Nimbat A Feudal FairyTail chapter 1. Demon Slayer Village.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Netflix Castlevania, or any other franchises mentioned. They belong to their respective owners.
In a forest in Feudal Japan, on the edge of a river, was a large field.
This field was full of many different herbs and plants with most being related to making medicine and poison of which the ones near the riverbed were being harvested by a rugged young lad with a large wicker basket.
He was the ripe age of 13, his short black hair was messy with bangs resting right above his brow, His brown eyes like chocolate were sharp as they looked out of a face that once upon a time was quite attractive but now was heavily deformed by the many scars and injuries he has accrued in that time. And he didn't regret a single one!
Not the one where an elbow crushed his button nose into a bottlecap.
Not the crooked jaw from where an angry girl broke his jaw cuz she thought he was peeping on her and sending him to months of bed rest.
Not the jagged gash made by a hunting knife over his right eye that if it had been a single centimeter deeper would have blinded him. And his stocky body was the same. For hidden beneath his grey robes was an iron body that only one who worked in the fields and forges for 8 years could achieve. He was broad-shouldered, with muscles like steel cords stretched over his arms and legs that were dotted with cuts, burns, and a veritable canyon of risen flesh where the bones were broken more times than he ever bothered to count.
His barrel-like chest was not spared this as a spiderweb of deep gashes showed that his ribs had not been spared from his history of injury. There wasn't a part of his body that wasn't deformed but he didn't give a shit. Why should I? My arms and legs work fine, don't they? And it's not like I was planning to find a girl as who would want to date someone so injury-prone?
Yeah, that's right, I am the one who is picking herbs and other plants from my personal garden used in my village's profession in Feudal Japan. But unlike my fellow villagers, I carry a mighty secret…..I am actually from the Future!
As to why I am in Feudal Japan? Well, Long story short I died. Yep, died bit the bullet, shoved off the mortal coil, etc etc. Only problem is that I don't remember how I died, my name, my face, and many other personal details. The best way to describe it was like I read a book about my past life instead of living it myself with the broader strokes retained but the tiny details fell through the cracks.
Honestly? I think reincarnation messes with your memory. Then again, usually you lose all your memories when you reincarnate in most mythologies so my regaining the ones I did when I was 3 is probably a miracle in of itself.
I just wish I had reincarnated in the modern era instead of DEMON-INFESTED FEUDAL JAPAN!
Yep!, you heard right, it wasn't bad enough to be reborn in an era where people rarely bathed and something like the common cold could kill you but now I had to contend with demons, priests, and everything in between. The only saving grace I have is that I am safer than most people thanks to my village's profession.
"Ren! Where are you, boy?! It's getting late and we don't want to be left outside when the gate closes for the night!"
Speaking of which.
I turned toward the source of the voice to see a middle-aged man with a balding head and wearing a light grey robe.
He was armed with a simple katana and was holding a basket of similar herbs to my own.
"It is getting late and the demons get more active at night so let's hurry."
"Okay, Dad!"
We then set off for the wooden fortress I called home.
This fortress was made of thick wooden logs with spikes on the top with the only entrance being the gate that swung upward inward to welcome us home.
Inside the walls, there were several of my fellow villagers, some old ladies gossiping as they folded laundry, a few children playing with sticks and pretending to be warriors, Then, the actual warriors in their black body armor and carrying a large snake demon's corpse.
My dad upon seeing the corpse his black eyes twinkled and he rushed over to the hunters leaving me with his basket and I was forced to pick both up which while awkward, wasn't too heavy as I was used to lifting heavier.
"My oh my! A Snake Demon? Quite a large one. Yes, and judging from the arrow in its eye you managed to kill it without damaging its scales. This will make excellent armor. Ren! Put down the baskets and help me carry this to the workshop!"
Great, more lifting. I just went to brag about being used to lifting things and now I gotta lift a snake demon.
A filthy, disgusting Snake demon! Ugh!
Everything bad in my life could be blamed on such abominations but hey, at least another one is dead.
That brought some dark satisfaction to my heart as I hastily put down the basket of herbs that two of the women took to make into medicine, poisons, and whatever else the village might need and after I told them what I had gathered I took half of the snake demon and my dad to the front.
Oof, this thing is heavy! But I've spent the last 8 years helping my Dad make the Slayers gear so my 13-year-old frame was quite toned and we eventually got it into the workshop.
I sighed as we entered the workshop, the scent of blood and spicy herbs filling the air as we put the 13-foot-long green snake onto the stonework table.
This place was one of the only 2 places where I truly felt I could relax The other being my Garden as both were where I could prove my worth which is constantly brought into question due to my unique circumstances.
"Ren."
My dad then turned to look at me, an appraising look on his face that made me straighten my posture.
"Yes, Dad?"
Dad then began walking towards the door, leaving the snake behind which was odd. He never left a body not cut apart nor did he leave before the crafting was done.
"You are 13 years old now. For the last 8 years, you have been my apprentice in the sacred art of Demon Forging, arming our clansmen with the bodies of our foes to bring their own clansman to the grave. Though your combat skills are terrible-"
A Familiar surge of rage burned through me at the mention of my lack of fighting skill but with the practice of one who had been forced to keep calm or risk severe injury, I reigned it back to just sarcasm.
"Geez Dad, thanks for the reminder of my incompetence."
My dad paused to give me a tired look before continuing his sentence with a hint of annoyance.
"-your skill in our family trade makes up for it and so, It is time for you to complete your training."
Hold on! Is this?
My dad answered my unasked question as he pointed to the snake demon.
"You are to work on this demon on your own. From skinning it, to forging it you must do it all on your own. You have 1 month to turn that demon into tools for demon slaying and you must be done by the time the sun rises on the final day. If you fail then you will get no food for 3 days!"
I winced, not eating for 3 days was the worst! With how much physical labor I have to do I can already feel my stomach aching at the thought! My Dad definitely knew how to use the stick but usually, he would also offer a carrot.
And he did.
"If you succeed then I will consider your apprenticeship Complete and you will be a full-fledged Demon Forger!"
Yes, it was! The Trial of Mastery! If I succeed in the Trial then I would be considered a fully-fledged Demon Forger! I have been training for 8 years for this moment and I won't fail it!
"Now get to it! I'll see you in a month. "
My dad then left me behind, surrounded by tools of my family trade made of demon parts and piles of said demon parts.
If it hasn't been made abundantly clear yet I, Ren, am a member of the Demon Slaying Village. Our warriors go out and slay demons for both body parts to make more weapons and money to sustain us. My family is just one of the 4 different families that worked in the background to make our Slayers shine by garbing them in the armor, tools, and weapons our village is famous for.
And today for the first time since my new life I would be alone in making these demon-slaying tools.
I took a steady breath as I took out of the storage boxes the tools I would need to prepare the body for dissection and organization.
"So since this is a snake demon with almost no damage to the scales it would be best used to make under armor As for the fangs."
I opened up the mouth, taking note that unlike most snake demons this one only had 2 fangs instead of dozens. But this just meant that these foot-long fangs were far more powerful and could inject a powerful venom. As a test, I wrapped the fangs in leather and then used a wooden paddle to press the fangs down, which caused a little venom to squirt out.
I need to find out what kind of venom it was so I don't harm myself in the forging process.
Demons were weird, they didn't follow biology as I understood it. From literally burning things to putting people to sleep demon venom could do anything and as the leather began to melt away I got my answer.
"Okay, so it is an acidic venom. I will have to skin the demon first then wrap the skin around the fangs as most demons are immune to their own venom."
I think a pair of curved shortswords would be ideal. If I can properly treat the venom sacs in the special sacred oil I should be able to imbue the swords with the snake's corrosive venom. I will have to prepare the rest of the body first before I can figure out a good use of the meat, organs, and bones so let's get with the skinning.
I was only a little nervous as I meticulously skinned the demon and began separating its parts into different piles relying on muscle memory to keep my hands steady as slowly, but surely, the demon was reduced to its component parts.
"Hmm, the bones are much lighter than I expected. I think I'll have them made into rudimentary armor plates to protect vital organs."
"As for the blood. I think I can dry it out and mix it with tree resin to turn it into grease to coat our weapons in corrosive venom. The meat itself will be dried and made into jerky which when mixed with the right herbs will serve as an excellent source of antivenom."
Demons were naturally immune to their venom and according to the logic of demons, drying out the meat of said demon and eating it will neutralize any venom as strong as their own or weaker with ease.
"The last thing is the organs. The stomach will be made into a waterskin, the heart into a poison bomb, and the rest will be discarded into the cave for proper disposal."
Technically I could try to make demon bait or poison powder from the organs but I don't want to waste the time needed to make it and I was already planning on bailing on the meat if I don't have enough time.
I have to focus on the scales, bones, and fangs first as they are the most useful, and only after they are done will I bother with anything else.
It was late when I finished my preparations and sealed the parts into clay pots to keep them fresh. I would have to exorcise the lingering demonic power from them before I worked on them but thanks to the workshop's seals it would prevent other demons from smelling the remains.
This was a very common issue and it was only through exorcising the remains of their demon aura that we could safely work with them. If this wasn't done then all the demons nearby would sense the remains and seek to devour them to get stronger.
I have heard that Demon Smiths actually prefer living demons and the more youki(Otherwise known as Demonic energy) they have the better but we don't know how to do Demon Smithing which is why we are Demon Forgers, not Smiths.
This means no energy blasts or other cool flashy tricks. But don't you dare look down on us! What we lack in supernatural powers we make up for in spades in durability, craftsmanship, versatility, and physical advantages.
after the sealing of the body parts, I ate some rice sprinkled with onions and a little bull demon meat before I went to bed in the cot located in the back of the workshop.
We had it there as Dad would often spend late nights working and he didn't want to wake up Mom or my newborn sister Haru.
As I lay in the uncomfortable cot that made me long for a real modern bed I thought about how lucky we were that Mom survived the pregnancy. She had given birth 9 months ago and I was a nervous wreck as I couldn't help but recall how difficult pregnancies were in medieval times. Thankfully everything went well and both she and my sister were now sleeping safe and sound.
Shame that I'm not allowed to come home until I am done with my work as the threat of accidentally exposing the baby to demon energy which, understandably would be quite fatal.
I have 30 days before the deadline and even working with my Dad I would be pressed for time so I had to make every second count.
With that thought in mind, I closed my eyes and let myself drift to sleep.
3rd Person POV
All was quiet within the demon slayer hold, the utter darkness of the era before artificial light only broken up by the half moon and stars gracing the skies and the distant glow from the guard's torches as they patrolled the outside of the fortress.
Demons tended to attack at night so guards were needed to delay any threats to give the village enough time to prepare for battle.
At this moment there was no safer human village in all of Japan and nothing could ever enter without sounding an alarm.
So how was there a glowing nude woman with flowing blue hair reflecting the currents of the ocean drifting in unseen winds standing in the doorway of the forge? Her beauty was almost inhuman, her youthful face filled with sadness as she beheld the broken boy before her.
Tears began to fill her crystal blue eyes as she knelt next to Ren, softly stroking his hair as she spoke with the grieving voice of a young maiden.
"My Dear Knight. What has that Curse done to you?"
She began tracing the many, many injuries Ren had accumulated over the years, from the broken jaw to the scars on his ribcage she felt them all and graced them with her tears.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
Though not awake, Ren himself began to cry, his soul trapped within a purple and black square-patterned sphere stirring in response to her tears.
Why?
The prison shook
WHY?
It distorted, the enraged soul ricocheting against the walls using all its power to escape.
WHY WAS GAIA CRYING!?
A large crack formed and from it golden vines covered in black thorns emerged, trying to tear the crack open further But alas, the Curse was stronger, and with a surge of plaid lightning severed the vines and sealed the crack up nice and tight. But the damage had been done. Those same vines did not perish, they nourished themselves from the tears of the mother of all things and then hid themselves, waiting for the moment to strike.
As for Gaia, She began to flicker like static on a television, Still weeping for 10 minutes before fading away entirely.
The Next day. Ren's POV.
"Alright, I'm almost done getting all the ingredients ready. "
I was standing near the work table with most of the ingredients sorted and placed within the pots once more but this time they were sealed tight with purification seals meant to dispel the demonic power housed within them. These seals weren't at all effective against living demons but given time they will make the remains into excellent materials.
And boy, is it hard! I was just getting started and the difficulty was amping up!
Doing this all alone was much harder than when working with Dad. I had to skin them, tan them, measure them, Cut them, Every little thing I had to do myself!
It was quite exhausting! Both mentally and physically.
It'll take at least 2 days for the demon Youki to be fully extracted from the ingredients so I only have 2 days to figure out the designs for the armor and weapons.
"To make matters worse, I need to take measurements for the armor so I can make it fit but with how much my body aches doing the measurements for myself will suck. If only I had-"
A light bulb went off above my head and I gained a smile.
"Actually, I already have some measurements. And his birthday was just a week ago so What if I give him the best birthday gift of his life?"
My friend in the village had turned 10 recently and he was actually one of the Slayers so I am 90% sure he would love a new set of armor and weapons.
Yes, I am totally doing this for his benefit and not that it means I can use the measurements for his birthday kimono that my mom just so happened to still have instead of forcing my aching body to do the tedious task of measuring myself.
But the problem is getting the measurements. They were at home and I can't risk getting Haru sick.
Hmmmmmm, what do I do?
"Mew!"
I paused and looked down to see the village's guardian spirit Kilala looking up at me.
She was a small two-tailed light yellow kitten with red eyes and black stripes on her tails.
She might look weak but she can turn into a flying, flaming, sabertoothed tiger!
But what mattered was that she was smart! And if she was smart she could be bribed.
"Hey, Can you do a favor for me?"
"Mew?" She tilted her head and I knelt to be closer to her and I spoke softly.
"I need you to go to my house and get Kohaku's measurements from my mom's sewing room. If you do this I'll cook up this snake demon's entire liver and season it with your favorite herbs. Can you do it?"
Demons generally loved livers and regardless of what they came from it was usually considered the tastiest part of the body. So I wasn't surprised when Kilala brushed along my leg purring before she ran off.
While she did this I took out the liver and began prepping it for Kilala. She tended to like it medium rare with some onion and a dash of catnip. This took me about 10 minutes for me to make as I used the forge's fire to cook it.
Cooking was just like preparing poisons and bait. The only difference was it was meant to be eaten. So it was easy for me to cook the Liver Rare with a special blend of herbs with a hint of catnip.
I was just barely finished when Kilala announced her presence with a soft mew and in her mouth was the scroll that had Kohaku's measurements!
"Good girl! Here ya go! Just the way you like it."
I placed the liver on the ground for her and after a quick sniff, she grabbed the liver that was twice her size and ran off with it.
I then picked up the scroll and laughed a wicked laugh at my scheme.
"Yes! Now I can just use these instead. Man, I can't wait to see Kohaku's face when he sees this!"
Kohaku was a scrawny kid who wore a gray tunic with brown eyes and spiky black hair done in a ponytail. He was a 10 to my 13 but we were the closest boys of our ages so we were pushed together to hang out.
Which honestly wouldn't have worked on me as I was mentally older than him but I pushed through it and gave it a sincere try. The reason?
His sister was hot. Like damn, She wasn't much to look at when she was 10 but Puberty hit her hard and now she's the princess of the village.
However, any real attraction I had toward her died when I stumbled on her bathing by COMPLETE Accident 2 years ago.
She kicked my ass and I didn't even mean to! I was trying to use the cold river to soothe my bruises and clean out the gashes from another failed sparring lesson when a damn bear found me. This resulted in me running for my life and through some scooby-doo-level shenanigans I got away but when I got back to the river I walked right into her standing up to leave the river and she saw me, a naked boy, ogling her naked body.
Crazy bitch beat the everloving shit out of me, breaking my jaw all while I tried to explain through the beating what had happened but she didn't believe me and continued the assault. It took the damn bear finding us for her to finally believe me and after she killed the bear she tried to apologize but I didn't care. The sheer difference in power between us alongside the fact that it took the fucking bear attacking both of us to convince her of the truth killed any and all desire to be with her.
So why did I continue to hang out with Kohaku if I didn't like her sister anymore?
Because we were both losers, that's why.
Everyone in the village had some skill in both fighting and some other support profession like medicine, or demon forging. The chief and Sango were both excellent in Demon forging and fighting which helped cement their positions as King and Princess of the village. Kohaku however?
He could fight yes, but he couldn't craft to save his life. And me? I can craft pretty damn well and am a whiz at dealing with plants but I can't fight my way out of a paper bag. This was made twice as bad since I am cursed.
Yeah, I guess I should have led off with that one right? Ya see the day I regained my memories was the day I was bitten by a bronze dog-sized demonic snake. I'm told I was playing near the river when the snake lunged out of the water and by sheer luck, I managed to dodge while letting out a bloodcurdling scream which let the villager know something was wrong and several warriors showed up and the snake was quickly made into a pin cushion but before it fully died it managed to land a bite on my left heel. I passed out from the pain and I woke up with my memories returned, a curse of frailty and 2 dot-like scars on my heel from its fangs.
Even the smallest of injuries are overly exaggerated to me and that was both a blessing and a curse. A curse because well, It fucking hurts! But looking back, it was a good thing since my temper has always been bad, but after I regained my memories it became apocalyptic with me trying to beat the shit out of anything that looked at me wrong.
Which would often result in me being put in my place with a single blow sending me to the ground with fractured bones and all sorts of bruises. It's a miracle that my arms and legs healed right so I don't have a limp! This meant that for my safety, I would have to control my temper, and nothing like the agony of broken bones gained from pissed-off villagers to teach you to reign in your temper!
I learned how to garden as my Mom suggested it as a way to blow off steam and strangely enough…it did. I was at ease in the garden, something about tending to the tender shoots and watching them go from seeds to blooming flowers felt right. And with how badly I was failing in combat training I needed all the stress relief I could get.
This wasn't due to not trying though, for the first 5 years I tried to learn how to fight as well but I never developed enough to actually fight. Other Slayers could jump dozens of feet in the air, I could jump 1. They could wield giant weapons with ease, I can't. They can take a hit and get back up, I get hit by the same attack and I am bedridden for weeks. Where they were superhuman I was just a normal person. This is why I poured my heart and soul into Demon Forging as it was the only way I could support my clan and it and gardening were the only things I could do right.
Kohaku was already nervous about actual combat and tried to learn how to craft. He failed miserably.
But that is what truly brought us together these last 2 years. After the thing with the bear and Sango, Kohaku came to visit me as I recovered from my injuries.
He apologized for his sister's actions and I just scoffed.
"It doesn't matter anyway! I can't fight worth shit and what use is a Slayer who can't fight!? You're lucky Kohaku, you can fight! You can do things with your Kusanagi I could only dream of. I'm worthless."
Kohaku was silent for a moment before he said in a small voice.
"You're not worthless, I'm worthless." This blew my freakin mind so I demanded why the hell does he think that.
Which is when I learned of his own struggles. The reason for his insecurity in his skills which defined him was his constant failures in anything not fighting. Because if he couldn't even cook a fish how could he fight?
It was this single moment, where both of us let loose our grievances and frustration at our failures we truly became friends. From that day on we stuck together as whatever one of us sucked at the other would compensate. And even further, we both tried to teach each other with me teaching him Cooking and him how to defend myself.
At first, it was a shit show for both of us. Every weapon we tried for me never felt right, and Kohaku just couldn't get the hang of handling the food without burning it, dropping it, cutting it too thin, over-seasoning it, etc. We did this for an entire year before in frustration I dropped my Katana and shouted at him during one of our summer practices near the river.
"Damn it Kohaku! How can you cut a reed from 30 feet away with your Kusanagi but still can't cut the meat without either making it too thick or paper thin!?"
We had set up a campsite with a cooking pot, cutting board, knives, and some deer meat for him to practice cooking. Near the campsite was a practice dummy made of straw and leather that barely had any damage done due to my flailing around with a katana. No matter how I tried to replicate what Kohaku and the others showed me the katana and every other weapon just felt wrong in my hands and no amount of drills made it better.
He shouted back at me.
"It's easier to do that than cooking! And looks who is talking! You can bang on metal all day and never miss a swing but the moment you try to hit a practice dummy you can't aim to save your life!"
We glared at each other for about a minute before Kohaku's eyes widened and he shouted excitedly.
"I have an idea!"
I was still in anger mode so his flipping his mood like a coin put me off my game and I frowned while asking harshly.
"An Idea? What is it?"
Kohaku smirked as he pointed at me.
"You can't hit a target to save your life but you never miss a swing when forging! So let's have you use your blacksmith hammer and pretend that you are forging armor instead of hitting a person!"
I blinked at his suggestion before laughing.
"Hah! There's no way that would work!"
20 minutes Later
"I can't believe that worked!"
"See! I told you it would work!"
Kohaku had the smugest look I had ever seen on him while I dumbfoundedly stared at the dummy whose head was currently inside its torso like a turtle hiding in its shell.
Somehow, by pretending I was trying to work on armor I was able to hit my strikes and do some real damage!
True, I still was miles behind everyone else in the village in fighting but it was a start nonetheless!
Which is why I was so happy and all smiles as I told Kohaku.
"Okay, now it's your turn!"
This time Kohaku was the confused one.
"My turn? For what?"
My evil grin outshone his smug look from before and I took the deer meat and placed it on the dummy's squashed head.
"Use your Kusanagi to cut the meat. Treat it like it was a demon whose weak point is located in a small gap on its neck."
Kohaku glanced at the target and stood back about 10 feet before swinging his Kusanagi at the target. And for the first time since we started training, he managed to cut the meat just right.
This was the breakthrough both of us were looking for! And after another year of training, Kohaku could use his sickle to cook and prepare some basic meals and I could use a hammer good enough to protect myself from human opponents.
So I owed a great deal to him and If it wasn't for the fact that his Dad made his main weapon I would have made him a new one long ago.
"But that doesn't mean I can't make his armor and a backup weapon, right? Yeah, I'll make the best damn armor and weapons this village has ever seen!"
With measurements in hand and hammer ready, I began the work of my magnum opus!
Author's Note.
Finally! I submitted it! Hi, RSC here and you just read the first chapter of Nimbat: A Feudal Fairy Tail. This work went through dozens of iterations before I settled on this draft and when I mean dozens of iterations I mean it. The story has run the full gauntlet from a Hellsing story to a Gamer story to what you see now. I started working on this around the same time I published my first story so it has been years of progress. And finally, FINALLY! I have decided on this course.
Now for the good stuff. This Story is a Meta CYOA Story drawing upon several Jumpchains and a few other types of CYOAs and as such this story may be labeled as an Inuyasha/ Netflix Castlevania CrossOver those are not the only franchises used but instead, it is the storylines that we will be following our Protagonist through in this Story. Yes, I am aware that Inuyasha takes place in the 1600s while Netflix Castlevania starts in the 1500s but both fall into the same time period of 'A long ass time ago.' so I took some creative liberties so they take place around the same time. All other crossovers will be used piecemeal at my discretion.
For the sake of those who will have NO idea what on earth I will be referencing don't worry, I will list the source material in the Author's Note depending on whether or not revealing that knowledge would spoil something later on down the line.
References
The first Reference is an old Snes Title known as E.V.O.: Search for Eden.
The Second is Where Nimbats Come From. It's from a lovely little Xbox 360-era game called Dust: an Elysian Tail. Obvious Reference is Obvious. You can get it for 15 bucks on Steam.
Anywho! I hope you enjoyed the first Chapter and I will see you next time on Nimbat: A Feudal Fairy Tail!