Demonslayer Short Stories

Trust (Hantengu Clone Reader)

Shinrai was a low-ranked slayer sent to accompany Tanjiro on his trip to the Swordsmith Village, also having broken her sword and in need of a new one. Tanjiro had been quick to trust her, telling her all about his life.

"Hey, Tanjiro!" Shinrai shouted. "I'm gonna go to the hot springs!"

"Alright!" He called back. "Be careful!"

Shinrai made her way up the mountain to the hot springs, loose white hair from her bun flying into her brown eyes. She climbed the stair slowly, not without hearing some rustling. She brushed this off as birds or squirrels, seeing as the Swordsmith Village was one of the hardest places to find in Japan. Shinrai entered the springs, instantly greeted by a face full of steam. Before she could enter the water, however, a sonic boom sounded from behind her and golden-yellow waves washed over the hot springs.

"Ohmygo-" Shinrai turned to face Urogi, the 'Joy' clone of Hantengu. "Change the damn greeting, will you?"

"It's funny though!" Urogi grinned. "And it doesn't work anyway!"

"I swear you'll be the reason I fail this mission." Shinrai deadpanned.

"Eh, it's fine, I trust you!"

"Of course you do; you have no choice."

"...Touché."

"Where are the others?" Shinrai asked, changing the subject.

"Preparing to merge again." Urogi sighed, which looked weird as he was still grinning. "You know you're lucky you don't need to merge for Hantengu."

Shinrai smile ruefully. "I still need to be there for Zohakuten though."

Urogi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but that's just when Sekido thinks we're losing."

"Fair enough." Shinrai relented. "You should probably go merge. Tanjiro's in his room, I'll join you later."

Urogi groaned. "Fine.." he grumbled, spreading his wings to fly off. "You have fun in your.. bath." He continued to mutter to himself as he launched into the night sky.

Shinrai sighed and turned to leave the springs. If they were attacking soon, she'd have to be there. She groaned and made the long trek back to the place they were staying, wishing she'd asked Urogi for a ride. She memorized each landmark along the way, incase Tanjiro tried to run. Shinrai wasn't great with a sword as a slayer, but she had a great memory and moderate telekinetic powers. Unfortunately, her telekinesis didn't work on herself.

"Hyo!" A voice, low to the ground, brought Shinrai out of her thoughts. She looked down to see Gyokko's pot, ornately painted with flowers and leaves. Gyokko's snake-like body oozed out of the pot, and Shinrai had to sidestep to avoid the black ink splattering everywhere. "Greetings, Shinrai!"

"Hi, Gyokko." Shinrai lightly smiled. "Fight any Hashira?"

Gyokko blanched. "Not yet! But I will find some and destroy them!"

"Mhm. Good luck with that." Shinrai slowly stepped around his pot. "I have to go find the others now."

"Farewell!" With a wet 'glop', Gyokko disappeared into his pot.

Shinrai continued her hike down the stairs, and when she finally reached the house, it was evident that Hantengu had arrived and the clones had split. A beam of green energy had just rocketed out of the house seconds ago taking Tokito with it, a sign of Karaku's presence. As Shinrai walked down the hall and unlocked the door to Tanjiro's–now wrecked–room, she heard lightning crackle and Tanjiro's strangled scream. That's Sekido. I don't think they've split yet; I can't hear Urogi's stupid laughter.

"Ha! This is fun! That runt went flying, huh, Sekido?" Karaku's voice echoed from the room.

"All I'm feeling is anger! That goes with being trapped with you and the others all the time!" Sekido shouted at his green-eyed counterpart.

"You don't mind Shinrai so much." Karaku noted. Shit. Why'd he say my name?

"I don't have a choice with her!" Sekido raged back, followed by the jingle of metal on metal.

"How do you know Shinrai?!" Shinrai heard Tanjiro's voice from deeper into the room, and above Karaku and Sekido.

A pause was heard, and the clicking of a gun sounded through the air, immediately followed by the whistle of a bullet and two loud bangs, presumably from Karaku and Sekido getting decapitated. Good. The others can come out now.

"No, Genya!" Tanjiro shouted. Shinrai recognized that name, and assumed that he was the one using the gun. "It'll split off into clones! It's making us behead it on purpose!"

Shinrai heard laughter and the rustle of feathers from behind the door as Urogi formed from Karaku's head. "Finally! It's been so long since we separated!"

"Liar." Shinrai butted in, opening the door and marching inside. "You were separated, like, ten minutes ago."

"Shinrai?" Tanjiro gasped, eyes widening. "You know them?"

Shinrai ambled over to where Aizetsu stood, hunched over, and patted him on the back in a futile attempt to cheer him up. "I'm part of them." She made her way over to where the shrunken Hantengu was, discreetly picking him up and slipping him into her pocket. She smiled and turned to face Tanjiro, who looked like he was fighting his own emotional battle. That was her blood demon art at work.

Shinrai started to transform, growing horns and several popping veins on her forehead. Her hair flew loose and unruly, black slowly replacing the silvery white from before. A deep tan took over her once pale face, contrasting her pale gray nails. Her canines elongated into fangs, and a dark, roiling purple color bled into her irises and sclera. The words 'Upper Four' etched themselves into her eyes, and on her tongue was written the kanji for 'Trust'

She gave a small bow. "Shinrai, Avatar of Trust."