Episode 6: First Mission, Act now!
It's a cold night in Sassuji, the wind is blowing strongly, the trees are whooshing back and forth, and a tense atmosphere fills the the whole town. Everyone wondering, "will it be me next?"
In the shadows a demon licks their lips hungrily. 'Ugh I might have to find a different town at this rate, not many people come out as often.' The demon growls to himself. He wanted to eat a few more kids before he left. Children are always so annoying and cruel, he wanted to hear more screams. No matter, the next town shouldn't be too far away.
The demon starts to walk away, if he keeps a moderate pace he should reach another town in a day or two, but as he does he hears something. Soft footsteps, like those of a child...
The demon rushes back and peers out of the alleyway, there! A young girl with long black hair with orange tips. She has on a pink kimono, she appears around 8. 'A perfect going away snack.' The demon thinks with a grin.
BLOOD DEMON ART: EXTENDED LIMBS
A long arm stretches out to 30 feet and grabs the little girl, before dragging her into the alleyway. The demon makes sure to cover her mouth so she doesn't scream, at least not yet.
"Hello little girl, didn't your mommy and daddy tell you not walk alone at night? Well it doesn't matter now, your now my food!" The demon laughs as he starts to take the girl into the forest nearby.
After a few moments, they arrive at a clearing. It has a wide space with no trees and a few red leaves on the ground. The main thing of notice, is the bones on the ground, the decaying flesh, and oh! Those leaves aren't red, their just covered in old blood.
The demon smirks as he uncoils his extended limb around the little girl, he does want to hear her delicious screams after all!
"So little one, don't you feel scared now? I bet if we looked hard enough I could find the skeleton of a friend of yours. And now your gonna join them! How about you introduce yourself, I'd love to know my meal before I devour them!" The demon exclaims as his hunger starts to hit him harder, first he'll play with his food, and then he'll eat her whole!
The little girl however, doesn't respond. She just looks at him a little bored. She glances around as if she expects someone to arrive. 'Doesn't she know that this is it? She's dead now, a walking corpse only still breathing because I'm enjoying myself?' The demon thinks incredulously.
"So you must be in shock, I'll introduce myself first then." The demon grins. "I go by the name Murata."
The little girl still doesn't react, she just blinks a little boredly...wait something is up with this girl. Her eyes, they look...different. And her scent, she smells weird compared to other children. The only scent he can compare to it...is the smell of his master when he transformed him. 'Wait is this girl...'
A loud noise is heard as someone runs into the clearing, an older child around 15, maybe 16? He has a weird scar on his forehead along with a green and black checkered Haori and a...demon slayer uniform!
"Crap! Where'd you come from kid!" Murata exclaims as he takes a step back. "Oi little one, sorry about assuming you were a human. But this kid may be trouble, I say we work together and spilt his remains. What do you say?"
The girl just tilts her head in confusion.
"...So your the one who's been eating people in this village. And you've been going after kids in particular...You are truly are horrible!" The boy raises his blade. "And I'll kill you right here!"
Tanjiro pov
Tanjiro was thankful the plan worked at least. It took some time for Nezuko to understand but after a while she shifted into the age of an 8 year old and then Tanjiro just told her to walk around. He couldn't stay right next to her but he close nearby. It still took him longer then he would've liked to catch up once the demon took off, but now he's here and ready to kill this bastard!
FLAME BREATHING, 2ND FORM. RISING SCORCHING SUN!
Tanjiro's blade slices through Murata's arm like butter before he aims straight for his neck. Murata though catches on and uses his other arm to smash into Tanjiro's side, sending him flying back.
'Damn this guy packs a punch, he must have eaten at least 30, no 40 people to get this strong!' Tanjiro thinks with gritted teeth as he raises his blade.
Nezuko pov
'How dare this demon hurt kind boy! He is the worst being she's met! She will end him!' Nezuko snarls before lunging at Murata, she slices at him, catching him off guard before kicking at his head. Her powerful kick almost decapitates him, with only a small line of flesh keeping him together.
"What the hell?! Aren't you a demon like me?!" Murata yells out angrily as his neck starts regenerating, his arm has already regrown.
Nezuko just growls again as she aims another kick.
BLOOD DEMON ART: EXTENDED LIMBS
Murata's arms extend past him as he grabs Nezuko and slams her into the ground once, twice, thrice, and he continues to do so.
'Oww! Kind boy! Help me!' She thinks with pain.
Tanjiro pov
Everything with Nezuko happened in just a moment as he rushes back into the fight. Tanjiro goes to slash at the demons arms and free Nezuko but Murata notices him and throws Nezuko at Tanjiro.
"Woah!" Tanjiro exclaims as he catches Nezuko and puts her down. At the same time Murata runs forward and lands a solid punch on Tanjiro's face, sending him back again.
Tanjiro catches his feet and jumps at the demon, clutching his blade with determination. Murata goes to punch Tanjiro with both his fists extended 14 feet from his body.
FLAME BREATHING, 4TH FORM. BLOOMING FLAME UNDULATION!
Tanjiro unleashes a circular slash, cutting off both his limbs easily as Murata cries out in pain. Tanjiro uses the opportunity to rush forward faster. 'There! I can see the opening! I'm gonna cut off his head!' Tanjiro raises his blade as he goes for a strike.
FLAME BREATHING, 1ST FORM. UNKNOWNING FIRE!
BLOOD DEMON ART: EMERGENCY ESCAPE
Just as Tanjiro goes to slash his neck, Murata uses his legs to extend his main body up into the air before retracting his legs so Tanjiro doesn't cut them. He uses his higher point advantage to try and attack but is blocked as Nezuko jumps up and tackles Murata mid-air.
"Ahhhh! Would you stop helping him?!" Murata yells out as he tries to push Nezuko off him but she holds on tight. She grabs his recovering arms and pins them down while also keeping his legs under hers.
"Hmmmpphh!" Nezuko exclaims, signaling Tanjiro.
Tanjiro nods and rushes toward him once again. He raises his blade, seeing the opening. "You will pay for your sins!" Tanjiro yells out as he brings his blade down with all his strength, cutting off the demons head.
Murata's head goes flying off and lands a few feet away. He gasps in shock as he tries and fails to regenerate, after all. Once your head is cut off, your dead.
Before Murata can dissolve Tanjiro picks up his head. "Tell me! What do you know about Muzan Kubutsuji!" Tanjiro asks passionately.
Murata's eyes freeze as the panic leaves him. The terror comes in instead, the mere mention of his name sending fear through every cell of his body. His cold, blood red eyes. His crispy black hair, dark as midnight. How he seems so calm yet so dangerous and unpredictable. Yes, he is the true demon king. "...If you want to live...you should never ask that question again..." Murata stutters out, seeing no reason to care now that he's dying.
Tanjiro eyes open. "No I need to know! Where is his and how to do I find him! I need to know so I can turn my sister back into a human!"
'So...that's why...the girl is his sister...man I wished my sister cared about me enough to not even hurt me as a demon...no she was awful just like every other child I met...why did she sell me out? I would've saved her from those men...instead...I got beaten half to death, and became this...man...what a pathetic life I lived...' Murata thinks with sadness as small tears leave his eyes.
Tanjiro stares at Murata with a piercing gaze before sighing and placing his head down. Tanjiro bows and makes a prayer. "Please, don't turn this man into a demon in his next life. Let him live a long and happy life." Tanjiro whispers.
'Huh...that's nice...' Murata thinks as he turns to ash and dissolves to the wind. He opens his eyes to the gates of hell, as the flames welcome him...
minutes later
Tanjiro is bowing while praying over the skeletons. 'All these poor innocent people, kids. Please rest in peace and do well in the afterlife.' Tanjiro thinks with sadness as he lifts his head and walks over to Nezuko.
"You okay? Any injuries?" Tanjiro asks a little concerned over his sister. Nezuko just smiles and shakes her head. Makes sense, she is a demon after all.
Tanjiro smiles and sheathes his sword. 'My first misson and a complete success. This is my first step to turning Nezuko back into a human!'
"Wow you made quick work!" Megu praises as he lands on a branch. "Your not too bad for a newbie."
"Oh thanks Megu!" Tanjiro says happily. "Are there any new missions for me right now?"
"None yet, I can go check though for any in your rank." Megu offers.
"How do you choose what missions I'm sent too anyway?" Tanjiro asks curiously.
"Oh that's simple! We have kakushi everywhere looking for potential demon sightings, once we've confirmed its a demon and not just a random serial killer us crows go in and take a few days to decide how dangerous the demon may be. After we've gotten an idea of how strong it is, we send an appropriate ranked demon slayer to deal with it!" Megu explains happily.
"Wow, I didn't know so much effort went into just finding demons." Tanjiro says. "Hey has anyone ever found Muzan Kubutsuji?"
Megu sighs. "A few, not many but a few. No demon slayer has ever survived, any the only crows to do so never survive for long. To this day we don't have any idea on what he looks like or any of his abilities."
'Damn, this is gonna be harder than I thought. It's basically pure luck I find him.' Tanjiro thinks sadly.
"Anyways! Honestly you shouldn't go looking for Kubutsuji this early, or really at all." Megu says. "No offense kid, but even hashria as far as we can tell don't stand a chance at defeating Kubutsuji alone. What could you do?"
Tanjiro just grits his teeth and clenches his fist with anger. 'He's right...I wouldn't even stand a chance. It took me and Nezuko working together to beat this demon, and he wasn't even a member of the twelve kizuki! I'll need to be ten, no! A hundred times stronger if I even want to stand a chance!' Tanjiro thinks to himself determined.
Tanjiro looks out and sees the sun is starting to rise past the trees, lighting the area and all the sins that took place in it. "Get in the box, quickly!" Tanjiro says as he opens the box for Nezuko. She climbs in and shuts the little door.
"Okay good." Tanjiro says with a sigh. Suddenly something comes to him, a thought he honestly should've have faster. "Wait! Megu! Are you gonna tell people about Nezuko?" He asks worried.
Megu looks down. "The demon brat? Nah I don't really care. The master already knows but hasn't called for her yet. My guess is that he's seeing if she's actually trustworthy before he leaves her in the presence of other slayers."
Tanjiro sighs in relief as he dusts off his hoari and stands up confidently. "Okay thank you Megu."
"No problem, anyhow. I'll go check and see if any missions came up that are near you." Megu says before flying off.
Tanjiro smiles softly before he starts walking slowly away from the scene. He wishes he could bury the bodies or tell the town of their safety. But sadly he doesn't have enough time and he can't reveal the secret of demon slayers. So instead Tanjiro decides to take a little break, to rest up and get stronger for the next fight. Thankfully he knows just the right place that's nearby
hours later
Tanjiro stands outside the large building in slight awe. It's huge and several stories high. It has bright purple wisteria flowers all over and is a pretty blue color all around. There aren't many windows, makes sense. You don't want to get a demons attention even with the wisteria.
"Wow, so this is a wisteria house?" Tanjiro says in wonder as he gazes upon the building. 'Wisteria houses, meant for resting and training demon slayers who are taking a break between missions. This is the perfect place to rest until my next misson!'
Tanjiro enters the building and meets the people there. A nice older women by the name of Noko and her husband Towaro. They greeted Tanjiro and said he could stay here for the next few days.
Tanjiro eventully finds his room, a medium sized place with a futon, a table, and a sword sharpener. Tanjiro takes a few minutes to sharpen out his blade and make it just right before he goes over to the table and starts writing. He makes a letter of course for Mr. Rengoku to let him know of his first misson and other details. The second letter he actually made for Mr. Hakuji. Tanjiro hadn't seen him since the day his family was killed but they still exchanged a few letters.
Once Tanjiro is satisfied with the letters he sets them off before he opens the box and checks on Nezuko. She is sleeping peacefully with a gentle smile. Tanjiro grabs the bamboo muzzle she took off for their plan against Murata and places it back on her sadly. 'I'm sorry Nezuko, you need this to hide your fangs. Someday all of this will be nothing but a horrible dream.' Tanjiro gently pats her head before closing the box door.
Tanjiro explores throughout the Wisteria house, there's many people and areas to train at. Tanjiro himself managed to get a new record for concentration breathing constant, 9 and a half hours. Based on the speed he's been improving, Tanjiro assumes he'll have it mastered within 2 months or less.
Tanjiro takes a few hours to train and practice with sword before he notices Megu at his window and heads back to his room. Tanjiro heads upstairs and opens the window. "Hello Megu, have any missions for me?" Tanjiro asks.
"Well not really, there's nothing within 10 miles of you. But I was told by some more experienced crows that there's practically always demons at large cites. So you can head there and definitely find some sorta demon." Megu offers as he cleans his feathers.
"Okay!" Tanjiro exclaims. "That's really helpful, we'll get there tomorrow though as it's getting a bit dark."
"Very well." Megu says as he prepares to fly off.
"Oh I almost forgot!" Tanjiro takes the two letters. "Could you take these to Mr. Rengoku and Mr. Hakuji please?
"Oh sure kid, no problem really." Megu says as he takes the two letters in his beak before flying off.
Tanjiro stays there for a while, just thinking to himself about what's gonna happen soon. Can he actually kill Muzan Kubutsuji someday? It's taken him two years just to reach the starting line, how long will it take him to become as strong as Mr. Rengoku or Mr. Hakuji?
Eventully, being tired. Tanjiro climbs into his futon and tries to sleep. It takes him a while, his brain wouldn't stop thinking. Tanjiro felt so useless, but if he gave up he would never reach his goal!
Tanjiro climbs out the of the futon, he walks over to Nezuko's box and opens it. He gently caresses her cheek and grits his teeth. "I promise." Tanjiro whispers. "I promise that someday you will be human again, even if it's the last thing I ever do..." Tanjiro promises, his red eyes looking determined in the darkness.
next morning
The next morning Tanjiro bid farewell to the couple of the wisteria house before he began his trek for a nearby large city, Asakusa. He was told to be careful before he went on his way. Nezuko still on his back.
In an unknown location
Hakuji raises an eyebrow as he opens a letter delivered to him by a crow he's never seen before. His eyes scan over the sender and a smirk crosses his lips as he sees the name "Tanjiro". He quickly speed reads through it and is happy Tanjiro has passed final selection. His eyes widen as he sees the words describing how Nezuko has woken up. Although he feels relief seeing that Tanjiro says that she hasn't hurt anyone and doesn't seem aggressive.
Hakuji sighs. "Tanjiro you better be prepared, if she attacks someone, your life isn't the only one that may be danger...
Taisho Era Secret
Tanjiro: Hello everyone! It's Tanjiro here to give a new Taisho Era Secret!
Nezuko: Hmmmph!
Tanjiro: The first wisteria house was made 400 hundred years ago! At first though, it wasn't really a wisteria house. It was just a hospital for demon slayers. You see a demon slayer had a horrible injury and went there, but during his recovery he became much stronger then before. One day when a demon attacked, the demon slayer used his new strength to beat the demon! This gave people the idea to not only let Wisteria houses resting stops and hospitals, but also ways for demon slayers to train and get stronger!
Nezuko: Hmmmmmph.
Tanjiro: Right sorry for rambling! Next episode, "Tanjiro, you lucky bastard!"
(Author's notes)
Hello again! Here's my newest chapter for you guys. You probably figured out that this demon is the demon version of Murata from the original. I thought he'd be a good idea for a weaker demon and if you've read the entire manga to the last chapter, you may understand why I made him despise children. Besides that, I don't have much else. I'll try to get the next chapter out next week. I just depends on how motivated I get, sometimes a chapter can take weeks, other times days. Well we're getting closer to major changes so laters!