Worse Than A Demon? (Sasori x Demon Slayer)

Chapter 6 Puppet-making

With a slow, deliberate movement, he revealed a hacksaw, its gleaming blade catching the dim light in the room, sending shivers down Ren's spine.

There was a palpable tension in the air as Ren swallowed nervously, realizing that any attempt to deceive this boy would likely be futile. The silence hung heavy, broken only by the faint sound of the hacksaw's blade as it glinted menacingly in the dim light, a silent reminder of the consequences of falsehoods in the presence of such a perceptive adversary.

"Kid, put that down. You don't want to accidentally cut yourself, do you?"Ren advised, hoping to appeal to reason. Meanwhile, Riku wrestled with haunting memories of his father's gruesome past.

"Then talk, or I'll have to skin it out of you. literally," the boy threatened. looking at Ren as the light reflected off the hacksaw. But Ren did not say anything. "Keeping your mouth shut, I see; maybe your friend is a bit more talkative," the boy said as he brought the hacksaw closer to Riku's face. But Riku flinched away as a memory of his father appeared – his hair and face stained in blood and a bloody hacksaw in his hand as a woman lay dead.

"Fine, I'll talk!" Ren said. "Good, why don't you start on how you got those masks?" the boy asked.

-Flashback-

"Brother, winter is still far away; why do we need firewood now?" A man wearing a Hyottoko mask asked another much taller man with a Hyottoko mask. "You can never be more prepared, brother, that's why," the man said. Neither of them noticed that they were being watched.

"Okay, Takashi, go deal with them," a man wearing a yellow neckerchief said to a short-looking man. "Okay, boss," the short man, now known as Takashi, said, sneaking up on the two brothers.

*Bonk* *Bonk*

"Okay, I got them!" Takashi said. "Don't scream," the boss said. "Sorry, Kazuki," Takashi said. "I told you, call me Boss," Kazuki said. "What do we do with them now, boss?" Ren asked. "You and Riku will disguise yourselves as these two and sneak into the village," Kazuki said. "Why don't we just charge in like usual?" a burly-looking man asked.

"Because, Akihiko, those villagers carry around swords and hammers like they are some sort of accessory. If we charge in like usual, we'll probably get overwhelmed," Kazuki said. "Okay, but why do me and Riku need to sneak into the village?" Ren asked. "Well, the rest of us cause a distraction; you two will go and kidnap the chief of the village," Kazuki said. "You're a genius boss!" Akihiko said, stars in his eyes. "Of course I am," Kazuki replied arrogantly, his demeanor oozing with confidence as he basked in Akihiko's admiration, his ego swelling with each word of praise.

-Flashback end-

"That's where me and Riku got the masks," Ren said. "And why did you two fail at kidnapping the chief?" the boy demanded. Ren said nothing, which seemed to annoy the boy. He flicked his finger, and one of Ren's fingers broke. The pain made him scream. "Ren!" Riku snapped out of whatever trance he was in. "You little brat! I'm going to kill you!" Riku said, now angered.

"You can certainly try, but you will get the same result as the other bandits got," the boy said as he put the hacksaw closer to Riku's face, giving him a small cut on his cheek, which seemed to scare him again. "Okay! I'll tell you!" Ren said, recovering from the pain.

"When the others began the distraction, the chief immediately went to the gate, and we lost him," Ren said.

"What happened to the two you took the masks from?" He asked. "We killed them," Ren said a bit hastily.

The boy just gave him a small smile as he went in front of him and swiftly punched him in the face, making blood spew out and a couple of teeth fall out as well. "Ren!" Riku screamed, worried for his friend. The boy grabbed Ren's face and pulled it in front of his own.