Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. This story is a translation of another fanfic of mine. I hope you like it!
Muzan closed the book he had been reading and was visibly annoyed at the moment. He had gone to the library in Asakusa hoping to find the information he needed. How could it be so difficult to find a simple flower? What had he done wrong to not have found it in a millennium? Something had to be amiss, no matter how much he refused to admit it out loud.
That wasn't the only thing that worried him. He maintained a certain level of control over all the demons he had created, and he had noticed that one of them, Nezuko Kamado, had been able to escape his control. He frowned at the memory; it had been more than three centuries since something like that had happened. He believed he had taken measures to ensure that it wouldn't happen again, but it was clear that it wasn't enough. But first, he had to understand how they did it.
He left the book on the shelf and turned to the window, fixing his gaze on the demon who was kneeling and looking down. "Are you sure about that, Kokushibo?" he asked.
"Yes, besides Nezuko Kamado, there is another member of that lineage still alive," the six-eyed demon reiterated. "The eldest daughter of the family, Sumiko Kamado."
"I see," Muzan frowned even more. Failures, that seemed to be all that had been happening lately.
"I can take care of them, if you so desire, my lord," his immediate vassal suggested.
Muzan thought carefully about what to say in response. He did not doubt the abilities of the demon who held the top position among his Upper Moons. But he was convinced, or at least had a gut feeling, that those two would be key to his goal of conquering the sun. Once he achieved that, he would be completely invincible.
"No, not for now," he decided. He didn't want to rush things, he knew that would lead to a mistake, again.
Kokushibo nodded immediately but did not raise his head. "What do you think about it?" Muzan asked, focusing all his attention on his subordinate, who swallowed hard at the threatening tone used by the other.
"It's too early to draw conclusions," he said, hesitantly. They had not yet confirmed that those two were a threat. Although what Nezuko Kamado had accomplished was concerning, it was too early to draw conclusions.
Muzan growled a little. "You may go. Keep doing what I ordered you to do. It's very important that we locate them."
Kyojuro smiled contentedly, he had finally finished what he wanted to give Sumiko for passing the Final Selection. He had commissioned a trusted blacksmith to make a handguard for her katana. He observed the result: it was black, the same color as her weapon, and to the Flame Pillar, it resembled a cartwheel with a circular shape and lines connecting to its core.
He hoped she would like the detail, he thought as he put it away and left the store after paying the agreed amount. He had to hurry to give it to her; it wouldn't be strange if they started calling her for missions soon. The Corps had been suffering from a shortage of members for some time, with many dying right away, and it was not easy to cover all those losses.
Other Pillars complained about the low level of recruits and were sure that demands were getting lower. It was also true that many of the new recruits simply gave up due to the harsh training. If things continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before the Corps disappeared, although they couldn't lower the level of the training's toughness.
He tried to push those thoughts out of his head; it wasn't good to dwell on something like that now. He made an effort to smile and continued on his way. The Butterfly Estate was not too far from where he was, about a fifteen-minute walk at a leisurely pace.
As he walked, Kyojuro noticed the people he passed. He envied the tranquility and carefree attitude he perceived in them, possibly none of them had even heard of the demons and still had the opportunity to live without fear. Ignorance was a blessing in their case, thought the young man.
Part of him wished they would continue to be like that, not knowing anything, but at the same time, he couldn't help feeling uneasy about it. Every night, Corps members risked their lives to protect them, and they would never know it.
Although it was a recognized organization maintained by the government, its existence remained hidden from the population, except for the police, with whom they had needed to collaborate on more than one occasion. In addition, by direct orders of the government, they had an obligation to inform the Corps if they suspected any demon activity in a city.
And it was something that, up to that point, had worked quite well, Kyojuro thought, as he finally left the small town and began the ascent up the hill where the mansion was.
Shinobu sighed, tired and running out of patience. Having a Pillar as a patient always meant extra work, but with Shinazugawa, it was even more demanding.
"Shinazugawa, you should let me stitch up that wound," she said, annoyed that she had to take care of it herself since the other girls were too afraid to come near him.
The man frowned. He had an open wound in his abdomen, and although he had already treated it himself, more or less, it still needed proper care.
"It's nothing. I've had worse injuries," he replied. "Besides, it's not bleeding anymore."
"It could still get infected," she tried to convince him. She wasn't going to give up yet, even though they had been at it for a while, and the conversation wasn't progressing.
He held her gaze. Neither of them was willing to give in, both were quite stubborn when they set their minds to it. Until one of them broke eye contact first.
"If you stitch me up, will you stop nagging me?" Shinazugawa asked, grumpily, but the woman didn't flinch. She smiled and immediately got to work. The sooner she finished, the sooner he would leave.
She was almost done when her patient spoke again. "What do you think about what was discussed in the last meeting?"
Shinobu, who had been picking up the necessary medical equipment, stopped and looked at him. "About the demon girl?" she asked, pretending to be a little naive.
"Kocho, you know damn well what I'm talking about," Shinazugawa's anger had returned, stronger than before.
"If there's a demon who can get along with humans and hasn't eaten any of us, that means we can be friends," the woman responded almost mechanically, as if reciting something she had memorized.
Shinazugawa fell silent and watched her, paying attention for a couple of minutes. "There are no demons like that. We should kill her."
"Shinazugawa... don't tell me you're going to disobey the leader," she said, pretending to be horrified, bringing her hand to her mouth and widening her eyes. She knew full well that this was the weakness of the Wind Pillar.
The man gritted his teeth. Ubuyashiki had been very clear about it, but... allowing a demon to live went against the nature of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Aware that her trick had worked, Shinobu proceeded to stitch and bandage the wound while smiling a little.
"Well, that's it," she announced, stepping away from him.
Sanemi got up from the bed he had been lying on and, without even saying thank you, left the infirmary.
"You should wait a few days before you start killing demons," the woman said loud enough for him to hear.
Sumiko effortlessly carried the laundry basket, having been helping the three young girls who, along with Aoi, were responsible for maintaining the mansion and tending to the injured. They were quite pleasant, Sumiko thought, unable to help but remember her younger siblings. Thinking of them, she began to silently cry. If only she had been there that night... She quickly wiped away her tears, telling herself that it was not the time to cry. Nezuko needed her, and she had to be strong.
Lost in thought, she didn't notice a man coming down the hallway and they collided. "I'm so sorry!" she immediately apologized. "Watch where you're going!" the other man shouted, in a bad mood, and continued on his way without paying much attention to her. Sumiko wrinkled her nose, although unintentionally, she had caught a whiff of that man's scent. She could clearly sense his emotions: anger and hatred, just like with Shinobu Kocho, but much more intense.
Feeling somewhat dizzy from the overpowering smell, she hastened her steps to leave as soon as possible. She went to the room where they kept the laundry and left the basket in its place. She exited and closed the door. For now, until she had a mission, she had nothing better to do and preferred to keep herself occupied with mundane things.
She made her way to her sister's bedroom and, after knocking twice, as they had agreed, she entered. "Nezuko, how are you?" the elder asked, approaching.
The demon smiled and looked at her. "Somewhat bored, you know I can't go out."
Sumiko made a face at that, not only was it daytime, but the other girls didn't feel comfortable with Nezuko wandering around the house, even with Shinobu present. And really, she couldn't blame them for that, the young hunter thought.
"I'm...sorry," she muttered the first thing that came to mind, but Nezuko vehemently shook her head. "Don't apologize for something that's not your fault."
"I know, but..." Sumiko began to say, but was interrupted again.
"No buts. You have nothing to do with how they feel," Nezuko said firmly.
Sumiko nodded, not entirely convinced. "I don't think it'll be long before they assign me a mission," she admitted, changing the subject.
"Did they give you the uniform back?"
"Yes, I have it now."
"Without anything strange this time?"
"I think so. I'll put it on later," the girl said. "Nezuko...don't you think it would be better for you to stay here?" Sumiko had been thinking about this for days. She didn't want her sister in danger. It was her duty as the elder to protect her.
"No, don't even think about leaving me here," Nezuko hissed, angry. "I'm going with you, always."
"Nezuko..." Sumiko tried to think quickly about what to say to convince her.
"For starters, you don't know what the one who killed our family looks like," the younger sister retorted immediately.
"I know his scent."
"And? With some perfume, that can be masked," Nezuko pointed out seriously.
Sumiko sighed, her sister didn't seem willing to change her mind, and if she kept insisting, they would only end up arguing and getting angry.
Rengoku enthusiastically greeted Sanemi as the two crossed paths at the entrance to the mansion.
"Get out of the way," the Wind Pillar replied sharply, finding the other's good mood detestable at the moment.
Kyojuro, quite accustomed to Sanemi's constant bad mood and that kind of response, stepped aside without saying anything. It wasn't a good idea to provoke him any further, the last time he did, the Wind Pillar had tried to start a fight.
"See you at the next meeting!"
Sanemi didn't respond and quickly left. Rengoku didn't pay any attention to him and entered the mansion, he had to find Sumiko.
He found her, minutes later, in the room with her uniform already on. The girl held her sheathed katana, watching.
"The uniform looks great on you!" he said, startling the girl, although he didn't realize it. "I brought you a gift! For passing the Final Selection."
Sumiko took the guard he was offering and, under the man's gaze, placed it on her katana.
"Thank you so much, Rengoku!" the young girl thanked him, smiling slightly. She had really liked it and hadn't expected that kind of gesture from him.
"If you're ready, we should go," Rengoku said. Although Sumiko was now receiving missions, she was still his apprentice and had to accompany him.
"I'm going to look for Nezuko," she said and quickly left the room.
They had been out for almost a week when Sumiko received her first mission. In a village several days away from where they were, young girls had been disappearing every night for almost two months. More than one Hunter had been sent to take care of it, but of the six sent, none had returned alive.
"Well, let's head over there!" Rengoku commented enthusiastically when the young woman's crow, who had notified her of the mission, perched on her left shoulder. Sumiko nodded, trying to hide the nervousness she felt, fully aware of what all this entailed. She glanced at her teacher, expecting him to intervene if things got rough.
"It's possible that it's a demon possessing some blood technique," Kyojuro commented. They were demons with a special ability, stronger than usual.
Sumiko swallowed nervously, even more nervous than before. Although she had already killed several demons, she had not yet encountered one with that kind of ability.
When Kyojuro began running towards the village without warning, the girl grunted a bit and tried to follow him. Although, thanks to the time she had been practicing with breathing, she was more or less able to keep up with him, she no longer lost sight of him, and couldn't match the speed that the Flame Pillar could achieve.
She began to run after him, aware that Rengoku was not going to wait for her, and the longer they took to arrive, the more victims there would be. They traveled the streets of the village, having arrived at night, and Nezuko had come out of the basket as soon as the sun had set. She walked alongside her sister, and they were searching the area for any sign of the demon.
They had been searching for a while and were still not having much luck, at least until both Nezuko and Sumiko stopped abruptly as they passed through one of the streets.
"It smells rotten," Sumiko murmured when Rengoku looked at them, not understanding.
"Demon," Nezuko corrected her immediately. It was a faint smell, but it was there.
"Where?" Rengoku asked seriously, relying on his disciple's sharp sense of smell.
The two young women ran with the Pillar following close behind until they reached another street, where they stopped and looked around confused. The smell was stronger there, but they didn't see anything.
"The trail ends here," said Nezuko, pointing to a specific spot on the ground that was slightly darker than the rest.
"But it smells like human too," Sumiko added, worried, as Rengoku advanced towards that point and, without hesitation, plunged his katana into the ground.
There was a scream, and seconds later, a young girl emerged from the ground. She had a terror-stricken face, but at first glance, she didn't seem hurt. Rengoku pulled her up and out, jumping back with her in his arms, quickly getting away from there.
Sumiko unsheathed her katana and focused her gaze on the point where the girl had come from. The demon could come out at any moment, she thought with evident nervousness.
Rengoku glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, not planning to intervene any further. From that point on, she would have to manage on her own. Taking care of the demon himself would be counterproductive in this case.
At that moment, the demon emerged from the ground behind where Sumiko was standing and tried to scratch her from behind, but before it could even touch her, Nezuko, who had been paying attention, kicked it, easily tearing off that limb.
The demon hissed angrily and looked at his attacker. For a few seconds, his expression was one of surprise and confusion, but it quickly turned into one of anger. He was a demon with green skin, three small horns on his forehead, and completely red eyes without pupils or irises. He was dressed like a ninja and had long, dark hair with a violet tone.
"What are you doing protecting those humans?" he asked, addressing Nezuko. Instead of answering, she launched herself at him, forcing him to dodge and hide under the ground again.
Without wasting any time, Nezuko returned to her sister's side. The two of them remained alert, looking around and waiting to be attacked again. Both girls were tense, aware that they could be attacked from any direction.
At that moment, a green hand of the demon emerged from the ground and grabbed Sumiko's ankle, pulling her down with it. When Nezuko tried to grab her sister's hand before she completely disappeared, another demon came out of the nearby wall and clawed her face, hitting her eyes directly and blinding her, making the young demon scream in pain.
Nezuko took several steps back, feeling her way around. She would have to rely on her hearing and sense of smell while her eyes regenerated. It was a daunting situation for her, even though her senses were much sharper than those of a human.
Sumiko held her breath as best she could. The demon had dragged her to a kind of swamp, and with the brown water surrounding her, she could barely see around her. She had to surface as soon as possible, she couldn't hold her breath for much longer. She started swimming upward as fast as she could.
She heard the sound of someone approaching her at full speed and before she could react, her vision was impaired and the added weight of her wet clothes and katana made her movements difficult. The demon scratched her in the side, and the fabric of her uniform jacket tore easily, causing blood to immediately flow from the wound.
Suppressing a wince of pain, the young girl kept trying to reach the surface, even more aware that she was at a disadvantage. When she heard the demon come after her again, she tried to defend herself with her weapon, but she was barely able to wield it properly, only causing a minor wound to her attacker.
She gritted her teeth, knowing there was little she could do in those circumstances. Taking advantage of the few seconds she had been able to buy, she kept swimming upwards, hoping to reach the outside.
The demon quickly realized this and snapped his fingers on his left hand, causing the opening to close. He smiled with amusement, he was going to enjoy watching this human run out of air and die. Seeing the desperation in her eyes once she accepted that there was no escape would be very satisfying. He licked his lips, thinking about the feast he would soon enjoy.
Rengoku carefully laid the girl on the ground. The situation was getting more complicated than he liked, and even though he had promised not to intervene, he had no choice in those circumstances. The demon wasn't particularly powerful, but its blood technique was a problem and Sumiko had been submerged for too long.
He unsheathed his sword and prepared to intervene. Nezuko fought hand-to-hand against the demon on the surface, cutting off any possibility of it diving into the swamp. Her eyes had healed, so she could finally fight at full strength again.
Feeling overwhelmed, the demon put both hands on the ground and created another entrance to the swamp, clearly intending to dive in. But before he could do so, Rengoku, who had advanced towards him at full speed, swiftly cut off his head.
"I'm going to get your sister," he told Nezuko, and without waiting for a response, he dived into the swamp without a second thought.
As soon as he was underwater, he searched for his pupil with his eyes. He saw her defending herself as best she could against two demons. One was the one who had dragged her there, and the other, although almost identical in appearance, had two horns.
He swam as fast as he could towards them when he saw the state the young woman was in. She had several cuts on her face and body, although they didn't seem too serious. When he saw that she closed her eyes and lost consciousness, he accelerated because the two demons had also noticed.
Cutting off both their heads was easy for Kyojuro, who didn't bother using one of his breathing techniques for it. He grabbed Sumiko and began to swim quickly to the surface.
Nezuko watched paralyzed as Rengoku tried to revive her sister. The demon didn't know what to do, it didn't seem like there was anything she could do, she thought, while she watched Kyojuro do what he called a cardiopulmonary massage. The only thing that could save her in that situation, Nezuko hoped it would work, she couldn't lose her too.
She had promised herself that she would protect her, and at the first hurdle, she felt completely failed, Nezuko said with anger, she was too weak, it was clear that she had to find a way to be strong, her current level was not enough.
She clenched her fists, although she relaxed somewhat when her sister finally began to react and spat out the water she had swallowed while coughing strongly. Without giving the Pillar time to say anything, she pushed him away with more force than she intended and hugged her sister.
She cried, not caring that her clothes were getting soaked along with her sister's.
Rengoku, who had barely been moved by the push, approached both of them. He hugged both, relieved to have managed to save his apprentice. For a moment, he thought she wouldn't make it.
Kokushibo watched everything that was happening from the roof of a nearby building. Following the orders of his master, he had continued to keep an eye on those two.
The demon furrowed his brow slightly. Judging by her strength, Nezuko Kamado had received, like he had once, a huge amount of blood. It was curious, although the amount of blood influenced a demon's potential, not having fed on any humans, she should be quite weak.
It was going to be interesting, thought the Upper Moon One. He would have to tell his master what he had seen, maybe they could take advantage of it.
See you soon with the next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! I would love to hear your thoughts!