Looking behind Zenitsu Hiroto saw that the two little kids from earlier ran inside and followed them.
"What are you two doing here? it's not safe for you kids to be in here!" Hiroto berated them.
"It's... because we heard scratching sounds from inside that box! We were scared and came to find you." The little boy said holding the hand of his scared little sister.
"Listen to me, that box means a lot to me. It means more than my own life, you two need to head back an-" Right before Hiroto could finish his sentence, a drumbeat was played.
*Dum*
"Yahhhhh!" Zenitsu screamed out scared. The little girl ran into Tanjiro's who stood in a different room. The boy was next to Zenitsu, while Hiroto was pushed aside by Zenitsu to a different room.
*rumble* The house started to shake as a low rumble sounded out.
"AH! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to push you!" Zenitsu said.
*Dum* as the drum sounded out again, Zenitsu, Tanjiro, and the other kids disappeared from his sight. He was standing in a different room at this moment.
"What?" Hiroto said, looking around. The room was dark with only a low table in the middle.
*Dum* It changed once more, to a small dark empty room.
*Dum* Again the room changed to a larger room.
*Dum* *Dum* *Dum* With each hit of the drum, the room kept changing around Hiroto, at though he was teleported each time.
The drumbeat was no longer heard after a few moments, as Hiroto now stood in a bedroom with one lit candle to light the room.
"I hope the others are fine," Hiroto said to himself, as he got his bearings. 'It seems to be a bedroom, am I on the top floor?' Hiroto thought.
*step step* Hiroto heard some low footsteps from outside of the room walking past him. Sticking to the wall, Hiroto quietly maneuvered his way to the door and slid it open as quietly and gently as he could.
Opening it wide enough to peek through, Hiroto tried to see who was on the other side of the door. What he saw was a dark hallway but nobody he couldn't see anyone walking. Staying for a moment, he decided to open up the door.
*crccckkk* Sliding the door open slowly seemed like an eternity of torture as it made a creaking sound. Walking out, Hiroto looked around to get a better view of his surroundings. All the windows at the end of the hallway seemed to be barred shut, and there some a couple of rooms on his floor.
Suddenly, he saw a hand come down from the ceiling as it aimed at Hiroto's head. Quickly reacting, Hiroto drew his sword and sliced at the incoming arm. *swish* *splat* "AGghh!" A voice sounded out from above.
Looking up, Hiroto could see a Demon clung unto the ceiling as it scurried away after its arm was lobbed off. With his katana in hand, Hiroto started chasing after the Demon. 'This can't be the Demon that causes the rooms to move. It seems too weak.' Hiroto concluded.
Chasing after the Demon, he saw it climb its way into a different room. Rushing in, Hiroto quickly spotted the Demon trying to climb into a small opening in the ceiling. Immediately lunging forward as fast as he could, Hiroto jumped up and sliced at its legs to make it drop.
*Swish* "GAHHH!" The Demon yelled as it dropped onto the ground. With one arm remaining it started to crawl away desperately. Hiroto raised his sword and stabbed it in the Demon's only arm. *Shick* "AHH! Stop! Let me go and I'll tell you what you want!" The Demon begged out.
Taking a closer look, Hiroto saw that its face almost resembled that of a lizard. "Who's causing the rooms to change?" Hiroto asked.
"The master of the house! He's the one in charge! He can change the rooms by beating his drums!" The Demon answered quickly, fearing for its life.
"And where can I find him?" Hiroto asked, raising his sword to the Demons neck.
"I don't know! The rooms keep changing, it's not like we can ask him to stop!" The Demon said.
"I see." *Swish* Sprrtt* Hiroto swung his sword down, severing the Demons neck. "You were the one who begged, I never agreed to it in the first place," Hiroto said, looking down at the head expressionlessly.
*thump thump thump* Hiroto could hear fast footsteps running outside of the hall at a high speed while yelling out, "Ahahaha! Comin' through! Comin' Through!"
Hiroto looked outside of the room and saw a person wearing a boars head on top of his head. "..."
Not knowing how to react, Hiroto started to question the sanity of most people.
"Comin' through!" *Boom* The boar person yelled as he jumped through a wooden while wielding two extremely chipped Nichirin Blades.
'A Demon Slayer?' Hiroto thought, before running after him.
The boar person crashed through the wall and landed on the ground. Inside the room was Tanjiro and the little girl from earlier. Hiroto ran up to the hole in the wall and saw that the room was somehow flipped sideways. The tatami mats were on the wall to the right while the 'ground' was where the shelves and cupboards were.
"Ah, brother!" Tanjiro called out towards Hiroto. Hiroto nodded towards him and looked towards the end of the room at the doorway. There stood a Demon with black hair, razor-like teeth, blood-red eyes and hidden irises that seemed to be rolled to the back of his head. The Demon had a large physique, on his stomach, shoulders, hips, front chest and back were drums protruding from them.
"All right, you monster..." The boar person said as he crossed his swords. "Die on the battlefield and serve as my springboard! So that I can become more powerful and soar even higher!" The yelled out.
The Demon spoke out while looking towards a different direction. "Infuriating. Infuriating!" It yelled out, getting more frustrated. Hiroto jumped into the room and went to go check on the girl to make sure that she was fine.
Looking towards Tanjiro, Hiroto asked. "Tanjiro, what happened, why is the room like this?"
"He banged the drums once and the room started to flip," Tanjiro said.
The boar person raised his swords towards the Demon and yelled out, "Here goes... Comin'... Through!"
'So dramatic.' Hiroto thought.
The boar person launched himself towards the Demon. The Demon then said, "Infuriating!" Before hitting the drum on his right shoulder.
*Dun*
In the next moment, the room started to flip once more. Quickly grabbing onto Teruko, Hiroto braced himself and landed on the ceiling which is now below them. "Are you ok?" Hiroto asked her.
"Mmm." The girl muttered quietly.
Tanjiro yelled out towards the boar person as he stood on Tanjiro's shoulder and jumped towards the Demon once more. "That one's a Demon with supernatural powers! Stop launching those reckless assaults!"
"Ahahahaha" The boar person yelled without a care in the world as he jumped towards the Demon. The Demon, from the Hiroto, was now upside down due to him being on the ceiling. Hiroto handed Teruko over to Tanjiro and said, "Look after her, it's dangerous to leave her alone."
Hiroto turned to the Demon as it spoke, "Infuriating! You damn insects running amok in my house!"
*Dun Dun* It hit the drum on its leg twice.
The room then flipped then started to turn and flip once more. Tanjiro lost Teruko from his grasp as they both fell onto the ground. Hiroto recovered and landed clumsily on his feet.
"Ahh!" Teruko cried out as she landed back on the ground. The boar person fell from the ceiling and put one foot on top of Teruko's causing her to cry out. "Hahaha! The room freakin' spun around! This is fun! This is fun!"
Hiroto saw the boar person stepping on Teruko's back, and this caused him to be infuriated. Rushing at the boar person at high speed, he launched a kick towards his stomach sending him flying through a wall. *Boom* *Crash*
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Hiroto yelled at him, before helping Teruko up.
*cough cough* "Who the hell are you?" The boar person asked in a normal tone, coughing up dust.
"What do you think you're doing, stepping on a little kid?" Hiroto berated him as he held Teruko.
"Ahahaha! I like it! I like it! No Human's ever sent me flying like that before!" The boar person yelled out. Hiroto quickly handed Teruko over to Tanjiro to look after and turning towards the boar person.
"Stop messing around, we have more important matters to do," Hiroto said as he drew his red Nichirin Blade out from his sheath.
"My swords will hurt you." The boar person said as he raised his swords behind him. "Because they're not the kind of swords you little gentlemen use! The way they shred through flesh... That's what I pride myself on!"
Hiroto started to grow angry, looking at the person in front of him acting recklessly. Having decided what to do, he disappeared from his spot.
"What-" *boom* Before the person could understand what happened, he was thrown out of the room once again.
"Brother! Did you have to do that?" Tanjiro asked looking at Hiroto.
"He was wasting our time. There could be more people in this house for all we know, and here we are messing around. We have to end this quick." Hiroto responded looking towards the Demon standing in the hallway looking away.
"Damn insects! Get out of my sight! Die!" He yelled, before lowering the body and hitting the drum on his stomach.
*Dum*
Another build-up chapter!
(Authors secret, I was listening to the Giorno theme song while writing this chap on repeat)
Inosuke seems to not have given Hiroto a good impression at the start. Let's see how it develops from here on out.
Let me know what you think of the chapter below! *Psst, don't forget to vote*
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Peace out! ┬─┬ ︵ /(.□. )