Our Reasons For Slaying
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of The Heart Of The Asura! We get to learn a couple of interesting facts in this chapter including a motivation or two. And speaking of motivation, if you're not feeling the whole membership thing on my Pat reon, you can just buy a post you want to read for only $3 dollars! And I honestly think that's about it, except for the part where I apologize for the delay in this story and Winds, Waves, and Chains. Once again, my commissioner requested a Pat reon exclusive which took up a bit of time. Now then, with no guest review questions this week, on to the story!
Daytime: The Butterfly Estate
The outside area of the estate was now a bit more crowded than usual. With Zenitsu and Inosuke joining Tanjiro in learning Total Concentration Constant, the whole team was now united in improving their abilities. It was a happy sight to see considering how long it took the other two boys to finally come around and give the training a try themselves. Admittedly Tanjiro's explanation of the technique, which mostly involved him going 'Boom, Boom, Boom!' was not the most helpful in the world.
Shinobu helped in this endeavor as far as the explanation went but one thing remained the same: it took a LOT of work to master. And so their days of laying in bed were now over and the last couple of mornings had been filled with nothing but training to increase their lung capacity, stamina, strength, speed, and even improving on their techniques. One of those exercises, or in this case tests, to see how they were improving involved blowing into a brown gourd that had been made especially strong. The object was to exhale into it and cause the gourd to explode with the force of one's breath alone.
The gourds also came in increasing sizes with the final one being nearly as tall as the slayers themselves. It was a good way to track one's progress and the training would be considered at least nearly complete if one was able to shatter the largest gourd. And it was this particular exercise that Ozaki walked in on as Tanjiro worked on blowing into one of the larger gourds while Inosuke and Zenitsu blew into the beginner ones. "So, uh," she tried to think of what to say while approaching them, "are you guys doing some weird kind of drinking game right now?"
"Oh, hey Ozaki!" Tanjiro greeted happily with a wave before going back to blowing in the gourd, "how are things?"
"Can't complain too much," the girl slayer shrugged, "I had a sudden lag in work and thought I'd drop by and see how you guys were doing."
"Learning a new technique," the boy swordsman held up the large gourd, "I've already burst the smaller gourd, but I'm sure Zenitsu and Inosuke will catch up really soon."
"MY LUNGS WANT TO MURDER ME!" Zenitsu howled before falling back.
"This won't stop me," Inosuke declared hoarsely as he took another breath and continued to blow into the gourd.
"They only just started," Tanjiro explained, "it was really tough for me, too. The first day I began the training I was on the ground feeling like my lungs would burst after only a few minutes."
"So when you say constant," Ozaki dared to ask.
"Yep, Total Concentration Breathing all day," the boy slayer confirmed happily, "morning, noon, and night. We even have to master doing it while we're sleeping."
"Even when you're," the ponytailed girl was tired just thinking about it, "How do you even do that?"
"I still haven't gotten the hang of it completely," Tanjiro revealed, "I've had Susamaru and the other girls hitting me with carpet beaters whenever I stop using Total Concentration Breathing in my sleep. Gimiko's going to be joining us tonight to help with Zenitsu and Inosuke."
"Is that really part of the training?" Ozaki couldn't help but ask about such seeming absurdity.
"Technically no," he pointed to himself, "I came up with it. I figured being forcibly woken up that way would be a good motivator."
"Yeah, a good motivator for a masochist," the girl slayer commented, "speaking of the Demon girls, how are they doing?"
"They've been doing well," Tanjiro assured, "though they obviously can't move around much during the day, but if you'd like to go say hi to them, they're in their room right now."
"I guess I can swing by and say hello since I'm here," Ozaki shrugged before turning to head in, "try not to injure yourselves again while you're here." Her fellow slayer called back that they'd be fine but by that point she was already out of earshot. Before she entered the mansion, however, Ozaki caught sight of Kanao Tsuyuri. The Tsuguko was currently standing by the well they drew the mansion's water from, looking a little unsure about something.
Then, for whatever reason, Kanao produced a coin from one of her uniform pockets and flipped it. Ozaki couldn't see whether it landed on heads or tails, but whatever it was seemed to concern the normally stoic, albeit softly smiling girl. Then, without a word, she walked away to another part of the mansion grounds and out of sight. 'What in the world was that about,' Ozaki wondered briefly before heading into the mansion herself.
The lady slayer had learned which room the girls were using the last time she visited the place, meaning it only took her a minute to walk back there and knock on the door. "Who is it?" The voice of Susamaru called from the other side of the door.
"It's Ozaki," she answered, "can I come in for a bit?"
"Oh hey," the Temari Demon greeted happily, "good to hear from ya! Sure, let me get the door." The sound of someone moving and the lock being undone was quickly followed by the door cracking open. "What brings you here today?"
"Had some time to kill," Ozaki shrugged.
"Story of our lives right now," the demon girl remarked before opening the door wider, "come on in, I'm sure the others want to say hi too." The swordswoman entered and the door was closed behind her. Inside the room she found Gimiko and Nezuko working on sewing something.
"Ozaki," the spider girl greeted with Nezuko also waving at her, "welcome back. You seem to be doing well so I'm assuming you're just between missions right now?"
"Pretty much," she confirmed before taking a seat on the bed, "I don't know if it has anything to do with that Lower Moon being taken out, but demon activity has dropped by a small percentage, or at least in my area it has."
"It's not so surprising," Gimiko shrugged, "no doubt the demons fear the one capable of bringing down a Kizuki is still nearby for the time being. They will be more secretive with their activities for a little while until they think it's safe to move freely again."
"That's a cheery thought," Ozaki frowned, "guess I'd better enjoy the downtime while I've got it. And speaking of, what are you two making there?"
"Just sewing some warmer medical garments for when the winter rolls in," the demon girl explained while holding up one of the white shirts. It did indeed resemble what the other patients at the estate were wearing but with a thicker outer layer sewn into them.
"Apparently the ones they had were about to wear out," Susamaru informed, "ordinarily they'd just order more but decided to let us sew a few as a project to keep us busy. Personally glad I can regenerate easily, these hands of mine were not made for sewing." Nezuko mumbled a few words at that statement. "I do appreciate the words of encouragement but I don't plan on getting that good at it anyway."
"Speaking of things to do, have you made any progress on getting approved to go on missions with Tanjiro and the others," Ozaki inquired.
"We've spoken with lady Shinobu a few times," Gimiko answered, "but the final decision is up to Oyakata-san. Given his temperament I'd like to think it won't be long, likely coinciding with the boy's full recovery and completion of their training."
"They seem to be plenty healthy to me," the girl slayer pointed out, "I just heard about their training regimen and there's no way someone can do that when they're injured."
"Physically speaking they're basically back to one hundred percent, at least that's what Aoi told me," Susamaru crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, "but since they've undertaken this new training regimen the bar's been raised for when they'll be declared ready. If demon activity stays down they probably won't be sent out again until they've mastered this new technique they've been working on."
"And if it goes back up," Ozaki already suspected the answer.
"It's likely the boys will be sent out again even if their training isn't complete," Gimiko informed, "and that will no doubt be the time when our own roles will be decided."
"Speaking of roles," the swordswoman tried to think how best to phrase the question, "what's the deal with that Tsuyuri girl? I don't want to say that she's creepy or anything like that, but she doesn't seem all there." Susamaru and Gimiko exchanged a look before the Temari Demon answered.
"I asked the same question not long after we got here," she began, "the little attendant girls, Sumi, Naho, and Kiyo, were nice enough to explain things to me. Apparently, she didn't have the happiest of upbringings."
About The Same Time: A country Road
The Canadian Girl, Aiden Dolzhikova, walked along. She could have returned to her homeland some time ago but it was rare that she got to travel outside of the country and had decided to stay and explore the various parts of Japan since she had the chance. After all, the former chief wasn't at the same level of active duty anymore that she used to be. The threat to their land had more or less been expunged thanks to their efforts, though it was at great cost.
Even now their organization was working on rebuilding in order to be prepared for the possibility of any more demons invading their homeland. It was also because of this that Aiden had been allowed to travel so far away in the first place.
A Few Weeks Ago: Main Demon Slayer Headquarters
"My apologies for keeping you waiting this long," Kagaya Ubuyashiki began, "I'm not able to get around the estate like I used too."
"There is nothing to apologize for," the Canadian woman assured, "given what you said earlier, I can muster up the slightest bit of patience. That being said, I cannot deny being somewhat eager to hear more."
"I learned as much as I could from Urokodaki," the leader of the Demon Slayers began, "sadly, there is not as much to relay as I would like."
"Can you at least tell me whether or not it's possible for a cure to be concocted at all," Aiden did her best not to sound eager. As a chief in her organization, it was expected that she kept her composure as best as possible to ensure professionalism and self-control during the hunt. Even now, despite being basically retired the Canadian Native found it handy to continue such a practice.
"The one known as Lady Tamayo seems to believe it's possible," Ubuyashiki responded, "given that she has found ways to reduce a demon's need for human meat all the way down to just needing a small amount of blood, I believe she'll at least be able to create something that can eliminate demons as a threat to humanity."
"What does she need in order to create this cure or anti-demon substance?" The chief questioned.
"To my understanding," the blind man put a hand to his chin as he tried to remember, "Lady Tamayo will either require a sample of blood from Muzan Kibutsuji himself or blood samples from as many of the Twelve Kizuki as possible."
"Of course it wouldn't be something simple," Aiden sighed, "but if it was, demons would've been gone a long time ago."
"You can rest assured that we'll divert what resources we can to the research for this cure," Ubuyashiki consoled, "such a thing could prove potentially game changing and save countless lives from tragedy. That being said, I doubt I have to tell you that not all demons will accept such a cure willingly. For the time being and even when a cure is discovered, slayers will still be necessary so long as demons exist in this world."
"You don't have to tell me that," the demon hunter narrowed her eyes, "I spent enough years fighting them to know. Still, if there's even a remote chance that Darcy can be saved then I'll accept it."
The Present
"Darcy," the Canadian Woman sighed, "I finally found something after all this time. You could be free and finally get out of that coffin. I wonder what you'd do right about now." A sudden stiff breeze went by the chief slayer then, causing her to look towards the sky.
Interestingly, Aiden realized the direction she was facing was also the same direction that her homeland was in. "Heh, right, I guess that is a silly question," she laughed without mirth, "age might be getting to me but I'm not slow yet. Why shouldn't I consider staying here and helping out for a bit if something this important is on the line? Retirement's been kind of boring anyway."
Nighttime: The Butterfly Estate
"Ow," Zenitsu groaned while sitting in a chair, "my lungs are killing me. Tanjiro's really been doing this for the last few days?"
"It was difficult for him at first and is still challenging," Gimiko pointed out while pouring them both some tea on a little table. They were currently in one of the more private rooms for people who wanted to be secluded. It was similar to the one she and the other two demon girls were currently living in. "But I'm certain that with time you and Inosuke will both become more capable with the technique."
"Maybe, but it's not the usual kind of technique," the blond sighed, "we have to keep it going all the time, even when we're sleeping."
"Don't worry, I promise not to hit you too hard when we get to that part of the training," the spider girl smiled mischievously.
"You're always so nice to me, Gimiko," Zenitsu gave her a goofy smile in return. It was then, however, that his face turned somewhat contemplative. "By the way, you remember what you said to me, about our little deal."
"You'll have to be more specific," she pointed out, "we've made a couple of deals over the last few weeks." The slayer didn't give an answer immediately but instead sat there, shifting in a sort of giddy fashion.
"Well," he began, "it's about the deal where you do something really nice for me. Or rather, let me do something." A flash of realization crossed the demon girl's features.
"Oh, you're wanting that," Gimiko shrugged, "I guess you have been upholding your end of the bargain by doing what I ask." She pulled open her kimono slightly, letting the top part of it fall off of her shoulders and settle around her waist. Beneath that she was wearing nothing but a white sarashi with web patterning on it that covered her surprisingly round breasts. "Just remember, this only continues as long as you keep at your training. Also, no slapping them around."
"Your wish is my command," Zenitsu giggled unintelligibly before reaching out. When his hand touched her breast, Gimiko let out a slight gasp, followed by a low moan.
"Honestly, the things you could accomplish if you put your mind to it," she grunted while the slayer continued to knead her melon.
"Whas that now," the lovestruck blond was too distracted to hear her, as he usually was whenever they did this. It hadn't been going on for long but this was the method the spider girl was utilizing to motivate the otherwise cowardly swordsman. If what Honoka said was true about the way he'd defeated the elder brother spider, then he had plenty of potential. The issue was getting him to overcome that hurdle currently required a bit of a roundabout method.
Though that wasn't the only problem they were having tonight. "GIMIKO!" Honoka called loudly as she practically flung open the door and caused the blond slayer to nearly jump out of his skin. "The girls and I are-OH GREAT HEAVENS!"
"What are you two doing?!" Tanjiro added with his own bewildered expression. He'd been helping the policewoman look for her when they didn't find her in the room.
"Just some proper motivation," Gimiko sighed as she closed her kimono back up and stood to leave, "looks like that'll be all tonight, Agatsuma, have a good rest of the evening."
"No, don't go," Zenitsu called after her weakly, "you guys have the worst timing."
The Next Day
"Inosuke! Inosuke!" Tanjiro called as he ran into the room where his friend was training, "they're delivering our swords today!"
"What, seriously?!" The Boar Fighter hopped down from the pot he'd been balancing on and the two slayers excitedly ran to the entrance gate of the mansion.
"Wonder what they're so energetic about," Ozaki mused while watching the duo run.
"Everything alright, Ozaki," Kagabara asked, having just gotten up a few minutes ago. The cut on her leg had healed already and had showed no signs of infection. The only reason she was still hanging around was because a mission hadn't arrived yet, or she'd been threatening her crow to only bring her missions with definitive proof of a demon so she could spend more time with Tanjiro. Either way she'd been hanging out the last couple of days.
"Yeah, just thinking about a few things," the girl slayer responded before a burning question came to mind, "hey, Kagabara. Why'd you become a demon slayer in the first place?"
"That's an out of nowhere question," the Yandere Breather pointed out.
"I know, I just started to wonder recently," Ozaki sighed, "the group of slayers I was with, most of them joined for the money or something along those lines. I know a large number of people also became slayers because demons killed people they cared about, but I just recently discovered that some people joined the Corps because that was one of the only options they had to continue on in life."
"Oh, you're wondering where I fit into all that," Kagabara put a hand to her chin, "well I was the youngest sibling in my family. One night I was out with my sister and our very delicious childhood friend, Yukitaro, just enjoying ourselves. His father was a dockworker so he often went around carrying one of those tuna knives, usually because he forgot to take it off. It was cute when he realized he was being absent-minded about something."
"I can already see where this is going," the girl slayer remarked.
"Yep, we were attacked by a demon," Kagabara nodded, "I lost my sister and dear Yukitaro. The first one hurt immensely, and the second one drove me into a rage. Yukitaro was going to be my husband when I came of age, or at least that was my plan. With him dead it all fell apart. I'm not sure how other children would've reacted in that situation, but me, I took his knife and used it on that demon, fighting him for a while until the sun came up. He finally died after that. I ran into a slayer not long after and wound up joining the Corps, even had them reforge the tuna knife I used with nichirin steel."
"Wow, how long ago was that," Ozaki inquired.
"About a year or so ago," the Yandere Breather shrugged.
"Wait, that can't be right," the swordswoman noted a slight inconsistency, "it would have to be more than one year. The age of consent in some provinces is as low as thirteen."
"And I was ten at the time when it happened," Kagabara revealed.
"Bullshit!" Ozaki pointed an accusing finger at her fellow slayer, "no way you're only eleven years old!"
"Why's that so hard to believe," she tilted her head in confusion.
"Because you're basically six feet tall!" Ozaki stated the obvious issue.
"Oh that," Kazagami giggled, "Apparently my family is closely related to the Himejima family. There aren't many members left but what's known about them is they're big and very strong. I had quite the growth spurt during my training. I probably won't get any taller than this but that's fine with me."
"Did you tell them you were only ten when you joined," the ponytail girl already suspected the answer.
"It never really came up within the first couple of months," the Yandere Breather laughed, "my cultivator wasn't quite sure what to make of it either. Sure he could've kicked me out for being possibly too young but I was doing so well in the training and was inventing my own offshoot Breathing Form, so he figured why waste someone who clearly has a bit of talent."
"Eleven-year-old giant," Ozaki had a haunted look on her face as she walked off, "eleven-year-old giant." Kagabara simply shrugged and went off in her own direction. Fortunately for the lady slayer, she was able to shake off her shock when she spotted the real reason she was out wandering around: Kanao Tsuyuri. 'Alright, let's rip this bandage off,' the slayer took a deep breath and advanced forward.
Ozaki had heard the story from the demon girls last night, what had happened to Kanao when she was a child. The girl's will to do anything had been broken by her bastard parents before she'd even reached double digits! It had only been thanks to Shinobu and her elder sister, Kanae, that Tsuyuri had been taken away from all that. But there was still a lot of damage to undo.
When she'd first arrived, Kanao had to be told to do everything, including eating or drinking! Kanae had managed a solution of sorts by presenting her with a coin that she could flip to make decisions whenever she was alone. It was definitely better than nothing but it was still not where a person should be when it came to deciding things for themselves. That's why she was approaching the quiet girl now.
"Kanao, hey," Ozaki began, "how are things?" The quiet girl looked at her quizzically. "Do you have a minute to talk?" The girl did as expected and pulled out her coin. When she went to flip it, however, Ozaki caught it before it could land. "Yeah, if you're flipping this to decide, you got a minute."
This only seemed to confuse the Tsuguko as she tilted her head. "I know you flip this thing to make decisions, but I think you've out grown it."
"Outgrown it," Kanao actually spoke. Turns out she possessed a soft, polite voice. "I don't know what you mean. Whether I'm young or old, I can't make decisions for myself, because nothing matters to me."
"That's absolutely untrue," Ozaki denied, "if nothing mattered to you then you'd follow the orders of anyone, but you don't. You recognize a chain of command and the roles we play in the Corps. I'm willing to bet you didn't listen to Tanjiro when you bashed your foot on his head."
"I was following Lady Kocho's orders," the quiet girl answered, "but you're right, I didn't prioritize what he was saying the same as what I'd already been told."
"And that's the way most people approach life," the swordswoman explained, "We all decide what's important to us one way or the other. It's a constant battle between what our heads say we should do and what our hearts tell us to do."
"Your heart tells you what to do," Kanao was again a little confused.
"Think of it this way," Ozaki searched for an explanation, "every person's got a voice inside them that tells them right and wrong, or at least most people do. Some out there have decided not to listen to their hearts and that's usually how they wind up rotten. But if you can learn to listen to that voice that helps tell you what's right and wrong, I know you'll wind up good in the end."
"Do you think that's what Lady Kocho and the others would want me to do," the Tsuguko asked.
"They can definitely help you along the way," the lady slayer nodded, "but at the end of the day it'll be up to you to decide whether or not you agree with what they or anyone else says."
"Doesn't that mean I should decide whether or not I agree with what you're saying too?" Kanao tilted her head.
"Guess that would be the case," Ozaki held out her hand, "so how about a deal. I flip the coin this time and if it lands on heads, you listen to that little voice in your heart from now on without flipping anymore coins. But if this thing lands on tails, feel free to go back to doing what you where doing."
"Alright then," Shinobu's apprentice nodded, for once looking a little nervous, "flip the coin." Her fellow slayer nodded before propelling the little bit of currency into the air with her thumb. It spun several times before a sudden gust of wind caused it to spiral during its descent. Ozaki caught it in a flash of movement before slapping it on the back of her hand.
"Ladies and gentleman, we have a winner," she held her hand out for Kanao to see. The purple-eyed girl gasped upon seeing that it landed on heads! "Guess this means it's all up to your heart now." She gave the coin back to Kanao then.
"How," the Tsuguko asked, "how did it come up as heads?"
"Same way it's been coming up as heads any other time," Ozaki shrugged, "just by chance. Guess the world agrees that it's time for you to start listening to your heart, too." The sudden sound of shrieking drew their attention as they turned to see Tanjiro getting chased by his swordsmith, Haganezuka, who was in turn being chased by Kagabara for daring to threaten the boy. "Looks like I better go break that up, so you take care now."
Kanao simply stared after Ozaki for a bit as she processed the events of what just happened. 'Listen to my heart,' she mused before looking at the coin one more time, 'I wonder, what are you saying right now?' It was on this day that she took the first step to regaining what she'd lost all those years ago. She would later ask Ozaki why she'd bothered and received an answer she should've expected: Ozaki's heart told her to help. It was also on this day that a couple of crows showed up with a mission for Tanjiro and the demon girls.
And thus, little Kanao now moves forward in her life with a new perspective. I imagine I don't need to explain much about why this change was made, Tanjiro has one or two other priorities in this story than he does in canon. Either way, let me know what you think in your comments and reviews along with what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! Also, stop by my Pat reon and get caught up on the latest news and exclusives! Last thing, stop in next time as our heroes embark on an original mission! 'Til then.