Entering the Swordsmith Village
(Hey... I'm super sorry about being missing for so long, I've just been out of the writing ability. But I think I'm back now. Here's my first step to an apology. Enjoy.)
Tanjiro stepped outside of the Estate shared by the Insect Hashira and his closer friend, the Wat- 'Actually, Jikon said that he wasn't just a Water Hashira, but he hasn't actually said what he's the Hashira of yet.' That was a massive change now that he thought about it. 'Rengoku, Mister Uzui, and even Tomioka now. That's three Hashira gone now and Jikon only replaced one.'
Tanjiro recalled the exact moment that Tomioka came to them during their shorter recovery training period. What a fun time that was… not at all. Though it was barely even a week ago and somehow it was fresh in is mind. Shinazugawa didn't really help himself with his personal image among other Demon Slayers.
The agonizing stretch of Tanjiro's hamstrings and groin area mixed with the feeling of his lower back muscles being equally stretched, painfully at that, was really making him regret getting hurt in the first place. 'I'll never get used to this training!' Every single time they had to train like this… Every. Single. Time. Even with the sound of some kind of argument going on outsid- 'Wait a second.' Somebody was yelling and another somebody wasn't.
"So high and mighty you son of a bitch?!" Someone gruff and aggravated.
"We're about the same height." Another someone much more calm and collected.
"Shinobu doesn't want anyone fighting out here! If you want to fight then take it somewhere else!" Wait, that voice, actually… all of those voices. Three Hashira in one place? Tanjiro stood up once he was released from that stretch and walked over to the wall of the training room. He smelled three distinct scents of Tomioka, Jikon, and Shinazugawa out there. Wait a minute…
Tanjiro ran for the door once he realized the dangerous combination outside. 'Not good, not good!' Bursting through multiple doors and sprinting past a very confused looking Rui, Tanjiro made his way to the side yard and saw- 'Oh no!' Lo and behold, the obvious sight of an unabashed Tomioka standing across from a very irate Shinazugawa… with Jikon in the middle of the two keeping a hand outstretched towards the Wind Hashira.
"Shinazugawa, please." Jikon didn't look angry, but he definitely wasn't calm. Tanjiro hurried over and stood right beside his friend with a stern expression on his face.
"Please! Whatever's going on, it doesn't need to get violent!"
Sanemi glanced at him and only made a growling sound in his throat. "I don't gotta listen to shit you have to say, I don't like any of you dumbasses!" He pointed right at Giyu with a scowl on his face, and a vein pulsing by his temple. "Just because he thinks he's better than every other Hashira doesn't mean shit!"
Both Tanjiro and Jikon looked at the Water Hashira… to see a completely blank expression. "He did what?" Tanjiro was lost and his friend didn't look any better. The both of them looked at their senior, hoping for some type of answer to understand what was going on. "Tomioka? What is he talking about?"
"I'm not the Water Hashira."
…
…
…
"WHAT?!" A duet of yelling from both Tanjiro and Jikon while Sanemi looked furious, and Giyu was just there with that same blank expression. "What do you mean you aren't the Water Hashira?!"
Tomioka rested a hand on the hilt of his sword and looked at his juniors, not even contemplating the words he was going to say. "I've stepped down because of Jikon. Tanjiro." He turned his attention to the young Kamado. "I would've preferred you becoming the Water Hashira, Tanjiro, but you're more adept with that Fire Dance of yours."
Shinazugawa grit his teeth while that smug prick kept running his mouth. Only irritating him more with each passing second. "You think you're so good just cause you can step down. It doesn't make you any better than the rest of us, you're just getting lucky enough that these brats are here to cover down for you. And as for them…" He turned his attention right towards Tanjiro, and by extension, Jikon. "Kamado. I don't like you, but if Oyakata is letting you be here, then I can play nice. But both you and Hakuga listen up, cause I'm only gonna say this shit one time."
Neither of the boys bothered to speak up against their senior, but they knew they wouldn't like what he had to say… Even though they didn't like him personally, Hashira didn't just get there for absolutely nothing at all.
"When that sister of yours eats a person… when we find that betraying brother of yours… I promise you that I'll be the one to kill them both, and when we have your trial I'll behead the both of you after you cut your guts open. And I guess that goes to you too, Tomioka."
Dead silence. There wasn't anything they could say in response, and it was a heavy pause in their conversation… but the quiet was broken by the most unlikely of them-
"That's okay! We don't like having to be around you!" Tanjiro, his chipper tone betrayed his feelings and discontent with the Wind Hashira. "You stabbed Nezuko, I really don't like you for that! And I'm upset that Koujo kicked you when I wanted to headbutt you!"
…
A begrudging smile crossed Shinazugawa's angered face. "So you got balls for that. At least you aren't totally bitchmade ." He was still angry but now he had a very menacing look on his face, and he had more to follow that sentence. "But don't think that'll make up for you dumbasses acting like your siblings are something perfect, they're demons."
Jikon took that personally, "So what does that make Genya?"
Some things… Some things you apparently shouldn't say, because the moment that left the young Hashira's mouth-
*Thwock*
"THE FUCK YOU SAY?!"
A fist from an angry Hashira went right against Jikon's jaw and sent him to the ground on his back, a dark bruise already forming from the impact. Urokodaki's training shot into his mind and he rolled backwards to end up on his feet in a crouch.
"You bring him up in front of me again, I'll cripple you… But I'm still gonna beat your ass here and now first!"
Tanjiro immediately stood in the way to defend his wobbling friend. "That's enough! You're not acting like Hashira should!"
Giyu just stood there calmly with his arms folded. He was having his own thoughts and feelings about this situation, but in the end he didn't have the ability to act against Shinazugawa now. He gave up that rank so there wasn't anything he could do to help without being out of line now.
"Damn. That head of yours is really empty. Fine, I'll kick your ass too…"
Tanjiro barely managed to duck the swing that came for him, but he did. 'He's so fast!' A back step and then a back roll to dodge a swipe from a furious leg. 'But I can dodge him, that's good!' Another very close dodge that let only part of his uniform be cut, and this time Tanjiro retaliated by grabbing the oncoming leg. 'I actually stopped it!'
'He actually stopped it?' Giyu's eyes were wide during this entire altercation, Shinazugawa is a Hashira through and through so watching Tanjiro manage to dodge- Even catch one of his attacks directly? It was beyond impressive.
Jikon was still dazed but he could clearly see Tanjiro roll and throw both himself and Shinazugawa off balance towards the ground. 'This fucking kid!' He wasn't the Wind Hashira for nothing! He rolled and swept his free leg straight into the brat's side and- "Hah-?!" Something just hit the side of his head?! 'Hakuga!'
Hakuga blindsided him with an elbow to the side of his head, and damn did it hurt! Everything was still shaking, but now he could make out the very clear image of Kamado's foot making a very clear course right for his gut. Motherfuckers were tag teaming him?! The zori that just hit him seconded that idea.
"Son of a bitch!"
"Shinazugawa!"
Something hit the back of his leg and then he got a very clear glimpse of a forehead with a familiar red scar on it. He was really gonna make good on that bullshit promise to headbutt him?! Yes. Yes he was.
Tanjiro's forehead slammed into Sanemi's and introduced the Wind Hashira into a new world of smells, tastes, and colors. It goes without saying that he was unprepared for it and the blood coming from his nose was testament to how hard he was struck so suddenly.
"Fuck!" Everything was blurring but he wasn't done! A spin of movement as he fell and he was ready to unleash his bare handed ass kicking on the two. Hakuga and Kamado looked ready to counter but they weren't ready for this, regardless of the two being the shits that they are, he was the Wind Hashira. "I'm gonna make sure neither of you can hold a sword ever again!"
"He's still standing after a headbutt?" Tanjiro was surprised but in that same token he wasn't, Shinazugawa was persistent if nothing else. "Jikon! We can't keep fighting him!"
"I agree."
A single voice and in an instant everything stopped. The only thing that would've stopped three fighters from fighting… was someone who could overpower them all at once.
Tanjiro's eyes opened slowly, he could feel his body pressed into the ground with something against his back. Something heavy.
"What just happened?"
Jikon's voice came from right beside him. "Same question, I blinked and we were down."
"Himejima?!"
The two heard Shinazugawa say that and they angled their gazes to see that the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, was pinning the two of them down with one arm, and Shinazugawa with another. Giyu was still standing there with his usually aloof gaze but it had a tinge of concern now, at least that's what Tanjiro was able to see when he glanced over to the ex-Water Hashira.
"Mister Himejima!" Tanjiro's strained voice caused the older man to look down at both him and his friend, tears gently streaming from his eyes as normal. Tanjiro wasn't sure if he should've been happy that the Stone Hashira showed up, or disgruntled over the fact that he interrupted the altercation. 'Koujo may have rubbed off on me…'
"Himejima, you showed up in time." Giyu's level voice spoke up and drew attention towards him again. The Stone Hashira looked up, ironically, and acknowledged his presence.
Shinazugawa's bloodshot eyes were immediately drawn to the stoic bastard, and he was livid. "Tomioka… You called Himejima just to be in my way?!" He tried to push the heavy arm off his body but the instant he did- 'The hell?' The image of a massive stone being weighed on him replaced the image of Himejima being the one holding him down. A giant boulder, weathered and smooth, directly on his back. 'It's like he's not even human!'
"I apologize for being so rude, but once Tomioka's crow alerted me I hurried over to stop this nonsensical behavior. Namu amida butsu." Even with his hands too preoccupied to properly hold his prayer beads, Gyomei still uttered his words to steady himself.
Even when he wasn't a Hashira, Tomioka was still looking out for them. Both Tanjiro and Jikon could feel the overwhelming pressure of Gyomei's arm keeping them down, but even despite that they were relaxed enough to understand that Giyu truly was their best support.
"I'll allow you all to rise. Please, don't do anything unwise." Gyomei stood up and released his grip on the trio, letting Sanemi spring up with a scowl. "Shinazugawa…"
"I'm not gonna do anything… I wasted enough time on these fucking nobodies, and I'm not wasting another second talking to them."
Tanjiro stood up with his cheerful smile on his face again. "We don't wanna talk to you either! But I feel much better with that headbutt!"
"Tanjiro's right." Jikon rubbed the slowly bruising part of his face as he stood up. "We don't like you much either, but we're Demon Slayers all in the same Corps." The young Hashira walked over to Shinazugawa with a cool expression on his face, and he extended a hand towards him. "We don't like each other, but we agree on something, 'Destroy all evil demons' So the least we can do… Is continue slaying demons together."
His hand was out in a welcoming gesture, a normal handshake. Not the most common action in their part of the world, but it was still accepted as a sign of peace between two or more people. Shinazugawa looked at that hand… and he was still upset to say the absolute least.
"And why the fuck would I even act like your 'friend' Hakuga? We both kill demons. I don't like Kamado, I don't like Tomioka, and I don't like you either." He turned and side eyed each of them, save Himejima, with slightly restrained anger. "You being the new Water Hashira doesn't mean I have to suddenly play nice with you. Same goes for Kamado."
"I'm not the new Water Hashira."
And that made all eyes focus on Jikon, Giyu's and Shinazugawa's in particular. Even the blank eyes of Gyomei were drawn to the young Hashira in light of that statement.
"I'm a Hashira, but I'm not just a replacement. Each of the Hashira is their own person. Even you are more than just the Wind Hashira, I respect who you are… I also hate who you are but that isn't what matters."
His hand was still extended towards Shinazugawa, and his face was giving his usual kind look that all his friends knew.
"Let's continue protecting people as Slayers."
Sanemi turned around to face the younger Hashira, and he spared a glance at a pouting Tanjiro as well. Even with those bloodshot eyes of his he was still looking in deeper thought…
"Whatever." And with that the Wind Hashira walked away without another word. He just up and left with a surprising amount of civility in his tone despite the circumstances surrounding the entire event. Hi
"A surprise."
Giyu, Jikon, and Tanjiro looked at the mountain of a Hashira who was rubbing his hands together at what just happened. Gyomei was letting a gentle flow of tears course down his face, as was the norm for him, but this time he looked brighter.
Tanjiro decided to ask the question himself. "Mister Himejima, is something wrong?"
"Shinazugawa may be very crass, but for him to even acknowledge Hakuga's words shows he at least contemplated them." He inhaled with a soft smile on his features. "Even he has some sense of understanding towards you, a surprise to say the least. Namu Amida Butsu."
The mountain of man turned with that smile still on his face, and he began to walk away. "I must be going now, I have to investigate the possibility of a demon some odd districts over. Be well all of you."
Now that was two Hashira who left the scene and it left the triage of Water Breathers to contemplate the last ten minutes, and Giyu broke the silence with his ever so steady tone.
"Tanjiro. Jikon. Continue your hard work." As per the norm, Giyu left in a quick movement that left a blur behind him. There was just a new development that made this disappearance ever so slightly different.
"Woah. I actually saw him leave this time! We're getting better and better, seeing Tomioka leave like that when he always moves so fast!"
"You're right. We are getting better after all. Maybe it's almost time…"
That made Tanjiro raise a brow. Almost time for what exactly? Was it something Hashira related? Something Jikon would know about but not tell him… despite them being great friends were there really some secrets between them?
"Is there something you aren't telling me, Jikon?"
His friend looked pensive for a moment but he relaxed. This was Tanjiro he was talking with, and he deserved to at least have some idea of what was going on. "Yeah. There is something, and at the same time it's nothing. It's nothing bad so don't worry about that, it's just about Koujo."
"He's going to come back. I believe that he will."
Even with that genial attitude it was hard to see the light of Tanjiro's smile through Jikon's cloudy- Cloudy? Cloudy?! When has his outlook ever been close to 'cloudy'? Have there been times when he had self doubt? He's human. That's an emotion nobody is safe from so it doesn't make sense to say things are cloudy. No matter what's happened he's kept his hope, so why the hell would he look at things from a pessimistic perspective?!
"Tanjiro! You're right! I might as well tell you the whole truth."
Tanjiro
"There's a reason I decided to take Taiki, Nonoka, and even Yoshino as my students."
Tanjiro!
His red eyes looked around for a second. "Jikon, did you hear that? It sounded like-"
"Rui's been telling me things- Important things about Muzan's meetings for the Twelve-"
"HEY, TANJIRO!"
A cheerful voice broke through the Hinokami dancer's recollection and brought him back to the present world, and what called out to him was a girl running up to him in a slayer uniform like Kanao's. Long sleeved uniform shirt, a skirt that went down to just above her knees, and gray stockings tucked into off white boots. A practical uniform that matched the simple personality of-
"Nonoka!" Tanjiro saw blue eyes and sandy brown hair coming towards him in the form of one Tsuguko of his friend. "That uniform really suits you, where's Yoshino?"
"Uhhh… Right behind you."
His sense of smell failed him, either that or Yoshino mastered the art of being undetectable. She had a pink toned uniform with puffed shorts, an almost foreign style, and a sleeveless top to match. "Hello, Tanjiro. Do you know how we're going to get to-"
"We'll be of assistance with that." A trio of Kakushi with a woman leading them appeared. And then each of them held out blindfolds and earplugs. "The location of the Swordsmith village is top secret, and we will be guiding you so please put those on properly. We've also been told that you have an exceptional sense of smell, so you'll need these noseplugs too."
"Thank you, we're happy to be in your care."
"Yeah! I'm happy to go there!"
Yoshino had to correct her best friend quickly. "Nonoka, we're happy to be in their care."
"Yeah that!"
And once the three were properly blinded, deaf, and smell deficient, they were off. Because of how secretive the Village was, there were multiple shifts of Kakushi that handed the slayers off to one another. Even the crows leading them changed after some time. Effectively it was to ensure that the hidden location of the entire Swordsmith village was kept just that, a secret. The guides even changed on top of their anonymity of not giving names, the Village was really hidden by the best means possible.
Between each set of Kakushi that carried the three, they always thanked them for the help and left the workers with fluttering hearts and smiles on their hidden faces.
"Let's get these off now." One of the workers, specifically the one carrying Tanjiro, said. "We're here." Once he wasn't blinded he could see that they were in a town center with well crafted buildings around them.
"Wow!" It was all amazing! The buildings were tall and so gorgeous looking. And there was something in the air. "That smell- There's a hot spring around isn't there?"
"Correct." The Kakushi carrying Yoshino replied. He pointed down the street and got the slayers to follow his directions. "When you turn left up ahead there will be a larger house, greet them before anything else alright?"
"Sure!" Nonoka yanked her blindfold off and tossed it to the wind with a grin. "Thanks for bringing us!" Nonoka bowed her head.
"We're happy that you were our guides." Yoshino bowed at her waist.
Tanjiro bowed at the waist with glee. "Thank you so much!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Thank you so much!"
In the hot springs just a short walk away. Two figures were enjoying a relaxing soak in the warm mineral water, and one of them stood up at that faint sound. "An echo? Saying 'thank you'?" A head of pink and green hair with a lovely body, Mitsuri Kanroji stood up in the springs. "Did someone arrive? I can feel my heart pumping from the excitement!"
The person in the spring with her didn't look as excited or happy with the idea. "Don't get too amped up, it's probably nothing big." Pink hair and green eyes, not to mention that irritated attitude. Taiki Busujima was in the spring alongside Mitsuri, apathetic to her body being fully exposed to him.
Inside that large house on the left, a small old man with two burly men beside him. All wearing swordsmith masks with hilarious looking mouths. "Nice to meet you all. I am Tecchin Tecchikawahara, chief of this Village. I'm the smallest in the village but the absolute best at the craft of forging nichirin weaponry. So bow your heads low enough to touch the tatami."
Tanjiro slammed his head to the floor without hesitation. "Tanjiro Kamado! Very nice to meet you sir!"
Yoshino followed suit and, with much more restraint, placed her head to the floor in reverence. "Yoshino Mausu, very nice to meet you!"
And last, but most amusingly not least, was Nono-
*SLAM*
"Nonoka Manuke!" Her head was through the floor, splintered wooden pieces scattered around and her immediate rising with strain on her face. "That hurt…"
Tecchin chuckled at the slapstick and held up a bowl with treats. "You're all very well mannered, here, have some dough cakes." The three Slayers accepted the snacks with glee, and Tecchin began to explain the simple details. "Yoshino and Nonoka, as per young Hakuga's request there are weapons being made for the both of you right now. Our unorthodox crafters are putting their best foot forwards on that front. As for you Tanjiro, currently Hotaru Haganezuka isn't present."
"Hotaru? That's his name? It's rather cute." He was speaking around a dough cake and Tecchin laughed in agreement. He gave Haganezuka that name after all. Even when Tecchin mentioned that Haganezuka always was one to run off and have a tantrum when things didn't go his way, Tanjiro had to object. "It's my fault for chipping and breaking the swords he makes!"
"Yeah! Don't be mad at Haga-whatever!"
"It can't be his fault, but it can't be entirely on Tanjiro."
"Oh no, it's entirely Hotaru's fault. He crafted a sword that was breakable in the first place."
That's… something to think about. It was Haganezuka's fault because the sword could break? Is that not normal?
"Once we find him we'll be sure to seize him and bring him over, so don't worry about that." One of Tecchin's attendants stated boldly.
The old man himself had more to add. "Tanjiro, I'm aware that your body isn't currently prepared to return to the field yet. If Hotaru hasn't forged your sword by then I'll be sure to have someone else do it. Our hot spring is known to do wonders for the body, you three should be sure to spend time there. I'm sure Yoshino and Nonoka could use the additional limbering qualities before their first official mission."
The three of them were escorted outside towards the springs, and Tanjiro could only hope that the swordsmiths didn't end up fighting one another over his sake. It would leave him feeling really bad if they did.
"Ahh! Tanjiro! It's Tanjiro!" The Love Hashira was charging right at them and- Oh dear!
"Miss Kanroji! Your breasts are going to spill out!" Her post-hot spring clothing was barely covering her chest and with how quick she was running, she was going to be exposed in a matter of seconds. Only one thing someone as kind as him could do, he had reached out to stop her and- 'Why is the ground getting so close?'
"Tanjiro." Wait, he knows that voice. Taiki appeared from- he showed up from somewhere and was holding his… friend is a word to describe their relationship in some vein. Taiki was holding his friend's hand down to the ground and pinning Tanjiro's shoulder. "Get that close to touching Mitsuri's tits again and I'll break your wrist."
Once he let go, Tanjiro was on his feet again and listening to Kanroji go on about what was making her wail and blubber like this. 'This is an awful lot to act this way over. It's a bit embarrassing.'
Taiki stood up with an impassive look on his face, and then directed his gaze onto Nonoka and Yoshino. "Oh, you're both here too. The hot spring is up ahead." Taiki grabbed the blubbering Mitsuri by her hand and carefully escorted her down the trail. "They're cooking dinner up ahead, let's go eat."
Her tone took a total one eighty from her tears and babbling over someone not telling his name. "Waah?! Really! That sounds so tasty! Let's go, Taiki Dārin!"
Tanjiro was left to brush himself off with mixed thoughts over the emotional Hashira suddenly changing her entire tune. 'At least, Miss Kanroji feels better…'
Yoshino looked very surprised at that, her and Nonoka were mentored by Jikon alongside Taiki and she knew very well that his last name was Busujima. 'Why'd she call him Taiki Dārin?" She turned back and saw that the others were already walking up the trail without her. "Please slow down!"
Tanjiro reached the spring first and got pecked on the head by something small… something he caught and saw was- "A tooth?! Who'd lose a tooth?!"
"Him!" Nonoka pointed to a muscular young man fiddling with something they couldn't see. "Uh… that's the uh… who was he again?"
Tanjiro knew that mohawk well enough, after all he was rather close as an associate and with Ami being due relatively soon it only made even more sense that he'd know that face. "Genya Shinazugawa!"
"Huh?" He turned with a gap between his teeth and saw- "WAIT!" Tanjiro just stripped down to nothing and jumped in the water! Even worse. THERE WERE GIRLS WITH HIM! "TANJIRO STOP!" And to make things somehow even worse, those girls were starting to get undressed too! "SHIT! BACK THE HELL UP!"
"Genya! I'm surprised to see you here! We haven't had a chance to speak in a while!" Even as Genya pushed him back and they splashed in the water, his reddening face was becoming more obvious. None of this was in his plan for today and he wasn't enjoying himself in the slightest… Somehow this was all Tanjiro's fault.
It turns out that Mitsuri got along with Nezuko very well. Tanjiro, Nezuko, Yoshino, and Nonoka were walking with Taiki and Mitsuri after having a very filling meal. The shock of watching Kanroji eat so much food wore off quickly with Taiki's glaring, but he calmed that down quickly when she reassured him she was used to it. More importantly, Mitsuri's sword was nearly ready.
"Tanjiro, you survived a battle against an Upper Moon. You're much better off than when I first met you, it's shocking to see you have grown so fast. Please continue doing your absolute best."
Her words made him feel validated in all his work, but it wasn't enough yet. "At the end of the day it was a combined effort then. I still have work to do before I'm strong enough to kill Muzan Kibutsuji."
He was dead set on his goals and Kanroji admired that, so maybe she could try and help push him in a forward direction. "Tanjiro!" She got closer to him and whispered something in his ear. "They say there's a secret artifact in this village, something that helps people grow stronger. You should try and find it!" Then the Love Hashira ran off with the Kakushi who informed her about her sword.
Now it was Tanjiro, his sister, and Jikon's Tsuguko. Taiki took one look at the rest of them and exhaled a single breath. "For the record it's not official. But by now it's in everything but the title, I'm gonna go find Hotaru."
"You know where Haganezuka is? We've been looking for-"
"Sangyo. The guy with the pistols. Remember? He lives here, he's a Swordsmith." And with that the pinkette walked away in his post-bathing clothes.
Just a few buildings over in a quaint set of houses, two people were having a conversation. And one of them looked absolutely torn over it. "It was all so scary! I wasn't ever ready for all those demons to be there, Hotaru! Like- Like it was… I don't even know." He was a boy with orange hair and eyes filled with multiple feelings, fear and regret being the most prevalent.
"Yuzu, it's okay. Everyone feels bad about things in life so- Well I mean it's a pretty normal thing to feel bad about new things. Being a Demon Slayer is dangerous and there's nothing wrong with being scared."
"It's just so scary Hotaru! I'm not the best person to fight demons, but father made me do this because he said it would make me tougher… How can I be tough when I'm so scared?!"
Hotaru ran a hand through his spiky red hair and thought about that. The boy was right to be so fearful, but letting it dominate him wasn't going to help. "Is it so bad to be scared? There's nothing wrong with it, I was pretty scared back in Yoshiwara. Things got real bad real fast."
The sound of footsteps got the two to hold their conversation for a moment, and when an, admittedly beautiful man entered the room with a tray of rice bowls and takoyaki. Yuzu's apprehensive expression slightly changed when the man came into the room. "Here's something for you both to snack on."
The man's choppy red hair moved as gently as he did, lightly swaying as he set down the tray of food.
"Thank you, mister Luka." Yuzu gave his thanks and reached out to one of the skewered balls of octopus meat.
"Thanks for the food, Father." Hotaru was a spitting image of his parents, somehow blending the best features from both his mother and his father.
Luka noticed something with those sharp eyes of his and proceeded to sit down with the boys, and he gave them both a comforting smile. "Something wrong, Yuzu, you look upset."
The orange haired slayer yelped around the takoyaki in his mouth then gulped it down with tears in the corner of his eyes. "N-Nothing! It's- There's- Uh- I'm- I'm…" The way that the boy curled in on himself showed it all to Luka, and he was familiar with that feeling overall. Seeing it at least.
"Hotaru was scared too, you know."
"Father!"
"It's true! Once you found out that smithing wasn't in you, you were scared to try being a swordsman, when that didn't go well you were really scared of firing a gun. Yuzu, did I ever tell you about how Hotaru shot a branch down because he didn't hold a rifle right as a kid?"
Hotaru's groaning wasn't even acknowledged by the younger slayer, he was obsessed over the fact that big brother Hotaru was just like him at a point in time. Scared and nervous over new situations.
"Hotaru was scared too? But he's so cool…" He murmured that to himself while the father and son were busy laughing or groaning over the circumstances.
The sound of a door sliding open caught Yuzu's attention and when someone walked in with a Corps uniform but no sword he definitely had questions. "Excuse me." Then he sat down at their table and started helping himself to a bowl of rice.
Luka and Hotaru stopped their family bonding moment and looked at the newcomer. "Taiki, usually people wait to be let into my house."
"I'm not people." He looked uncaring at Luka's words and focused on Hotaru. "Some of the others are here. The weak girl, the stupid girl, and forehead showed up earlier. Forehead really bring his sister everywhere he goes?"
…
Hotaru was almost too stunned to respond to those nicknames. "You mean Tanjiro? The one who carries Nezuko around?"
"Yeah, forehead."
Luka put on a relaxed smile while he stood up with a stretch. "Well 'Taru, you have interesting friends to say the least. I'm going to polish Nozomi." The man walked back into a different room and left the trio alone.
Taiki set the half empty bowl down and decided to start what he did best. "So persimmon, what's your deal? I've never seen you around."
Yuzu nearly jumped out of his skin once he was addressed by the newcomer. He may have had a haori with cherry blossoms as the decoration but he looked so intimidating with those fierce green eyes!
"I'm Yuzu Setoka! A new demon slayer!" He bowed in respect since he could tell this guy was ranked higher than him.
"You look really really scared of your own shadow. Damn that sucks. For the record try and learn total concentration constant, before you get yourself killed."
The exhale Hotaru let out perfectly captured all of his thoughts about Busujima in one fell swoop. "Can you ever not be like this? Is it painful for you to be nice?"
"Being nice hurts me. It's way more entertaining to be honest about things instead of dancing around with pretty words and sweet nothings. You mad that I'm just telling the truth as I see it? Or are you mad because you don't get to?"
Now he was sitting straight up in response to Taiki's provocation. "I'm mad that you're being mean to Yuzu, he's a good kid and he's trying his best. Even making it this far is admirable enough when you understand that Final Selection got harder recently."
"I- I can't say I even did that well, this one girl with blue eyes and brown hair saved me from some demons."
Taiki shifted and scrambled to sit straight up, actually looking shaken by hearing that this kid got- Wait no, coincidences exist. "Did she look dumb? Was she oddly strong?"
Yuzu nodded at both of those separately. "She called herself Manuke for some reason."
"Yeah, that's the idiot girl I was talking about."
And now it was Yuzu's turn to spring up in shock and wonder, with a blush on his face and eyes looking manic. All his cowardice left the room in the face of hearing that news and he sprinted towards the door. "I HAVE TO THANK HER!"
And now it was just Hotaru and Taiki in the sitting room. Hotaru was the one who came to realize the minor issue Yuzu didn't factor in. "You didn't tell him where she was staying."
"Nope."
A lovely night out with a cooking breeze, and gentle light from the full moon. It was a perfect night to gaze upon the trees, the animals, all of what nature had to offer. Anyone out on a night like this would enjoy themselves with such a lovely view, the benefits of such peacefulness in the countryside of this amazing country.
"What irony… Namu amida butsu." If only he was actually able to see what this gorgeous night looked like, Gyomei took such careful steps to not disturb anything around him and yet he couldn't even admire his surroundings as others would. Some would call it unfair but he didn't mind, he was sure that it was a sight to behold.
"Now to find any possible leads of a demon. Ami is unable to perform her duties as of now, but Genya will work doubly hard I'm sure. The youth of today has hope so long as they remain true to themselves. They both know the technique of repetitive words on top of their own abilities, they'll be able to manage well on their own."
"Although the others they associate with aren't to be ignored I suppose, young Kamado is performing well and growing into his own role. Even with a demon as his sister he persists in his own goals, much like young Hakuga's devotion to bringing back his brother. Perhaps there is misguided belief in him coming back, but someone like him won't be so easily swayed."
Gyomei's mulling stopped the moment he heard something moving through the foliage and it was coming at him quickly. There wasn't any need to rush towards it since he figured out the presence before it got within… what would be eyesight for someone blessed with it, and when a man in bloody clothing ran towards him as if he was a saving grace then he knew that he was right to spend the last few days traveling here.
"Help! Please help me! She's- She's crazy!"
The man saw an absolute mountain of a human and immediately figured he'd be able to do something about the crazy woman. His judgements would be right in time since he was speaking to one of the, if not the current, strongest Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps.
No doubt in his mind, this was the work of a demon. "I need you to calm down and tell me everything that you know. I'm here to help deal with this woman."
The man nodded and started talking. "I was walking around since I couldn't sleep and then this lady came up to me and told me I smelled really sweet, so she was going to bring me with her to feed-"
"Don't spoil the surprise!"
The man looked back and saw that woman again, but now she was backed by two massive plants with mouths full of tooth-like vines. The woman looked fairly young and dressed in a shrine maiden outfit with pink accents, but the most eye-catching detail was her pink hair and bright green eyes… eyes that read, 'Nisshoku Ni' on them.
"Oh gods no! Please help me!" He took cover behind Gyomei's hulking form but the pink haired woman started giggling behind her hand, it was almost cute if she wasn't clearly a wicked demon. "Don't let her get me again!"
Gyomei didn't hesitate to grab his weapons, his nichirin axe attached to a chain which connected to a spiked flail, and he immediately let the ball and chain go slack enough to touch the ground. "Evils of a demon such as yourself have to be dealt with quickly. Forgive me for this but someone like you has to be stopped."
"Wait… are you saying I'm evil?"
Gyomei started spinning his flail while keeping a firm grip on the axe handle as he did so, and all he did to respond to this happy sounding demon was nod slowly.
Then she laughed. She started laughing for just a few moments, mirthfully and with a hand wiping a tear from her eye. "Thank you!" She snapped her fingers and the sound of her plants spitting out a thorn covered vine straight towards the innocent man rung into Gyomei's ears. "I try my best to be a great demon!"
Masterful slashes and protective swings of his weapon, and the pink haired demon stopped smiling for a moment to watch those exemplary attacks as he grinded her vines apart in an instant. 'Ganku no Hadae.' (Stone Skin).
"That was really really good! Okay okay I can tell that you're really really strong, so we should introduce ourselves, my name is Namika. Namika Busujima, Eclipse Two of the Kizuki!"
"Busujima…"
Namika chirped in joy at the acknowledgement from this man, almost as if she were a happy child greeting a parent. "You remember my name! That's great, so who are-"
"Taiki Busujima is your younger brother, right? I'll be sure to give him your condolences."
And now she was quiet as a field mouse. Namika was just standing there with wide eyes and a partly open mouth, stupefied at what she'd just heard. Gyomei cracked a smirk once he realized that his simple statement managed to crack this girl's jovial behavior just by knowing the right person. Ironic.
"Even someone so malicious falters at the truth."
*Thunk*
A powerful swing and Gyomei's flail crashed through part of Namika's head in a spray of blood and gore. The man using Gyomei as cover had already run away so now he was free to act and end this girl here and now. "Hm?" Those plant monsters lunged for him and with a yank of his flail, one was dispatched after he blew part of its body away. A simple turn to avoid a bite from those serrated teeth and his axe severed the plant's head.
Her head regenerated and her eyes focused on the man across from her who was yet again flailing his weapon. "You said Taiki. You're a demon slayer and you know Taiki… That means he's one too! I could get to meet him again, it's been years since we saw each other!" She clapped her hands together and grinned bright enough to illuminate the space around her.
Vines from the fallen plants reached up and lashed against Gyomei's back, drawing blood and forcing him to spin and obliterate the remainder of those plants to avoid it happening again. 'Her blood demon art clearly revolves around these plants, the entire terrain is her playground. I need to end this quickly before she finds any advantage.'
"Girl. Don't tell me you're having an issue with this Hashira." A new figure appeared in a blur of movement that caught Namika ever so slightly off guard. "How are we supposed to feed your friend if you're wasting time?"
'His presence is unlike a normal demon, even unlike this Eclipse girl. Could it be- An upper moon?!' Gyomei breathed and spared no time flinging both ends of his weapon forward with all his strength. 'Ichi no kata: Jamongan Sōkyoku!' (Serpentinite Bipolar). His skilled hands manipulated the chains of his weapons and rotated them, causing both his axe to violently rotate and drill into Namika's body- Only hers.
He could tell that the mystery man stopped his spiked flail with a hand and moderate effort… but the instincts he honed over some years of being a Hashira immediately kicked in and he reflexively pulled his weapon back in time to detect some type of force in that man's direction. Something that he couldn't quite grasp immediately.
"The power behind that attack… Namika, I'm going to be helping you with this fight."
She went starry eyed at that but dropped back to her normal self just as quick. "You are? Is he really that strong that I can't go against him myself? That's so exciting! You're so fun, the strongest Hashira I've ever gotten to kill!"
The man beside her looked disinterested towards her elation since his attention was focused solely on Gyomei. "Calm down. I can tell that he's taken himself to the upper limits of human ability, but with the two of us working together I'm sure it'll mean nothing in the end."
"If I'm to die here then so be it." Gyomei's entire disposition changed from his gentle mannerism to something else. Veins bulged on his face and along his visible forearms, his entire body in a dead focus and increasing hostility. "But even in that possibility don't expect it to be simple for either of you."
Vines growing, some noise of humming coming from the foreign looking man, and the noise of chains rattling… The calm of the night had given way to a very dangerous standoff, and between the three sides at least one of them was going to fall.
Tanjiro and Nonoka were walking through the woods of the village together to get some indication of the 'artifact' that Kanroji was talking about, but they hadn't managed to find anyone or anything who knew about something like that. "I wonder what this amazing weapon could be? What do you think, Nonoka?"
"It's gotta be something amazing! Like a- Like a- super powerful sword that could destroy anything!"
Tanjiro hummed in thought as Nezuko made soft noises in her box. "I'm not so sure about that, but then again maybe you're right. It's a really amazing village with so many amazing people who can design things, maybe there is some super interesting weapon!" The boy rubbed his nose in mild frustration. "The smell of the hot springs is still really strong, I can't really smell anything else."
"Hey, what's that up ahead?" Nonoka pointed towards two figures and Tanjiro paid some mind to them. Tanjiro could tell that they were both young but-
"That's the young Hashira… The Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito."
There was a kid speaking to Tokito, an actual kid swordsmith, it seemed by the mask. "GO AWAY! I'm not handing over my key under any circumstances! And I won't teach you how to use it either!"
Tanjiro crept into a bush to avoid being seen during this little argument. "They're arguing? About what? It's bad to eavesdrop but if they start to fight then we'd have to stop them."
Nonoka joined Tanjiro in the bush and stared at Tokito in surprise. "That kid's a Hashira? He looks even younger than you."
The pair watched the young Hashira raise one of his hands and then-
"HEY!" Nonoka rushed out of the bushes and Tanjiro was right behind her. Why did they rush from the bush? Tokito struck the kid he was arguing with against the neck.
Her time in that school helped with something at least, she immediately ran to the boy's aid and propped him up against her thigh. "You okay little guy?"
Tanjiro grabbed the Hashira by the forearm and used all his force to squeeze. "What's your problem? You shouldn't go around hitting people like that, especially not a kid!" Then he noticed something. 'He- He isn't even flinching from my grip?! His arms are smaller than mine but he's not even bothered?!'
"Let go of me." It wasn't a request or a demand. Tokito drove an elbow straight into Tanjiro's gut and knocked the older boy off without even blinking.
'That force!' He struggled to keep the contents of his stomach down, but it was a hard battle that he was barely winning against. He could feel his very teeth shaking from the pain and it was a pain that reverberated through his entire body, Tokito was clearly a Hashira for a good reason.
"You're really weak. How did someone like you manage to join the Demon Slayers?" Then he looked at the weird box on his back. "That presence feels weird. It's a familiar feeling… is that a demon? That's odd." He reached for the box but his hand was slapped away by an angry brother.
"Don't touch."
The kid Nonoka was comforting, got up and started pushing her away. Which was odd since she didn't pursue him after he stood up, she just figured he was fine by then. "Go away! I'm not giving anyone this key, 'it'll' break soon at this rate! Even under torture I won't crack and give anyone the key!"
"Adults can't even take torture so why would you be able to?" Tokito was being blunt about his thoughts. "Dumb kids like you should know their place. In all this time you've grumbled and mumbled over nothing, people have died. So what if it breaks? Make another. Use your craft. Be useful somehow. Unlike you people, a Hashira's time is valuable and each second you waste is another life lost. You'd understand that if you had any brains. As a swordsmith you can't fight so your use is making weapons for us. You can only save lives through making swords, that's your only use in life."
Tokito reached his hand back out towards the kid. "The key. Understand your place when you act, you're not a baby so have some sense."
Once again, his hand got slapped to the side by Tanjiro. "This isn't right at all! Just because you're right in what you say doesn't mean you're correct to say it!" That gave the Hashira pause but Tanjiro wasn't done yet. "Swordsmiths are important! Without them we don't even have weapons to fight with, we're the ones with no purpose if we don't have swordsmiths to create our swords! We have the same fight in different ways! Your cruelty towards this boy is unacceptable!"
Tokito thought for a moment… his blank face didn't change at all. He looked as if he were thinking for a moment but it was for naught. "I don't have time to talk about stupid things." He chopped towards Tanjiro's neck to quickly shut him up.
"Hey! Tanjiro's talking to you! You can't just hit him cause you don't wanna hear his words!" Nonoka was in the way now with her hand gripping Tokito's forearm, but this time he was looking directly at her hand as opposed to how he ignored Tanjiro's.
"Your grip… It's strong, you've been a Demon Slayer for some time."
Nonoka lost her serious expression and rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Oh, uh, I'm actually new to the demon killer thing. I'm here to get my swords." And her distraction was a reminder that people often have two hands, and when Tokito struck her neck with his other hand she fell to the ground.
"That would explain why you don't know your place either."
"Hey! Nonoka was just-" And then he finished what he started earlier by knocking Tanjiro out as well.
"I can carry them alone… I think, the girl is a little heavier than she looks."
"They're going to wake up soon, I can carry- Wait… their eyelids are shaking? They're awake now! Later!"
Tanjiro's eyes shot open once he heard that voice and he shot up right in front of the boy who he and Nonoka helped earlier. "Wait! You shouldn't be getting up so fast. Are you okay?"
"My neck hurts, that boy hit us hard! I wanna learn how to do that!"
Tanjiro refocused on the voice he heard before since he knew it very well… since it was known to yell at him and chase him with sharp knives. "Was Haganezuka here before?!"
The boy could only respond with one word. "Huh?"
"Was he here or not?!"
"Uh… no he wasn't. He hasn't been here." The kid was rubbing his neck and looking away but Tanjiro believed his words and wrote it off as his imagination from being knocked unconscious.
"Where's the Hashira kid at?" Nonoka looked around and saw no sign of the boy who knocked them both unconscious, and for some reason the idea that Yoshino wouldn't have been as quick to object and help stand against a Hashira crossed her mind. 'Weird.'
"Oh, I gave him the key since he hurt the both of you."
Tanjiro rubbed his sore neck in discomfort and murmured about the situation. "You gave him the key… Well, I don't quite know the situation so I can't groan over it. But it doesn't seem right that he harassed you like that."
"You both stood up for me! I'm very thankful, to both of you of course." He bowed to the pair but they waved it off since it didn't amount to much in the end.
Tanjiro had the important question to ask since he was just knocked out over this. "What was the key for anyway? It must be something important."
"Is it a secret weapon that can destroy anything it hits?!"
Somehow the questioning face of the young swordsmith could be seen despite his mask covering his face. "Uh… it was for a mechanical doll. Something my ancestors made centuries ago, it has over one hundred different movements and is applicable as an amazing training dummy for Demon Slayers. The issue is that it's been deteriorating and is bound to break in the near future, so I've been very protective of it."
"Oh, so that means Tokito was going to train with the doll. No wonder he was bothering you."
"How can he train with a doll? Aren't those toys?" Nonoka asked with crossed arms and a curious expression on her face.
The boy shook his head. "Oh no, the doll is life sized, tall as a grown man. It's made to fight and perform multiple actions to help Demon Slayers-"
A clashing noise cut him off and Tanjiro stood up. "What was that?"
"The guy from before, he already started… Follow me!" The boy ran through a pathway and Tanjiro followed right behind with Nonoka at his side as they worked through bushes and around trees to where they heard the sounds at. And then they saw it.
Rapid and hard to follow movements against slightly jerky motions, clashing of swords and constant actions against one another. Tokito was pushing forwards against the odd sight of a false human defending itself against his sword swings, and it was moving with an odd grace about it. Tanjiro was speechless at the sight and Nonoka was in awe at such attacks, as it was her first time getting to witness something like this up close and personal.
"That's the battle doll my ancestors made a very long time ago."
Strange earrings- Earrings that showed the image of a rising sun over the horizon. Hanafuda earrings that Tanjiro had on right that moment, and a marking of fire on the forehead above the left eye. Where had this face been seen before? It was a shocking resemblance and yet it wasn't very clear.
Nonoka managed to break her stupefaction at the sight of a Hashira in full swing training against what looked like an equal match, and she asked the most pertinent questions in her simple mind. "That's the battle doll? It really is as big as a person. Does he have a name? Or is it just called the battle doll?"
Long hair modeled in a shade of deep red, with red eyes that shone with a silent determination. A long crack on the face revealing the inner workings beneath it. Six jointed arms with each holding a well made nichirin blade, and somehow the image wasn't even disturbing to behold.
"Yoriichi Zeroshiki."
Taisho Era Secrets
"Hi! I'm Nonoka, and I'm doing the Taisho era secret this time! Today's secrets are about me and my best friend, Yoshino! When we were training to learn how to use breathing and breath styles, Yoshino couldn't actually use any premade style. She's too small and weak apparently, and me with my mussel dentistry I got to learn bang breath! Jikon asked mister ninja to teach and show me every form of it... and it uses bombs too! But Yoshino apparently made up her own style which is really nice, I wonder what her sword is gonna look like... Anyways, that's today's secret. See ya next time!"