Rinni's POV
Our crows led the way as we walked to where we needed to go. Following them to the town where we will find the swamp demons.
"So what kind of demon do you think we will be fighting?" Tanjiro asked
"Honestly, it doesn't matter what kind, what matters is that we get the job done and make sure everyone is safe."
"I guess you're right. Oh, is that the town there?" Tanjiro pointed at the town ahead
"It better be, the last thing we need is a detour during this mission."
We walked into the village and people would give us either a quick glance or stare at us, well, more specifically me. They stare because of the haori I wore. I kept Master Ubuyashiki's words in mind and wore it with pride. I didn't look down as these people stared, I kept my head held up. We soon heard people begin to murmur after a young man passed us, looking broken and beaten. Yup, there's our witness.
"Kazumi looks devastated. He was right beside Satoko when she was taken." A lady said
"Kamado-san, we need to go. We need to talk to that man. Currently from what we just heard, he's a witness." I told him
"Right. Let's go then Rinni"
We chased after Kazumi to get his account of the incident. I already knew but it's best if he found out things on his own.
"Kazumi-san!" Tanjiro screamed to get the attention of the said man
"We want to hear what happened that night, from you"
The man stared at us for a good amount of time. Before he nodded.
"Where was the last time you saw her, Kazumi-san? Can you lead us there?"
He nodded again before we began to walk to where the disappearance happened.
"Satoko was here when she disappeared. But... I'm sure you both don't believe me."
"We believe you! We believe what you said!" Tanjiro said
"Kamado-san, calm down. Screaming "we believe you" isn't going to do our job for us. Now, do you smell the scent?"
"I'll check, and call me Tanjiro... It's kinda weird I get to call you your first name and you don't for me."
I nodded and Tanjiro got down on the ground, begging to sniff it.
"Hey... uh... is your friend okay?" Kazumi asked
"Yeah, he is. He has a strong sense of smell so he may catch a lead by scent. Tanjiro, talk to me. What do you have?"
Tanjiro soon stood up and turned to me and Kazumi. He grabbed the ends of my haori and pulled me a little away from Kazumi in order to talk..
"There's still a faint scent of the demon here. But it's uneven"
"Probably a demon with a blood demon art. Where's the scent mainly coming from?"
"On the walls and the ground."
"Right. Go with Kazumi-san and take a look around town. See if you can track the center if it. I'll go gather more information. We'll meet up near the town entrance before sundown."
"Okay."
We all went our separate ways. I didn't need to ask around because I knew what demon we would be facing. I already had a strategy to fight this demon as well, and it was a simple one too. So what I did was I decided to write a letter to the Master and give an update to the hashiras, just to tell them how I am and what I am currently doing. I looked for a store where I could buy ink, a brush, and some paper, and when I did, I bought the items I needed. Once done with it, I walked around to find a secluded place. I soon wrote down a written message for the Master when I was sure that no one else was in my location.
Master, I am currently on my first mission with a demon slayer named Tanjiro Kamado. He is accompanied by a demon, his little sister, named Nezuko. I can tell you now that Nezuko will bring no harm to any human. I would bet my own life for that, willing to commit seppuku if ever any harm were to come to a human because of Nezuko.
I had stayed with them for two weeks while waiting for a mission and for Tanjiro's sword to be delivered by a bladesmith. Within those two weeks, Nezuko would have been dead if she had attacked, but she didn't. All Nezuko did was sleep and stayed by her brother's side.
For now Master, please do not tell the hashiras about this. And If Tanjiro is ever to be put on trial, please try to convince them that we need every helping hand we can get against Muzan.
I folded the letter once the ink was dry, then raised my hand as if I was expecting a bird to land on it. My kasugai crow comes flying in and lands on my hand. I gave it the letter.
"Bring this letter to Master Ubuyashiki. And send word to the hashiras that I am doing well and that I am already embarking on missions."
The crow quickly caws before flying away, following my orders. I look at the sky to check on the time. It seems I have more time to spare so I decided to walk around the town, getting the layout of it. When it was almost sundown I had gone to the entrance of the village to meet up with Tanjiro and Kazumi. I saw them waiting for me at the bridge so I quickened my pace.
"So what did you find?" I asked
"The scent is all over the town, still uneven. There isn't a specific point on where the disappearances happen." Tanjiro replied
"Figures as much. Everyone just told me where and when did the girls disappear but as you said, no specific point on where the disappearances happened. The only common ground is that they were all sixteen. So now we wait..."
"Right. But I want to go patrolling the area, maybe I'll be able to pinpoint it now since it will be dark soon." Tanjiro said
"Alright, let's go."
I led the way back into the town. The sun slowly goes down and I slightly grip the handle of my ax. Soon enough it was dark, Tanjiro and I patrolled while Kazumi followed us.
"Are you two really gonna keep going?" Mr. Kazumi asked
"Yes!" was Tanjiro's reply
"Kazumi-san, our job is not done yet. We have to finish it if we want to stop this."
"But it's getting late, I'm flattered that you both are so concerned about this but... shouldn't you two rest? Maybe pick it up in the morning? Besides, your friend might be taken if we continue."
"Don't think little of me, Kazumi-san." I said as Tanjiro kneeled down
"They're only active at night... so there's no time for rest"
"Got something Tanjiro?" I asked as I felt a small amount of bloodlust
"Yeah. There's a new scent in the area. It's nearby, it won't be long now."
"Wait for a second, don't tell me you both are... are you two..."
Soon enough, the small amount of bloodlust became worse, crashing at me like a speeding train. Tanjiro stood up and we began to run. Kazumi followed behind us. I was a little bit faster than Tanjiro so by the time he reached the battle area, I had already uncovered my ax and was ready to fight.
The bloodlust is immense but I couldn't pinpoint where it is. He unsheathed his sword and soon enough stabbed the ground where the demon was. A black spot soon showed up and Tanjiro pulled a girl from the grasp of the demon.
"What did you do with the girls you kidnapped?!" Tanjiro asked
"It's no use Tanjiro, that demon will not talk."
The demon only gritted its teeth, emitting a high-pitched sound that can annoy anyone. Soon enough it fell back into the black pit. Kazumi soon arrived.
"Who was that?" asked Kazumi
"Now's not the time to talk about that."
"I need your help. Hold the girl" Tanjiro gave the girl to Kazumi
"Tanjiro, you go attack the demon and I'll defend these two"
Tanjiro nods and holds his sword in front of him. I held my ax, my right hand holding the handle near the ends of it, while my left hand holds the handle near the ax head. I stayed close to the two civilians while Tanjiro walked forward carefully. Then he turned back and ran. Soon enough three black spots showed up and three demons came out. Tanjiro jumped up to dodge the attack. I quickly dashed forward and tried to cut the head of one of the demons. Sadly it didn't work as one of the demons blocked it with their arm.
I retreated back to the two civilians for defense. Tanjiro attacks and that only cut off the arms of the demons. The demons retreated back into the black spots to heal up. Suddenly Tanjiro attacks near where the two civilians were as one of the demons comes out. Another one comes out from the wall and tries to grab the girl. Lucky for me, I had very quick reflexes so I used my Fifth form, Nickel Block, and blocked the incoming attack. While it was still gripping the handle of my ax, I grabbed the demon's arm and pulled it out of the swamp it was hiding from, and slammed it on the ground. That caused the demon to release my ax.
"Breath of Metal: Second form! Copper cuts!"
And it missed, the demon had quickly returned back into the swamp. I only managed to cut off its arm into many pieces. I went back near the civilians ready to defend once more. One of the demons led Tanjiro a little further away from us but that's okay because he knew I was here.
"Bastards! She'll go stale! Move out of the way you little punks!" screamed the demon with the two horns
"Who the fuck are you calling little?!" I shouted, yes I am still salty about my height despite being now considered tall
"The girl's sixteen already, she's losing flavor by the second! If we don't eat her soon then there won't be any left at all!"
"Take a breath other me. Calm down" said one of the other demons as it showed up
"No big deal, nights like this happen. Right? I've already feasted on plenty of this town's sixteen-year-old girls. And every one of them was meaty and delicious. I am satisfied with that" said the one-horned demon
"Well, I'm not satisfied at all, other me! I want to devour all of them!" the two-horned demon screamed
"You monster! Bring Satoko back! The girl you took the other night!" Kazumi screamed.
Suddenly the sound of gritting teeth was heard. We all looked above on the roof to find the three-horned demon there. I took a step closer to the civilians, just in case they suddenly attacked out of nowhere. Yes, I know generally what will happen, but since I am here there will be changes. An example of that was earlier when another demon tried to attack the civilians while Tanjiro attacked the other demon which was obviously a distraction. Soon enough the two-horned demon joined in, gritting its teeth as well. It was getting annoying and quite frankly, starting to hurt my ears.
"Satoko? Which one was that?" the one-horned demon showed us a lot of hairpins hidden within its clothes before continuing
"If her hairpin is this collection then I'm afraid I've already eaten her. Sorry." the one-horned demon said with no regrets or remorse in its voice
Kazumi can only stare in horror and cry at the sight of the hairpins. The three demons went back into their swamp, preparing an attack. The three-horned demon soon came out and tried to attack Tanjiro, but he was quick enough to dodge and slice off its arm. Another demon tried to attack me but I once again used my fifth form and then quickly switched to my third form, Silver Slash, to attack.
Both demons retreated back into the black spots that they were in. So Tanjiro took this chance and retreated back as well, being slightly closer to the civilians. They soon focused on attacking Tanjiro, thinking that they could easily overwhelm me later. As the two-horned demon was about to strike Tanjiro from behind, the door of the box opened, A kick was sent toward the two-horned demon, twisting its neck. Then out comes a growling angry Nezuko.
"Why in the world would a demon be traveling with a mere human?" the one-horned demon asked
Tanjiro kneels down to let his little sister down. Nezuko steps out and gets ready to fight. The one-horned demon retreated after muttering how it doesn't make sense. The two-horned demon soon untwisted its head before retreating as well. Nezuko calmed down and turned to the civilians and me. She sees me and she rushes in my direction for a hug. I smile and pat her head as she hugs me. She then turned to the two civilians and went to them, gently placing her hands on the sides of their faces.
"Nezuko..." Tanjiro said
Nezuko let go of the two, before turning in a different direction as the demons showed themselves once more. She walks forward slowly gaining speed before she dashes at them.
"Nezuko!" screamed Tanjiro
He could only watch as Nezuko attacked the demons, but the two demons retreated.
"Nezuko, no, don't chase them. Come to me" Tanjiro said and Nezuko went back
"Tanjiro, may I remind you she is a demon. She can fight for herself and others. So don't hold her back."
That was all I said before I dashed forward, attacking the demon that tried to attack Nezuko.
"Tanjiro! Tell Nezuko to protect the civilians while we fight these demons!" I ordered
I was now fighting the two-horned demon, as Tanjiro did what I told him to do. The black spot grew larger before him.
"Nezuko! Rinni! I'm going underground! Keep them safe for me!"
"Just go! We can handle this!"
Soon enough Tanjiro went into the territory of the demon as I fought the two-horned demon, quickly cutting off its arms. I had kept a straight face and focused on one goal as I fought, knowing that was one of the teachings that the hashiras taught me. I had to be calm to win.
"Breath of Metal: First Form! Iron Clamp!" I cut his legs making him unable to move
I grab the demon by the neck and lift him off the ground so he can't escape.
"Tell me, can you deliver a message to Muzan?"
Upon mentioning the name of the demon lord, the demon shakes in fear, shaking its head over and over.
"What? Can't speak now? Earlier you were perfectly talking. So answer my question."
The demon didn't answer my question so I threw it at the ground and cut its head off as Tanjiro came out of the black pit.
"Rinni, I wanted to ask that demon some questions" He said
"It's no use, the demon won't talk. I already asked something about Muzan Kibutsuji, but it didn't answer anything. And I'm sure that whatever you were going to ask that demon won't answer"
"How do you know about him?" Tanjiro asked
"The ones who trained me told me about Muzan."
"Well, do you know more information about him?"
"Tanjiro, all I know is what you know. Muzan is the main enemy, so focus."
We didn't utter another word afterward, we just left the conversation at that. Yes, I do know more about Muzan but I can't really tell him anything. Tanjiro needs to know everything for himself and I was ordered to keep silent about it. Nezuko leaned against the wall, and soon placed it inside the box, seeing as she had fallen asleep. Kuzumi fell to his knees and stared at the ground in shock. I covered up my ax and placed it back on my waist as Tanjiro walked to Kazumi, giving him a piece of cloth that holds Satoko's hairpin. He screams at Tanjiro about not knowing loss, and I turn away ready to leave. My crow lands on my shoulder.
"The Hashiras are happy that you are doing well and have wished you luck on your missions. They also said that they will offer prayers for your safety and that you should take care of yourself. Oyakata-sama also prays for your safety and thanks you for the information you gave." my crow said in a hushed voice
I nod and my crow flies away as I feel a tap on my shoulder. I looked back to see Tanjiro, I nodded again, and we began walking. When Kazumi apologized we just turned and waved goodbye. As we walked I could feel the rage slowly yet surely start to build within Tanjiro. And just like that, we were done with our first mission.