The Hamon Breather

A Long Hike

"Did you finish saying goodbye to everyone, Tanjiro?" I ask him as I stand outside the Butterfly Estate.

"Yep! I'm ready to go!" Tanjiro seemed quite excited to go visit Urokodaki. Not that I was any different. That old guy grows on you, especially when you start noticing his way of showing he cares.

"Great! Let's get going then." I announce.

"Did you already tell your goodbyes? I didn't see you when I was doing mine." Tanjiro asks.

"Oh... well, I don't think goodbyes are quite my thing. Plus, it's not like I'm leaving entirely unannounced." It's not exactly a lie. To be honest, I didn't want to go searching for everyone. The estate is too big for me to want to do that.

"Okay. As long as you're fine with it!" Tanjiro rolls with it. And we begin walking with the Sun close to being in the middle of the sky.

"Oh right, I almost forgot to mention something. There might be a girl at Urokodaki's house. I don't know for sure, since I haven't gotten any news from him." I talk to Tanjiro about that girl I saved from that rock demon.

"A girl? Oh! You mean that extra scent I smelled on you over at the Wisteria house! I was wondering how you got home! I kept forgetting to ask." Tanjiro appears to be enlightened. I looked at him a little surprised when he said that though.

"You... remember an extra scent from like six months ago?" I ask, incredulously. "I don't even remember her name..." I mumble.

"Well, it stood out to me, so I kept it in mind!" Tanjiro answers.

"Oh. Well anyway, that doesn't really matter. Just don't be surprised if there's someone there or not." I conclude.

"Will do!" Tanjiro replies. "Say Keijo..." Tanjiro and I's conversation continues as we have a peaceful jaunt through the day.

---

"Phew! I'm glad we made it into town before it got too late. Walking all day is kind of tiring." It had gotten dark outside, the Sun having disappeared for an hour or two. The stars had blanketed the night sky in a spectacle of white on black.

"We should make it to Urokodaki's before noon tomorrow if we start walking at dawn," Tanjiro notes as we meander into town.

"That means we should be able to get a nice reunion in then." I continue our chatter as we search for an inn.

"Wait... something's wrong." Tanjiro suddenly breaks the mood, his nose twitches imperceptibly. A stench with horrible implications must've gotten picked up by his monstrous sense of smell.

"Demons?" I ask him calmly, I'd already sharpened my own senses; prepared for the worst.

"That's the strange part... I smell two demons, but they have the same stench!" Tanjiro exclaims.

"We can think about that later, we've got to stop them from harming anyone!" I know for Tanjiro that must be important, but since I don't have his sense of smell something like that isn't weighty to me at all.

"Right! Follow me!" We dash to the outskirts of town on the opposite side we entered. Tanjiro was leading the way, of course.

"They're... identical?!" The two of us call out in shock as we spot the two demons.

I'd heard of twins before, but I couldn't imagine that they could be so similar. The pair of demons are mostly humanoid, save for skin that's quite pale and some strange markings on their arms in the exact same spots as each other. The markings looked like coupled rings, snaking around in a wavy pattern.

The two were also... naked, much to my disgust and chagrin. It seems the duo is so into looking the exact same, that they wouldn't even let clothing stop them. Fortunately(?), the two looked quite androgynous. I hate to take note of it, but I don't see any genitals on either of them.

Regardless of their... 'exotic looks', it's safe to say there is no way of distinguishing the two from looks alone. It's most likely the same for the other senses save for the sixth one since Tanjiro said they had the same scent.

They even had the same posture and bald haircut! I don't know if I should applaud them for their commitment or feel pity.

"Hm? Demon Slayers? And wow, the two look so different from each other." The demon on the left observes.

"It's quite unbecoming of humanity to try and look so different to their fellows. How could they work together if they're that different from one another?" The right demon seems to hold a concurring opinion.

"Especially that red-haired one. I've never seen such a blemish on the skin. Truly an outrage to conformity." The left one nods to itself.

"And that one with the blue hair. I've seen the occasional tips of blue on a human's head, but definitely not the entire thing." The right one tuts as Tanjiro and I look on in confusion.

"I'm honestly getting more irritated the longer I look at the two. How can we fix this?" The left one's tone remains the same, despite the words it just spoke.

"Well, they all look the same once they enter our bellies, do they not?" The right one suggests a 'solution' to their 'problem'.

"We are truly such a noble pair for having the will to correct such things on our own time." The left one nods.

"Truly." The right one agrees.

"What are you saying?" Tanjiro asks in confusion. I'm glad he found the will to find answers to his questions.

"It seems like they weren't listening. Well, it's to be expected from such individual creatures."

"I was! I'm confused as to why you speak of differences like they're bad things!" Tanjiro argues.

"Oh my. This pitiful creature believes that differences are good. It seems our act will be truly merciful today."

"Tanjiro... these demons seem trapped in their own world. You aren't going to get anything out of them. What's happening here is a difference in fundamentals. Neither we nor they will be able to comprehend the other." I try to speed along the conversation. I was suspicious at the start, but now I know for sure. "Conversation with them is pointless."

We unsheathe our blades and prepare for battle.

---

Taisho Secrets:

Keijo: "Wait, so you have two breathing styles?!"

Tanjiro: "Yeah, Water Breathing and Hinokami Kagura."

Keijo: "Should I try to learn a different breathing style..? Maybe Water Breathing just wasn't fit for me..."

Tanjiro: "But Hamon is really neat!"

Keijo: "I know but, I'm a bit jealous when I see you swinging your sword all cool-like."

Tanjiro: "I suppose from a different point of view it would look quite interesting. But, when I see you do Hamon, I think it's also really cool!"

Keijo: "Hm. I guess it's something you can only tell from an outsider's perspective, huh?"

Tanjiro: "I think so too! Besides, I don't think Hamon would synergize well with breathing styles. They're more like fighting techniques while Hamon is a special energy! It'd be quite difficult to manage swapping them!"

Keijo: "Alright, alright. Guess I'll just have to do some more sword training instead."

Tanjiro: "I'll help!"