own weird hair of red-tipped raven locks she would fit right in with these folks.
"Giyu Tomioka, Pillar of Water."
The next of the Breathing Art masters was a man who was the incarnation of gloom. Even with the blank expression and thinned lips, Giyu Tomioka such an aura it would make Madara blink in astonishment. In looks, Giyu was the most normal with only blue eyes and spiky black hair that reached his shoulders.
"Obani Iguro, Serpent Pillar."
The one known as Obani was a strange figure among the gathered Pillars. Bandages covered the lower half of his face, and his eyes were heterochromatic between green and yellow. His hair was a normal black, but from his neck coiled a pale snake he seemed fond of.
"Kanae Kocho, Flower Pillar." Spoke the last woman to introduce herself. "A pleasure to meet you, Ruby-chan."
Out of the introduced Pillars, Kanae had the brightest smile out of all them practically glowing with warmth. Like Shinobu, she had butterfly ornaments in her hair and had purple eyes. Her hair was normal only being a waterfall of black down her back with two bangs framing her face.
"Sanemi Shinzegawa-Ashina, Wind Pillar and successor to my grandfather, Isshin Ashina."
The man that came next was the most crazed out of the group. For Shirou, it was the maddening look in his eyes that rubbed him the wrong away and made his twitch to his sword if he weren't holding two skewers of meat for their lunch. To Ruby, she winced at the multitude of scars decorating his body and face. His hair was a dirty white and had pale purple eyes.
"Gyomei Himejima, Stone Pillar. It's so wonderful to see such passion in people so young."
'He's such a big softie.' Ruby thought.
The final Pillar to introduce himself was a giant of a man standing at over seven feet in height and the oldest among the gathered Pillars. Despite his intimidating height, Ruby and Shirou could feel the gentle aura he radiated. That was further enhanced by the fact the man was crying a river of tears from eyes that were blind by their blank white.
"And I am Isshin Ashina, former Wind Pillar and now guider of the Hashira." Isshin proclaimed, slamming his sheathed odachi to the ground. "Together, we make up the coalition of practitioners of the Breathing Arts and form the Demon Slayer Corps."
(End Ost)
"Sugoi." Ruby said, her silver eyes sparkling before they glanced to the previous trio. "But what about them?"
"Upcoming stars that we have decided to tag along if only to see the outside world." Isshin said, glancing to the trio. "Go on, introduce yourselves properly and with pride."
"Hai." Said Tanjiro, going into a bow before Ruby and Shirou. "Please to meet you. I am Tanjiro Kamado, Tsukogo to the Water Hashira."
"Z-Zenitsu Agatsuma." The blonde introduced himself.
"Inosuke Hashibara, the greatest warrior in the Demon Slayer Corps." Cackled the boar man.
"Demon Slayer Corps?" Shirou wondered. "Please tell me you don't mean the Tailed Beasts."
"Bah, that's just some shinobi nonsense." Isshin grumbled. "They only call the Tailed Beasts 'demons' just because they are forces of nature when they are just that: incarnations of nature. They use the term of demons upon them to stoke fear on the people on something they cannot control these days, but they have forgotten what a true demon is.
"Okami, Shirou, there are words to be said here that must not be repeated anywhere within shinobi lands. The world we inhabit has its own threats than bijuu or some rogue shinobi. The kind of threats far older and in greater malice too. One of these threats is the reason for the Demon Slayer Corps very existence for over one thousand years."
Ruby widened her eyes. "You mean... actual demons?"
If this was true, then it further confirmed Ruby's theory of how much mystery there was the world. There was more to it than just chakra and Tailed Beasts. Legends even older than the use of chakra were becoming less than myth and more towards truth.
"Very real demons by their definition." Isshin explained, a grim frown on his face. "True demons that may walk among us posing as a fellow human or a total monster in flesh and spirit. The only constant is that at their very nature they are chaotic and evil brought on by their insatiable hunger for human flesh. Some may not be as all-powerful as bijuu, but they are true demons in the sense they have no conscience for the innocent and cruel to a fault. Once they were human just like us, but transformed into these vile things by an ancient demon infecting them with his own blood and great malice. The Demon Slayer Corps exists to eliminate the demon scourge and protect the innocent in their ignorance."
"But if they are real, then why haven't we heard of them until now?" Shirou wondered.
"Demons are cunning in the way of blending within society like everyday citizens, and since the rise of shinobi they have tended to avoid most of the Elemental Nations." Isshin answered. "We'd rather keep it that way. Shinobi over the history have not chosen the right decision over an opportunity for their greed of power. Just look at what they do with the Tailed Beasts and the use of jinchuriki. If they knew the existence of actual demons and their virtual immortality, they would no doubt try to extract for their own use. An expedition that would ultimately lead to chaos."
"I see." Ruby said, her eyes narrowed in thought towards the snowy ground before glancing back to Isshin. "But why come to me and Shirou reveal all this? Why bring these people here just for us?"
"Well for one," Spoke Rengoku with a kind smile, "from what we heard from Ashina-dono, we would like to make you honorary Hashira."
Ruby could only blink. "Eh?"
"Excuse me, could you repeat that Rengoku-san?" Shirou said. "I think I got hard of hearing suddenly."
"You heard him right, boy." Isshin said. "When I left the pair of you last time, I know you would grow into your own styles. I can feel it when you exhale; you've found your own Breathing Art, and Hashira are chosen when they master one of the Breathing Arts or create their own."
"...Shiwou-kun, please pinch me." Ruby muttered in disbelief.
"No, you aren't dreaming." Shirou told Ruby, settling the meat he prepared over the fire spit. "But really, why us? What makes us worthy of this honor?"
"Besides the fact that you truly deserve the title of Hashira?" Isshin said with an amused smile. "You sorely underestimate yourselves. The moment I saw the pair of you, talent was bursting off of you. Like Muichiro here. He's only fourteen, but he created his own Breathing Art and became a Hashira in under two months with the Corps. Isn't that wild?! But there are more pertinent reasons for this.
"You see, while most demon activity is within the lands of Iron Country, we do not have reason to be sure that is exclusive. For all we know, they have infiltrated the ranks of the shinobi. If that is the case, we can't do anything unless we want to reveal ourselves to the Hidden Villages, and that is a risk the Corps cannot take. However, seeing that you are trained 'shinobi' and thus officially unaffiliated with Iron Country you are perfect to be our blade passed our borders to wherever the demons are hiding like the rats they are. You know how shinobi act, how they think, and so you can sniff out any demons that may be hiding in their lands where we can't reach."
"I can probably do that, but what would we look for?" Ruby asked by the fact she has hardly been into any of shinobi settlements and their Hidden Villages.
"From what we have discovered, demons are not able to utilize chakra." Isshin informed. "I think that is one reason they tend to avoid shinobi knowing how chakra obsessive they are in thinking all life depends on it. One crucial detail about demons is that they can only exist out a night for they burn to ash in sunlight."
"How does that work?" Shirou asked in child-like curiosity, drawing some looks from the Hashira.
"Leave it to the boy right here to ask questions like that." Isshin muttered, directing his attention to the redhead. "It correlates to why we fight demons with the Breathing Arts. The sun is more than just some 'ball' of fire and light that brings day and warmth. The sun is life itself and without it there would be nothing in this world. Ki is the energy of vitality, that life granted onto us made into a weapon. Demons burn in sunlight because they cannot exist within 'life'. You get what I am saying, boy?"
At Shirou and Ruby's nod, Isshin continued. "Because of their fatal weakness to life, they are unable to channel Ki, much less chakra. However, as the Demon Slayer Corps practice Ki in the Breathing Arts and shinobi use chakra in their jutsu, demons use Blood Demon Arts through the use of Chi; our spiritual side of energy. As they, in a manner of sense, lack vitality, their immortality grants them an unusual affinity for chi allowing them to use powers that even to shinobi would be found... unnatural."
"Can you elaborate?" Shirou asked with a tilt of his head, as if the thought of demons wasn't terrifying to him as anything rarely did.
"Curious little tike, aren't you?" Isshin grumbled, wrinkling his nose. "Imagine bending space, a feat only done through extensive sealing arts and top-tiered jutsu, but at the whim of one's will. Imagine molding reality itself to defy the laws of nature. While we use ki to enhance and alter ourselves, the demons who use chi can change the world around them to their own amusement. That is the kind of power they wield, and a single one can endanger dozens of innocent lives at once."
By her insight, Ruby knew that Isshin's words may as well be sugar-coating the gravity of the threat these actual demons represent. These were not the bijuu labeled as demons because of their destructive nature. What made the demons Isshin and Demon Slayer Corps hunt was in their actual vile nature to ruin innocent lives in their cruel hunger for human flesh. Ruby thought the most ridiculous thing that she had deal with in the future were potentially immortal cultists, but now here she was being revealed that possibly an even greater and older danger exists hiding in plain sight even amongst shinobi society. That however did not mean she was going to put out of this; not by a long shot!
"I'm in." Ruby declared, her eyes shimmering with determination. "If it means I can save people, then I will join you in putting down this demon scourge as they hide like rats."
Isshin's grin reached ear-to-ear. "Ka-ha-ha-ha, you never disappoint, Okami. With this, we can finally inaugurate the two of-"
"Now wait just a second, old man!" A furious shout cut off Isshin's words from Sanemi.
Isshin's smile faltered into a flat line and all eyes turned to the Wind Pillar stepping closer to Ruby and Shirou. A scowl marked his scarred face and the look he sent to the young warriors did not bode well. It was like he was looking at little kids that have caused so much damage and were not worth all this trouble.
"Something you want to say, Wind Hashira?" Isshin said in a neutral tone.
"Fucking hell yes I do!" Sanemi exclaimed rudely, drawing narrowed eyes from his fellow Hashira. "You must be getting senile in your old age. While you praise these two for being fucking Hashira, all I see is nothing is just a pair of brats. There ain't anything special apart from some brats."
If Ruby was offended by Sanemi's outburst, she did not show it. She in fact expected something like this to occur at some point. After, both herself and Shirou were just on the cusp of turning twelve years old. Shirou, who so far had a passive, curious gaze to the revealed Hashira, took on a whole new persona. There was hardly any visible difference, but everyone could sense the sudden shift from Shirou. His mismatched eyes locked onto the Wind Hashira and the gaze he leveled made it pretty clear he saw him as a threat. He shifted himself closer to Ruby till his left shoulder was in front of the silver-eyed Uchiha in order to protect her from potential attack while his right hand reached to the sword at his waist.
"Ara, do you have to be so harsh with children?" Shinobu said with a more menacing underlying tone. "They may be stronger than you think."
Giyu agreed with a nod and added. "These have gathered Ashina-dono's full attention enough to label them Hashira as well."
Sanemi clicked his tongue in annoyance. "How about this then? If there are Hashira material as the old man claims, then why not prove it against one of us to test their mettle? Let's see what they really are in a fight."
Sanemi emphasized his point taking a few more steps towards Ruby and Shirou. His right hand drew out the katana at from its sheath, revealing the steel of the blade to be a startling green with ebony coloring on the blunt edge. In response, Shirou's body tensed ready for action as he made himself a shield between Sanemi and Ruby while drawing out his wakizashi, the steel showing cracks unable to handle his ki from the Breath of Steel. Oddly enough to Ruby there were also some black scorch marks.
Iguro raised his eyebrows. "Sanemi-san, it is against protocol to use the Breathing Arts-"
"I shall allow it!" Isshin announced, slamming his odachi on the ground to make his point. "Okami, boy, are you up to the challenge to prove yourselves?"
"If that is so," Ruby said, "then it would be fair to have it be two-on-two."
"Yosh! Then I shall volunteer." Rengoku said, stepping to the plate. "I have little doubt of Ashina-dono's claims, but I would like to see it for myself."
Ruby nodded, and instantly her relaxed state turned into a tense poise as her knees bent and legs parted in a stance. She drew out her worn katana its cracked steel plain to see but still holding strong. Rengoku readied himself standing a fair distance away from his fellow Hashira in order to battle his opponent without much interference. Madara's successor eyed Sanemi who was giving her the stink eye. She was tempted to approach him for the duel, but Shirou stopped her with an arm raised in Ruby's way.
"Ruby," Shirou said, his tone tense, "I am only making this request that fight this Sanemi?"
Ruby widened her eyes in surprise. Shirou, the selfless love tart that he is, rarely ever requested anything remotely selfless unless he couldn't do it himself. To bring Shirou to this point, Sanemi must have really irked the redhead the wrong way and he wanted to deal with it personally.
"Okay." Ruby agreed, and went off to face against Rengoku.
"Your name is Ruby, is that right?" Rengoku said, holding his blade at a low stance. "Allow me to say this. Set your heart ablaze."
Ruby smirked as she went into iaido. "To you as well, Rengoku-san."
With Shirou and Sanemi, the meeting between them was more hostile. Even to the Hashira and young trio with them spectating there was a fair share of nervous glances. Except from Inosuke because no one was sure what was going on behind the boar mask. The Wind Pillar's frown twisted into a viscious grin somehow contorting his scarred features, making him more insane looking. His eyes were filled with a disturbing excitement brandishing the katana in his hands. From Shirou, his face was one of calm as he took his stance settling his blade over his right arm while held near his left shoulder. However, one can definitely notice a gleam in the redhead's mismatched eyes that conveyed just how much he disliked Sanemi.
"Hope you're prepared to have an early retirement, brat!" Sanemi taunted. "After that, maybe I'll go see if your friend actually has as much spunk as she speaks."
Shirou did not give Sanemi any sort of response, which quickly made the Wind Pillar give a snarl of annoyance. The gleam in his eyes intensified to where the gaze was absolutely violent, almost murderous even. To the Hashira, they were already impressed with the stances Ruby and Shirou put up and how perfected they were despite their young age.
All was still until with none of the fighters daring to move. That is when Isshin raised his sheathed odachi and slammed it down on the ground again, creating the sound akin to a cannon.
"HAJIME!"
By the elder's bellow, the clearing within the forest yet again filled with the song of clashing steel.
Oooh... Sanemi you should not have done that. Pure boi Shirou can take any insults and threats at himself with a straight face. But if you direct those same words to Ruby, then prepared to be stabbed and burned.
And stop asking when Ruby is going back to Remnant already. There is no way I am telling any of you when it is happening. Just be happy to at least know she will! I hate spoiling everything!
Up next is Chapter 14: Legacy
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