"Uzui-san, did you perhaps damage your brain?" Inori hopped and slapped Tengen's forehead because screw his tallness, earning a shout of indignation from the Sound Pillar. "I mean, I know your brain's not the brightest, but it's not like you don't have one, so I can't really understand why you're—"
"I'll shove my goddamn bombs into your stupid mouth, don't try me, you little brat."
"That might actually be the smartest thing you have ever said."
"You shitty sassy brat!"
Three laps around the Star Estate and four broken wooden swords later, the two pillars were seated on the grassy area of the garden, a star-patterned blanket underneath them and a plate of snacks between them.
"So..."
"So."
"So what?" Inori asked, redoing her hair that had been unraveled when she was 'sparring' against Tengen. "You can't possibly believe a dinosaur still exists in this era. Not even my dead friends have seen a living dinosaur before."
"I'm telling you it's a demon!" Whacking her head with every word, which was garbled because Inori had reached out and pulled his cheek as if that would stop him—serves her right for being a midget—he ended up with a kick to his jaw, sending him lying on his back.
"There can't be a demon that can resurrect fossils!"
"Kid, why are you so dumb?! It's blood demon art! Blood demon art!"
Perched on the roof, Kanamaru cawed loudly, cheering for his master as she and the Sound Pillar engaged in a very heated and very comical fistfight. Unfortunately, Tengen fell onto one of her flower bushes, which prompted Inori to scream in horror, which ended up with the two of them working together to fix the crumpled bush, which ended up with Tengen getting a rather unplanned bouquet.
"Uzui-san, you are a pillar despite everything—"
"What do you mean 'despite everything'?!"
"Shush!" Inori slapped a hand over Tengen's mouth, which was a comical feat in its own because she needed to jump to be able to do that, earning a snort from the older pillar which she easily ignored. "I'm saying that you can deal with this dinosaur demon on your own. It sounds like a very flamboyant demon to me, so you can surely flamboyantly kill it."
Tengen gasped. "How dare you assume I can't flamboyantly kill a demon, you brat!" He pointed his finger at her, getting so close that it almost poked her eyes. "Listen up! I need you to lure the demon out! Because surprise-surprise! The demon only likes to eat little girls! Again! Man, you girls sure are a delicacy—guah!"
"Kanamaru." Inori dusted her hands, turning away from the Sound Pillar who she had pushed into a puddle of mud. She may have always kept her garden clean, but mud was inevitable when it had rained recently. "Kindly give Uzui-san a list of our women members before I make an official request to Oyakata-sama for permission to end the Uzui family name."
Kagaya would never give her permission for that, of course, and it wasn't like her kicks could really end an entire bloodline. Plus, she knew that if she even tried to ask Kagaya for permission to do something like that, he would scold her.
Tengen grumbled because it wasn't even his fault. He had tried to do this mission, but neither the village nor the demon would cooperate with him. When he snuck into the cave the demon was rumored to be hiding in, the demon refused to appear. But as if sensing he was being hunted, Tengen returned to the village to see a dozen corpses hung on display.
The demon was clearly warning him, and if Tengen tried to hunt it so directly, more lives would slip past his fingers. He didn't want Inori to do this mission, especially because he knew she was still recovering from her injuries during her recent mission, and was on a slight break. But if he let things continue, more lives would be lost.
"Rumors say it's a demon moon."
Because everybody knew just how much Inori loved hunting demon moons. Perhaps she wanted to get back at Muzan for taking the lives of her family by continuously killing his strongest soldiers, or perhaps she knew just how attractingly red the target on her back was. Either way, Inori would never refuse a mission that involved a demon moon.
"Oh, dear stars. Why didn't you say so?" Clapping her hands at the newfound information, Inori smiled sweetly at the pillar. It has been around a month since she last encountered a demon moon. "Let's get hunting, shall we?"
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
One of these days, Inori would kill Tengen.
Maybe killing was too harsh, so instead, she should ask Sanemi and Shinobu the best way to torture someone physically and mentally, then she would maim Tengen until he was mostly dead. Ah, but if he got maimed too badly, then Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma would be sad, and that wasn't something she wanted. Maybe she should just settle on kicking him, after all.
With her blades.
"Don't worry, kid. You look flamboyant as ever."
"I've told you this before, but calling me a flamboyant bait isn't a compliment." Still, Inori tossed her now loose black hair behind her shoulders and stared at her reflection in the mirror. "A sacrificial bride, huh? Uzui-san, you really know how to make me remember the most unpleasant memories."
Because the village where the demon decided to stay in was a village that hailed it as their god. In exchange for protection or whatever, the village would offer a 'sacrificial bride' to the demon once every week. It basically a free and easy meal for the demon, and Tengen somehow managed to get her into that 'sacrificial bride' position.
Inori didn't even want to know how.
"Don't worry too much, kid." Ruffling her hair, Tengen shot her a grin. "You're not weak enough to be a sacrifice, so just consider yourself a bride."
"No." Inori deadpanned, swatting his hand off her head. "Marriage is a business contract to produce heirs and join bloodlines, and it can only be terminated by death. Thus, it needs to benefit both parties signing the contract. This demon is a freak who demands 'sacrificial brides' when all it wants is a meal."
Tengen whistled at her words. He didn't expect Inori, who didn't even know what wedding rings were, to be able to define marriage like that. So, he asked, "Who taught you that?"
Who taught her how to act like an elegant and dignified lady? Well, the dead spirits she used to attract were rather brash and strong, and there were almost none who were delicate and soft-spoken. They may have taught her how to survive and how to be strong, but Inori had never really taken their etiquette lessons seriously.
There was only one spirit whose etiquette lessons she still followed, and that spirit was more elegant and dignified than anybody else. Even if her blood wasn't purely blue, even if her death was neither glorious nor impressive, even if her life wasn't that worthwhile, she was still someone who managed to maintain her grace and dignity to the very end.
"Imperial Princess Yua."
Grace, elegance, and dignity would not save her life, so Inori had never minded using whatever she could use in a fight. But when it came to living, being graceful, elegant, and dignified could take her places. And that was why Inori took great pride in being elegant even if many sneered at her for being like that in something as brutal as the Demon Slaying Corps.
"What a flamboyant teacher."
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
Demons have always found ways to live comfortably. Whether it be by living like a wild beast and hunting anything their teeth could sink into, or living like royalty and having people bow down to them out of fear. Demons, with their rather unlimited time and superior strength, have always found ways to live comfortably at the expense of humans' lives.
"Is this really necessary?"
"Kid, your eyes are flamboyant, even more than mine, but they're dead giveaways." Tengen deadpanned, tying a thin white cloth over her eyes. He couldn't have the demon rampaging and destroying the village before Inori could lead it away because she has 'silver-rainbow hair and mismatched eyes' or so were the only parts of her demons seemed to remember. Besides, he had tested and knew that Inori would still be able to see even with it on, so he wasn't too worried. "Besides, the story I'm going with is you being a limping blind orphan, so act the part."
"One of these days, Uzui-san, I really will draw my blade on you."
"You already do, you stupid brat."
Even so, the cover Tengen had made—again, Inori didn't want to know how. She just wanted to kill the demon—actually worked in their favor. The white robes she had to wear may have covered her boots, but hiding her swords was a lot harder, and she ended up needing to limp a little so she could keep her swords hidden.
The ceremony to walk the 'sacrificial bride' to the cave where the demon was hiding was lavish, to say the least. It reminded her a lot of her dance, but this time, Inori didn't bother blocking out the whispers. They could talk about her death and how pitiful she was, but it didn't change the fact that she wasn't a helpless girl who would just let a demon kill her.
The cave was huge, and it was devoid of sunlight, as expected of a demon's hiding place. It was unfortunate that the ceremony needed to be done at night, but that was also to be expected. So, Inori walked inside without paying heed to the prayers sent her way.
It was somewhat unpleasant to be prayed on as if she was dead when she was very much alive, kicking, and would continue to do so.
But the plan was simple—flamboyant, as Tengen had called it. Inori would first and foremost lure the demon out by pretending to be a helpless human. Then, she would need to check whether she could kill the demon without endangering the village. If she couldn't, then she would lure the demon into a less deserted area they had chosen, and kill it there.
Inori internally clicked her tongue at the situation. For a supposed demon moon, it sure was being a coward, which must mean it was a lower moon. Because Inori knew no upper moon would hide from humans. They thrived on killing because they could, and they thrived even more on fighting demon slayers. They were creatures who only feared the sun because she was sure even they knew just how valuable they were to Muzan, enough that they didn't need to fear being killed by him for minor mistakes.
Ah, the presence is...getting stronger. Usually, hiding their demonic presence with their blood demon arts was something demons of high power could do. But some didn't even bother since their presence, depending on how strong they were, could render even fellow demons in a frozen state of fear. Such was the case for this demon.
But Inori was a pillar of the Demon Slaying Corps.
However, the village was just outside the cave, and if the demon was indeed a demon moon, then Inori needed to be careful. So, she remained sitting on the cold ground of the deepest part of the cave, adjusting her eyes to the darkness behind her blindfold.
One...two...three!
Star Breathing: Eighth Constellation: Sting of the Scorpion
Without needing to take her blindfold off, Inori drew her swords and thrust them into where she knew the neck was. But before she could slice it off, the demon let out a screech, sending a shockwave that blasted her backward.
Shit! The cave!
Wrenching the blindfold off, Inori turned around and kicked the ground. The ground rumbled, and the ceiling began to crumble. She could feel the demon let out another shockwave-inducing screech as it chased after her, further destroying the cave. Inori gritted her teeth, deflecting the falling rubble as she ran towards the entrance of the cave.
Star Breathing: Thirteenth Constellation: Coils of the Serpent Bearer, Two Heads
The rain of rubble stopped for a fraction of a second, stopping her from getting buried. But the demon let out another screech, and Inori stifled a groan as her ears rang, too busy weaving through the crumbling walls of the cave. Oh, stars. Get out. Have to get out. The entrance...I can already see it! Just a bit more!
Star Breathing: First Constellation: Dash of the Ram
Kicking the ground until it cracked, Inori cut through the falling rubble, landing into a rather ungraceful roll as a rock had disrupted her landing. Though she didn't have time to worry about that because the villagers were still there, and they were watching her with wide eyes as if she was an amusing spectacle.
"Uzui-san!"
Tengen appeared beside her in an instant, swords already drawn and ready to cut. Another screech could be heard, and the ground shook. Since the cave was dangerously and conveniently close enough to the edge of the cliff, Tengen waited exactly two seconds for the demon to break through the wall of rocks, and he slammed his swords onto the ground.
Sound Breathing: First Form: Roar
Inori felt her eye widening when the area where Tengen and the demon were standing on crumbled, causing the two of them to fall down the cliff. "Uzui-san!" Tugging her robes that were trapped under the rubble, Inori decided to just slice them off, immediately jumping after the Sound Pillar.
Her boots scraped against the side of the cliff as she scaled downwards as fast as she could. Booming explosions could already be heard, and if she wasn't fast enough, Tengen might cause a forest fire, which wasn't something they wanted to deal with right now.
Inori has, admittedly, never seen a dinosaur, not from books and certainly not from real life. Even so, she had been told about their physical descriptions. Like animals, there were different species of dinosaurs, and they all varied in shape and size. But from what she had concluded, dinosaurs were creatures that looked like a lizard that could walk on two legs, and they were huge.
"This is not a goddamn dinosaur!"
"I can tell!"
Another screech rang in the air, followed by a shockwave that blew a line of trees. Inori dragged her shoes through the ground, taking a sharp turn to the side to avoid another shockwave. She eventually bumped into Tengen again, who was also running from another rain of trees.
"You were the one who told me it's a dinosaur!"
"That was the crow's report!"
"How can a Kasugai crow mistake a fucking snake for a dinosaur?!"
Yes, it was huge. The one-eyed demon with the body of a cobra was, like, six times Tengen's size, and Tengen was already huge. The number three was carved into its eye, and it screeched, blasting a shockwave that was strong enough to clear its path off trees. Its tail slammed onto the ground, flinging trees and boulders in their direction.
Sound Breathing: Fifth Form: String Performance
Star Breathing: Third Constellation: Mischief of the Twins
While Tengen was busy dealing with the demon's body and its annoying attacks, Inori leaped onto his shoulders—she would've chosen his head, but she needed a stronger footing—kicking them to propel herself upwards. Twisting her body mid-air, she swung her swords towards the demon's neck.
No matter how thick or big it was, a neck was still a neck, and her swords could cut anything. But she didn't expect the demon to suddenly shrink, dodging her blades. But before she could blink again, the demon had grown, seemingly becoming bigger than before, and its mouth was wide open, ready to swallow her whole.
Oh, shit.
Star Breathing: Fourth Constellation: Stealth of the Crab
Kicking her leg upwards, the blade in her shoe pierced the demon's jaw. The strength of her kick snapped his head upwards, but Inori was still falling, and there wasn't a single thing she could grab onto that could help her break her fall.
Feeling herself getting yanked by the sash of her robes, Inori got hauled onto Tengen's shoulder as he ran from the demon, which now has multiple heads—what the fuck?
The average-sized heads snapped and screeched, further destroying the forest. Still on Tengen's shoulder, Inori sliced the heads that came too close. She narrowed her eyes at the demon, trying to find its weakness because it just had to have one.
The ground shook—or maybe that was because she was being carried—and Inori felt her eyes widening when a swarm of snake heads broke through the ground. She could hear Tengen curse as he tried to dodge, but one of the snakes managed to pierce its fangs into Tengen's foot.
"Uzui-san! Put me down!"
"Shut up!" With one hand, the Sound Pillar sliced all the snake heads off, rushing off again from the other heads with her still on his shoulder. "Agh! Since when are the lower moons so crafty!?" Tengen yelled as he zigzagged past the snapping heads aiming to bite him to pieces. He couldn't even use his bombs lest he created a forest fire, so his options were limited.
"Oi, kid! I'm throwing up to the sky, so make sure you kill it off this time!"
"Uzu—aagh!" Inori was, indeed, thrown upwards. Gritting her teeth, she twisted her body, raising both of her swords as she landed closer and closer to the demon. It was a glimpse, but she only saw one head with the number three carved into its eyes that was protected by the other heads, so that must be its main head. That was all she needed to know.
Star Breathing: Seventh Constellation: Judgement of the Scales
Her boots landed on top of the giant body with a thump, multiple snake heads raining upon her. Demonic blood stained her white robes, and she fell to her knees. Inori felt her eyes going wide, not knowing why she was so out of breath. She had dealt with worse demons, so this much shouldn't be making her this out of breath.
"Kid! Kid!" Tengen roared, rushing towards the gasping girl. He internally cursed as the dead demon's blood got absorbed into her skin, a very obvious sign that it was poisonous. "Get away from there! Kid!"
"Aagh!" Inori retched, feeling as if her lungs had been blocked, unable to let a single breath in. She felt someone yanking her to the side, and she instinctively clawed whatever she managed to grab—someone's clothes? Something metallic? She didn't know. Black spots continued to cover her vision until she eventually saw nothing but black.
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
Inori woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling and a very thick smell of wisteria. The lights were too bright, and she groaned, covering her eyes with her arm, only to realize how rough it was. Blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light, Inori stared at the absolutely mummified state of her arms. Then, she touched her face, feeling the same rough bandages wrapped around her forehead, jaw, and even cheeks.
"Next time, don't let anything a demon makes get on you." Tilting her head in the direction of the voice, Inori blinked at the sight of Tengen, with his hair down and dressed in a casual yukata, looking at her. "Blood, poison, other nasty bodily fluids or whatever. Don't let them touch your skin, and definitely don't ingest them."
"Oh." So, she got poisoned. Funny because she thought Tengen was the one who got poisoned. But then again, Tengen's resistance to poison was, by far, the best among the pillars, so it should be natural for him to not be fazed. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
"God, kid, you're so dumb." Tengen flicked her forehead, earning a whine from her. "You're a flamboyant girl who is swarmed by demons—"
"This isn't some reverse harem crap."
"I'm surprised you even know what reverse harem means."
"I used to know a writer."
"Ah." Really, Tengen wondered just what kind of stuff the dead had taught her because it seemed like they had taught her everything but the most basic and common stuff. "Anyway, as I was saying, you are a flamboyant bait, and you gladly use yourself as bait."
Because much like Sanemi, Inori didn't hesitate to go outside and offer herself up as bait, though it wasn't her blood she was using, it was her existence. "You can't just get poisoned because you recklessly let nasty things touch you, dumb kid."
He pressed his index finger against her forehead, snickering when Inori could only whine, unable to shove him off with how poisoned her body must've been. He reached out to ruffle her hair, still ignoring her protests. "Well, you've flamboyantly helped me finish a demon moon, and you're not dying or anything, so all's good, kid."
He pulled out a vial from his yukata, holding it between his index finger and thumb. "Also, I didn't forget to flamboyantly take this, and many more." He let Inori take the vial, grinning as she held it to the lights. "There's the demon's normal blood, the poisonous ones, and some other stuff I managed to nab. That one's the demon's blood."
"That's a relief." Inori hummed, handing the vial back to him. "I needed some poisonous blood samples." She easily ignored the questioning look Tengen shot at her, opting to glare at the Sound Pillar.
"But Uzui-san, I should tell you that this will be the last time I'm becoming bait for your missions."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, kid."
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙