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Chapter Text

A long time ago when I was young, my mother got me a telescope for my 7th birthday that I could use to see the stars every night, and it meant the whole world to me. We only had each other back then, just me and my mom.

These were the dreams that I see every night, if only they could last forever...

But there is no time to dream...

Your dreams are nothing more than painful and sorrowful memories of the past...

Your pain will never go away until you cut that bastard's head off. When that time finally comes is the day you can finally rest in peace...

So go, Tsukiro Kirigami, prove to the world that her death wasn't meaningless...

AVENGE MOM'S DEATH!!!

Tsukiro woke up startled by the dream- no, memory, tears streaming down his cheeks as he gasped for air.

'Mom...'

He wiped the tears from his eyes as he stood up from his makeshift bed. He stumbled quite a bit as the boat he was on hit a large wave making it rock back and forth, not to mention that it was raining outside. The door to the cabin creaked open due to its rusty hinges as his companion for the mission entered the cabin and looked at him with concern.

"Another nightmare Tsuki?" His burgundy-haired friend, who was soaking wet even with the raincoat he was wearing, asked with concern in his tone.

"...Yeah, I'm fine, but how did you-"

"Everyone could hear you screaming from the main deck."

A small 'oh' escaped his lips as he looked away in embarrassment. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about Tsuki, the dream...w-what was it about this time?" His friend asked.

He hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"Same thing every night, except different, I mean they're always the same but the way they go each night is different." He clasped his head between his hands as his friend sat next to him on the bed and comforted him.

"T-They never go away..."

His companion stayed by his side and listened, doing his best to comfort Tsukiro from the nightmare he witnessed in his sleep.

'They're frequently getting worse. I'm getting worried for Tsukiro...'

"WE'RE HERE BOYS!!!" The ship's captain's booming voice called out that stood out from the sounds of the storm that was brewing outside.

"We're here, Haru get ready," Tsukiro said as he adopted a more serious and stone-cold expression as he got up and walked over to the corner of the room to pick up his things, especially his katana.

His friend, Haru, nodded albeit still showing concern for his friend as he too went to pick up his sword. The two walked outside and headed to the main deck. The captain, a large burly middle-aged man with a beard, wearing an eyepatch, eyed the both of them as they arrived on deck with their swords strapped to their waists.

"This is as far as I can get you boys, the island is right up ahead, all ya' gotta do is jump down to the shore and lay waste to those monsters."

They both nodded in agreement as they were nearing the destination of their mission. Both of them, as well as other groups of slayers, were sent on an emergency mission to a remote island in the Philippines where demon activity has been spiking for the past few months. A group of slayers was stationed on the island to exterminate the demons and ensure the safety of the inhabitants. However, approx. 31 hours ago they sent an emergency distress signal and a message requesting backup, as massive hordes of demons overwhelmed them and were rampaging across the island ravaging towns and people's homes eating and killing civilians.

"Nervous?" Haru asked Tsukiro.

"Fuck no. This is just where the fun begins."

Once the coast was in the ship's vicinity, Tsukiro and Haru prepared to take off. "Hold on, wait! I haven't got both yer names yet!" The captain called out.

They both stopped for a moment to look back at the captain.

"Name's Tsukiro, Kirigami Tsukiro." He said before leaping off the ship, hand on his sword's hilt.

"Kamado Haru," Haru said as well before taking off in a burst of speed after his friend.

* usually Japanese people introduce themselves by saying their surnames first.

The captain chuckled, "Godspeed to you boys...".

His eyes were sharp and focused as he and Haru made their way in the direction of the smoke and screams, leaving behind a trail of dust as they both ran at inhuman speeds.

The rhythm of his breathing changed, it followed a stronger pattern as he moved at a speed that normal people couldn't follow nor could they ever achieve if they didn't go through the training he and others did.

But Tsukiro and Haru aren't just normal people.

They were Demon Slayers. And right now the safety of people's lives rested in their hands.

Tsukiro skidded to a stop, a large demon with a bulky frame showed itself in front of him. It stood over 3 meters tall and had large burly arms, it barred its teeth at him in an almost creepy grin as it began to walk towards him slowly with its arms stretched out.

Entering a stance, Tsukiro took a deep breath...

Total Concentration Breathing...

He initiated a powerful jump into the air putting himself above the demon, he quickly unsheathes his nichirin sword as he began to descend from the air.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style: First Form..."

The demon was almost instantly decapitated. Its lifeless and headless body fell to the ground with a thud as it started to slowly turn into ash.

"Dragon Hammer Flash!"

Tsukiro gracefully landed on the ground, he turned around to look at the demon's dead body and scoffed as he wipes off the blood from his sword using his sleeve.

2 smaller demons leaped towards him from the treetops aiming to get the drop on him. Tsukiro sidesteps out of the way and swings his sword upwards decapitating one demon. The other remaining demon tried to swipe at his neck behind him, Tsukiro removed his sword's scabbard from his waist and used it as he spun around and broke the demon's arms, before the demon could regenerate from the damage it was immediately decapitated by Tsukiro.

He sensed more demons nearby approaching, he didn't waste any more time as he quickly moved to kill the demons within the surrounding areas

Meanwhile with Haru

Haru was carrying an injured woman on his back, she groaned and gasped in pain as he quickly made his way down towards the beach where the medical unit is treating injured slayers and civilians.

'I've gotta hurry real quick, she's bleeding out and I don't have a tourniquet on me.'

A group of three demons was chasing him from behind, Haru halted to a stop as he turned around to face all three of them head-on.

" Water Breathing:  Second Form: Water Wheel! "

In one fluid horizontal circular motion, Haru swung his sword leaving behind a trail of water. The demons didn't stand a chance as all three of them were decapitated at the same time.

Another demon appeared behind him and tried to lunge at him, only to be met by a knee strike to the face from Tsukiro and a sword through its neck.

"Thanks, Tsuki!"

"Dumbass, watch your back next time!!"

Haru then left to bring the injured to the medical unit leaving Tsukiro behind to deal with the remaining demons.

"*Shinsoku!!"

*Meaning: Godspeed

At a speed that rivaled lightning itself, Tsukiro dashed forward a great distance decapitating demons left and right that were in the way of the technique.

He checked his watch and saw that there were only a few hours left until sunrise.

'Only 5 more hours left until sunrise, which means that if I-We don't hurry and finish these bastards off, they'll retreat and have a chance to multiply again'

He perched himself on top of a tall building and observed the other smoke pillars and fires all across the island rising from the ground and turning the night sky orange and black.

He could hear other demon slayers fighting as they engaged in combat with the monsters.

Without wasting any more time, Tsukiro used Shinsoku once more to quickly close the distance and reach the source of the violence eager to kill more demons.

"Water Breathing: Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust, Curve!"

Haru exclaimed as he landed a fast and accurate stab through the neck of a small, fast-moving, flying demon headed his way.

there were only 3 hours left until sunrise. Tsukiro, Haru, and the rest of the other slayers had already killed a great number of demons on the island, as well as rescued a great number of civilians. Although it can't be said that there were no casualties.

A total of over a hundred demon slayers have been killed during the battle, leaving the rest to finish the mission and secure the island.

Suddenly, the sound of thunder catches both of their attention.

'Bout' time one of them showed up!' Tsukiro thought.

'Nice! right on time!!' Haru thought.

It was a great relief indeed, because a Hashira arrived.

"I wonder who the corps sent?"

"Beats me, it better be someone strong."

A tall figure, covered in blood, lands in front of them.

"Ah! Tsukiro-kun, Haru-kun, glad to see the both of you are still alive!"

It was the current Thunder Hashira, Kazuya Kinoshita. A man in his thirties with short slightly spiky black hair, he was wearing a specialized version of the corps standard uniform with a military jacket to top it off. The one thing that made him stand out was that he had only one arm.

"Kinoshita-san!"

"Yo old man, bout time ya' showed up."

"Tsukiro! Don't be rude!" Haru scolded his friend.

A tick mark grew on Kazuya's forehead as he refrained from bonking Tsukiro on his head.

"I'm not old, I'm only 35!"

"Uh-huh, yep whatever you say," Tsukiro said nonchalantly.

"Ahem!-- So, status report you two."

"The rest of the civilians have been evacuated, the injured are being tended to as we speak, and we're still taking care of the demons because there's still so many remaining, but that won't be an issue anymore now that you're here Kinoshita-san," Haru spoke.

Kazuya nodded before turning to Tsukiro.

"What about you Kirigami?"

"Well, I've already wiped out the bastards in the west, and south of the island-"

"Wait! That fast?!!" Haru looked at his friend in astonishment. Well, it was expected from Tsukiro, always stealing the kill from other slayers, always finding ways to kill as many demons as he can.

"What are your instructions Kinoshita-San?"

"I'll be taking the lead on this mission, the two of you assist your fellow slayers and secure the island, kill every last demon you see, when the sun comes up we regroup along with the other slayers at the nearest town, understood?"

"HAI!" The two of them said in agreement.

With that, the three of them split off to accomplish what they came here for.

There were only a few minutes left until sunrise. With the help of the Thunder Hashira, they were able to wipe out the remaining demons on the island faster.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style: Seventh Form: Dragon-Soaring Flash!!"

Swinging his sword upwards which took the form of a flying dragon, while initiating a powerful jump into the air, Tsukiro kills 4 demons at once.

'alright, that's all of them.'

Landing in a somersault to cushion his fall, Tsukiro stood up and wiped the blood off his sword. He then doubled over in exhaustion as he used his sword to support his body, keeping him from falling over.

'This whole mission took a toll on my body, I should've been mindful on how many times I use Shinsoku...'

"CAW! CAW!"

He looked above and saw his Kasugai Crow flying down from the air and landing on his shoulder.

"CAW! REGROUP! REGROUP! CAW! MEET UP WITH HASHIRA KAZUYA KINOSHITA AT THE NEAREST TOWN!"

"Alright, Alright, you didn't have to scream in my fucking ear."

His crow took off flight again leaving him on his own. With that, he pulled out his tactical phone, which is given to every single slayer in the corps for various uses, from the small bag attached to his belt. Opening the GPS, he checked the location of the nearest town and immediately headed there.

With Haru...

Haru found himself in a bit of a situation right now.

In front of him, a middle-aged couple was trying their hardest to restrain their teenage daughter.

"LORNA! Honey stop it!!" Her mother cried.

Her plead was in vain as her daughter kept thrashing around trying to bite her father's arm.

"S-Sweetheart, please listen to our voices, we're going to get you help, e-everything will be alright!?" Her father cried.

But still, their pleas fell on deaf ears as their daughter kept on thrashing and biting, her eyes were blood-red and foam was coming out of her mouth.

Haru turned to the Hashira standing next to him who was looking at the scene with sad eyes, "Kinoshita-San...what should we do?"

Before he could get an answer, Tsukiro arrived at the scene, he gazed at the couple trying to reach out to their daughter for a few moments, "What's going on here?" He asked Haru.

"Their daughter...she's been demonized" Haru responded. He felt great empathy for the family of three and how desperate the husband and wife were at trying to calm their daughter down.

Tsukiro however, unsheathed his nichirin sword from its scabbard and strode towards the family.

"Tsukiro?"

He finally stood in front of them catching their attention, he stared at them with cold blank eyes as he firmly gripped his sword. Seeing the blade in his hand, the couple held on to their daughter tighter.

"I'm gonna have to need you two to move."

However, they didn't understand him because Tsukiro was speaking japanese.

"They can't understand you Tsuki, try speaking in english," Haru suggested. 

Tsukiro took Haru's suggestion and spoke again, this time in english.

"I'm afraid your daughter's been turned into a demon. When demon blood enters the body, either through open wounds or orally, they become demons. I'm sorry to say this, but there's no hope for your daughter."

This made their eyes widen, then they started pleading.

"N-No, not demon, s-she's good girl, there must be something you can do, p-please sir!" The father spoke in broken strings of english.

"There's nothing we can do, once someone becomes a demon they are damned to eat human flesh and blood for as long as they live."

He flashed his sword.

"I'm going to decapitate your daughter now, so please move out of the way."

This made them cry and beg even harder.

Tsukiro gained an irritated look.

"I said move..."

He pushed both of them away before roughly grabbing the daughter's hair and aligning his sword on her neck.

"TSUKI WAIT!!-"

*SLASH*

The daughter's severed head fall to the ground, much to the horror of her parents.

"AAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!"

The parents screamed in horror and despair as they see their daughter's body slowly disintegrate into ashes.

Tsukiro sheathed his sword and started to walk away, "The mission's done, let's get out of here."

Haru stared at his friend's retreating figure in shock then stared at the inconsolable couple in horror before running after his friend.

The couple's cries and anguish-stricken shrieks echoed across the island as they tried to hold on to what was left of their little girl.

Kazuya sighed and pinched the bridge between his nose before giving out orders to the other demon slayers and kakushi on what was left that needed to be done.

Tsukiro was making his way down towards the beach, where the ferries were waiting to pick them up after their mission before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Haru giving him an angry look.

"What the hell was that back there?!!"

"I killed a demon, that's what happened."

"You killed their daughter in front of their eyes!!

"Their daughter was already dead the moment demonic blood entered her veins."

Haru couldn't believe what he was hearing right now from his best friend.

"B-But, Tsuki you could've handled that more gently, what you did back there was out of line."

This made Tsukiro glare hard at Haru.

"Then what did you expect me to do Haru? Tell them sugar-coated lies? Give them false hope? Oh! Tell them fairy tales? By killing that girl, I stopped more people from getting killed and one less monster to worry about. We came to this island to do our jobs and we did just that so let's just go. "

Shrugging off Haru's hand, Tsukiro stomped away towards the beach leaving Haru to look at his friend with sympathy.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Up Next: Chapter 2: High School Students?!

Chapter Text

Demons...

Man-eating, cannibalistic creatures damned by the sun, that were thought to be found only in children's nightmares...

Demons have been around for thousands of years, and have been killing and devouring humans ever since. Growing stronger with each taste of blood. They were nigh impossible to kill, possessing supernatural strength and the ability to regenerate from any damage.

They originate from one man, the first demon and the strongest of his kind...

Muzan Kibutsuji...The Demon King...The devil incarnate...

Hundreds of years after their appearance the Demon Slayer Corps were founded. Despite their immortality, the corps managed to find a way to destroy them.

And now, a thousand-year-long secret war between slayers and demons.

Which side will be victorious?

It's been over a month since the wharf island incident.

Every single demon slayer involved in the mission was rewarded handsomely for their deeds. Specifically, they were promoted, raising their ranks by 2, and a cash reward of *80 million yen.

*580,730.64 USD

In Haru and Tsukiro's cases, they were promoted from Hinoto straight up to Kinoto, gaining the third-highest rank in the corps.

*Within the Demon Slayer lore, the rankings of the Demon Slayer Corps are as follows below. (From the lowest to the highest rank.)

Mizunoto>Mizunoe>Kanoto> Kanoe>Tsuchinoto>Tsuchinoe>Hinoto>Hinoe>Kinoto>Kinoe>>>>Hashira

The slayers who never made it, however, were given proper burials to honor their bravery and sacrifice, their families were also heavily compensated by the corps for their losses.

However, the fight hasn't ended and is about to be more difficult, for the corps is now about to face one of the Kibutsuji's direct subordinates and one of the strongest demons to have ever walked the earth.

»»-----　　-----« «

"Tsuki-Chan! where are you going honey? Don't wander off too far now!"

»»-----　　-----« «

"Aaaawww! Are you giving your teddy a little bath now? My Tsukiro is such a sweet boy!"

»»-----　　-----««

"Mommy will always love you Tsuki-Chan..."

»»-----　　-----« «

"Tsuki rooooo-Chhhaaannn ~ ! Why didn't yoU HeLP mE!??!!!!?"

»»-----　　-----« «

"MOM!!!"

He breathed heavily when he realized he was lying on the floor of his hotel room staring up at the red-painted ceiling. The sun's rays piercing through the curtains let him know that it was daytime.

He reached his hand up to his cheek and felt something wet.

He was crying.

Wiping away the tears from his face he stood up and walked to the bathroom. Turning on the lights, he looked at himself in the mirror. 5'11, messy pink hair, shirtless, only wearing pajama pants, extremely toned and well-built body littered with some scars, and a baby face.

He washed his face and hair, exited the bathroom, and put on a black tank top.

He was currently in Manaus City Brazil for a mission that he just completed last night, hence why he slept late.

Haru wasn't with him this time because he was assigned to a different mission which was in Poland.

His crow delivered him instructions on the mission assigned to him three days ago. A restaurant owner as well as his employees were demons in disguise and were using the restaurant as a front for smuggling human meat.

He dealt with them quickly and mercilessly. By the time they saw his sword, it was already too late.

The Kakushi cleaned up the mess and had the restaurant shut down due to 'illegal substances.'

The people as well as previous customers seemed to buy it though as no one grew suspicious and never stepped foot on the abandoned establishment ever since.

He picked up the discarded pieces of trash littered around the floor of his hotel room, mostly empty cups of instant ramen, bottles of empty drinks, and cans of coke.

He heard his phone, which was charging at the table, ring with a tune of metal music, removing the charger and picking it up he typed in his password opening his phone and saw that HQ sent him a message which immediately caught his interest since HQ only sent DMs to slayers when it was urgent.

"Kirigami Tsukiro, and Kamado Haru, the two of you have been assigned to a special mission, please report back to HQ for an important meeting. The Flame Hashira will await you two to give further instructions." -Sincerely, HQ

'The Flame Hashira herself wants me and Haru to return to HQ for a special mission? just what is going on?'

Gazing out his window after opening the curtains allowing sunlight to get in, he thought to himself.

'Why didn't they just send a crow? is it that important?'

Obeying the message Tsukiro started to pack up, cleaning his room of any remaining trash and then packing up his belongings.

"Thank you!" Haru smiled at the waiter who served his food who smiled back at him in return.

Haru had just completed his mission several hours ago, he was currently sitting in a restaurant eager to try out Polish food for the first time, He licked his lips as he eyed the meal that he ordered, Schabowy, which was Poland's national dish.

He clasped his hands together in a prayer-like motion, "Itadakimasu!" He said before digging into his meal.

"Mmmmmmm~!! delicious! but still, nothing beats dad's Katsudon."

He gorged on his food when his phone suddenly rang.

Fishing it out of his pocket, he opened it and read the message.

'Me and Tsuki assigned to a special mission...?'

Haru powered off his phone and put it back in his pocket, deciding to finish his meal first before hopping on a plane back to Japan.

During the 26-hour plane ride to Japan, most of the passengers were already asleep as it was now nighttime.

Tsukiro sat next to the window as he meditated on his thoughts and mind, though it appeared as if he was asleep while hugging to his chest a long backpack that concealed his sword inside.

Gazing out the window and looking at the stars, a distant memory resurfaces, a memory of a night so long ago, a night filled with laughter, fun, and cake.

"Go on Tsuki-Chan! Open your gift, and see what's inside!"

" *GASP!!*  IT'S A TELESCOPE!!"

He rushed forward to embrace his mother knocking the air out of her.

"THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! MOMMY!"

Then he was back to the present, a man who's part of a secret organization that fights monsters, long gone was that innocent wide-eyed boy whose heart was untouched by the cruelties of the world and beasts.

With these thoughts in mind, Tsukiro drifted to sleep.

The next morning, Tsukiro arrived in Japan at Kobe airport.

Grabbing his luggage on the way out He spots a man wearing a suit and sunglasses among the sea of people, waiting for friends and loved ones, raising a cardboard sign with his name on it.

Approaching the man, he easily slips through the crowd like water around a rock. "Kirigami Tsukiro?" The man asks.

"Yeah?"

"Rengoku-Sama asked me to escort you."

"What about Haru? Shouldn't we wait for him too?"

"Kamado-San arrived a day early so there's no need."

Tsukiro nodded before the man brought him over to a black sedan and the two drove off to their destination.

The main headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps was located deep within the mountains of Hyogo Prefecture, it was nearly a 2-hour-drive with all of the secret routes and pathways all over the Prefecture that the man escorting him had to drive through, the Corps were quite secretive about their organization.

"We're here Kirigami-San." The man escorting him said.

He exited the vehicle and circled around to grab his luggage from the trunk.

To an average civilian the Demon Slayer HQ resembled a small town with a couple of large fancy-looking buildings as well as what looks like a Japanese castle at the center.

"Tsukiro!" Haru called out as he ran towards him.

"Haru, ya know what this is about?"

"Not a clue, except Rengoku-Sama, said that it was urgent, we were both waiting for you to arrive."

As the two were talking, the presence of a tall, boisterous, fiery-haired female interrupted their conversation.

"Ah! Tsukiro-Kun! Glad that you made it!"

The duo turned around to see the Flame Hashira herself walking towards them.

"Rengoku-Sama!" Haru formally bowed.

"Sup' Mayuri," Tsukiro said.

"Oi! that's Rengoku-Sama to you!"

"Whatever Mayuri. Now spill us the details about this so-called 'secret mission' or whatever."

"Okay, Okay, no need to get all grumpy, sheesh."

Mayuri Rengoku was a young voluptuous woman in her mid-twenties, she was wearing a specialized version of the Corp's standard uniform with a white jacket covered in flame-like patterns. The two friends followed her as she led them to the main building.

"Say, Rengoku-Sama? Where's Ubayashiki-Dono? Is he not joining us today?" Haru asked.

"The Master won't be joining us today, unfortunately, but he did permit me to explain the mission to you two."

They were both seated in a large conference room, it was just the three of them. Tsukiro, Haru, and the Flame Hashira Mayuri. A large screen attached to the wall was being played in front of them, Mayuri gestured for them to listen as she was about to explain the details of the mission.

"Now, I'm sure the two of you boys are confused about all this, but I'll do my best to explain. A few days ago, the two of you received messages informing you two were assigned to an important mission correct?"

Tsukiro and Haru both nodded in affirmation.

"Good. Now, during the past few weeks demon activity had spiked-"

She pressed a remote turning on the presentation screen which displayed a zoomed-in map of the United States, the areas on the map were marked with different highlighted colors that represented demonic activity. Blue is clear, Green is low, Yellow is Medium, Orange is Medium-High, and Red is high.

"-At this state right here." She zoomed in on the map and pointed at a state highlighted with the color orange, a state named Maine.

"Although, it isn't as intense as what happened on Wharf Island a month ago-"

Haru gave Tsukiro a judging look, "Don't tell me you're still mad about that?" Tsukiro said.

"-However, it's still quite concerning and dangerous because it happened out of the blue, just about three weeks ago Maine was marked Green, but then our agents came back with their reports that shocked us," Rengoku said with a dead-serious tone, which didn't fit her at all.

Tsukiro and Haru gave each other looks before gesturing for her to keep going.

"Recently, in this area right here..." She zoomed in on an area named York County in Maine "two members of the *Twelve Kizuki were sighted."

*Twelve Demon Moons

At the mention of the name, the atmosphere quickly became tense.

'The Twelve Kizuki, an organization of the Twelve most powerful demons who serve directly under Muzan Kibutsuji. Tens of Millions of demon slayers and Hashira have fallen to this group over the course of a thousand years...'

"Was there a confrontation? What were their ranks? What about their powers?" Tsukiro stood up and asked.

'If two of the Twelve Kizuki are there, then that means there's a chance that  he's one of the two...'

"Yes, there was a confrontation. One of the agents barely managed to escape but the slayer who was accompanying them died in the process."

Haru bowed his head in respect for the fallen slayer, while Haru was focused on the information being shared.

The next slide on the screen showed two photos of the two members

'Shit, he's not one of them.'

Both of them were taken during the night, the first photo showed some kind of giant troll wearing a medieval metal helmet towering over the pine trees, its glowing eyes were big and yellow, and engraved in its left pupil there were words written in kanji.

Lower Moon Six...

The second photo showed a man with spiky black hair wearing a black trenchcoat strangely trudging down the shoreline during a party on the beach. Due to his back facing the camera they couldn't see his eyes.

*In the Demon Slayer canon, each member of the Twelve Kizuki has their rank engraved into their eyes in the form of letters and numbers. The Lower-Ranks have their rank engraved in one eye, while the Upper-Ranks have their rank in both. Between each member, there is a large difference between strength and power, for example, Lower Moon Six is the weakest of the Twelve while Upper Moon One is the strongest (2nd to only the Demon King himself.)

"But, why would two of the Twelve Kizuki suddenly show up and cause terror in York?" Haru spoke out his thoughts.

"I find it strange as well, it's almost as if...as if, they're looking for something..." Tsukiro said as he realized something.

This made Haru and Mayuri look at him, their eyes widening as they took account of what Tsukiro said.

'wait, could it be that?' Mayuri thought.

Returning to the topic, both Haru and Tsukiro listened as the Flame Hashira informs them of their roles in the operation.

"Now this is where you two come in, this is unlike any other mission you've been on. Based on the information we've gathered over the past few weeks, the two of you are essential to this operation as you are one of our strongest and most promising slayers. But it won't be just the two of you."

That last part made them a bit confused.

'Another person will be teaming up with us?'

"My *Tsuguko will be assisting you two on this mission-"

"Wait, you have a Tsuguko?!"

"Yes, why?" Mayuri asked a bit confused.

"How come we've never heard of them!?"

*A Tsuguko is an exceptionally talented combatant of the Demon Slayer Corps who is designated as the apprentice and eventual successor of one of the Hashira.

"Well, I've been busy with a lot of missions lately so I never had the time to properly introduce you two to her and sometimes I kind of forget, but now that she'll be on the same mission as you two so now's the time for you all to get to know each other."

She walked towards the door and opened it, "You can come in now Emma."

A girl with neck-length ash brown hair tied in a ponytail with light pink highlights wearing the demon slayer uniform and ripped jeans, her sword was strapped to her side.

"Emma Lane reporting for duty ma'am!"

"Boys, this is Emma, she'll be working with you on this mission."

Haru stood up and walked over to introduce himself.

"Hello, Emma-San! I'm Haru, I look forward to working with you." Haru held out his palm for a hand-shake which Emma gladly took.

"Same here, nice to meet you."

"By the way, your Japanese is astounding!"

Emma grew flustered, "T-Thanks, been studying for years now ever since I met Rengoku-Sensei."

Tsukiro stepped forward, "Yo, I'm Kirigami Tsukiro, let's see if you're as good as hot head says you are."

"Tsuki! That's rude!"

Emma just smirked, "Well, challenge accepted," She said as she shook Tsukiro's hand.

Tsukiro smirked back, "What'd you say to a match after this whole meeting is over."

"You're on Kirigami, let's see if what they say about you in the field aren't just baseless rumors."

"Alright everyone, now that you all know each other's names can we go back to the topic at hand?"

All three of them sat down to listen to the rest of the details. The next slide on the screen showed a picture of a high school.

"This is Bellcrest High School, a very well-known school throughout the entire country located in York, Maine where the two Kizuki demons were sighted—Tsukiro, Haru, and Emma, as one of our most promising slayers. The three of you will go undercover as high school students, you'll all be enrolled at Bellcrest once the 2nd semester starts, and during your time there you will destroy the threat of demons in York County, protect civilian life, and gather information concerning the whereabouts of the Twelve Kizuki."

There was a moment of silence before Tsukiro broke the silence.

"...NANI?"

To Be Continued...

Up Next: Chapter 3: High-School Students Part 2...

Chapter Text

...Nani...?" 

'...High School Students?'  

The term itself sounded so foreign to Tsukiro. Granted that he had never been to school in 11 years, at best he only ever managed to pass preschool.

Tsukiro dodged a wooden sword swing aiming for his head then blocked another swing aiming for his chest. Currently, he and Emma were engaged in an intense sparring session a few hours after their meeting with the Flame Hashira. The two have been sparring for about 2 hours in the headquarters' training gym and Tsukiro was impressed at how strong Emma was.

'she's well-trained, even I'm having trouble landing some good hits on her...'

He blocked another swing aiming for his chin and swung his sword upwards aiming for her chin as well, Emma dodged it as she stepped backward gaining distance from Tsukiro.

'But still, this is just a sparring session. If she was a demon she would've been dead.'

Deciding to get a bit more serious, Tsukiro started to get more aggressive with his attacks. Constantly attacking with his wooden sword from all angles while putting more pressure and strength on them forcing Emma to go on the defensive and not giving her a chance to breathe. 

Performing a strong jump and front flip into the air, Tsukiro landed behind Emma catching her off guard and then spinning around hitting her in the stomach, which wasn't too serious due to them wearing protective gear.

"1 point to Tsukiro! The score is now 6-4! Tsukiro wins!" Haru announced as he was the coach for their match.

"Not bad Lane," Tsukiro says, offering his hand to Emma. Emma accepted it as he hoisted her up.

"Damn your strong, which means I can't be slacking off if I wanna rack up some huge merits and achievements."

The two kept talking while Haru was on his laptop.

"Bellcrest High School, we better get ready. We'll be leaving for York in a week" Haru said.

"York huh, haven't been there in a while," Emma said.

"Ya know about the place Emma?" Tsukiro asked.

"Know it? I lived there for most of my childhood before my dad and I moved away."

"York seems like a really good place to live in," Haru said while researching York, Maine "Why did you guys move away?"

Emma froze for a few seconds before replying, "I-It's...personal."

Tsukiro raised an eyebrow before shrugging and walking off to return the sparring equipment.

 "Wait hold on, what year are being enrolled in?" Tsukiro asked.

"We'll be enrolled as 2nd-year sophomore students at Bellcrest, why?" Emma replied.

"Wait, Wait, If that's the case then how old are you Emma-" That's when Tsukiro realized something, "Wait...Hold old am I!?"

"Wait...You don't know how old you are!?" Emma exclaimed in shock.

"Tsuki, you're 18, you'll be 19 next year. Emma is 17 while I'm the youngest at 16."

This surprised Emma, "Haru you're 16?" 

"Wow...I can't believe I'm older than both of you. I always thought that we were the same age."

'Just...how much did I forget?'    

1 week later...

The alarm on her phone blared to life nudging her to wake up to avoid from being late for school. Today was the start of the second semester, and she could already smell her mom's cooking from downstairs.

Standing up and tidying up her bed, Gwen Black put on her favorite bunny slippers before heading downstairs. The sound of her mom's cooking became clearer as she got closer to the kitchen.

"Morning *amma." 

*Mom- in Bengali.

Her mother greeted her with a warm smile.

"Good morning pranayi."

*Pranayi - Sweetheart.

"Where's dad?" She asked, pulling a chair and sitting down.

"He left earlier for some paperwork for the camp." She said as she poured her a glass of orange juice. 

Gwen grabbed the glass but before she could taste the sweet contents of the juice, her mom suddenly spoke up, "Gwen, what happened to your shoulder?"

Gwen was confused before realizing that the short sleeve of her green shirt was barely covering a large purple bruise on her left shoulder.

"O-Oh, that, well u-um one of my classmates got a bit rowdy in class and accidentally pushed me."

Yeah 'accidentally.'

"Oh no!" Her mother exclaimed as she went over to the fridge to grab an ice pack.

"Don't worry about it too much mom! I'll have it checked by the nurse later." Gwen always liked the school nurse, she was nice.

"*Sigh* Okay, but be careful next time okay pranayi?"

"I promise Ma."

After breakfast, Gwen walked to the nearest bus stop to wait for the school bus to arrive. Tapping away at her phone looking at some cute videos of sloths, the sound of the bus pulling over and opening its doors alerted her.

Putting her phone back in her pocket, Gwen entered the school bus, catching the attention of every single person inside.

'Stay strong Gwen, it's just another day at school. You can handle it...'

Ignoring the whispers and Lauren's sneering face, Gwen aimed for the empty seat at the back of the bus. She put on her earphones to listen to music and gazed outside the window as the bus drove to Bellcrest High School.

Gwen walked towards her homeroom class for the first period while also avoiding the halls where she spotted some of Lauren's clique when an unfamiliar voice caught her attention from behind.

"Hey, 'scuse me."

Turning around, she met the red eyes of a rather tall boy with pinkish hair, looking down at her as he easily towered over her. 

"Y-Yes? Can I help you?"

"Can you point me the way to this class?" He asked while showing her a piece of paper.

Gwen read it before perking up, "Oh what a coincidence! We're in the same homeroom. I'm heading there too, If you want I can show you the way there."

"Yeah sure, thanks."

After their brief conversation, the two walked side by side toward their classroom. "I'm Gwen by the way, Gwen Black."

Casting a glance at the small girl walking beside him who looked at him expecting an answer, he replied, "Kirigami, Tsukiro Kirigami."

"Wow! Are you Japanese?" 

"Yes, I am." He answered colly.

"Your english is really good by the way! And you're pretty tall too!" Gwen smiled.

"Well, I studied the language for a few years when I was a kid, also I get a lot of remarks about my height, I'm taller than average japanese, so you saying that isn't that new to me."

"Well, You're gonna love it here in Bellcrest--so Tsukiro, where'd you go school before coming to Bellcrest?"

Thinking of a good answer as a way to not rouse suspicion, he replied, "Um, to tell you the truth, I've never been to school before. I was mostly homeschooled all my life so I've never actually been to a real school before," Which was half of the truth.

Gwen grew wide-eyed at this information before speaking, "Well, if you have any questions about school at all, you can always ask me. Anyhow, look we're here."

"Uh...Thank you."

They both entered the classroom to see that most of his new classmates were already there, chatting around with each other until he and Gwen entered the room. Gwen made her way toward her seat while Tsukiro stood frozen like a statue as his new classmates stared at him.

Then the whispers came, it was ironic how they tried their best to keep quiet but he could hear them all very clearly, due to the benefits of his training.

"Who's he?"

"Oh my god he's hot, is he a new student?"

"Is he a celebrity? He's so handsome."

"Wow he's tall, he's got to be at least 180 cm right?"

"Do you think he'd be interested in joining the basketball or football team?"

"Oh my God, a hottie!"

"Is it me? or am I getting wet?"

He blushed scarlet red in embarrassment which only made the girls giggle at how cute he looked.

                                                                       »»-----　　-----« «

When their homeroom teacher arrived, Tsukiro went up to the front to introduce himself.

"H-Hello, Um, my name is Kirigami Tsukiro. I'll be in your care, and I uh-hope that we can all get along." He said awkwardly while avoiding eye contact with any of his classmates.

This only made the girls squeal even harder and remark on how adorable he is which didn't do anything to ease his embarrassment.

"Wow, so he's Japanese?"

"He must be a foreign exchange student."

"He must be part of a Jpop Boy Band!!"

After his introduction, Haru made his way back to his seat which was beside Gwen making her his seatmate much to her delight.

'Let's just get this day over with so I can go back to killin' demons.'

Meanwhile With Haru...

Unlike Tsukiro, Haru wasn't in class but was instead in a strange predicament. He was running around the entire school in pursuit of something.

'That can't be...How can the scent just vanish!? That's never happened before!'

Earlier, just after classes began, Haru who got lost while looking for his homeroom caught a whiff of a strong demonic scent.

Because not only did Haru inherit his great-great-grandfather's Hanafuda Earrings and great swordsmanship, but he also inherited his incredibly powerful sense of smell.

He narrowly avoids the cameras while in pursuit of the mysterious demon that was loose in the school, the last thing he wants is a video of him moving at speeds that would make Usain Bolt look like a sloth going viral on the internet.

'There it is again!'

His nose caught the scent again as he moved in a burst of superhuman speed in its direction. He suddenly stopped in front of a classroom where the class was still in session. He read the sign on top and was surprised that it was his homeroom that he had trouble finding.

'It stops here...'

Wishing that he had his sword with him right now, Haru decided to risk it. Taking a deep breath he opened the door catching the attention of everyone inside.

"Oh! You must be the new student." The homeroom teacher cheerfully says.

"Yes that would be me," He bowed in front of the teacher, "I would like to humbly apologize for my tardiness today ma'am, I got lost in the hallways but other than that I have no excuses to make."

The teacher was deeply touched by Haru's apology, "O-Oh my, so polite...Apology accepted, Bellcrest is a rather large school so I don't blame you for getting lost. In the meantime, why don't you introduce yourself to the class."

"HAI!"

Turning around to face the class, Haru gave a bright smile.

"Hello! My name is Haru Kamado, I'm 16 years old, my height is 5'5, and I'm from Japan but I'll be living here in York for the meantime, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." Afterward, he bowed, making the class chuckle and whisper things about him, mostly just curious.

"Thank you for that introduction Haru! Why don't you sit behind Jessie over there," He pointed to an empty seat behind a ginger-haired girl with green-colored eyes. 

Putting down his bag and settling into his assigned seat, the teacher continued where they left off in class while Haru was deep in thought.

'A demon, capable of disguising their scent? That's never happened before. Unless they were using Blood Demon Arts, If so, then they must be really strong,'

Haru glanced at his classmates, some were throwing him curious looks to which he responded with a smile.

Haru and Tsukiro have fought an innumerable amount of demons who grew strong enough to access Blood Demon Arts before. But even they had to admit, they were extremely strong and problematic opponents depending on their Arts.

'But what's concerning here is that one of these students is pretending to be human, but why at a high school? that doesn't make sense, they're trapping themselves with the sun (since classes begin during the day)'

'Unless they're depraved to the point where they'd make an entire school full of students their personal feeding ground, and if they're one of the Twelve Kizuki, then this is bad really bad.'

                                                                         »»-----　　-----« «

With Emma...

While first period was in session, Emma was gazing out the window looking at the trees deep in thought.

'I can't believe I'm back here again in York. Dad was hesitant at letting me go, I don't blame him considering what the hell happened to us years ago...'

She remembers how panicked her mom was when she hid that small 9-year-old girl inside that closet.

"Emma, baby hide here, don't come out until I come back."

"Mommy?"

"I'll be right back, don't worry, daddy's on his way with help, don't worry baby everything will be fine, we'll get through this."

The monstrous growling and footsteps became more audible as the non-human intruder came closer to their hiding place, her mother's reassuring smile morphed into a horrified look as she quickly shut and locked the closet with Emma inside.

Emma covered her ears as gunshots resonated throughout the house followed by her mom's screams...

Shaking those thoughts out of her head, Emma refocused on the lesson the teacher was discussing.

'Focus Emma, focus on the mission...'

"Mrs.Lane, can you please find the solution to this problem?"

'Fuck, why is algebra my first period?'

To Be Continued...

Up Next: Chapter 4: It's the first day, but I'm already in trouble.

Chapter Text

Tsukiro wonders how he got into this situation on the first day of school—he silently grumbles to himself as he sits inside the principal's office while the principal himself gives him a scolding look.

"Mr. Kirigami, do you know what you did wrong today?" From what he learned, the principal, Gene Harrington or Principal Harrington asked him.

He recalled what happened earlier at the cafeteria.                                                 

5 Hours Ago...

It was now lunchtime, Tsukiro held his tray standing in line while waiting for his turn. He caught some girls stealing glances at him but he paid them no attention.

He stepped forward to order his meal, "Rice and Pork Cutlet." A simple meal.

After the lunch lady served him his food now he had to find a table to eat his food in peace.

"Hey cutie~ why don't you sit here with us?~"

A couple of girls waved at him and gestured for him to sit with them. They all looked like the stereotypical hot cheerleader types that you'd see in movies or read in cheesy, cliche, high school romance novels, but he declined, thinking that it would probably be bothersome.

"Oh my god, is that the new transfer student they were talking about?"

"Yeah, that's him. He's hot right?"

"Oh yeah definitely, I'd say he's on par with Lauren's boyfriend."

"Yeah, James better watch his back."

"Nah, I'd say he's hotter than James."

"No way, he's good-looking, but I'd say James is hotter."

'Dear God, what the hell is up with these thirsty bitches?' Tsukiro thought in annoyance.

Kendra Marshall, a girl with brown hair tied in a bun, black-colored eyes, and wearing a red hoodie was watching him navigate his way around the cafeteria.

"Hey, Lauren I think that's him over there, one of the new Japanese transfer students." She told her friend as she pointed at Tsukiro. 

"Ooooh, he's handsome~," Marlena, one of their friends who's a part of their clique said while eyeing Tsukiro from a distance He tried to look for Haru and Emma but failed due to how many students there were in the cafeteria. Marlena was a young latina student with long blond-dyed hair going down to her hips and peach-colored eyes. She was wearing a short-sleeved pink crop top and a pencil skirt.

Lauren was sitting at their usual table, her boyfriend James was chatting away with two of his friends who were sitting down with them.

"I think there were two other transfer students if I remember correctly, the other one is also japanese while the third one is from Boston."

"Yeah, Haru Kamado and Emma Lane from what I remember?" Marlena said.

Jessie Anderson perked up, her eyes widening when she heard the name, Emma Lane.

"Did you say, 'Emma Lane?"

"Jessie, isn't that your childhood friend who moved away after her mom died that you've been talking about?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah, that's her! I haven't talked with her in a year, I didn't think she'd move back to York." Jessie said while smiling, excited at the thought of her best friend moving back.

"Hey, guys look. The freak is eating alone again." One of Jame's friends Gunner, a tall young man with short dark purple hair and a member of the football team, said as he pointed at Gwen Black who was minding her own business.

"Ugh, look at her hair, and the way she moves is weird."

"Yeah definitely."

Gunner smirked as he grabbed Jame's carton of milk from his tray eliciting a 'hey!' from his friend, "Watch this."

Tsukiro sighed in frustration as he couldn't find Haru or Emma anywhere until the sight of a familiar girl eating all by herself caught his eye.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?"

She looked at him with surprise before a bright beaming smile graced her face as she nodded vigorously.

"Cool, thanks."

Sitting down, he ate his meal quietly while Gwen just stared at him the whole time making him feel a bit awkward. This continued for quite an amount of time while both of them were eating their meals until Tsukiro couldn't handle the awkwardness he was feeling anymore.

"Okay, what do ya' want?"

"You sat down with me." She replied smiling with a certain shine in her eyes.

"...And?"

"No one ever wants to sit with me during lunch...Well, to be fair, all of them do their best to ignore me.." She said with a certain sadness in her eyes that Tsukiro noticed despite her smile.

"I-Why do they do that?--Ignore you?"

She frowned slightly, which made him feel for some reason, uneasy and angry.

"W-Well...It's probably because of-" But before Gwen could finish her sentence, Tsukiro sees a fast-moving projectile in the form of a milk carton flying through the air and was about to hit the back of Gwen's head. Thinking quickly and using his superhuman speed and reflexes, Tsukiro moved around the table and caught the carton before it could hit Gwen.

Gwen blinked for a few moments, completely dumbstruck as it appeared like Tsukiro just teleported. Even the other students present in the cafeteria, who were eager to watch Gwen get soaked in milk, were baffled at how fast Tsukiro moved, including the culprit of the failed prank, Gunner.

Crushing the milk carton in his hand, spilling it all over the floor, Tsukiro snarled as he gained a pissed-off expression. He strode towards him menacingly and began sizing him up, roughly they were both around the same height.

"What? You got a problem ching chong?" Gunner taunted but was still wary due to witnessing Tsukiro's speed.

Tsukiro gave a relaxed smile before replying, "Oh, sorry It's nothing, forgive me if you felt that way, I just wanted to get a closer look at your jacket," He gestured towards the red varsity jacket with Bellcrest's initials sewed on the left part of the chest.

"O-Oh, why thank you-" But before Gunner could finish, a powerful punch was thrown right at his solar plexus followed by a knee-strike to his gut.

The resulting shock and pain was so intense that it made him lurch over and vomit the contents of his lunch right on the floor. Tsukiro didn't show any mercy as he performed a low sweep kick that struck Gunner in the head, making blood squirt out his nose before knocking him out.

Every single person present was agape and took a while to register what just happened before their reactions uproared throughout the entire cafeteria. Others were astonished, some were awestruck, some were shocked, others were scared, others looked at Tsukiro with curiosity.

"Holy fuck!! did you see that!"

"That was some Bruce Lee shit!!"

"Just who is the new guy?"

"Guys! He moved so fast it was like his kicks were invisible!!"

"And the way he moved to catch that milk carton!"

However, the others were scared.

"What if he's a gang member?"

"The lack of hesitation did you see that?"

"I wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of his fist."

"It would be best to avoid that guy, he seems like trouble."

Gwen however, looked at Tsukiro with a mix of shock, fear, and awe.

Lauren's group looked at the scene with shock, James shook out of his stupor, anger overtaking him as he rushed at Tsukiro with his fist cocked back.

"You motherfucker!!!"

Tsukiro dodged a punch by swerving his head to the left before releasing a palm strike to his attacker's jaw which sent him flying back a few feet. Before James could recover he was met with a knee strike to the nose, breaking it and causing blood to gush out, Tsukiro gave him a backhanded slap which made James dazed followed by another punch aimed at his jaw which instantly knocked him out.

Another uproar of reactions from the students resounded through the cafeteria once more.

Jame's unconscious form was sprawled out across the floor, blood gushing out his bruised and broken nose, and a few teeth were missing due to the jaw punch from Tsukiro.

Tsukiro grabbed the front of Jame's shirt and lifted him, his eyes cold and blank, he cocked his fist back, veins were visible and bulging around his fist. But before he could throw another punch he felt someone hold on to his arm preventing him from doing so.

Turning around, his glare softened when he met Gwen's innocent pleading eyes. Gwen who was holding on to his arm to stop him from doing something drastic.

"P-Please, no more fighting, he's already hurt enough, you'll get into trouble on your first day."

Giving in to those pleading eyes, he lowered his fist and let go of James, making the unconscious man flop back down to the floor.

"WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE!!??"

A teacher burst through the cafeteria doors followed by 2 students who reported the incident.

"...Well fuck..." Tsukiro exclaimed before he felt the impact of a wooden bat against the back of his head.

"Unbelievable. And on your first day of school! Well, do you have anything to say for yourself Mr. Kirigami?"

"I wasted a perfectly good carton of milk, even though I'm lactose intolerant?"

"You sent two young men and a young woman to the hospital!!"

"To be fair sensei, the last one was self-defense, I surrendered and she comes out of nowhere and attacks me with a bat, think about it, what would happen if I had a lethal concussion?"

"You broke her arm young man, so don't get smart with me!" He pointed an accusatory finger at him.

Before anybody could retort the principal's phone suddenly began ringing.

"You stay here young man, don't move a muscle!"

The principal exited the room to answer the call in private even though Tsukiro could still hear him.

"Yes, hello? Principal Harrington speaking...Yes uh-huh...Oh, I see..."

Tsukiro smirked when the principal finally re-enters the office.

"*Sigh* You have detention tomorrow."

"Thank you Sensei, glad that we could come to an agreement," Tsukiro said as he stood up, picked up his bag, and walks to the door to leave the office.

"You do understand that slayers aren't allowed to harm civilians?"

"They'll let it slide when they hear my side of the story."

"*Sigh* Well, God bless you on your mission I guess."

Tsukiro waved him off as he disappeared down the hallway. The school was already ended for the day, although there were still lots of students who stayed, either due to projects, club activities, or sports practice. 

He was now eager for what was to come at night, all he had to do now was meet up with Emma and Haru at the house where they were staying for the mission, which was provided by the Corps and was located near the beach, however, Tsukiro had a gut feeling that he was probably gonna be scolded by Haru.

As he walked down the hallway, some students gawked at him, and some whispered, probably due to the stunt he pulled at lunch. 

However, as he continued on his stride he found a slightly surprising sight. It was Gwen Black waiting for him, as he drew closer she immediately rushed towards him, a look of pure concern on her face.

"Hey..."

"H-Hi?"

"Is your head okay?" She asked as she touched his cheek, asking about when he got hit by that bat, he felt his face heat up at her touch as he gently removed her hand.

"It's fine, believe me, I've been through worse."

The last sentence only seemed to make her more worried, "You get into fights a lot?"

"Well, you could say that, but it's mostly in self-defense, assholes just won't leave me alone."

She walked and chatted with him even after they had exited the school, "I don't think you're a delinquent," She looked up at him with a smile, he raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think that?" 

"Well, for starters, you're really nice."

"I'm not nice."

"You're the first person who ever sat with me during lunch."

"Yeah-Just what's up with that?"

Gwen gained an uneasy look, "W-Well, people just don't get along y'know."

"That doesn't give them the right to throw milk at you, seriously, are all of them like that?"

Gwen looked down with a downcast look, "W-Well, most of them..."

Tsukiro clenched his fist at Gwen's answer, an expression of anger dawning on his look.

The two arrived at the bus stop where the bus finally arrived, "Aren't you coming Tsukiro?" Gwen asked confused about why he wasn't getting on, "You go ahead, my stop is in a different direction from here," He assured her. "Oh, well I'll see you at school tomorrow!" Both of them waved goodbye to each other as the bus departed.

Seeing that he still has a bit of time left, Tsukiro opted to try exploring the town for a short while.

'This is actually, a nice place to live in, to be honest.'

He thought to himself as he strolled around town, York itself gave him feelings of nostalgia, it reminded him of his hometown where he used to live with his mother, a rural peaceful village in Japan. 

He stopped to stare at a family of seven who were having fun at the beach, from what he could deduce they seemed like tourists enjoying their vacation. The two parents were sitting on the sandy ground in a warm embrace watching their three children frolic around playing with water guns and building sand castles.

Just by observing the family, he was hit by another flashback bringing him back to that dreaded night 11 years ago.

"Oh, you poor, poor sweet little tot~"

The man's fingers caressed the child's face as he stood frozen.

"Your mother must've loved you a lot~"

He licked his lips as his mouth broke into a grin showing off two large canines. The large man knelt down to the child's level so their eyes could meet.

Upper Moon 2, was engraved unto the man's eyes as he stared into his soul.

However, the boy could only focus on his mother's bloody corpse lying on the floor a few feet away from him.

Realizing he was being a creep when the family spotted him staring, he waved at them to which they waved back smiling.

He turned around and walked to the direction of the house where no doubt Haru and Emma were waiting for him.

"Time to go kill demons..."                               

To be Continued...

Up Next: S1 Chapter 5: Hunter

Chapter Text

A few hours ago...

"And you're certain about this Haru?"

Emma and Haru were busy talking in an empty hallway while the rest of the students were at lunch. Haru was telling Emma about the demonic scent he had detected while looking for his classroom. They were speaking in Japanese, just to be safe.

"I am, we need to tell Tsukiro and the Corps about this."

"Agreed, but what about the principal first?" Emma proposed.

"What about the principal?"

"Wait, Sensei didn't tell you? That the principal is our ally?"

Haru gained a stupefied expression which amused Emma, "Wait, HE'S WHAT?!!"

"Yep, he's a retired demon slayer, the Corps stationed him here to aid us on our mission," Emma gained a sheepish look, "Sorry me and Tsukiro never told you."

"It's fine, by the way, where is Tsuki?"

The blaring sounds of a siren outside the building caught their attention.

"Oh no..." Haru sighed, "What's wrong Haru?" Emma asked, confused.

"Tsukiro. He probably got into a fight with one of the students..."

"Wait, What!?"

"Yeah, this isn't the first time he's done this."

What Haru was saying is true, Tsukiro had a history of stirring up heaps of trouble during missions due to his temper at times. Like one where he snapped a man's arm for trying to steal his phone, causing a massive fight at a nightclub (sending multiple people to the hospital), the time where he nearly killed a hoodlum for trying to grab Tsukiro's sword, breaking out of a county jail, and the list goes on.

"I'll have a talk with him about this later."

When Tsukiro arrived at the house he was met with Haru's lecturing.

"Seriously Tsukiro, you could've killed them! You know how much stronger you are compared to them!" Haru scolded.

"Well, they're still alive, aren't they? Besides, they started it first."

"There were many other ways you could've handled that situation other than using brute force!"

Emma watched with an amused look as the two bickered back and forth. It was currently 6:00 PM, only a few hours left to prepare until they head out for the night to kill demons. Tsukiro sauntered up to Emma, "Are high schoolers this annoying?"

"Yes, they are--not to mention the weird drama as well," Tsukiro's expression turned sour as he thought back to what happened at the cafeteria and what he stirred up, it would probably come back to bite him in the ass.

"Alright you two, we best prepare while we still have time," Haru said to which Emma and Haru agreed.

When the sun goes down, that's when the monsters come out, but in this case, it's literal. The curfew time in Maine is 10:00 PM, everyone within that time should be in the safety of their homes fast asleep.

The moon served as a source of light for the ill-lit streets of York as inhuman creatures that looked like they came straight out of a nightmarish art piece sauntered around the streets with the intent of looking for prey, humans.

But unfortunately for these beings, they were met with demon slayers instead of prey.

"Flame Breathing :  Third Form: Blazing Universe"

Swinging her sword in an arching downward vertical slash from a high stance, Emma decapitates a red-skinned demon that was perching on top of a tall building, from a bird's eye view she observed Tsukiro from a distance away cleaving through demons left and right like a madman while Haru was investigating the area where one of the Twelve Kizuki was sighted.

With a quick forward dash, Tsukiro secured a double kill as he beheaded two demons who were charging straight toward him, looking above he sees a lanky agile demon that pounced into the air and was descending at him, it revealed its razor-sharp teeth to rip off his flesh.

Removing the sheath from his waist, he used it as a buffer to minimize damage as the demon landed on top of him. Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style: Third Form: Dragon Coil Flash!!"

Violently spinning his body to the point where he looked like a small tornado, the demon was thrust off as it let go of Tsukiro, its body slamming against the side of a building, the impact leaving a massive crack in the concrete. Before it could recover, its head fell off its body and hit the ground with a small thud. Not realizing how fast Kirigami is.

Two hours and a half had passed since the three set out for the night to do their work, and so far, they've managed to thin out the demons that appeared in uptown.

Jumping down to ground level, Emma sauntered up to Tsukiro, "I'll handle the one's downtown while you finish things here, afterwards let's meet up with Haru, you okay with this?"

He hummed in agreement. Emma raced off towards downtown.

She could never get rid of the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach, the dismaying feelings and memories ever since she came back to this town. But, now was not the time for emotional matters, she had a job to complete.

Dodging a large purple tentacle by rolling to the left, Emma unsheathed her sword as a female demon with black skin, wearing a sleeveless shirt and tattered shorts, with tentacles sprouting from Its back.

"M-Meat, fresh meat...!" It gave Emma a predatory grin as It sent 3 tentacles at her. Swiftly dodging the appendages by weaving and jumping, two more tentacles were coming her way aiming at her face, Emma single-handedly slices them leaving behind a trail of bright burning flames that engulfed her sword. Emma's nichirin katana resembles the Flame Hashira's, a bright red blade with a flame pattern with a tsuba in the shape of a flame and a white colored hilt.

She lands in front of her adversary and moves her sword in one fluid motion before the demon could pull off a counter-attack Its head fell to the ground followed by Its lifeless body.

'This demon was already in the process of developing a Blood Demon Art. We better be on our guard, there could be more of them around.'

Before she could move on, her eyes widened in alarm as she narrowly dodged a volley of spikes that were sprouting from the ground and heading towards her, but instead of hitting Emma, the attack hit the small store building behind her, smashing through the walls and doors resulting in the collapse of a small part of the structure.

'Well, so much for keeping property damage short...'

A large buff-looking demon, with small horns on its forehead, greyish skin, and wearing nothing but torn jeans.

'Great. More demons with Blood Arts.'

She thought sarcastically. The demon stared Emma down as it ground its teeth against each other, its fingers twitching as it unleashed another ground attack sending an even larger volley of spikes that appeared to be made from flesh.

"Flame Breathing: 1st Form: Unknowing Fire."

Using Total Concentration Breathing to increase blood and oxygen flow in her legs, Emma moved at speeds to the point that she appeared as a fast-moving blur in a stream of flames running along the sides of the buildings.

More spikes pursued her, one after another layered on top of each other, she quickly landed on the ground, dodging more spikes, as she closed in on the demon. The demon shot out its long sharp tongue like a chameleon, threatening to impale Emma through her neck. 

Moving her head in time, she manages to dodge the surprise attack before rotating her sword swing in one fluid motion, killing the demon in the process.

"Strange...that was way too easy, and that only makes me more uneasy..."

More demons crawled down from the buildings, Emma didn't let up as she kills them one by one.

Meanwhile on Tsukiro's part. Demons have started to come down from the nearby mountains, through the forests, and into town in groups.

'Oh no, you bastards don't.'

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style: Fourth Form: Dragon Coil Flash: Hair Whirl..."

Lunging forward in a full forward horizontal spin in a drilling motion with his sword conjuring up a violent whirlwind, Tsukiro decapitates dozens of demons at once while shattering the ground below due to the shockwaves produced by the technique. The ones whose heads were still attached were sent flying into the air due to said shockwaves and whirlwinds as Tsukiro performed a powerful jump into the air.

"Dragon Coil Flash!!"

Tsukiro decapitates them all as he descends to the ground. He hears more demons incoming from various directions, using Jinsoku to move faster, Tsukiro proceeds to prevent them from advancing any further toward the town.

He slashed apart demons from left to right, not once did he let up on his continuous barrage. No matter what shape or size his enemies were easily hacked to pieces.

More masses of demons came down from the hills, Tsukiro clicked his tongue in irritation as he took in a huge amount of oxygen to put an end to this charade.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style: Ninth Form: Dragon Nest Flash!!"

Moving at speeds that could nearly rival Kazuya Kinoshita, Tsukiro unleashed the technique. His sword unleashed countless strikes at speeds that rendered them invisible to the naked eye. The demons were being ground down, their bodies erupting in gushes of blood that painted the trees, grass, and rocks crimson red, not that anyone would witness the carnage in the morning.

By the time Tsukiro was finally done there was nothing left, the group had already been annihilated with Hiten Mitsurugi's Ninth Form. This made him a bit disappointed that the fight was over quickly.

Wiping off the blood from his katana, he quickly made his way toward Emma's location to assist her.

3:20 AM

Another headless demon falls to the ground, Haru wipes off the blood from his sword as he overlooks the neighborhood from a high vantage point.

They've been killing demons around town for a good amount of time and the sun should be rising within a few hours.

'I've cleared the area here. Things are going smoothly so far, the citizens haven't woken up due to the commotion, and no casualties have occurred. Yeah, too smoothly"

His worries came true when an extremely loud ear-piercing scream resonated throughout the neighborhood, numerous lights turned on from the houses and buildings as people woke up due to the commotion.

His nose caught an all too familiar scent that made his eyes widen in alarm. 

'The smell of  blood!'

"Shit!" 

Haru jumped down from his vantage point and rushed towards the source of the scream, greatly concerned that a civilian might be hurt, not to mention, that the entire town would be exposed to the truth about demons which was something they were told to prevent as much as possible before they set out on their mission.

people were already exiting their homes as a commotion was starting to form, a small crowd gathered around a two-story house, which he deduced where the scream came from, which had one of its windows shattered and its door broken down into pieces. Multiple people were already pulling out their phones and dialing 911 which wasn't a good sign.

"What's happened here?" Haru asked one of the bystanders who had his phone out.

"Don't know, must've been a break-in."

Haru pushed through the crowd and entered the house despite the people warning him not to go in. Pushing past what was left of the door, he noticed a trail of blood leading to the kitchen, he sniffed the air to find the demonic scent but was shocked when he couldn't find a single trace.

'wait...this is exactly what happened back at the school!'

Cautiously, he followed the trail while his hand was on the handle of his sword ready to strike at any adversaries. When he reached the kitchen what met his eyes was one of the gruesome and grizzly scenes that he'd regularly encountered throughout his years as a demon slayer, but they always burn themselves into his mind.

The upper half of a man's mutilated body was sprawled across the floor lying among the broken pieces of furniture while his lower half was sticking out the cracked ceiling with blood dripping down the floor.

Upon closer inspection, Haru froze in shock as he recognized the man.

"T-The principal!"

The sounds of sirens from outside alert Haru as he quickly takes his leave, exiting through the window and jumping onto the rooftops as he gained speed to leave the crime scene to avoid being caught by the authorities and taken in as a suspect.

The following day, the incident would later appear on the local news. Principal Harrington's death would send a shock throughout Bellcrest's student body and leave families concerned and alarmed. The board would later then elect a new principal for the school.

Meanwhile, at an unknown location...

A room resembling that of a child's bedroom comes into view. The walls are painted pink, except for the ceiling which was blue, and decorated with luminescent stars and planets as well as circus animals. The room's only source of light was a fireplace which illuminated the room in a bright orange color.

"So...I take it that things went well?" Asked a dark figure sitting on the small bed while braiding the hair of a barbie doll. Another figure appeared out of the fireplace dusting themselves off.

"Yes. Although, there are a few obstacles in our way. Those three slayers will surely be a roadblock in our plans."

"Don't reveal yourself yet, acting blindly will only result in our deaths. We haven't gauged their strength yet, we shouldn't underestimate them."

They put down the barbie doll and gazed at their other companion. Their eyes glinted in the dark showing one of their eyes having a large X shaped scar crossing out a number and symbols engraved on the eye.

Former Lower-Moon 2

To Be Continued...