The Demon Slayer Corps Initiative

Return to Duty

There were many rumors circulating around the mysterious Sakonji Urokodaki, the humble and rather elderly school janitor. Most notable for being a benevolent and gentle soul- a mentor figure to many struggling souls, all while hiding behind that unusual red tengu mask of his. Compassionate eyes shadowed beneath the initial sterness and gruffness of his words to most.

Sabito and Makomo, the only two students who seemed especially close to him, were the only ones who seemed to know much about him- yet they refused to disclose any information about the quiet janitor. So naturally, nobody seemed to comprehend how, when even he had aged a great deal past his youth, his body remained perfectly healthy, his heart continuing to pump blood to his limbs with vigor and his lungs still remaining ever-so-strong. Unusually strong- somehow he even managed to outpace all the students in the gym by a great deal when running laps as instructed by Giyuu-sama- he managed to outrun even the most athletic ones. Urokodaki himself remembered Tanjiro's bright red eyes gleaming with surprise as he ran ahead of him effortlessly, his breaths even and controlled, indicated by the slight flaring of his nostrils, and Tanjiro's keen eye for details remembered his feat normally thought impossible.

Nobody truly knew who he was. He was a man that kept his secrets to himself and those he could trust. And he was a good judge of character, for he trusted the people he did with very good reason.

With nearly extrasensory perception, impeccable intuition, and an honorable heart, he was everything that secretly some students aspired to be- the spirit of a warrior, shadowed behind the mask of the tengu.

Nevertheless, it was still a surprise to him when he felt a light buzz in his pocket, followed by an all too familiar ringtone. He looked down to see that the light coming from his pocket wasn't white, but rather a unique shade of bright aqua blue.

Ah. So they're the ones contacting him during his lunch break hour. Whatever the matter may be, it must be important.

Discreetly slipping into the janitor's closet through the door and slinking into the darker corners, making sure the lights were turned off, he slipped off his tengu mask and dialed in a code on the glowing touchscreen of the phone-like device. The harsh glow emitting from the screen forced him to squint, scrunching his brows together in an irritated expression.

"What is it now, Mrs. Ubayashiki? It's my break hour," he hissed through clenched teeth. Almost everywhere, he opted for discretion- his normally kind eyes were always filled with paranoia in public locations, and even one small slip of the gesture or tongue could blow his cover and force him to go dark, which he secretly hoped wouldn't happen despite pretending not to care- he had grown accustomed to being an ordinary school janitor with no secrets whatsoever, after all.

"I wanted to contact you at a better time, but pressing matters warrant urgency, Urokodaki-sama," the lady visible behind the screen explained: Amane Ubayashiki. Her snow-white hair and calming, dark violet eyes that glimmered with undecipherable serenity was all too familiar to him- it wasn't too unlike her for her to call so suddenly.

"Name it," Urokodaki sighed out, pinching and rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation before the next few words spoken made his spine go ramrod straight with raw fear.

"We've recieved numerous reports of a 1-1-0, its general location being geolocated in Osaka, Japan."

A 1-1-0: the name given by the Demon Slayer Corps to refer to an unidentified object, presumably created or affected by a blood demon art. The only reason she would call if it's exhibiting any anomalous behavior of sorts that puts the public in danger.

Urokodaki didn't realize until Amane nodded in solemn confirmation that he had uttered his private musings out loud. "Surely... you don't mean 'that' 1-1-0?" he whispered. More and more questions began to pour out of his mouth, he couldn't stop himself. "Was it verified by headquarters? What kind of 1-1-0 is it? How much of a threat does it pose to Osaka's population?"

Amane gave a tense chuckle, her anxiety evident in her voice that normally flowed like honey.

"All we know is that it's a peculiar device capable of manipulating energy and gravity fields inside of it to a dangerous degree. Its architecture is somewhat similar to a device from World War 1 itself, and no technology was ever that advanced in that period of time, so we assume it's been tinkered with quite a bit by demons who found it," she explained. "We also haven't been able to geolocate its exact coordinates, so this mission is going to be one wild goose chase."

She then took in a deep breath after uttering those words.

"I know you're tired, Sakonji," she stated in that gentle yet firm voice. A strange feeling of acceptance bloomed in his gut when Urokodaki heard her call him by his first name for once, throwing formalities to the wind.

"I know you're perfectly content with your life as a school janitor. But there is a reason why you didn't refuse active duty and go into retirement- maybe it's how you enjoy conversing with the distinctively British scientists that joined the organization in our efforts to manufacture more Nichirin swords and develop poisons to incapacitate them? Maybe it's that you're secretly begging for an assignment as you sit here in this congested janitor's closet, talking to me with the device we provided you that you're still keeping?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Oh. So this was a personal attack on him now.

"Or perhaps you feel that it is humanity's sworn duty to defend the Earth and their kin, their home from these kinds of threats. We are persistent, the flame in our souls undying. We swore to do whatever it takes to eliminate the demon race and save all of mankind- and we shall stick to that promise if it's the last thing we do. And you... you adhered to that principle more than anyone else, even when you were a Mizunoto rank Demon Slayer. So, why here? Why now, does your resolve falter?"

Urokodaki's mouth ran dry, a strange sensation pricking the back of his eyes. He had grown to greatly care for the students here- he couldn't let them bear witness to his secret, but the thought of them- dead, because of his negligence... it was always too much to bear. He predicted that the last plea would be enough to goad him into being reassigned back on active duty.

Sure enough, he was right.

"Please, Sakonji Urokodaki, Water Hashira. We need you back on the field."

Something inside of him burst akin to how a dam would crumble apart- and the next thing he knew, raw resolve was coursing through his veins like flowing water, a glint of determination in his dry eyes, just barely visible before he slipped the red Tengu mask back on.

Bright enough to pierce the darkness.

"Permission to bring my disciples on for risk assessment, ma'am?"

A smile crossed the corners of soft red lips on the other side.

"That's what I like to hear. Welcome back, my friend."

________________________________________________________

Sabito and Makomo were just finishing up lunch before they saw the school janitor on two feet walking towards them, and they immediately stood up, spines rigid and ramrod straight. Vacant, calloused hands- not holding a broom, and with a katana instead sheathed at his side. His outfit was changed entirely- a black jacket zipped up by gold buttons, and slightly less baggy black hakama pants. Replacing his dusty brown shoes were pristine tabi socks where the pants were tucked in, followed by blue-strapped Zori sandals.

Yet it was the blue, cloud patterned haori that caught their attention the most.

"Suit up. We've been called on the field, departure in ten," was all he had to utter for the two of them to salute and nod. 

"Sir, yes sir!"

After all, duty calls.