I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 77: Smells Like Trouble

Naruto walked out of the bathroom after having seen his friends only to find Sebastian waiting for him. "You should stop that," Sebastian said. "Your companion is sure to find out that you've been cutting yourself."

"I'm not cutting myself," Naruto protested. Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "It's not what you think. It's a necessary sacrifice." Sebastian didn't seem to believe him. Naruto sighed, before deciding to change the subject. "What do you want?"

"To know the truth," Sebastian admitted. "About you and Sasuke."

"As I told you, we're humans. I just happen to carry a demon inside of me."

"You, I understand. But that boy is not normal."

Naruto was beginning to get angry. "We already told you that he's not a demon!"

"But he's not exactly human either. I've seen many humans that have such darkness inside of them, but none compare to Sasuke, not even my Lord."

Naruto looked down. "He didn't have a pleasant life. Neither of us did."

"I can imagine that."

"It's not my place to talk about it. If you try to force Sasuke to tell you, we'll leave. I won't allow you to make him feel uncomfortable."

"You care about him a lot."

"He was my best friend."

The look on Naruto's face gave Sebastian pause. He hadn't expected such a quick change of expressions. His question died on his tongue when Finny ran towards them. This distraction allowed Naruto to head back to his room. Sasuke was sitting on the bed reading. He looked up and closed the book when he saw Naruto.

"We should get ready to leave," Sasuke said. "I don't think we will be welcomed for much longer."

"I know," Naruto said. He motioned to his bag. Sasuke grabbed it and tossed it at the blond. Naruto pulled out a change of clothes. Sasuke looked away as Naruto quickly changed. A spot of blood on Naruto's boxers caught his eyes, but Sasuke didn't say anything. He wondered if it was from last night. "I'm ready." Naruto had his backpack on his back.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted before standing. He put his book back in his bag before swinging it onto his back.

"Through the window?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded.

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"So, did you figure anything out?" Ciel asked. Sebastian looked at him. "About Sasuke."

Sebastian shook his head. "Just that whatever he is, they won't tell us. If even a Grim Reaper doesn't know what he is, I don't know if I'll be able to find out." He glanced out of the window behind Ciel. "And it doesn't look like they'll give us the chance to question them over breakfast."

Ciel looked over his shoulder. He saw Naruto and Sasuke running towards the forest. "You could catch up to them."

"Do you want me to?" Sebastian asked.

Ciel looked down at his plate. "No. There is no point. It doesn't seem like Sasuke was involved with the case until recently. Besides, if Sasuke is something more than human, do you really think you could take him on, especially with Naruto there?"

No. Sebastian knew there was no way he'd be able to take on Naruto and Sasuke alone. He doubted Finny, Bard, and Mey-Rin would be of any help. And if any of them was hit with those black flames, they'd more than likely be killed. Even Sebastian wasn't sure he'd survive getting hit by them. "How will you report things to her Majesty?"

"I'll tell her the truth," Ciel answered. "Sarah and Johnathan Holden kidnapped and killed all of those children believing they'd be able to bring back the dead. Sarah tried to sacrifice Johnathan only to commit suicide after failing. I'm sure you've dealt with their bodies?"

"I brought them to that old plant to make it seem like they died in the fire."

"That's good." Ciel took a sip of his tea. "Now, I believe it is time for breakfast."

"Yes, my Lord."

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"That smell," Tanjiro sniffed the air before frowning. "Blood."

"I can hear two people up ahead," Zenitsu said.

"Are they demons?" Tanjiro asked.

"I can't tell," Zenitsu admitted. They turned to their other companion. Inosuke just shrugged.

"Let's go see," Tanjiro said.

"Wait!" Zenitsu. "What if it's dangerous? For all we know they could be a part of the Demon Moons."

"Then we'll kill them," Inosuke said.

Fear shook Zenitsu's body as he looked from Tanjiro to Inosuke and back to Tanjiro. "No! If they are, we don't stand a chance. We should call for backup. Only the Pillars stand a chance against the Demon Moons."

"We have to at least take a look," Tanjiro said, taking a step towards where the smell of blood was coming from. Zenitsu grabbed Tanjiro's arm. Tanjiro looked back at the other. He smiled sadly. "Don't worry. I doubt it's him." Zenitsu left his hand drop to his side. He knew why Tanjiro wanted to check it out. He glanced at the box on Tanjiro's back and sighed before following after him.

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"Another forest," Naruto said looking around. "And it's night time. I always find it odd when the time changes depending on the world." He turned to face Sasuke. "Should we camp here or go to the nearest town?"

Sasuke looked up from the map. "The nearest town is just a mile away. However, it looks like most people are asleep." He showed the map to Naruto. "Not many people are moving."

"So, I guess we should camp here for the night, then go to town in the morning," Naruto said. Sasuke simply nodded. "Do you mind setting up? I saw a river on the map. I'll go get some water and maybe catch some fish." Again, Sasuke nodded. Naruto found the scroll with the fishing equipment before he followed his nose to the river. Making a clone, he had it start fishing. He then tapped the black gem."

Watanuki appeared a few seconds later. "Again Naruto?" The blond nodded and Watanuki sighed. He held up a cup. Naruto used a kunai to cut his hand, dripping blood through the gem and into the cup. Watanuki pulled back the cup and an image of Konoha appeared in his place. Naruto watched the changing scenes, ignoring his still bleeding hand. Kurama was already done healing him when the "movie" came to an end. Naruto was tempted to offer more blood, but he knew he couldn't keep Sasuke too long. He walked over to his clone and went to grab the bucket of fish only for his hand to spasm and the bucket to fall towards the ground. The clone managed to catch the bucket, stopping the fish from regaining their freedom. Ignoring the concerned look on his clone's face, Naruto instead moved on to filling their canteens. Naruto used this time to clean any remaining blood away. Once done, the two headed back to Sasuke.

Sasuke had a fire going and he was cooking leftover stew. He looked up and took the fish from the clone. It dissipated, leaving the two alone. Sasuke made sure to quickly and safely kill the fish before he began to cut them. Naruto took out some tea and began to make it. Once Sasuke was done cutting up the fish, he added it to the stew.

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Tanjiro stopped. "Something smells good."

"Fish?" Zenitsu asked. Tanjiro nodded. Zenitsu closed his eyes. "It doesn't sound like they know we are near. I do hear something strange within one of them, but I can't tell what it is."

"They smell a bit strange," Tanjiro said. "It's clear they aren't normal humans, but they aren't demons either."

"What should we do?" Zenitsu asked.

Tanjiro smiled. "I think we should introduce ourselves."

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"Sasuke," Naruto said. He was steering the rice.

"I know," Sasuke said. "There's three of them… no four."

"One of them smells weird," Naruto said. "Definitely not human. And another one of them smells like a boar. I don't think they are dangerous though."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. Part of him wanted to just kill them while the more calm part decided to trust Naruto's instincts.

Tanjiro was the first one to step out of the darkness and towards Naruto and Sasuke. "Hi! I'm Tanjiro Kamado. This is Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira. We ah… smelt the fish?"

Naruto couldn't help but smile. "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha." He tilted his head to the side. "Are you hungry?"

Tanjiro's stomach rumbled. "If you don't mind."

Naruto was already pulling out the extra bowls he had. He filled three of them with rice before pouring some of the stew over it. He went back to the fourth bowl and hesitated. "Does she want any?" He motioned to the box on Tanjiro's back. Three pairs of eyes widened. Inosuke pulled out his swords and took a battle stance while Zenitsu looked between Tanjiro and Naruto. "Sasuke, it's ok. They aren't going to hurt us." Zenitsu's gaze moved to Sasuke who also had a hand on his sword. Naruto smiled at Tanjiro before he pointed to his nose. "I can smell her."

"I see," Tanjiro said. He set the box down. "Nezuko, you can come out." Naruto and Sasuke watched as a little girl came out of the box. She then grew in size until she was about five feet tall. "This is Nezuko Kamado. She's my sister." Nezuko looked at Sasuke and Naruto. Her gaze lowered to Naruto's stomach and she snarled. "Nezuko?"

"It's his stomach," Zenitsu stated. "There's some kind of power coming from it. It sounds strange."

Tanjiro sniffed that air. He then walked over to Naruto and glanced down at his hand. "You have blood on you." Naruto's eyes widened and he instantly lifted his hand towards his face, inspecting it. Not seeing anything, he frowned. Tanjiro caught the look. "Even if you try to wash it off, I can smell it. How recently did you hurt yourself?"

"Dobe?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I just got cut while I was fishing."

"That's a lie," Zenitsu said.

Naruto's eyes moved towards Zenitsu. 'How does he know? Wait. He said he can hear Kurama. That means he can hear the changes in my heartbeat.' He took a deep breath, trying to calm his beating heart. Zenitsu listened in amazement as Naruto's heartbeat became dull. Naruto smiled. "I think there is some kind of misunderstanding. I'm fine. As for that power you can sense from my stomach, I have a demon sealed inside of me."

If anyone had blinked, they would have missed Inosuke's swords being swung down at Naruto only to have Sasuke's Kusanagi block them. "Inosuke," Tanjiro yelled.

"If he's a demon, we have to kill him," Inosuke said.

"Hypocrite," Sasuke snared.

"Huh?" Inosuke asked.

"Isn't she a demon?" Sasuke motioned to Nezuko. Inosuke gritted his teeth as he had nothing to say to that.

"I don't think Naruto-san means any harm," Tanjiro said. "I don't smell Muzan on him."

"Muzan?" Naruto asked. "I don't know anyone by that name."

"But you said they smell of blood," Inosuke said. "That means they've killed people." He jumped back, landing near Zenitsu.

"So?" Sasuke said more than asked. Zenitsu shivered. He didn't hear any changes in Sasuke's heartbeat meaning that he was completely calm about being found out as a murderer. Naruto on the other hand grew angry.

"Killing someone that attacks us," Naruto began. "We have the right to defend ourselves. Human, demon, it doesn't matter. If someone is going to try to kill us, we'll get rid of him." Sasuke glanced at Naruto in surprise. He'd never heard of Naruto killing anyone. He knew he had plenty of blood on his hands but to hear Naruto talk so easily about killing someone, it just didn't seem right. Sure there were those vampires, titans, and other creatures in some of the worlds they have been to in which both of them had killed, but it was to survive. And Sasuke knew that Naruto hated it. If the blond had his way, he'd never have to kill anyone. But here he was practically threatening these people.

"I think this is getting out of hand," Tanjiro said, breaking the tension. "We already know that there are demons out there that don't kill and eat humans."

"Eat humans?" Naruto made a disgusted face. Sasuke frowned. "Fish, deer, cows maybe but humans? Gross!" He gagged. "Just thinking about it is making me sick."

"He's not lying," Zenitsu stated. It was like a calming wind blew through the area as both Inosuke and Sasuke lowered their swords. They kept their eyes one the other as they went back to eat their food.

Tanjiro turned down the food for Nezuko who simply sat down at her brother's side and closed her eyes. "She doesn't need to eat. As long as she gets enough sleep, she can recover her energy. She can't go out during the day, so she'll sleep in the box while I carry it."

"How come she can't be out during the day?" Naruto asked.

"Demons die in the sun," Tanjiro answered.

"Interesting," Naruto said. 'I might have to be careful then. I don't know if the seal will protect Kurama from the sun in this world.'

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Kurama said from within him. "You're my 'container.' Like that box protects the girl, I'll be safe inside you."

'I see,' Naruto thought. Naruto noticed the strange look from Tanjiro and Zenitsu. He simply smiled before eating another spoonful of the stew. Once everyone was done eating, Naruto got up. "I'll go wash the dishes."

"I'll go with you," Tanjiro said. He moved to get up, but Zenitsu stopped him.

"Don't leave me alone with them two!" Zenitsu motioned to Sasuke and Inosuke.

Tanjiro sighed. "Then you go with him." Zenitsu bit his lip.

"It's fine," Naruto said. "I can go by myself." He finished collecting the dishes. "Sasuke." The raven looked at him. Naruto pointed to his eyes. "Only use it if necessary." Sasuke glared at Naruto for ordering him around, but he stayed silent. Naruto disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

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Naruto got back to the river and sat down. He looked up at the moon. 'I don't think it's a good idea to leave Sasuke alone with them for too long.' He instantly began to clean a bowl. A sudden smell caught his nose. He stood up in time to block the hand that reached for his head. In front of him stood a deformed man with saliva dripping from his mouth.

"You smell good," the man said. "I've never smelt something like you before."

"You must be a demon," Naruto took out a kunai.

"Huh!" the demon yelled. "If you think you can kill me with that, you're wrong!" The demon charged at Naruto. Naruto was faster. He cut the hand that reached for him off. The demon let out a cry of pain, but it came to a quick end as the demon reattached his hand.

'I guess this won't be easy after all,' Naruto thought before charging at the demon again.

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"Tanjiro," Zenitsu broke the silence.

"I know," Tanjiro said. He and Nezuko stood up. "We're surrounded."

"How did they sneak up on us?" Zenitsu asked.

"They must know about us," Tanjiro said. "Maybe one of them has a Blood Demon Art that can conceal them or trick our senses."

"That must mean we are their targets," Zenitsu said.

"It doesn't matter who their target is," Inosuke said. "We'll just kill them all." He charged at the nearest demon, ignoring Tanjiro's call of his name. Tanjiro didn't have the chance to chase after Inosuke as several demons jumped down and attacked them. Zenitsu let out a scream as he began to swing his sword around like a crazy person. Sasuke tsked as he swung his sword through the demon that came at him. He watched as its wound healed.

'So I was right,' Tanjiro thought. 'He's not a Demon Slayer.' "Sasuke-san! You won't be able to kill them with your sword! They can only be killed with a Nichirin Blade." Sasuke cursed. This meant he'd have to fight back the demon until either Tanjiro or Zenitsu killed him. All of a sudden, Inosuke came flying towards him. Sasuke sidestepped him. Inosuke managed to twist so that he landed on his feet. A large demon came out of the same spot Inosuke did. He had a few cuts on his body, but it was clear that Inosuke couldn't cut deep enough. 'Not good.' Tanjiro managed to decapitate a demon. 'There's too many of them.'

A roar came from the forest where Naruto was. 'What is that?' Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke wondered. The demons also turned towards the roar.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked. The Demon Slayers looked at him then back at the forest.

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Naruto kept attacking and defending against the demon, but nothing was working. Even his Rasengan and Rasenshuriken didn't work. The demon was surprised about the two jutsus, but just kept healing. He managed to hit Naruto a few times. The demon watched as Naruto also healed. "This doesn't make sense," the demon said. "How can you heal so easily when you're human?"

'So he can't sense Kurama,' Naruto thought. "Maybe you're just weak." 'Great. I'm starting to sound like Sasuke.'

"Foolish human!" the demon yelled. "I've eaten several humans. Once I'm down eating you, I'll join the others and kill those other humans!" He began to laugh.

"You'll kill them?" Naruto asked, clenching his fists.

The demon stopped laughing. "Huh?"

Red eyes were wide as they looked at the demon who began to shake in fear. "Who will you kill?"

"F-forgive me," the demon begged, taking a step back.

"And why should I do that?" Naruto asked, his voice darkening as he took a step towards the demon. "Did you think I'd let you go if you asked me to?" He crouched down and smiled. Red chakra spread around him. "I think you've misunderstood something." Fingers went through Naruto's back and stomach.

"I'll kill this human!" Another demon yelled, charging towards Naruto.

"No!" the first demon yelled. "Don't…" But he was too late. Naruto let out a roar as he let Kurama take over. The shift forced the two demons to go flying. The first demon looked at what was left of his body and cried out in pain. He glanced over at his partner who was in a similar condition. He knew they'd heal, but it was taking a long time. If it took too long, the sun would rise and they'd be dead. His eyes widened when the moon's light disappeared, covering him in a shadow of darkness. He looked up to see a fox with nine tails standing above him. He wondered if any of the other demons could stand a chance against this monster. The last thing he heard was another roar.

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Everyone froze as they saw a giant fox step out of the darkness. Several demons fell to their knees. The demon slayers and Nezuko stepped back until they were almost behind Sasuke. It was then that Nezuko slumped down. Tanjiro called her name as he wrapped his arms around her.

"W-what is that?" Zenitsu asked. No one answered him. Sasuke watched as the fox stepped on the tall demon that was closest to him, crushing him to pieces. Sasuke wondered if it could heal from that. The remaining demons that were still standing kneeled. "Even they are afraid of it."

"A demon," Inosuke said. "One far stronger than even the Demon Moons."

"If that's true, then we're all dead," Zenitsu cried.

"He won't hurt us," Sasuke said calmly.

"What makes you say that?" Zenitsu asked hysterically.

"Naruto won't let him," Sasuke said. He looked at the moon that was barely visible behind the fox. "It's not that long before dawn." Getting Sasuke's hint, Tanjiro placed Nezuko back in the box. It seemed that most of the demons heard Sasuke as they stood up. They had three options, stay here and wait for the sun, get stepped on or eaten by the giant fox, or somehow get past the Demon Slayers and towards freedom. Tanjiro moved with Sasuke towards the demons near them. Sasuke decapitated one of them. Zenitsu and Inosuke were surprised it worked until they noticed just whose sword they were using. Inosuke cursed before charging into the fray, pissed that Sasuke dared to steal one of his swords. Zenitsu watched everything. He heard bones breaking as another demon was caught under the fox's paw. It was too much for him. Seeing him pass out, a few demons ran towards him. What they didn't know was that Zenitsu wasn't the easy target they thought he was. The moment they got too close to him, he was up and cutting their heads off as fast as lightning. It didn't take long for them to defeat the demons. The ones taken out by the fox were fully destroyed when the sun rose.

Sasuke walked up to the fox. "It's over. You can return to normal now." The fox growled before there was a popping noise and smoke covered the area. When the smoke was gone, Naruto appeared sitting in the grass. His skin looked like he'd been out in the sun too long.

"Is he alright?" Tanjiro asked.

"I'm fine," Naruto said. "I'll heal soon. Just don't get too close." He looked over at Sasuke. "We'll have to buy some new dishes."

"Idiot," Sasuke smirked. Naruto smiled before he closed his eyes. Sasuke waited until the burns were gone before he lifted him up. He carried the sleeping blond over to their belongings silently cursing. They'd have to buy more than just bowls.