2 Months later:
It's been two months since I left the water estate, and the last 60 days have been confusing to say the least, I have never don't anything but water breathing, I couldn't think of anything, eventually I gave up and began accepting every damn mission I got. I was slaying at least five or so demons a day. If not, then it was a bad day, yes that does mean I have exterminated more or less 300 demons of varying strength, and not a single one were part of the twelve kizuki, and of course despite Giyu San still keeping me as his tsuguko, my absence from my duties meant that I had to be formally ranked as a demon slayer agin, I couldn't just be accepted as a tsuguko, needless to say however I was the highest rank a slayer could achieve before the rank of hashira, Kinoe.
I had killed more than fifty demons, and therefore eligible to become a… hashira. But of what? I declined Master Ubayashiki's invitation citing that of if I were to become a hashira, it would be when I had surpassed Giyu San, and made my own style.
It was as life was going, when I was fated to receive a mission via Kasugai Crow,
"CAWWWW CAWWWW You are to head to Mount Haku, where a Shadow manipulating demon has been discovered, CAWWW CAWWW meet up with mist hashira Muichiro Tokito at the base of the mountain."
I cringed as the bird shouted before running off, by know I had perfected my running technique and I jumped into the air before landing on a. Branch and using trees to launch myself further every landing, hence gaining speed.
…
…
After two continuous nights of speed running, I made it to the base of Mount Haku, a village was nestled against its base and the sunrise basked it in glory, but the inhabitants were nowhere near as cheerful as I was, and as I entered the streets of the village, everyone was distraught, some packing minimal belongings and leaving the town, the rest wallowing their despairs in drink.
I asked a passerby what was wrong.
"You look like a bright boy, leave this place before you can't, the demon, it has taken fourth of our people on just a month"
I recoiled as the man walked off, fourth people in just a month, why the fuck weren't we called in earlier? I picked up the scent of a familiar person and followed it to an inn, in its hall sat a boy, no older than fourteen, two years younger than me actually
With long black hair and ocean blue/ green-ish eyes, that seemed to have minimal thought behind them, zero facial expression ever appeared on his face, always looking lost and thoughtful. I approached the boy.
"Muichiro Tokito… we meet again."
I smiled as he looked up confused and thinking once again, "uhmmm who are you?"
I deadpanned at the boy before berating him, "Hoe do you forget me everyone, every time I see you I have to introduce myself again and again."
His eyes traversed my uniform before it reached the word Kinoe etched into it, then he looked at my blue sword hilt…
"Oh, you're the guy that refused to become. Hashira…"
"Yeah that's me, let's go, it's almost nightfall, up the mountain, if it's anywhere it should be there."
The boy nodded and strapped his sword to the waist before following me out the inn, I turned and the boy looked at me confused.
"Muichiro kun, you haven't paid the inn keeper."
The boy seemed to realise and ran back inside paying him and then running after me.
Soon after we had left the village night fell, and soon without light we had to squint and sniff our way across barely beaten trails.
"Muichiro kun, see anything?"
"Hmmm? No."
I sighed and got back to looking and after a few hours, not even our ears could pick up any disturbance in the night until, I felt a horrible chill down my body, like we were in the wrong area, and that's when I realised.
"Muichiro kun the reason we don't feel anything is because there isn't anything, the demons at the village!"
The hashira's eyes widened, and we bit disappeared from our spots and ran downhill, as fast as we can, feet touching the ground less and less as we controlled our breathing and sped down the mountain, we came to a halt outside a village and a vile stench entered our nostrils. The demon.
In the distance we could see a pile of bodies, at least ten… this week's horde! I pumped my legs and charged at the demon, "Mizu no Kokyu, Ichi no Kata!"
I watched as Muichiro ran across the roofs of the neatly lined houses nodding down at me before jumping high over the demon, "Kasumi no Kokyu, Roku no Kata!"
"Water Surface Slash!"
"Lunar Dispersing Mist!"
Muichiro launched several downward slashes and the demon lept from its spot, meaning my slash didn't hit its mark, instead slightly slashing the demons arm as I sped past. I spun and held my katana at head level, waiting for the demon to attack. It had been a while since I faced a challenging demon. I had watched Muichiro's kata, interesting, I lowered my stance just o visualised him doing it, before disappearing from my spot, "Kasumi no Kokyu, Roku no Kata, Lunar Dispersing Mist"
The demon launched itself backward as I attacked it slags after slash, for the first time, trying a different breathing style to water. It seemed to escape however just when I got close, pulling something out of the shadows, was that a? No way, that's a gun. He fired, I cut the bullet last second before it grazed my face.
I controlled my breathing and Muichiro landed next to me, "how did you copy my breathing?"
"Mist may be a branch of wind breathing, however you can't have spray without water, our breathing styles are more similar than you think, mist hashira"
Muichiro disappeared from his spot and slashed down at the demon, "Kasumi no Kokyu, Go no Kata: Sea of clouds and Haze"
With a zig zag pattern, Muichiro kept repeating the kata, attacking the demon, and as the demon engaged the mist Hashira he shot at me, I smiled as I let go of the battle high.
"Mizu no Kokyu, Ju Ichi no Kata: Dead Calm"
Not a single bullet even reached past my Katana, and I once again entered the fray,
"Mizu no Kokyu, Ni no Kata, Water Wheel"
I slashed down at the demon but he slipped into the shadows and reappeared behind me, before I could turn he kicked out a leg and I went flying through the inn, and hit a tree, I felt multiple ribs crack, "Gack!"
I stood maintaining my breathing to slow down the progress of my injuries, and as the moon cast light onto the demon's eyes I saw the kanji, "Lower Moon… 2"
"Shit, oh well no matter"
I raced forwards, leaving my katana to trail behind me, picking up more and more momentum and power as I ran forwards, an unstoppable linear force, "Ju no Kata: Constant Flux,"
The demon was unable to dodge as I cleaved its arm off and sent a kick out from under the arc of my own blade, but an arm smashed into my leg and I flew back a few metres, rolling to absorb the impact of the fall.
The demon began its charge but as it neared a voice that was almost too quiet whispered out to me, "Kasumi no Kokyu: Shi no Kata: Shifting Flow Slash" I watched as Muichiro left his spot and cut off the other arm of the demon.
But before we had even regrouped it had already regrown its arms, "You smell strong, maybe if I kill you two, Lord Muzak will give me more of his blood ha!"
I steeled myself, "pathetic weaklings like you can try… and fail."
I pumped my legs and at the same time as Muichiro disappeared from my spot and I found myself above the demon, "Mizu no Kokyu: Hachi no Kata."
I willed myself downwards, and as I fell I watched as Muichiro approached from behind the demon, "Kasumi no Kokyu: Ni no Kata."
"Waterfall Basin"
"Eight layered Mist!"
Muichiro delivered eight consecutive slashes to the torso of the demon and as I reached the demon, I pressed my blade with the force of a hundred waterfalls through the demons head, and then its body, cutting it in half, then in one single strike, "Ichi no Kata"
"Water Surface Slash!" I beheaded the demon and fell to my knees, heaving and wheezing, my body was exhausted beyond belief, I watched as the demon's head rolled to me, I stabbed it with my sword and watched as it disintegrated, caring for demons made you weak, I was not in the business of becoming weak.
My chest heaved as I breathed, Muichiro appeared next to me, "You know, Itsuya kun, you've killed more than fifty demons, you've also now killed a twelve Kizuki, becoming a Hashira is kind of expected, I mean you-"
He was interpreted by the sound of slurping and drinking behind us- the blood in my veins froze-
"What the fuck is that presence!"
I turned and looked at the heap of bodies that the lower moon had piled they were missing, completely digested and the demon that stood in its place managed to freeze my blood.
"I always knew that Rokuro bastard was no use, Nevermind. I should be enough for two strong slayers like you. Heheheheh."
I leant on my katana as I shook myself awake and stood, under the pale moonlight I read the kanji in his eyes.
"Upermoon…