"Who goes there?!"
Sanemi had his blade ready, his arms still, and his legs tensed. Barely any outsider ever ended up in the Demon Slayer Headquarters, so naturally Sanemi was on full alert. It was also nighttime, so it was much more suspicous for a lost man to wander so close inside.
There was a shadow standing atop the hill. It had a tall, menacing stature, with a modern-looking hat and curly hair on the sides. The shadow took of his hat. His eyes glowed red.
Demon.
Sanemi immediately drew his sword, but before he could go any further, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Go call the other Hashira." The voice whispered. It was Okayata.
"But Okayata-sama, the demon might get away!"
"I'll watch him."
"You don't have a weapon-"
"Sanemi. The man you are looking at right now is MUZAN."
Sanemi's eyes grew wide. In an instant, he sheathed his sword and ran to the headquarters to call the other Hashira. Meanwhile, Okayata stared at the shadow's red eyes.
"You seem to be lost, young man."
Muzan stepped out into the moonlight. He was wearing his usual attire, black suit, white hat. A confident, sarcastic smile resided on his face.
"Indeed!" He said. "I've been scouring these mountains for days now, and I've encountered many interesting things about this place! Tell me...
Did you really think a few purple trees were gonna stop us from coming in?"
Okayata chuckled. "As a matter of fact, yes. Thanks to you, I have been proven wrong."
"Of course you have. Now, I am seeking something very, very important to me. Some could say it is a family heirloom, but I wouldn't exactly call that accurate. Would you be so kind as to show me some hospitality?"
"Oh, of course, young man. You may recieve as much... hospitality... as you want."
Behind Okayata, all of the Hashira (aside from Giyuu and Shinobu, of course) arrived at the scene. All of them, even Muichiro, possesed faces of pure shock.
"Okayata-sama..." muttered Rengoku. "What should we do?"
Okayata stared at Muzan, thinking hard.
"Gather all the slayers nearby, bring my family to a safe place, and... prepare this man a clean room."
All the Hashira looked visibly confused, as they were about ready to fight.
"I'LL KILL YOU, SON OF A BITCH!" Sanemi yelled as he charged towards Muzan.
"Sanemi, yield!" Okayata shouted, but Sanemi did not heed to his order.
He charged straight to Muzan and swung his blade. Muzan blocked the swing with his hand, but it managed to slice off two of his fingers. Seeing no other way to stop this, Muzan grabbed the blade and held it tight with his right hand, keeping it from moving.
"Ah." Muzan said. "Maybe next time, you could greet a house guest by... NOT threatening to kill them?"
Muzan plunged his left hand straight through Sanemi's chest. His rib bones snapped and punctured his lungs from the inside, creating a horrifying wheezing sound.
"SANEMI!!!" The Hashiras screamed in horror as Muzan raised Sanemi off the ground. Kicking and flailing, Sanemi couldn't even scream. All he could do was stare as Muzan grinned at the others behind him.
Eventually, Sanemi's weight gave in and the entrails that held his heart ripped, and his body flopped to the ground, while his heart was still clutched in Muzan's hand. Muzan brought Sanemi's heart to his face and proceeded to feast on it, blood spraying everywhere.
"Mmm..." Muzan said after finishing his snack, wiping off the blood on his face. "Exceptionally delicous."
All the other Hashira drew their swords and took their stances, but Okayata raised his hand to stop them.
"Don't." Okayata said.
"Yes, slayers, do not!" Muzan said. "Unless you feel inclined to accompany your friend here in the afterlife."
The Hashira, after a few seconds, hesitantly put their swords back in their scabbards.
Muzan chuckled. "Now, if you will excuse me, I shall pick out a good venue to proceed with our negotiations."
Muzan walked past the Hashiras and on to the pathway of the Demon Slayer Headquarters.
"C'mon, follow him." Okayata said. The Hashiras walked behind Muzan cautiously.
Okayata looked back at Sanemi's corpse. A single butterfly landed on his forehead, as if it was mourning his loss.
Don't worry, Kanae. Okayata thought. He's coming to see you.
Okayata looked back at the other Hashira.
And maybe, if this doesn't end well...
We'll all come to see you.
. . .
Shinobu hugged herself in the corner. She couldn't cry anymore, as her eyes had completely ran out of tears.
She peeked through the bars and saw her Nichirin blade standing, leaning on the wall. Douma put it there a while back.
"Escape if you want, I don't really care." He said.
Unfortunately, the blade was too far to grab. Unless a miracle happened, she wasn't getting her blade back.
"OH, SHINOBU!!!" A voice shouted from the doorway. Shinobu knew who it was, and hated who it was.
Rika popped out from the doorway, skipping and doing a little dance while walking. She had a smile on her face and a bento in her hands, as usual.
How dare she smile like that...
"Dinner's ready!" Rika said cheerily. She kneeled down and slid the bento to Shinobu.
Rika's smile faded as she looked at Shinobu. She looked... upset. Her eyes were red and puffy.
"Thanks, I guess..."
Her voice was raspy, too.
Nevertheless, Rika smiled and carried out the conversation awkwardly.
"Well, Shinobu? Do you like the new sushi recipe I came up with?"
"Yeah."
"Wow, it was pretty tough to make. Human food is so complicated to cook. Don't you agree?"
"I guess."
"Hey, what's that over there?"
Shinobu looked at where Rika was pointing. It was the bento Douma made for her a few hourse ago.
"Oh, that's just something Douma gave to me. Nothing, really."
"Really? That's so sweet!!!"
"I still haven't eaten it."
"Oh. Well, at least he has the courage to talk to you."
"Yeah... that's true..."
The two were silent for a while as Shinobu ate.
"Hey..." Shinobu said. "You have something on your face."
"Huh?" Rika immediately put her hand on her cheek, trying to wipe off whatever that 'something' was.
"No, let me do it. Here, come closer to the bars."
Rika crawled over and put her face right next to the bars. Shinobi put her hand out and held Rika's cheeks.
Suddenly, Shinobu grabbed Rika's hair, stood up, and forcefully yanked it, smashing her head on the side of the bars. Then she did it again, and again, and again, all while Rika screamed in pain and agony.
Eventually, the hair was torn out of Rika's scalp and they both fell back. Shinobu quickly recovered and shot out her hand through the bars, but Rika crawled out of reach, blood pouring from her head.
"YOU LIED TO ME!" Shinobu screamed "YOU MADE ME THINK YOU WERE MY FRIEND! HOW COULD YOU?!"
Rika couldn't speak. Her eyes were wide open, horrified. Her hands shivered as she slowly stood back up and left the room.
Shinobu stopped and took a breath.
What was I to accomplish with that?
Suddenly, Shinobu felt the ground shake. The lantern above her head swung back and forth.
Her blade rattled as well.
Shinobu crawled over to the blade and stretched out her hand, trying to grab it.
It was still too far.
The room shook again, much stronger this time. Shinobu could hear sounds of fire and screaming from the doorway. Whatever this shaking was, it was definitely being caused by a person. She stuck her hand out again.
Come on...
The room shook again. The blade still stood.
COME ON!!!
The room shook for the final time, and the blade fell in Shinobu's hands. She immediately took it out of it's scabbard and stabbed at the wooden bars, splitting them in two. Shinobu walked out of her cell, finally armed.
Shinobu slowly walked out the doorway, her blade in front of her. As she spun around a corner, she saw little Rika huddled on a wall.
"Rika?"
Rika looked up and ran to Shinobu, tears in her eyes.
"Shinobu!!! Did you escape? Thank god, we have to-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Shinobu shoved her blade straight through Rika's abdomen.
"W-wha- S-Shin-ob-bu..."
Shinobu pulled out the blade as Rika stumbled back and fell. Her limbs twitching, she propped up her back against the wall.
"W-why did y-you..." Rika said.
"You know damn well why I did that, traitor." Shinobu said.
"W-what? W-what are y-you talking a-about?"
Shinobu's eyes widened.
She didn't know?
"What do you mean?" Shinobu questioned. "You don't know about what Douma did?"
"S-Shinobu, w-what's happening t-to me?"
Shinobu dropped her blade and put her hands over her mouth.
She wasn't in on it?!
Oh god, what have I done?
Shinobu rushed over to Rika and kneeled down. She fiddled with her belt, searching furiously for her syringe.
"Stay still, Rika!" Shinobu said as she brought out her syringe.
"W-what did you do to m-me?"
Shinobu carefully pierced Rika's wound with the syringe and pulled out the purplish wisteria. Unfortunately, by then, it was too late, as there were purple nerves visible in Rika's throat.
"Oh, god... uh... wait..." Shinobu stuttered.
"Shinob-bu, p-please..." Rika whispered hoarsly.
Shinobu couldn't think clearly. On one hand, she was trying to figure out how to take out the wisteria from Rika's system. On the other hand, she didn't know whether or not Rika was partnered up with Douma, or if Douma manipulated her to be this way.
Rika was shaking violently. Shinobu, in a panic, grabbed her shoulders to try and calm her.
"Stay with me now, you hear?! Stay with me! Don't give in! Stay with me, please... please... Rika, please..."
Rika's convulsions had stopped. So had her breathing.
"Rika... please don't..."
Shinobu squeezed Rika's hand, which was stone cold. Rika had already stopped moving.
"Don't go..."
Shinobu's eyes filled with tears.
Rika was... dead.
"N-NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Shinobu hugged Rika's corpse as it started burning away. Shinobu clutched Rika with all her might, but the burning didn't stop. Shinobu couldn't bring her back.
Meanwhile, Douma stared from the other end of the room. He was smiling childishly, entertained by the drama that had unfolded.
"Oh, what a sad way to go. She never lied to you about anything, yet... you kill her in cold blood." Douma said.
As Rika's body crumbled to ashes, Shinobu stood up and turned around, glaring at Douma.
"You know..." Douma said, still smiling. "You once told me that the past is the past, and sins can be forgiven."
Shinobu slowly picked up her blade.
"Now look at you. HAHA!"
Shinobu clenched the handle of her blade. She was burning with hatred.
"And YOU once told Rika that revenge would only lead down to emptiness." Shinobu said.
"Did you believe that?"
Douma snorted and laughed. "No! Oh, my Shinobu, revenge is a fool's game, but it is anything BUT unsatisfying! You wanna know what I really believe? I believe that EVERY story, not just revenge, leads to emptiness. All your accomplishments, all your hard work, all of that effort, and then you die."
Shinobu smirked. "That only shows how selfish you really are."
Douma chuckled. "What's wrong with that?"
Shinobu reflected at those words. This fight, this quest, this journey was all done to satisfy herself. A quest for vengeance that only rewarded herself.
She was doing this for her own selfish gain.
"Yeah, you're right." Shinobu said. "What's wrong with that?"
Shinobu took her stance, an elegant position, poised to strike. Douma, amused by her willpower, whipped out his golden fans and took his own stance, positioning the fans protectively near his neck.
This was it. This was what it was all leading to. Shinobu had nothing left to lose. Giyuu, Mitsuri, Kanao, Tanjiro, Aoi, Rika, and everyone she cared for wasn't here. The only person that would suffer was herself, and she gladly accepted it.
In her eyes, she had already won.
END OF CHAPTER 18
SHINOBU VS. DOUMA!!!! LEZ GOOOOO!!!!
R.I.P. Rika.
So that was Chapter 18! What did you think? Was it emotional? Was it cheesy? Did it take itself a bit too seriously? Leave your thoughts down in the comments below!
Oh, btw for those that are weirded out by Shinobu's emotional outbursts, I decided to write Shinobu more like... her real self. In the anime, there were flashback scenes of her and Kanae. Back then, Shinobu was completely fine with spouting out her emotions, whether the people around her liked it or not. When Shinobu saw Douma in the previous chapters, her emotional self was re-awakened because, well, Douma was Kanae's killer. Shinobu didn't need to act like Kanae anymore because she knew she was going to die fighting Douma. Thats why she takes wisteria. And THATS why Shinobu acts very emotionally.
Anyway, thats all for now! Sayonara!
-Mr. Veyrum
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