In this chapter, Tanjiro will fight the Shadow Torkoal.
For this fight feel free to listen to the Colosseum Admin Battle Music.
After that, Tanjiro will go to Asakusa…if he survives, that is.
Of course, he is our hero. So it would be awfully strange if I killed him quickly.
Chapter 5: No Smoking Allowed
Instead of Torkoal's usual coloration, Shadow Torkoal was purple and had a dark green shell.
Also, the smoke she produced was black.
Tanjiro took down the Roggenrola that had attacked him with a slash of water breathing, but this shadow Pokemon wouldn't fall so easily.
The tortoise Pokemon was not happy to see them.
Squirtle hit Torkoal with Water Gun.
"Squirtle!" exclaimed the water Pokemon. That one had been a critical hit.
This proved to be effective. Torkoal was a fire Pokemon, after all. Perhaps Squirtle was born to be a firefighter.
"Torkoal!" exclaimed the fire Pokemon. It was unfortunate that she was up against a water type. She would have definitely preferred a grass or an ice one.
With some time, perhaps they could open up the door to Torkoal's heart.
However, Torkoal fought back. She wasn't just going to stand there.
She used Body Slam on Squirtle.
"Squirtle!" exclaimed the turtle Pokemon. That attack had knocked him on his back.
He couldn't get up.
"Roll over!" instructed Nezuko.
Squirtle tried that and it worked like a charm.
He wondered why he had never thought of that.
Though to be fair, other Pokemon generally didn't attack him until now. Things had been very peaceful back home. If only the demons didn't ruin it.
Torkoal then used Flamethrower.
Our heroes scrambled to avoid the flames.
Hopefully Torkoal wasn't too hot for them to handle.
Tanjiro was hoping that he would succeed in this mission.
Nezuko punched Torkoal in the head.
"Are you sure you want to fight us? We can share the mine!" suggested Nezuko.
This had worked on Togepi.
This opened Torkoal's heart a bit.
But it seemed she had been injected with more demon blood than Togepi had. So opening the door to her heart wouldn't be so simple. That was what Urokodaki had told them about shadow Pokemon, after all. Some doors were indeed locked tighter than others.
Torkoal let out a roar.
Shadow Diglett showed up. They could see the cloud of dirt they made.
"Diglett dig diglett dig!" sang the Diglett.
Suddenly, Tanjiro found himself sinking.
"This isn't good." noted the demon slayer.
If he got dragged under, he could very well suffocate. And he couldn't use his breathing techniques if he couldn't breathe.
"Diglett's ability is Arena Trap. Opponents cannot escape unless airborne." read the Pokedex.
Luckily, Nezuko realized what was happening and pulled him out.
"I gotcha!" exclaimed the brunette.
Tanjiro repaid the favor by pushing Nezuko out of the way when Torkoal used Flamethrower again.
He used Water Wheel to hit the Digletts.
All of them fainted. Unfortunately for them, they did not have a lot of HP. They were fast Pokemon, however.
Nezuko punched Torkoal in the face.
She wondered how someone so cute could pack so much strength.
Then again, there were plenty of cute Pokemon that could fight well. Notably fairy type Pokemon. Though none of them seemed to be living inside the mine.
Torkoal used Smokescreen.
Their surroundings were filled with smoke.
This was not good, because not being able to see Torkoal meant she could easily catch them by surprise.
Meanwhile…
Zenitsu drew out his sword.
"So this is the village that's had trouble with the shadow Pokemon." spoke Zenitsu.
Things were rather quiet, as people had gone inside their houses and locked the doors to protect themselves from them.
Pichu nodded.
"Well, after defeating that swamp demon I feel like I can take on anything!" exclaimed the blonde.
Suddenly, a Wishiwashi appeared.
Zenitsu gasped.
"Oh wait, that's not a Shadow Pokemon, is it?" questioned the boy.
Pichu shook his head.
He could tell that Wishiwashi was upset about something.
So he decided to ask her about her problems.
Wishiwashi explained the rest of her school had been scared off by the shadow Pokemon. They were being led by a Tentacruel...who was feeling especially cruel now that he had been transformed into a shadow Pokemon.
She wondered where they had gone. They could be anywhere. And to make matters worse she couldn't find a hman to help. They too were hiding from the shadow Pokemon, it seemed.
Zenitsu then remembered that he had very good hearing.
He could be of help to the investigation.
So could Pichu. He did have big ears, after all.
Wishiwashi was overjoyed they decided to help.
She leapt with joy.
"We'll start looking." assured Zenitsu.
However, he would be careful to watch out for shadow Pokemon.
He heard they could be sneaky.
Back at the mine…
Unfortunately, Tanjiro wasn't sure what he was going to do with all the smoke.
If he tried using breathing techniques, he just might inhale some of it.
And that would not be good for his lungs.
He narrowly avoided being hit by another Flamethrower.
Luckily, Zubat decided to help.
With his wings, he blew the smoke away.
"Thanks!" shouted Tanjiro.
"Torkoal?" asked the turtle Pokemon.
This gave the black-haired demon slayer an opening.
Tanjiro finished the fight with Waterfall Basin.
Torkoal fainted.
The other Shadow Pokemon panicked. Their leader was down for the count!
Not wanting to leave any stone unturned, Tanjiro then got to work purifying the rest of the Shadow Pokemon.
Things were much easier now that the leader was gone.
"Alright, I think we've got them all." spoke Tanjiro.
He didn't smell the scent of shadow Pokemon anymore.
That had certainly been hard work.
But he felt like their efforts had paid off.
Nezuko gave the thumbs up.
As they left the mine, they noticed Torkoal approaching them.
"Hmm? You want to join our cause?" asked Nezuko.
Torkoal nodded. They had saved her from an awful fate. The way she saw it, she should return the favor. Now she would be protecting people instead of hurting them.
It was definitely better to have Torkoal as a friend than as an enemy.
"It seems appropriate that I'm partnering up with a Pokemon that eats coal." noted Tanjiro as he caught Torkoal in a Pokeball.
He remembered the days that he used to be a coal burner…before the unthinkable happened.
That had been some time ago. He enjoyed his job.
Still, he wasn't going to go back to coal burning until he had made sure nobody would suffer at the hands of demons again.
Now that the shadow Pokemon had been taken care of, Tanjiro decided to write a letter to see how Sabito and Makomo were doing. It certainly was useful for demon slayers to have a karugai Murkrow with them. You could both send AND receive messages.
Tanjiro decided to send them a message because he figured that it would be nice to get in touch with them again after the final selection exam.
But there was another reason for that.
Sometimes Demon Slayer missions didn't turn out so well.
And when that happened, Demon Slayers...became lunch.
So it would be a good idea to check on his comrades.
Perhaps they could go on a mission together sometime. If the Demon Slayer Corps permitted it.
That is, of course, assuming they were still alive.
"Dear Sabito and Makomo, how are you two doing? You two always seem to be together so I figured I would write to both of you at the same time. Are your missions going okay? I appreciate your help taking care of that giant demon. Sincerely, Tanjiro." read the letter.
He received a letter back. He sighed in relief.
From the looks of it, Sabito and Makomo were alive and well.
"Pretty good! We managed to purify a demon that used fire...good thing that we happen to be water breathers! Although, we're considering making our own breathing styles. The Hashira are varied in their breathing styles so we figured we could do the same. Sincerely, Makomo. P.S.: We're glad you took the time to check on us!"
Tanjiro remembered the time that they took down the hand demon. Urokodaki was so proud of them.
How was the former demon doing, anyway? He hoped that he was doing alright. He knew that demons felt guilt for their actions when they came back to their senses.
About two weeks ago...
'I killed fifty of your demon slayers...I'm so sorry!" cried Teoni. Being turned into a monster had made him do such terrible things. Perhaps it was fortunate that he had been confined to a mountain until now. He hated to imagine what would happen if he attacked a human village.
Perhaps he could go to Urokodaki to apologize to him as well. He tried to kill three of his apprentices…before they pushed him into wisteria flowers. He would make sure to thank him for keeping him somewhere where he couldn't reach civilization.
He wished that his brother was there to comfort him.
But unfortunately, he had ran when he discovered what his brother had become. Which was probably for the best considering what Nezuko had tried to do.
"Hmm? Oh, that's right. Tamayo told me that demons used to be human." noted Kagaya. It made him feel bad about killing them. Luckily, with Tanjiro around he didn't have to slay them all.
That would explain the guilt that Teoni was feeling. He had probably killed some of those demon slayers in self-defense...but then again, demons were known to be sadistic.
"If you wish to make amends you can go with me to the demon slayer memorial." suggested the blind leader of the Demon Slayer Corps. It was unfortunate, but in order to protect Japan from demons, sacrifices had to be made. He just hoped the demon slayer corps weren't wiped out.
"Really?" asked Teoni.
Teoni accompanied Kagaya to the memorial.
Back in the present...
"Thank you for clearing out all the shadow Pokemon!" exclaimed the foreman.
The Pokemon were friendly again, just as they were before.
Now they could back to their jobs.
After saying farewell to the miners, Tanjiro received another mission.
"Another mission? That's fast." noted the demon slayer.
"Keep many people safe! From demons! As possible!." explained Tanjiro's kasugai Murkrow.
"I'm going to Asakusa? I've always wondered what it's like in the big city." noted Tanjiro.
"Me too." nodded Nezuko. It certainly sounded a lot different from their home sweet home. She imagined that the city dwarfed it.
Luckily, she could blend in well in society despite not being human. Though she was careful not to let people see her fangs. People would question that. And Tanjiro wasn't ready to tell the Demon Slayer Corps that he was harboring a human yet. He heard that was against the rules.
She considered herself lucky that becoming a demon hadn't drastically altered her appearance. She had seen what the temple demon looked like…before he was purified.
On the subject of her home, she wondered if they would see it again. Being a demon slayer sure took you places, didn't it?
She didn't want to move back into their former residence after what has transpired there. Just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach...though her stomach was pretty empty considering she no longer ate food.
But maybe they could live somewhere nearby.
It looks like this was their chance to find out what urban life was like.
The Demon Slayer Corps believed that a demon called the city home. It was a big city, but they heard that Tanjiro had a decent sense of smell.
But little did the corps know which demon exactly was living there.
Tanjiro enjoyed being in the city, though he hoped that he could find this demon before someone else got hurt.
He knew there had been disappearances.
He noticed that there were cars in the city.
"I wish I had one." remarked Tanjiro.
"I don't think I need one personally. I can run pretty fast as is." noted Nezuko.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
He had actually been there once before.
That was where he met the doctor that gave him the vaccine.
It had been some time ago though. Was the doctor still giving them out?
But as he was wondering if he would see her again, he picked up a familiar scent.
It was alarming.
"Is that…the demon who killed my family?" asked Tanjiro.
Urokodaki had told him who he was.
His name was Muzan.
Apparently, he had the power to turn people into demons like himself.
Nezuko knew it all too well. He was the one who turned her into a monster. Though she did admit she did enjoy having super strength. Now if a wild Pokemon attacked her she could just use her muscles to fend them off.
Other demons were so afraid of Muzan that they refused to speak his name. Not a good sign.
She had a flashback to the time the demon with the white hat had broken into her home.
"What do you want from us?" asked Tanjiro and Nezuko's mother.
Muzan injected his finger into her head.
Apparently, he had tried to turn them into more demons like himself. But something had gone wrong.
"What were the chances of us finding him?" questioned Nezuko.
"Well, he does seem to leave a trail." noted Tanjiro. A trail of demons and shadow Pokemon. They had done a good job following it in his opinion. Perhaps this was where the trail ended.
Squirtle nodded.
Tanjiro pulled out his sword.
"Now's our chance to make him pay for what he has done." spoke the boy. It wouldn't surprise him if other people had to go thriugh what he had because of Muzan.
"I don't think you should go at him alone. We both saw what he did to our family." warned Nezuko. It was horrible. From the looks of it, he was a very strong demon.
Would their father's presence have made a difference? He had been strong but perhaps this demon was stronger.
"You're right about that." spoke Tanjiro. As such, he would bring his sister with him.
"Squirtle squirtle squirtle!" exclaimed Squirtle. He wanted to avenge the Kamados too. They had taken him after all.
Together, they followed the scent.
It led them to a crowd.
But even so, Tanjiro was able to discern the face of his mortal enemy.
He gasped in shock.
He was indeed face to face with the demon that had killed his family.
Muzan Kibutsuji.
I figured this would be the perfect time to end the chapter...at a cliffhanger!
Of course, you probably know what's going to happen next.
If Tanjiro killed Muzan in the next chapter, then this would be a short fanfic, wouldn't it?
But I don't think I'll do that.