The Demon Slayer Corps Initiative

Moonlit

"This is a terrible idea... oh, this is a horrible, horrible idea. We're going to die out here for sure..."

Only the blonde boy's quiet whimpers to himself could be heard throughout the sputtering and puffs of the van's engine that they drove in. Nezuko was trying her best not to drive herself insane over Zenitsu's quiet ramblings, Tanjiro equally straining to keep a cheerful and demure smile painted on his face. Inosuke, meanwhile, never beat around the bush- he was always blunt and straightforward with his feelings.

"Can you literally shut up for TWO SECONDS, Monitsu!? Nobody's going to die!" Inosuke exclaimed, to which golden eyes shot him a frightened glare. "Literally everybody sane enough not to go to an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night for a three-day vacation says otherwise! Maybe you all want to suffer gruesome deaths on a Saturday, but I sure don't!" he exclaimed before turning to his right. Kanao was awkwardly sandwiched between the two bickering boys, her normally serene compound eyes blinking in confusion.

"And you, Kanao-chan! Just why did you agree to Inosuke's plan!? I thought you and Nezuko-chan were supposed to be the most sensible out of all of us- I mean, you saw the news! Man-eating demons are prowling around and about at this hour- are we TRYING to get ourselves killed!?" he practically wailed, to which Nezuko sighed in exasperation and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"The common public call them man-eating demons, the government calls them immortal supersoldier experiments who gained reality-bending powers from some flower species that appeared and disappeared twice now. Quite the mouthful, if I do say so myself- and extremely unnecessary. The contrast between magical creature of myth and actually plausible science-fiction is evident in this real-life example," she explained. "Do you really believe that I'd have the audacity to study them without the proper equipment?"

Kanao shrugged and gave a quiet, rather shy murmur of a response: "I just flipped the coin and it landed heads. That meant I could go with you guys on... whatever this trip is."

"Of course. The coin would tell you to make the WORST possible decision!" Zenitsu practically shrieked in reply, his voice reeking of exasperation and frustration. Their bickering was soon interrupted by a purposefully loud sigh. "Alright- we're here, gentlemen- and the only woman with a pulse in the car. Welcome... to the middle of absolutely fucking nowhere."

"Language, Nezuko," Tanjiro replied sternly, to which his Imouto nodded and exhaled sharply through her nose.

"Right. Sorry."

The awkward silence that followed the brief exchange was uncomfortably palpable- glancing at the nearly broken down warehouse, only a light cough from Zenitsu temporarily managed to break the atmosphere.

The structural integrity of the large warehouse that lay in front of them seemed a bit questionable, what with the rotting pieces of wood present, just barely managing to hold up the windowless structure that towered over them. The scent of the building seemed old, must and aged- the bark of the wood was peeling off the frames, the outer ceramic and metal walls discolored and haphazardly torn apart in miscellaneous places. The inside seemed much more horrendous from a distance- in the mere fact that it was clouded in darkness, enveloping said interior like a thick fog. Only the overgrowth was visible- coming from inside, seeming to enshroud the walls and crawl outside the door from within the abyss.

"Cozy, isn't it...?" Tanjiro murmured underneath his breath.

"Yes, perfectly so!" Zenitsu hissed. "At least we're going to die with our bodies on top of a bunch of plants- that should serve as a perfect grave for us!" he groaned, spreading his arms in a rather overdramatic gesture before letting them fall slack at his side as he hid himself behind Kanao. "Ladies first," he murmured, and Inosuke groaned. The looks they shared between each other communicated the exact same idea of sweet-talking Zenitsu, goading him into going inside with the rest of the group.

Nezuko's hands practically shot up almost instantly in submission and denial of the task.

"Not it."

____________________________________________

Only the pitter patter of footsteps could be heard through the darkness, but the silent huffs of breaths were only kept to themselves. The moonlit glow illuminated itself onto the verdant grass- a poetic sight for anyone to behold, really.

"The moon is quite beautiful tonight, isn't it?" the raven-haired girl with the white and blue kitsune mask asked. Merely a serene smile was etched onto her face as she continued sprinting alongside her comrade and her master, barely breaking a sweat.

The redhead next to him merely grumbled in response. "Whether it's night or day, we train to death, Makomo," he muttered. "By both day and night we're demon slayers and counter terrorists- sworn to protect all of mankind. Whether you're in a bloody skirt or pants, we're dressed like gentlemen and kicking ass like those US Navy SEALs if they were Samurai."

That grotesquely honest response seemed to earn a playful pout from Makomo. "Awh, Sabito-san. You're just no fun," she playfully crooned, to which a scoff pried its way out of Sabito's throat. "Don't patronize me."

The both of them suddenly swore they saw a playful smile cross their master's face. "Master Urokodaki, sir...?" Sabito asked. "Whatever could the matter be?" 

More thick verbal silence settled into the atmosphere like a smog before a familiar gruff voice tinged with playfulness broke the atmosphere.

"Eh, who? Me?"

"You're... smiling, sir- did you find Makomo's joke funny?"

The grin grew wider in response, accentuating the wrinkles on his face. "Ah, but who said anything about patronizing you? Even being as old as I am, I have a sense of humor," he stated.

"I just wish I could say the same for you."

Sabito's eyes widened a bit, and Makomo just barely repressed a giggle, letting it out as a snort. 

Did he just-

"I'll race you there-!" Urokodaki finished before his body shot up off the ground, taking off into the trees, his body flipping and doing all sorts of acrobatics unnatural to a normal person twice as young- even when they trained under him, it was surprising watching his body contort itself so effortlessly into letters.

Well shit, now they were already losing sight of him.

"O-Oi! Master Urokodaki, sir, wait up!" they both called in unison.