Lodging For Slayers
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of The Heart Of The Asura! We got a little rest and recovery happening this chapter, along with some antics. But even if this is a cool down chapter I think you'll all still find it entertaining. And speaking of entertainment, don't forget to check out my new book, Barons Of The Stars, and my Pat reon for more cool stuff! Now that's all the dramatics, and with no guest review questions to answer this week, on to the story!
Evening: Mountain Path
They split off from the three children when they reached the foot of the mountain. Tanjiro's crow gave Kiyoshi a bag of wisteria, via throwing it up in his hands, in order to ward off any demons who might come after him in the future. Susamaru could certainly vouch for its effectiveness as she was forced to hold her nose despite being in the box with Nezuko. After that, the group continued to follow the crow down the path and into a nearby town.
It took a couple hours to reach, which wouldn't have been so bad if not for the boar boy constantly trying to challenge Tanjiro to another fight. Kagabara also kept whipping Zenitsu on the head whenever he started ogling her. By the time the group arrived at their destination, night had fallen and the moon had risen into the sky. "It really is a wisteria crest," Tanjiro noted as they stopped in front of the giant wooden doors of the home they'd been directed to.
The house they'd stopped at was more of a mansion with a stone wall surrounding it. 'Why would we be stopping here,' the demon slayers wondered. None of them felt the presence of any demons from within the home. Fortunately, the crow already had the answer to this question. "It's time for rest!" He squawked, "some of you have sustained injuries and will remain here until you're fully recovered!"
"I see," Tanjiro mused before a realization hit him, "you know, I've been injured for a while now." His crow's answer to that was a simple 'ke-ke-ke-ke'! "Is that regular laughter or nervous laughter?"
"Hey, let's eat this thing," Inosuke suggested while pulling on the bird's tail. Naturally the crow gave a nervous squawk at that.
"There's no need to eat like we're out in the wild," Kagabara sighed in annoyance, "there's food in the house here." As if on cue, the door opened and an old woman with her hair done up in a massive bun with a red kimono on poked her head out to greet them.
"Yes," she inquired, no doubt curious as to what a group such as theirs was doing at her home.
"Oh, sorry to bother you so late at night," Tanjiro began.
"Is that a ghost?" Zenitsu asked while trembling, "that has to be a ghost."
"Knock it off!" Both Tanjiro and Kagabara hissed at the blond slayer while Inosuke stepped forward.
"Hey, who the hell are you?" He growled.
"Am I to presume you are all demon slayers," the old woman bowed respectfully.
"We are, what's it to ya," the boar boy questioned before being pushed out of the way by Kagabara.
"Just be quiet," she huffed before recomposing herself, "we are. We've come to recuperate and treat our injuries, if you'll have us that is." Kagabara bowed respectfully then.
"Please come inside," the old homeowner motioned for the group to follow her. Despite her obvious age the woman walked with surprising speed. "This is where you'll be staying," she indicated some rooms as they walked down the hall. She next showed them some grey robes that they all could change into and by the time they'd finished doing that small tables had been set out for them in another room, all with hot food on them.
Again, the old woman's speed was impressive, in one case too impressive. "She has to be a monster!" Zenitsu exclaimed, "preparing all of this so quickly! She can't be human! She has to be a monster ha-GUH!" He was silenced by a quick bonk on the head from Tanjiro.
"How in the world have you made it through life up to this point without suffering a heart attack," Kagabara shook her head in disappointment. The group all took their seats on the floor then and began to eat, or in the case of Inosuke devour, their food.
"Can't you use your chopsticks," the blond slayer asked while watching the boar fighter scarf down his food with his hands. Naturally Inosuke didn't listen and swiped some food from Tanjiro's table. When the boy slayer looked at him in confusion he grinned with his mouth full.
"If you're really that hungry, you can have this too," Tanjiro offered one of his bowls that was filled with vegetables. This made the boar fighter put his hands to his head in frustration. 'Either he's very good at avoiding violence,' Kagabara noted, 'or he's really kind and hasn't noticed Inosuke is still trying to pick a fight with him.'
"No, forget it!" Inosuke growled while continuing to stuff his face, now glaring at the overly calm slayer. This mood would continue throughout the rest of dinner.
A Few Minutes Later
"Your bedding is ready," the old woman bowed as the group opened the door to once again find all the preparations for their stay completed.
"It's like I said before," Zenitsu nervously pointed, "she's a monster ha-GAH!" And once again, the blond was knocked on the head for his rudeness by Tanjiro. As for Inosuke, he immediately dove for one of the beds, once again hoping he'd anger the boy slayer. But like during dinner it was ineffective as there were three beds and Tanjiro was willing to let him sleep wherever he wanted.
Kagabara and Honoka naturally got their own room since they needed some privacy from the boys to change and attend to their own hygiene. After that, a doctor arrived to examine the slayers. The Yandere Breather's worst injury was the cut on her arm which would take some time to heal since it was made by a jagged blade. Zenitsu had actually gotten a broken rib when he first tried stopping Inosuke from attacking Nezuko's box, hence why he was running for his life when they found him in the mansion.
It was thanks to the adrenaline of the situation that he was able to grab it and run like he did. As for the Boar Fighter, he had indeed sustained a concussion from Tanjiro's headbutt, meaning he'd need to be kept under observation until the bump on his head went down. The worst by far, however, was Tanjiro who'd aggravated his already broken leg and ribs while obtaining a few more bruises to go along with them. "It sounds like the two of us are going to be here the longest," Zenitsu observed as the three boys laid in their separate beds.
"Yeah, to think we both got broken ribs," Tanjiro nodded while looking up at the ceiling.
"It can't be that bad," Inosuke scoffed from his spot while rubbing his aching forehead, "at least you guys don't have massive bumps on your heads."
"Sorry, I couldn't think of a better way to stop you," Tanjiro apologized.
"Hey, if we're apologizing, shouldn't you be apologizing to me," Zenitsu glanced at Inosuke. "My ribs are broken because of you, after all."
"Naw, I'll pass," the boar fighter shrugged.
"Just apologize already!" The Blond Slayer hissed. But the dual wielder wouldn't budge and continued to ignore him. "How did you wind up a demon slayer anyway?"
"One of them disturbed me on my mountain," Inosuke recalled, "we had a contest to see who was stronger and I took his sword when I won. Then I learned about that thing called Final Selection and that demons are real." He placed his mask on his head then. "So I joined the Corps to keep testing my strength against strong opponents!"
"That actually makes a lot of sense," Tanjiro nodded, "I lived in the mountains too."
"Don't lump me in with you!" The Boar Boy growled, "I was raised by boars, I have no parents or siblings! The one joy in life I have is what I do now!" His fellow slayer simply sighed at that.
"Hey, Tanjiro," Zenitsu was slightly hesitant, "no one's asked yet so I might as well. Why are you traveling with two demons?"
"It's not all that complicated," Susamaru suddenly spoke up from the box. The blond slayer naturally jumped as the door opened and she stepped out, growing to full size. "Fucking A that'll make your joints stiff." The Temari Demon cracked her neck and popped a few of her joints by stretching out.
"You leave that box unlocked?!" The blond slayer shrieked while trying to hide in the bedding closet.
"Well yeah," the demon reached down and grabbed Nezuko's hand to help her walk out of the box, "his sister isn't a prisoner, she travels in this box to avoid sun exposure."
"Sister," Zenitsu blinked in confusion as the girl with the bamboo muzzle also grew to her regular size.
"That's right, I'll introduce you," Tanjiro stood up, "you've already met Susamaru. This girl here is my sister, Nezuko."
"THAT CUTE GIRL IS YOUR SISTER!" The Breath of Lightning Wielder screamed, "but wait, what does that make her?"
"I was someone trying to kill him," Susamaru explained, "those broken ribs and leg, me and a fellow demon did that to him. I even took a bite out of him." She sighed fondly for a moment at the memory of Tanjiro's blood.
"What?! Then why are you traveling with him now?!" Zenitsu hid behind Tanjiro fearfully.
"Because my boss is a dick who tried to kill me for saying his name out loud," the demon girl put her hands on her hips, "I don't know why I didn't die but somehow I was able to hold myself together and come back. After that I had no reason to keep serving my master since he no longer had any control over me. Now I'm sticking with these two because the rest of you slayers have a bad habit of swinging first and asking questions later."
"Of course we do!" Zenitsu shrieked and pointed an accusing finger at Susamaru, "you wouldn't know it but you're all terrifying! You tear people limb from limb and laugh about it before devouring them like pork cutlets!"
"Most demons eat people raw," she corrected with a toothy grin, "I like my people meat tenderized." Once again the blond hid behind Tanjiro.
"Susamaru," the boy slayer gave her a disapproving look, "that's enough."
"Oh fine," the Temari Demon pouted, "but come to think of it, I don't know why your sister here isn't trying to eat you or anyone else. She go through the same thing I went through?" Nezuko gave a muffled response due to her bamboo muzzle.
"No, my sister was feral at first, but regained her senses shortly after turning," Tanjiro explained, "a man named Giyu Tomioka sent us to a cultivator after that where I learned to be a demon slayer."
"That reminds me," Susamaru put a hand to her chin, "how did you recognize Muzan? Did you see him before?"
"I recognized his scent," the slayer corrected, "the one who turned Nezuko into a demon and killed my family, was Muzan Kibutsuji."
"Um, who's Muzan Kibutsuji," Zenitsu peeked his head out again.
"The boss of all demons," Susamaru answered bluntly, "he was the first of us and the strongest of all demons. Though for some reason, he really didn't like those earrings Tanjiro had on. Guess your ancestors must've done something to upset him at some point."
"WHAAAAAAT?!" The Thunder Breather screamed, "the most powerful demon wants you dead?!"
"Well he's not as eager about it as you might think," The Temari Demon assured, "if he was, he'd have sent an Upper Moon or come to finish you off himself. Though that's still a possibility." Zenitsu bolted and hid in the closet containing the bedding.
"You all stay away from me!" He screamed, "I should've known you were all trouble the moment I-GAH!" He was silenced by a pillow being thrown in his face.
"Will you shut up already I'm trying to sleep!" Inosuke yelled in irritation.
Two Nights Later
Kagabara explained to them that the wisteria house they were staying in belonged to a wealthy family who was once saved by the demon slayers in the past. As a result, they aided the slayers by providing them with free food, lodging, and even medical care. It was meant to be a safe place for all of them, but that wasn't necessarily the case for one of them. Currently, the sun was setting and that meant Nezuko and Susamaru finally had a chance to climb out of the box.
At least it should've been their chance to climb out of the box. Unfortunately, as the two demon girls stepped out of the box and grew to their regular sizes, a problem which had cropped up yesterday came to bother Nezuko again. "Nezuuukoooo," a voice that was trying to sound sweet but was actually really annoying entered their ears.
The duo sighed as Zenitsu came into view. "How are youuuuuu today?" The Blond slayer was pressing his fingers together with a dumb, lovestruck look on his face.
"Probably fine until your dumb ass showed up," Susamaru put her hands on her hips as the demon girl hid behind her.
"Ah, there's no need to be that way," Zenitsu clearly wasn't getting the message, "let's go drink tea somewhere and get to know each other." He slinked forward, moving to get behind the Temari Demon but Nezuko moved in the opposite direction. The result was the lovesick boy was now chasing the poor girl around Susamaru like she was a totem pole or something of a similar nature.
"Look," Susamaru tried talking while they continued to run around her, "we're all just together temporarily right now. Once everyone's healed up we'll be going our separate ways and…..are you even listening?!"
"Nezukooooo~," Was the only answer the blond slayer seemed to want to give right now. The Temari Demon facepalmed.
"Tanjiro asked you not to kill him, Tanjiro asked you not to kill him," she reminded herself, repeating it like a mantra while trying to keep her temper in check. The demon girl had no idea why she was doing what the boy swordsman asked. Sure she owed him for pulling her in out of the sun and accepting her as a traveling companion, but that didn't make him the boss of her, right? Speaking of which, said boy happened to pop in right at that time.
"Zenitsu!" He stepped in between the boy and his sister, "stop following her around already!" His fellow slayer only seemed to register his words for a moment before the same lovestruck look came over his face.
"Tan-ji-roooo~," the blond called, "let's be best friends Tanjiroooo~!" Understandably this spooked the boy swordsman who took off running with his sister, meaning there were now three people running around the Temari Demon.
"Are you sure I can't at least break his legs," Susamaru asked, "that'll solve a lot of problems here."
"Zenitsu's a comrade," Tanjiro reminded while still circling around her, "we can't just break the legs of our comra-AAAAH!" He had to pick up the pace again as Zenitsu nearly grabbed hold of him.
"Well I'm here now but I won't be able to help you if I happen to go off for tea or something," the Temari Demon pointed out, "so if you want to change your mind, this is the cha-SLIDE." Everyone stopped as Inosuke suddenly slid open the door to the outside with a loud roar. He then proceeded to headbutt Tanjiro in the back.
"Ow! What was that for, Inosuke?" Tanjiro asked in confusion while rubbing his back.
"RAAAAAAAAGH!" The Boar Fighter simply roared in answer before proceeding to chase after both Tanjiro and Zenitsu. Susamaru took this moment to pull Nezuko to the side. The two demon girls watched the slayers chasing each other around the room for a bit before shaking their heads and moving on down to where Kagabara and Honoka were staying in the other room.
"Oh, good evening you two," the police officer, who was currently in the same light grey kimono as the rest of them, greeted, "what's going on in there?"
"Just the boys being stupid again," Susamaru sighed as she and Nezuko sat down on the floor with the other two girls, "I honestly don't know what the deal is. I'm usually up for playing around but that's only when an actual game is involved. Those three are just chasing each other around for their own dumb reasons."
"It has been making it difficult to do the questioning," Honoka sighed, "I wanted everybody to get some rest after everything that happened the day before so I didn't pry yesterday but today I was only able to get Tanjiro and Kagabara to answer any questions. And naturally it's a waste of time for me to ask Nezuko any questions."
"I'm basically looking after her right now thanks to that womanizing idiot in the other room," the Temari Demon crossed her arms, "so I guess I've got time to answer some of your questions. Don't bother trying to question the other two, it probably won't make sense anyway."
"Well the statements of three people and my own testimony should be more than enough," Honoka flipped open her notebook, "now, where to begin."
"I think a question you should really be asking is if you even still have a job," Kagabara pointed out, "you said you were an officer of the Asakusa Police Department. That's kind of a ways from here."
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine," the woman laughed, probably more as a way to reassure herself than anything, "Once they see my report I'm sure my superiors will understand why I had to go a little beyond my jurisdiction. Now then, Susamaru, where were you in Asakusa three nights ago?"
"Working for the boss of all demons," the Temari Woman began, "let me tell ya, had no idea my world was going to be turned upside down the way it is now." She proceeded to recount the events of that night, doing her best to recall every detail. In truth, there was a definite occurrence or two that she'd rather forget as soon as possible. But at the same time, it was kind of nice to get it all off her chest and talk to someone about it.
Sure she probably could've talked to Tanjiro about it, if not for the fact that he was indisposed and it probably would've been awkward to talk with the boy she tried to kill about such things. That being said, Susamaru also came to the realization that she didn't really know all that much about the Kamado siblings. Why was it Nezuko was able to resist Muzan's control, why did Muzan want Tanjiro dead just because he was wearing a specific type of earrings, and of course the basic things like where they came from and what was life like before the head demon himself came in and ruined everything. 'Oh,' Susamaru came to another unfortunate realization, 'how many lives have I ruined by doing what I did up until now?'
Perhaps more had changed than she thought now that the Temari Demon had a second chance at life. One oddity was definitely her resistance to Marechi which attracted all kinds of demons and another was her thinking about the effects of her actions for a change. Though that second one might just be a result of hanging around Tanjiro. But Susamaru put it out of her mind for the time being, deciding to ponder it later when she wasn't answering questions.
A Few Days Later
Honoka departed the day after she finished questioning everyone and getting her notes together. Conveniently, the Wisteria house happened to have a phone she was able to use to contact the police station in Asakusa. Unfortunately, it didn't sound like her superiors were very happy with her being gone for so long without an explanation and as punishment were sending her to a post outside the city. It didn't help that most of her report was passed off as overdramatic excuses she made up while taking her job seriously in all the wrong ways.
It was easy to feel bad for her in a situation like that, coming close to dying by the hands of demons only for everyone else to not believe you about it later. But at the very least she got to keep her job and still had a happy look on her face when she bid them all farewell. Kagabara left next, her arm having healed up from the cut she'd received and regaining its full range of motion. The Yandere Breather regretted she'd be leaving the house with Tanjiro in it so soon, but declared that fate would bring them together again soon enough.
Susamaru personally hoped it wouldn't be too soon as the girl's unhealthy obsession with keeping cute boys and men alive might devolve into something else in due time. Inosuke's head healed up after that, though he insisted on hanging around to train his skull by hitting trees, naturally against the doctor's orders. Then the time finally came when the doctor declared that both Tanjiro and Zenitsu's ribs and other broken bones were fully healed. Given that it was daytime when this announcement was made, the Temari Demon and Nezuko couldn't be around with them to celebrate their full recovery.
It would've been a short-lived celebration anyway. Almost as soon as it was confirmed they were fit for duty again, Tanjiro's crow came flying in with their next mission. All three of the slayers were to head up as a group to their next destination: Mt. Natagumo. It didn't sound foreboding, but then again, going after a guy with earrings hadn't sounded like a life changing experience at the time, either.
Nighttime: Mt. Natagumo
After a slight misunderstanding by Inosuke about the purpose of sparking a rock for good luck the trio, or rather quintet, were on their way. The mountain itself was a day's journey on foot so by the time they all finally arrived at the tree-covered landmark, the sun was setting. "Guys," Zenitsu spoke up suddenly, "now that we're nearing our destination, I want you to know something." The other two slayers turned around to see what he had to say, "I'm scared guys! We're so close to our next battle with a demon and I'm really nervous!"
"Why's he sitting like that," Inosuke asked while observing Zenitsu curled up on the ground, "that's pretty weird lookin'."
"As if you're one to talk, boar head!" The blond slayer shot back. It was at this point the door on Nezuko's box opened to allow Susamaru to step out.
"I don't see why you're making such a big deal about it," the Temari Demon stretched a bit while growing back to her normal size, "you've got three people watching your back, four if Nezuko feels like jumping in."
"The last place we were in had three demons," Zenitsu reminded, "you can't seriously tell me that mountain isn't giving you bad vibes?"
"Even if it is, we didn't come all this way to just sit around on the trail," Tanjiro pointed out, "it's our job as demon slayers to deal with demons who are threatening people."
"I say we just leave 'em," Inosuke huffed, "he's a weird guy anyway."
"I'm the most normal person here!" The Thunder Breather pointed accusingly, "You guys are the weird ones!" The Water Breather was about to say something else until a sudden breeze coming in from the mountain attracted his attention.
"You smell something," Susamaru asked as they all looked towards their destination.
"I do, but it's strange," Tanjiro didn't elaborate further, deciding to jog closer to the foot of the mountain with the other two behind him.
"Hey, don't leave me here!" Zenitsu pleaded before reluctantly following after them. It would be at the tree line in the middle of the trail that they found someone on the ground, a fellow slayer.
"Son of a-," the Temari Demon remembered at the last second that she shouldn't be seen in her real form and quickly changed her skin tone and eyes to be more human-looking. Not that it would've made a difference at the moment as the slayer just now seemed to be regaining coherence.
"Are you alright," Tanjiro asked as the injured slayer looked up at them, "what happened?"
"H-Help," tears fell from the slayer's eyes, "you have to help. Everyone else, they-." A glint appeared on his back then before an invisible force yanked the slayer several feet into the air. "NO! They were attached to me too! Don't let me die-!" His words were cut off as he was yanked into the foliage and out of sight.
"Ah shit," Susamaru blurted out, "this night's about to become a real headache, isn't it?"
That's right, the infamous Mt. Natagumo arc is about to begin, you all know what that means. But of course it all really begins next chapter 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 of course, check out updates for upcoming story chapters, scene samples and more on my Pat reon! Last thing, stop in next time as our heroes come face to face with the spider family! 'Til then.