The Shrine Maiden (A Demon Slayer OC Fanfic)

Chapter 4

Apparently, Tanjiro had gotten the demon stuck to a tree by flinging his hatchet into a tree after the demon had wrapped his hair around it. That was clever thinking on Tanjiro's part, especially while a demon's head without a body is trying to kill you. Rei took a moment to be impressed by Tanjiro's quick thinking yet again. However, her proud smile left her face all too soon after shifting her gaze to the younger boy standing beside her.

Tanjiro had a tortured expression on his face as he stood a few feet away from the demon that had grown arms out of the bottom of his head. He held a small blade out from his body, and undid the sheath. Rei was concerned about him being able to kill it. She understood where he's coming from. Demons look very similar to humans from what she could tell. Besides, his very own sister was turned into a demon, so he was probably more sympathetic towards them than anyone else, even her.

She was tempted to reach behind her back for an arrow, and shoot him right then for having killed those humans who traveled up the mountain. They probably still have family waiting on them to get home. The mere thought of a family going through that kind of suffering made her stomach churn. Not only that, but he also attacked Nezuko and Tanjiro. Rei had only just met the two of them, but she would still give anything to keep them safe.

All Rei could feel towards that demon was hatred. To her, any demon that devoured a human didn't deserve any mercy. They had to be put down before they hurt anyone else. Maybe it was wrong for her to be that ruthless about it, but it was how she felt.

Tanjiro was more kind than her by a long shot. Rei felt bad he was struggling with taking it out. His breathing was coming out in short pants, panic evident on his facial features. Her chest hurt for him, concern shining in her bright blue eyes.

    "Tanjiro," she called out, but didn't go any further as realization hit.

Hold on a second! Nezuko technically decapitated that demon earlier when she kicked 'em, right?

Then, how were they gonna kill it if it was supposed to already be dead? There was only one way Rei could think of. She reached behind her back only to find she only had one arrow left.

Had she really used a majority of her arrows trying to hit that thing? She really was a bad shot! Rei only had one shot, so she had to be careful.

When Rei took her singular remaining arrow, a hand grabbed her wrist, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin, heart rising to her throat. Rei gazed behind her to see a man on the older side with greying hair, and a tengu mask covering his face. He was wearing blue robes with white clouds on them, tied at the waist, with black hakama under them. Who was he? Where did he come from?

"Perhaps, you should allow him to handle it himself."

The elderly man spoke to Rei in a "teaching" tone. She blinked in confusion. Rei stared for only a moment before it all clicked in her mind. Oh, wait! Was he the one they were searching for? He actually seemed younger than what she was expecting. Rei was expecting an old sage who knew all the secrets to the universe, and needed a cane to get around. She scolded herself for having thought such offensive things.

    Warnings about respecting her elders ran through her head, prompting her to obey and drop the hand on the arrow to her side. It's not that she didn't want to respect him because she did. It was just an odd request. The demon's right there. She could kill it with one draw of her bow, well if she managed to hit even at such a short range. Missing that many of her shots against one opponent had a horrible effect on her self confidence.

    "That blade isn't going to do the trick," he advised Tanjiro who snapped out of his panicked stupor at the sound of the foregin voice.

    Tanjiro shifted his gaze to the man, and Rei gave him a small relieved smile. She was happy he wasn't in that state anymore, but was still worried that he had to kill that demon even when it was obvious he didn't want to.