Tsuzumi Mansion
(Hey you, you're finally awake. Go ahead and read this chapter before the Imperials take our heads. Kidding, I side with the empire.)
The three boys could only watch as the yellow haired crybaby held onto the girl's kimono while pleading for her to marry him. A sparrow flew onto Tanjiro's open hand and started chirping frantically. "Chu! Chi! Chi! Chu, chu!"
Tanjiro stood there and… listened attentively to the chirping sparrow. "I see, so that's the situation."
Jikon turned his head violently and stared at Tanjiro with nothing less than denial. "There's no way you understood that bird."
"I did, it wasn't that hard. Maybe it's because-"
"AAH!" They both looked back at the main event and saw Koujo standing on the hysterical boy's face.
"Why are you doing this in the middle of the road? She's not interested! Take no for an answer!" It was certainly weird to see someone giving the illusion of not having arms standing on someone's face to stop them from harassing a girl.
"HUUAH! Wait! Your uniform! Weren't you one of the guys at Final Selection!?" There were tears coming from his eyes but his vision cleared up enough to notice something. "AAH YOU DON'T HAVE ARMS! A DEMON TOOK YOUR ARMS!"
"Don't make it seem like we know you!" He ground his zori sandal into this fool's face while he tried to push him off. "I'd never be able to forget someone so annoying!"
"HUAGH? WHY DON'T YOU REMEMBER? YOU GUYS ARE THE ONES WITH THE BAD MEMORY, I REMEMBER YOU THREE JUST FINE!" Koujo took his foot away and watched this guy wriggle and writhe like a maggot as he complained about them not having any recollection of him.
Tanjiro and Jikon bowed their heads to the poor girl who had to deal with this guy for who knows how long. "We're very sorry about our… associate." Jikon apologized.
"Do you need help with anything else?" Tanjiro politely asked.
The girl just bowed her own head. "No, but thank you very much."
"HUAGH? STAY OUT OF THE WAY, SHE'S IN LOVE WITH ME! THE TWO OF US ARE GONNA GET MARRI- OFK- AAH!" The slap he took to the face cut his delusions off right then and there. "Ah! Ouch! That hurts! Ow! Stop! Stop it!" She was hitting him over the head with all the force in her lithe body to correct his lack of manners, while Jikon and Tanjiro stared at the event wide eyed. It was hard to say what Koujo's face looked like but he definitely was staring as well.
"Woah! Calm down!" Tanjiro grabbed the girl to pull her away from this guy.
"AAH!" At least his bruises gave him a reason to be crying.
"When did I even say anything resembling that I love you?! All I did was come talk to you while you were crumpled up and disheveled on the roadside!"
"EH!? YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T DO THAT BECAUSE YOU WERE FALLING IN LOVE WITH ME?!" He was still crying and whether it was from having some sense knocked into him or knowing that this girl didn't have any affection for him at all was in the air.
"Considering that I already have a fiancé, that's exactly what I've been trying to tell you! You seem to be perfectly fine now! So goodbye!" She turned and walked away with a huff.
"No! Please! Come back!"
"Can you cut it out? You're making us look bad by comparison." Koujo said as he took a step closer to his group.
"Give it a rest already." Tanjiro stated, turning towards the guy again with his friends doing the same.
"Wh- Why'd you three have to get in my way? This had nothing to do with you guys."
They just looked at him the same way you would look at a struggling ant. No, calling him an ant would mean he was a hard worker and didn't complain. They stared at him like you would a worm drying out in the sunlight.
"Why are you looking at me like that?! Stop that! You're staring at me like I'm a creature or something!" He pointed at them with some conviction in his body. "Take responsibility! The reason I missed out on getting married- Is because of you three!"
Silence. Nothing but.
Until the three boys gasped and their looks changed from pity to- To disgust.
"Say something!" They were just staring at him the way you would a carcass in your pathway. Something repulsive that shouldn't be where it was, that was the only thing he could be compared to.
"Look, during my next job I'll likely die! I'm just a weakling! You have to protect me until I can get married, you guys got that?!"
"My name is Tanjiro Kamado!"
"I'm Koujo Itadake."
"Jikon Hakuga, and who are you?" They introduced themselves and the boy groveling at their feet crawled closer and grabbed their waistbands.
"I'm Zenitsu Agatsuma! Please save me!" Koujo used his foot to hold this joker back from them again.
"Quit being a baby, why'd you become a swordsman if you're just a limp noodle?"
"That's a harsh way to put it! I got conned by a woman and racked up a lot of debt! The old guy who took it over for me happened to be this tough as nails instructor! Day after day! He made me go through hellish training! It was so bad that I wanted to die! I was hoping it would happen during Final Selection! But I survived and my nightmare goes on and on!" He was thrashing around on the ground like that worm drying out again. "I'm so scared, terrified, frightened! I just know I'll be eaten by a demon soon! My brains will be sucked through my ears while I'm still alive!"
"Did we make the right choice in getting involved?" Jikon asked his fellow Water Breathing users, and they didn't have any answer for him aside from silence in watching Zenitsu wriggle around.
"PLEASE SAVE ME!" He was hyperventilating and Tanjiro decided to kneel by his side.
"Hey, are you okay?" His response was Zenitsu moaning and making more crying noises.
Jikon decided to give his input on that simple reply. "That didn't sound like a yes."
Around ten minutes later they were all walking down the road with Zenitsu finally calming down and shutting his mouth to Koujo's relief. "You finally calmed down? Or do you have something else to cry about?"
"Koujo! You don't have to be so mean!" Tanjiro may not have liked his crying either but it didn't mean he needed to bully.
Zenitsu was still lightly tearing up but the scathing questions didn't actually affect him much. "I'm better, but now I'm actually pretty hungry."
Jikon raised a brow, curious about his food supply. "Don't you have your own rations?"
"Nuh uh. I don't." That was a concern of its own and Tanjiro's kind heart decided to share his onigiri. "Oh thanks… Aren't you gonna eat something?"
"I got food you can have Tanjiro." Jikon came out with a bento of rice with vegetables. "I bought this before we left the city, and I got two more."
"Oh thanks a lot!" He dug into the food while Jikon looked at Zenitsu who was eating his own food slowly, the tears were gone but he was still downtrodden.
One of them hung back a bit and behind his mask just watched the interaction between the others. All the while wondering if they'd have to slay the demon they were heading for together. 'I guess I get him being scared of demons, never know when one can rip you in half no problem.'
"I understand when you say you're scared of demons." Tanjiro just had to say that out loud didn't he? Had to ruin his internal monologue. "But you could try not to worry your sparrow."
Zenitsu was clueless with that one. "Huh? It was upset? How could you tell?"
"Well, you're always whining about not wanting to go to work, you're always hitting on girls, and you snore really loudly. At least that's what it says."
Zenitsu stepped back in surprise at how Tanjiro could actually understand some chirps and trills. "It said all that?! You can understand bird language?!"
"Yeah."
"I still say he's lying." Jikon was putting his empty bento away while his brother finally walked ahead of them when three birds started to circle overhead, and with a piercing cry they all saw the crows and Noka.
"Start running! Start running! Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Jikon, and Koujo!" Tanjiro's crow cawed and barked out its orders to their displeasure.
"You must start running to your next destination! Hurry before it's too late!" Jikon's crow joined the call but that wasn't the point to one of them.
Zenitsu was whimpering and fell to the ground grasping his head. "Those birds are talking to us!" Koujo immediately took heed and started sprinting down the road.
"Come on Zenitsu, Tanjiro you too!" Jikon and Tanjiro started running too and Zenitsu followed while pleading for them not to leave him behind.
The forest was dark enough for a demon to jump out right for them, but they didn't say that since one of them would just start crying again. "Guys… can we slow down a little?" Zenitsu was dragging his feet at this point. They ran for almost half an hour straight only to end up in these woods. "Even if I tag along I'm not gonna be able to do anything."
"That smell of demons is getting stronger, whatever we're looking for is this way." Tanjiro let them know that they were on the right track.
"Could it be that house up ahead?" Koujo was leading the way and ahead of him there was a clearing with a large house in the center of it. Actually it was bigger than a house, it was more like a manor. Koujo froze in front of it and started shaking lightly.
"No doubt about it. You smell the blood too, Tanjiro?" Jikon picked up the coppery scent of blood and Tanjiro agreed.
"I don't smell anything. But that sound. You guys hear it?" The sound of gasps made three of them turn their heads and see two kids holding each other, a boy and a girl who looked similar. "There are kids here?"
"They look scared. Hey, is there a reason you guys are alone?" Tanjiro walked closer to them but they kept shaking in fear. 'No doubt, they're terrified.' Tanjiro took a knee and held out Zenitsu's sparrow. "Look, I pulled a friendly sparrow out of the air." That made them relax a little, and they sat on the ground.
Jikon approached slowly and pulled out another bento. "You guys hungry?" He opened it and showed that it was just normal food. They accepted it and slowly ate the contents of it. "What happened? Is this your house?"
The boy swallowed and shakily answered. "No, no it isn't. This house is- it's a monster's. Our big brother got taken away, we were walking the roads at night and this- this thing came for us. It went right for our brother and didn't care about us. It took him here."
"You guys followed them all the way here? That takes heart, good work." Jikon's praise made them relax a bit.
"We used the traces of blood to follow them, that thing hurt him bad."
That helped Jikon and Tanjiro understand the situation even better. "Don't worry, we'll make sure to get your brother back. We'll beat whatever monster took him." Tanjiro said confidently. Zenitsu was still standing with a hand to his ear while Koujo was still unmoving. "Promise."
"H-Hey guys, what's that strange sound?" Zenitsu brought attention back to him. "It's creeping me out, it's not stopping. It has a beat like… a drum."
"Drum? I don't hear it. Do you, Jikon?"
"Nothing. Koujo?"
He was looking up at the open door on the highest floor of this manor and that was when they heard it.
Pam
"I've been hearing it too." Koujo's voice was devoid of emotion. He was blank at that moment as if he'd been focusing on something that entire time.
Pam
Pam
Pam
Pam
Pam. Pam. Pam. Pam. Pam. Pam. Pam. Pam. Pam. Pam.
That last drum marked someone flying out of the window, covered in blood. Jikon immediately turned and prevented the two kids from seeing the gruesome sight. "Hey guys! Just look at me, okay?!" His voice was laced with panic but he was a second too late from stopping them from seeing some of the bloody figure that slammed into the ground behind him with a wet thud.
Zenitsu was pale and whimpering in shock. Tanjiro ran up to the kid, yelling, asking if he was okay. One of them just stood there silently with fluid dripping from his mask. Tanjiro listened to the boy while he gave his strained last words, Koujo was fighting back his newfound instincts as a demon to his best. "Damn it…" He watched Tanjiro hug the kid closer to him and shake with multiple emotions, sadness and anger being the most notable. "We were too late… for him." Koujo started walking closer to the house.
"You- Would that be their-"
A monstrous growling started coming from the house, so powerful that it shook them all to the core. The sound of rapid drumming came with it, and Zenitsu was just as afraid as the kids. "Was that your brother?" Jikon asked, still shielding them from the sight.
"No it's not. He had an orange colored kimono." The boy answered out of Tanjiro's view.
"I see. It's captured more than one person." Tanjiro stood up and folded his hands in silent prayer. He promised to bury this boy when they came back.
A crashing sound made them all look at Koujo and see that he just kicked through part of the house. "I'll scout ahead." He walked into the darkness of the house and extended his arms through his uniform and haori. Zenitsu started blubbering about how he suddenly had arms again but that went to the side quickly. Koujo removed his mask and looked back at them all. "It's not like I'll be in any danger." The red glow from his eyes was the last thing they saw before the wall somehow repaired itself and severed their sight of him.
"Zenitsu, Jikon, let's go!" Tanjiro turned with a fire in his eyes and Jikon immediately approached the house, Zenitsu on the other hand just stood there like a scared deer.
"Right." He stopped and saw that Zenitsu was shaking his head back and forth with a terrified expression. "Zenitsu, we're the only people who can deal with this right now, come on." He just shivered like a leaf in a windstorm.
Jikon and Tanjiro both changed their appearances and simply said, "I see."
"Huuh?! Wait no!" Zenitsu grabbed onto the box Tanjiro wore with tears in his eyes. "Why'd you have such evil looks?! Okay I'll go! I'll come with youuu!"
Tanjiro didn't even look back to answer him. "Don't let us force you."
"I said I'll goooo!"
Tanjiro set the box down in front of the kids. "In case there's any trouble, this will protect you. We'll be back."
Two of them were stern and confident, then there was Zenitsu… quietly shedding tears. They opened the door and saw a normal, dimly lit, house. "W- Whatever's in this place… You guys will protect me- Right?"
"Okay I guess we should tell you, but in our last fight we got banged up pretty bad. Tanjiro and I broke some bones. I'm pretty sure we both messed up our legs, and Tanjiro's rib is definitely broken too. We aren't healed yet and Koujo was the only one in good-"
"WAIT- WHAA! YOU BOTH HAVE BROKEN BONES?! YOU CAN'T PROTECT ME LIKE THAT! I'M GONNA D- D- D- DIE!" He started the worm bit again, kicking and screaming like a baby. "BROKEN BONES! HOW COULD YOU?! I'M A DEAD MAN! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!"
Jikon was too busy struggling between laughing or sighing and it seemed like he was more set to sigh if this went on. "Zenitsu calm down. You'll be alright."
"DON'T GIVE ME YOUR EMPTY LIES TANJIROOO!"
"It's true, you're gonna be fi-" He stopped and saw two figures approaching. "Stay back!"
"WHAAH!"
"You two shouldn't be here!" It was those kids again.
"We're sorry, but there were weird noises coming from the box!" The boy was pulling his sister along and Zenitsu was recovering from his freak out.
"You still shouldn't have came in here, or left it behind. It's really precious to Tanjiro." The house started shaking and Zenitsu panicked, he curled into himself and hip checked both Tanjiro and the little girl into the next room.
"Oh! S-Sorry!"
Pam
"Huh?" Tanjiro saw that whatever room they were in, it definitely wasn't the same.
Pam
Pam
Pam
Pam
Pam
'The room changed… or, did we somehow move with the beat of the drum?" He looked down at the sniffling girl in his arms. "It's okay. I'll protect you no matter what. And I don't know about Zenitsu for sure, but Jikon definitely won't let your brother get hurt." He wiped a tear from her eye. "What's your name?"
"It's Teruko."
"Your parents chose a really-" Thudding footsteps and a strong smell came to his senses. A hulking grey demon entered their sight and Tanjiro covered Teruko's mouth before she could scream. 'Of all the scents in this mansion, this one is the most seeped in! He has to be the master!'
"I'M GONNA DIE! WE GOT SEPARATED FROM TANJIRO!"
And during his panic attack there was a boy concerned for his little sister. "Teruko?! Teruko are you here?! It's Shoichi!"
"I'm still here Zenitsu!"
"Hey! We can't be so loud!" Zenitsu clung to Shoichi. "If the bad guy in charge finds us it'll be really bad! Let's just wait outside, Jikon, can you handle this?"
He had that same look of pity that they all had earlier but Shoichi decided to speak up first. "Do you really wanna escape alone? While the others are fighting to help?"
"Huh?"
"All the whining about dying, don't you feel ashamed?"
"Huh?"
"It's sad that you're clinging to my sleeve when I'm younger than you."
"Huh?!"
"Why would a coward like you even have a sword on your hip anyway?"
"Gah!" He fell back dramatically. "Those words- Cut me to the core." He sprung up and grabbed the boy with haste. "Listen here you, this ain't something us kids can handle on our own!"
"Zenitsu wait!" Jikon followed them to the front door but when Zenitsu opened it there was just more hallway. "What the?"
"This was the front door! I'm sure it was!" He went from door to door checking for the exit. "Maybe here?!" Nope. "Was it this one?!" Still no. "Or here?!" Well there was something. A figure with the visage of a boar and when they turned, steam poured from their nose. "IT'S A MONSTERRRRAAAAAAGH!" With several grunts and a swipe of Jikon's sword the… boar thing was out of that room and sprinting down the hallway.
"The hell was that? It didn't look human but- But it didn't smell like a demon…" Jikon sheathed his sword and looked back at a disappointed Shoichi.
Zenitsu felt a gaze on him and turned to see Shoichi giving him that look. "What's with that look? Stop it!"
"Is he always like this?"
Jikon finally let out that sigh. "I just met him, and it's all he's been doing." He looked around and for a second considered following the boar creature. 'Then again it could be a trap… I guess we should just look for the others.'
"Teruko… try not to scream." At this point she was in too much fear to even scream.
"If it wasn't for them… If they didn't get in my way."
"The room could change again so don't go far, hide behind those shelves." She scurried out of sight while the demon started monologuing.
"Curses. Curses! Thanks to them he was able to get away! That prey was mine and mine alone. Damn it. All these unwelcome guests barging into my home. That prey belonged to me! I found it myself on my own property!" Tanjiro drew his sword and took a stance. "Those filthy rats! I'll kill them myself!"
Tanjiro considered announcing his name and rank but he remembered something and decided against it. 'Koujo said people who do that usually end up losing… At least those guys he said he beat up did.'
"A child with marechi that I found myself!" Tanjiro lunged and was ready to take this demon's head clean off.
'Got him!' He hit the drum lodged in his left shoulder and suddenly Tanjiro could his entire world shifting.
"Aah!" Teruko also started falling to the new base ground.
Tanjiro landed on the wall turned floor. "Teruko! This is him blood demon art, he has total control of this mansion… Wait, there's an odd scent but it's not a demon."
"HAH HAH HAH, GRAAHAHA, KAHYAHA! Ready or not! Better watch out! Here I- COME!" A guy with a boar mask busted through the wall, dual wielding serrated nichirin swords.
'Who's this guy? A boar mask? And nichirin swords!'
"All right you monster. Die in battle and serve as my springboard, so I can become stronger and soar even higher."
The demon didn't even look their way. "Infuriating! Just annoyances all around!"
"Hope you're ready for me… cause I'm coming through!"
The boar guy jumped from the freshly shifted roof and Tanjiro started shifted when the demon hit another drum. "All you damn insects running amok in my house!"
Teruko landed on her stomach and the boar stepped a foot on her back. "I can't believe it, the room really spun around! This is fun!"
Tanjiro ran up and grabbed this guys foot. "Get your dirty feet off her!"
The boar landed neatly and exhaled. "Who the hell are you kid?"
"Standing on a little girl like that, what's wrong with you?!"
He just laughed with that same gritty voice. "You've got spunk and I like it, a human sending me flying. That's a first for me!" He advanced and tried to chop Tanjiro in half but he dodged backwards.
'Why's he coming after me? He's a demon slayer!'
"These swords will hurt you, because they're not the kind you little flowers would use. The way the shred through flesh is wha-" The shattering of another wall revealed another demon.
"Surprise surprise! Another vermin in my house!" The newcomer forced the boar to dodge a violent attack.
Tanjiro was happy to see this demon however. "Koujo, the boss of this mansion- That demon right there!"
"So is this boar guy just another Slayer?" He held his sword firmly and watched the boss of this home grow even more irritated.
"Insects, begone!" He slammed the drum in his stomach and all three of the Demon Slayers dodged a giant attack that ripped the floor like claws.
'The floor just got ripped apart! In the shape of a claw! It matched his drum beat…' He hit more drums, scratching the floor making the boar dodge. Flipping the room and forcing Tanjiro to right himself, unfortunately Koujo was unaware of the drum relating to attacks so he was thrown right through a wall.
"Shit!" He recovered fast but was disoriented from the shift.
'I'm starting to understand the pattern now.' Another drum sent the shirtless berserker through a wall and onto the floor, groaning in pain. A distant drum beat started changing the rooms again. 'Another room? He didn't strike his drum… There's multiple demons in this house, so does another one have a drum?' He looked at Teruko and remembered that he still had to comfort her. "It'll be fine, stay behind me." He opened a door and down the hall was a bloody dead human.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, there's no demons. Let's head this way." He led her in the opposite direction. "Keep looking straight okay?" They walked for a minute while Tanjiro kept sifting through the smells in this madhouse. 'I smell something new, a different kind of blood.' He held a hand out and motioned for Teruko to be quiet. He opened a door and saw a boy in orange who immediately slammed his hand onto a drum.
The boar bares its fangs. Zenitsu sleeps!
Heavy breathing. That was all Jikon could hear for the last ten minutes. Zenitsu's heavy breathing while he pulled Shoichi along with them. They were going at four steps a minute with how afraid Zenitsu was to make any progress. "Excuse me Zenitsu, can we take-"
"AAAHHGHAAA! Signal me… warn me before you speak up like that! My heart almost jumped out of me!"
Shoichi was not impressed by this. "Sorry."
"Zenitsu, you're really dragging your feet along here. I'm trying to get us along before anything shows up. You're making Shoichi nervous with all your shaking."
"Ah! Sorry! I just don't want us to attract a demon, I wanted to be as quiet as possible!" Shoichi froze up and Zenitsu noticed it too. He slowly turned his head to see a crawling demon with a long tongue.
"Why'd you guys get so-" Jikon turned and saw it too.
"A couple of kids, I bet you're all delicious!"
"JUST MY LUCK! I KNEW WE'D RUN INTO A DEMON!" Honestly Zenitsu's screaming was more intimidating than the Tongue Demon. Zenitsu grabbed Shoichi and sprinted off with Jikon following. "We don't taste good! I know I don't! The kid's all skin and bones I'm sure he'd taste awful!" The demon crawled after them, laughing sadistically.
"How would I know till I have a taste?!" The demon used its tongue and split a vase in half, a vase that was twenty feet ahead of it.
"His tongue! That was fast!" Jikon drew his sword and slashed the next lash but the narrow hallway prevented him from using his normal fighting style. 'Damn! The hallway's too small!'
"This is a nightmare and I can't wake up!" Zenitsu crashed through a door with Shoichi in his grasp. Jikon jumped into the room and took up a proper stance.
"Zenitsu get up!"
The boy was trembling. "Aah! My fear! My fear is in my knees!"
"This isn't the time to complain about that." Shoichi tried to reason, he didn't know if Jikon could take this demon alone.
"Just run! If Jikon can't take it then leave me behind! Don't let me hold you back!" Well. Zenitsu just shot up in terms of how much Jikon respected him. He might be a coward but he at least was willing to let Shoichi run away while he was gripped in fear.
"I can't do that!"
Zenitsu gasped and immediately realized that this was a really nice kid. 'Useless as I am he's sticking by me? I have to help somehow. If he died before he became an adult then it'd be tragic!'
"HRAAH!" Jikon slashed the tongue apart again but this demon picked up a better plan, he used the rest of it to send him crashing through some pots and vases in the room. "Heh heheh he."
Ordinarily this demon would be a low level threat for Jikon, even in the cramped hallway he'd have dealt with it fast. 'With a healing leg and cracked bones… this freak is actually dangerous!' His condition is what was holding him back right then.
"I'm going to relish using my tongue to scoop your brains out through your ears!" And that's what did it. Zenitsu was in so much shock from his prediction coming true that he fainted.
"Zenitsu! Are you-" Shoichi realized quickly that he was out like a light.
"What's up with him?" This tongue guy was laughing sickly while Jikon started working to his feet. "Hehehe, die!" Jikon put everything into his legs and got ready to stop that tongue. "Please wake up! Zenitsu!" The tongue didn't make it.
"What the hell?!" Zenitsu was standing up, holding a hand in front of Shoichi. Then he took a stance with his left foot way behind the right. He inhaled. 'Wha- What's that sound? This boy isn't the same as before!'
Jikon watched Zenitsu's body language change, now he was proud and confident as he took this form. "Kaminari no kokyū Ichi no kata: Hekireki Issen!" (Thunder breathing First form: Thunderclap and Flash). Lightning traced over his body and with speed that nobody could keep up with, he exploded towards the Tongue Demon and sliced his head clean off! The head rolled to Zenitsu's foot right as he woke up. "AAAAH! IT'S DEAD! When did that happen?! What the hell?!"
He looked back and saw Jikon standing there in shock, Shoichi doing the same. 'I didn't even see him move…'
Zenitsu came to one conclusion, Jikon was too far away so there would have only been one person to save him. "Shoichi… You saved me! Why didn't you tell me you were so powerful from the start?! I'll be thankful for eternity!" He hugged the boy and started weeping into his kimono.
"W- What are you talking about?"
"You say something?"
The kid was at a loss for words. "Uh, it- It's nothing. We should all go."
"Y-Yeah. Let's head out." Jikon sheathed his sword and started slowly walking from the smashed appliances he was in.
He was running through the narrow hallways and growling over his situation. "Damn it, he sent me flying again! These last three days it's been the same crap." Boar guy was rushing to find some kind of action in the midst of all this confusion. "Making my way through a cramped building like this. It's not my style!" He hit a corner and back flipped to avoid a massive hand.
"You dodged that. You're quite a nimble human." A massive wall of meat was the only way to describe the fat demon that just turned the corner. "That healthy flesh will be worth eating!"
"Kedamono no kokyū…" (Beast Breathing). "It'll feel so good to carve up such a large target to pieces!" He burst forwards and the demon laughed.
"You've got guts to charge me like that- Huh? Huooah!" His arms were cleaved off above the elbow.
The turns tabled and now the boar was laughing. "Revel in your own death and serve as my springboard! San no kiba-" (Third Fang). Legs and arms were separated from the body entirely before the head followed, flowing water following a blade being the cause.
"Shi no kata: Uchishio!" (Fourth form: Striking tide). Koujo stood behind the fat demon and kicked the disintegrating body towards the boar wearer. He was holding his weapon in his right hand and had his mask in his left. "Didn't you try to hurt my friend?" He put his mask back on his hip. Boar dodged the vanishing obese demon without even flinching. "You're a Demon Slayer attacking other Demon Slayers?"
The only response was him taking up a battle stance with his dual nichirin swords ready to chop. "There's that tingle… You look like a swordsman but there's no doubt about it! You're a demon! I hope you're ready to serve as my next springboard!"
Koujo just altered his grip and held his sword with both hands. "Fine, let's do it."
"Kiyoshi! We found you!" Teruko ran up to her brother, elated at finding him.
"Teruko!" He hugged his sister and watched the guy behind her come closer with a smile. "Who's he?"
"I'm Tanjiro Kamado. I'm a Demon Slayer. You two hung in there pretty well, can I see your wounds?"
Kiyoshi just started crying but Tanjiro had a solution to that. He pulled out an envelope and raised it into the air with a pure air about him. "This ointment will help you! My master gave it to me as a gift!" He started to apply the cream onto Kiyoshi's shin. "It's funny cause he always wears a Tengu mask. This ointment works right away, you'll feel better in no time." He tied a cloth around the boy's leg and asked him what happened.
Kiyoshi explained how the head demon dragged him away and nearly killed him but even more showed up and they fought over who'd have the right to eat him. "One of the demons ripped a drum out of his back, and when I hit it… it changed the rooms. That's how I survived."
"The drum demon… he said something about 'marechi' but I don't know what that means."
"Aaah! The term 'marechi' refers to an owner with a rare blood type!" Tanjiro's crow started explaining. "The blood of all living species can be broken into many types. The more scarce the blood, or uncommon should I say, the more desirable it is to demons. For you see in terms of nutritional value for a demon, a human marechi is equal to eating one hundred individual humans. They're a delicacy you see, a feast!"
Tanjiro sniffed the air and knew that the Drum Demon was approaching. "I'm going to go back out there. Keep calm, I'll take out that demon." He looked over to Teruko to show the importance of his words. "Listen, your brother is worn out now. You need to watch out for him okay? As soon as I leave this room, use the drum to change areas. If anyone tries to open the door or you hear something, hit that drum and change rooms. I promise I'll be back, and I'll call your names so you know it's me."
"Okay." She grabbed the drum as he stood up with a smile.
"Just hold out a little longer. You're both very brave." He turned and started walking right when a familiar face peered around the corner. Tanjiro leapt forward. "Hit it!" They changed the room after him and the demon was now staring Tanjiro down.
"Damned insects! So infuriating!" He hit a drum twice and now Tanjiro was on the ceiling with his sword drawn. More drums, more attacks. More drums and the floor was ripped apart by claws.
'The right drum flips the room right, the left flips it left!' Tanjiro landed and the demon slammed his stomach drum again. 'That one launches the claw attack!' The entire room spun and Tanjiro acted accordingly, and even worse he had to cope with the constant attacks that ripped through the floor. He jumped forward and was ready to strike but he had to dodge at the last second when the demon hit his stomach again. 'Those are so fast! Miss Tamayo treated our wounds a little but- But we aren't healed. Jikon and I are in bad shape and yet here we are fighting in this demon's territory.'
"Stubborn worm! Die!" He started beating his drums and Tanjiro had to clench his teeth and dodge the attacks as they came.
'I've been enduring this pain for so long, it's what I have to do as the eldest son of my family. But when I tense up my bones ache, I can't muster enough strength. If I go for an attack and make a mistake from the pain… I'll get ripped apart from those claw attacks!' His pain was forcing him to imagine the worst possible situations. He remembered Urokodaki's words and realized that as long as he stayed like water, ever changing and adapting. He'd be fine. 'Even though my spirit isn't doing well.'
"YOU CAN'T PROTECT ME WITH BROKEN BONES!"
"ZENITSU GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" The negative Nancy that was in their group definitely didn't help that matter. "I've survived this long so I have what it takes. Whether it's today or tomorrow, I know this! I will never give up!" Tanjiro took his stance and the demon growled at this newfound strength.
"Nensho Kōjō!" (Burning Deduction). Bright red flames danced behind his swings, he tried his best to predict this guy but he was crazy with those movements. 'I'm pretty sure normal humans can't move like this, who the hell trained this guy?!' The boar head managed to get in some cuts on him but they were small and healed almost as fast as they came. Granted the pain was still making his head spin. 'No wonder we use these swords, they hurt like hell as a demon.'
"Kyahhaha! Huahahe! This is so fun! I've never had a sword fight against a demon before! You'll definitely help me soar to a new level like this!" He was on Koujo like brown on rice. "I hope you're ready, cause I'm coming th-"
Pam
Their fight was put on a pause when the room flipped over and threw them both off their flow. 'Perfect! There's my chance!' With agility borne of being trained by a water breathing master, Koujo twisted and planted his sword in the shifting walls as a hold.
"Hey what are you doing?!" That gruff voice called out to his actions but he didn't stop.
Koujo spun and sent himself flying through the wall above them, while the boar was thrown against the walls and floor. "Sorry but I need to go make sure that my hard headed friend will be alright!" He ran out of sight and that made the dual wielder angry.
"You get back here! We weren't done fighting!"
"I can do it. I finish what I start!" The room was switching so fast that Tanjiro couldn't keep up. No matter how much he tried to fix himself this demon just adjusted everything again. 'Nothing's changed so far! I can't keep this up. Slow down, and think.' The room switched and Tanjiro nearly was shredded when another claw strike came for him but only ripped through a door. 'He's not even letting me think!' Tanjiro pulled himself out of the doorway he was hanging on to and stood up. He dodged to the side and avoided another claw attack. "Hey, you! What's your name?"
That was new. He'd never been asked for his name mid fight. "Kyogai!"
"Kyogai. I'm not handing over that kid, I won't lose to you! I'm not giving up!"
Giving up. That stirred some memories of someone telling Kyogai to give up, and that made him angry. "I will get that boy and I'll reclaim my place among the Twelve Kizuki!" He started drumming faster than before, ripping the room apart while spinning it like a giant toy. He remembered how his writing was insulted so badly, how he should've just quit. He didn't even leave the house, he'd just throw himself into the words that they tried to say he was so terrible with. Trash he called them, boring, and bland. His drums were what he learned so well and even then he was insulted with his skills there.
He showed him. He used that same drum and tore him apart with a single tap! "You damned insect! Die already! Rapid drumming!"
'Wait he said rapid! Does that mean he can go faster?!' The speed that Kyogai was going was insane. The entire room was spinning so fast that Tanjiro was getting dizzy. 'Not only is he spinning the room so fast, he's using five claws instead of three!' Tanjiro looked down at the sheets of paper spread all across the floor and dropped in between them, not stepping on a single sheet.
"Eh?" Kyogai gasped at the care in not ruining any of the papers. He hit his stomach drum twice but Tanjiro dodged both the claw strikes.
'Now I got it. I can move around without making my wounds worse!' Kyogai kept striking his drums. 'Quick shallow breaths. Use my breathing to reinforce the muscles around my broken leg.' He dodged another claw attack. 'And right before that, there's the strong smell of mold! Here it comes!' He waited and dodged them as they came. 'Above!' He moved. 'Left!' Not even close. 'Right!' Whiffed. 'Behind!' Even a sneak attack didn't land.
'He's dodging all of my attacks!'
'Total Concentration, Water breathing!' He inhaled and took off with splashes of water following his every step. He moved with the room even as it spun. 'Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent!'
'He's adapting to the changes in the room!'
'Move closer and don't give him time to breathe!' He smelled the opening thread and got ready to strike. "Kyogai! Your blood demon art was truly incredible!" With a majestic strike he severed Kyogai's head and landed. Tanjiro inhaled and immediately regret that choice. 'Took a deep breath by mistake!'
"Boy… Answer me." Tanjiro looked back at the slowly dissipating head. "Did you truly think my blood demon art was incredible?"
He didn't have to think about it, with how he nearly died from it. "It was… but I can't forgive you for killing people."
"I see…" A foot clad in black tabi and zori sandals with orange straps landed in front of Kyogai's head.
"I was too late to help but it's good to see you alive Tanjiro. This the amazing drummer that I've been hearing?" He looked the disintegrating demon in the eyes and noticed that his right eye had a tattoo over it.
"Nearly forgot that we need a blood sample." Tanjiro produced one of the extractor needles that they got from Tamayo and threw it into Kyogai's body, where it filled with blood in seconds. A cat's meow drew their eyes to the delivery animal. "Here you go, take care." It meowed again and vanished into thin air. 'Yushiro's spell, it would appear then vanish with a meow.' He remembered Kiyoshi and Teruko then ran to the door. "Koujo!"
The crimson haired demon in question was crouching by Kyogai's vanishing head. "I'll catch up."
'So it's true… even if the other one was lying, this one agrees… My writing wasn't worthless either, that boy saw fit not to trample it.' Tears started coming from his eyes while Tanjiro offered a prayer for him then ran off.
"So you were a Kizuki? I guess the scratch means you got kicked out… Sorry but I have a personal thing to do." He reached forward and tore out the eye with a tattoo and held the bleeding organ over his head. "Down the hatch…" He dropped the eye into his mouth and chewed it. Kyogai was so elated from being recognized that he didn't even process what Koujo was doing. Even as he swallowed the eye and ran after Tanjiro.
'My blood demon art and my drum playing… both have been recognized…' He died happily.
"Teruko! Kiyoshi!" Once he opened the door he had to dodge things being thrown at him but a book got through his defense and conked him in the forehead.
"Oh…"
"Sorry Tanjiro."
"Why are you throwing stuff at me?!" He walked into the room and heard running behind him.
"Sorry about that I had to-" Koujo froze once he got to the doorway and his open mouth started dripping with saliva.
Tanjiro immediately realized what was going on and stood between Kiyoshi and Koujo. 'I forgot that he had rare blood!' The kids saw that Koujo had sharper teeth than a normal human and once his eyes started turning to slits they figured out that he… wasn't a human.
"Another monster!" Kiyoshi held his sister close while Tanjiro got ready to have to knock some sense into Koujo.
'In my condition there's no way I can fight him off for long, I might have to headbutt him with everything I've got if he snaps!' He was steeling himself and he was ready. Then Koujo did the unthinkable and raised his hands up… then hit the sides of his head hard enough to make blood come from his eyes, granted the bleeding stopped just seconds later.
"I'm fine… that kid just… I can focus if we just go."
'That's a relief…' Tanjiro exhaled and squatted down. "Come on, Kiyoshi climb onto my back. Let's get outside."
Koujo was walking beside Tanjiro and finally managed to clear his head from the sweet blood that Kiyoshi had. "You doing okay Kiyoshi? I didn't scare you guys did I?"
"I- I'm better! And it's fine." Tanjiro gave a short explanation of how despite being a demon like the others, Koujo was definitely not like them.
"I smell Zenitsu, Jikon, and Shoichi, they seem like they're sa-" Tanjiro stopped once he noticed an extra scent and the smell of blood.
"You getting it too?" Koujo picked it up despite Kiyoshi's overwhelming blood. "Come on!" He didn't even get himself back into Sun protection mode, his skin was still exposed from the urgency they needed to hurry with.
They walked to the light and saw something that made their blood boil.
What would you die for?
'I only hear one, that means you guys beat them all.' Zenitsu was on his back, in the sweet daylight.
"Zenitsu! Zenitsu please wake up!" His eyes opened and he saw Shoichi. "Thank goodness! The room spun around earlier and we got thrown outside. Us three fell from the second story window!"
"We did?" He looked around and saw Jikon on the ground just a few feet away.
"You made sure I was alright. I didn't get hurt." Zenitsu took his hand from the back of his head and saw some blood on it.
"WAIT I FELL FROM THAT HIGH?! Am I gonna die?!" He swooned and contemplated if it was his end.
"Nyehehaha! Muahahehe!" A familiar gritty voice laughed from inside.
"What's that sound? I don't like it!"
"Comin through! Coming through!" With a mighty headbut the door was down and the boar was there again.
"AAH IT'S THAT BOAR MONSTER AGAIN!"
Said boar monster was looking around. "I'm picking up a demonic presence here!" Zenitsu realized that he knew who this was. This was another person who went through final selection with them. He rushed up the mountain first and came down first. His boar mask landed on the box Tanjiro carried around. "There it is!" He rushed for the box but Zenitsu stopped him.
"Stop!"
"The hell? Who are you? Get outta my way!"
"My name is Zenitsu Agatsuma, I'm a Demon Slayer same as you!"
This boar guy just grunted and decided to plead his case. "Then you know we need to get rid of that thing at all costs! So move!"
"I won't! It belongs to Tanjiro!"
"Don't you argue with me! I'll deal with him and his box then!" He raised a sword and pointed it at Zenitsu's neck. "I won't say it again! Get out of the way!" Zenitsu didn't move a muscle. He really was showing how he had some resolve. "D'you wanna die?"
"This box… I won't let you touch it! I don't know what's inside but it's precious to Tanjiro!"
"Use your damn head, there's a demon in the box. Don't you get that?"
Zenitsu shut his eyes and nearly screamed his response. "Of course I do! I know they travel with two demons!" He'd always had a heightened sense of hearing, so good in fact that he could tell the difference between humans and demons based on the noises that they made.
Tanjiro had sounds that were so kind and so gentle that he couldn't do anything but trust him for the box. And as for Jikon… he could hear that he had so much love for Koujo and Koujo felt the same. He wasn't afraid that Koujo lost his arms when they met, he was afraid that he'd kill him! He could tell he was a demon right from the start. He made his choices of who to believe in and despite Tanjiro and Jikon being Demon Slayers, they traveled with demons. They have to have their reasons, Koujo was still a slayer despite being what they were supposed to fight! If they all could have that resolve then… Then…
"I can trust them! I'll ask myself why they do it!" He looked that mask back in its dead eyes. "Until then you can leave it alone!" He got kicked in the face for that response, repeatedly, and the last one knocked him clear. Before the box could get harmed, Zenitsu tackled this guy to the ground.
"Get off me damnit!" He flung Zenitsu away angrily. He was starting to annoy him. "He stood up but fell back down when Zenitsu grabbed his ankle.
"I won't let you!" He got kicked in the face again. "It's important to Tanjiro!" He managed to throw him away with the last of his strength. He ran to the box and held it closely.
Zenitsu might not have been the worm he thought he was after all. "Zenitsu!" Jikon was up and drew his sword. The boar swordsman struck back and clashed blades with the Hakuga. "You did good, I'll try and take it from here!" That alone was enough to make Zenitsu fall over with a smile.
"So you're gonna fight me? Sucks for you!" They started exchanging slashes but pre existing injuries, mixed with being thrown into appliances and out a second floor window gave Jikon a disadvantage.
'This hurts so bad, but… Zenitsu grew a spine and stood up for Tanjiro! What kind of a man would I be if I couldn't do the same for him?!' He fought with all his resolve and deadlocked this pig lover with all his might. "You're not hurting Zenitsu or that box again!"
"You're not gonna stop me!" He used one of his swords to move Jikon's and kicked him in the side. "You're way too weak to get in my way!" He pulled back and caught Jikon's blade in one of his serrations then dropped his elbow against his back. Adding insult to injury he decided to kick him in the face and side again while he was down. "Now stay outta the way!" He ran to Zenitsu and started giving him the same treatment right when some people came into sight. "Come on! Move it so I can kill the demon!"
"I won't let you do anything to this box!" He was steadfast to the point where it drew Shoichi's empathy. The boy was crying at how they both tried their hardest to defend what their friend cared about.
Tanjiro and Koujo watched the scene. A masked person kicking Zenitsu while he was down. Jikon on the ground in pain. Shoichi crying in the shade of the trees. Seeing Zenitsu do his best to protect the box made him remember that same feeling of witnessing his family after they were slaughtered. "That's my brother…" Veins bulged on Koujo's face and his eyes turned to slits again.
"Fine then. If you're just gonna keep me from doing my job, then I'll take you out with the box!" Zenitsu was barely conscious and this guy raised his sword to stab him.
"Stop it!" Tanjiro's entire body was primed and ready to blow.
The dull eyes of the boar mask turned and saw two guys staring him down. "Huh?"
"I said st-" The Kamado didn't get his chance since dirt, dust, and part of the floor in the house behind him was torn up in the wake of an angry Demon.
"THAT'S MY BROTHER!" Doing the unthinkable for what he was, Koujo just blasted ahead full speed. He planted his feet into the ground and turned at his hips, with an open palm… He slammed his right arm into this guy's stomach. "BASTARD!" He followed through even though he held back at the last second so as to not kill the guy and send him flat on his back into the ground.
Zenitsu was surprised from what he heard. 'His ribs! They broke!'
Jikon looked up in shock and Tanjiro did the same. "K- Koujo… Y-Your hand…" Tanjiro managed to get out.
The furious Demon managed to look at his hand through all his rage and see that it was- It was on fire. "My- AAAH!" He burst into flame and he screamed in horrific pain. All his anger led him to rush straight into broad daylight and as a demon that was a fatal mistake. It was terrifying for the kids to see the image of someone essentially burning to death and they averted their gaze and whimpered to themselves, the wailing not something they could cover up no matter how hard they held their ears.
Jikon watched in horror as his brother burned brighter than a candle in the night. Then he realized something important. "Demons don't burst into flame… they turn to ash…" Tanjiro heard that from where he was and remembered their first time seeing a demon in sunlight and how quickly he became ash and was gone, yet Koujo was still standing and screaming in agony.
"Something's different!" Tanjiro said as the flames started to die down and so did the screaming. "Koujo!" He was tempted to run and do something but- 'What can I do? He's on fire, it might spread to me. Even if it won't he's a demon, the sun won't stop hurting him!'
The flames died down until they were no more and there was just… Koujo standing there. Veins on his face were still bulging out but he didn't even look damaged despite being on fire moments ago. His eyes were non feral looking again but he was still clearly pissed off. "You wanna give someone a one-sided beating? How about you fight me bare handed then?!"
Laughter from the still downed boar, actually it was gurgled laughing. Even though he held back, Koujo still did extreme damage. "Then let's do it!"
Tanjiro held his hands up as if to placate them both. "No wait! We're not supposed to fight each other as Demon Slayers!"
That didn't stop them from advancing at each other and engaging. Koujo used his stance to start off but this guy had inhuman movements to fight with. Koujo caught a fist and returned it in kind but it was dodged and boar wrapped himself around his body and spun with all his might to send him to the ground. "Nice moves you damned Pig!" He stopped whatever that confusing attack was midway and slammed him into the ground.
"This guy's unreal. He's got broken ribs but he's doing this?" Zenitsu said as Shoichi started wiping the blood off his face.
"You're not bad yourself!" Boar's gritty voice said between snarls. These two were practically in a dance. Boar had vicious grapples supplemented by flexible strikes that were unorthodox for a fighter like Koujo. But that didn't mean Koujo was out of his element. He countered every punch that this guy was going for and landed his own against him, but he made sure to hold them back so he didn't seriously hurt him.
"You fight like an animal!" Koujo evaded a low kick and dropped down himself to give an even lower one. "But I fought wild animals too!" Boar, deer, big cats, that really big frog, all animals that Koujo beat in youth and this wasn't much different. Actually this one was worse since he could think like a person.
Boar managed to pull off a split and get even lower to dodge the kick. Then he did something that would've snapped a normal person's spine and went for a kick over his head, but Koujo caught his leg and flung him over into a waiting attack. "Not bad at all!" He kicked him away with his foot, his shins being too dangerous for a bare handed brawl like this.
Boar skidded back and stood up quickly. "You managed to see through that one? Amazing as it was?"
Zenitsu was speechless at how he was singing his own praises. "Give me a break."
"Let me show you what else I'm capable of." He bent over backwards and started laughing maniacally. He was in a pose that would've definitely broken a normal human in half.
Tanjiro had to object to that. "Stop! You have broken bones! You'll only make it worse!"
"Stay out of this!" Boar righted himself and got ready to charge again. Koujo entered his stance again while this masked guy charged him. For a second Koujo could feel like his body knew exactly how to dodge the next attack and he felt like he was out of his own body when he evaded every single blow like it was a kid fighting him.
"This all you got?! Even when I was a normal human I'd be beating you down!" He grabbed his fist and tripped him up only to send him reeling away with another set of punches that felt like rocks against his body.
Boar recovered and laughed from the pain coursing through him. "Your hands are hard! It's like you're using rocks to hit me!" He dropped into his next feral stance. "Come on! I'm not even getting started.
Koujo clenched his teeth and returned to his stance but something went very wrong. All his muscles tensed and the veins on his face stopped bulging. He looked entirely relaxed. "I- I'm- D- Done-" Koujo passed out onto the ground face first.
"The hell?! I was having fun!"
Jikon and Tanjiro saw the flight risk of a boar and realized that he needed to calm down. Tanjiro decided to hurry and do something about it. He rushed in and grabbed his shoulders. "You need to relax!" He headbutt him with all the strength he had.
"That sound! Did you break your skulls?!" Zenitsu was the one who heard it best.
Jikon looked at his unconscious brother and put some pieces together. "He was fighting that hard against Susamaru, and then we came here and he fought this guy. And any demons in the house. All that without eating any human meat… Actually I don't think he's eaten anything." He looked at his brother and saw that he still somehow wasn't disintegrating in the sunlight. "And whatever the sun did to him had to have taken a lot out of him. Tamayo even said that turning into a demon is a draining process… He's been going just as hard as us with no fuel at all."
"Don't you take your eyes off me!" They looked back and saw something that didn't match the body.
"HUUH?! THAT'S WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE?!"
A feminine face with blue hair on a ripped body. "You got a problem with my face or something? Why are you caring about my face so much?!"
Zenitsu scrambled behind the kids and hid. "Nothing! I don't!"
"There's nothing wrong with your face. In fact the girlish size, shape, and complexion are all attractive!"
"I'll kill you! You wanna go?!"
"I don't! You need to calm down!"
"Come on headbutt me! Do it!"
"I won't! Calm down! Sit even!"
"I've got a better idea! I'll tell you my name, it's Inosuke Hashibira. Don't you forget it!"
"How do you spell that?"
That threw Inosuke off. "I- I don't know how to read or write! All I know is that it was written on my-" He paused and started making random noises and gurgles.
"Are you okay?"
Inosuke didn't answer. Well it was more that he couldn't. He was out cold before he hit the ground. "AAH! Is he dead?!" Zenitsu asked while Jikon finally stood up.
"No, just knocked out. Tanjiro has a super hard head. Koujo was out cold the last time he got headbutt."
Zenitsu couldn't believe that. "He knocked him out cold? But he's a demon!"
"He only became a demon like two days ago!" Jikon threw a rock square at Zenitsu's face to move him away from the kids he was using as human shields.
Inosuke's eyes fluttered and he woke up slowly. The feeling of something on him let him see a yellow haori covering him like a blanket. "Hm…" Then the memory of how he ended up like this came to him. "AAAAAAHHHHH!" He jumped up like he wasn't concussed. "RAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"AAH HE'S AWAKE!" Zenitsu was the closest one and therefore the first target.
"Fight me! Fight me now! Get back here you!"
"I can't believe this is how he wakes up!" Zenitsu took cover behind Teruko and Inosuke stopped once he saw everyone in front of a bunch of dirt mounds.
"What are you guys doing! Tell me!"
Tanjiro answered that one. "We're having a burial."
"Burial?! What does that mean?!"
Koujo was awake and Inosuke noticed that. "Hey demon! Quit that and fight me!"
"No, we had to get all the people out of that mansion and bury them. I don't feel like it." The sun was setting but he was still in direct sunlight without turning to ash. "And it hurts a lot to be in the sun."
The others looked at him in surprise, save for Zenitsu. "It hurts?" Jikon questioned.
"I thought you were okay?" Tanjiro was even more concerned.
"I knew I heard something weird going on with your body." Everyone looked at Zenitsu for that one, even Koujo since he didn't know what he meant. "It still sounds like you're burning, but it's weaker."
"It feels that way. It's really painful, but nowhere near as bad as when I was all the way on fire."
Inosuke had his boar mask back on and was doing something that only he would. "HhrrraaAAAGH!" Headbutting trees.
"What's that strange man doing?" Teruko asked her brother but they just told her to not look at him.
A piercing cry drew their attention to two crows and a hawk. "Descend the mountain! Descend the mountain!" Tanjiro's annoying crow cawed at them.
"Is that bird talking to us?!" Shoichi was asking the right questions too.
"I knew it wasn't just me!"
Inosuke finished headbutting another tree then saw them all walking away. "Hey where are you all going?!"
"Descending the mountain like my crow said."
"But I'm not done fighting that demon yet!"
Koujo wanted to be angry but that would be a waste of what little energy he had left. "You're too tired to fight me."
"I'm not tired at all! Let's fight!" He ran after them full speed but got rejected again.
A bit down the road there was the scene of Zenitsu struggling to keep Shoichi with them since he saw him as a protector who'd definitely keep him safe. "Zenitsu, you don't need Shoichi here! You'll be fine!" Jikon was trying to pull him away from the kid but he had some strength behind him for this. That and Jikon was definitely not in good condition at the moment.
"Please I need him to keep me safe!"
Koujo decided it was time to save the effort of convincing him and he just dropped his fist onto Zenitsu's yellow hair. "Sorry about that. He's… dramatic." Zenitsu was on the ground and drooling, he almost looked like he was a harmless baby with how he was snoring.
Noka flew closer to Kiyoshi and told him to hold out his hands only to drop a purple charm into them. "That is a charm, a demon repellent if you will. As the one with marechi I recommend you keep that on your person."
Koujo was suddenly fifteen feet back and holding his nose firmly. Inosuke was bashing his head against trees like a- Like an Inosuke. "That smells like wisteria, and as you can see demons hate the smell. Don't lose it." Tanjiro said while Jikon put Nezuko's box on his back, Tanjiro opting to carry Zenitsu since he could.
"Here. Maybe you'll be able to keep yourself safe with this. I don't have a use for it anymore." Jikon handed his nichirin tanto off to Kiyoshi with a smile. "Safe travels you three."
The three siblings were waving them goodbye. "Thank you for everything, we're truly grateful."
"Good luck you three!" Koujo called from a distance, the wisteria in that charm being incredibly potent.
Noka took to the air with Tanjiro's crow and led the way. "Now follow us! Follow yours truly!"
Some time later there were only Demon Slayers walking together. "Fight me! The Demon wasn't the one to beat me! Come on loser! I'll find your weak point and beat you!"
"I have a name! It's Tanjiro Kamado, and his name is Koujo Itadake! This is Zenitsu Agatsuma, the one you were beating up. And that's Jikon Hakuga!"
Inosuke took that personally and decided to swear his revenge. "Alright Gonpachiro Kamaboko! I'm gonna bring you and Gojo Edamame down!"
"Who the hell are you talking about?!" Koujo caught up and was pissed at how wrong that name was.
"You both obviously!"
Tanjiro was just as irritated. "No you aren't!"
"AH!" Zenitsu was awake and took to yelling at all three of them. "CAN YOU THREE BE ANY LOUDER?!" The comically large size of his head wasn't even their focus.
It was the dead of night and they walked into an estate that had a Wisteria symbol on the entrance. There was a problem with Inosuke wanting to fight the elderly attendant but he was reeled in quick. "A change of clothes to cleanse your bodies." She was kneeling in the room that had the clothes in question.
"Oh nice!" Jikon was first to accept the change in clothes.
"And warm meals to cleanse your souls."
Zenitsu started freaking out about how this old woman managed to prepare this all so fast but a hit to the head from Tanjiro set him straight. Inosuke was eating his food like a ravenous animal, bare hands. Koujo wasn't doing much better but he had the excuse of being a hungry demon. Inosuke took some food off Tanjiro's plate, hoping to make him angry but he just offered more food. Then he tried to take some food from Koujo… Tried. Let's just say that a broken finger stops most people and Inosuke was one of them.
They went to the next room when they were done and again the old woman was waiting for them. "These will be your rooms during your stay." There were five futons set up for them and Inosuke hurried to the comfiest looking one.
"I'm gonna have this one! First come first served!" His cocky look didn't bother Koujo in the slightest, and Tanjiro just smiled at him.
"You can have whichever one you want. Which one do you want Zenitsu?"
"EEEIIEEEEEGGHHHAAA!" He threw a pillow at Zenitsu and he hit the floor hard with his usual complaining of why it had to be him.
The old woman opened the door and beside her was a slightly less old man. "The doctor will be treating your wounds now."
The doctor examined Zenitsu first, then Tanjiro. "I see, would you like to come closer so I can examine you?" Koujo shook his head in denial.
"I'm fine, I didn't get hurt this mission." A lie but he couldn't exactly tell this man that he was a Demon among them. He was an imposter among the corps by all means and keeping it a secret was for the best.
"I see, we'll if you change your mind then I'll be here." Next he checked Jikon and Inosuke. "I understand… It's very bad for each of you."
They were finally relaxing in their beds as per the doctor's orders. "Who'd have guessed we all had broken ribs?" Zenitsu had the least broken ribs with two being his count. Tanjiro and Jikon were next with three each. Inosuke led them with a total of five broken ribs.
Said boar boy parted his long hair and revealed a massive knot on his forehead. "This bump hurts more."
"Sorry…" Tanjiro couldn't help but be so nice even when it was something totally deserved.
Zenitsu took offense to that apology. "Hey, where's my apology? You beat the crap out of me Inosuke."
Jikon also existed and got a beating all the same. "Me too."
"I'm not sorry."
Zenitsu sat up angrily, and he was justified to be irritated. "Just apologize!"
"Nope."
"You wouldn't be as hurt if you just fought back." Koujo offered his opinion on that matter but that only made Zenitsu angrier.
"We're not supposed to fight each other as Demon Slayers! Not everyone breaks rules you know!"
The redhead squinted in thought. "Technically since I'm a Demon… I'm not a member of the Corps since it's against the rules to help demons. All I did was fight a human, that's the whole deal of being a demon."
They were all quiet after that one. Zenitsu sat up and decided to ask the question that he promised to ask earlier. "So… why do you guys travel with that demon in the box? And why don't you act like a normal demon Koujo?"
Half of that wasn't going to be answered since Koujo was fast asleep but Tanjiro and Jikon decided to sit up and engage in the conversation. Inosuke stretched one last time and decided to go to the world of sleep as well. 'That's enough thinkin for today, they didn't take my challenges but I'll go for it again tomorrow.'
"You knew all along Zenitsu? You still protected the box. Thank you." Tanjiro's compliment made him blush and roll on his bedding with his pillow.
Jikon even had a compliment to give. "You're stronger than you think Zenitsu, but I'll keep your secret. I was proud when you protected that box from Inosuke, I couldn't just let you fight alone."
"Hey I'm not that strong, that's why I wanted to bring Shoichi with us. You both ruined it."
The box shook and Zenitsu jumped to his feet. "Why's it shaking? Is it coming after us?!"
"Zenitsu calm down."
"You don't need to worry." The young Kamado's words didn't do any good in calming him down.
"How can you be so sure?! How?! How?! I don't wanna die like this!" Tanjiro and Jikon kept trying to calm him down but as the box opened he panicked more. "IT'S NOT EVEN LOCKED?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! SOMEONE PROTECT ME! KOUJO, INOSUKE! EVEN YOU TWO WILL DOOO!" A certain demon was in automatic mode and kicked the yellow haired coward away from him while asleep. The box opened even further and revealed a hand. "It's escaped! I gotta hide! I'm so scared!" He scrambled to a closet and started climbing blankets but when the demon revealed its face he finally calmed down.
"Hmm?"
"Nezuko~" Jikon said with closed eyes while Zenitsu's eyes widened.
"Hey Nezuko."
She stood up and grew to her normal size. Her clothes filled out as her form grew to match them. "Hm!" She was practically sparkling and Zenitsu was flabbergasted.
"That's what I tried to tell you, Nezuko is my-"
"You two…" They looked back at Zenitsu and saw electricity crackling around his body. "Listen to me…"
"Uh, Zenitsu?" Jikon was concerned over why he was growing a spine at this time.
"Something wrong?"
"Who do you think you are?!" The lightning around him started crackling more violently. "You've been traveling along with a girl this cute?!" Nezuko walked up to her brother's side and started watching this speechlessly. "Day in and day out with a girl like this… and you've been having a lot of fun haven't you?!"
Jikon tried to calm the blonde down before he did something stupid. "Zenitsu that's not what-"
"I WANT MY BLOOD BACK!" He started sputtering and frantically crying. "You both getting to be all lovey-dovey and 'tee-hee' with a cutie isn't what I got beat up by some crazy boar for!"
"Zenitsu calm down, what's gotten into you?!" Tanjiro was trying to calm him down but it was like putting a fire out with sticks.
"DEMON SLAYER CORPS ISN'T SOMETHING YOU JOIN FOR FUN! GUYS LIKE YOU BOTH SHOULD BE PURGED IMMEDIATELY!"
Tanjiro and Jikon were trying to form a sentence to fix whatever this was but they couldn't do that, and Nezuko was just watching the entire scene with a distant expression on her face.
Zenitsu had his sword and sheath in his hands. "Come to think of it, I never repaid you both for thwarting my marriage." He drew the weapon and took a stance. "As well as sending my savior Shoichi home."
"Z-Zenitsu… why did you draw your sword?" Jikon started backing up slowly but Tanjiro was making the mistake of trying to reason with him.
"FACE JUSTICE! DON'T EVER DISRESPECT THE CORPS!"
"Zenitsu, cut that out! You might hurt someone!"
They were breaking furniture and trying not to become victims of this assault on their bodies. "Tanjiro, I think that's his point!"
"GUYS LIKE YOU CAN GO STRAIGHT TO HELL! FEEL MY WRATH!"
Recap 3
We can't have a proper recap because Inosuke keeps challenging Tanjiro and Koujo, and then there's Zenitsu fawning over the adorable Nezuko. Jikon, son of Jokan here, and I'm just giving what I can give. Apparently Zenitsu's not the coward he makes himself out to be, he really can have a heart of gold when he wants to. Apparently my brother doesn't die in the sunlight like a normal demon either, he just feels like he's on fire… We'll have to check with Miss Tamayo on that, maybe it's his blood demon art? Till next time!