The Mist

The village I was sent to seemed pretty calm. Everyone seemed at bay. Though, a few people freaked out when they saw my sword. As I was walking around I saw a boy about my age run towards me.

" Hey, you're like that Rengoku guy with the sword right!?," he asked.

I nodded, "Did you run into him?"

" Yes, I told him my father went missing a night ago! When I told him he went to investigate. He went east of the village. Do you need directions?," he replied.

" No need," I shook my head. " Do you have anything left behind that may have been your fathers, or something he might've touched?"

" Yes!," the boy showed me a red haori. " When I woke up the night he went missing, the haori he had was left behind."

I took it from him and sniffed it. It had a weird smell. The smell of blood and...a demon. But smelling it I would be able to track his father down. I handed the clothing back to him.

" Thank you for your cooperation," I bowed. " And I'll be sure to help your old man get back safe and sound!"

I turned my back to him. I jumped high up in the air and landed on a house so I could run across and see if anything strange happened below me. The sun was already setting so there was no doubt a demon would show up in maybe an hour. I know his father had been taken by a demon but the scent was unnatural for a human. Before I went to track down the demon I figured it would be better to find Tojuro so it would be easier to find this guy.

After running for a little while more I spotted a bunch of yellow and red hair.

" Hey, Tojuro!," I called. " Up here!"

He looked up at me and before I knew it he was already by my side.

" How're you doing, Asvasuke?," he questioned. " Find anything?"

" I'm doing well," I replied. " The kid who lost his father gave me something to track his scent. But instead of that, I don't think I have a strong track of the man. Just the demon."

" That's still good. But I doubt the demon hasn't already devoured that poor man," Tojuro shook his head. " But it all depends on what type of demon it is and what it's requirements are when it comes to eating humans. If they do it in a slow way. Welp, we've got no time to waste. Let's go!"

At the same time, Tojuro and I set off running. Then something started to burn my nose. The smell of a demon.

" Down there!," I pointed to a nearby house. In front of it was someone...a woman lying on the ground.

We jumped down there but I did not expect to see what I saw. It was a demon. A pale demon with black patterns on its face. But this wasn't normal. It seemed unconscious. Then, out of nowhere the body disappeared in black smoke. I immediately drew my sword when I saw that.

" Stay on guard," I told Tojuro. " We don't know what ability this demon has."

Tojuro didn't make a single move. Master Kai had told me about demons that used a special...what was it. Black Magic. Blood Art? All I remember is that some can have different abilities and if you weren't still fully aware of what it was you had to stay FULLY on guard.

( Listen To Rengoku vs Akaza fight theme cover v1)

The black smoke that covered the demon inched closer to me. I felt it grip my right arm. I sliced the weird solid smoke off of me. The smoke showed red traumatizing eyes. A grayish-blue hand popped out and slashed at my face making me move back. Tojuro took out his sword.

" Flame breathing second form," he whispered. " RISING SCORCHING SUN!"

He slashed his blade in the air, cutting the demon's arm. The demon didn't even flinch!

" A flame breather?," the demon stared in awe.

The black smoke covered his arm and when it disappeared his arm was fully healed.

" Demon Hunters are such pains," he mumbled. " But you can't kill me until you retrieve that man, right?"

" You still have him?," I questioned. " Hand him over. Now!"

" I'm afraid I cannot do that, kid," the demon said. " Better to get rid of you two quickly!"

The demon showed us his full body. He then disappeared in mist. He tried to make a move on Tojuro but I reacted just in time.

"Water Breathing First Form," I thought. " WATER SURFACE SLASH!"

I sent a perfect strike to his neck, departing it from his body. But that too disappeared in smoke. Behind me I felt a hit at my back making me slide back and hit my head on a wall.

" YOU CAN'T KILL ME THAT EASILY, BOY!," he cackled.

Then, a mist figure appeared. When the mist cleared there was a man, who was bruised up.

" Is that the father of that boy?," I asked myself.

" You can come get him if you must," the demon taunted.

I leaped back up and darted at the demon. Tojuro got in front of me.

" Flame Breathing fifth form, FLAME TIGER!," he yelled.

A huge tiger sharper surrounded with fire head straight towards the demon creating a blazing heat. Tojuro stood there unaffected by the heat at all. It just avoided him. I saw the demon put up it's mist but it was no use. The mist started to be torn away by the fire's impact. Once the fire cleared and smoke was in the air, I jumped up.

" Water Breathing Eighth Form!," I thought. " WATERFALL BASIN!"

My form technique made the demon fall apart completely. Even its neck fell from its body. I watched as the demon turned to dust. I could've sworn I saw a tear fall down its cheek.

" May you rest in peace," I whispered.

Tojuro began to stretch.

" That was a nice warm up!," he exclaimed.

The boy from earlier came running towards us. As soon as he saw his father he fell on his knees beside him. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He then looked up at me and Tojuro.

" No problem!," we put our thumbs up.

[An Hour Later…]

" How much can that guy eat…," the food guy mumbled.

" We need to eat big in order to stay energized!," I informed. " Thank you for the delicious food!"

" Why do you even have a sword attached to your sides?," he asked. " Who are you guys?"

I stood up from my seat and started to speed off, " THANK YOU, MISTER!"

After a while of walking I thought about something.

" That fight was too easy," I mumbled. " Didn't think the demon would be that weak to be honest."

" The fight's not over yet," Tojuro pointed out. " And that demon is for sure not dead. It was too strong from the start." He smacked me in the back of the head. " I thought you had a super sense of smell. Use it for once. The demon has some type of power. Maybe something like shadow manipulation. You saw the black smoke he was using. He used it to create some sort of shadow version of himself."

Tojuro looked behind him from the corner of his eye. This time he wasn't smiling. He looked at the shadow behind him, took out his sword, and stabbed at the ground surfacing it.

" AGHHHHHHH," the demon screamed in agony.

His black mist swirled around us like a tornado.

" Blood Demon Art: Cage of Shadows!," The Demon yelled.

His tornado turned into the shape of a blood red cage. It slowly started to shrink.

" You'll die as soon as one line of poison touches," the demon smirked.

DANG! If I made a single wide move with my sword I'm done for. Any regular move wouldn't cut this! I would have to be quick with this. I crouched down as the cage started to shrink even more.

" Water Breathing Sixth Form!," I thought. " WHIRLPOOL!"

I twisted my body along with my sword creating lines of air that surprisingly cut through the cage. Now it was Tojuro's turn. He darted at the demon dodging all of the attacks with slippery but smooth movements. His sword made this red glow and with one fierce strike his sword dug into the demon's neck. The sword only went halfway through and he had trouble getting it in the whole way. The demon gripped Tojuro's shoulder so hard that there was a loud crack.I ran to him and clashed my sword on the other side of his neck. I kept forcing my sword deeper into his neck until me and Tojuro's swords clashed together.

It was finally finished. The demon's body slowly turned to dust.

" I think I might've fractured my shoulder," Tojuro groaned. " You?"

" Well, my leg is still a bit bad from the demon I fought during the Final Selection. I think I may have broken a rib or two," I admitted.

We both stared at each other and then broke out laughing.

I smiled, " Can't wait to see what Sumihiko and the others were up to."

[ The next morning...]

" I ALMOST DIED!," Yoshiteru yelled. " WHY THE HECK WERE THERE SO MANY DEMONS WHERE I WAS AT!? COOL! JUST SEND ME TO A SPOT BACK IN THE CITY WITH TWO BLOOD THIRSTY DEMONS AND A WOMAN WHO GOT TURNED INTO ONE!"

" Did any of them use...what is it called again? The thing that monster called Blood Demon Art," Sumihiko questioned.

" NO!," Yoshiteru admitted. " BUT IT WAS FAST AND HAD CRAZY STRENGTH!"

" Like all 'Non-intelligent' Demons," Sumihiko laughed.

" IT'S NOT FUNNY! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW THEY DIED I JUST BLACKED-OUT AND WOKE UP LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED! This isn't fair. I wanna live a normal life," Yoshiteru whined. " I would be better off back in school...though if the Demon Slayer corps was actually announced to the world I would be surrounded by girls all over the world. Hehe!"

" You're such a weirdo," his sister mumbled.

" Not like I'm simping for some middle finger flashing punk!," Yoshiteru snapped back.

" OH PLEASE!I WON'T HESITATE KICK IN YOUR BACK AGAIN," Toko yelled. " DON'T WORRY ABOUT MY LOVE LIFE! What you really need to do is study! Also people still use the word simp!?"