Hi there! I'm back again!
Mid terms are done, I'm starting to get my life back on track and I couldn't feel better! To celebrate the weekend, here's a new chapter!
This time, we'll be focusing more on Onijiro's story. We'll be diving into what he did while Tanjiro was dealing with Muzan.
Sorry if this chapter is a little shorter than usual, I couldn't really stretch out this concept any further before it overstayed its welcome.
Thanks for all the support you've given me! This story has recently broke 450 followers and 380 Favorites! Let's see if we can reach 500 Follows and 400 Favs!
Anywho, enjoy!
*I do not own Demon Slayer, Kimetsu no Yaiba. The Anime/Manga belongs to Ufotable and its author, Koyoharu Gotouge.
"Tanjiro" = Talking
"Tanjiro" = Thinking
Tanjiro - Middle Alignment = POV
Japan - Middle Alignment = Location
"Tanjiro" = Flashback
Crash! - Left Alignment = Sound effect
Water Breathing = Breathing technique/Blood Demon Art
Chapter 15.5 - Black and Blue
Kanae Kocho
Butterfly Mansion
-Two Days after the Battle in the Capital-
Kanae and Aoi were tending to the Demon Slayers who were present during the Tokyo Capital Incident. Kanae was focusing on Kyojuro Rengoku and Mitsuri Kanroji.
Kanae admired Rengoku's spirit and goofy behavior, especially after what he just went through. His flare could also give even Uzui a run for his money.
Then there was Mitsuri. She was very sweet, if a little naive and gullible. Strangely enough, some aspects about her reminded her of Tanjiro.
Tanjiro: "How do I feel when I use Hinokami Kagura or Sun Conqueror? Well, my body kind goes like SSSSS and WAAAAAH! My brain is all WOWOWOWOW! After that, my whole body goes BLUGGGH...If that makes sense."
Mitsuri: "When I was fighting those mean doggies, my heart was all BOOM BOOM and WAMWAM! And I was all like AAAAAAAAAAAGH! You know!?"
Tanjiro: Where do babies come from? That's easy! When a man and woman love each other VERY much, God blesses that couple with their own little bundle of joy! It's beautiful! Hmm? Oh, my parents told me that when I was four. No, I couldn't sniff out lies with my nose back then, why do you ask? Huh? What's wrong? Did I say something funny?"
"I'd tell him the truth but the fact that he still believes that is adorable!"
Mitsuri: "WAAAH! Why are YOUR clothes normal!? I thought all female members wore an outfit like mine! That perverted tailor lied to me! NOOOOO!"
"I feel for her, I would've been in the same position if Shinobu hadn't talked me out of it and burned those uniforms in front of the tailor which was a little cruel in my opinion. Yet, he still hasn't learned his lesson..."
After that, Kanae visited Tanjiro's room and found Kanao sitting next to Tanjiro's bed. The boy in question was snoozing peacefully.
Kanae couldn't keep the smile off of her face. "Looking at him now, it's still hard to believe he's a demon. When he's asleep, he looks like a normal boy."
"Hello, Kanao!" Kanae waved to her adoptive little sister. Kanao eyed her with a suspicious look in her eyes.
"Hello, Master..."
"Ah, she still hasn't forgiven me for my little prank!"
"W-Well, I was just checking up on Tanjiro! I'll leave you two alone now. Remember to go to bed later, okay?"
"Okay."
"Though if you want to climb into bed with Tanjiro, I certainly won't stop yo-"
Schling!
Kanao grabbed Tanjiro's sword and began to unsheath it. Sweat dripped down Kanae's forehead. "Message received, gotta go now, BYE!" She said hurriedly.
-Middle of the Night-
Everyone had gone to bed, everything was quiet and peaceful. Until...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Kanae shot up from her bed, Shinobu doing the same. "Tanjiro." She uttered before she sprung to action.
Kanae and Shinobu quickly changed into their uniforms, grabbed their swords, and sprinted to Tanjiro's room where the screaming was coming from.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
When they opened the door, Kanae covered her mouth as Tanjiro was writhing on the floor while screaming. His eyes were open and rolled to the back of his head.
Kanae rushed to Tanjiro's side and hugged him tight. "Tanjiro! It's okay! You're alright! I'm here!" She tried to calm the boy down but to no avail as he struggled in her grasp.
It was only due to Kanae's breathing techniques and the fact that Tanjiro was not fully conscious that the Flower Hashira wasn't being overpowered by the demon's raw strength.
Sadly, that fact would soon change. Kanae was holding Tanjiro from behind, which led to her getting headbutted when Tanjiro really started trying to break free from her.
"Sister!" Shinobu yelled out. Kanae was dazed for a moment as her nose began to bleed.
"T-Tan...ji..." Tanjiro accidentally headbutted her again. This time, he was able to slip away and jumped onto the wall, clinging to it with his claws.
He climbed to the ceiling and let out a great roar. "GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"
Suddenly, his scar began to glow as multiple Crimson Flare Chains sprouted from his back. The chains pushed off of the ceiling, launching Tanjiro into the floor, leaving a dent in it.
Tanjiro continued to scream like crazy as his chains flew around wildly. Kanae and Shinobu jumped around the room at fast speeds to avoid the chains.
Shinobu switched her sword to a non lethal poison and charged at Tanjiro. However, she had to jump back as the chains sprouting from Tanjiro wouldn't give her an opening.
Shinobu inhaled and got into a stance before dashing through the chains at blinding speed. Then, she thrusted her sword into the left side of Tanjiro's forehead where his brain was located.
Insect Breathing: Bee Sting Dance - True Flutter
Tanjiro's eyes rolled back down from the back, revealing wide, red, slitted irises. The boy went still for a moment before he recovered from the shock and started screaming again.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!" This time, they were screams of agonizing pain and fear. His Crimson Flare Chains fell apart and vanished.
Kanae froze, she hadn't heard the boy scream like that since Kajima the night she fought with Onijiro. She still remembered his screams when she injected poison into Onijiro's brain.
Shinobu had to jump back as Tanjiro started swinging his claws around in a panic. Kanae caught a glimpse of Tanjiro's right eye, his cat-like pupil was starting to change shape.
Tanjiro suddenly got on all fours and repeatedly smashed his head against the floor. Kanae got behind him and lifted him by holding his arms back.
"Tanjiro, stop! You have to snap out of it!"
Shinobu spoke in a more menacing tone. "ONIJIRO! I don't know what you're doing to Tanjiro, but you better stop it right NOW!"
Kanae looked pleadingly at Shinobu. "No, Shinobu! We don't know if Onijiro is doing this!"
"Well how else can we explain this!?" Shinobu yelled back.
Kanae hesitated, she had no good answer for that. She looked back down at the struggling Tanjiro, careful not to let him hit her again.
"Tanjiro! Onijiro! Please, come back to us!" Kanae shouted before Rengoku, Kanroji, Aoi, and Kanao ran through the door.
"What's happening!?" Rengoku asked as he took in the situation.
Kanao stared at the screaming Tanjiro with a horrified expression. "Master Kanae! What's wrong with Tanjiro!"
Kanae stared at her adoptive sister with wide eyes. "I...I don't know...!" That's when Tanjiro tried to headbutt Kanae again.
This time, the Flower Hashira moved her head out of the way, but the demon in her arms slipped away again. Rengoku and Kanroji sprang into action, both holding one of Tanjiro's arms to restrain him.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAGH! AAAGH! AAAGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Shinobu began to instruct the two holding Tanjiro. "Take him to his bed! Hold him down! I'm going to get sedatives!" She said before charging out of the room.
Rengoku and Kanroji pulled Tanjiro to his bed and held him down to it. Kanao walked up to Tanjiro's bed and looked at him with concern. "Tanjiro..."
As Tanjiro continued to scream, Kanao looked at his hand and held it between hers with tears in her eyes. "Tanjiro, please stop screaming...I can't stand seeing you like that..."
Tanjiro screamed again and again as Kanao began to cry cry, begging him to stop. Kanae was surprised to see Kanao, who she had never once seen cry, break down in tears over the boy she liked.
Of course, Kanae was also heartbroken. She too wished the horrible screaming would stop. She wanted to comfort Tanjiro, support him, but she was helpless in this situation.
After a few minutes passed, black flames bursted from Tanjiro. "YIKES!" Kanroji yelped as she jumped away, followed by are Rengoku who pulled Kanao away.
The screams had finally stopped as the flames began to die. Onijiro sat up with wide eyes. "What...the hell?"
He looked around, confused, which described everyone else in the room. Kanae stepped towards the bed. "Onijiro? What happened?"
Onijiro looked at Kanae. "I...don't know. I was unconscious due to the exhaustion of Tanjiro's mission and...suddenly, I heard screaming..."
"Next thing I know, I'm here." Onijiro explained as Shinobu ran into the room with a needle in hand. She spotted Onijiro and glared at him.
She pocketed the needle and walked up to the demon before grabbing him by the collar. "You! What did you do to him!?"
Onijiro was stunned, but anger soon replaced shock. "Get your fucking hands off me! I didn't do shit!"
"You expect me to believe that, demon!?" Shinobu replied.
"Gee, for someone so knowledgeable on demons, you sure do love to forget the fact that Tanjiro is also one himself!"
"He's nothing like you! Don't you ever compare yourself to him! You're just lucky you two share a body because otherwise, I would've killed you by now!"
Kanae was surprised by Shinobu's harsh words, but not as much as she was by the hurt look on Onijiro's face which was only there for a split second before he adopted a look of absolute rage. "The fuck did you just say, shortie!?"
"ENOUGH!" Everyone looked at Kanae who had just yelled at everyone. None of them had seen her get so frustrated before, not even Shinobu.
After taking deep breath, Kanae turned her attention to Onijiro. "Onijiro, is Tanjiro okay?"
Onijiro focused and closed his eyes. "...I can't hear him."
Shinobu got in the demon's face. "What do mean you can't hear him!?"
Onijiro growled at the Insect Hashira. "I mean what I mean! He's not answering me! His heart and brain are fine, but I can't communicate with his mind."
Kanao seemed to pale, Aoi, who was next to her, noticed this and put a hand on her shoulder for support. Kanae closed her eyes and sighed.
"Alright, let's head to bed. We'll deal with this in the morning." Kanae said, everyone but Kanao and Onijiro nodded.
After everyone else left, Kanae remained in the room with Onijiro. He sat on the bed with shadow over his face. "Onijiro...?"
"What?" He answered with venom in his voice. Kanae looked at the boy with concern.
"It's just...Are you okay?" She asked.
Onijiro looked up at her with suspicious eyes. "Yes, why wouldn't I be...?"
"It's just that...when Shinobu said she would kill you if it weren't for Tanjiro, you looked troubled."
Onijiro sat still, glaring at the eldest Kocho sister who continued on. "I just want you to know that, I believe you. I'm on your side." Kanae smiled and went to pat Onijiro's head.
"PISS OFF!" Onijiro smacked her head away and stared daggers at her. "I TOLD YOU I DON'T NEED YOUR FUCKING PITY!"
Kanae stepped back and frowned. "I...I'm sorry...I overstepped, I see that now."
"Just leave me alone, human..."
Kanae did just that without another word. She couldn't go back to sleep that night...
Onijiro Kamado
-Two Days Later-
Onijiro was reading a book in the training dojo. Aoi and the three little shits were sweeping the floor.
It had been two days since the incident, and things had been tense, especially between Onijiro and Shinobu. He knew that she accused him of Tanjiro's silent treatment. (Totally not his fault, by the way.)
Onijiro, on the other hand, was frustrated with Shinobu for immediately accusing him of causing everything to go to shit. Like jeez, you take over a guy's body ONE TIME!
Onijiro tried his best to keep his mind off of it. He was currently reading a book that explained sex and stuff.
Onijiro borrowed some knowledge from very vague glimpses of Muzan's memories, but it was as limited as it was vague. Thus, he had to rely on whatever knowledge Tanjiro had...which was frighteningly little.
Besides breathing techniques, training, strategy, and chores, Tanjiro didn't have much going on in the brains department.
"So that's where babies come from. I knew Tanjiro's parents were talking bullshit. 'When a man and women love each other very much, God blesses them with blah blah blah!' Honestly, grow the fuck up already!"
"Ahem!"
Onijiro looked up from his book to see Aoi staring at him with her hands on her hips and an annoyed look on her face. "Do you mind?" She asked.
Onijiro looked at her with an unfazed expression. "No, you can stay."
Aoi's left eye began to twitch, she sighed. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to help."
Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo all stopped to nod. "Yeah! Stop being lazy, mean Tanjiro!" Naho yelled.
The unfazed Onijiro continued to stare at Aoi. "Sorry, I can't." He said before grabbing his right leg...
Crack!
...and snapping his calf, bending it upward. "Leg's broken." Onijiro said with a smirk before returning to his book.
Thwak!
"OW!" Onijiro then got hit on the head by Aoi's broom. Onijiro dropped his book, snapped his leg back into place, and shot up to his feet, extremely pissed off. "YOU WHORE! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THAT!"
Suddenly, a pissed off Aoi pushed the broom into Onijiro's hands, catching the demon off guard. "Shut up and clean! If you want Lady Shinobu to stop breathing down your neck, I suggest making yourself useful."
Onijiro was stunned as Aoi walked away. Then, after recovering from his shock. "OI! YOU CAN'T JUST HIT ME WITH A BROOM, TELL ME WHAT TO DO, AND THEN LEAVE!"
Aoi looked back and smirked. "What's wrong? The 'Future Demon King' can't handle a little cleaning?"
Veins bulged on Onijiro's forehead, his eyes growing wider and his mouth morphing into a sadistic grin. "HUH?"
"Welp, I suppose it can't be helped. If you can't do something as simple as sweeping the floor, we 'filthy humans' will have to do it ourselves. If only Tanjiro were here, he'd get this done in a flash."
Black flames shot out of the top of Onijiro's head like a human volcano. "OH HELL NO!"
Onijiro suddenly started sweeping the room furiously. "DON'T FUCK WITH ME! ANYTHING THAT COCK-SUCKER, TANJIRO, CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER! WATCH!"
-Later-
Onijiro ran around the room, cleaning the entire floor to the point where everything was shining. Aoi was pleasantly surprised. Onijiro...not so much.
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAR!" Onijiro roared as he threw the broom down on the floor and began jumping on it. "DAMN IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I FELL FOR THAT!"
Aoi stared at Onijiro before she started giggling. Onijiro halted his temper tantrum to slowly turn his head towards the girl with a deadly glare.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT! THAT'S IT! YOU JUST MADE THE LIST, BITCH!"
Suddenly, Shinobu opened the door to the dojo and entered. "Is everything alright?" Shinobu asked, casting a not so subtle glare at Onijiro.
Aoi turned to the Hashira and bowed. "Lady Shinobu, Onijiro was just helping us with cleaning."
Shinobu raised an eyebrow. "Oh, was he now?" She asked, clearly suspicious.
Aoi did not falter. "Yes, he said we were too slow and annoying him."
Onijiro shot a glare at Aoi before calming down. He wasn't stupid, he knew Aoi was just trying to make the lie more convincing.
Shinobu narrowed her eyes at Onijiro. Onijiro noticed this and returned the gaze. "Is that a problem?"
Shinobu simply turned away and began to walk out of the room. "Very well then."
After she left, Onijiro turned back to Aoi. "So, why'd you help me?"
Aoi looked over at Onijiro. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like you any more than she does."
Onijiro scoffed in response as Aoi continued. "But, Lady Kanae is always saying there is good in you and I trust her with my life. So, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and not treat you like a savage beast."
Onijiro narrowed his eyes. "Gee, thanks..."
Aoi then walked out of the room, as did the three little brats. Onijiro stood alone in the dojo with his arms crossed. He started grinding his teeth.
"Damn it! Who does she think she is!? I don't need her help! And why the hell am I so...flustered!?"
-The Next Day-
It was morning after breakfast, Onijiro and Aoi were washing dishes. Onijiro did it more angrily as Aoi had once again challenged him.
"I bet Tanjiro could wash ten dishes before YOU could wash even ONE."
"Hah! Like I'm falling for that a second time!"
...He fell for it a second time.
Bonk!
"Ow!" Onijiro got hit on the head before growling at Aoi.
"Don't scrub so hard, IDIOT! You're gonna break them!" She scolded the demon.
"SHUT UP! You're lucky I'm doing this shit at all!" Onijiro shot back.
Aoi sighed and put her focus back on her side of the dishes. Onijiro's left eye twitched as he continued scrubbing.
Crack!
"...Shit."
"Damn it! What did I tell you!?"
Bonk!
"OW!"
-Two Days Later-
Dream Forest
"Tanjiro!" Onijiro shouted as he walked around his shared mind-scape. "Hey! Tanjiro! Get your ass out here!"
"..." Silence met the young demon. He was beginning to become more and more frustrated.
"Where the hell did he go!? I can still feel his presence but I can't find him at all! No matter what I say, he gives me nothing at all!"
Onijiro tapped his foot rapidly. "Wait, why do I even care!? If he's gone for good and I get full control of his body, I won't have anyone to hold me back. It'll be that much easier to become Demon King!"
Onijiro looked around again, realizing how...empty the place felt without that bastard, Tanjiro, around. "I gotta say...this place is a little depressing without his company..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Oh, whatever! Good riddance, I say! I don't need anybody! I'm surrounded by enough people as it is! And they all only care about Tanjiro, anyway! Me, I'm just typical demon scum to them! Well fuck them!"
"He's nothing like you! Don't you ever compare yourself to him!"
Onijiro crossed his arms and stared at the ground...
"You're lucky you two share a body because otherwise, I would've killed you by now!"
He but his lip until it drew blood. "I don't need them. Friends? Family? Love? Humanity? You pathetic humans can keep that shit to yourselves..."
"I don't need anyone...I am perfect...They'll see..." Onijiro took a deep breath. He woke up...
-The Next Day-
Another morning came...and with it, an odd occurrence.
Onijiro was scrubbing the floors of the mansion, running through the halls while wiping the floors with a towel like he'd seen Tanjiro do (while laughing at how fucking stupid he looked.).
He ran by Aoi and Kanao. "Good work, Onijiro." Said the former while Kanao had a confused look on her face.
"Go fuck yourself." Onijiro replied as he ran down another hall.
-Later at Dinner-
Aoi was now teaching Onijiro how to cook tenpura and anpan while preparing dinner. Onijiro was a surprisingly fast learner. He was able to make a decent batch of both.
"Impressive! You're a natural!" Aoi said, genuinely impressed.
Onijiro gave a prideful smirk and pointed a thumb at himself. "Why are you surprised? I said I was better than Tanjiro in every way and I meant it!"
Aoi rolled her eyes before picking up a tray and walking out of the kitchen, Onijiro followed her with his own tray.
Everyone seemed to enjoy, the three little brats all beamed, Kanae and Mitsuri gave Onijiro a double thumbs up, Rengoku said "UMAI!", even Shinobu said "Not bad...for a demon."
That last part irked Onijiro, but his ego wasn't bruised so easily as he triumphantly stuffed his face. He felt...really good.
-Later-
Training Yard
Onijiro sat back against a tree, watching the stars in the sky. The moon was hidden by the clouds. He thought for a while, about all the progress he'd made with everyone.
He didn't smell constant bloodlust from Shinobu, and everyone else seems to actually like him. Yep, things were great...
Inhale...
"WHAT AM I DOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING ! ? ! ?"
Onijiro shot to his feet with angry steam rising from his whole body. "I'M GONNA BE THE FUCKING DEMON KING! AND I'M MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE SAME HUMANS WHO'D HAVE ME DEAD A FEW MONTHS AGO!"
WHAT IS THIS, A FUCKING CHILDREN'S STORY!? 'And they all lived happily ever after!' HELL NO!"
"KANZAKI! THIS IS ALL HER FAULT! I'VE BEEN TURNED INTO THAT WITCH'S PUPPET!"
"That does it! When I see her face again, I'll tear out her intestines and use them as a rope to HANG HER!"
"As sweet as that sounds..." Onijiro froze. "I think I'll pass."
Onijiro jumped and turned to see Aoi standing behind him with her hands on her hips and her eyebrow raised. Onijiro, for the first time in his short life, blushed.
"Y-You...I...How long have you been there!?" Onijiro asked.
"Around the part where you started talking about a children's story or something." Aoi answered.
Onijiro growled at the girl. "Alright, look here, you! I only went along with your schemes to get Shinobu off my back but this has gone too far! This isn't worth it anymore!"
Aoi scoffed. "Stop whining, I helped you, remember? Don't you see how better your life could be if you dropped this whole 'Future Demon King' thing? You should be thanking me."
"THANK YOU!?"
"You're welcome."
"YOU-! GUH-! MY-!...GAAAAAH! YOU'RE DRIVING ME INSANE!" Onijiro started pulling on his hair. He was so pissed, his face turned red.
Aoi narrowed her eyes. "Well, excuse me. Dealing with your bullshit hasn't exactly been a picnic for me either."
Onijiro managed a deep breath and regained his composure. "Tch! Whatever, human. I'm done being wrapped around your finger."
He then smiled in a dark way and stepped towards Aoi, causing her to instinctively take a step back. "And from now on, I'm gonna be making your life a living hell. You'll rue the day you thought you could fuck with this demon."
Onijiro saw a drop of sweat on the girl's face, the shoe was on the other foot now. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Lady Shinobu will-."
"What's that bitch gonna do, kill me? HAH! I think you're forgetting, 'Ao', I've basically got her precious student held hostage. I go down, that son of a bitch is coming with me."
Aoi flinched as Onijiro took another step towards her. "I only played along cause I was sick of Shinobu getting on my case, but I don't care anymore. If she doesn't trust me, that's her business."
Onijiro turned away and sat down against the tree. "For your own sake, I suggest you don't talk to me again."
Aoi sighed and stood there for a minute before sitting next to Onijiro. "...It wasn't my idea, okay?"
Onijiro's eyes widened as he looked over at Aoi. "What do you mean?"
"The truth is that Lady Kanae wanted me to help you out because she felt bad for you. That's why I bothered you so much."
Onijiro frowned. "I see...well, she didn't need to do that. I'm fine."
"Are you?" Aoi asked. Onijiro shot a glare in her direction. "I mean...Lately, even I've noticed that you look...lonely sometimes."
Onijiro could sense the genuine sympathy from her, it made him even more irritated. "I don't need people worrying about me, I can take care of myself..."
Aoi didn't look convinced. "I know but-."
"But nothing!" Onijiro snapped. "I'm fine! End of discussion! Leave. Me. ALONE!"
Onijiro turned away again, Aoi did the same. The two sat in silence for awhile before Onijiro sighed and broke the ice. "Thanks for telling the truth, I guess..."
"...Sorry for lying about wanting to help you."
"Eh, forget it."
"You know, even though it was Lady Kanae who pushed me into it, it was actually kind of nice getting to know you better."
Onijiro's eyes widened again as he looked at Aoi. Aoi looked back with a small smile. "You're not a bad guy, Onijiro. At least when you're not being a huge jerk, anyway."
Onijiro had no words for that sudden, if slightly backhanded, compliment.
Bu-Bump!
"What the...!?" Onijiro felt his heart palpitate, but only for a second before it went back to normal. "Okaaaaay...that was weird..."
"You and Tanjiro are more similar than you think, you know." Onijiro stared at Aoi with a raised eyebrow.
"Hah! That's bullshit and you know it!" Onijiro said.
"I'm serious, you're both going through hard times, but neither of you seem too fazed by it. You'll both do whatever it takes to achieve your goals."
"Even if your goals and your methods for achieving them are different, your courage and stubborn determination by themselves admirable."
Aoi frowned and lowered her head as if she was ashamed. "I'd do just about anything to be that brave..."
Onijiro didn't say anything as Aoi looked to him. "I assume Lady Kanae told you and Tanjiro about what happened on my first mission..."
Onijiro nodded. "You saw a demon, pissed yourself, and ran like a bitch until Kanae found you."
"SHUT UP! THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" Aoi snapped before blushing. "Well, not the pissing myself part, the rest was accurate..."
"When my parents were killed by demons, I swore I would destroy as many demons as I could. My trainer was my uncle, he was the one who killed the demon who killed my parents."
"He taught me Water Breathing, but he became very ill in the middle of my training. On top of that, my progress was very slow. After five years, I had only mastered the first five forms."
"My uncle begged me not to go to Mt. Fujikasane and take Final Selection before he died, said that I should give up on revenge and live a normal life. After I buried him, I did exactly what he didn't want me to do."
"I barely survived, I was afraid the whole time. I only took down two demons and hid the rest of the time. Yet, I still didn't give up."
"Then...I got my first mission..." Aoi started shivering. "I was with three other Demon Slayers, all ranked higher than me. We found a demon in a cave in Kanagawa Prefecture."
"We fought it but...we underestimated it. He was fast, really fast, almost Lower Moon level. My comrades were disposed of quickly while I ran away from fear."
"I was so confident, but...the way that demon looked at me...the bloodlust...I couldn't take it." Aoi hugged herself and shut her eyes tightly.
"And so...I left my comrades to die and hid, just like I did in Final Selection...After what felt like an hour, Lady Kanae found me. She killed that demon and took me in along with Lady Shinobu."
"I was too afraid to ever pick up a sword again...but they gave me a new purpose, a way for me to still be useful." Aoi stopped shivering and smiled. "I owe them my life."
She paused and frowned again. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm a coward...hiding in the safety of the Butterfly Estate while there are swordsmen out there fighting with their lives on the line...I'm pathetic."
Onijiro watched Aoi go through her dilemma for a bit before doing something he would hate himself for later. Aoi opened her eyes in surprise as she felt something warm on her shoulder.
She looked over to see Onijiro shyly looking the other way, putting a hand on her shoulder. "There...there...it'll be...alright..." Onijiro comforted Aoi...in the most lifeless, monotone way imaginable.
Onijiro began to cringe. "Damn it. Why the hell did I think this would work!? Making people feel better about themselves is Tanjiro's thing! My thing is making people feel WORSE about themselves!"
"*Snrrk*..."
Onijiro looked over at Aoi who was holding her mouth, snickering at him. "*Snnrk* *Snrrk*...Hmm hm hm...!"
Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and bursted out in laughter. "Hahahahaha! Haa ha hahaha! Hahahahaha ha!"
"HOLY SHIT! That actually WORKED!?"
Aoi laughed so hard, a tear came out. "Hahaha! Oh! Thanks, I think I needed that! Hahaha!"
Suddenly, the moon came out from behind the clouds and bathed Aoi in moonlight. Onijiro was mesmerized by the sight of her smiling face in shining light...
Bu-Bump!
"Okay, seriously, what the hell is that!? Why do I feel so warm!?"
Aoi got back up after recovering from her laughter and yawned. "Well, that was nice. Thanks for listening to me, Onijiro. Good night."
Aoi smiled brightly at the young demon. Onijiro's cheeks began to turn red. "Uhhh...I...I...Uhhh..."
Aoi raised an eyebrow and sighed. "It's official, you and Tanjiro are the strangest demons I've ever met." Then, she walked away. Onijiro was left there, stunned for a few minutes.
Suddenly...Onijiro's body began to once again give off steam, but not out of anger...
Bu-Bump! Bu-Bump!
"Wait...what? No. Ew! No! Stop it! That's NOT what's going on!" Onijiro told himself as he got on his feet in frustration. "I am the future demon king! As if I would develop feelings for a pathetic human!"
"A pathetic,...weak,...pretty,...fiery,...smart...UGH! I'm starting to sound like Tanjiro when he's thinking about Kanao!" Onijiro caught himself before he could go further into La-La-Land.
Bu-Bump! Bu-Bump!
Onijiro's eyes turned into angry white triangles as veins began to bulge on his head. He gritted his teeth before plunging his claws into his own chest and ripping out his heart.
"FUCK OFF!" Onijiro yelled before throwing the heart over the walls of the Estate far into the forests nearby. A faint SPLAT! noise could be heard.
Bu-Bump! Bu-Bump!
Onijiro went from pissed to confused as he stared down at his chest. "Oh, that's right. My heart's on the right side. I just threw Tanjiro's heart...Oh well, it'll grow back."
"What'll grow back?"
"YAH!" Onijiro nearly jumped out of his skin as he looked behind to see Kanae standing near him. "WHAT THE FUCK!? IS EVERYONE HERE A SHINOBI OR SOMETHING!?"
Kanae smiled and tilted her head. "Nope! The only shinobi in the Demon Slayer Corps is Uzui."
Onijiro blinked before sighing. "Whatever, what do you want?"
"I heard your conversation with Aoi. I wanted to thank you for comforting her, I...also wanted to apologize for pushing her onto you..."
Onijiro crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "You're forgiven, it's really not that big of a deal for me to get pissed about it."
Kanae seemed surprised, but relieved. "That's great!"
Kanae's smile then dimmed a little. "So...anything from Tanjiro?"
Onijiro frowned. "God, I knew she was gonna ask that. That's all she and Kanao ever say to me! 'How's Tanjiro?', 'Is he alright?', 'Why won't he say anything?'. I'm sick of it!"
"No, nothing..." Onijiro answered. Kanae slumped but still smiled for the young demon.
"I see...that's all, good night!" She said before walking away. She then stopped for a second. "I know you don't want it...but I really do hope we can be friends. Believe it or not, I care for both you and Tanjiro."
Onijiro scoffed. "You barely know me. What's there to care about...?"
"You'd be surprised. Besides, it's not like being friends with you is impossible." Kanae turned around with a dark, mischievous smile. "You already seem pretty friendly with Aoi."
Onijiro blushed. "Y-You little-!"
Kanae giggled and walked away. Onijiro's left eye continued to twitch. "What is WRONG with these people!?"
-A Few Days Later-
Tan/Onijiro's Mind
"And that's what happened. There, happy?" Onijiro said bitterly, his arms crossed and eyes closed.
When he opened them, he saw Tanjiro on the snowy ground, sitting crisscross with a wide grin on his face.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THAT LOOK!? KNOCK IT OFF BEFORE I SMASH YOUR FACE IN!" Onijiro yelled.
Tanjiro continued to smile. "I'm just so happy for you! You're in love!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Who said I was in love with Aoi!?" Onijiro shouted.
Tanjiri tilted his head with a confused smile. "Uh...you did?"
Bonk!
"Ow!" Tanjiro yelped as he rubbed the top of his head after Onijiro punched it.
"I'm not in love with her, MORON! My mind is just a little confused after sharing a mental room with you for so long. Your humanity and sickening kindness is starting to poison my mind!"
Tanjiro perked up again. "Come on, you don't really believe that! Love doesn't come from the mind or humanity, it comes from the heart!"
Onijiro cringed. "...I...I think I just threw up a little..."
Tanjiro pointed at Onijiro in a dramatic manner. "My point is, you have your OWN heart, your OWN feelings. Is it really so impossible for you to develop feelings for someone?"
Onijiro didn't have an answer for that and simply scoffed. Tanjiro pouted at this and thought of an idea.
"Alright, fine. You revealed your secret to me...so I'll reveal mine to you." Tanjiro made an extremely serious face as Onijiro raised an eyebrow.
"You have a secret? I've seen through your memories, there's pretty much nothing about you that I don't already know." Onijiro argued.
"But this is a secret that I've developed fairly recently." Tanjiro admitted. "A secret that no one else knows, not even you."
Onijiro's interest was peaked, he could smell the embarrassment coming from Tanjiro. "Alright, let's hear it."
Tanjiro nodded. "The truth is...is..."
Bu-Bump!
Bu-Bump!
Bu-Bump!
Bu-Bump!
Bu-Bump!
Bu-Bump!
Bu-Bump!
Bu-Bump!
"...I...I REALLY LIKE KANAO ! ! !"
"..."
POW!
"THAT'S NOT A SECREEEEEET ! ! !" Onijiro delivered an devastating uppercut to Tanjiro's jaw, launching him upward.
Tanjiro fell to the ground with eyes rolled to the back of his head.
Onijiro tightened his fist in front of him, a tic mark appearing on his forehead. "Don't fuck with me, you brat!" He growled.
As Tanjiro got back up, Onijiro frowned. "It's pointless anyway."
"Hmm?" Tanjiro responded.
"We share the same body, and you're already head over heels for Kanao. If me and Aoi got together, things would just be super awkward. And I doubt a fucking straight-laced, goody-goody stick in the mud like you would be open to Polygamy."
"We'd have to constantly switch out with each other whenever we wanted to spend time with them. Eventually, we'd end up killing each other over control of this body."
"There's also the fact that if you defeat Muzan and become human, I'll cease to exist. And if I take over your body and become the Demon King, do you really think Aoi would want anything to do with a demon like me?"
Tanjiro smiled and pointed at himself. "Of course, anything is possible! Miss Shinobu hates demons, but she's warmed up to me!"
Onijiro rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. You barely qualify as a demon. The only thing non-demon about me is that I don't burn those Butterfly girls to ashes on sight."
Tanjiro frowned as he saw Onijiro's point. He actually now felt guilty for wanting to become human as soon as possible without considering Onijiro's feelings in all of this.
Onijiro sighed and turned his back to Tanjiro. "Look, just forget the whole 'Aoi' thing. It's a lost cause, and frankly, we have more important things to worry about than my love life."
"Onijiro..." Tanjiro muttered.
Onijiro snapped his head towards Tanjiro and pointed at him. "And don't you DARE feel bad for me! The last thing I need is a piece of shit like you pitying me, understand!?"
Onijiro proceeded to walk away, leaving a saddened and guilty Tanjiro.
"If only we didn't have to share a body. Then Onijiro wouldn't have to die. If I can get him to forget about becoming the Demon King, he could live a life of his own...But, that's impossible for him as long as he's stuck in my body..."
"Also, I need to ask Miss Shinobu to be nicer to him..."
Butterfly Mansion
Tanjiro woke up in his futon, he gathered his thoughts before getting up.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Tanjiro looked out his window to see Matsuemon, his personal Kasugai Crow, pecking at the window. Tanjiro walked over and opened it.
"KAW!" Matsuemon hit Tanjiro's head with a surprise attack of pecks.
"OW OW OW OW OWWW!" Tanjiro flung his arms around to get the crow to back off. Matsuemon flew around the room.
"NEW MISSION! NEW MISSION! YOU MUST HEAD EASTWARD TO YAMANASHI! A DEMON HAS BEEN TERRORIZING MULTIPLE SMALL VILLAGES IN THE WESTERN AREAS! GO NOW! GO NOW! CAW!"
"Alright! I hear you!" Tanjiro shouted before focusing up.
"So, this will be my first mission as an official Demon Slayer. No more help from Kanae or Miss Shinobu."
Tanjiro walked over to the table where he kept his uniform and sword. He put on his uniform, then the green cloak, then he tied his sheath to his hip.
Finally, he grabbed his black oni mask and placed it on the top left side of his head. "I can do this. I will protect as many people as possible. My masters' training will not go to was-."
"Why are you talking like the hero of some play? Get a move on, already!"
Tanjiro sighed, the moment gone. "Oh well, what's the worst that could happen?"
-That Night-
A Forest in Yamanashi
"...You don't want to do this. I'm on your side."
"I'll be the judge of that, demon."
Tanjiro faced a young girl who seemed slightly younger than him. She wore a blue-tinted Demon Slayer uniform with a knee-length skirt and a red and white flower yukata over it.
Both her and Tanjiro had their swords drawn against each other, she had somehow figured out that Tanjiro was a demon.
Although Tanjiro had no intention to hurt her, he had no choice but to engage. As long as he held back, it should be fine. Right?
"So...remember when you said to yourself 'What's the worse that could happen?"
"Not. In. The mood..."
And that's all for now!
Next time, Makomo will return as we pick up from where we ended off on Chapter 13! Hope you'll look forward to it!
Anyways, I should probably address the elephant in the room, huh?
Onijiro x Aoi, or as I have dubbed it, "Black and Blue." It's just a little silly idea I had. If a majority of you don't like it, I can scrap it. Just let me know quickly before I pass the point of no return.
What do you think? Is the way I write it too forced, does it need more development? As always, feel free to be brutal, I'm only here to learn.
I used this chapter as a chance to bring some character depth to Onijiro. You know, if you think about it, Onijiro really does mirror Tanjiro.
Tanjiro wants to be strong enough to protect everyone on his own while Onijiro wants to be strong enough to overpower everyone and basically rule the world.
The similarity is that they both want to get stronger so that they don't need anyone to take care of them.
However, Tanjiro is slightly more willing to admit when he needs help either physically or emotionally.
Tanjiro's kind heart attracts people to his side, so he will come to rely on the support of his loved ones in this story.
Onijiro is automatically discriminated against for being a typical demon, so he tells himself he doesn't need anyone's support or sympathy...even if his heart sings a different tune.
Another way their similar is the way they always pick themselves back up.
When Tanjiro fails, his first instinct is to blame himself to the point where it becomes worrisome, but he always manages to recover.
When Onijiro lost to Kanae, his ego was bruised, but he moved on fairly quickly and simply reevaluated his plan to become Demon King.
I just thought it was crazy how similar, yet different these two can be.
Alright, that's all for now! As always, thanks for reading! See ya!
Next Time: Chapter 16 - Water and Fire