My mind wandered and I somehow found myself waking up in a field of wheat, the smell of lavender and olives wafted fragrantly in the air and as I looked up to the sky the clouds went by gracefully as the wind.

Getting up confused I saw I was in my normal clothes, the clothes I had before I had left Greece in fact. A nice and simple black hitched tunic with a pair of black boots, and a simple toga made of velvet silk. My family was one of the wealthiest in our home and yet they were all pacifists and this…this was home. Neochori Village.

I looked around confused at first and walked past the field of wheat looking at the tall mountains covered in green and then out to sea where I could see ships coming in to port with all kinds of expensive cargo. I then started to wander my old home, the calming streets made of marble and the tall uniform houses made of adobe and pale white marble. The smell of food was strong in the air, this couldn't be a dream, it was to real.

"By Zeus what is going on?" I muttered.

A woman soon approached me and said, "Niko…what is wrong dear, you look confused" and as I looked down my breath nearly escaped me as tears fell down my face.

It was my fiancé, A woman who had died long before I had joined the regiment to fight in the Balkan wars, Nomiki. I wanted to cry as I caressed her olive tan face with my hand, she felt real, but I knew this couldn't be real, Nomiki died by the hands of a lion…. the same lion I killed with my Pateras's sword…the same Kopis I carried around now. I looked at my waist for my sword and couldn't find it. This all felt too real.

Nomiki looked at me worried as she held my hand and said, "Nikolaos…are you ill? I worry about you, my love?"

I walked back a bit and said, "this…this isn't real…. Nomiki, I watched you die, I watched you get your jugular torn out by a lion!"

Nomiki giggled as she said, "no silly, you saved me from that lion before it could kill me."

I looked confused, memories were starting to overlap, and I was starting to panic as I didn't want to forget Ayano but I also didn't want to leave Nomiki…I was confused but with a smile I held Nomiki in my arms crying.

Two voices then called out, "Do not fall for it Nikolaos!" and when I looked behind me I could see Harangel and Horoko rushing up to me.

I watched in shock as Harangel punched Nomiki sending her flying as Horoko looked at me and said, "Nikolaos, this is all a nightmare set up by Muzan, Harangel's and the other Eclipses have special blood that leaves people in a paralyzed state unable to move but unable to die, please you need to wake up cause if you don't this will be your reality!"

I then looked over to Harangel and watched in horror as Nomiki punched her so hard her fist went all the way through and then turned into an amalgamation of tentacles devouring Harangel.

Horoko looked horrified and said, "Nikolaos! Run!" before bolting forward to stop Nomiki before she too was eaten.

I was about to move but all of a sudden, the ground below me turned to quicksand.

I looked worried at Nomiki and said, "what is going on!"

Nomiki cackled and her voice turned darker and eviler as she changed forms into a man wearing a black button up collard shirt with red demon like eyes, black hair and wearing a white hat with a black brim.

Growling I clawed my way out of the sinking ground and towards the man shouting, "what is this!"

The man chuckled and said, "your death, Nikolaos Aristokles, I was hoping you would take the false reality I gave you, but it seems you wanted to make this harder than it needed to be, so instead I shall give you hell, die now…alone and afraid, and know that dear Ayano will be hunted down."

Putting things together I shouted, "I won't let you get away with this! You hear me Muzan Kibutsuji! I Nikolaos Aristokles swear by the river Styx and the 12 Olympian gods to find and kill you!"

Muzan laughed and I felt myself pass out again.

Struggling to open my eyes at first, I realized I couldn't move and was just a spectator watching in Horror as Ayano was running away crying, injured beyond anything I could ever image, her left arm was missing, she had arrows in her back, and she was carrying the broken bits of my spear.

I was confused, what had happened? What was I watching? I tried to scream out to Ayano, but no sound came out, I could only watch as Ayano was cornered by hordes of demons, and in one motion they lunged at her and all I could hear was her screams of pain and her calling out for me to come save her. And then everything went dark again.

This time though I woke up with a fever barely able to open my eyes, but I could see the master and a lady I didn't recognize standing over me with Ayano close by.

"what's wrong with him?" Ayano asked worriedly.

The lady sighed and said, "it seems Muzan gave the eclipses a secret trick up their sleeves should they die, Nikolaos currently has a poison coursing through his body that is keeping him in a state of perpetual pain and nightmares…it should take about 4 days for the antidote to kick in, but I will say this he will have some…hiccups"

Ayano looked confused and said, "Hiccups?"

The lady nodded and said, "yes…it is possible for side effects, but seeing as he is the first person to be affected by this venom, I have no idea what exactly what to expect."

As I started to close my eyes and fall asleep, I heard the master's calming voice say, "I hope you make a full recovery Nikolaos, it would kill me to see one of my children die again…."

I woke up with a startle shouting, "Muzan!"

Confused, I looked around at my surroundings, but I recognized it slowly, I was back at the butterfly manor.

"What am I doing here?" I asked curiously trying to get up.

A sharp pain then filled me as I looked down at my body and realized the bandaging wrapped around my abs had small needles in them piercing my skin. This must have been Shinobu sensei's way of getting back at me for getting hurt these needles honestly hurt a lot and I couldn't move without them digging a little deep into my skin, not enough to draw blood but enough for them to cause sharp pains.

That's when I remembered what happened. I had nearly died fighting Harangel…my spear, my shield my ace weapons were destroyed in combat, and more importantly I was beyond hurt.

I struggled to get up again with the pain, but I managed to get up and looking at my bedside table I noticed a vase with some flowers in it and I knew instantly who those were from. I guess Ayano was okay thank the gods. There was also a plate of Castella cake and another plate with some Spanakopita.

Taking a bite from the Castella cake I felt a surge of energy. I must have been starving because I ate all of them and the spanakopita. I did take a better look at the room around me once my eyes adjusted and saw it was a private room in the butterfly manor's hospital wing, with my armor on a stand at the far corner, it looked like someone had mended all the damage that was done to it which was good, and the kopis was at its side which was very good but the Spear and shield were no where to be found…which was troublesome but yet I had a feeling Hagenzuka was working on my stuff.

I looked over to my left and saw a door and decided to get up and get some fresh air. Stretching my legs and putting some weight on them I felt faint and nearly fell over at first, but I soon regain my balance and looked at myself in a nearby mirror.

I was covered in new scars and bruises that I knew would never fade and sighing I said, "It seems Harangel really did some damage to me…"

I then heard a loud scream and instinctively rushed to grab my Kopis and rush outside through the halls to a room where I kicked the door down and shouted, "where's the demon!"

But instead of a demon I was met with the sight of a blonde-haired boy crying as Ayano, Aoi and the three butterfly girls tried to get him to drink a cup which probably had some medicinal tea in it.

The blonde-haired boy looked at me and screamed saying, "Ahhhh Save me! Scary demon! Aaaaahhhh!" and started to panic.

Ayano looked at me with a shocked expression before turning to me crying her eyes out as she ran at me and hugged me.

Ayan kept crying and shouting, "Nikolaos! I was scared I lost you! I am so happy you're okay! Do you have any idea how worried you had me!"

Honestly It would have been a heart-warming moment if it weren't for the fact that when she hugged me the bandages dug deeper into my skin causing me intense pain. Yet at the same time all I could remember was the nightmare of her getting killed by demons and I held her close to me wrapping my arms around her and trying not to cry.

Wincing I felt like my legs were giving out again and I said, "Ayano we have much to talk about however, can you help walk me to my room so I can lie down…"

Aoi looked at me and lightly punched my shoulder saying, "Lady Shinobu and Lord Rengoku have been very worried about you…I'll let them know your awake and walking around. However, I think you really should go lie down Nikolaos"

I chuckled and said, "thank you Aoi, while you're at it can you thank Shinobu sensei for the Spanakopita and Rengoku sensei for the Castella cake they were divine!"

Aoi smiled and said, "I will, also I'll get you some jasmine tea and some toasted rice crackers."

I shook my head and said, "right now I need a big bowl of ramen, with a soft-boiled egg and grated yam and bamboo chutes in it and make that an extra-large I am famished!"

Ayano giggled with tears in her eyes saying, "you idiot you had us all worried."

I kissed her on the lips and said, "I would never truly die, and leave you all alone."

I looked at the blonde boy and realized that young Tanjiro and the boar headed boy were with him and I said, "Ahhh young Tanjiro! It's been a week! How is your rehabilitation training going!"

Shocked Tanjiro looked at me and said, "good! Umm Nikolaos, right? I'm sorry but can I ask what happened to you."

My smile faded away and I said, "I fought a demon whose heart burned with the fire of my homeland…she was honorable, and she was powerful"

Tanjiro looked a bit confused but said, "well either way I am glad you are alive! I hope you have a speedy recovery!"

Walking away using Ayano as a crutch I waved my hand and Ayano giggled saying, "it seems the new slayers have your will of fire."

Curiously I said, "how long was I out?" as Ayano opened the door for me and helped me get into bed.

Ayano sat on the bed holding my hand and said, "You have been out for two weeks…. And in those two weeks you have been muttering and your breathing has been very sporadic, hell there were times I feared you were gonna just stop breathing, Niko at times you were also convulsing and foaming at the mouth I had never been more scared for you"

Before she could finish however I leaned over notcing she was about to cry and break down and held her close to me saying, "I am thankful….to have you by my side my love, please don't cry"

Ayano took a deep breath and continued saying, " you also kept muttering a name in your sleep, Nomiki…Nikolaos who was she"

I looked out my window out into the distance remembering the old days when I was younger and said, "she was my Fiancé at one point."

Ayano looked furious and said, "so…you have a lover back home and you decided to play with my heart! You cheating ba-"

Before she could finish that sentence, I said, "she died long before I joined the army to fight in the Balkan wars…it was an arranged marriage between my family and hers…I loved her yes, but I loved you even more than her…"

Ayano started to calm down a bit and said, "if you don't mind me asking…. what happened to her?"

I sighed and said, "she died by a lion….we were out hunting for food and all of a sudden we were pounced on by a large lion that ended up killing her….I killed the lion yes but still she died in my arms…I swore I would never let the ones I love die…that's why I am so defensive of you, I don't want to lose you Ayano"

Ayano calmed down and got closer to me cuddling me and said, "…I was scared Niko, I didn't want to lose you, promise me one thing."

I smiled and rubbed her left breast as she leaned her head into my shoulder, "anything for you, my love."

Ayano looked at me again and said, "promise me and swear by the river Styx that you will try and fight differently…that fight could have gone differently if we managed to strategize beforehand."

I nodded my head falling back to sleep saying, "I swear by the river Styx my love".

The next day I woke up Shinobu sensei standing near my bed smiling, "Good morning, Nikolaos."

Smiling back, I said, "ahhh Shinobu sensei! It warms my heart to see you! I assume we'll be going through rehabilitation training?"

Shinobu nodded and said, "we'll begin immediately so you can get back out there and do what needs to be done to take down these eclipses."

Shinobu Sensei took me through Rehabilitation training and at first, she had me try and splash Kanoe in the face with medicated tea. It was all about testing out my reflexes and Kanoe had honestly gotten a lot faster since I last trained with her so trying to splash her was a bit rough as she managed to stop me from splashing her, but I soon got the hang of it in a couple rounds without giving up before splashing her in the face with the tea.

Kanoe smiled and said, "I guess your finally getting back into shape!"

Before I could say anything though I felt something in my chest snap, and I hunched over grabbing my side.

"I- I think I broke something…everything in my body hurts!" I struggled to say.

I felt Shinobu smack me in the back of the neck and say, "it's because you worked out too hard! You pushed yourself to the point where you burst a blood vessel! I get it you want to get back into action as soon as possible but still your gonna hurt yourself even more!"

I looked up still hunched over and said, "Sorry Shinobu sensei, I'll try and take your word for it."

Ayano was about to try and help me up, but Shinobu sensei stopped her and said, "no, no, no he hurt himself like an idiot so he's gonna have to walk himself back to his room."

I struggled to get up, but I was too stubborn to give up, so I got up and staggered to my room as I overheard Tanjiro trying to learn total concentration breathing constant. Good on him, I remembered when Shinobu sensei tested me with those damn gourds… It sucked and hurt so damn much!

Finally making it back to my room, I laid down in my bed and heard a knock at my door.

"You may enter" I said as I moved some of the sheets.

Ayano opened the door and said, "hey I managed to sneak some rice balls with jasmine tea for you, how are you feeling?"

I chuckled as Ayano came over and laid on the bed next to me and I said, "I could be feeling better especially after bursting a blood vessel, but I think I'll survive."

Taking a bite from the rice balls and looking out my window I saw Tanjiro, the boar head boy, and the blonde outside training and said, "gods I can't wait to get back out there, and train just like them."

Ayano giggled feeding me some of the rice balls and said, "I've been watching them train for the last couple days while you were doing your own personal training and I have to admit they have some fire in them, and for the love of god promise me you won't make Inosuke your Tsuguko, I will literally break up with you if I have to deal with you AND him at the same time!"

I laughed a bit and drank some tea saying, "that bad? also who is that anyways?".

Ayano laughed and said, "he's the boar headed boy you tied up on mount Notugumo, ever since he found out I was your translator and work alongside you and only you he has been asking about you a lot, if you're looking for a Tsuguko and even calling you the bronze demon bastard, and the way he acts…. he's like you but crazy, he's even got your will of fire"

I raised my eyebrow smirking saying, "well now, the bronze demon…I like that nickname! I wouldn't mind training with them! I think I feel good enough for a bit of sparring, lets go out there and run some sparring drills."

Ayano nodded and I stretched a bit and slowly got out of bed taking a breath and remembering what Urokodaki taught me about mediation drill and deep breathing while also taking into consideration what Shinobu sensei and Rengoku sensei have taught me, I want to be like them and live up to their expectations, I may be a Hashira but they are still my sensei and they mean a lot to me... if I may be so bold to say it I see them as my older brother and sister who I have to impress and live up to.

Two more weeks would pass by till Shinobu gave me the thumbs up to start heavier training with a spear and shield. Walking outside I saw Tanjiro, Inosuke and the blonde working hard, with Inosuke running along the wall of the manor, Tanjiro doing pushups with two of the butterfly trio girls on his back and the blonde doing lifts with boulders.

Smiling I laughed and said, "fwehahahahaha! Your wills are strong! I like that! You're training yourselves pretty damn hard!"

They seemed to notice me and immediately Inosuke rushed over yelling and then shouted, "come on bronze demon, you're so tough, and strong! Come on, come on fight me! I wanna see how strong you are, and allow me to introduce myself properly I am the king of the mountain! Inosuke!"

I laughed hardily and looked down at Inosuke with a cocky glare saying, "oh! You think a Boar is a match for the mighty Lion! Come now! Once I am at my best again you can try all you want to break the mountain, but I will never yield!"

Inosuke then leapt back and said, "oh yeah! You think you're so tough! But are you flexible!" before contorting his body in a way where his head was popping out between his legs.

I laughed and said, "No but I can handle this!" before dislocating my right arm entirely without even flinching and still moving it around.

Inosuke seemed to be extremely impressed as I relocated my arm and said, "one of these days you and I will need to fight and see who the truly superior warrior is! Hahahahaha!"

I then felt someone gripping my shoulder tightly and I said, "hahaha okay I guess that was a bit much sorry about that Ayano"

Shinobu sensei then said, "oh that really was a bit much but its not Ayano who is gripping your shoulder"

I started sweating and looked back to see it was Shinobu sensei gripping my shoulder looking really pissed, and Ayano passed out on the floor foaming from the mouth.

"I'm in trouble aren't I" I said scared for my life.

Shinobu nodded and grabbed me by the ear pulling me away to the training room where she pushed me into doing special pushups and even situps to build back up my muscles, but I was wearing the damn needle bandages that poked into my skin. From that day I on I would never again purposely dislocate my arms at all…because I know if I do Shinobu sensei will work me to the bone.

Laying in bed and in pain Aoi walked in with a tray of tempura shrimp, a nice wagyu steak, and some miso soup and said, "Ayano is talking to Hagenezuka, your spear and shield are ready."

Raising an eyebrow I said, "did he happen to use the shield I was found with?"

Aoi nodded and said, "in his words the metal from that shield was unlike anything he had ever seen worked with, took him a full two weeks to get the shape and temperature perfect and according to him he had to also wait for the wood to be replaced."

I raised my eyebrow and said, "ash wood is that rare?"

Aoi nodded and said, "here in Japan it is, we had to find a travelling merchant who specialized in wood just to get some, and it was quite expensive, but either way you should go and at least make sure it is up to your standards, your food will be here when you get back"

Nodding my head, I walked towards the front of the butterfly manor I was confused at first as I saw Ayano holding someone back with all her might but upon further inspection, I saw it was Hagenzuka holding two knives….and two more strapped to his head. Oh shit I think I pissed him off.

Ayano looked at me and shouted, "Niko Run he's crazy!" before getting pushed over by Hagenzuka who immediately started to chase me with the two knives.

Hagenezuka looked pissed as he chased me with those knives shouting about how pissed he was about the spear shaft and having to reforge the shield.

When I felt I had enough I turned around and waited for him to rush me and with on graceful movement I managed to get behind him and shout, "enough is enough!" for suplexing him.

Hagenezuka somehow managed to get out of my iron clad grip easily and tried to stab me again but I kicked him square in the face sending him flying as I did a back flip to get back up.

Groaning Hagenezuka got up and approached me saying, "that spear…THAT SPEAR! The spear was in worse shape than ever! Not only was the shaft broken but the damn head was beyond chipped! So much damage I had to scrap the entire thing, it wasn't even worthy to be reforged into a nichirin sword! Damn you! damn you Nikolaos! But either way as the only swordsmith who knows how to make shields and spear heads properly, I had no choice but to reforge it, so here!"

Hagenezuka then revealed my new spear and shield, they looked nearly the same as before, but they had some extra weight to them, and the spear now had an extra point but at the other end.

Hagenezuka pointed this out saying, "the spear was a bit off balance, I wish I noticed it sooner when I made the original spear but here we are now, so I added an extra spear head in case your main one breaks or if you need some extra balance behind your thrusts, as for the shield, well I made it a lot thicker, this time taking in to consideration you might go up against demons who specialize in melee or ranged combat instead of just using their claws!"

Putting the shield on my arm I noticed the straps felt different from leather and I even commented on it saying, "the material feels sturdier than leather, what is it?"

Hagenzuka looked all high and mighty saying, "that there is a secret material I made just to make sure no one had any bright ideas about cutting the straps!"

I whistled and lunged forward abit with the shield and laughed saying, "I like it! The shield has some strength behind it!" before picking up the spear and noticing that it had some extra weight to it possibly from the extra spear point.

Hagenezuka then gripped my by the shoulder and said, "now promise me you will not break this one! Cause if you do I swear by the gods I worship and the gods you worship Nikolaos I will kill you!"

I crossed my heart and said, "I swear by the river styx Hagenezuka that I will be careful with this spear."

As I continued my healing training, I was approached by Rengoku sensei who looked at me and said, "Ah young Nikolaos! It warms my heart to see you all right! Shinobu has told me that you continue to improve and get better every day! When can we expect you back in the line of duty!"

Smiling I said, "as soon as Shinobu sensei approved me for active service I will run into the next mission with Ayano!"

Renogku smiled happily and said, "well I wish you well."

Ayano raised her eyebrow and said, "where are you off too lord Rengoku?"

Rengoku smirked and said, "there has been word of a demon outbreak, and as such I am on my way to fight it, the slayer who fought it had been killed."

Ayano raised her eyebrow and said, "you think it's a member of the 12 kitsugi?"

Rengoku nodded and said, "maybe it's an upper moon."

I gave Rengoku a fist bump and said, "well I wish you well Rengoku sensei, I wish I could go with you! You take care of yourself."

Rengoku sensei smiled and said, "I will, you take care to my dear Tsuguko" before leaving.

Smiling Ayano walked up behind me and kissed me on the lips before sitting next to me as we turned to watch Tanjiro and the others train with their swords.

"About time I show these young slayers how a Greek fights" I said reaching over for my spear and shield.

Ayano looked at me with a smile and said, "wanna go a couple rounds?"

I winked at her and said, "later in bed yeah, for now I wanna just get used to using this heavy spear and shield."

This made Ayano blush like crash and storm off as I got into the grounds and took up a phalanx stance and started running some basic drills against a tree for a bit before being approached by Tanjiro.

"Ummm Lord Nikolaos, would you like a sparring partner?" Tanjiro said holding his Nichirin blade.

I gave the young man a happy grin and said, "lets do this!" and turned my attention to him.

Tanjiro tried every trick in the book to get past my iron defense, he tried side stepping into my blind spot of my helmet but all I had to do was move my shield and leap out of the way and follow it up with a well placed jab to his Kimono followed by slinging him around my head and throwing him at the tree.

"nice try Tanjiro but that won't work on me!" I laughed as I took up my phalanx stance again and stepped back.

Tanjiro got up a bit dazed and said, "i- I think I am ready, lets go again!"

Tanjiro tried everything, and yet he had nothing to beat my iron clad defense again, the boy was determined,I'll give him that and with each swing I got to know what he fought for. I already knew it was for his sister, every Hashira knew that…but it seems like there is more to it. As his Nichirin sword clanged against my shield I felt it, his will. He didn't only want to protect his sister and cure her, he wanted vengeance.

Suiddenly Tanjiro shouted, "Hinokami Kagura!" and fire spouted from his sword catching me offguard for a second. This wasn't flame breathing, I knew that much. The way he moved was way more fluid and it would have been a sure hit but with a sidestep followed by a backhand with my shield I had him oof balance and rushed him with my shield pinning him to the wall again.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said, "what was that."

He looked at me confused and I looked at Ayano and she rushed forward and translate for me and that's when I found out that he doesn't even know what it is, it just happened on mount Notugomu and he's been trying to figure it out, he hoped to talk to Rengoku Sensei about it.

Letting go of Tanjiro I said, "I can tell you right now, that isn't flame breathing."

Tanjiro looked confused at me and said, "then what is it?"

I sighed taking off my helmet and taking a seat on a fallen stump and said, "I've learned to figure out my opponent based on how they fight however you are an enigma, Tanjiro Kamado…and I mean this as nice as possible but you are confusing even to me, your fighting style changes are unique, going from your Water breathing to this…Hinokami Kagura, and even the reason you fight is respectable but actually fighting you is like…its unlike anything I have ever faced, I think it would be best if you talked to Rengoku Sensei, I think he'd have some advice for you"

Tanjiro looked at me with a smile and bowed thanking me and said, "one of these days I hope we can fight again!"

I walked up to Tanjiro and gave me a pat on the head. The boy reminded me of me in a way, he may not have had my upbringing nor my will of fire but he had the drive to fight for what he believed in, which I honestly respected. Suddenly my sparrowhawk, Kotoyami then flew in and gave us our next mission.

Kotoyami then shouted, "Hashira Nikolaos and Lady Ayano you are to head south southwest, an eclipse has been found wandering!"

Grinning I put my helmet back on and shouted, "lets go Ayano!" before rushing out to our next mission.

Before leaving, however I bowed to Shinobu sensei and Kanoe and said, "I will return! Another eclipse has been found! We're off to go and kill it!"

Shinobu smiled at me and said, "good luck my dear Tsuguko come back and we'll share a drink and a mighty feast with Rengoku as well!"

I grinned happily at this and said, "I'll take your word for it! Farewell for now!"

Chapter over

Ayano: Nikooooooo *hugs I was so worried about you! I thought you were dead!

Nikolaos: fwehahahaha no one can truly kill a spartan we don't die so easily!

Ayano: I guess you are right, and now time for a Taisho era secret! Greek merchants are exotic here in Japan because they don't know much Japanese, so they exclusively do trades with the Hashira and give Nikolaos 90% off all their wears cause they're the only ones who know greek!

Ayano: Next Chapter: The Persian Immortal! Fight hard Nikolaos!