The Less Lethal Mansion
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Winds, Waves, And Chains! We'll be concluding the Tsuzumi Mansion Arc this chapter as our heroes deal with one or two remaining issues. And to answer the question of our guest reviewer, DCDGojira, the cover art was done by my good friend and talented artist, KIR3GI-Art! You can find him on Discord if you'd like to have your own wonderful fan art made! Now then I believe that's everything, so on to the story!
Daytime: Tsuzumi Mansion
'The drum's stopped,' John noted while walking down the hallway with his hand on his sword, 'Mary must've taken care of the demon responsible, or at least disabled it.' Admittedly he was only assuming this right now because he hadn't heard the drum sound for several minutes. Whether or not it had been on a timer it seemed to go off after a prolonged period of time and that hadn't been happening. This did, however, leave the slayer with a bit of a dilemma.
'I could head outside and see if Mary's already there,' he mused, 'or I could keep searching a little while longer and see if any of the other demons in this mansion are still around?' Unfortunately, as he turned a corner, that question would answer itself in the form of a familiar black flying axe. John leaned his head back just in time as the weapon embedded itself in the wall next to him. "So you're still skulking about," he drew his blade as Maru stepped fully into view.
"You didn't think I'd let you leave here until we finished our little game, did you?" The demon woman grinned maliciously while summoning two more axes in her hands.
"I'd personally hoped you were taken out after our last bout," the former hunter readied himself, "but it's just as well I get to make sure you're dead this time because that drum won't be saving you."
"You're the one who's going to need saving!" Maru threw her two axes which John deflected with his sword while rushing forward. She quickly summoned two more as their blades met, causing sparks to fly in the dim light. As before the demon tried to overpower him with her strength and larger size but John shifted to parrying and turning her strikes away instead of straight up blocking them, diminishing her strength advantage.
He also maneuvered his blade in a way that twisted the demon's arm, forcing her to let go of her axe. The slayer repeated this process and disarmed her of the other axe as well before taking a few swings at the monster who backpedaled in order to avoid them. But despite being put on the defensive, Maru was still grinning widely. The reason as to why became obvious when all of the axes behind Jonh floated up and headed towards his back.
'Checkmate,' the demon thought in triumph, believing the slayer had forgotten about her ability already. This turned out not to be the case, however, as the sound of a small door swinging open was then accompanied by metallic clanging. Maru blinked as all of her flying axes were deflected by two individuals she'd never seen before. 'Wait, is that where the scent of a younger person was coming from,' she questioned as Jonathan and Susamaru turned to face her alongside John.
"Damn, how have you handled travelling like this for so long," Susamaru cracked her neck and rubbed it, "I think I was about to go stiff in there." The reply she received was a mumbled explanation from the demon boy. "Right, I'm still learning how to speak whatever lingo it is you're speaking there."
"He said you get used to it," John translated, "and thanks for the backup, by the way."
"Figured you could use a hand with all the pain in the ass stuff happening around this place," the Temari Demon shrugged before both she and Jonathan deflected more axes, "so you just focus on the purple bitch and we'll watch your back."
"That I can do," the slayer smirked before moving in with Striking Tide. Maru barely reacted in time to block the blows and began awkwardly dodging out of the way of John's attacks. 'Something's different now,' he noted, 'her bravado has all but evaporated for some reason.' Her coordination with her flying axes had also decreased quite a bit as they flew ineffectively at the two demons in simple, almost predictable patterns.
What none of them knew was that Maru's focus had been almost completely broken when she caught sight of Jonathan. 'That child,' she thought while desperately deflecting one blow after another, 'that precious child!' The demon woman had no idea why, but the boy reminded her of something or someone from long ago. Looking at him was awakening an instinct that she thought had long been lost, the instinct of a mother.
It was maddening, it was senseless! Why after all these years did she suddenly feel this again?! These questions and the stress of the situation were pushing the demon woman further and further until the inevitable happened: she temporarily went berserk. "RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Her howl was so strong it caused John to pause mid-attack and nearly cover his ears out of reflex. 'Damn, I'm used to the sound of gunshots, and this is still loud to me,' he winced slightly before recomposing himself. He did this just in time as the demon woman gave out a snarl and started swinging her weapons around erratically. She cut the walls, the floor, the ceiling and was turning and spinning every which way.
To make matters worse, the axes which hadn't disappeared floated into the air again and started flying all over the place. Susamaru and Jonathan deflected them as best they could but the erratic and unpredictable nature of the weapons right now meant some of them got through, forcing the father to defend himself on two fronts as he deflected axe attacks from both sides. "That child, that child," Maru grabbed her face and raked her fingers across it so hard that it drew blood, "what is that child's name!"
"Who, Jonathan?" Susamaru blurted out, "why the fuck do you care what his name is?"
"A precious child, a precious child," she grabbed her head with her hands, "he should be, he should be, RAAAAAAAGH!" She turned and fled then, carving her way through one wall after another before disappearing into the shadows of the mansion.
"Dammit, we need to go after her," John ordered.
"Not like we need to rush after her too fast," the Temari Demon pointed out as they began to run through the destroyed walls, "she's confined to this mansion as long as the sun is up. If we can corner her-UFF!" Susamaru was suddenly tackled to the ground by Jonathan as a shape came flying over their heads. Everyone quickly noted the familiar sound of a blade slicing through the air as a boy in a boar mask landed nearby and turned to them.
"So there are even more monsters in this place," he laughed almost maniacally, "that's good, more springboards for me to reach even greater heights!" The stranger rushed the two demons then with his dual serrated blades ready to carve them up. But at the last second, John moved in between them and blocked the twin blades by holding his sword vertically.
"Back off!" The former hunter broke their weapon's lock and kicked the boar fighter in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. He landed and rolled back up to a half-kneeling position a short distance away. "If you're attacking demons on sight then I can only assume you're a slayer," John pointed his blade at the newcomer, "but I'm afraid these two are off-limits."
But instead of answering right away, the dual wielder sat there as a low laugh escaped his throat. "Wow," he finally spoke after a moment, "that kick hurt, no one's ever sent me flying like that before." He took his stance again, "let's keep at it!" The boar fighter attacked again, swinging his blades wildly as Jonh dodged and deflected the blows.
"Hold on," the slayer jumped back a few feet to create some distance, "those are nichirin swords, right? Aren't you a demon slayer?"
"Who cares about that right now?!" The boar boy attacked again and his blade's serrated edges caught on John's sword as they found themselves in another weapons lock, "so what if I'm a slayer? Humans, demons, monsters, I'll fight you all to reach new heights!" He shoved John back then as he continued to assault the older slayer. But the former hunter refused to strike back, instead blocking, parrying, and using his footwork to maneuver around this oddly aggressive individual.
"You really didn't pay attention to the rules, did you," John grunted as he blocked the latest dual strike, "It's taboo for slayers to fight each other. And right now we've got a bigger problem than whatever this thing is you're doing!"
"Quit yapping and fight!" The dual wielder exclaimed as he continued attacking wildly.
"Fine, have it your way," the father batted away the next few strikes before elbowing his opponent in the face then kicking him in the chest, sending him sliding back. 'Looks like I'm going to have to disarm him and restrain him,' he mused. "Susamaru, Jonathan. I'm going to need your help here."
"Just give me the word," she summoned a pair of Temari in her hands, "I don't think this jackass plans on listening to anyone right now." Jonathan nodded in agreement as the four of them all poised to make their next move. As expected, it was the battle hungry boar boy who moved first, and he ran straight for John.
"HOLD EVERYTHING!" A figure landed in between John and the boar fighter, her long black hair and blue haori giving away her identity. Her sudden appearance caused both fighters to stumble but the boy still had enough momentum that Mary had to reach out and stop him, before head butting him as hard as she possibly could. The squelching sound of the impact was sickening as both slayers stumbled backwards a few feet. John caught Mary, who was letting out a few curses under her breath while rubbing her head, and steadied her on her feet while the boar boy, amazingly, remained standing.
His mask, however, fell off and revealed his face for all of them to see and it…. Was not what any of them were expecting. His hair was short with blue fringes and his eyes were green. But his face itself, it didn't match the rest of his body. "What the," Susamaru tried to hold in a laugh, "what in the world? The fuck's up with your face?"
"What's wrong with my face," the boar boy asked as he held a hand to his head which now had a bloody spot on it.
"It looks like there was a mix up before you were born," Mary pointed at him, "that is definitely the muscular body of a well-trained male, but your face could just about pass off for a girl's. Is that why you wear the mask, because no one can take you seriously when they look at your face?"
"I wear a boar mask because I was raised by boars!" He growled while clenching his fist, "there's not a damn thing wrong with my face so why do you keep going on about it?!"
"Calm down, we're just surprised is all," John held up a placating hand, "we were expecting you to have scars or less hair or be missing an eye or something. There's nothing wrong with your face."
"Then quit going on about it and fight me!" The boar boy yelled.
"No, the fight is over," Mary held up her arms in a blocking gesture, "we're all slayers here and we got bigger problems to worry about."
"My fight with that guy is all I'm worried about," the dual wielder barked.
"And I said to give it a rest mister…. what in the world's your name, anyway," the lady slayer asked.
"What's my name," he gave a cocky grin, "It's Inosuke, Inosuke Hashibira! Don't you forget it!"
"How do you have a name if you were raised by boars," Susamaru scratched her head, "or is this where I find out you speak boar like John here speaks bird?"
"My name is written on my loincloth!" The now named Inosuke declared while pointing a thumb at himself.
"Wait, the boars taught you how to read? The fuck kind of boars raised you?!" The Temari Demon asked in surprise. Sure, she'd been around for a century or so at this point but that didn't mean she'd heard every weird thing there was to hear.
"I can't read and write!" Inosuke barked, "I just know it says-guh!" An odd look crossed his face then as he suddenly seemed to be staring off into space.
"You okay there, kid," John asked, voicing the thought on most of their minds at that particular moment. Even if he wasn't so noisy it was certainly odd for someone to stop talking in midsentence like that. The reason as to why he'd stopped speaking became clear then when his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed onto the ground.
"It looks like that head butt finally got to him," Mary rubbed the back of her head, "I must've hit him harder than I thought."
"After seeing that I have to ask if you're okay, Mary," John felt his wife's forehead, "are you feeling any dizziness or pain up here?"
"I know I got a bit of a bump on the front of my head," she felt the spot where it hurt the most, "but I'm not feeling like I'm about to fall over or anything."
"What even possessed you to head butt him in the first place?" Susamaru asked while keeping an eye on the downed slayer.
"I kinda just reacted," the lady slayer admitted, "I met him earlier and found out he wasn't so great at listening so I improvised a little. I didn't think I'd actually hit him that hard."
"The problem is solved for the moment so I won't raise any complaints unless you collapse later," John spoke up, "now, what do we do about him?"
"I can take him outside and look after him," Mary offered, "I'm pretty confident I can stop him again if I need to. You three keep looking for the demon and that Zenitsu kid, assuming he's not dead."
"Now that we're not being shifted all over the house anymore it should be easier," the former hunter nodded, "make sure those kids are okay out there, too."
"Shi-I mean shoot," Mary seemed to suddenly remember something, "hey, you still back there Kiyoshi?!"
"Yeah," the boy in the orange kimono poked his head out, "is it safe now? You said to wait here until it's safe."
"It's safe alright," the slayer woman nodded before indicating the people around her, "this man is my husband I told you about, John. This young man with the mask on his face is my son, Jonathan, and this girl here is Susamaru, the newly adopted big sister."
"For the record I never signed anything, I've been kidnapped and brought here against my will," the demon girl remarked while crossing her arms.
"See, nothing to worry about," Mary smiled while ruffling the girl's hair, causing her to grumble childishly while swatting at her hand. "Everyone, this is Kiyoshi, the older brother the other two were looking for."
"Pleased to meet you," he bowed a little hesitantly.
"No need to worry about these two," John assured while indicating the two demons, "as my wife said, they're with us."
"I can tell you all about them outside," Mary picked up Inosuke then and threw him over her shoulder, "but first, let's get you back to your siblings."
"Right," Kiyoshi nodded before hurrying after Mary as she made her way towards the entrance.
"This way," her crow Juyago called, acting as their guide. As soon as the three of them disappeared from view down another one of the hallways, the two demons turned to John.
"Alright, let's get to it then," Susamaru sighed, "I'm not quite ready to go back in that box just yet and this house looks pretty nice."
"If we find any bodies you're not allowed to eat them," the slayer shot a look in her direction.
"Ugh, fine," she rolled her eyes, "but you'll need to do something about that problem eventually. Unlike your son I've devoured human flesh already and while I don't know all of the changes that've happened to my body yet I don't think I'm exactly like him when it comes to getting hungry."
"We'll figure it out," John assured, "for now do you think you're in danger of developing that hunger right this minute?"
"No," the Temari Demon shook her head, "I've been feeling pretty satisfied for a while now. I've got no idea when I'll get hungry again but I'm warning you now so I don't lose my head over an incident that isn't my fault."
"I'll think about it," the slayer smirked in amusement, "but who knows, maybe one of the changes to your body is your head remaining alive when it gets cut off. Just imagine it, 'you' could be the Temari in that scenario."
"Hmph! I'll stick to having my head on my body, thank you very much," she turned away then and started down another hallway. "Now let's go, we've got work to do."
A Couple Hours Later
The trio searched high and low for the demon but could find no trace of her in the mansion. The only glimpse they caught of her was when the sun started to go down and the shadows from the forest grew. The group heard a window break and went to investigate, finding it torn completely out. "Damn it," John grit his teeth, "once night falls completely she'll be able to go as far as she wants."
"Do you think she'll go after Mary and the kids," Susamaru questioned. She wasn't personally all that concerned about it but losing the Breath of Wind user would mean losing one of the people who could keep her from getting decapitated by the Corps.
"You two head that way and I'll look for tracks," the former hunter leapt out the window and started inspecting the ground. The two demons followed after him before turning and running back towards the front of the house, thankful the sun was already behind the mountain which blocked its rays. It was there they found Mary and all three children along with Zenitsu and the still unconscious boar fighter. 'Seriously, how hard did she head butt him,' Susamaru wondered again briefly as they approached.
"Jonathan, Susamaru," Mary turned to them. Her haori was currently off as it was being used for a pillow to support Inosuke's head. Zenitsu's was being used as a blanket, leaving him in the standard slayer uniform. "Where's John at?"
"Still trying to track down the demon," she answered with a sigh, "for being a nearly nine foot tall woman she can apparently change her size pretty well. We couldn't find her before the sun started to set and now she got out of the mansion."
"So John's going to be a little bit," Mary nodded in understanding before noting a small annoyance clinging to her back, "Zenitsu, what is it?"
"Those are demons, can't you see those are demons?!" He practically yelled while pointing at the duo.
"Yes, this is Jonathan and Susamaru, I told you earlier they were the ones riding in the box," Mary reminded.
"This is them, and they're really demons," he looked back and forth between the mother and the demon duo.
"Yes, but they're not bad demons," the lady slayer assured, "well Susamaru's recently reformed so the jury's still out on that."
"Gee thanks," the Temari Demon put her hands on her hips, "glad to know you appreciate my work so far."
"This is the first job you've been on," Mary reminded, "you'll have to keep at it for a bit before we can actually say we appreciate your hard work."
"Goody, my new bosses are slave drivers," Susamaru rolled her eyes, "anyway, it looks like everything's alright over here so maybe we should go back and help John-AAAAAAAAAH!" A sudden and very familiar yell caused them all to jump a bit. The source became clear very quickly as Inosuke jumped up from his resting place on the ground.
"HE'S AWAKE!" Zenitsu began running.
"Don't run it'll just make him want to chase you more," Mary called. Naturally this advice fell on deaf ears as the boar boy began chasing the blond around the yard.
"Fight me! Fight me now!" Inosuke demanded.
"I can't believe he's like this right after waking up!" Zenitsu cried before moving and hiding behind the other children. This caused the dual wielder to pause for a moment as he noticed they were all surrounding a spot on the ground marked with recently dug up earth and rocks.
"What in the world are you up to? TELL ME!" Inosuke demanded while pointing a finger at them.
"Good grief," Mary sighed before indicating the dug up portion of earth, "We're having a burial. Several people died in that mansion and not all of them were eaten whole."
"What, a burial," the boar boy quirked an eyebrow, "what's the point of burying things that have died in the ground?"
"You were raised by boars so you should know what happens to a carcass if it's left to rot out in the open," the Breath of Wind User narrowed her eyes, "and above all it's respectful. We're returning those who lived to the earth from whence they came and creating a place for their loved ones to come too and pay their respects."
"Screw that," Inosuke growled, "quit messing around and fight me!"
"Why," Mary deadpanned, "I've got no reason too."
"Of course you do! You're strong and that makes you worth fighting!" He shot back.
"Doesn't mean I have to fight," the mother pointed out, "I don't know why you're so hung up on it and I don't care. I've still got a job to do here." The sound of running footsteps alerted them to a new arrival as John came rushing around the corner.
"Everything alright, I heard screaming," he looked around before the dual wielder jumped in front of him and pointed, "You! Fight me!"
"No," he flat out refused, "I came here to make sure everyone's alright."
"We're fine," Mary assured, "all the yelling is that idiot in front of you."
"I don't get what the problem is!" Inosuke pointed at him, "You're both good at fighting so fight me!"
"We've been over this, we're slayers and slayers don't fight each other," John sighed, "just wait until the next demon shows up. Right now we've got other work to do."
"No you don't!" The boar boy indicated the grave, "all you're doing is putting dead people in the ground, that's not work!"
"If you think so then maybe you can help us," the slayer suggested, "we found a few more bodies while we were in there."
"Screw that," Inosuke growled, "just fight me already!"
"All this talk about fighting and how tough you are yet you refuse to do a little manual labor," John shook his head, "hardly the attitude for a man to have."
"What did you say," the dual wielder grit his teeth.
"I'm saying you're a big wuss," the former hunter shrugged, "if you were really as strong as you pretended to be then burying a few bodies should be a breeze. But here you are shying away from a chance to show off your strength, it's honestly sad."
"I'll show you," Inosuke started jumping up and down in a rage, "I'll bury a hundred corpses, no, two hundred corpses! Just you watch!"
Another Hour Later
With everyone working together to find and bury the bodies it was over and done with in a fairly short amount of time. Depressingly, however, they wound up burying a total of eight bodies. Most of the slayers shuddered to think how many more had been eaten that they didn't know about. But they put those thoughts aside and knelt down to offer their prayers with the children.
Susamaru stood off to the side keeping an eye on Inosuke, who was unfortunately breaking the silence of the otherwise serene moment by charging and ramming his once again mask covered head into a nearby tree. "What's that strange man doing," the little girl, whose name was Teruko, asked upon witnessing the sight.
"Just look the other way," her elder brother, Kiyoshi, wisely advised. Fortunately their attention was diverted by the arrival of John's crow, Tennoji.
"Descend the mountain! Descend the mountain!" He squawked as Juyago flew in behind him.
"Is that crow talking," the younger brother, Shoichi, asked nervously.
"It's all a bit too much, isn't it," Kiyoshi sweat dropped.
"It really is," Teruko nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, they're with us too," Mary assured.
"It's time to follow yours truly, down the mountain!" Tennoji continued to caw while circling above them. They would need to hurry as the sun had been behind the mountain for some time, already casting longer and longer shadows. No doubt night would fall quite soon. Unfortunately, as they began their trek down the dual wielder noticed them and halted his head butting of the tree.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" He interrogated while stepping towards them.
"Our work here is done," Mary informed matter-of-factly, "we're heading down the mountain now."
"But we haven't finished our battle!" Inosuke clenched his fists.
"Give it a rest," John sighed, "if you want a fight just wait for the next mission to come up. In the meantime, we need to get these kids home safely."
"No, we're doing this right now, let's fight!" The boar boy continued to insist but they ignored him and began their trek down the mountain. Thankfully, he eventually got tired of asking them and resumed his exercise of slamming his head into the nearest tree. Shortly after that, the group would come to a fork in the road.
"Halt here," Tennoji ordered as he flew over to Kiyoshi, "hold out your hands." The boy was naturally confused by this request but did as instructed. The crow seemed to gag then before hacking up a small purple pouch into his hands. Naturally a look of horror crossed the boy's face as his hands were now covered in bird throw up.
"Did you have to give it to him like that," John asked as his crow landed on his shoulder. All he received in response was his crow's chuckling.
"What even is this stuff anyway," Kiyoshi asked in understandable confusion.
"It looks like a bag of wisteria," Mary noted.
"What's that," Teruko questioned as she and her other sibling also looked at the bag.
"It's a type of flower that demons hate," the lady slayer informed.
"That bag you have there is a demon repellant," her crow, Juyago declared while sitting on her shoulder, "it will ward off any other demons seeking your Marechi blood. Be sure to keep it on your person at all times!"
"Best make a necklace out of it or something like that," Mary suggested, "you definitely don't want to lose it."
"Right, I'll hold on to it," he nodded, "though I am gonna need to clean it up a little. Anyway, thank you both for everything, we can make it back from here on our own."
"You sure, it's pretty much dark now," John pointed out.
"We know the way," Shoichi assured, "and with this wisteria stuff you gave us we should be able to make it without any problems. You did say you had another mission coming up, right?"
"Given the attitudes of our crows it probably won't be long," Mary noted, "alright then, take care of yourselves."
"We will," Kiyoshi nodded. They all waved goodbye then and went their separate ways.
"Now follow us!" Juyago called as she took to the air once more.
"Yes! Follow yours truly!" Tennoji added as they again led them down the trail. It would've been a peaceful trip if not for the obvious sixth wheel.
"Come on! Fight me already losers!" Inosuke continued to demand.
"We have names, you know," the swordswoman sighed in annoyance, "my name's Mary and this is John, Jonathan, Susamaru and Zenitsu."
"Alright Gary, I'm gonna bring you down!" He shifted his arms in a similar manner to a martial arts fighter.
"Gary's a boy's name you jackass," she growled.
"Mary," John chided, "He's just doing it to rile you up. Don't take the bait."
"Then why don't you fight me, Don?!" Inosuke pointed at him.
"Wait, let me try something," Susamaru spoke up, "you, boar boy, what's my name?"
"You're Kumasaru, right?" He glanced at her.
"Oh no he's not doing it on purpose," the Temari Demon didn't know if she should laugh or cry at the development, "the idiot legitamitely can't get names right."
"Hey, who're you calling an idiot!" Inosuke fumed as steam shot out of the nostrils of his mask.
"This is going to be a long walk," Mary sighed.
Some Time Later: An Unknown Mansion
The moon had gotten high up into the sky by the time they arrived at the location designated by their crows. But unlike the previous mansion this one wasn't in a creepy location in the mountains or the middle of the woods. "So is this supposed to be our next mission spot," Mary asked while pointing at the door, "and why does the gate have a Wisteria crest on it."
"CAW!" John's crow spoke up, "it's time for rest, it's time for rest!"
"That's funny," the former hunter remarked, "you've had us running around for the last three missions. Why are we stopping to rest now?"
"Some of you have sustained injuries!" Tennoji pointed out, "now is the time to rest and heal!"
"I just spent the last mission fighting while injured," John reminded, "that's part of the reason the last demon got away."
"Kekekeke," his crow merely laughed, albeit nervously.
"Hey, let's eat this thing," Inosuke pulled on the bird's tail, causing him to go wide-eyed. Fortunately for him he was saved from a potential roasting by the smaller door at the gate opening to reveal a short old woman with a red kimono and her grey hair done up in a massive bun.
"Yes, can I help you," the woman asked politely.
"Good evening, mam," John bowed, "I'm sorry for bothering you so late at night but we were told to come here."
"Is, is that a ghost," Zenitsu asked nervously, "that has to be a ghost!"
"Be quiet," Mary elbowed him.
"And just who are you supposed to be," Inosuke tried to stalk forward but was stopped by John.
"Will you please settle down," he grunted in annoyance.
"Am I to presume you are all demon slayers?" The old woman, undisturbed by the two boy's attitudes questioned.
"Yeah, what's it to ya?!" The boar boy growled before being hit on the top of the head by his fellow slayer.
"Just let me handle this," he sighed.
"My head still hurts from earlier," Inosuke grumbled but was ignored.
"Yes mam, we're all slayers from the Demon Slayer Corps," the former hunter explained.
"Then please come in," she requested politely. The group did as she asked, noting the garden beyond the gates was pretty well kept thanks to the moonlight illuminating it.
"This little old lady sure walks fast," Zenitsu noted. She didn't react to this comment and instead led them inside the one story mansion.
"This is where you'll be staying until you are recovered," the old woman informed. She seemed to disappear then until they got to the next room and slid open the door. "Here is a change of clothes." They were regular grey kimonos one would normally wear as sleepwear.
Naturally Mary and Susamaru changed in the other room. The demon girl had swiftly switched to a more human appearance after seeing they were approaching a residence. Once everyone was changed they went to another room. "Here is a hot meal," the old woman was once again already in the room which had a small table set up for every one of them with rice, shrimp tempura, and other foods.
"I told you she's a monster!" The blond slayer yelled, "there's no way some old lady could move this fast! She's a monster grand-AAAAAAH!" The boy was thankfully silenced by a quick chop to the head from Mary.
"Will you stop being rude," the swordswoman ordered, "She's just well-practiced from taking care of so many slayers." Whatever the case, it was good to sit down for a pleasant meal after eating on the road so many times. Or at least it would've been pleasant if not for Inosuke trying to steal both John and Mary's food in order to provoke a fight. Naturally he tried to make it worse by giving them a shit-eating grin.
But before John or Mary could say anything about it, Jonathan and Susamaru put their food on his table. "Here," the demon girl offered, "I don't have an appetite right now for obvious reasons." Jonathan added a hum and a nod to this. This kind gesture only succeeded in making the boar fighter mad as he grumbled incoherently in annoyance as the Temari Demon chuckled in amusement.
After they finished their meal the group was led to the next room where the old woman was once again waiting for them, this time with prepared bedding. "This is where you'll be sleeping tonight," she bowed respectfully to them.
"I told you, a monster ha-GAH!" Zenitsu was again silenced by Mary hitting him on the head. Meanwhile, Inosuke dove for the first bed at the end.
"I'll be taking this one," he laughed with a smug look on his face.
"Sure, there are beds for all of us," John pointed out, "sleep wherever." Once again this infuriated the fighting obsessed boy as they failed to take the bait and he pitched his pillow at the man. Unfortunately John's reflexes were still up to par and he dodged out of the way, causing the pillow to hit Zenitsu instead.
"Why me," the blond slayer groaned. A knock on the door came then.
"The doctor has arrived," the old woman announced as a middle-aged gentleman with long black hair, a goatee, and a white doctor's coat entered the room.
"Greetings," he took off his brown hat and bowed. He got to work examining everyone after that and quickly discovered who had the most severe injuries.
"It seems you two have the worst injuries," the doctor indicated Inosuke and John, "you both have broken ribs and you sir also have a sprained left leg. You, boy, have a concussion in addition to your broken ribs. Mam, you have a possible concussion and a strained wrist."
"Damn, so that's why it's been hurting for a little while now," Mary looked at her right wrist.
"When did you get that injury," John asked, naturally concerned for his wife.
"I took a hit in Asakusa," she rolled her throbbing arm a little, "then I battered my way through a powerful demon's attacks to take him down which probably finished the job."
"Oh, you took a hit in Asakusa," Susamaru laughed weakly, "when did that happen?"
"I wonder," Mary grinned evilly, "I also wonder what I should do to pay that person back?"
"Sorry," the Temari Demon bowed in apology.
"The rest of you are alright, though the blond boy also has a possible broken rib," the doctor revealed.
"What, when did that happen," Susamaru asked, "You seemed fine this whole time."
"I took a nasty punch to the stomach on my last mission," Zenitsu explained, "I don't know what happened but when I regained consciousness the demon was gone. That's why I was so certain I was gonna die on this one. But I thought the pain was just me being super nervous."
"Probably didn't help," John sighed. The doctor went ahead and prescribed rest for the next few weeks for those with the most severe injuries. Naturally Mary would hang around with John until he was fully healed which meant Jonathan and Susamaru would also be there for the duration. No one would make Zenitsu or Inosuke stay but they were also free to hang around until everyone was fully healed.
But for now, they all settled down in the room they'd be sleeping in. "Man, this is all pretty nice," Susamaru sighed contentedly on her bed while putting her arms behind her head, "what's the deal with all this hospitality?"
"This is one of the homes of a wealthy family," Mary explained from the far side of the room. She was currently busying herself with brushing Jonathan's hair since it got a little disheveled in the last fight. "At some point during their history the family was saved by the demon slayers and now they act as a place for us to rest and recover free of charge."
"It really pays to be with the Demon Slayer Corps," Inosuke chuckled.
"Where did you hear that, anyway," Zenitsu asked.
"From the scary old woman," she shrugged, "I asked while you guys were getting looked at by the doctor."
"Oh, really," the blond laughed nervously at that, quite ready to take her word for it.
"By the way," a thought occurred to John, "Inosuke, how did you wind up with the Demon Slayer Corps if you were raised by boars?"
"Huh," the boar fighter gave him a slight side eye, "a member of the Corps came looking for me on my mountain because someone thought I was a demon. We competed to see which one of us was stronger and I took his blade when I won. He told me all kinds of things after that like how demons were real and where Final Selection was being held."
"And why did that pique your interest," Mary dared to ask.
"Simple," Inosuke put his boar mask on, "my one joy in this life is testing my strength against others."
"Sounds like someone needs a hobby," Susamaru remarked.
"You're one to talk," John snorted.
"Since we're on the subject, could you two tell me why you joined the Demon Slayer Corps and how in the world you're getting along with two demons?" Zenitsu inquired.
"Well Susamaru here is something of a recent addition," the swordsman explained, "we kind of adopted her at Jonathan's request, he's always wanted a big sister."
"I still haven't agreed to that whole bit," The Temari Demon crossed her arms, "I just came along because you guys are the least likely to kill me right now." John just shrugged as he continued.
"To answer your other question, Zenitsu," he indicated the demon boy, "Jonathan there is our son. He was looking after the house when he got attacked and turned by Muzan Kibutsuji. But despite being a demon he's shown remarkable self-control and even fights against other demons to protect the innocent. We joined the Demon Slayer Corps because we hoped to find a cure for his condition."
"You think demonification can be cured," the blond boy tilted his head in confusion.
"No one's really tried before ever since the Corps was founded," Mary picked up for her husband, "but shortly after we became slayers we ran into a doctor who claimed it was possible if we collected samples from the right demons. Obviously they won't hand something like that over but it won't stop us from doing what we need to do."
"So you're trying to turn your son back to normal?" Zenitsu teared up at that, "oh that's a beautiful story!"
"Thanks, but you don't have to feel sorry for us or anything," John assured, "we're just doing what any good parents would do. No doubt our son would do whatever it took to help us if we befell the same fate." Jonathan nodded and mumbled with a close-eyed smile at that statement.
"That must be nice," Susamaru mused, "I can't really remember my family all that well."
"Why's that," Mary asked, genuinely curious what the story was on their apparent newest family member.
"For most demons we go berserk when we turn and slaughter anyone nearby, even our family but you knew that much, I'm sure," she began, "what most people don't know is we do regain our senses and memories after a bit but they still work a lot like humans do. If we don't think about something for a long time or don't give it too much thought we forget things. Since I've been alive for close to two centuries now I've forgotten a lot of things from my childhood."
"Do you at least remember whether or not your family loved you," John decided to ask.
"I'd like to think they did," Susamaru contemplated, "I'd like to think my life was happy because I love games so much and like having fun."
"Well look at the bright side," Mary suggested, "if we succeed and you become human again, you'll be able play Temari out in the sun and at night."
"I guess there are worse things," Susamaru turned over on her bed, "anyway, I used up some energy today so I'm going to sleep a little. Don't worry, I'll be back in the box in the morning." And with that everyone fell asleep as their time of recovery began at the home of the Wisteria family. They were going to need it.
And so the saga of the Tsuzumi Mansion has come to an end, but this won't be the last time we see the demon Maru. So that's something to look forward too along with the upcoming arc, so in the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! And do stop by my Pat reon for news, scene samples, and other cool tidbits. Last thing, swing by for the next chapter as our heroes are given a faithful mission to a very scary mountain! 'Til then.