Clashing Beats, Blades, and Beliefs

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of The Heart Of The Asura! Today we wrap up the battle with the Tsuzumi Demon, but that won't be the only issue our heroes have to face. But before we talk issues, I have an announcement to make: a new Demon Slayer story! That's right, I've been commissioned once again by Mokashi, this time to craft a story with a different family than the Kamado family. It'll involve a wielder of Water Breathing, Wind Breathing, and a new chain-style Blood Demon Art. If any of that sounds exciting to you then come and check out the premiere of 'Winds, Waves, and Chains'! And of course, check out my Pat reon and my new book on Amazon, Barons Of The Stars! Now with all that out of the way, and no guest review questions to answer, on to the story!

Tsuzumi Mansion

Tanjiro and Susamaru leapt out of the way as the floor was torn to shreds by invisible claws. "Catch!" The Temari Demon called as she threw one of her handballs at the demon. He raised his arm, blocking the attack which tore into the limb slightly as he hit another one of his drums. "Whoa," Susamaru had to roll in an effort to keep her balance as the room shifted once again.

"Be careful," Tanjiro called while fighting to keep upright in the moving area, "the drum on his stomach calls out those claw attacks and the other drums cause the room to spin in different directions."

"That's so annoying!" The Temari Demon sprang up and launched another projectile at the demon, this time taking a small chunk out of his upper right shoulder. It didn't take long for the wound to heal but it did succeed in infuriating the Tsuzumi wielder more.

"Damn insects!" He snarled, picking up the pace of his drumbeats and increasing the speed of the room's rotations and claw attacks. It became even harder for the duo to maintain their balance as they not only had to try and keep themselves upright but also avoid running into each other. A feat they didn't always accomplish.

"Oof! Sorry, hey, ow," they both said at one point or another as the pair crashed into each other and then separated quickly to avoid being cut to ribbons.

"Here, let me try," Tanjiro attempted another attack, only to be thrown from the floor to the wall, to the ceiling, and back again as he failed to keep his footing.

"Fucking, uff, brilliant," Susamaru remarked while bouncing off a large chest of drawers.

"No one, not you, not anyone is going to stop me from getting that Marechi!" The demon declared while speeding up his drumming even more.

"Oh give it a rest!" The six-armed girl threw her Temari and struck his hand, stopping him from turning the room again. "Great, now try this!" She threw all six of her Temari then, aiming at the demon's wrists and drums.

"Susamaru wait!" Tanjiro tried to stop her but was far too late as the projectiles hit their target. The good news: the Tsuzumi user's hands were taken out temporarily. The bad news: the Temari hitting the drums caused them to activate anyway. The next thing anyone knew, the room was turning in all kinds of random directions and the handballs were bouncing everywhere, hitting the drum demon's legs and causing him to fall into the mix.

What followed could only be described as pure chaos as a demon slayer, two demons, and six Temari tumbled around the shifting room. Each time the drums were struck by the Temari or the Tsuzumi Demon hit a solid surface they'd go off and cause another effect. Random claw slashes added an element of danger to the mess, with one wrong move spelling injury or death, depending on who was hit. Mercifully, the Drum Demon finally managed to grab onto something, and the room stopped moving for a moment as everyone took a second to get their bearings.

"Oh that sucked," Susamaru groaned while laying on her back, regrowing some of her arms that had been chopped off during the confusion, "what kind of annoying blood demon art is this? We're gonna die from throwing up before you actually manage to kill us."

"This is why I desire Marechi," the Tsuzumi demon growled as the three of them got to their feet, "you'd both be dead right now if I'd already eaten that boy."

"Demon," Tanjiro brandished his sword, trying his best to stay upright as his dizziness wore off, "what's your name?"

"What, my name," he repeated in confusion, "it's Kyogai, why?"

"Kyogai," the demon slayer took his stance, "I will not allow you to have that boy."

"I thought I told you already," the demon, Kyogai, ground his teeth, "I will acquire all the Marechi I need to become a Kizuki once again!" He readied his hands to beat on the drums.

"Susamaru," Tanjiro glanced at her quickly, "when I give the signal, throw your Temari in a way that has them bouncing back and forth across the room."

"I don't get it but fine," she produced her signature weapons once again and took her own fighting stance.

"Rapid Drumming!" Kyogai called out his technique, his hands becoming a blur as he struck each drum in quick succession, pounding out his fastest beat yet. Once again the room turned and spun while claw slashes came at them from multiple directions, one after the other. Susamaru relied more on her acrobatic abilities this time around, twisting and flipping so that her feet hit the ground each time. It was less chaotic compared to before, and since she was waiting on a signal all she had to do was concentrate on staying upright.

As for Tanjiro, he'd managed to figure out something during all of that bouncing around. 'Why didn't I remember it sooner,' he mused while leaping about, 'I need to shorten my breaths and minimize my contact with the ground. This is the essence of Water Breathing's Ninth Form: Splashing Water Turbulent Flow!' The slayer stepped lightly, almost as if he was trying to avoid getting his feet wet in a puddle. Using this technique, he was able to quickly close the distance between him and the demon without getting thrown off balance by the shifting room.

"No! Stay back!" The drum demon yelled while sending claw strikes at his enemy. The floor and walls were torn up all around Tanjiro until he was forced to jump up into the air to dodge the closest one yet. Kyogai readied a slash for where he was going to land, but that was when the slayer put his plan into motion.

"Susamaru, now!" He signaled while shifting in the air.

"This better work," the six-armed girl remarked while throwing her Temari at the floor and walls. As planned, they bounced off and into Tanjiro's path. When they did, the boy slayer stepped off them, one after the other, causing the Tsuzumi Demon to miss his planned attack as the swordsman finally came within striking range.

"Kyogai," Tanjiro called as he shot forward off the last Temari, "your blood demon art was truly…...INCREDIBLE!" He swung his sword at the compliment then, slicing cleanly through the Drum Demon's neck and sending his head falling to the floor. The slayer landed then and took a deep breath to relax, before immediately wishing he hadn't as his ribs and every other injured part of his body screamed at him in pain. He collapsed to his knees as a slightly concerned Susamaru approached him.

"You alright there," she asked while retracting her four extra arms. Her Temari also dissolved on her command.

"Yeah," the demon slayer groaned in response, "I just…took a deep breath by mistake." He tried to stop his body from shaking in pain, "but it's okay, I'm the eldest brother in the family. The pain will pass, I just got to endure it."

"In addition to the broken leg and ribs," Susamaru raised an eyebrow. Before Tanjiro could answer, Kyogai's head spoke up.

"Boy," he began in his growling voice, "did you really think my blood demon art was incredible?"

"I honestly did," the slayer answered with a downcast look, "but still, I can't forgive you for using it to kill people."

"I see," was all Kyogai was able to get out as his mouth dissolved.

"Oh, that's right," Tanjiro produced an odd throwing knife with a rectangular handle that possessed a transparent middle, "I can't forget to get a blood sample." He threw the knife into the still dissolving body of the demon. The blood was drawn into the knife by the hollowed-out blade and filled up the handle, the transparent part gradually turning red.

"It just sucks it right up," Susamaru observed as they both leaned down to look at it. Tanjiro withdrew it as soon as the blood stopped drawing.

"It just goes to show how crafty Yushiro is," the boy slayer complimented, "even after he explained how it worked it's still amazing seeing it in action."

"Which is great and all," the Temari Demon agreed, "but I was asleep for the part about how we get this to Lady Tamayo?" As if in answer to her question, a cat meowed. The duo looked over to see a calico cat with one of Yushiro's tags on it and a small backpack of sorts.

"This is Chachamaru," Tanjiro introduced, petting the cat before opening the backpack it had, "Yushiro told me that the spell he put on her will make her visible when she meows and then disappear when she meows again." He demonstrated by putting the blood sample into the pack and closing it up. The cat meowed again and seemed to vanish into thin air.

"I'm really starting to wonder about my own blood demon art," Susamaru mused as she conjured one of her weapons of choice, "I never thought about it before, but is this, kind of useless?"

"It wasn't useless at all," the demon slayer corrected with a stern look before his features softened, "it was thanks to your blood demon art that I had a final platform to use. If not for that, we might not have won and…oh right, Kiyoshi!" Tanjiro ran for the open door, stopping and turning for a second to bow to the Drum Demon, "rest in peace." Neither he nor Susamaru knew it as they were exiting the room, but in his final moments, Kyogai was happy.

During the fight, Tanjiro had avoided stepping on papers that had gotten scattered during the fight. On those papers were writings the Tsuzumi Demon had made long ago and his praise of Kyogai's blood demon art was, to him, the same as praising his drum playing. As the former human finished dissolving, he was able to die knowing his two passions had been acknowledged at last.

A Couple Minutes Later

"Kiyoshi, it's Tanjiro," he greeted as he slid the door open and entered, "it's good to see you're-whoa!" A pot went sailing by his head and struck Susamaru square in the nose.

"Ah, what the shit you little brat," she rubbed her nose.

"It's another demon mister," the boy named Kiyoshi pointed at the Temari Girl, "can't you see her?"

"Oh, I completely forgot," Tanjiro waved his hands placatingly, "this is my friend, Susamaru. She's not like the monster that kidnapped you."

"But I can definitely smell the Marechi coming off of you," she pointed out, "good thing for you I haven't felt hungry for a while now." Naturally Kiyoshi shrank back at this statement.

"Susamaru," Tanjiro shot her a disapproving look, "he's scared enough already."

"I was only teasing," the Temari Demon shrugged and turned towards the door, "anyway, let's get out of here. I can't smell any other demons so those two we took out might've been the only ones."

"Just give me a moment," the boy slayer knelt in front of the civilian, "you were very brave Kiyoshi. Good job hanging on for so long." He turned around then, "here. I know your leg must still be hurting so climb on my back."

"Thank you," the boy did as requested, grabbing onto the slayer, "by the way, is the demon dead? The drum disappeared."

"Don't worry, we took care of it," Susamaru nodded proudly with her eyes closed.

"And your siblings are outside waiting for you," Tanjiro added as they began trekking down the hallway, "so you don't have to be scared anymore." Kiyoshi nodded as they continued to walk down the hallway. It took a few minutes, but soon enough they saw the open doors of the entrance.

"Finally," The Temari Demon put her hands on her hips, "is what I'd like to say, but we'll have to find Nezuko's box now before I can go anywhere."

"That shouldn't take long," the boy swordsman sniffed the air, "I can smell her nearby…but somehow, she's getting closer?"

"RUN FOR IT!" The shrieking voice of Zenitsu made them nearly cup their ears as the blond slayer came running around the corner with Nezuko's box on his back. Strangely, he was being followed by a tall policewoman along with a guy in a boar's mask and a girl with a slayer uniform and oddly colored hair.

"Get back here," the boar fighter yelled while waving his dual serrated swords.

"It's against Corp regulations to harbor a demon," the girl added with her own, tuna knife-like weapon drawn. The trio stepped aside as Zenitsu and the officer went racing by. Just as the other two were about to pass, however, the girl noticed Susamaru. "Hold it Inosuke!"

The boar boy slid to a stop before spinning around. "What?!" He waved his weapon angrily in the air, "can't you see I'm….hey, it's you again!"

"And just like last time I'm on your side," Susamaru crossed her arms, "the other two slayers can back me up on this."

"It's true," Tanjiro stood in front of the Temari Demon, "she really means no harm."

"You should know better than to trust a demon," the girl slayer pointed her sword at him.

"Susamaru helped me defeat the master of this mansion," the boy swordsman countered, "and she's free of Muzan's control. All other demons will see her as a traitor because of that, so she's no longer one of them."

"Shut your mouth and let me do my job!" Inosuke swung his swords at Tanjiro, forcing him to leap back.

"What are you doing?!" Tanjiro exclaimed while dodging, "Corp members aren't supposed to fight each other and even if that wasn't a rule, can't you see Kiyoshi here?" He still stayed between the boar fighter and Susamaru despite this. Inosuke didn't seem to hear him and went in for another attack but was stopped when the girl slayer moved in front and blocked his sword.

"What, now what are you doing, Kaginara?!" He growled in frustration.

"It's Kagabara," the swordswoman corrected, "and despite my misgivings, he's right. That's an innocent boy on his back. Do you realize how handsome he might be when he grows up? What's worse, this slayer might also grow into a fine man, meaning you were this close to robbing the world of such splendor."

"Why do I care how handsome they're gonna be," Inosuke again pointed his sword at the trio, "I'm trying to slay a demon, that guy won't let me, so I'm gonna go through 'em, and I don't care what or who he's carrying on his back!"

"Fellow slayer," Kagabara called behind her, "we have no quarrel with you. If you simply hand over the demon behind you and the one in the box, we won't inform the Corps that you were harboring them." Tanjiro set Kiyoshi down before answering.

"Your siblings are outside," he told him, "Go and find them. I need to straighten a few things out here."

"Be careful," the boy asked and was nearly past Susamaru before stopping, "both of you be careful." He fled out the door then as Tanjiro stood back up.

"I'm sorry," the swordsman held his arm up, blocking their view of Susamaru, "but I can't let you hurt Susamaru or Nezuko."

"That puts me in an awkward position," Kagabara sighed.

"It suits me just fine!" Inosuke jumped up and crossed his arms in front of him, "I'll take out this guy and the demons-CLANG!" He was again intercepted as the Yandere Breather blocked both of his swords at the point they crossed.

"Sorry," her arms strained to hold back the boar boy, "but I became a demon slayer to make sure no more handsome boys die." The two broke their weapons lock then as Kagabara went on the offensive. "Yandere Breathing Second Form: Whirling Emotion!" She spun, varying the height of her weapon at seemingly random intervals.

"Hahahaha! Now that's more like it!" The boar fighter deflected and deftly dodged the rotating attack. But what was strange about it was the way he moved. When he dodged, he bent his body at incredibly low angles, twisting in ways that shouldn't have been possible for a regular human being. "Now it's my turn," he jumped up, "Beast Breathing Fourth Fang: Slice 'n Dice!"

"Yandere Breathing Third Form: Possessive Love!" Inosuke's assault of diagonal slashes met Kagabara's own wild slashes, their blades sparking with every impact. But of the two, the boar fighter possessed more physical strength and ferocity and eventually managed to overpower her, cutting into her arm when she tried blocking both blades before pulling back, widening the wound. Kagabara was forced to fall back and regroup, examining where her left arm got cut.

"Not bad," the dual wielder laughed, "but you'll have to do better than that to stop Inosuke Hashibira!" He charged again, his blades poised to strike, "comin' thro-huh?" He was stopped as Tanjiro moved in front of him and gripped both of his shoulders as hard as he could.

"ENOUGH!" The Breath of Water user slammed his head against Inosuke's so hard a cracking sound was heard. The boar fighter stumbled back then, his mask falling off as everyone froze at the sight. It turned out he had neck length black hair with blue tips and green eyes. But it was his face as a whole that was odd.

"Whaaaaat?! That's what you look like?!" A recently returned Zenitsu yelled at the sight of Inosuke's surprisingly feminine face.

"What, you got a problem with my face," the dual wielder growled.

"Hmm, hard to say," Kagabara tilted her head while holding her chin, "you have a ripped body but a woman's head on top of it. I can't decide if the contrast is pleasing or grating."

"What's that supposed to mean, why are you all suddenly obsessed with my face?" He demanded to know.

"Everyone is simply surprised," Tanjiro explained, "but there's nothing wrong with your face. In fact, the girlish size, shape and complexion is quite attractive."

"On a woman," Susamaru snorted.

"You're both dead," the boar fighter held up his swords, "you wanna go?!"

"We do not," the boy slayer denied, "neither one of us is going to fight you anymore."

"Come on, headbutt me!" Inosuke demanded, taking a step forward.

"No, we're done fighting," Tanjiro insisted with his hand held up.

"Come on, do it!" The dual wielder pointed to his head, "I can take-EEK!" His voice shot up a couple octaves as he squeaked in pain. The reason became obvious as he slowly looked down and saw one of Susamaru's Temari had hit him right between the legs. "Ow." He fell back on the floor then, falling unconscious.

"At least we know for sure he's a guy now," the demon girl snickered while tossing another handball up and down.

"Susamaru, why did you do that?" The boy swordsman asked, "he just needed to calm down."

"I'm sure your headbutt did just as much damage as my Temari," she pointed out, "but that guy wasn't about to calm down without some extra incentive, so I gave it to 'em."

"And I do appreciate the help," Kagabara pointed her weapon at the Temari Demon, "but now, I demand an explanation."

"We can explain!" Zenitsu and Honoka jumped in between her and Susamaru, "she really is a friend, she came here with Tanjiro."

"Oh, so that's the handsome boy's name," the Yandere Breather sheathed her weapon, "fine, I'll listen to what he has to say. Consider it thanks for helping me deal with that unruly slayer over there."

"Thank you," Tanjiro bowed, "it's not a terribly long story, but there is still a good bit to tell."

"I need to wrap my wound anyway," Kagabara commented while pulling out her own medical envelope, "so tell me, how did you wind up with two demons?"

A Short Time Later: Outside The Mansion

Inosuke's eyes fluttered open before he had to blink them several times. The reason being was because it was suddenly very bright. The feeling of dirt beneath his back, save for the cloth that was supporting his head and the haori covering his upper body, told him he wasn't in the mansion anymore. The sound of birds chirping confirmed he was outside, but how did he?

"AAAAAAH!" The Boar Fighter yelled while leaping up. He remembered now, he needed to find that kid and his damn demon girl! So, despite not currently wearing his mask, Inosuke charged towards the nearest group of people he saw like a boar. He stopped short, however, when he saw what they were doing: building a mound? "Tell me what you're up too, answer me!"

"We're having a burial," Tanjiro explained while setting down the rock they were going to use as a headstone, "you should help too, there could still be bodies in the mansion."

"What's the point of burying dead things in the ground," Inosuke growled, "I'm not helping with that crap! I need to finish up my fight with the girl and then we have our own battle to take care of!"

"I told you we should've restrained him," Kagabara sighed, "Honoka even volunteered her cuffs."

"I did not," the police officer corrected, "I said we could use them if he got out of hand again."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Tanjiro held up his hand, "I think I understand what's really going on."

"Yeah, what's that," the boar fighter asked as if daring him to find a reason.

"Your wounds are too severe," the boy slayer answered matter-of-factly, "even though our cursory examination didn't find anything all that wrong with you, none of us are doctors so it's perfectly understandable if you have an internal injury we don't know about. If that's the case, just leave burying the bodies to us. It's hard work, after all, and can be quite straining on those who are in pain, so I'm sorry for asking so much of y-."

"WHAAAAAT?!" Inosuke had a dozen tick marks on his head at this point, "don't underestimate me! I can bury a hundred corpses, no, two hundred corpses! I'll do more hard work than any of you!" And work hard he did.

By the time the sun started to set, they'd found and buried a total of eight people. After that, everyone knelt and prayed for those who'd passed on, save for Inosuke who decided now was a good time to train by ramming his head into the trees. That was, thankfully, halted after a minute by the arrival of Tanjiro's crow. "Descend the mountain! Descend the mountain!" He ordered, "our next stop is the home of the Wisteria family!"

"What in the world is the Wisteria Family," Susamaru, now back in the box with Nezuko, asked as Tanjiro pulled them onto his back.

"I think they're friends," he answered back discreetly, "either way, our work here is done. It's time to set out for our next destination." Naturally, Inosuke wouldn't let them just leave and insisted on following along with them, not wishing to be robbed of the fight he so desperately wanted. He, along with Zenitsu, would make for a much larger group than the one they arrived with, a group which would turn out to be the oddest one Susamaru had ever seen in her centuries of living.

And so, the terror of the Tsuzumi Mansion has ended, but the absolute pain in the ass that is Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira has only begun. Will Susamaru, with her vastly shorter fuse, be able to put up with these two without killing them, we'll find out. But before then, please 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 be sure to check out the newest upcoming Demon Slayer fic: Winds, Waves, And Chains! Last thing, stop in next time as our heroes visit the home of the family with the Wisteria Crest. 'Til then.