Recovery Pt 3
(I've got work in less than 6 hours and I spent all night finishing this, point out any spelling or grammar errors so I can angrily fix them later. Enjoy.)
Rehabilitation training it was called. The physical conditioning that would put them back into shape after all the hell they went through back on Mount Natagumo. It was Zenitsu's first day to join them and he didn't like that at all. Right now Jikon was walking into the dojo room with Inosuke and Tanjiro right by his side… and Zenitsu cowering behind him. Aoi led them in, irritated as ever but she did have a place in this manor so a lot of responsibility was on her to keep things running right… Maybe they could've done better at making her job a little easier but their discordant group wouldn't stand to do something like that.
"All right Zenitsu, since you'll be joining us today I'll explain the training once again." She gestured over to the Butterfly squad. "The girls and Rui will get your bodies limber again." Well the girls 'helped' Inosuke run through some, agonizing by the looks of it, stretching that had fat tears leaving the eyes of his mask while Rui was carefully using his threads to help Tanjiro and Jikon do the same. Rui was included in their little support squad now, but he was there for more than just helping them stretch their bodies out, but that was for later.
"Next is the reflex training." Senjuro was seated across from the ever calm Kanao with an anticipating pout on his face. "Those cups contain medicated water. The objective is to throw the water onto one another, but if your opponent blocks you from picking our cup then you can't use it."
Senjuro's body was tense and ready to move while Kanao sat still and calm. All it would take was a quick movement to-
"Now!"
Medicated water splashed onto his face in an instant but he wasn't disheartened! 'I'll be faster.'
"Again. Now!"
He managed to grab a cup and start lifting it but Kanao's hand stopped his motion before it did anything significant, and more water ended up on his face. Well at least he managed to grab the cup time. 'I'll be even faster!' He focused his mind and calmed down with simple breathing…
"Once more. Go!"
Senjuro's eyes snapped open and his hand landed on top of Kanao's, stopping her right hand from lifting it. 'I actually-!' He also learned the lesson of people having two hands and got splashed by more medicated water.
"Lastly there is the full body training, or to be more honest, a game of tag. You'll face myself, Rui, or Kanao."
Inosuke got well acquainted with the Lower Moon these last few days. And now he was partnered up with him for this game of tag, again. "This time…"
"Begin!"
"I'll win!" A headfirst charge that only Inosuke would pull was evaded by a jump that let Rui temporarily land on the boar rusher's shoulders and step off him. 'Oh come ON!'
"You nearly had me… You're improving." It wasn't supposed to be an insult to Inosuke's current ability but damn he sure took it that way. Next up was Senjuro and he was against Aoi for this round.
"All right, begin!" Once she said that it was up to her junior- or future junior to come at her any way he saw fit. Of course there was the minor fact that lack of aptitude for Flame Breathing didn't mean the boy wasn't still physically trained to be a swordsman, and all the exercise from the last week helped his muscle memory- Look, long story short he caught Aoi off guard with how quick he moved.
'So close!' He barely missed tagging her left shoulder but he didn't give up. She ducked under his diving grab and he rolled to bounce right back at her like a rubber ball, and she was moderately surprised by his ability as just a trainee but that surprise is what gave Senjuro the quick second to give himself the win and catch Aoi's right hip in his hand. "I did it!" He looked down and quickly took his hand back once he fully realized where he was grabbing to step away.
Zenitsu slowly raised his hand to which Aoi asked if something wasn't clear… but his response was to stand up and ask his friends to follow him.
Inosuke grunted that he didn't feel like it and Tanjiro was just confused. Jikon did what he did best and asked a valid question. "Why can't you say what's wrong in here?"
"SHUT UP AND FOLLOW ME!" Everyone but Kanao was stunned by that sudden outburst but it only got more shocking when Zenitsu outright grabbed Inosuke and Tanjiro by their collars and started dragging them outside. "Come with me you urchins! I got an earful for ya!"
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Zenitsu what's going on?!"
"You really can't just say what it is back there?!"
They finally made it outside after Zenitsu reluctantly stopped dragging half of their group and stood against a wall with said blonde huffing and puffing. "Sit up straight because I've got something to say! You miserable bastards!"
Inosuke perked up. "The hell did you call us?!" Somehow that short arm made it to his mask and punched it right off before he could react, his comedic spin into the wall of the manor didn't make Zenitsu's anger stifle in the slightest.
"Inosuke!" Tanjiro hurried over to his now maskless friend. "What are you thinking? Apologize to him!"
"What's got you acting like an angry bear? You're usually so much more… wriggly." Like a worm that turned into a wolf when it fell asleep, no better description.
Zenitsu stood up straight with bloodshot eyes. "HUH?! ME APOLOGIZE?! YOU'RE THE ONES ACTING LIKE YOU CAME BACK FROM HELL WHEN YOU WERE IN PARADISE!" He started jumping and flailing his shortened limbs to further his point. "ALL YOU DID WAS FROLIC AROUND WITH GIRLS ALL DAY SO WHY DID YOU COME BACK LOOKING ALL HAGGARD!? DROP ON YOUR KNEES AND APOLOGIZE! COMMIT SEPPUKU!"
"How can you say something like that?!" Tanjiro wouldn't take this lying down. They'd been working so hard for-
"SHUT UP FOREHEAD! SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND LISTEN!" He grabbed Tanjiro's hair and pulled him close. "YOU HAD BEAUTIFUL GIRLS GIVING YOU MASSAGES! WHEN YOU PLAY THAT CUP GAME YOU COULD TOUCH THEIR HANDS! WHEN YOU PLAY TAG YOU GOT TO TOUCH THEIR BODIES!"
Senjuro ran outside once he heard the screaming and saw Zenitsu panicking for all the wrong reasons. "Zenitsu please calm down! Everyone's training their hardest but we-" He got close but a glare from the manic swordsman nearly made him back down, and worse he was still holding Tanjiro's hair. "Is this one of those moments where he isn't a good role model?" That was to himself but the question would be answered shortly.
"YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND SENJUROOO! ALL GIRLS HAVE TWO BOOBS, TWO THIGHS, AND GREAT BEHINDS! THEY SMELL SO NICE WHEN THEY PASS BY AND IT'S SO GREAT TO EVEN LOOK AT THEM!" Well now he was twirling in the air like a demented ballerina.
Jikon facepalmed and remembered that his friend was very… eccentric when it came down to female attention. But that was one of the things that made him so unique, and whether that was good or bad still had yet to be determined.
"You're not making any sense Monitsu! When you lose to someone smaller than you it should be a blow to your confidence!"
Senjuro had to back the beast breather up on that one. "Not exactly the point but Inosuke is right. If we're at a point where we still lose then we're still weak, that's why we're so tired Zenitsu."
"OF COURSE THE BOAR WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND! HE WAS RAISED IN THE MOUNTAINS, HE'S NEVER BEEN CLOSE WITH A GIRL BEFORE! I FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOU!" That pissed Inosuke off even more.
"Whaa?! I've been close to girls and none of them were a match for me!"
"That's an awful thing to do! And I'm not talking about fighting! You'll never pick up any girls at this rate you know!"
"What do you mean?! There's no way a girl could be that heavy! Even Ami isn't that hard to pick up!"
Back inside it was just a group of five girls and one demon staring at a window in the direction of this loud argument, and Aoi was clenching her fists from how stupid they were. It honestly would break a lesser person having to deal with these idiots… okay well Senjuro, Tanjiro, and Jikon were alright in comparison but Inosuke and Zenitsu had screws loose.
The thunder breather burst into the training room with a dopey smile across his face and a cheery disposition. "I'm ready to start my training~!" First the girls helped stretch out his lower back and arms, then his legs, then his arms and legs… But none of the sounds he was making were of discomfort. He was still wearing that smile with such a jovial aura around him.
Senjuro raised a bushy brow at how Zenitsu was enjoying this so much. 'It's a bit weird but at least he's getting through it.'
Inosuke just watched, mask under his arm. He'd taken to going without his accessory on for longer periods now, nobody knew why and nobody would. "I've underestimated him. I always fight back tears from the pain, but he's here laughing."
"I still think you're really tough, Inosuke." Jikon's comment cheered him up a bit even with Tanjiro sighing from Zenitsu being Zenitsu.
Next was the medicated water. Aoi was up to test Zenitsu. Naho was announcing their challenge. "Begin!" In a rapid response, Zenitsu both covered Aoi's hand and had a cup of water ready to splash her but he stopped at the last second.
"I'd never splash a drink on a girl's face."
The girls only looked at him with contempt while Rui blinked twice. "Isn't that… the purpose?"
Lastly was full body training. "Beg-" He blurred and in two motions managed to catch Aoi off guard.
"I win!" If only he'd kept his hands somewhere appropriate. Only seconds later did he walk back to his friends with bruises and a black eye. "I may have won the battle- But I lost the war!"
Inosuke dropped his boar mask and cheered himself up. Declaring that he wouldn't be left behind. He splashed the water right onto Aoi's face with a grin. In the game of tag he caught her by the ankles and held her upside down. Right on cloud nine with his sudden winning streak.
Jikon challenged Rui to the exercises and results were… mixed. Kiyo was calling their reflex challenge, both were very relaxed but just waiting to strike at the first- "Begin!" Rui's hand moved first but Jikon stopped him from picking up one of the cups.
'Raise the cup! Raise the cup!' He grabbed for one of the cups but white threads held his hand down firmly… resulting in a deadlock. "Rui! That's cheating!" The ex-Lower Moon didn't even falter in his deadpan stare.
"I stopped you from picking it up."
Jikon's left eye started twitching from justified anger. "That doesn't mean use your blood demon art! Rematch! I want a rematch!" They conducted said rematch and this time the results were another deadlock, but with the two of them continuously stopping the other from picking up a cup with their hands. Everywhere Rui's hand went, Jikon stopped it. Everywhere Jikon's hand went, Rui stopped him. Neither of them was making headway and the event was drawing Inosuke and Zenitsu's attention.
'Keeping up with one of the Twelve Kizuki… Paimon's pretty good…'
Zenitsu started his thought process off seriously but he didn't stick to that for long. 'When my arms are normal I'll be able to do this too. I should ask Nezuko for help~' His dopey grin came back while Rui and Jikon kept up their pace.
Senjuro decided to make up for lost time and practice what he knew so far with his wooden sword outside, but first he decided to check in with a downtrodden Tanjiro. "Is something the matter?"
"I'm the only one who's on a losing streak… so embarrassing. None of us can actually beat Kanao and I don't even know if Rui is trying his best."
Senjuro offered a gentle smile to show his feelings on the matter. "It's hard but I'm sure we can do it. I didn't even think I would come this far before
For the next five days it was a mix of the boys managing to match Aoi in the exercises and being overtaken by Kanao and Rui right when their confidence got built up. But eventually that losing streak must've whittled down both Inosuke and Zenitsu's wills since they just stopped showing up to the exercises one day.
Jikon was breathing heavily and so was Tanjiro right beside him. Neither of them was able to even touch a hair on Kanao's head but Tanjiro even less so. 'It's so frustrating.'
'She's this good. That's scary to think about. How good is Shinobu? How good was her sister?!' Kanao learned Flower Breathing from Shinobu's sister, Kanae, so how strong was the late Kocho to have left such a powerful student?
They finally finished their training for today and so the boys started walking back to their collective room with the lovely night sky and moon giving them some comfort. 'Even at my best I'd probably still lose to her. And there's her scent, she smells like-'
"Like the Hashira." Tanjiro's face went slack and his eyes turned into small black dots. "I can't read minds, you were talking out loud." That explains it. "Kanao really is stronger than we are but I think I know why."
That was the cue for three plucky girls to present a pair of towels for the boys to clean their faces with. "These are for you!"
"Oh, thank you. These help a lot. Anyway, what were you saying Jikon?" The Kamado started to wipe his face and hair while Jikon did the same with a small space for his mouth.
"Shinobu told me about something that makes a huge difference for a Demon Slayer. I've been trying it out but I'm not ready to keep it up all the time yet." He revealed his clean face and ruffled hair in all his glory and the butterfly girls could've sworn that he had a glow to his skin.
Tanjiro was wondering exactly what his friend was talking about when someone else made their presence clear.
"And next to these rooms is where you can stay." A red Demon Slayer Corps outfit with no sleeves, red hair and eyes, Koujo was back. "Oh, I was just showing Haia around the estate. Miss Shinobu told me there's a 'demon room' now." Behind him was another demon in a short but bright kimono and with purple hair tied into twintails.
"The room where the demons can rest, yeah. It's right next to ours here in the ward." Jikon pointed out and the female demon smiled and went right for it. "So your mission went well?"
Koujo spun his mask around and placed it back on his hip. "Some stuff happened but I stopped a demon from becoming a new member of the Kizuki."
Tanjiro didn't let them stay sidetracked for long. "What were you telling me a second ago? Something about making a big difference?"
Oh right. The Hakuga had something up his sleeve and he'd been practicing it when he could. A few days ago he spoke to Shinobu about furthering himself as a Demon Slayer and got a very useful bit of information for himself. "Oh right that, well it's basically maintaining Total Concentration Breathing all the time. It keeps your body in a much better state than just using it for certain techniques. It's called-"
"Total Concentration Constant!" She sent the ball of the chain flying away from her with a solid grip on the makeshift axe handle in her right hand. Ami had been training hard the last few days and the fruits of her labor were starting to show with how she managed to handle the weapon. She reeled the ball back with a heave and some complex alternating swings brought the chain wrapped comfortably around her forearms. Then everything went awful for her. "HNG!" She fell to one knee in a world of hurt. 'It feels like my lungs are gonna explode! My ears hurt! My head hurts! Everything hurts! This is worse than the cramps!' Slowly but surely she started picking herself up, feeling her ears for any blood that could've been leaking out from popped eardrums. Luckily there wasn't any.
A gentle clap showed the presence of her mentor in the grassy area. "You've made another bound in your progress, Ami. From barely ten seconds all the way to five minutes, your progress is surprising. Namu Amida Butsu." He was nothing short of proud for his student to be able to come so far in less than a week of training to maintain Total Concentration Breathing.
Her sense of hearing finally came back and it managed to pick up on the compliment to her skills, but bragging would have to wait until she could talk again. 'Thanks Gyomei-sensei but- But there's no way this is the best I can do. I have to go even harder to get stronger!'
"Your true self is very easily revealed, and your intention is clear to see." Ami looked at him as she brought herself back up to her full height, which was still a little more than a foot shorter than her mentor. "When it comes to those your age I typically have little belief in your abilities, only because I understand how easily swayed youth can be, but you have an honesty about you that helps me realize that you are very able and very willing." Now he was crying with a smile on his face. "Excuse me, I was simply overwhelmed. Your new weapon should be arriving within the next month."
"Nice!" She almost jumped for joy but stopped at the last second once she noticed someone else approaching them. He was wearing a dark green Slayer uniform with a purple yukata top. "Genya!" Ami dropped her weapon and bounded full force towards the boy who nearly matched her in height, and he stopped to blush before being caught in her powerful hug. "I missed you!"
His long mohawk fluttered even while she squeezed the breath out of him. "I was gone three days." They met when she first got to Gyomei's estate, at first he wanted nothing to do with her or her lack of personal space but the very next day he found himself getting roped into practicing with her and even started talking about things they liked… it didn't help that she really didn't understand giving someone a little distance! "Ami, you can stop hugging me now." It took all of his willpower to not focus on the two mounds pressing into his own chest but she didn't even seem to care.
She glanced over him to make sure there weren't any new scars on his body, luckily there were none. "No. I missed you so I'm gonna hug you as long as I want. We need to catch up anyway, how'd your mission go?"
Genya gave a low grunt, clearly not satisfied with her refusing to let him go until who knows when, and he answered her question. "There was one demon there and I killed her. I didn't have to do anything but nail a shot." In his left hand was a sawn off double barreled shotgun. Ami still didn't understand how the thing worked but all that she needed to know was that you pull the trigger and the loud bang kills demons, and that was good enough for her.
"Did they at least have a cool blood demon art?" Now she was putting her face directly in front of his. "You sure you're okay? You look kinda red."
How could a girl even bigger than him be so cute about not ? 'Wait, cute?! Why am I calling her that?!' Why did girls always make him fluster like this… he was usually so serious but his resolve always crumbled whenever it came to a member of the opposite sex. His light blush would only darken once he felt a forehead pressed against his own and a pair of amber eyes staring into his.
"You feel warm. Ya sure that nothing happened out there?" Whatever response she expected never came since the scarred boy was reduced to a blushing and mumbling mess.
Meanwhile the Stone Hashira watched the two of his students with a smile and gentle rubbing of his prayer beads. 'They both exceed my expectations. Perhaps I should begin teaching them the Repetitive Action."
Tanjiro was staring at a brown gourd and Koujo was holding one. "What, you mean these? She makes them explode?" A quick tap against the material revealed that these gourds were made of sturdy material.
"These are ceramic!" Koujo called it and he wasn't fully correct.
Sumi corrected them on that. "They're something even more sturdy, it's much harder than a normal one." Jikon blanched and Senjuro went wide eyed once that information was fully processed.
'We have to practice to make these explode?! Shinobu didn't tell me that!'
'Lady Kanao can blow up one of these… How strong is she?!'
"I should also mention that the gourds get bigger as you progress. The one that Lady Kanao can make explode now-" The other two presented a massive gourd that sat nearly as tall as they did. "Would be this one."
Koujo's red hair flared like it was alive and his eyes took up most of his face. "That's as big as you three!"
Tanjiro's shocked face was suddenly pumped with determination! 'We have to do our best!'
The next day there were only four boys in the training room and two of them were still in medical clothes. "They aren't coming today either?" Aoi was clearly displeased by the lack of half the people who actually needed this recovery training not being present.
Tanjiro bowed his head and apologized but she waved it off. If they wouldn't bother coming to their training then they didn't need to bother with wanting to help them. It was mean but true.
It would've been too easy to just start using the drills that Urokodaki taught them, so they incorporated even more into their training regimen. They treated the entire plot of the Butterfly Estate as a training ground and sprinted around, treating the walls and trees as obstacles. Then they would alternate between running those obstacles and actually fighting with one another, actual combat was different than a simple obstacle course. Not to mention that they were all doing this without dropping their Total Concentration Breathing.
'Mizu Guruma!' (Water Wheel). Tanjiro was spinning towards their combined target.
Jikon was falling towards his red haired brother with water following his wooden sword. 'Takitsubo!' (Waterfall Basin).
Lastly there was Senjuro focusing all of his body and mind into finally showing he made some form of progress with his training over the last two weeks. 'Focus, I only have to focus. And breathe!' Pink petals started to appear around his training sword. 'Hana no kokyu, Ichi no kata.' (Flower Breathing First form). With a few careful twists and shifts of his body those pink petals started to whirl ever so peacefully through the air as he ran. 'Odayakana Sakura.' (Calming Cherry Blossoms).
Now came the response from the Demon standing at the center of this series of attacks. "Seitōna Tensei: Hibana Bara." (Rightful Reincarnation: Ember Rose). Five petals with a red tinge appeared below him and he changed his footing. "Hachi no kata: Taika Hogo." (Eight form: Protective Conflagration). Turns out that this form wasn't just creating a shield with several well placed slashes, it was able to go further than that. 'Stand high and proud to twist hard.' Koujo twisted his upper body and created a blast of flame enhanced slashes that made a small twister with him in the eye.
Jikon broke through the flames first and his brother raised his training sword to protect himself. Tanjiro was next and he stared in surprise as Koujo sacrificed his balance and used his left foot to stave off his spinning strike. That just left- 'Uh oh.'
Two solid blows right to his temple and collarbone at the same time knocked him into the ground face first… with Tanjiro and Jikon following him into a pile of pain, leaving a very nervous looking Senjuro to assess what he'd just done. "I- I didn't mean- This is- It's a- I'm sorry!"
"Don't be sorry, you got him… didn't expect you to get us too." Jikon popped something in his back while he said that and Tanjiro got up too.
Water breathing was good but now that he was thinking about it, it didn't come as naturally to him. "Maybe I should practice with the Hinokami Kagura too."
"Sun Breathing." Now eyes were on the demon with slowly recovering bones and a healing right eye. "I went through the texts of old flame breath users and there were descriptions about the perfect breathing style. It's not called Hinokami Kagura. It's Sun breat- Hey! I'm trying to explain, why are you guys on the ground?!"
His brother, Tanjiro, and Senjuro were all looking worse for wear while the butterfly girls offered water and towels. "I was listening- Total Concentration Constant still hurts!" Tanjiro managed to get that out between very intensive breaths. Koujo didn't look any worse for wear despite them still being newer to the technique.
'Oh right. Nichirin, sunlight, and wisteria are the only things that really hurt me now… except Tanjiro's headbutt, I still don't want that happening. Hm, so that means I don't feel the pain from overusing breathing techniques.' For a second he thought about how he really isn't like his friends or brother but that train stopped hard once he noticed the others fully recovered. "Alright, let's get into strength training!"
Pulling stones over tree branches while facing away from the tree. Push-ups that went into the triple digits, with either the butterfly girls on their backs or in Koujo's case you were doing vertical push-ups with your cousin balancing on one of your tabi. This training was made even better with Kyojuro making a brief appearance and offering some guidance in swordsmanship.
"Remember! Predict your enemy and you can strike more efficiently! Sometimes there are only some choices you can make in battle but that goes for a demon as well!" He crossed his arms with that ever present smile. "If you can force an enemy to only have one response then do so! Controlling the fight will always be a useful strategy!" Tanjiro caught Rengoku's line of sight and- There wasn't anything but a wall in that direction.
"What are you looking at?" Well now those eyes were locked onto him. "Uh…"
"You must be the Sun breath user. First you manage to get your sister approved by the Master and now you can use the first breathing style? Well done young Kamado!" Again he was looking at the nothingness of that wall. "I'd love to ask about it but I must be going, I have a mission to investigate some strange occurrences along a train system. I wish you all good luck!" A quick flourish of his fire themed haori and he was off to his destination but that wasn't their concern, they had training to do.
It took a little over two weeks but now Tanjiro and Jikon were nearing their full strength, and said full strength was increasing with how they were constantly maintaining their breathing. Senjuro was accelerating through learning the forms of flower breathing and that led to an interesting conversation that our Hakuga was currently thinking about as he sat on a boulder.
"Senjuro!"
"I'm right here, no need to yell. Is something the matter?"
That look on Koujo's face told a quick story but he crossed his arms and started tapping the ball of his right foot against the ground, his physical tick. "I think you should go to the next Final Selection. It should happen when Zenitsu's almost done with his medicine." Senjuro turned his eyes onto his cousin and for a second he could see that the boy's eyes were different. It looked like his white pupils were starting to be even bigger?
"-o?"
"What makes you think I'll be ready? I've only been training for so long and it doesn't compare to the two years that you had, much less big brother." He was right to be doubtful of himself but Koujo wasn't.
"Your body is pretty strong already but with flower breathing, well you picked it up quick. You already know every form that Lady Kanao taught you and you managed to cut one of Rui's threads.
"-llo?"
"It took Tanjiro using Constant Flux and me keeping my sword as straight as possible to do that, and you didn't even know! And there's how you can keep up Total concen-"
"Jikon!"
"AAH!" He fell off the boulder and landed right at the feet of the Insect Hashira herself. "Shinobu! You scared me."
She chuckled at his scrambling to get up and looked back to the boulder and then his hands. "Were you hitting this? That doesn't seem very wise."
He looked at his scratched and bloody knuckles only to close his fists. "Me and my brother used to practice on a big tree when we were growing up. I guess it just helps me relax."
"Oh? Is something troubling you?" His usual cool smile was replaced by a dejected expression. Shinobu decided that the best way to get information was to give some. "If it helps, I just finished sharing how I felt about humans and demons one day getting along with Tanjiro." That got his attention. "I'm glad that you both showed up with demonic siblings, the fact that neither of them have ever devoured a human is enough for them to both be acknowledged as good."
That put some thoughts into the boy's head but he had to let them slip for a second so he wouldn't drop his breathing.
"Even now we have three demons that stay in the estate and haven't eaten anything other than animal meat, it's truly extraordinary!" Her chipper tone softened and she smiled serenely towards her junior. "I suppose that you all may be the key to demons living side by side with humans peacefully someday." Jikon was entirely calm while he listened to her explanation but his face went from being upset to surprised once Shinobu took his hand in her own. "So please feel free to share whatever's bothering you!"
Well there wasn't anything wrong with sharing with a close friend right? At least he felt like they were close.
"My brother is a demon."
"Well that much is obvious but I assume there's more to this."
He nodded. "He's never said anything about wanting to be a human again, just that he wants Kibutsuji dead and to help Tanjiro turn Nezuko human. What does that mean for him? If he stays a demon then… then will I get old without him? Will Kibutsuji kill him if he finds him? What if we kill Kibutsuji and his death kills every demon? There's so many bad things that can happen and I just- I just don't want any of them to come true." He squeezed her hand for comfort and stared up at the wisteria trees around them. "I'm sorry if this is bothering you, it's just been on my mind for weeks."
"Oh no, it's no bother at all. I'm glad you were willing to tell me this. Although I can't say for sure what could happen in the future, I can at least say you should enjoy the time you have with him." Jikon glanced at her slowly fading smile and pieced together the unspoken words she had to say. This moonlight really made her stand out even more. Her radiance was helping him little by little. They were still holding hands…
Now he was slightly flushed and remembering how he feels about this woman who he built a friendship with so quickly… but where should he go from here? Should he go from here? His dad always said that a missed opportunity is worse than failure. Failure at least can be improved on, but missing would always leave a pit since you never knew how it could've gone. To hell with it.
"Shinobu!" That was louder than he expected but it got her attention and those deep eyes were giving him their full attention, even though he was averting his gaze out of nervousness. "I know this is really forward of me but- But I really cherish you and I think that I might have deeper feelings than just friendship towards you." It was all or nothing now so might as well be honest. "I'm not sure how things can go in the future but I know that life as a Demon Slayer can be taken away in a blink…" He turned his blue eyes to her to convey how much this meant to him. "I don't know how to say it but I want to be by your side!"
…
…
…
…
"Eeehhhhh?!" At least they both had a decent tinge of red to their faces now. "Th- That's a bit of a jump don't you think?! I- I understand your p-point but we haven't even had a date yet!"
Wait why was she talking about a date when that's what he was proposing? Proposing… Propos-
"OH! N-NO! I meant-!" Maybe they were more alike than they already thought. "I didn't mean that far yet!" He stopped talking and she snapped her attention to him with a deeper blush than before.
Nobody ever made such a… proposal to her and she never actually anticipated one being made. She was underprepared for this and aptly embarrassed about the whole thing. He was right about tomorrow not being guaranteed for any slayer, even a Hashira, and he was nice to talk with… was definitely not hard to look at either. 'Why am I acting like Kanroji?!' She looked down to her left hand and saw that it was still entwined with Jikon's. She remembered back to Kanae's desire to see her smile stay on her face and he was able to make her genuinely smile whenever they spoke… 'To hell with it as they say.' She interlocked her fingers with his and he quickly shifted his eyes towards their hands then back to her face. "I suppose we can have a… r-relationship… So long as it doesn't distract either of us from our obligations!" That would've sounded more mature without the stutter or the blushing.
Jikon's brain had to reset but once he was back on he made sure to hold her hand firmly as most of his response since words were beyond him at that moment. "I'd like that, is it alright if we stay in the moonlight a little while? It makes you look even more beautiful."
On the outside Shinobu started to come down from the raging embarrassment that was making them both blush, but on the inside she was debating several things over that simple compliment alone. 'Do I compliment him in return?! Should I just thank him?! Do I even acknowledge it?!' Take the high road and things usually go well. "I'd like to stay out here with you too. It's comforting to be with your partner on a night like this."
Now it was just them, the calming moonlight, and the peace between a new couple. Their occupation may be dangerous but that just meant they should treasure moments like these even more. 'I guess dad was right. Don't miss the opportunity.'
Final Selection Redux
He crossed a threshold of wisteria trees to arrive at his destination. "So this is Mount Fujikasane? It's more amazing than I thought it would be." Senjuro Rengoku made it to his Final Selection and stopped in the crowd of nine other candidates to become Demon Slayers. 'Tanjiro said there were two dozen people in his Final Selection but now there's barely anyone here. Oh right, Murata did say that the Hashira were upset over the quality of Demon Slayers going down.' He looked around and saw some fairly bland faces until his eyes landed on one boy with pink hair and green eyes.
A head of white hair and a head of black hair were at the center most of this outdoor lobby. Senjuro quickly figured that these were the Master's children. 'I still don't believe that one's a boy…' He tuned out the introduction and explanation of what would happen here for the next week but he snapped back into it once that same boy with pink hair pushed him out of the way with a grunt, actually everyone was entering the forest so he had to go with them. The alloy sword on his hip wasn't as durable as a normal nichirin blade but with his refinement and practice, he'd be fine.
Two days of intermittent fighting on this mountain of demons led solely by their starvation and Senjuro was surprisingly well off. The massive increase to his stamina granted by using Total Concentration Constant in conjunction with the training he and his friends kicked in three weeks ago might've actually been overkill for this exam. Though there was something he had to do. He pulled out a small gourd and started blowing into it and after just a few seconds it exploded. "Wow! I really have come far." His attention split once he heard it.
"Shi no kata: Uchishio!" (Fourth Form: Striking Tide). Someone was fighting! Senjuro ran towards the sounds of a sword hitting something hard and he saw that same bright pink hair against a fat demon with horns for eyes. At least seven feet tall and salivating with his forearms managing to stop the sword from taking his arms.
"It's always a delight to see more of you young upstarts come into this forest, it means I get to eat something that isn't another demon!" He started pushing the much smaller hopeful away with a snarl.
He needed help and the only thing to do was give that help. 'Hana no kokyu, shi no kata…' (Flower Breathing Fourth Form).
"These little play swords of yours aren't enough to beat my blood demon art! Try not to fight much on the way down! Kekki-" His grip faltered and his body started to drop. "Huh?"
A single deep red swirl mixed with white. Senjuro delivered a curving slash with a few gentle twists of his body and cut through the demon's leg, arm, and lastly his neck. 'Beni Hanagoromo.' (Crimson Hanagoromo). The Rengoku landed and sheathed his weapon before turning to check on his-
"I didn't ask for your help!"
"…"
"Why are you looking at me like that? You're the idiot who got involved with my business!"
"…"
"Keep looking at me that way and see what happens!"
"Your face is bleeding." Senjuro took out some ointment that Tanjiro gave him while this pinkette checked his face and felt a long gash from his right temple to his chin. "This ointment will help you, I insist."
He sucked his teeth and took the cream to slather it down his injury. "I still didn't need your help, but since you saved me a few minutes I guess I'll accept your stupid ointment." He pocketed the medical salve and crossed his arms.
'… but you already put it on… and it's mine…' He decided that it was best to just let him have it. "I'm Senjuro Rengoku."
"Taiki Busujima." Now he turned and started walking off but Senjuro made a personal choice to follow him.
'He's good at hiding it but he's hurt already, I couldn't be a Demon Slayer without making sure someone hurt wasn't alright.'
For a while it was just the two of them until sunrise came and they found a clearing to rest in, demons having no choice but to stay away if they didn't want to burn. Somehow the silence that Taiki was leaving them in wasn't awkward. Every time Senjuro started a conversation it ended just as fast with the pinkette crossing his arms and huffing. Even asking if any of the demons he'd fought so far were as big as the one they dispatched together didn't get him a proper answer.
'Maybe he likes being alone. He's doing better since we had time to rest.' A quick glance to the sky. 'The sun's setting already.' He focused and maintained his breathing, not quite at the point where he can do it asleep but a far cry from when he first started. "We should get moving Taiki."
A grunt followed by rustling clothes. "Whatever, don't act like you can tell me what to do."
'Hard to do that when you're actually getting up and going.' A tick mark appeared on the Rengoku's head but it faded as quick as it came. Several hours later a hungry demon found its way to the business end of an alloy sword carried by a red and yellow haired teenager. Third night and he was still very well off in the stamina department. Taiki was looking like things were taking their toll on him slowly but surely.
"These demons just keep popping up!" Compared to the violent streams of water that Jikon, Tanjiro, and even Koujo have when they use water breathing, Taiki's attacks had something more of a calm stream. Not to say they were weak since a demon just lost her head to a Water Surface Slash. "How are you still so… so… So not tired?! It's been three days and you're fresh like clean socks!"
"Oh, uhm, it's because I practiced using Total Concentration Constant." Now Taiki went beady eyed in thought. Senjuro rubbed his hair nervously. "It makes sense you wouldn't know about it yet. It's when you keep doing Total Concentration Breathing through the whole day, even when you're asleep!" Now Taiki was stupefied by that. "Uh- I can't go that far yet, once twelve hours pass I have to focus even harder on it."
"You think you're better than me don't you?!"
"I-"
"I'm getting tutored by a Hinoto! I've been training with Urokodaki for a whole year just to get here! Not everyone can be some type of God with a sword like you!"
That's where Senjuro drew a line. "I couldn't use my family's breathing technique, I had to find something else so I could help any way I could. My father doesn't look at me the same anymore but I know that he could've been proud if I was better!" Taiki stopped his huffing once he saw that familiar look on Senjuro's face.
"So you wanted to be a Demon Slayer to make your dad proud? Typical. You don't know anything about pain." He did his signature arm cross and sucked his teeth. "Before you try and tell me your sob story, at least you have a dad! Maybe even a brother or sister!"
Senjuro calmed down once Taiki finished yelling. "What happened to your family?"
"Demons! Not just any demons, three years ago some bastard with rainbow eyes turned my sister into a demon… Then she killed our mom, our dad, our big brother tried to fight her off but all he did was give me a chance to get away. I wandered around with nobody and nothing! The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I knew I had to take back the memory of my sister, I had to find a way to kill her… Then I met a Demon Slayer who sent me to Urokodaki's and here I am."
Senjuro had to stop being mad entirely once he heard that story. It was almost like Tanjiro's in a sense but his sister at least was on their side, Taiki's was against them and actually killed their family. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have-"
"Shut up! I don't need pity! I need to get stronger!"
The smell of smoke and the sound of a falling tree was all the warning they had to move from their spots. "That's such a sad story boys but it's too bad you won't have a chance to live up to it." A demon with yellow hair that somehow stood up on its own. An orange shirt with rolled up sleeves and black pants that were cuffed at his ankles. "There's no doubt in my mind now…" He pointed at Senjuro with a smile. "You did this!" He pointed to the right side of his face and right arm, both of which were burned and scarred purple. His eyes had black sclera but only one of them had a single yellow iris in it. "I'll never forget your face, Rengoku!" He dashed forwards with fire coming from his hands, and while Senjuro saw it coming he hesitated since this demon knew his name.
Taiki didn't hesitate. "Shichi no kata: Shizuku Hamon Tsuki!" (Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust). He stabbed his blade into this demon's neck with all the intent to pull it out and take his head off but he knew something was horribly wrong when this demon didn't panic and instead just aimed his hands at him.
"Burn…" That was death talking.
Basic survival instinct was the only thing that compelled Taiki to evade a gout of fire that singed the eyebrows off his face. 'This guy's stuck here?! Why doesn't he burn the wisteria trees and go somewhere else?!'
"Roku no kata-!" (Sixth Form).
That got the demon's eyes… eye off Taiki and towards an evading Senjuro. "Bring on the flames Rengoku!" His glee turned into confusion once the sword had pinkish white swirls with pink petals accenting them.
A graceful spin into a slash that connected with the burned demon's forearm and ripped through it towards his neck. "Uzumomo!" (Whirling Peach). This time his feet ignited and he zipped backwards to analyze his healing arm.
"You're not Rengoku… Well you look like him, a brother? Cousin? Some distant relative that-"
"I'm the brother of Kyojuro Rengoku, son of Shinjuro Rengoku. My name is Senjuro."
Taiki pointed his sword at this burned bastard with a scowl. "Why do you care about his name? You already look like tempura, so you want to get chopped up?"
"Tsuchi Shindera. At least that's the name I go by now. It's a shame that you're using some stupid leaf breath instead of those beautiful flames that your brother used." He dug a claw into his arm and scratched at his burns. "His final move gave me these burns! They haven't healed ever since!"
Senjuro analyzed the situation of a demon with a fire based blood demon art and immediately found that they had to kill him before he could set the mountain on fire. 'How would he even have been caught and put here?'
Tsuchi held his hands up and let fire stream into the air. "Kekkijutsu Imawashī Kasō" (abhorrent Cremation). The heat made the air distort and warp but Tsuchi was just grinning at his display. "With my fire I can propel myself like a bullet. I flew into this forest to hide away after I lost that fight with the real Rengoku. I've been waiting for a month to have another chance to eat, though it's great you showed up when you did." He plunged a finger into the side of his head and twisted it. "It sucks that I don't have the chance to fight him again but warming up with his brother will have to do!"
Tsuchi blasted towards Senjuro but Taiki moved before his own mind could process why. 'Faster! I need to move faster!' Soft splashes of water appeared under his feet but he didn't get the chance to attack since Tsuchi redirected himself to send a high powered kick rocketing towards his head. 'That'll kill me if it lands! Deflect!' He used his momentum to start spinning with that gentle water spiraling around him. 'Nejire Uzu!' (Whirlpool). His reprieve was short since fire erupted from the demon's feet again and forced him to dodge entirely to not be burnt to all hell.
"Itai Shakunetsu!" (Painful Scorching). Another blast of fire and his eyes were set onto Senjuro again. This time the fire was only coming from his feet and he started a barrage of kicks that- That Senjuro predicted perfectly. Somehow he kept up with the attacks and countered them perfectly.
"Ni no kata: Mikage Ume." (Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum). He carefully twisted and turned his body to deliver countering slashes that deflected each kick as it came for his life, and Tsuchi was surprised that his attacks didn't shatter the boy like glass.
Didn't matter. Without the flames that his brother used to scar him he was good as dead. Tsuchi backflipped then shot right back towards the fake Rengoku with his burned hand held in front of him. "Matataki Kyōi!" (Phoenix Flash). All the other jets of fire didn't compare to this one, this would've turned a person into ash instantly.
Senjuro felt his blood pumping through his body and he focused his breathing even further. "San no kata!"
The fire struck where he'd been standing to Tsuchi's delight but orange and white swirling with red petals showed that somehow he managed to not just evade the attack but dance around it and wind up in his personal space! 'No fucking way…'
With several shows of agility, Senjuro managed to weave around the blast of fire and swing his sword into Tsuchi's neck. "Kōun'na Kaki!" (Fortunate Persimmon). The problem was that he didn't make much progress, barely even two inches.
"That sword won't be enough to-"
"Minamo Giri!" (Water Surface Slash). Taiki struck while the bad guy was monologuing. Great choice since he managed to slice the same distance as the Rengoku but their faces contorted to fear once burning palms were aimed at their faces.
"Kogeta Kurushimi…" (Charred Suffering). Just the heat from his hands was enough to signal that this wouldn't be gentle. "Sayonara."
That made Senjuro remember a very important lesson that Koujo taught him. 'I HAVE LEGS!' He raised his foot and kicked this half blind demon hard enough to throw his aim off and send scalding streams of fire into the night sky. Taiki pulled back and chopped off a hand before a burning kick sent him careening into a tree.
'Damn it! His neck's too tough, I have to use the Tenth form!' Senjuro landed by his side.
"His fire hurts him… His burns get worse when he uses it even though it heals, maybe we can-"
"You're planning something and I don't like that, just turn to ashes!" His hands and feet ignited with fire and he slammed all four points onto the ground. "Jigoku Funka!" (Hell's Eruption). Columns of fire started to rip through the ground and burn the area. Some trees set on fire from the heat and that was the cue to kill Tsuchi now!
"Ju no kata: Seisei Ruten!" (Tenth Form: Constant Flux). Taiki took off and with each evasion of hellfire he spun and started forming a smaller dragon than Tanjiro or Jikon had made but it would get the job done.
Senjuro evaded the spouts of fire with petals tracing his body, no matter where they suddenly burst from or how his sweat was instantly evaporating from his skin, he didn't give up. "Go no Kata: Ada no Shakuyaku." (Peonies of Futility). Somehow seeing through each pillar of fire as if he could predict them had him slashing into Tsuchi's neck with white-violet swings trailed by blue petals. Nine consecutive attacks that centered on the demon's neck but the job wasn't done!
Taiki's sword slammed into Tsuchi's neck and started cutting through until it met the gap Senjuro made. "Go to hell!" One last push and that was it. A head with yellow hair sailed into the air and landed on the scorched ground with wide eyes. Taiki immediately dropped to a knee once the fire extinguished with its creator's death. Combustion took air, that much he knew, and the effects of that much fire being around started to make him woozy. "We actually beat the burning bastard."
"No." They both looked to the head that was staring towards Senjuro. "Pinky, you just piggybacked off Rengoku's work. You need to practice more. And you…" His disappearing face bunched up like it would if he were giving an approving nod. "Maybe you don't need flames to be a Rengoku, I'm no Kizuki but killing a demon like me isn't anything light. Keep your head up high kid, you'll be fine." Those were his last words. Nothing about remembering his old life or even any taunts about them getting lucky to have beaten him. He was just after a fight and he went out fighting.
'Maybe some demons aren't bad or tragic.' Tsuchi didn't seem like the type to want to be prayed over so he didn't but Taiki just held his burned shirt and the raw skin under it.
"I'm gonna need to use more of my ointment." He started pulling out said ointment only for the Flower breather to stare at him deadpan. We all know why so there's no point in saying it.
"Six of us made it. That's much better than the numbers I was given but it's still so sad." He quickly started a prayer of good passage for the couple that expired but Taiki just scoffed.
"We're the ones who took on a way tougher demon than what should've been here. It's mean but if they couldn't handle some hungry strays then they wouldn't have been good Slayers."
Senjuro didn't openly acknowledge that since he was still praying. 'I don't want to admit he has some of a point but they still didn't deserve to die.'
Flapping wings showed that their kasugai crows were being assigned and now that just meant they had to pick from the ten nichirin ore to have their swords made. Just for a second he had to make sure this was real by pinching himself. He came so far in just a few months time and actually had the opportunity to pick the basis of his sword. 'Things are really going well.'
Some months earlier a very important set of events will cause a ripple far in the present.
*Strum*
Upside down and in a massive fortress. Lower Six, Kamanue, was in awe of his newfound location. He looked to his surroundings and saw Lower One, Enmu, in his suit walking across a bridge with a faraway look in his eyes. On a wall parallel to him was Lower Two, Rokuro, in his gi and just as surprised to be here as he was. 'That woman…' There was a woman with long black hair in an equally black kimono sitting at the center of this building. 'Seems like this all warps around her.'
*Strum*
*Strum*
Right in front of him on an upside down walkway was Lower Three, Wakurabe, in that green kimono. Forward and to the right was Lower Four, Mukago, in her red kimono. 'Only the Lower Ranks have been summoned, this has never happened before. And Lower Five isn't here yet!'
*Strum*
Now all the present Lower Moons were on a platform together. 'So this is her doing!' Enmu was looking almost straight up so Kamanue followed his line of sight to see a woman in a dark kimono with floral patterns. Her eyes were pinkish red and staring at them with contempt. 'This woman… This presence, it's so familiar but- Wait!' Right then and there he dropped to the floor and placed his head against it in a deep bow. The other Lower Moons got the message and followed with no question. 'I managed to recognize this form as one of Master Muzan's, but I can't take that long to do it again! His aura was even different but it still demanded our subservience. His disguise is nothing less than amazing.'
"Good. You all understood without needing to be told, that obedience is what I expect." Surprising that he didn't have to remind them to bow but right now he was irritated. "Rui was killed. I'm talking about Lower Five. I have but one question to ask you all. Why is it that you demons among the lower ranks are so pitifully weak? Merely being among the Twelve Kizuki shouldn't be where you're satisfied. It's a mere beginning. You must devour more humans, gain more power. That is the only way to prove your usefulness to me." They said nothing as they weren't allowed to speak. "For over a century the members of the Upper Ranks have not changed, and it had always been those members who disposed of the Hashira. Meanwhile the Lower Ranks are constantly replaced."
A different Kamanue would've thought something along the lines of, 'That's easy for you to say.' But right now all Kamanue could do was agree with their Master. 'Damn it! He's right, even if it's easier for Him to say it doesn't excuse that even now Lower Five is dead.'
"There's no doubt that I'm correct." Veins we're making themselves visible on their Master's face. "I spoke the words and I'm very aware that they are correct, you being aware of the facts doesn't aid you." Kamanue was sweating but somehow, he was spared the wrath of their Master. "I'll ask this. Are you more afraid of the Demon Slayers than you are of me?"
Lower Four spoke up. "That isn't true!"
"Every time you run into a Demon Slayer Hashira, the only thing on your mind is to escape."
In a different universe she would deny that statement. Mukago would claim to have nothing less than suicidal devotion but that would be a lie. "It's true that I flee but my Master, I can't serve you well if I end up dead as I am now!"
"So you're agreeing that your cowardice towards the Demon Slayers exists? That you fear them more than me?"
Tears ran down her face in all her prostration. "No my Lord! It's because I fear you that I escape them! Not being able to prove my worth to you is more terrifying than being beheaded!"
"You fail to make it truly seem as such. Your cowardice and lack of true devotion to die for my desires disappoints me." He spoke with finality that told Mukago to lower her head again and wait for him to say otherwise.
Lower Three, Wakuraba, was quivering in fear. 'It doesn't matter what empty excuses you give! He's still going to kill us no matter what we choose! We can't beat him, not even if we teamed up. The only option…' His legs tensed but he was pushed right back into his kneeling.
"I wouldn't recommend running away mi amigo." That wasn't any of the Lower Moons…
Muzan's ever powerful gaze landed on the man wearing a white button up beneath a burgundy vest with black dress pants and dark brown dress shoes. "You… Who are you?" His aura returned and the Lower Moons felt suffocated by the sheer power of his presence. "Talk now before I exterminate you."
"Calm down Kibutsuji, we're not here to fight you." A woman who was standing on a wall in an alluring black dress, red flats and golden bands in her hair called out. They were both foreigners, clearly not Japanese.
"My partner is telling the truth, lo siento, forgive our interruptions. Please continue your meeting so we can extend our offer to you."
He looked the intruders up and down with no hidden rage but he easily determined that their strength was no match for his and eyed Lower One and Two. "Do either of you have last words to share?"
Lower Two, Rokuro immediately sat up. "I can still be of use to you! If you could just give me a bit more time, I swear you won't regret it!"
"Precisely how much time do you ask for? How do you intend to be useful to me? What exactly can you do at your current strength?"
Rokuro recoiled at the barrage of questions but he had to be collected if he wanted a chance to survive and be true to his bargain. In an alternate reality he would have simply asked like he were an equal but right now he knew that he was by no means equal to his progenitor. "Presumptuous as it may be, if I were given only a portion more of your blood I'm certain that I would show myself worthy! Possibly even impress you!"
"And what makes you think that I should share my blood with you? I'm under no obligation to follow your requests and it would do you well to remember that as long as you live."
Rokuro bowed his head quick enough to slam it into the floor. "Yes my Lord!"
Now eyes were on Enmu, Lower One. "Do you have any last words?"
Wakuraba was still being forced to kneel even though he quickly realized that trying to escape in territory he knew nothing about wouldn't be possible. 'Now it's his turn to fail. His turn to end up like we all will…'
Enmu sat up with a smile on his face. "This is all like a wonderful dream to me my Lord, to witness the despair of my fellow Lower Moon's as they plead to survive if only for a moment longer! This is nothing but fortunate for me, seeing their terror in your amazing presence! You have my gratitude for saving me to be last!"
The disguised Demon King looked down between each of the Lower Moons, all of which were anxious save for Enmu. They were right to be terrified of his very presence and even though he was hiding it with his bliss at being satiated in his sadism, Enmu was also terrified of death at the hands of his Master. Only one thing to do now.
"Hrk!"
"Ack!"
"Guh!"
"Hng!"
"Ock!"
Five spines at the ends of fleshy tendrils impaled each of their necks, the foreigner even let go of Wakuraba. "That's more like it." That smile with that voice on that body was disturbing. "That's the devotion I'd been doubting you all had. I'll share a decent amount of my blood. Although you all may not be able to handle the volume and die. But if you do manage to survive you're guaranteed to become stronger. You will kill Hashira of the Demon Slayers." He-She pointed at his-her ears. "Whomever is able to kill a Demon Slayer wearing Hanafuda earrings will receive even more of my blood."
*Strum*
*Strum*
*Strum*
*Strum*
*Strum*
*Strum*
Doors opened below the collapsed Lower Moons and they fell out of the fortress into the darkness of night. Dirty alleyways where they were given visions of a boy with a strange scar on his forehead. They each understood their mission and resolved to earn more blood to become even stronger.
"Now onto more pressing matters. Who are you and why are you in my presence?"
"My name is Andrea, my partner is named Carmen. We are here to offer ourselves as aid to you." His relaxing voice was direct in his intent. "Yes there is only one term that we were told to inform you of."
Muzan's face was showing a silent rage as those veins became more prominent. "What terms do you believe you can give me as to enlist my help?"
Carmen floated from her position on the wall to beside her partner. "Simple. We only need your help once you've gotten your blue spider lily."
Rage. Nothing but rage. "How do you know about that?"
"Because You Are Not Alone, our master is much like you. He simply wants your help when the time comes to achieve his own goal, we are here to help you so that you can get what you want and eventually help him. Fair, no?"
In all of his existence he'd never heard of anything else being like him. He was certain that he was the only one of his kind but he definitely knew that these weren't humans by any means. "Tell me more about this master, tell me everything you know and I'll consider allowing you to help me."
"It would be our pleasure." Andrea bowed with a flourish and a smile, and Carmen simply gave a simple curtsy.
*Strum*
"I do want to know why you recommended us to join Rengoku." He looked out the window and saw Tanjiro flipping a coin even higher than the building into the air. "He's a Hashira, I think he could handle the mission on his own."
Shinobu turned in her chair to face him with a genuine smile on her face. "As I told you some time ago, I truly can rely on you three to go above and beyond. The Master even supported how much has happened with you all joining the Corps, so I knew my choice was right."
Jikon gave that a simple thought while Tanjiro yelled something about heads outside. "I don't really see what we've done that was so great yet, it's nothing special to me. A few demons killed, some made friends. I don't see what you see." She turned to him with a curious expression on her face and he in all his articulate mind had one thought. 'Beautiful.'
"We are still talking about the Mugen Train mission right?"
"Yes!" Hopefully she can't read minds.
She did stand up and walk a bit closer to him. "I recommended you all to go because I trust in you to help Rengoku, even more than that, I trust you all to help the people there. Isn't that enough?" It was actually. She took his hands in her own and smiled again. "I've seen you all grow so much these last few months that I can't help but believe in you! Though I may have a slight bias towards you." A soft shade of red across her face and Jikon immediately matched it. They were still in new territory and it was only by sheer luck that nobody managed to notice how they smiled more around each other, luckily all her fake smiles up to this point made people think it was normal behavior.
"Uh- Yeah- Right. Thank you Shinobu, for believing in us. I should be getting ready now, my new haori was done last week." He started to pull away but deceptive strength pulled him back in and down towards Shinobu's face. All his near death experiences and training paled in comparison to the soft feeling of her lips on his own… He didn't even kiss back, he was catatonic.
"That was for… good luck! You should be going!" Somehow he was outside of her office now and still didn't have all the mental faculty to process what just happened. He didn't even pay mind to the tall and solid built man with scars and a mohawk walking down the hallway.
Outside they stood in front of six gourds that came to their chests. Tanjiro was in his Slayer uniform with his checkered haori on. Inosuke stood with his mask to the side, full chest on display as usual. Zenitsu was in his uniform with his yellow haori. Jikon was in a haori that looked almost like his old one but now it had dark grey rain clouds instead of white clouds. Koujo was in his sleeveless uniform cracking his neck. Last but not least was the newest Slayer among them, Senjuro in a red uniform like his brother's with a white haori.
They each grabbed a gourd and started to blow into it with all their might.
"You can do it! You can do it!" The girls chanted. Rui and Yuka were beneath an umbrella to watch their progress.
"Go for it! Go!" She was healed up and putting her abilities to good uses. The durability of her yarn was surprising and so it was used to make the newest series of uniforms for these six, and Jikon's new haori.
Rui was raising a fist in support, finally wearing his old kimono again. "Breathe. Show your work."
They all pushed hard and finally burst the gourds in a spray of ceramic. "You all did it!" They held out a box of onigiri and Inosuke reached out for them only to be held back by Zenitsu.
"Don't eat it all now!"
"Gojo's doing it, why can't I?!" A second glance did show Koujo eating some of the rice balls already.
"Uh… You saw nothing?"
Jikon and Tanjiro's attention went to their left and right to the current Water Hashira. "Tomioka!"
"Are you all heading off to battle?"
"Yes!"
"We are!"
"I hear you've all mastered Total Concentration Constant. You should keep at it." He didn't show any emotion but they could guess he was glad.
"Tomioka, what you did for me and Nezuko. I didn't even know and I don't know how I could ever repay you."
He glanced to the side and then back to them. "You can both thank me by doing your best. Kill demons, maybe even become the next Water Hashira." With that he vanished with insane speed.
A resounding slap to the head showed that Koujo just had to remind Zenitsu not to be over dramatic about girls near Senjuro. "Senjuro, how does your sword feel?"
It had a red scabbard and a hilt with red accents against a white grip. The guard was a simple orange circular design with spiraling lines coming from the center. "It doesn't feel heavy, but all the training with swinging swords might have helped." He'd gotten more muscular since his training started and now Constant wasn't an issue to any of them.
"Alright, we're heading out!"
Inosuke started to draw his swords with a battle ready smile beneath his mask. "I'll lead the charge! We can take it down!"
Tanjiro held Inosuke back. "Wait, it might be the guardian of this land! We should pay our proper respects."
Zenitsu was drooping his shoulders. "I said that it was just a train. It's a vehicle for transportation. How are you guys this sheltered?" The people around them weren't paying much mind until Inosuke started walking away.
Senjuro was warily trying to signal that they were sorry for any issues they were causing but all that went out the window when Inosuke decided to charge and headbutt the train. "Hey!" Two guys in security clothes ran up to them while blowing whistles. "These guys have swords! Someone call the police!"
Zenitsu panicked and grabbed both the boar and Tanjiro before sprinting away while Koujo and Senjuro chased behind them. They took cover at a ticket station. "You idiot! Why'd you headbutt the train?!"
"Why did you make us run away from those guys?! We could've taken em!"
Zenitsu sighed. "Because Demon Slayers aren't officially recognized by the government! If we told them anything about demons it's not like they'd believe us. So we need to keep our swords hidden." Inosuke stood up and showed his swords being tucked into his waistband.
"What do you think?"
Everyone else was disappointed that he was calling that hidden but there wasn't time to argue the point because the train started moving! "Oh crap! Come on!" Zenitsu was somehow first to take off but fell into the rear of the group. Tanjiro leapt onto the caboose, followed by Inosuke and Jikon then Senjuro, and Koujo jumped on board with his hand on Zenitsu's collar.
Inosuke was in awe of how such a large creature could move so fast! "This thing is amazing!"
Zenitsu was recovering from being yanked on by Koujo but his eyes went to Nezuko's box. "Was it really the safest idea to bring Nezuko? Wouldn't the Headquarters be the best place for her to be?"
"She's perfectly safe here. I won't be separated from her ever again." They started walking through the caboose and into another car. "I'm going to be by her side no matter what."
Koujo grabbed a still marveling Inosuke and dragged him along the car while the few passengers in this one looked at them. "And there's the Flame Hashira here, and the six of us. What could really happen that would threaten Nezuko or us?" Murphy's Law.
Zenitsu realized a very key piece of information and asked an important question. "How are we supposed to find the Flame Hashira? This train is kinda big."
Senjuro opened the next door for them to walk through. "Big brother isn't very good at being hidden, we'll probably notice where he is just by-"
"UMAI!"
This thing is huge! No way it isn't the master of this land!
Quit trying to fight the train stupid!
Become the next Water Hashira? Could I really do that?
There's nothing my brother can't do.
Why is Rengoku yelling?
Big brother can be boisterous.