Growing Family
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Winds, Waves, And Chains! Susamaru is about to get an interesting proposition this chapter, what will her response be? And speaking of questions, for news about this and other stories stop by my Pat reon for some info, scene samples, and possibly even a Pat reon exclusive! Now then I believe that covers all the announcements and with no guest review questions this week, to the story we go!
Nighttime: The Residence of Lady Tamayo
Annoying, aching pain. That was a good way to describe John's current physical state right about now. He'd already taken a beating earlier in the fight and thanks to the Arrow Demon's last little stunt, the slayer had been sent flying in every direction imaginable. Using his Breath Forms, John had been able to more or less neutralize the impact of what would've otherwise been very nasty landings.
But he'd had to do it over and over again, going through more forms in succession then he'd ever done before, even in training. His arms were beyond sore now, to the point he couldn't summon up the strength to grip his sword anymore. John also felt that one or two of his ribs might be cracked as a result of all the pain and stress from the fight. The cherry on top was his leg was probably strained, too.
'Mary, Jonathan,' the former hunter thought while trying to move against the pain, 'I'll be there soon, but you'll have to do without me until some of my strength returns.' It was when he got around the house after a couple of minutes that he heard a commotion. What made it strange was this was not the commotion of a fight, per se, but rather annoyed yelling. "What in the world is going on over there," John couldn't help but muse aloud as he finally got a look at the situation that was unfolding.
"I said let go of me already you little bastard!" Susamaru was currently turning around in circles, trying to free herself from Jonathan's surprisingly strong grip. But so far all she was succeeding in doing was swinging the demon boy around in the air, which was just making him laugh happily.
"Jonathan, please," Mary sighed, "she's one of Muzan's flunkies, we can't adopt her." The lady slayer's son simply mumbled back his own odd bit of logic. "She's not trying to have fun she's trying to kill all of us. That game of kickball you were playing earlier would've been lethal for your father and I if the Temari had hit either of us!"
"Excuse me, fun is exactly what I've been trying to have this evening," Susamaru shot back, "just because this was the job I was given doesn't mean I can't enjoy it!"
"Would you just kill her already," Yushiro grunted in frustration, "that woman hurt Lady Tamayo and is after your lives, so quit fooling around."
"You think," Mary clamped a vise-like grip down on the assistant's scalp, "I'm going to risk cutting off my own son's head? And before you blurt out how you don't care, do recall you haven't gotten a sample of his blood yet. However you slice it, I'm not about to endanger my son just because you're feeling vengeful." The sound of squelching flesh reached their ears then as they turned to see that Susamaru had bitten into Jonathan's arm.
This finally got the demon boy to let go but not without a small chunk of his arm still remaining in the girl's mouth. "Ah, fucking A," the Temari Demon coughed, "way more of that got in my mouth than I wanted." Jonathan began gesturing and mumbling to here while pointing at his quickly healing arm. "I have no idea what you're saying, dumbass."
"He's wondering if you want to play another game," Mary translated, "also, he says you should say please more often."
"I came here to kill you dicks!" Susamaru reminded angrily while summoning more of her Temari, "we're way past manners, and how can you even understand what he's saying?"
"I'm the boy's mother," she reminded, "and there are certain patterns you can pick out in the noises he's making and what he's doing. Jonathan would be quite happy if we taught you how to understand him."
"I'll pass," the demon girl grinned evilly, "but I will take him up on that offer for another game. This time I'm going all-." She stopped speaking suddenly, as if her entire body had simply frozen up. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head then as she fell backwards on the ground.
The Temari demon's weapons disappeared then, and her four extra arms retreated back into her body. "What in the world," Yushiro voiced the thought on everyone's head as Jonathan knelt down next to the girl and started poking her head.
"Keep your guard up, Jonathan," Mary warned while cautiously approaching with her sword at the ready, "it's always possible this could be a trick. And even if it's not, there's no telling when she'll wake up." Her son simply looked at her while mumbling and pointing at the downed demon. "Yes, thank you for confirming she's out cold, but like I said, we don't know how long she's gonna stay that way."
Jonathan mumbled a few more words before pointing at his nose. "Her scent is changing," Mary raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean her scent is changing?"
"Here, allow me," Tamayo moved in close, nodding to the slayer who kept her sword near the demon girl's head, just in case. The demon doctor produced a syringe with a needle then and pressed it to the demon's skin, withdrawing a sample of her blood. "Bring her inside."
"What, bring her inside?!" Yushiro repeated in disbelief, "She's our enemy!"
"Perhaps not for long," the doctor stood up, "I need to get this blood beneath a microscope to examine immediately. Yushiro, you help them bring in the girl and tend to their injuries."
"Very well," her assistant huffed, "but I'm throwing the woman in the cell!"
"Do what you feel you must, just don't kill her yet," Tamayo responded before heading inside.
"You heard her, let's get this over with," Yushiro spotted John and went over to help him, leaving Mary and Jonathan to deal with Susamaru. Fortunately for them both, the demon boy had no problem picking her up and happily trotting inside. 'He still thinks he's gonna get a sister out of this,' the boy's mother shook her head, 'and I haven't the heart to tell him that's probably not going to happen.'
An Hour Later
"Huh, what," Susamaru's eyes fluttered open. Her head hurt and her body felt tingly all over, like it was busy trying to regain sensation in her limbs.
"Looks like she's waking up," a voice the Temari Demon recognized as an enemy entered her ears. On instinct the demon girl shot up, only to feel a tug at both her wrists.
"What in the," the girl discovered that her wrists were in cuffs that were chained to the wall. And once her head stopped spinning she realized the slayer who'd spoken was on the other side of a wooden cell. A glance to her right revealed it was actually one of two cells, with the other possessing a currently sleeping demon man. "What's going on, what did you do to me?!"
"To my understanding it's more a question of what did you do to yourself," John corrected, "I can assure you this wasn't my or Mary's idea."
"Oh that makes me feel so much better," Susamaru commented sarcastically, "does this mean I'm dealing with a couple of sadistic types?"
"Guess there might be some slayers like that among the Corps," the former hunter admitted, "but I follow the hunter's doctrine and try to minimize the suffering of my prey when I take their life."
"So then you won't be doing the torturing," the Temari Demon raised an eyebrow.
"You're assuming far too much," Tamayo appeared then with Mary, Jonathan, and Yushiro right behind her. Jonathan couldn't resist waving at the prisoner in the cell. "We didn't put you in there for torture. I simply wished to confirm something."
"Confirm what, exactly," the demon girl asked in annoyance. Of all the ways she saw this evening going this was definitely not one of them. In answer to her question, Tamayo produced a vial from her sleeve.
"The cause of your sudden loss of consciousness," the doctor explained, "It is most unusual for demons to lose consciousness the way you did as you're most certainly not malnourished, nor did I see Jonathan perform any sort of technique which would've rendered you unconscious. But after testing your blood, I've found that Jonathan was still responsible, or rather, your attempts to get him off of you is what led to the current situation."
"How does me getting him off cause me to go unconscious," Susamaru raised an eyebrow, "and wipe that stupid look off your face!"
"Sorry," Mary covered her mouth to hide her smile, "I think you should work on your phrasing."
"Bite me, grandma," the Temari Demon snarked.
"Biting," Tamayo interrupted before the two could get into a competition of insults, "is actually the reason you're in there right now. You ingested some of Jonathan's blood when you bit his arm, didn't you?"
"On accident," Susamaru defended, "I didn't think I was biting down so hard it'd cause his arm to shoot out blood."
"Whatever your intentions," the doctor continued unabated, "your ingestion of his blood caused a change in your body. I took a sample of your blood and found that it was unlike a typical demon's. Your cells are now healthier and more vibrant, and you can even defy Muzan."
"Defy," the demon girl repeated with a scoff, "why would I ever defy that man? He's given me power beyond any mortal being and has promised even more power should I continue to serve him faithfully."
"I'm sure Kibutsuji has said many things," Tamayo knelt so that she was closer to eye level with the captive, "but as a person who was once under his thumb I can assure you, that man speaks nothing but falsehoods."
"What would you know," Susamaru spat, "you threw away everything he had to offer and ran."
"And I imagine he never told you why," the woman hummed, "the reason I am a fugitive, the reason he cannot kill me with but a word is because I was there to witness his near defeat."
"Impossible!" The chains on the wall groaned as they struggled to restrain the demon girl lunging at the cage door, "no one can bring that man low!"
"He is already low," Tamayo revealed, "Muzan Kibutsuji gives off the appearance of one who is powerful beyond measure, but I know the truth. The reason he does not allow demons to gather in large numbers, the reason he puts a curse in our blood and hides himself away in that fortress of his. It's because the man you so idolize is, in truth, a coward."
"You don't know a thing!" The chains groaned more as some of the links started to come apart, "You can't possibly imagine the might and power of Lord Kibutsuji!" A sudden realization dawned on the demon girl then as she suddenly stopped pulling on her restraints and clamped her hands over her mouth.
"You have spoken Muzan's name," the doctor informed grimly, "I imagine you're aware of the consequences of such an action." Yushiro noticed a small trickle of blood then, realizing the doctor had used her blood demon art to affect the girl's temperament and cause her to act more rashly. The scratches were healing now, meaning she'd accomplished what she set out to do.
"NO! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" Susamaru yelled seemingly to the Heavens before covering her head with her hands and cowering against the wall. Neither John nor Mary were sure what was supposed to be happening right now as the Temari Demon continued to tremble for a couple of minutes. And then they waited another couple of minutes.
"Um, is there something happening to her insides," John whispered, "she's acting really dramatic right now."
"Huh," the girl opened her eyes then and felt her body, "what's going on? He said I'd be dead if I ever spoke his name in the presence of an enemy. Why am I still alive?"
"You are still alive because of Jonathan," Tamayo indicated the demon boy, "when you ingested his blood it entered your body and mixed with your own, causing a mutation. The result is your body altered, changing some things and ridding itself of certain other ailments, in this case, Kibutsuji's curse."
"I… I can say his name," Susamaru had a look of utter disbelief on her face, "Kibutsuji, Kibutsuji, Kibutsuji, Muzan Kibutsuji!" Again she waited and once again the demon girl was met with nothing. "How can this be? How could some random guy cancel out the lord of all demons?"
"Because he is not as all powerful as he seems," Tamayo answered, "do you believe me now, when I say I've witnessed Kibutsuji being brought low? Though it has been five hundred years since that day, I remember it like it was yesterday. I had been made to follow along with Muzan after trying to fight him. We encountered a man who wielded a Breath Form unlike anything I'd ever seen, so powerful it slowed Kibutsuji's regeneration to a crawl."
She narrowed her eyes then, "the lord of demons lives now only because he ran and hid long enough for the slayer to die of old age. But no doubt that time is etched into his memory, a man with a bright red blade and Hanafuda earrings. They actually closely resemble yours, Mrs. Keller."
"Oh, these," Mary pointed at the earrings she was wearing, practically having forgotten she still had them on, "they're an old family heirloom. According to my mother they've been passed down through the generations. But before you ask, no, I don't know anything about a swordsman with a bright red blade."
"But it's all true," Susamaru looked down at the floor with wide eyes as sweat beaded on her forehead, "I saw it when I saw those earrings. That blade, that man, the emotions of that moment. Anger, hatred, rage… and fear."
"Yes," Tamayo nodded, "I am probably one of the only demons who has seen Muzan Kibutsuji afraid. His control over me was broken that day and I have devoted myself to helping others and working to solve the problem of demons ever since."
"But you said you tried to fight him before meeting that man," the Temari Demon recalled, "why did you try to fight Muzan?"
"Because he lied to me like he lied to you," the demon doctor revealed, "back when I was human I fell ill and was on the verge of death. That's when he appeared, promising a cure for my condition, but it was a lie. He turned me into a demon and I, in my newly transformed and starving state, killed my husband and children and several of the villagers of my home. When I finally regained my senses and realized what I had done, I tried to take vengeance on Muzan, but I could not stand against him."
"Just," Susamaru tried to find a hole in her logic, "just because he lied to you doesn't mean he lied to me."
"But he has lied to you," Tamayo revealed, "He said you were a member of the Twelve Kizuki, but your power is not on the level of a Kizuki. That man likely told you that you possessed the rank in order to ensure you continued to follow his orders."
"What would you know about the Kizuki," the Temari Demon growled, "I'm plenty strong, the only reason you won was because of that weirdness with his blood!" She shot a glare at Jonathan who merely blinked a few times, not intimidated in the least.
"I've personally witnessed Muzan create a few Kizuki," the doctor pointed to her eye, "a real member of the Twelve Kizuki has a number carved into their eye. The Lower Moons have the number in their left eye while the Upper Moons have the number and kanji for 'upper rank' in both eyes. Unless you've been hiding yours, there is no such number in either of your eyes. I have also witnessed the strength of a Lower Moon, and there's no way Jonathan here would've been able to overpower your Temari even with you holding back, nor would those chains on the wall be able to hold you like they are now if you really were a Lower Moon."
"I just wasn't serious back then," Susamaru pulled against her chains then, "but if you want to see my full strength, you've got it!" The chains snapped this time and the demon girl rammed into the cell door, breaking it open. But as she moved to attack with her Temari, she was tackled to the ground by Jonathan. He pointed to her weapon and shook his head.
"Jonathan says it's a bad idea to play inside," John informed, "he's pretty sure you'll both break something."
"I plan on breaking all of y-," she stopped speaking as Mary's blade was suddenly pressed against her neck. The demon girl looked up and could see the killing intent in her eyes. And even if she hadn't been looking in her eyes, the woman was absolutely radiating it right now.
"Think about this for a moment," the lady slayer spoke calmly but in a voice that invited no argument, "you have just been freed from Muzan's curse, you no longer have to do what he says now. Let's say you do kill us and go back to him, how do you think he'll reward you?"
"He'll make me stronger," Susamaru answered sheepishly, "he'll make me a real Kizuki!"
"But he'll also put his curse back on you," Mary pointed out, "I'm sure at this point you have no reason not to believe what Tamayo is saying. Muzan will not allow a demon to roam free, he'll either enslave them or kill them. You would've died just a couple minutes ago if not for Jonathan's blood in your system. And no matter how strong Muzan makes you, that curse will never be removed, because that bastard will never trust any demon that he can't control. All you have to do is slip up one time, just once, by saying his name at the wrong moment and it'll be all over with centuries of work going down the drain just like that."
"What," the Temari Demon took a breath to stop her voice from shaking, "what other choice do I have? The alternative is that I fight against Muzan and either get killed or put back under his control again."
"No, there's another path," John pointed out, "before you attacked us we were discussing with Lady Tamayo the possibility of a cure."
"Cure," Susamaru raised an eyebrow, "a cure to what?"
"Demonification," the male slayer answered, "Lady Tamayo believes she can find a way to turn demons back into humans."
"Turn a demon back into a human," the demon girl didn't know whether or not she should laugh, "Why would I want to be human again?"
"For one, we wouldn't have to kill you as is demanded by our profession as slayers," Mary pointed out, "in fact, we'd be inclined to protect you from Muzan if you helped us."
"You really think you can protect me from that man," Susamaru scoffed, "he's been alive at least a thousand years and has apparently only come close to being killed once."
"That is all 'I' know of," Tamayo informed, "that does not mean other instances haven't occurred. And I would also like to point out that Muzan has not succeeded in destroying the Demon Slayer Corps even after all these centuries."
"So what," the demon tried to sum up the situation, "say I do help you and get turned human again, I basically have to live in fear until I die?"
"You've been living in fear of Muzan up until now," John noted, "you only now realized just how quickly he'd end you for stepping out of line. Can you really go back to working under him now, and would he even let you live for failing to accomplish the task he gave you to do? You claim to know him so well, maybe you can tell us what he does to failures."
"It," Susamaru couldn't meet their eyes, "it depends on how badly someone messes up. That man might give me another chance to kill all of you."
"You don't sound so confident," Mary observed, "and there's still the matter that you're no longer under his direct control. I'm wondering if he'll even let you plead your case once he finds that out."
"I can explain it to him," the Temari Demon looked up, "it was all just an accident anyway. All he'd have to do is give me some more of his blood and-."
"And we'll find ourselves here all over again," the former hunter shook his head, "but given the fact that he'd issue you a death sentence just for uttering his name that man doesn't sound like the forgiving type."
"Well say I do abandon him and my mission," Susamaru growled, "is the Corps really just gonna let a demon join up and fight alongside them? How do I know you won't take my head the moment you get the opportunity?!" Jonathan would answer this question by moving forward and taking her hands. He'd mumble a few things before giving a closed-eye smile.
"There you go," Mary gestured to the boy, "our son wasn't joking when he said he wanted us to adopt you. For some reason he had a lot of fun playing kick ball with you and he wants to keep hanging out."
"And while we don't have to consider it an official adoption, we'll still protect you like one of our own," John continued for her, "we've already managed to convince two high profile slayers to let Jonathan live and if you agree to help find the cure for demonification there'll be even more incentive to keep you alive."
"So you'll keep me alive so long as I'm useful," the Temari Demon deadpanned, "that sounds so different from what my life already was."
"Wrong," the lady slayer shook her head, "even if we don't have a use for you anymore, we'll still give you the cure for demonification. I don't know what happened to your original family but if there's one thing I've learned, life is more bearable when you're surrounded by people who love you." Jonathan mumbled something that Susamaru loosely interpreted as 'Fun! Fun!' It didn't add much to what had already been said but it did put a little thought in her head.
Her original family? When was the last time she even tried to remember them? And did she have fun with them? As the demon girl concentrated on trying to recall even a minor detail about her past life, a sound entered her head.
It was a sound Susamaru would know anywhere, the sound of the bell ringing inside a Temari. But accompanying it was another sound she was less familiar with, or rather one she had not heard in many years: genuine, playful laughter. It was the laughter of both adults and children alike, the kind of laughter one would only hear from a happy family. And among all that laughter was Susamaru's own laughter.
But it was different from the way she laughed now. It was sweet and innocent, a laugh that was with others and not directed at others. 'When was the last time I laughed at something besides other people's pain,' Susamaru wondered while looking down at Jonathan. "I'll do it," the Temari Demon finally decided, "but I've got a few conditions."
"What would those be," John inquired.
"First off, I expect you to uphold all those claims about watching my ass," the demon girl began, "second, you keep your boy toy away from me, doctor lady."
"Boy toy!" Yushiro growled, "You listen here you-." He was silenced by Tamayo holding up a hand.
"Am I to take it that means you'll be staying with us to help engineer the cure?" She asked.
"I might go out once or twice with these folks to help when the mood strikes me," Susamaru cocked a thumb towards the Keller family, "but you two are better experts at hiding. And let's be honest, how bad is this family's luck that you'd run into Muzan Kibutsuji himself after, how long have you been slayers?"
"Officially," John did a little math in his head, "we've been slayers for give or take a week."
"A WEEK?!" The Temari Demon practically yelled, "you encountered him after only being slayers for a week?!"
"This is actually our second job," Mary laughed a little while rubbing her head.
"Nope, nu uh, fuck that," Susamaru made an 'x' with her hands, "I'll help out here, but you guys are on your own out in the fie-." She was interrupted when Jonathan suddenly hugged her waist and started shaking his head. "Hey, come on, you can't expect me to just go out there and risk my neck, it's not my job." The demon boy merely looked up at her with sad eyes before tightening his grip and burying his head in her side. "Oh for the love of, a little help here!"
"You don't know our son very well," John shook his head, "it's not often but when he gets bound and determined enough about something he wants, he usually keeps working at it until he gets it."
"Well he'll just have to settle for disappointment today," Susamaru crossed her arms and looked away, "because I'm not going with you guys." Jonathan made a pleading sound. "Nope, not gonna do it." She glanced down at the now surprisingly big puppy dog eyes of the demon boy then. "For the last time, I-."
A Short Time Later
"Cannot believe I'm doing this!" Susamaru groaned from inside of the box that Jonathan was now sharing with her.
"I personally think it's adorable that Jonathan has a playmate now," Mary laughed while patting the box on John's back.
"Just tell him not to snuggle me the whole way," the Temari Demon demanded, "I'm not a pillow, damn it!"
"Sounds like you two are getting along already," John remarked, getting an annoyed grunt in response from their new traveling companion.
"I still think it's risky for you to be bringing that woman along," Yushiro remarked, "She was trying to kill you hardly a few hours ago."
"We'll keep an eye on her," the former hunter assured, "besides, the alternative is she stays with you guys and I know you don't want that."
"She would just be disruptive to Lady Tamayo's work," the assistant crossed his arms and turned his head to hide the blush on his face, "It's better that she goes along with you. As demon slayers you can deal with her should she step out of line."
"I don't think it'll come to that," Mary mused, "still, it makes me wonder if we're going to pick up anyone else along the way."
"Hopefully not too many," John got the image of a whole caravan following them, "that'll make travel really difficult. Speaking of which, are you sure we'll be able to find you two later?"
"You needn't worry about finding us," Tamayo assured, "just follow the directions we gave you for collecting the demon's blood and it will find its way back to us."
"Can't wait to see that," the lady slayer remarked, "anyway, we'd better get going. No doubt our crows will be calling for us with our next mission soon."
"I wish safe travel to you both," Tamayo and Yushiro bowed. The Kellers bowed back before turning to leave.
"And Mrs. Keller," the assistant coughed, "I suppose I can admit that you were right. Your son is a handsome boy, the kind that can persuade even stubborn women."
"He does take after his father," Mary smiled back before pecking her husband on the cheek. The two slayers departed then and made their way out of the city. And as they expected, their crows were flying down to them again after the couple had been traveling on a country road for a bit.
"South-Southeast! South-Southeast!" The two crows cawed down at them, "your next location is due South-Southeast!"
"Yes, we heard you the first two dozen times," Mary rubbed her ear in annoyance, "are we not going in that direction already?!"
"We are," John assured, "our crows apparently just want to run their mouths."
"Wait, all that noise is really coming from talking crows," Susamaru called from the box that was now on Mary's back. They'd been switching it back and forth along the way.
"You didn't know we had something like that," the female slayer glanced at the box on her back.
"If I ever noticed it before I must not've thought it was very important," the Temari Demon did her best to shrug in the tight confines of the box. She did possess the ability, like Jonathan, to change her size, but that didn't change the fact that the box had technically been designed to carry only one person who was the size of a child. "How and why exactly do those things talk?" The slayer duo was about to answer but were interrupted by possibly the loudest declaration they'd ever heard.
"PLEAAAAAAASE!" The volume of this person's voice was so high that not only did the crows on their shoulders stop talking, the group felt as if a strong gust of wind had hit them. "Please, please, please, please marry me!" The source of this absurdly loud racket appeared to belong to a blond boy in a yellow haori just up the road from them.
The one he was pleading too, on his knees with his arms on her shoulders, was a girl in a blue kimono with two long braids. For obvious reasons she looked very uncomfortable with whatever turn of events had resulted in the current situation. "I could die any day, you know," the blond boy continued, "so please marry me so I don't die alone! I'm begging you!"
"What the shit's going on here," Mary had to suppress a shudder as she looked upon the odd scene before them.
"I recall my marriage proposal to you being a lot more romantic," John remarked.
"Really, I recall your delivery being a bit clumsy," his wife giggled with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, I was nervous," he defended, "even after dating you for so long that was a big step for the both of us."
"It was still cute though," she reminisced, "and we can't say it didn't work, dear husband."
"It definitely wasn't this sad scene," John nodded before a sparrow came flying over to them and landed in his hand. It quickly let off a series of chirps while waving its wings animatedly. It was obvious the bird was distressed about the current situation. "Oh, so that's what's happening."
"I forget sometimes that you can do that," Mary glanced at the bird, "so what do we do about this?"
"Looks like we're gonna have to step in," the former hunter sighed, "this little guy needs our help." The sparrow seemed to let out a cheer before John approached and seized the noisy slayer by the back of his shirt collar. With his current strength it was no problem for him to pull the boy off his poor victim and lift him up to eye level. "Alright kid that's enough, leave the lady be."
"Huh," the blond slayer looked at him, "you guys are, that pair of adults from Final Selection."
"And you're a full-fledged slayer," John pointed out, "quit embarrassing yourself by making a scene on the road." He promptly dropped the boy on the side of said road then as Mary approached the girl.
"That should take care of that," she assured, "do you need help with anything else while we're around?"
"No, thank you both," the girl bowed.
"HOLD ON!" The whining boy yelled, "Don't you two interfere! That girl is madly in love with me! The two of us are gonna get ma-AAAAAARGH!" His rant was cut short by the girl slapping him across the face. And she didn't stop with just one, she slapped him over and over again as he knelt down and covered his head with his hands. "Ouch! Hey! Stop! That hurts!"
"Should we do something about this," John glanced at his wife.
"Beat his ass, girl," was Mary's blunt response to that question.
"When did I ever say anything even resembling 'I love you'?!" She pointed angrily at the blond slayer, "I just went to see if you were okay because you were all crumpled up and disheveled on the side of the road!"
"Wait, you just wanted to see if I needed help and not because you were falling in love with me?" The boy seemed genuinely shocked by this so-called revelation.
"I already have a fiancé!" The girl revealed, "So yes I was just checking to see if you were okay and now that I see you clearly are, I'm going home!" She turned around in a huff then and marched away, leaving the somehow still confused slayer kneeling on the ground.
"Wait, come back," he tried reaching out.
"Just give it a rest," John sighed, "you're still a young man so there's plenty of time yet for you to find a girl."
"No, you don't understand," the slayer whined, "I'm definitely gonna die soon so that may have been my last chance. Why did you two have to interfere, it was none of your business." The couple merely gave him a look that was between bewilderment and disgust. "Why are you looking at me like that?! Stop staring at me like I'm some sort of pitiful creature!"
"You're definitely not a noble creature," Mary remarked.
"No, this is your fault," he pointed at them, "because of you two I missed out on getting married, so take responsibility!"
"You want some help, how about a little advice," John offered, "grow a spine." He and Mary turned to leave then.
"Hey, you can't just walk away like that!" The blond slayer called while running after them, "I said you need to take responsibility!"
"We've already got enough responsibilities," Mary waved dismissively without looking back.
"But I'm sure to die on the next job," the boy whined, "I don't know if you can tell but I'm miserably weak, that's why I need you two to protect me until I have another chance to get married!"
"Not to sound harsh," John called back sarcastically, "but I get the feeling that you procreating would be nothing but detrimental to this world."
"That is being harsh!" The boy yelled.
"What did you expect," the lady slayer glanced back, "you joined an organization that deals in the slaying of demons, did you really think that potential death wasn't something you were going to have to deal with?"
"I didn't join the Demon Slayer Corps because I wanted to!" The blond exclaimed, "I got conned by an older woman and racked up a huge debt! The old geezer who agreed to take it on for me turned out to be a cultivator for the Corps, a tough as nails instructor who made me train to the bone every day! It was so painful I just wanted to die! I was hoping it would happen during Final Selection but I somehow survived and this nightmare continues to haunt me!"
He rushed in front of the duo and leaned back into a bridge pose for some reason then. "I'm so scared, terrified, frightened! I know I'm gonna get eaten by a demon soon! My brains are gonna get sucked out through my ears while I'm still alive! So please save me!"
"I don't know what you're going on about," Mary raised an eyebrow before the two slayers went around him and continued walking, "you haven't got any brains to suck out of your ears."
"That's not the point!" The blond slayer yelled while running to catch up to them, "I just don't want to get eaten by a demon!"
"If you made it through Final Selection then your chances are better than you think," John shrugged, "it could also turn out the demon you're going after is a small fry."
"But what if it's not," the boy hung his head low while continuing to walk behind them.
"Then fight with everything you have," Mary responded, "that's what we're going to do. And not that I care, but where is your next job supposed to be, anyway?"
"If I understood correctly, it's supposed to be South-Southeast," the slayer answered.
"Ugh, of course it is," the lady slayer rubbed her head in annoyance, "guess it's your lucky day, bitch boy, because that's where we're going."
"Really," the tears finally stopped falling from his eyes, "Yes! I'm saved!"
"Yes, how joyous," John remarked sarcastically.
"That reminds me," their now apparent companion put a finger to his chin, "what are your names?"
"If you must know, my name is Mary Keller," she answered without looking back, "and this is my husband, John."
"Nice to meet you both, I'm Zenitsu Agatsuma," he introduced, "by the way, are you two foreigners?"
"Mary's family is originally from Japan," John explained, "they moved to America a generation or so ago. I'm American by birth and we both moved here because my wife wanted to live in the land of her ancestors. What about you? Blond hair is something of a rarity in this country, I should know."
"I can't really explain how it happened," Zenitsu pointed to his head, "my hair used to be black, but during my training with gramps I climbed up a tree when I was trying to get away from him and got struck by lightning. When I woke up, my hair color had changed to blonde."
"Once again it goes to show how freaky our jobs are that that's not the weirdest thing I've heard in the last couple of years," Mary mused.
"Speaking of training," John turned his head to look at the blonde boy, "what style to you use? I learned the Breath of Water and Mary learned the Breath of Wind."
"I learned the Breath of Thunder," Zenitsu hung his head, "or at least I tried to learn it. But I was only able to master the first form! And there aren't even that many forms in the Breath of Thunder, just six, SIX!"
"Your master let you go to Final Selection even though you only mastered one form," the lady slayer was genuinely surprised to hear this, "was he trying to get you killed?"
"He said that one form was all I needed," the boy hung his head lower, "and I tried to master the others, I really did! But even if I had a hundred years my body just seems physically incapable of doing the other forms!"
"Well if you're smart about it, maybe one's enough," the former hunter reasoned, "so long as you're able to cut off a demon's head you've got a chance."
"You're so optimistic," Zenitsu sighed, "don't demons scare you two?"
"Of course," John revealed, "but we've got a reason for fighting demons that keeps us going. That's why, even if we are scared, we still do what we've got to do."
"Speak for yourself," Mary snorted, "I doubt I'll find a demon in this world scarier than my sensei."
"Guess after the constant fear of being potentially blown off a mountain, nothing else is quite as frightening," her husband quipped, "but whether or not you're frightened, you should really learn to compose yourself better, Zenitsu. Even if you are scared, you can still avoid stressing out your sparrow."
"Wait, you can tell that my sparrow is stressed?" The blonde boy gave him a look of surprise.
"Ukogi, he told me his name, says you're always whining about going to work, that you're always hitting on girls, and you snore really loudly when you sleep," John held up said sparrow in his hand, "I'm sure there's more but those are his main complaints." The sparrow gave an affirmative chirp.
"He said all that," Zenitsu asked, "wait, you can understand bird language?!"
"I picked it up from some other hunters who lived in the same mountain range as us," he explained, "it actually helped my own hunts a few times in the past."
"You were a hunter before becoming a slayer," the blond boy gave him a look of disbelief, "no way, you have to be making that up." Before either he or Mary could answer, John's crow suddenly flew by overhead and started circling them.
"Run John and Mary!" The black bird ordered, "Run Zenitsu! Trouble has arisen at the location of your next mission!"
"Sounds like some civilians might be in danger," Mary turned to their third wheel, "hope you can r-." She stopped when she noticed the slayer was staring up in shock at the crow circling above.
"Wh-Wh-Wh," his lip trembled and his voice shook before he suddenly fell on the ground, "AAAAAAAAAHHH! That crow is talking to us!"
"This is going to be a long mission, isn't it," the lady slayer remarked to her husband before both of them sighed. Whatever the case, they didn't have time to explain everything to the screaming boy and instead took off at a run.
"Hey, wait for me!" Zenitsu called after leaping up and chasing after the duo. The group would reach their destination about an hour or so later. And it would prove to be a harrowing mission as they faced the many terrors of the Tsuzumi Mansion.
And so, the screaming blond thunder boy has been encountered! If the Kellers thought parenting was tough before, they're in for a surprise with this one. But that's for the upcoming chapters, so in the meantime feel free to leave a comment and review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! Also, check out my Pat reon for news, scene samples, and maybe even an exclusive piece! Last thing, stop in next time as our heroes face yet another multi-demon encounter! 'Til then.