Chapter Text
Chapter 17: Tsuzumi Mansion
The interior of the mansion was entirely dark. Electric lights still hung from the ceilings, indicating that it hadn’t been built all that long ago. Or perhaps it got refurbished with the lights.
The sight of these fixtures reminded Nezuko of the village down the mountain from where she grew up. When she was little, they were very dependent on the charcoal that her father sold. But as she grew up, wires filled the town, and electric power became more and more common. Tanjirou would come back with more than half of his basket still full. Even if he didn’t show it beyond his usual smile, Nezuko could always tell her twin brother was worried and upset that their livelihood was changing… And could go away at any moment.
The swordswoman sighed. She looked all around the hallways, keeping her senses on high alert. Without the sniveling Zenitsu tagging along, her mind could actually focus on the task at hand for the first time in what felt like hours.
( Alright… The drumming sound Zenitsu mentioned could be the demon’s thing… What was it called again…? Blood Demon Art…? )
Rose hues flicked from side to side, before her footsteps came to a halt. She carefully slid open a shoji door, her dominant hand resting on her sword’s hilt, in case the demon suddenly appeared and lunged for her.
Nothing. Just several bookcases and crates, the smell of old books and dust filling the room. Nezuko padded into the room, noticing another door at the end of it. Once she had slid the door open, she was met with another hallway. Hm.
( I’ll be lost for hours in here if I keep on like this. Think, Nezuko! Relax and try to sense the trails of the demon .)
Inhaling slowly, then exhaling, she focused, eyes twitching and straining. Slowly but surely, she was able to focus on the lingering emotional trails of the demon’s soul…
Only to realize there was more than one. There were three, and they had very recently congregated nearby. If she followed the trail there, maybe she could find the strongest path and work towards the demon.
( And if I’m lucky, I’ll find those kids’ elder brother .)
Thump. Thump.
The hallway was filled with an oppressive color, heavy and red. Nezuko froze in place, quieting her breath. Rengoku-san had taught her that sometimes the best course of action in battle was stealth. You had to treat the demons like prey, and yourself as a tiger ready to pounce.
The thumping got repeatedly louder and louder. Coming closer, until at last, Nezuko caught sight of the demon- one that towered over her young height easily, his body covered in muscle and sinew.
But the most noticeable thing about him was the numerous drums that protruded from his body, with veins and skin disgustingly stretched along the sides, as if the drums had burst from his body… Or had been impaled into him.
The girl swallowed thickly. She wanted so desperately to lunge, to take care of the demon with a strong, concise strike. She could feel the fire burning in her gut, urging her forward. But she had to be patient. What if the demon had a human nearby, and the resulting struggle wounded or killed an innocent?
The energy that hung off the demon’s soul was the strongest that the Kamado daughter had witnessed yet (barring Muzan). Whoever this demon was, he was most likely the owner of the house, and its territorial lord.
“Why…?” A growling, deep, and awful voice emerged from the demon’s maw of impossibly large fangs. “Why does everybody keep sneaking through my house? Those brutes scared off my prey… In my territory!”
Nezuko bit her tongue. It would be stupid to reveal herself now. Especially since another oppressive force was coming closer. And fast.
“COMING THROUGH!!” The shoji door smashed to pieces, wood splinters flying everywhere. A few clicked harmlessly as they bounced off the demon’s muscles, falling down to the tatami matted floor.
( What the fuck– )
The raven haired girl just barely rolled out of the way of the stranger, before slamming into a stack of crates. Her cover was blown, all thanks to-
“WHY DO YOU HAVE A BOAR HIDE ON YOUR HEAD?!” The shock and adrenaline rush of the situation ripped the thought out of Nezuko’s mind, out into the open air, as she stared in shocked dismay at the boy before her.
Even weirder, the boy was carrying two nichirin swords, their blades whipped and beaten into sawtooth formation. Was this guy with the Demon Slayer Corps? If so, where was his uniform?
“ALRIGHT!! COME ON, DEMON! DIE QUICKLY SO I CAN CATAPULT OFF YOUR SORRY CORPSE INTO EVEN GREATER HEIGHTS! I’LL BECOME STRONGER THANKS TO YOUR DEATH!!” To boot, the guy also had a grating, deep voice that seemed more likely to come out of an adult’s mouth. Yet Nezuko could sense he was young- the same age as her.
“Aggravating…” The drum demon muttered, not even acknowledging either slayer in the room. He just raised a veiny hand and clapped it against a drum on his body. The room began to spin, and Nezuko gasped in pain as her still healing, battered body smacked against the wall.
To make matters worse, the weird boar head fool launched himself off Nezuko’s back, slashing wildly at the demon. Which of course, just made him use the drum art again, tilting them all around the room.
“HAHAHA!!” The boar cackled, landing on his feet easily. “The room spun around!! This is fun!”
Nezuko felt that familiar prickle of rage bloom in her chest, hot and overwhelming. Despite her soreness, she grabbed hold of the boy by his pants, before hurling him into the wall.
“DON’T STEP ON OTHER PEOPLE, ASSHOLE!”
The boy tumbled, but recovered quickly, irritation and confusion coming off his soul in waves. Nezuko coughed, steadying herself and keeping her sword aloft. Very easily, the demon could attack them while they were arguing.
“Who are you?” The boar grunted. “Nobody’s ever thrown me before. ESPECIALLY not a girl!” Brandishing his sawtooth swords, he suddenly lunged at Nezuko, who had to roll again to get away.
“WE’RE ON THE SAME TEAM!!” She shrieked.
“Insects!!” The drum demon growled. Again, the drum beat, and invisible claws tore the room apart. Nezuko thanked every lucky star she had managed to dodge it, but the crate nearby wasn’t as lucky- exploding into even more shards of wood and paper mess.
Just as she turned to say something to warn the boar headed boy of the demon’s blood art…
The room changed. Then again. Nezuko shivered, realizing she was alone.
( But the demon didn’t hit the drum that time… Does another demon have one? )
To make matters worse, she got transported to a room with not only a human’s destroyed body, but a demon as well. It didn’t have a drum.
Nope, it was just crouched over the body, impossibly long tongue licking the blood from the corpse. It didn’t seem too preoccupied, because once Nezuko took a step, its head whipped upwards, frog-like eyes wetly blinking one at a time.
“Hehehe…. A girl! A little girl, at that! I bet you taste better than this old fart.” The frog demon crawled forward, giggling the whole time. In the blink of an eye, its tongue lashed out like a whip, intent on grabbing Nezuko by her still mending broken leg.
“NO!” Nezuko shrieked as the tongue latched onto her leg, undoing the ribbons of the warmer fabric that had been so carefully tied to her shin. The force of the tongue latching on felt like a blow, powerful enough to shatter stone. If her legs weren’t so well trained, they probably would have crumpled from impact alone.
“Scream even more, little girl~” The frog demon purred, beginning to draw its long tongue back. Nezuko stumbled, but just barely managed to not fall flat on her ass.
“I’ll slurp your brains out through your ear~” A deranged coo, as the demon tilted its head playfully at the swordswoman. She gave a great shiver, before taking a very deep breath.
( Cut the tongue, Nezuko! Get free! Then attack! )
Flame Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Universe!
Her nichirin blade sailed downwards in a quick, sharp motion, flames spiraling with beautiful red and orange hue, making contact with the demon’s tongue and slicing it away from her leg. The demon shrieked, burnt off tongue quickly zapping back into its mouth to regenerate.
( Now! While it’s in pain! ) The cherry pink eyes of the normally cheerful girl had hardened, blazing as intensely as the breath she spewed from her heart.
Falling into position, Nezuko braced her sore, shivering legs. Her blade shimmered, the dark nichirin very briefly glinting red.
Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!
Despite the pain, she lunged forward, the flame horizontally zooming along with her blade, until it made contact at long last with the frog demon’s neck. A wet PLAP and THUD of the head hitting the floor was all the confirmation she needed that her move had connected.
Nezuko crumpled to her knees and gasped for breath, sweat trickling down her scarred forehead. The demon had perished, but the force it had taken to move her sore and bruised body had nearly exhausted all of her energy.
( I’m still not strong enough .) She thought in dismay, coughing. ( Onii-chan… I bet you would have been able to kill all the demons in this house without breaking a sweat. Hell, you probably would have not gotten injured in the last mission .)
That was why she was struggling. Her ribs were still broken, and her leg was mending. If she kept getting beaten against the walls and floor of the tumbling mansion, she would likely open all her wounds and gain new ones.
Not only that, but the Flame Breathing style exerted body energy in the form of heat, skyrocketing internal temperatures in order for the organ systems to keep up. Just like Water Breathing, it wasn’t quite a perfect fit for Kamado Nezuko.
( But I have to keep going. I have to save that little boy .) Slowly and shakily, Nezuko came to a stand, panting haggardly as sweat dribbled down her neck.
( C’mon, Nezuko. Fight. Fight! Destroy the demons, so this family doesn’t lose everything like yours did! )