𝙆𝙉𝙔 𝙭 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣! 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Chapter Ten

As a new member of the twelve moons, your first mission was that you must accompany lower moon four to the forests where she resides.

Apparently, demon hunters have been lurking in the shadows at night looking for the demons.

Although she was careful not to draw any attention to herself, humans disappearing once they visited her territory was enough for the demon slayer corps to suspect a demonic presence there.

"Are you going on this mission alone?" Kotoha asked, as she watched you preparing to leave on the assigned mission. "Isn't it dangerous?"

"Lower moon four will be there with me, so we'll be just fine." You reassured her. "I don't want you to go with me... They might send skilled demon hunters now that the lower ranked slayers have failed to kill the demon there."

"W- What's that supposed to mean...?" She asked as she slowly started panicking. "Let me go with you! I can be helpful!"

"I know." You said with a hint of sadness in your voice as you smiled thinly. "But the last thing I want is for you to be in danger."

Every time Kotoha showed a selfless act out of pure love and care, you would remember the type of person she was as a human, and regret dragging her into your chaotic life.

"I promise I'll be just fine." You said, feeling a lump in your throat as you were afraid of breaking what might be your last promise. "I'll return as soon as possible."

"Nee-san..."

"I'm sorry." You muttered before leaving her behind; no matter how many times she called for you, you never looked back.

-

Once you reached the forests, you started looking for the lower moon who's supposed to be there, careful to not attract any attention.

"You're finally here!" You saw the girl from the kizuki meeting running towards you with a worried look on her face. "I think they sent a hashira!"

"Hashira? You must be kidding me..." Your eyes widened in shock as you tried to process what Mukago has just said.

You knew for a fact that you were way too weak to last even a second in a fight with a hashira. "Great... I've just arrived and... a hashira? Seriously?"

"You... You might be... mistaken..." You mumbled, trying to block any distractions as you mentally schemed a strategy to discover your opponent's weakness before attacking.

"Are you... eh... by any chance... scared?" The demon asked, trying so hard to keep her voice steady.

"Me? Not at all!" You lied, pinning your hands to your hips. "Let's go and-"

"No!" She interrupted. "I-"

You stared at each other in complete silence, neither of you being able to say something as you were both not willing to admit your fear of facing a pillar.

"I mean... How do you even know it's a hashira?" You let out a nervous chuckle, then looked away, crossing your arms defensively. "Maybe it's just a really strong demon hunter... right?"

"What difference does that make?!" She panicked. "A hashira is a strong demon slayer!"

Suddenly, a demon slayer showed from behind Mukago with his sword almost touching her neck. "Behind you!" You exclaimed, pushing her out of the way.

By that, you pounced on the hunter, breaking his arms then took away the blade and proceeded to stab him multiple times.

Soon after, a group of demon slayers came charging towards you two, and without any hesitation, you and lower moon four teamed up against them.

You turned around and saw your partner letting out a sigh of relief as tears streamed down her face. "This isn't over yet..." You said, collecting the swords from the deceased swordsmen as they might come in handy later.

"We're not members of the twelve moons for nothing, you know?" You said, throwing a sword in her way. "Let's go and fight that hashira."

"Wait a minute!" She said, feeling her legs stiffening up as she tried to run after you. "I can't... do that..."

You paused in your tracks upon hearing that then turned, glaring at her. "Pull yourself together!" You said in a rather commanding tone. "Remember what master said? We have to prove ourselves!"

"But-"

"Let's go!" You tried to put on a brave face, but it was no use; she seemed too scared of fighting some hashira.

"You know what? You're hopeless!" You yelled then left looking for the skilled slayers.

Part of you was disappointed seeing how mentally weak someone ranked higher than you was, but the other part of you sympathised with her fear as you're afraid of the demon slayers yourself.

However, you weren't going to let your rank define your abilities - at least before the fight started - and most importantly, you weren't planning on disappointing your higher-ups.

-

Thanks to the years of training, a good strategy, and Muzan's blood, you were able to defeat scores of demon slayers all by yourself.

You looked at the dead bodies of the slayers whom you've killed, but you had no appetite to devour anyone although your energy was wearing down.

"There's no trace of any hashira..." You thought, looking around for any remaining demon hunters.

"My outfit is ruined..." You sighed, taking off the outer layer of your kimono as you stopped by a river to wash the blood off your clothes.

You smiled feeling the water crash onto your skin, and after some thought, you dipped your face in the cold water. "Maybe it doesn't hurt to relax a little." You giggled softly, looking up at the starry sky.

"Nee-san!"

Before you could react, you felt a pair of arms wrapped tight around you. "Told you... I'll be just fine." You sighed, returning the hug. "You shouldn't have come... but it's okay... Let's go–"

Just then, you felt a pair of eyes on you. "Stay back." You told Kotoha, holding out a protective arm over her.

Looking around, you spotted a demon slayer dressed in a checkered haori and hanafuda earrings standing at a distance from you with a rather sympathetic look in his eyes.

"I won't hesitate to kill you if you come near me and my sister." You said, holding out a sword defensively.

"Let's go..." Kotoha whispered, tugging at your kimono. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Don't worry I- Ack!" You grunted as a sword pierced through your torso, then turned to Kotoha. "Run! I'll keep them busy for a while so use this time wisely! Go!"

"Nee-san!" She panicked, refusing to leave your side. "I won't go! I'll fight alongside you!"

You blamed yourself for letting your guard down for a second in the presence of some demon hunters, and now that Kotoha is here, you felt responsible for her safety.

"Inosuke!"

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

Word count: 1134 words

-',✎ A/n: I'm sorry this part took a while to publish I was deciding between two ways the story could go in. Thank you for reading hope you like it! <33