Demon Slayer; Kyameron Kamado

Chapter 16.

A silent trip isn't something known to Tanjiro. Even when on his own, he would have conversations with himself. But here, it was dead silent. It seemed even the wildlife knew not to make any noise, less they wished to be slaughtered. Tanjiro could smell Kyameron's rage and frustration, just as Urokodaki had told him. He ever so desperately wanted to try to apologize for not noticing sooner or not trying to remind Nezuko of him, but Urokodaki forbade him from doing so; if only Kyameron knew this.

Clouds rolled over, preemptively covering the sun before the Moonlight. They began dropping buckets of rain on the ground below, almost as if even they could sense the situation between the two. Nearly two hours into the trip and still not a word was said until Kyameron finally broke the silence, "The town is just beyond that mountain. Find the demon, and kill it. None of that 'Resting their soul' crap you pulled with the demon at Final Selection." he said

Tanjiro was taken aback. He hadn't heard his brother speak in such a threatening tone since he had to protect Takeo from a local bully, "O-oka-"

"Don't answer." He spat.

Tanjiro hung his head. He wholeheartedly felt terrible for himself and Kyameron.

The two pressed onwards up the mountain. The town came into view as the two crested the peak, just as Kyameron had said. The clouds still covered the sky but had eased their torrential downpour into a light spit. The town was massive. At least ten thousand people had to live there. It was breathtaking for Tanjiro as he had never seen a city this big before. In fact, the largest settlement he had seen was the village back at home, which barely housed more than a thousand. For Kyameron, it was just another town infested with a demon; he had seen plenty during his training with Rengoku.

They entered the town, Kyameron forcing a happy expression on his face as he did. Tanjiro's eyes sparkled from the town's signs and life as people walked past him. One man, however, seemed very out of it. He was staring off into space and looking almost drunk, tipping side to side as he tried to walk forward. Tanjiro noticed him, pulling on Kyamero's sleeve and pointing to him, "Dude, you can talk to me now. I don't care. Just leave him be, drunkard," he said

"What is going on with him?" Tanjiro thought.

Whispers floated about the town about the disappearances. Luckily, Kyameron heard them thanks to his hearing, "Night after night, it seems," One man said.

"Yes. It's scary, especially for us," A girl said.

Kyameron dropped back to Tanjiro, "They're talking about something taking girls in the night. Apparently, that drunkard we passed earlier has seen something," he said in a whisper, "It's somehow staying out of sight, though. Be on your guard all night long, just like I taught you,"

"Should we see if that man has seen anything?" Tanjiro asked.

"Good idea, go ask. I'll keep checking things out,"

Tanjiro went off to ask about the man's story, seeing where the girl was taken. Kyameron continued to scope the surroundings, seeing if there was anywhere the demon could be hiding. Kyameron's search came up empty, and he returned to Tanjiro just as he managed to sniff out the demon's scent, "It's uneasy," Tanjiro said, "So to speak,"

"Well then, we'll have to wait until nighttime. Excuse me, sir, did you see anything at all?" Kyameron asked the man.

"N-no... she just vanished," the man said

"Ah, I see. Apologies for the trouble. Tanjiro, let's go,"

"Right," Tanjiro said

Tanjiro continued to sniff around for the demon, following its very faint trail, while Kyameron stayed next to the still-shaken man. The night descended, the moon chasing away the clouds to show its complete circular form. Its light beamed down on the town, almost making it seem like a darkened daytime. The man was becoming more uneasy as the night set in. Kyameron noticed this and turned to him, "Everything alright?"