The Heart Of The Asura
Hello everyone and welcome to the first chapter of The Heart Of The Asura! This story has been commissioned by fellow reader and newest patron, Mokashi, and we've got several ideas for how it's going to play out. Again for those wondering this story is an alternate take on The Swordsman and the Asura but it is going to have more than a couple differences starting from this point on. So come along and check out this new story!
Nighttime: Asakusa
'A busy night as always in the city,' the police officer mused as she walked along, ignoring the occasional glances sent her way. She'd grown used to it over the years and found it somewhat understandable when she started listing off all the oddities about herself. To start with, her name was Honoka Juzako, a slightly odd name but that's not what truly set her apart from everyone else. Her most notable feature was her impressive height of six feet eight inches and her strong body that weighed, give or take, two hundred and ten pounds.
It was thanks to this strange physique that Honoka had been able to land a spot as one of the few female police officers in Asakusa at only the age of eighteen years old! Though her superiors did have their occasional complaints about her. To begin with, she was never able to wear the officer's hat due to her long hair that she tied into a ponytail and hung in front of her face. When asked why she kept her hair in such a way, Honoka would simply answer she liked the style. Besides, it was the other issue she dealt with that caused the most problems; being a little clumsy.
Case in point, knocking her head into a low hanging, for her, sign. Honoka was almost certain if she wore her ponytail normally it'd catch on something, which was the other reason she wore it the way she did. Though most people thought she should cut it short considering its odd coloration of neon pink with royal purple streaks. But Officer Juzako would not let little things like that deter her-hey!
"Oh, I'm so sorry," a boy in a green and black-checkered haori apologized. He'd bumped into the officer's arm at a pretty good speed, apparently he was in a hurry.
"No that's fine, just watch," Honoka started to respond but paused when she noticed something odd about the boy as he hurried on. 'Was that a sword,' she blinked her eyes a few times, making sure she hadn't been seeing things. The possibility existed it was just a toy or some other kind of prop. They did use such things for stage performances at some of the local theaters here.
Of course, even if Juzako wanted to follow him now he'd already disappeared into the crowd. Or so she thought until the sound of screaming could be heard. "What in the world," the officer put a hand over the Namba Type 14 pistol in her holster and pushed through the crowd. Sure enough, it was that same boy and he was currently on the ground wrestling with another civilian.
"Hey, what's going on here," Juzako took her hand off her pistol and approached cautiously.
"Please, stay back," the boy warned, "this person is dangerous!"
"No, you two need to break this up right-HUH!" All of a sudden, flowers appeared before her eyes. The police officer had no idea what was going on, only that something smelled kind of odd. The next thing she knew, the boy and the man were gone. Her fellow officers who'd also arrived on the scene were just as confused. 'What's going on,' she thought in bewilderment, 'I didn't just step into something crazy, did I?'
A Few Hours Later
It was time. Lord Muzan had called on her again to eliminate a troublesome individual. It seemed the unfortunate soul had somehow caught sight of the Demon King. Whether the person knew who Muzan was or not was irrelevant as his death had been ordered by her master and his wish was her command. Though one detail that did catch her attention was that their target was a slayer, one with Hanafuda earrings.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but Susamaru could almost swear that the thought of those things made her master's blood boil. But it wasn't her place to question the man who'd so generously granted her the power she wielded now. So she did as ordered and went along until she found a more deserted area of Asakusa with older houses and stonewalls set up on either side of the path that made it seem almost like a maze. While she walked, she lightly bounced her Temari ball off the ground and back into her hand, a little habit she'd formed over the many decades.
Though on occasion it did irritate her partner, Yahaba, but only because he was worried she might get dirt on him. Ironic, in a way, given that he would be the one low to the ground doing the tracking in order to locate their prey. Susamaru had wondered about him at first given that she loved outdoor games while he hated getting dirty, but she quickly came to appreciate his abilities. Right now was no exception as he bent down with both of his hands to the ground, keeping them just above the dirt as a pair of eyes with arrows for pupils opened up on them.
"See anything?" She asked after bouncing her Temari back into her hand, the sound of its bell chiming rhythmically in the night.
"I see, footprints," Yahaba observed, "this is it, it's definitely them. I count a total of three with one carrying a big box."
"I wonder how we should kill them," Susamaru mused with a short but mischievous laugh as she resumed bouncing her Temari ball up and down. "I can already feel my blood flowing with excitement, mine and the blood master gave me."
"So of course," Yahaba stood back up, "we'll slay them vindictively." The duo couldn't help the smiles on their faces as they followed the scent of footprints the Eye Demon had picked up. It took only a couple minutes to discover something amiss when they arrived at the location where the tracks led.
"Why are we stopping at a solid wall?" The Temari demon questioned, "I can't even get a good scent of a human over here?"
"But they definitely went this way," Yahaba contemplated with a thoughtful expression on his face that was hard to read due to his eyes being perpetually closed. "Hmm, why not try throwing your Temari through the wall. I get the feeling we'll like what pops up."
"Well if they really are here," Susamaru grinned as she produced another Temari out of seemingly thin air in her other hand, "let's see how they like this!" She threw both handballs then, their trajectory guided by her partner's blood demon art, Koketsu Arrow. The two orbs impacted against something solid as she felt them bounce around a room several times before knocking off a tag of sorts with an 'eye' symbol on it. As soon as the tag was removed, an entire two-story building appeared.
"You were right," she cheered happily as her Temari returned to her hands, "an entire building really did just appear out of thin air!"
"This handiwork is a blood demon art," Yahaba surmised, "it seems one of our prey is adept at hiding objects." A look of slight confusion crossed his face then. "The slayer is also in there, accompanied by a demon? What's going on here?"
"Isn't this fun though," Susamaru questioned playfully as she didn't even bother to wonder why a slayer would be accompanied by a demon.
"About that, Susamaru," the Eye Demon got her attention as he held one of his hands up to 'see' her, "your way of doing things is too immature, and careless. You splattered my kimono with dust!"
"Oh quit whining," the demon girl responded dismissively, "thanks to my Temari we found them right away, so who cares if it was a little immature? After all, now we can have some fun!" She threw both Temari into the building once more before they returned to her hands.
"Now you've gone and soiled my kimono again!" An annoyed Yahaba exclaimed.
"Your kimono isn't the least bit soiled, so stop being so uptight," Susamaru chided as she looked through the large hole in the wall she'd created with her Temari, noting a boy in a green and black checkered hakama protecting a demon girl. "Found you!" She threw her Temari again, this time with assistance from Yahaba's arrows which caused them to bounce around erratically in the room the slayer was in. She laughed happily when one of the Temari took out the head of a boy demon who'd been protecting an older woman demon as the slayer stood ready with his black bladed katana.
"Hmm," Susamaru hummed upon noticing a detail about the Slayer, "you're the demon slayer with Hanafuda earrings, aren't you?" The Temari demon could tell she hit the nail on the head based on his shocked expression before he turned and yelled at the older woman demon who was currently cradling the body of the boy demon. She laughed again as she threw one of her Temari straight at the slayer. She noticed very quickly that he'd fought before as he readjusted his stance and stabbed his blade through her Temari instead of trying to dodge it. A good move given that he didn't seem to know how her Temari swerved, but not quite good enough as the ball moved of its own accord and swatted him in the head before jumping off of his sword.
"Looks like you won't be a complete pushover," the Temari Demon smiled as she tossed away her dark blue haori and undid the top of her orange kimono, exposing most of her upper body save for her chest and upper abdomen which was covered by a black sarashi top. "Oh what fun this'll be! For you to be killed by me, one of the Twelve Kizuki, you should feel honored!" It was then that four extra arms burst out of her sides underneath her regular arms, each bearing a Temari for a total of six. "Now let's keep playing until morning comes, or until you die!"
She threw all six Temari then, their trajectory controlled by Yahaba who'd hidden in a nearby tree. He never was the best at direct combat, but his arrows worked well in conjunction with her handballs as they bounced around the room the slayer was in. To his credit, the Slayer with the Hanafuda earrings was quite quick, moving and blocking the controlled projectiles one after the other with his sword. Though the strain on his face was obvious as he fought to keep up, managing to slice two of her Temari before going back on the defensive to dodge or parry her other four.
Then, something unexpected happened. The demon boy whose head she'd bashed off with her Temari had regenerated and thrown a tag on the slayer's forehead. His movements changed then, as if he could see the trajectories of the arrows, no, he could see the arrows now and that was how he was suddenly dodging her Temari a lot better. 'Time for a change in strategy,' she thought as she called her Temari back to her hands.
The Demon Slayer and a demon girl she hadn't seen yet with a bamboo muzzle wearing a pink kimono and dark blue haori came rushing out of the house then. The demon girl ignored her and went for the trees, likely looking for Yahaba while the slayer stopped in front of her in a fighting stance. "No doubt about it now," she said with her same smile, "you're the one we're looking for. So, I'm going to bring your head back to him!"
She launched her Temari once more and this time the Slayer actually ran from them, ducking and dodging around the guided spheres as they homed in on him like a flock of hungry birds. At one point, he even ran up the side of one of the house's walls as her Temari pursued him relentlessly thanks to Yahaba's arrows. At least they were until the arrows suddenly disappeared, meaning the demon girl had found his location. The slayer took this moment to use one of his breathing techniques then, revealing himself to be a Breath of Water user as his footwork and blade seemed to flow around in a zigzag pattern similar to a river.
It was a surprisingly fast technique, too fast for Susamaru to counter as the slayer sliced all six of her arms off with a single, curving slash that went up then down. For a moment, she was too stunned to react, so much so that she didn't even catch the words he said to the demon woman. Save for the last part about extracting blood from them. Yet despite the situation, Susamaru couldn't help but laugh. "You think you'll be able to extract blood from us?" She questioned with a grin, "I'll admit you surprised me, but I won't let you do anything that will displease him. So if you think you can extract blood from the Twelve Kizuki, then have at it!"
Six new arms grew almost instantly then while new Temari also appeared in her hands. "I'll bring that head of yours to him!" She threw one deadly orb after another at the boy then, continuing her assault from earlier. Even without Yahaba's arrows guiding them her accuracy was still spot on as the Demon Slayer dodged and rolled out of the way of her Temari, the handballs missing by only a hairsbreadth as they made small craters in the ground wherever they impacted. She knew he was trying to close the distance between them in order to strike at her head, but he wouldn't have as big of an advantage as he'd like to think he would.
"Now try this!" She exclaimed the moment he got in close before throwing all six Temari at once. The Slayer's eyes seemed to widen for a moment as he realized he might not be able to dodge in time. Then he raised his sword up and called upon another Breath of Water technique. "Waterfall Basin!" He declared while swinging his sword down with the strength of a thundering waterfall.
The handballs were sliced to pieces and blown away by the attack, but Susamaru had planned for this and struck the moment his technique ended. "Got ya!" She exclaimed while charging in with a flurry of punches from all six of her arms. The surprised Slayer was only able to block the first couple of hits from her fists while the rest got through, causing him to wince and gag in pain with each hit before an especially violent one sent him flying back. "You thought I'd be vulnerable at close range, but you'll have to do better than that!"
She spawned and threw several more Temari then as the Slayer just managed to roll out of the way and get back up to his feet in time to dodge the latest volley. Much like before, he evaded around her projectiles in an attempt to close the distance with her once again. 'Slow learner, this one,' the demon girl thought before directing her aim towards the Swordsman's legs. Expectedly, he jumped and dodged around her attacks as the distance continued to shrink between the two combatants.
'Now once more,' she thought before suddenly shifting her aim to the Slayer's midsection. He was just getting up from dodging the last volley when he saw this latest batch coming towards him and quickly realized there was only one way to evade the attack. So he jumped upwards with his body to the side as he began to spin in midair. "Got ya again," Susamaru exclaimed happily as she attempted to capitalize on the opening before he hit the ground and got planted once again.
But at the last second, she noticed something off about his movement as he spun towards her. "Lateral Waterwheel!" The Swordsman announced as he swung his body around in midair with his blade aimed at the right side of her neck. 'He spun in midair to build up momentum,' Susamaru realized almost too late as she jumped slightly to the left while holding up her arms. The blade sliced through all of her hands and nearly into her neck as the Slayer landed and readied his next strike.
But this turn of events only succeeded in exciting the Temari Demon more as she lunged forward with her teeth bared. The Slayer moved out of the way just enough to avoid getting his neck bitten into, but she still managed to grab ahold of his inner shoulder, causing the Swordsman to nearly cry out in pain. 'Oh wow, he tastes so good!' Susamaru thought, surprised at the flavor of his blood as it leaked into her mouth. Though her attempted meal was short-lived as an object came hurtling into the both of them, knocking all the combatants over in a heap before they got up and scrambled away from each other.
"Hey Yahaba," Susamaru called out upon realizing that what had hit them was the demon girl with the bamboo muzzle, "keep it on your side of the field!"
"I just reacted on instinct," the Eye Demon defended as he dropped down from the tree, "she got dirt in my eyes when she tried kicking me and my kimono is most definitely soiled now."
"Some days I wonder why we were put together," the Temari Demon sighed in exasperation as she spawned more handballs in her newly regrown palms, "oh well, we can kill them together now!"
"Hey, Demon Slayer!" The Demon Boy yelled from inside the house, "you take care of that arrow guy! Your sister and I will handle the Temari Woman!" The Swordsman and Demon Girl didn't seem to mind this arrangement as they nodded to each other before switching opponents. But Susamaru didn't mind either as long as she got to play a bit longer. And play she did as she threw her Temari at her new opponent, the Bamboo Muzzle girl who dodged and flipped out of the way acrobatically.
The Demon Boy, who she now saw had black and white hair and a white kimono top with blue kimono pants, came running at her then as the Temari Girl turned to face her other opponent. Or at least that had been the plan before he disappeared. 'What, where is he,' she thought before feeling a blow to her face, then her stomach and again to her face. 'He didn't vanish, he's invisible,' the Temari Demon realized while blocking some of the blows with her arms but still feeling the majority of them before she collapsed to her knees. "You hurt Lady Tamayo," the boy growled as he reappeared and pointed at her, "I'll never forgive you for that!"
"Like I was asking for your forgiveness!" Susamaru shot back as she lashed out with a sweep kick that knocked the demon boy off his feet before he retreated and disappeared again. The Temari Demon began looking around for him again until her search was interrupted by her partner speaking up.
"Tamayo, as in the fugitive," Yahaba recalled suddenly, "hey Susamaru, that's Lady Tamayo the fugitive! She'll make a great souvenir for master!"
"Is that right?!" Susamaru smiled evilly as she threw all six of her Temari, three in each direction, at her opponents. The Demon Boy evaded but the Demon Girl attempted to kick her Temari. Big mistake as it turned out because instead of the ball going anywhere her whole leg below the knee was taken off, causing her to fall to the ground in pain. Susamaru wasted no time in kicking her straight into the hole in the house, leaving her with just one opponent to contend with. "Yahaba, do you think four heads will be enough to take home?"
"No, just the Demon Slayer and the Fugitive will do," Yahaba answered.
"Well, I'll still have some fun while I'm at it," the demon girl almost laughed as she started dribbling the multiple Temari up and down on the ground. The impact from each handball kicked up more and more dust, obscuring not only her vision but the Demon Boy's vision as well. So instead, she located him by scent and by sound, throwing her Temari in the direction of her opponent.
"How ridiculous," she heard him say as he got closer, "it's child's play for me to evade such a linear attack! And locating you is a breeze as well!" 'That goes both ways,' Susamaru thought with a smile. His invisibility might make him hard to spot normally, but in this cloud of dust where she could perceive movement better, she could see him clear as day. Something that was quickly demonstrated by throwing her Temari right where he was about to run.
The look of panic on his face was incredible as he saw the handball flying right for his head. But at the last second, a foot connected with it, deflecting the ball. 'So, the Demon Girl's back,' Susamaru observed, also noting that she had a new leg. But that was also fine, she'd just see how long she could last. With that in mind she threw another Temari which the Demon Girl deflected with another kick that made her stumble. The Third one, however, she kicked aside without stumbling and then the fourth she actually kicked back to her.
Susamaru reflexively caught the Temari, noting how much force it had as the ball spun in her hand for a moment before stopping. "So," she said with noticeable irritation in her voice, "you can kick them back at me now, but how about this!" She dropped the Temari and kicked it at the Demon Girl who kicked it back at her. Susamaru responded by kicking it back again as they continued to send the projectile back and forth between one another. "You damn brat!"
Their volley continued for another minute with the force of their kicks increasing each time until finally, the girl with the bamboo muzzle kicked the ball so fast that Susamaru couldn't get to it in time as it sailed past her head, the wind from it ruffling her hair as it cratered the wall behind her. For a moment, the Temari Girl stood there in shock as she tried to figure out how it was possible for such a little demon to grow so strong so quickly. Then a smile crossed her features as she laughed happily. "You're an amusing little girl," Susamaru cheered, "let's see how you handle me going all out this time! Wonder how long you'll last?"
She summoned more Temari to her hands, ready to continue the game. But she was interrupted as Tamayo stepped in front of the Demon Girl. "Twelve Kizuki girl," she called.
"You're in the way, damn fugitive," Susamaru commented with a frown, "step aside! I'll get to you in a bit."
"Just tell me one thing before I do," Tamayo responded calmly, "are you aware of Kibutsuji's true identity?"
"What did you just say?!" Susamaru questioned angrily. The nerve of a fugitive to act like they knew more about her master than she did.
"That man is nothing but a coward," Tamayo revealed, "I don't know what, but there is something he lives in constant fear of."
"Shut up," Susamaru spat angrily, "you don't know what you're talking about!"
"Do you know why demons aren't allowed to band together," Tamayo continued undeterred, "or why other demons cannibalize each other? It's to prevent groups of demons from forming who might attack him. He is the one who manipulates demons to act in such a manner. Demons like you."
"I said shut up," the Temari Demon yelled as a strange feeling of fear and anger coursed through her, "shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! No way is he that petty! He wields incredible power, there's no one stronger than him! Not Muzan Kibutsuji!" Realization and horror dawned on her then as she dropped her Temari and covered her mouth. No, she couldn't have, she didn't!
"Now you have uttered his name out loud, haven't you," Tamayo said solemnly as she held up her left arm, revealing several bloody scratch marks that smelled odd, "You've triggered the curse." She had, she'd said the one name she was never supposed to say out loud, in front of the enemy no less. "I do feel sorry for you, but this is farewell."
"Wait, forgive me, forgive me!" Susamaru cried as she ran a short distance, already feeling the blood in her body churning unnaturally, "I'm begging you, please forgive me!" But it was already too late. The pain in her body grew more and more immense as she clutched at her stomach. She then let out a scream which was quickly muffled as two bloody arms shot out of her stomach and mouth.
She looked on in horror at the sight of the large hand which turned towards her face and grasped her skull. Pain flared again as her head was crushed, and then the world was black. Had she still been able to see, she'd have witnessed the limbs tearing apart the rest of her body until there was nothing left but pieces and a large mass of blood. She saw her old life flashing before her eyes, the lonely days she'd spent playing in the backyard, the fun times she managed to have with the other neighborhood children before her parents deemed it was too unsafe for her. And the boy, her dearest friend who'd been there to consul her and play with her when no one else would.
She could feel her mind slipping away little by little then as the darkness overtook her. She voiced her last wish, hoping against hope for one final bit of comfort before she died completely, even though she didn't expect anyone to be listening. "…Mari….," she uttered weakly, somehow belying the ruined state of her body, "Te….mari." Strangely, the ringing sound of her Temari reached what was left of her ears along with footsteps stopping right next to her.
"Here's your Temari," said a voice she'd only recently become familiar with, the Demon Slayer boy. Had he… set her Temari next to her, why? She'd tried to kill him, tried to kill the others too, so why? From that one question sprang a dozen others.
Why was she being punished for saying a name, how and why was the woman who tricked her a fugitive, why was she free and Susamaru wasn't? Why was this boy, a demon slayer, so kind to those who should be his enemies? And what had she really been doing all these years? These questions and more made the Temari Demon realize just how selfish she'd been, only thinking about herself all this time.
It made her sad, and angry. She began to curse Muzan for turning her into this, for lying to her, and she began to curse herself for choosing to become the monster she is now. But what could she do in these final moments? Susamaru realized she wanted to atone, to be something better now that she was truly facing death.
But there was little she could do, save for one thing. "I'm…..sorry," the Temari Demon apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She apologized over and over again, willing herself to stay alive with every fiber of her being so that she could offer more apologies, one for every person she'd killed. The problem was, she'd never kept count, and so she continued fighting against the degeneration of her body, kept enduring the pain in order to take back control.
It would be her last act, the one time in her life she'd defy Muzan Kibutsuji. Susamaru would die a free woman. At least, that had been the plan, until she felt her body being picked up. "What in the world are you doing," the one called Yushiro growled.
"The smell of death," the slayer boy answered as he turned and headed towards the house, "it's starting to fade. I don't think she's going to die."
"Leave her out in the sun," the boy demon ordered, "she'll die for sure then and won't be a problem anymore."
"Lady Tamayo," the slayer turned to the fugitive woman, "you said her cells were supposed to be destroying her body. Is what's happening to her right now normal?"
"No," she responded after examining Susamaru's condition for a moment, "I've not seen this sort of thing before." The doctor put a hand to her chin and pondered what should be done for several moments. "Bring her inside."
"But Lady Tamayo!" Yushiro exclaimed in disbelief, "this girl is an enemy!"
"She was," the demon woman nodded in admittance, "but if what's happening to her is what I suspect, it may prove beneficial to at least examine her. Tanjiro, bring the girl inside. There's much to be done."
"Thank you, Lady Tamayo," the one holding her bowed in gratitude before carrying Susamaru inside. This moment, would mark a turning point in not only her life, but the life of the boy slayer as well.
And so begins another story following the path of an Asura and a swordsman! As you can see there are going to be a couple differences with this one, so look forward to that. And as always leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! For updates on this and other stories check out my Pat reon and see about becoming a patron! Stop in next time as Susamaru makes an important decision about where her allegiances lie! 'Til then.