Ask to Join Demon Slayer Rp

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"Well, I asked, and you said no," Sena mocked the boy under her breath. "Now you're getting destroyed."

She couldn't tell what his plans were from so far away, but if he was hoping to lure the demon onto land, his efforts would be futile. The fact that there was an entire urban legend about a lake monster meant she didn't leave the water much. Since most members of her species rarely stayed in one place, the girl figured that Rurona was virtually powerless on solid ground. If she was right, the creature likely knew her weaknesses better than anyone and could see through an attempt to remove her from her element.

"There's no point in me standing here anymore now that we know the demon's out there," Sena decided, wading into the lake and disappearing under its surface. Getting her scarf wet bothered her more than the chilling water itself, but she had no time to dwell on the minutia. As she swam toward Kit's location, dispersing the drifting debris and gathering her drifting thoughts into a coherent plan, she felt compelled by an intensifying current. The behemoth, unbeknownst to the submerged slayer, was drawing in water and increasing in size.

The enemy would be much stronger by the time Sena got there, but this did give her a peculiar advantage. She could make due with the murky lake's limited visibility and follow the simple changes in its flow. Besides, the fact that the water was totally directionless a second ago confirmed that Rurona's powers didn't cover the whole area.

What did were the demon's cries, the liquid armor amplifying the sound of her female voice and delivering them to Kit's ears in the ominous, reverberating tone of an evil deity.

"My children...! Where are my children?!"

The boy wanted her to move in his direction, but now that Rurona was absorbing water, it was she who pulled him in hers. With more substance and less distance, her arm shot out longer and faster, curled around the slayer like a psychotic mother's suffocating embrace and nearly trapped him. But instead of snapping shut and drowning him, the fluid limb spared him some room and released liquid needles into the space. The rest of her body soon followed suit, water tapering off every inch of the behemoth and sending more slivers flying in all directions. The constant volleys that crowded the air gave Kit little chance of jumping out unscathed, for enough speed and pressure made water deadly.

The swollen beast had plenty to expend, too. The safety of the island, the inside of the demon, and the danger zone in between was a scene that would last for a while, but Kit's beacon of hope who'd stood on the lake's edge had long vanished.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

As Kazu waited for Phyra to return from searching the records, he closed his eyes and thought for a while. He remind himself everything that happend so far. He sighed and when he opened his eyes. Phyra was already back and asked if he has vase.
"Yes, I have it right here" he said and placed vase next to him. "Maybe let's get some water and discuss our plan on the way, there is also something that I think that you should know too" he said. He wanted to make this a short kind of break to cool down and refresh his mind. He also wanted to hear her opinion about something.. Who could call them and what is happening with chief of this place.. He was wondering about this for a while now.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

As Dolan arrived at the nicer side of Korudo. Dolan put Akane on the horse carefully so she wouldn't fall off. Dolan would have felt pretty bad if she had fallen to the ground. He also wondered when she would wake up. As soon as they arrived at their destination Dolan knew he would need to make himself scarce as Dolan didn't particularly enjoy needing medical assistance as he found most medicine tasted nasty. These people seemed friendly and pleasant sure ,but any minute they might ask to check his pulse or give him medicine. Dolan didn't even want to think about surgery. The thoughts made him shudder. Despite this Dolan still wanted to see how Akane was doing. Dolan cracked the door open peeping through the crack. "I should probably wait out here. But on the other hand I should probably go in. But on the other hand one of those ladies could come in at any moment. But on the other hand I can be quick. In and out. That's it. In and out. Plain and simple. I can be in and out before anyone notices. In hindsight I probably could have asked a one of them if I can visit" Dolan thought long and hard as he looked through the crack of the door before mustering the courage to walk in the room. Like a brave warrior venturing through no-man's land without fear or visible panic.

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"So how long are you three staying?" a woman clad loosely in a kimono asked Dolan from the doorway. "We couldn't refuse you when you showed up at our front step with those injuries, but you should know that this is a brothel. We've got plenty of beds and provide excellent hospitality, but it isn't exactly the best place to spend the night. Unless..."

The lady smiled as she eyed Akane's wounds. She ran a cathouse in the safe part of Korudo, so the only time she'd seen serious injuries was when they were part of the transaction. The business she owned and the crowd it drew were the lowest that the nice side offered, but the slums were still a completely different environment whose dangers she didn't understand. So when the woman looked at the unconscious girl, she thought the redhead might've done it to herself.

"...she'd like to work here. You know, we've been looking for someone as kinky as your friend, who can take all those stab wounds and satisfy our more demanding clients."

Dolan had fled the square in such a hurry that he hadn't paid attention to where he'd ended up, flying through the entrance of the first building that resembled a hospital and not questioning it until now. The establishment took great care of its employees and gave the necessary medical attention, but the ladies he internally worried about weren't nurses.

"We'll restore her to full health," the woman promised Dolan, approaching the boy and wrapping her arms around him. "You can just sit back, relax, and let the girls show you a good time in one of our other rooms. We won't check your pulse or feed you bitter medicine. We'll get it going and give you something sweet instead."

She raised her eyebrows suggestively and assured the brave warrior that the place through which he ventured was not no-man's land, but every man's dream. She then scanned the room and wondered as to the whereabouts of that black-haired slayer with red strands, not finding him there but assuming that he waited in the hall.

"Ladies, find the strong, silent type and take him upstairs! We're lonely and haven't had many visits today, so tell him it's free!~" the mistress called, then turned back to Dolan. "You look stiff all over. Try to loosen up and be stiff where it counts..."

~~~

There was a knowing smirk on Tomoru's face when Ren accepted her hand. All anyone knew about the demon were details a spying nightjar had relayed, like the drunken state in which the Mystery Eater had found him, but the pink-haired girl could tell so much more just by observing his behavior. He was as socially awkward as she expected, and it showed in the brief moment of hesitation before he returned her greeting.

When he did, however, Tomoru jerked his hand and pulled him along, out from his secluded training area, down the graveyard hill dotted with headstones and into the city below. If his demonic nature forced him into some dark cave where getting stronger was the only goal he could work toward, it was no wonder he took the inconsequential loss to Mori so personally. But she was about to show Ren that there was more to life than fighting, that the Gravediggers had jobs for him and that one lay beyond a wooden door to an ordinary house they soon reached.

The inside was just as normal. The table in the kitchen had been cleared, the ticking clock went uninterrupted, and the clean floors were unmistakable in the darkness. Ren and Tomoru's nighttime presence in this sleeping home was probably the most questionable thing about it, until they descended the stairs and caught noises from the basement. The girl rapped her knuckles on the secret entrance that awaited them where the steps ended and slid it out of her way, leading the new recruit into a room full of crazy-eyed, hyperactive demons. Some celebrated, others told outrageous stories, a couple danced between utensils and empty chemical bottles strewn across the floor, and one sprawled over the wood table in the chamber's center and babbled incoherently. Its surface, save a few potted mixtures shoved to the wall, was almost entirely uncluttered. Everything had made space for a spread of white powder and metal straws.

"Dunno if you were paying attention when Mori said you'll be on the streets selling drugs besides digging up dead people," Tomoru commented, tugging Ren along again, sitting him down, and inviting him to snort the chalky dust. "But there's plenty left over for us. Now don't be shy. We're demons, so our bodies handle this stuff way better than humans."

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Dolan didn't hear the woman call the place a brothel as he was completely lost in thought. Dolan's pulse dropped when a voice spoke to him ,and moments later a pair of arms wrapped around him. Dolan slowly looking over through his peripherals saw the lady he assumed to be a nurse. Her friendly words would not trick him, "As soon as I drop my guard this lady is gonna go in for the attack. The nurse lady definitely was going to try check his pulse, and all hospitals have nasty medicine. This is a deceit. A ruse. A trick. A hoax. A dupe. But I'm smart! My younger sister said so!" Dolan thought to himself. As soon as the mistress lady told her workers to escort Miyaji upstairs Dolan knew things were about to go from bad to worse. They was probably going to proceed to perform surgery on the poor guy. Dolan assumed she must have been the head staff member. Her words confused Dolan, "Loosen up and stiff where it counts? What does that even mean?! Loosen up. That's where they get you. The family house is not what I expected. Though to be fair this kinda stuff is expected of medical practitioners" Dolan thought to himself. Sadly Dolan knew he wasn't a doctor so performing surgery should be off the table. For now Dolan would just have to wait and see what would unravel next ,and hope everything is okay when they leave.

~Meanwhile...~

As Tomoru tugged on Ren's arm, "What in the world has gotten into you?!" Ren said. As soon as they arrived the demon's living area Ren looked at the clean table and the unmistakable clean floor with surprise to see how clean the place was. So clean you might forget demons live here. As soon as he saw the other demons any surprise or suspicion he might have had quickly faded upon seeing the demons act mostly how expected. They didn't seem too bad. Ren was still getting used to all the talking ,and loud voices. Being in a cave meant lots of silence so this was still quite the change of pace. One of the demons had been sniffing powder of sorts?, "What a strange sight... For what purpose would someone do such a bizarre thing like that for? And the stories that demon over there is saying? What an unusual story... If I didn't know better Id say he was pulling those stories straight out of his a-" Ren thought to himself. Before he could continue pondering to himself Tomoru spoke again. Ren looked towards the table covered in white powder, "And just what in the world is this strange substance?" Ren said completely mind-boggled. "It doesn't look like any alchemical or herbal medicine I've seen before" Ren said.

 

[Mango137]

Kit remained calm as the watery hand surrounded him and the cold blue fingers trapped him within its grasp. As the needles came shooting in, Kit knew his attempts to lure the demon to shore would be futile, she had him right where she wanted him, out of his element and at the height of her power.

“Fifth Form: Dark Cyclone” An inky black streak flowed from the slate purple tip of Kit’s katana and surrounded the demon slayer in a swirling black vortex that deflected the incoming needles.

Now it my turn!

“Second Form: Black Rushing Hawk!” He jumped out from the confines of the large hand and began running up the aquatic arm. Kit’s sword outstretched to his left side and leaving a black trail as if it were the shadow beneath the wing of a great hawk flying above as he charged upward towards the real body of the demon.

 

[kyuukestu]

"That sounds good, lead the way."

Since they seemed to have everything they needed, the duo of demon slayers now needed to reconvene and find their targetted Demon. Beneath the desert sun, a drink of water sounded like just the right thing they'd need to calm their minds and get to work. Phyra faintly wondered if they were missing any parts of the clue, but even after mulling over it for a while, she couldn't think of anything.

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

The next time Sena surfaced, she gasped for breath and scrambled to rip a thick drape of seaweed off her face. If one stiffened her muscles, steeled herself for the biting cold and swam the lake, her arms would only get foiled by the floating gunk. This was something a trained swordswoman could handle, but she still passed air through her teeth in annoyance. She wondered if the camp shirked cleaning the water and forced kids to swim as far out as the filth to "toughen them up."

"Wait, aren't these...?" the girl stopped, noting the purple petals caught in the tangle. They must not have been important, since she dismissed them right away and disappeared into the lake again. But the clump of seaweed began moving with her, dragging along the water, covering the slayer's advance and giving her the stealth Kit didn't have.

The behemoth's liquid head reinforced itself even as he charged, drawing in enough of the lake to stop a blade and shielding the demon body that dangled inside. Corps members sliced through boulders as part of their training, but even the toughest stone had a subtle weakness that a well-placed sword exposed. Water, on the other hand, was unified and faultless. How was one supposed to cut that which welcomed the steel, caught it in the stream and slowed its course?

Not that Kit would get the chance anyway. Piranhas sprang from the monster's arm and latched onto him, but if he managed to swat enough of them out of the air as the accumulating pricks of pain slowed his steps, he was unprepared for the cresting wave that rose in his path. The fluid wall swallowed him whole and submerged him in the demon's body, where the current flowed opposite and pushed him back to the monster's palm. The behemoth joined its hands and formed a spherical prison between them, trapping Kit and letting fish into the space.

"Sleep now, my child..." Rurona's eerie voice filled the container she cradled like an infant. Demons apparently retained their old personalities, which showed in the twisted fiend whose demonic appetite manipulated her maternal instincts. She held the slayer she delivered from this world just as a human woman held a newborn she delivered into it, with all a mother's love. Anyone who witnessed the sight from afar would realize that demons weren't evil. Maybe Rurona just didn't understand what she was doing, or maybe her kind was capable of feeling love and this was her way of showing it.

But sympathy for the enemy wouldn't save Kit from drowning or skeletonization. The first thing he'd lose before his breath or his skin was his sense of pride. He'd had the luxury of fussing over who'd gotten the kill on the last mission, but that didn't matter now. The prospects of claiming Rurona's head and keeping his own vanished like the faintest twinkle of a star that the murky trap closed out.

Suddenly, the monster stopped and the water prison fell away. Its entire body began to melt and feed back into the lake. The liquids surrounding Rurona amplified the last of her screams before they rejoined Kessho and she lost control completely. The collapsing behemoth exposed the demon to the cold air and revealed, besides her tattered clothes and the similarly sparse shreds of her sanity, the snarls of seaweed that now blinded her. She felt herself growing weaker as she fought to get out of them, shaking off wisteria petals and cursing the wind for bringing them here.

Sena, who floated behind her, quietly celebrated the plan to introduce a wisteria-filled seaweed patch into the enemy's system and suppress her Blood Demon Art. In the short time that she'd swum over and pulled it off, she learned to appreciate the lake's filth and didn't chastise the camp for neglecting it. She knew she'd lucked out, that an unexpected variable had decided the outcome of this fight, but a big part of completing assignments was accepting that she didn't have perfect knowledge of the environment and using whatever resources were available.

The battle hadn't ended, though. Sena idled and gave Kit the chance to finish Rurona off, since she didn't feel like kill-stealing a second time. She'd already saved him from two things, drowning and skeletonization, and if she could spare her petty comrade a wounded pride, she'd be three for three.

"She's all yours," the girl said with a smirk.

~~~

Dolan's thoughts raced, but his mouth couldn't manage a single word of protest. The brothel owner coaxed the slayer's arm in the direction of the door with the gentle touch of her own and gradually led him toward the hallway, eventually pressing him up against the wall where her loose kimono slipped seductively off her shoulder. Her tempting eyes were so focused on him that the corridor sounds of other women dispersing in search of Miyaji registered as background noise.

"Let's find an empty room~..."

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

Kazu smiled softly to Phyra and leaded the way to one of a few Wells that are in this town. He walked slowly and looked around, thinking what should they talk about first... He kinda wanted to have a five minute break. "Hey Reva.. Mind if I ask you.. Why did you became a demon slayer?" he asked for a form of small talk.. She could answer him or not, but he just wanted to calm his mind before the serious Discussion about plan and hunt will begin.

@kyuukestu

 

[JadeStar]

Darkness, peace and quiet was all that ran through her mind. She wasn't aware of the current situation and she didn't seem to care. Maybe she was dead, and she was okay with that, not feeling any pain was pleasant. However, every now and then she would hear some voices, but her mind couldn't figure out who they were. She barley knew who she was. As time passed though, the pain slowly began to come back, specially in her head. Then the memories of what happened before the blackout rushed back to her.

Akane opened her eyes, she struggled to catch her breath, like someone who just woke from a nightmare. She forced herself to sit up. There were bandages all over her body and her head had a sharp pain that made her squint her eyes. But before she could even began to think about herself, she remembered her teammates. There were too many grunts and if she is safe it meant one could've stayed behind as a distraction or something. Feeling guilty, Akane forced herself to her feet. She used the nearby walls to hold herself up and work her way to the door. She slowly stepped out, only to see Dolan in an awkward position with a lady.

"Sorry." Was her first reaction to stumbling upon such a private scene. "I'm glad you're okay." The red head said, directing her words towards Dolan. "I should probably leave you two alone..."

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Dolan was even more confused at to why he was leaving the room. What could the lady possibly want that couldn't be said in the same room? Were they trying to hide their medical techniques/secrets? Were they gruesome? inhumane? So many questions ran through Dolan's mind ,and each time a question popped up two more followed behind, "All this thinking is so confusing! Think Dolan! Think!... No! That's what got you confused in the first place! And why does she want a empty room?! I hope this isn't some kind of trick. I bet it is! Akane if you can hear my thoughts I hope you get better soon!" Dolan thought to himself. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the lady's kimono slip.

Dolan looked around with thoughts of what to do next. He wondered what Miyaji was up to. They were probably cutting him open like a cow in a slaughterhouse. Dolan needed a plan and he needed one quick however he didn't see any easy or immediate possible escape places. Dolan heard some background noises and looked over his shoulder ,but didn't see anything particularly worth noting. Dolan took a deep breath beforre looking back to the woman. He was hesitant to ask, "Why do you need an empty room for? I don't really feel like going to sleep now" Dolan said. Moments later he heard Akane's Voice.

Dolan was pretty excited to see she was finally awake, "Your awake sleepy head!" Dolan said cheerfully walking over to greet her. As far as Dolan was concerned everything was hunky-dory ,and nothing could go wrong. Well almost nothing. Dolan still wondered how Miyaji was doing. However seeing how Akane seemed to have made a decent recovery put most of Dolan's stress at ease, "Guess these people ain't so bad after all. The family house may be weird ,but they sure got the job done" Dolan thought to himself. "How do you feel? Are you okay? Can you walk? What about talk? How many fingers am I holding up?!" Dolan asked nervously as he held up three fingers in front of her(His pointer, middle ,and ring finger on his right hand). "I have no clue where Miyagi is. I think he's napping or nature calls or something" Dolan said.

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"Wait, what? Do you seriously not know what drugs are?" Tomoru asked Ren in disbelief. She'd told him outright that he'd be on the streets selling them at night, describing his job in the most objectionable terms possible. Yet he had no objections. Only ignorance.

"You really spent a lot of time inside, didn't you?" she remarked, realizing how little he knew of the outside world. But if his mind was a blank slate, that was a good thing. At least he hadn't come with an incorrigible "drugs are bad" attitude. "It's not medicine. It's a far stronger, more addictive substance we call 'white magic.'"

Tomoru led the recruit to the wood table and gestured to an empty seat by the sprawled demon.

"All you have to do is arrange the powder into lines and snort it through one of these metal straws," she instructed. "In five minutes, you'll start to feel a sense of joy so powerful that you might hallucinate. So in a way, it's just like your pink fog."

Mori's strength test marked Ren's official acceptance into the Gravediggers, but among the demons who were free to do whatever they wanted at the end of a long night's work, this was the true rite of passage. His first taste of reality was a snort of something surreal, and when he came crashing down from a world much stranger than the one he'd avoided, the outside wouldn't seem so bad. Then he'd comprehend exactly what the organization was selling humans, what joy it was helping them discover and what good deeds it was doing society.

"Maybe it'll make you see the world in a different light, or jog your human memories, or fill you with enough pleasure to compensate for the time you spent in the dark," Tomoru guessed. "You won't know until you give it a try."

 

[JadeStar]

Akane squinted her eyes at Dolan, a mistrustful look, which was also shared with the lady who seemed to be comfortable enough to let her clothes begin to slide off. As Dolan spoke, Akane's mind was trying to keep up with the situation. Flashes of the previous battle ran through her head, from the demon to the group of thugs ganging up on her and to her falling down. The fact that she was alive was a miracle. How could she have left herself get into such situation?

The red head tightened her muscles, trying to make herself look as sturdy as possible, besides the several wounds and the trembling legs, it probably worked. She looked at Dolan, he seemed to be really relaxed despite what happened earlier and despite he was being dirty with the weird lady. But, his intentions were good and Akane's heart couldn't get mad at him or she just didn't have the strength to. All she could do then, despite her mixed feelings, was being polite like her mother taught her.

"Two." She said with a small smirk, while looking at Dolan's fingers. "And two of you. I didn't know you had a twin brother." She then looked at the strange lady. "Or a girlfriend."

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Dolan was still confused as to what was going on, "You don't look so well? Maybe your thirsty. A good drink might hit the spot!" Dolan said. A few moments after Akane said two Dolan put his hand down, "Close enough" he said. "Brother? I don't think you've met any of my brothers. I know we look similar but not that similar. Mama always did call me the handsome one though" Dolan said. "A girl friend??? I gots plenty friends that are girls. I know cooties aren't real" Dolan said slightly less than amused. He quickly overlooked that remark seeing how Akane was awake and didn't appear to be dying.

~Meanwhile...~

Ren saw the way some of the other demons acted ,and had no intention in acting about in a similar fashion. Ren had drank alcohol before though. How much difference could this powder substance be? Both seemed frowned upon, and effected one's mental state. Ren however wasn't about to stick his head down to "snort" it off a table like a filthy animal eating off the streets. No. He walked over pressing his hand across the table getting some on his hand. Lifting his hand he sniffed the substance. In an instance he remembered the time he received his locket. He stared blankly at the wall before placing his hand over his pocket reassuring himself the locket was still there. Ren could feel the effects of the substance ,and as he did his claws extended from his fingers. A scowl grew on his face as he remembered a young boy who bullied him in his youth. He remembered the boy stealing his locket one day pushing him down. He eventually managed to get revenge and reclaim his locket ,but he still bared a grudge against the boy who picked on him so many years ago. He never knew what happened to the boy. Maybe he was killed by a demon ,or maybe his family moved to a different town. Ren had no clue.

 

[kyuukestu]

"Huh?"

The question was as random as it was sudden, coming from complete leftfield and catching the Demon Slayer off guard.

"Well...my family are merchants and although we're not filthy rich, I certainly don't lack for anything. Becoming a Demon Slayer was...the most interesting and meaningful job I could think of..."

Phyralis took a seat on the edge of the well, relaxing her body and mind.

"I guess you could say...I'm a Demon Slayer because it sounded fun? I'm sorry, you were expecting a deeper motivation."

The Rain blade was certain that no small number of Demon slayers had chosen this path for power, vengeance, or some other deep, experience-driven motivation. She might not be one of them, but she certainly didn't have the qualifications to comment on why others chose to do the job they'd done. So long as they did their duty well, Phyra would not find fault with them.

"How about you? Why did you become a demon slayer?"

The question was perhaps a loaded one, depending on the person, and Phyra couldn't help be tuck it away in a corner of her mind. She decided that she would ask Miyaji for his motivations as well. Though that would have to wait till they could meet again.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

"It sounds like a good reason to me... You ar least wanted to become the demon slayer yourself." He said and then started to collect water from the well "Me and my sister weren't the richest people and I didn't help her much at home, I was just so lazy, I always went to the forest and took nap there. One day, we were visited by a strong demon slayer and he said that I have 'talent' of some sort or whatever and trained me like crazy against my will.. Well, he convinced me after 3 months and I basiclly became a demon slayer, becouse someone wanted me to become one" said Kazure, after a while he also sat down on the edge of the well. "Many things changed after this... Aren't you scared sometimes to lose your life?"

 

[kyuukestu]

"I'm sorry to hear that...but surely you can now provide for your sister, right?"

Hearing Kazu's story, Phyra tried to pull out the silver lining. She wasn't sure how long Kazu had been training for, but as far as she could tell he certainly was talented. She hadn't seen him fight yet, but the way he moved carried poise and confidence.

"I'm not unafraid of death but...what's the point in brooding over that? I've just got to do my job and do my best. Once we put on these uniforms, slaying demons becomes our duty. Besides we probably won't be assigned demons too strong for us anyway, and in addition, we've even got partners, right?"

 

[Mango137]

"Yeah like you're in any position to deliver the finishing move." Kit sneered back, not losing his sarcastic reflex despite almost dying. "But thanks... it was a smart move." He mumbled the last part, the notion of giving genuine compliments was still foreign to the boy.

Kit felt no pity for the crippled demon standing on the water across from him. It wasn't because she had just tried to kill him with piranhas (though that did contribute to the boy being slightly more hostile than normal), but in his eyes demons were created out of selfishness- a twisted desire to become their skewed ideal. He didn't care about how terrible her life was before or the horrors she had endured, because if she had remained a human he would have done anything to help her. But ultimately she made the selfish and weak decision and decided to harm and kill others to fulfill her own fantasy- an unforgivable sin.

"Second Form: Black Rushing Hawk."

The ripples from his first step had barely begun to expand before they were disrupted by the splash from Rurona's head hitting the water. In an instant the boy had delivered the finishing blow and was now walking atop the water passed a floating Sena.

"Have fun swimming back in this piranha infested lake." He joked, not even bothering to look down at her as he jogged towards the shoreline, thankful he had made it out alive from his second demon encounter.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

"No... I can't provide her..." said Kazu and tried to sound as calm as ever. "It's a good way of thinking, but... Always something unexpected may happend on the hunts like this one. We can't be sure of anything.. Also, being afraid of death doesn't need to mean being afraid of your death. You may simply be afraid to lose someone else..." Kazu said and stopped for a while" You are far better person than me... You have faith, you wanted to become a demon slayer yourself and you probably know what you want to do.."

 

[kyuukestu]

"Look at it this way; you should never worry too much. If you're worried about something you can change, then you don't have to worry, you just have to change that thing. If you're worried about something you can't change, then you still don't have to worry, you can't change it anyway, so why stress? You'll be happier and healthier without all the worries."

Turning around and facing the well, Phyra threw in the communal bucket beside the well, and began reeling up a bucket-full of cool, refreshing water.

"Here, have a drink and wash away all that melancholy. Just focus on what's in front of us. Right now, that's our job. Everything else comes after that. If you're afraid to lose something then just protect it with your life, isn't that why we demon slayers are so strong? to protect what's dear to us?"

After speaking Phyra turned to the bucket and cupped her hands before pouring herself a handful of water. She quenched her throat with some of the water and then splashed the rest over her face to cool down.

"Besides if you weren't someone with at least some good faith, then the nichirin blades wouldn't have changed color in your hand. That sword is proof that you have it too, somewhere deep inside you. You just need to find it."

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

Kazu listened to her calmly and something moved in him a bit as Phyra was speaking. He looked down at the ground, at the bucket, Phyra and again at the ground. Then he crushed his mask in his hand.. Mask after the demon, he didn't need it after all and he threw it's pieces at the ground.
He raised the bucket above his head and poured water on himself, then he sighed "Thanks... You are probably right.." Then he collected water to the bucket again, as he kinda wasted some water earlier on himself. "I think that you and my sister could be a really good friends..."

 

[kyuukestu]

"Ahaha."

Phyra smiled and watched with interest as Kazu seemed to have decided upon something serious. She was tempted to ask him about the mask and what it might represent, but she didn't want to pry. Furthermore, it really wasn't the time for that. Instead, Phyra patiently waited until he was done.

"I'm a Merchant, getting along with people is a tool of the trade. But in that case, you should introduce me to your sister someday."

With Kazu now cheered up, and if his completely soaked appearance was anything to judge by, totally refreshed, now seemed the perfect time to push forward with their task.

"Let's hurry up. We still need to find the demon and complete the mission before we can head home."

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

"Yeah, Let's. This demon waited for us long enough" said Kazu and stood up... Ugh, his clothes were completely soaked.. Well, its so hot here that they will be dry in no time.

He stretched and sighed "Yeah, I should introduce you to my sister" he said.

It was three days ago, when she was buried, wasn't it...

 

[kyuukestu]

An evening of analysis went by as the duo of demon slayers poured over all the knowledge they had at hand: records, eye witness accounts, previous crime scenes, etc. The pair went over everything they could find and at the end of it all they, or Phyra at least, thought they were much closer to finding the demon. A combined guesstimation had the Demon slayer's lurking through the night, prowling the streets around a section of the town they were sure the demon would appear in. The section of the community they were in was inside the strange shape Phyra had managed to draw up after drawing dots for each location the demon had appeared in and then linking them up with lines. The Rain blade imagined that the Demon would continue hunting in familiar grounds and suggested they try to ambush the demon here.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

Kazu simply agreed with Phyra to ambush the demon. He sended Arashi to patrol the area around the place, where pair was about to prepare an ambush for a demon. He went for a little shopping, some food and water as they will wait for the demon.
After this he went to the place, that both of them decided to be a place, where they will set an ambush.

 

[JadeStar]

Akane was surprised at first by the answers being given by Dolan. Was he really that naive? It made Akane feel weird, as she is usually the innocent one in the group, but Dolan was at another level. But that surprise soon turned into a giggle as his answers were funny, specially the part about cooties. She let out a sigh of relief, flinching a little from the pain, but tried her best to hide it.

Before she could say anything, she did notice that they weren't exactly at a hospital, which made her worry they might be somewhere that the innocent mind of Dolan wouldn't consider a bad place. But it could also be the house of a citizen, that happened to like boys like Dolan. The need for Akane to keep her friend save from the perverted woman emerged in her head as she made her decision on what to do next.

"Thank you for making sure I got somewhere safe." She smiled through the pain. "Do you mind if we go to an actual hospital? I know it's selfish to ask for another favor after you saved my life, but I don't really think I can make it on my own." The feeling of being helpless and only good for being a pretty wife came back, but she swallowed it.

Her attention was then turned to the perverted lady. "Make sure you pay any expenses, I have a small bag with coins near my pillow, hopefully it's enough." She told Dolan.

The red head demon slayer bowed to show her appreciation to the two present before painfully making her way back to the room and tried to get ready so they could leave as soon as possible.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Upon entering the room, Akane would be able to see Miyaji in the corner of her periphery, crouching against the farthest corner of the space with his Naginata stood up against the wall. As soon as she arrived, he quickly waved to get her attention, though an index finger was pressed against the center of his lips as if to plead for a quiet reaction. "Hey Akane," He greeted with a hushed whisper, a small but warm grin on his face in an attempt to draw attention away from his weary eyes. "I was going to check in on you, see how you were holding up, but that was before I found out that Dolan had taken us to a brothel, and I started getting chased by a bunch of women. I've shaken them off for now, so I swung by, but you weren't here; I did see your stuff, though, which helped me deduce you'd be coming back at some point."

Despite the somewhat cheery disposition he attempted to maintain, it didn’t take long for Miyaji’s facade to wear off, and his grin quickly faded into an exasperated scowl. "Seriously?" He sighed, tiredly running a hand through his hair. "Just when I think I'm going to catch a break, we end up in a brothel, and I've got a bunch of crazy ladies chasing after me, wanting to 'help me relax'." He shuddered in his seat, desperately trying to wipe out the memory of women with flushed faces and seductive grins approaching him; it seemed impossible for the trauma of the sight to brand itself onto his mind so soon, but Miyaji could even now hear the footsteps... no, they seemed much louder than before. Sure enough, the faint sound of high-pitched, excited squeals slowly grew more audible, and Miyaji heaved a sigh of irritation. "Anyway, I'll be taking my leave; glad to see you're doing okay, and give Dolan my regards. There should be a hospital about a twenty minutes’ walk from here—if I recall correctly, it’s to the east.” Standing up from his seat, the slayer then placed a comforting hand on Akane’s shoulder with a smile, the same as he had done on the last day of the Final Selection. “You did well.”

With that, Miyaji turned to pick up his Naginata and sheathed it against his back before opening the nearby window and jumping through, landing on the ground outside the building. Sparing no time in getting out of the brothel workers’ sight, he then sucked in a sharp inhale of breath before launching off the ground and landing on top of the adjacent building. After jumping from roof to roof for a few more minutes, Miyaji sat on the edge of a high reaching tower, taking in the view of the town. His Kasugai falcon flew up and began circling in the sky above him, and upon noticing the bird, the slayer let out a heavy exhale, a minuscule but visible amount of smoke and embers escaping his breath as he stood up, watching the falcon fly.

“What’s my next assignment?”

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"You know, I should've just chopped her head off myself..." Sena mused as Kit strayed farther away. If there was one thing her sharp eyes were good for, it was reading people. Her proud partner hid his weakness in her presence and jogged away like nothing had happened, teasing her about piranhas when he was the one with bites in his legs. The girl didn't mind his sarcastic jabs, though, since she put the mission first and knew not to reduce herself to his level.​

"...jerk," she still added. Sena was just who the Corps needed her to be, an uptight soldier whose personal feelings didn't interfere with her assignment, but the boy's immaturity brought out the slightest bit of emotion in her. Kit, who was far less stoic about the job than she was, got it done all the same, which maybe encouraged her to lighten up a little.

That, or they had something in common. Every demon she slayed was a marker on a bloody path to redemption⁠⁠—killing the one who'd wronged her and righting the world⁠⁠—a higher purpose that the boy interpreted as condescension. He was petty, annoying, and occasionally impulsive, but they both had something to prove, whether it was Kit's tough guy act or Sena's ultimate goal. Perhaps that made their relationship less than professional, in a good way.

"Piranhas rarely attack humans unless they're hungry, or there's a demon manipulating them," the girl informed him as she waded out of the lake. They must have been lesser monsters that disappeared with the one who'd spawned them, since she hadn't encountered any on the way back. "So I'm fine. You, on the other hand..."

Sena paused, lilting the last part like she had him figured out and drawing attention to his condition.

"You need first aid, Kit. If you behave, maybe I'll have the kids treat your wounds when I finish sparring with them tomorrow."

The female slayer addressed him the same smug way she had when she asked his name. That seemed to be the nature of their interactions, exploding into unbridled contempt then simmering to slow roasts and mockery. She left it there and retired to the girls' cabins, since it was long past anyone's bedtime and Sena needed to get out of her wet clothes. The children were sound asleep when she stopped at her bottom bunk, wrung her scarf, and hung the sodden garments on the rails, stripping down to white underwear and a matching sash that bound her breasts. She redonned her mother's brown knit, wrapped herself in the bed's covers, and drifted off into a light slumber, the vigilant kind that didn't deepen no matter how safe Sena thought she was. Enough missions needing her awake at a moment's notice ensured that.

When she next opened her eyes, her body was sprawled across the cold, hard floor of an empty chamber, a row of bars inches away from her pressed face. Her surroundings were obscure and she couldn't so much as lift her gaze, but the foul smell and distant sound of a guard's stick rapping the ground revealed exactly where she was. Sena suddenly felt younger than 17.

"You must have done something awful to be imprisoned at such a young age," a voice agreed. "It's hard to know for sure with the way the justice system is. But whatever the case may be, I can get you out of here. I'm with the Demon Slayer Corps, an unrecognized organization that gladly welcomes the condemned into its ranks. I've been looking for an apprentice to teach my skills and happened to stop by here on my way to Mt. Fujikasane…"

The 14-year-old's dead stare rested on the speaker's shoes. Long periods of solitary confinement had caused her to see the world differently, but even the most clueless and disconnected person understood that anywhere was better than here. There was definitely some catch, some reason the man approached her rather than someone who actually had a choice, but that didn't matter.

"...is what I told you back then, isn't it? Too bad. This time, I'm leaving you to rot in this jail cell, as I should've done all those years ago."

The man turned, walked away, and took the light of opportunity he'd shone into Sena's dark tunnel with him. As she realized what she was losing, her lifeless eyes finally moved, dropping from the place his shoes had occupied to the floor like weights. There was no more hope. They wouldn't be lifted. The strike of the guard's stick against the ground intensified like a clock hand marking the eternity she'd spend here, her master's increasingly quiet steps the fading tock.

"Rise! Pick yourself off the dirt and stand at attention!" the patrol yelled, his rod now poking Sena like a dead dog. Or was it something softer—a little girl stirring her sleep with a gentle finger?

"Miss Sena, wake up... I'm scared..."

The counselor's past had crept from the corners of her mind like a spider and woven a dream thin enough not to disturb her light doze, the beads of sweat on her sleeping face caught in the web like morning dew. Yet when she snapped awake, it was the middle of the night, and one of her campers was at her bedside. That's right. She was their chaperone until tomorrow. There was no reason to be having these dreams now.

"...What's wrong?" Sena asked.

"A monster! There's... there's a monster under my bed!"

"A monster?" she questioned. The same children who'd told her the other day that Rurona was just an urban legend suddenly believed in the supernatural. More people acknowledging the existence of demons was a good thing, the slayer thought, since she'd been the victim of a public that too readily dismissed them and pinned their atrocities on her. But her campers were only kids, so she was content with them denying the reality. "Monsters... don't exist."

The child still eyed the darkness under her bed with dread, however. Sena rose and padded to the other side of the room, realizing that the sole way to reassure her was to check herself. What met the young woman's stare when she crouched down were piercing yellow eyes, sickly gray skin, and a snarling, juvenile frame. Before she could jump back and reach her blade, the creature flew out of hiding and threw her off balance, sticking to the ceiling and causing her to fall on her butt. The slayer had enough time to recover, though, as the imp crawled about the cabin and roused the dormant campers.

"Hey, brat! I'm over here!" Sena taunted, her katana now firmly in her grip. The small demon hissed and lunged at her from above, but she'd spun and swung her sword in advance, catching the falling body from the side and driving it toward the door. Protecting innocents was her chief responsibility. Eliminating the threat came second.

She wasted no time between the two, running after the fiend as soon as it crashed from the lodge and landed in the dirt. She was about to deliver a killing blow when the outside revealed the director's figure standing before a massive blaze.

"How could you hurt your own campers? That's not what you were hired to do," he lamented, turning away from the overgrown campfire and flashing her with slitted eyes. "Your real business here is slaying demons, but you couldn't even do that right. Did you think killing me was so easy?"

The head counselor's fiendish face was firelit and unmistakable. His once-glistening cheeks were drained of life, and his cheerful disposition had collapsed in the heat. Sena's eyes fell to the "imp" she'd nearly killed, still reconciling the director's present state, and suddenly recognized one of the campers she'd promised to spar with. Creatures just like her emerged from the cabins and surrounded the woman as everything became clear, except the important question of whether her foes were humans or demons, whether they should be slain or protected.

"You may have destroyed my main body..." Rurona spoke from the counselor's shell, "...but all these children are my bodies. And the unpossessed among them are my dinner, which I'll cook over a fire along with you and your male companion. How nice that you're barely dressed and easier to skin..."

~~~

A brothel worker wasn't the typical, pushy salesperson. From a casual wink, to a seductive side-glance, to a sultry smile and a confident brush of her hair, she knew just the face to wear to please a client. So the owner's expression didn't visibly melt when Akane politely excused herself. In fact, it was better that the girl left. She realized the redhead wasn't as wild as initially believed, though it was anyone's guess as to what had actually caused her stab wounds.

"And I thought you'd jump at a job offer in these uncertain economic times...~" she pouted, cutely resigning herself to Akane's answer and subtly signaling for the employees to find Miyaji in her absence. "Sure, I'll walk you to the hospital. As long as we stay six feet apart and practice social distancing, like my customers have been doing all day..."

 

[JadeStar]

Akane couldn't help but to smile when Miyaji complemented her. She gained back some confidence in that moment and it felt good, to the point she forgot about the pain for a second. She waved at the demon slayers as he left. "Hope we meet again!" She called out.

Akane sighed and nodded towards the brothel lady. "Thank you for helping me, I could've died if it weren't for you. I think me and Dolan can make it to the hospital just fine." She gave an assuring smile before shooting a mean look towards Dolan. "Next time you bring me to a place like this I'm keeping your horse!"

 

[kyuukestu]

The duo of demon slayers had been prowling the streets, perhaps looking more dangerous than the demons they were hunting with their toted blades. So far the night had been calm and unassuming, and the level of tranquility which engulfed the town would not have led one to assume a string of supernatural murders had just occurred. Had the Demon not been known to cause repeated murders in the same town, Phyra would've thought it had escaped the town at the first light of dark. However, this would prove not to be the case as, after only a short time of searching, Phyra heard it. A piercing scream that ripped through the blackness of night.

The rain blade immediately sprung into action, she made a quick bounce off the nearby walls, using rafters, window ledges, or whatever hanging she could find to scale the roofs. With a deep breath, she activated her concentrated breathing and began running over the rooftops. She could vaguely pinpoint the location of the scream, as these wealthy, affluence personages with the village could afford larger, more spaced apart houses. Preferring speed to courtesy, as soon as Phyra spotted the house she suspected was the location of the demon, she slid off the roof, once more scrambling with any ledgers she could find before unceremoniously crashing through the windows.

Rolling to a stop, Phyra hoped Kazu would be somewhere behind her, but first...

"I'm late..."

She walked over to the already deceased couple, taking note of the firepower which had likely been used to end them. She stretched her hand over the corpses and could feel the heat still fleeing from their bodies.

"It's recent...the demon couldn't have gone far."

Phyra drew her sword and began scanning the room, she didn't know where the demon was hiding but she would wait for Kazu to catch up before she took further action.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

Kazu was half-asleep as they were waiting for the demon. A lot of time has passed, when he suddenly heard the scream that pierced this quiet darkness of night. When he regain focus, Phyra was already on her way, he took a deep breath and followed her. Luckily enough, he didn't lost his sight on Phyra's back for entire time. He went to the room after her, through the window that she crashed earlier. He looked at the corpses of the young couple. Kazu wished that he could get used to this sight.. But he couldn't, every time he saw a dead body just... Hurt him inside..
Well, maybe thats good... Or he would get scared that he stopped to care about others suffering.

He looked around.. A couple died recently, as Phyra stated earlier. He take a better look at the doors and windows. They seemed.. Too natural.. Like nobody was touching them recently... Okay, the window that Phyra broke... It didn't count.
"Our murderer is probably still in this room.. Or if not in room, definitly in this house" he assumed.

 

[kyuukestu]

From what they had determined the demon had not been the vase but appeared to have traveled through the vase or used the vase as some kind of marker. Since they had previously destroyed the vase then the Phyra assumed there would be another object the demon was using to mark its prey. She couldn't immediately tell what that was, but she had a way to find out.

"Destroy. Everything."

Phyra immediately brandished her weapon, intending to cleave through the fire poker as it was the most suspicious object in the room. She had no reservations about systematically destroying every single object in the house. If the demon was still here, she would find it.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

"Roger" said Kazu and was about to slash when... He noticed.. There was a lot of stuff in this room, it would take some time to get rid of everything here.

"Maybe let's not waste time here... Can I ask you to get down Phyra?" he asked her and took deep, concertrated breath. "Let's destroy it all at once..."

Third Style: Buzzing Mosquito Thunder

Kazu made a spinning slash with incredible speed aiming for all things in the room to destroy them, wardrobe, chair, desk, bed...

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

Basano listened to the slayers' plans from the most conspicuous object in the room, a painting that hung over a fireplace opposite the bed. Flanked by axe-wielding suits of armor, the demon's well-guarded disguise survived Kazu's onslaught and enabled her to launch a counterattack. The fiend didn't possess mastery over the whole mansion, but thanks to the boy's destruction, she had an increasing number of items to work with in this chamber alone. Large furniture broke down into smaller weapons. Harmless luxuries burst into splintered hazards. The slayers had unwittingly armed their foe, wood slivers poised to stop midair and plunge into them at her command. The fire poker that Phyra had so confidently approached hovered to life and flew past her brandished blade, whizzing around in the darkness before changing course and speeding toward her from behind. The knights rumbled and woke, heaving their axes and charging at Kazu as the dull ashes of the fireplace denied him light.

The splinters rained down now, bullets that refused to leave the air, shifting directions when they reached the ground or a wall and cutting the humans from all sides. Basano, who'd taken the chaos they'd created and made it her own, looked on with sadistic glee. The noise of splitting chairs and the murk of dimmed surroundings masked the demon's influence, inviting her to wonder how long it would take the slayers to realize that the debris had come to life.

"Who's the monster, me or you?" her low voice filled the room, challenging the morality of her enemies' mission in an attempt to weaken their resolve. "I'm ridding Hokori of the wealthy exploiters responsible for its misery, for I'm the natural predator of those who prey on others. Your defense of monsters in human skin makes you monsters yourselves...~"

None of it was real. Kenshiro and Rurona, however twisted, held genuine convictions, but the manipulative Basano knew exactly what she was doing. Her human experiences didn't inform her present actions, and her championship of the hungry poor was little more than a pretense to justify a craving for the sated rich.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

Protecting monsters make us monsters?
Who is monster? Demon or us?

"Don't give me that crap..." Kazu whispered, first armor swinged with its axe, aiming for a head, Kazu dodged in a last moment, kicked the axe from armor hands and throwed it through the window. When axe dissapired from his eyes, Kazu assumed that the fact things moves is involved with demon blood art... He wondered, if it would work outside the room too.
Splinters were hitting him and sticking into the skin.. But, comparing to Silence's Explosions and Masked Demon's hard as rocks bones. Simple splinters weren't that much of a deal. it hurt a little thats a fact, but only a little. Armor number two swinged with its axe. Kazu dodged, but suddenly the previous armor, without its axe hit Kazu's back. He sighed.. His back hurt.
"Your Opinion... Isn't my reality!!" said Kazu to the demon. Armor without axe attacked again with its fist. Kazu blocked the attack, spinned around the armor and get behind its back. He focused his breathing and started pushing armor forward, he hit another armor with the pushed one. Then he felt as those armors were resisting... They were heavy and suddenly pain caused by splinters began to be really annoying.
"If we protect monsters then we are monsters?... Don't act like some hero of Justice! I agree, most of the rich in this town are bastards, thinking only about yourself. They are using the poor to gain ever more.. I would really like to beat them up myself, but! Don't tell me that after you eat all rich, then you will be so nice to sit down and starve to death! No.. You will be still hunting others. No matter poor or rich
.. Maybe I am a monster, that right now protects rich to do what they want..." he took a deep breath again and He flexed his muscles, propped his legs to the floor and pushed armors forward. He kept moving them and armors kept to resist. He pushed them, untill he reached the broken window. He focused his breathing even more, his lungs started to hurt and armors still resist him, trying to escape and cut him down. He focused and pushed them with all his strength that he had right now, pushing them through the window. Armors fell down at the floor with loud sound of metal.

"But you know.. How can you destroy a monster, without becoming one? You ask me, which one of us is a monster. If we include your and my way of thinking, both of us are monsters, but I don't care if I am one. As long as I do, what I think is right, protect and support my friends and partners... As long as I am living my life without shame, I don't care that I am a monster!" Kazu shouted his answer, he glanced at Phyra, he didn't rush to help her, not becouse he didn't want to. He just believed in her and that she will manage to deal with their opponent's demon art.
"Now, Demon of the cursed vase! Stop hiding in darkness and show us this pretty face of yours!" Kazu said calmly.

 

[kyuukestu]

'Telekinesis?'

Phyra's eyes narrowed. She shifted warily as the poker whizzed to life and flew out of the path of her blade. The blood-stained tool, by its appearance alone, had already forewarned Phyra to the kind of damage it could cause and in the interest of protecting herself, the Demon Slayer immediately took defensive action. She activated the breath of rain and used her amplified physical abilities to rush forward. The wall directly to her front would—or so she hoped—act as a natural barrier against attacks, which would reduce the area she needed to defend. That would be the wall's primary function; but, it had a secondary function as well and that would be to allow Phyra a quick platform from which to launch her defensive manoeuver.

The Demon Slayer leaped at the wall, almost as if to scale its dimensions, but she instead used the wall to effect a clean backflip. Her sword split into two and she wielded both halves in wide, cascading swings that protected her person as she performed her flip.

"Breath of Rain: Eighth Stance — Curtain of Showers!"

She had felt the feedback from one of her blades as it deflected the fire poker but hadn't the spare attention to see where the tool might've ricocheted off to. What that means to Phyra, however, was that she needed to remain highly mobile, making herself a tricky target whilst allowing her flowing, interconnected sword strikes to fend off offensives and accumulate speed.

She'd heard the debate between Kazu and the Demon, but Phyra hardly wanted to waste her breath—so desperately needed on techniques—talking to the demon. She did, however, provide the Demon one answer or rather, statement.

"Who said I was protecting them?"

The Demon seemed to be under some misguided impression that Phyra wanted to protect those corrupt merchants, those living blasphemies against teachings. That couldn't be further from the truth. Once the demon was slain Phyra fully intended to leverage her own family's influences, along with the documents she'd already collected, to uproot all these uselessly wealthy people.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"A real hospital?" Dolan asked inquisitively. They were at a real hospital weren't they? In Dolan's rush to head towards the family house he may have ignored signs in front of the place. Looking back the lady didn't seem to be dressed like an actual doctor. Dolan merely just assumed she was in casual wear. She seemed comfy. Doctors like wearing comfy clothes too right? Dolan took a moment to wonder how much a place like this would cost for medical services, "Expenses? How much is that?" Dolan asked.

Dolan saw Miyaji come over. "Here I am. thanks for the regards" Dolan said. He looked at Miyaji, "I'm glad your not dead" Dolan said. Dolan saw Akane shoot him a nasty glare. Dolan was pretty unphased by this as he had been given that look many times. So much so that he didn't think anything of it. He did however understand loud and clear Akane threatening to keep his horse. "Yikes! Don't worry. Everything is going to be oookay! I mean. What could possibly go wrong?" Dolan said cheerfully holding his thumbs up.

 

[Mango137]

“Awe that’s so sweet, you’re worried about me. But I’ll handle myself before letting those little goblins touch me.” Kit faked a shiver as he joked back and voiced his dislike for young children.

He waited until the image on Sena faded into the night. Now, he was sure he was alone.

His posture slouched, his knees buckled, and the boy fell backwards onto the soft cushion of the sand, starring out onto the peaceful waters of the lake that had been a battlefield just moments ago.

Kit winced in pain as he sat himself up, for even the smallest of movements aggravated the various bites on his body. He grabbed his pack, and out from it, a roll of bandages and a pair of linen slacks.

He scanned the surrounding area once more just to make sure he was alone, and after confirming his solitude, Kit quickly disrobed himself from his tattered and wet demon slayer uniform and threw on the trousers.

“That’s better.” He murmured to the dark and began wrapping bandages around his injured arms and legs, reminding him of the dire situation he had found himself in not long ago.

As much as he hated to admit it, he probably would have died without Sena there. Perhaps they complimented each other well and more thought went into their team pairing than he had believed. Her smugness and confidence were annoyingly backed up by experience, strength, and quick wit.

Maybe I’ll go talk to her. It’d be good to patch up our relationship.

Kit grabbed his katana and comfortably strolled up the beach and through the damp grass a ways before he saw a blazing orange light piercing through the night.

What’s going on?

A sense of urgency ignited in Kit and his walk turned into a run, instinctively putting a hand on his sword in anticipation of danger.

The scene was unsettling to say the least. The camp director stood demonically in front of a raging inferno, some children appeared to have morphed into demons, and Sena.... well let’s just say Kit was now duel wielding swords.

"You may have destroyed my main body..." Rurona spoke from the counselor's shell, "...but all these children are my bodies. And the unpossessed among them are my dinner, which I'll cook over a fire along with you and your male companion. How nice that you're barely dressed and easier to skin..."

The words sent shivers up his spine.

Why can’t things just be easy?

He rushed over to Sena, holding his (slightly) longer of two swords in a defensive stance. Though sarcasm was his instinct, the immediate danger the kids were placed in had eliminated his childish tendencies, and for once, he was totally serious.

“What’s the plan? One of us protects the kids, the other works on ugly over here?”

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"The plan," the male-voiced Rurona responded, twisting the director's neck to human limits and staring Kit down, "is to disarm, prostrate, and allow yourselves to be devoured, or I'll kill this man and all the children under my control. These people are still alive, but one wrong move can easily change that."

The head counselor didn't need to spell it out, for the uncertainty about demons who were humans just yesterday had already stopped Sena in her tracks. She liked Kit's attitude, but coming up with a plan wasn't that simple. First, they had more than one ugly to deal with. Second, the slayers had presumed Rurona dead until only a minute ago. Her unexpected revival showed how little they really knew of her powers, what sway she held over the children, and the campers' overnight demonization.

Sena was often shooting in the dark as to the extent of her target's abilities. Headquarters never told her the details, only that there was a problem needing a solution. For this reason, some within the demon-fearing population viewed slayers as loyal dogs who thoughtlessly followed orders. But most of their thinking was quick and battle-adapted; the "plan" formed in the thick of the engagement, and allowed no errors in judgment. In a potential hostage situation, Sena couldn't risk doing anything stupid.

"...Put down the sword, Kit."

 

[Mango137]

Kit’s initial reaction believed that there was no way Sena would think the smart move was lowering their weapons, and that she must be making a joke about his other member.

His face blushed red, and his thought was I’m sorry, I can’t control it. Thankfully, he didn’t have a chance to verbalize his thoughts before the possessed counselor cut in.

“Yes! Listen to the girl. You’re weapons will do you no good.”

Oh... duh. He glanced at his Katana and silently thanked god for not allowing him to articulate such a stupid thought.

Still, he wasn’t too thrilled about the alternative. Every instinct told him the smart move was to minimize casualties in the grand scheme of things by killing Rurona now. But if Kit has learned anything, it was that Sena was definitely no fool.

The gears turned in his head. They already thought they killed Rurona once, was there any guarantee that this time things would be different?

Reluctantly he sheathed his sword, though still he refused to drop it.

“I hope you have something in mind.”