Demon Slayer Swap AU

Chapter 23: The Boar Bares Its Fangs, Kanao Sleeps

Kanao screeched as she sprinted away from the tongue demon, Shoichi, in tow. "STAY BACK! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! STOP!"

The tongue demon crawled after them, snickering.

"W-W-WE AREN'T TASTY! WE'RE ANYTHING BUT AGREEABLE TO THE TONGUE!" Kanao continued to shriek. "I'M DEAD SERIOUS! THIS KID'S ALL SKIN AND BONES, SO HE'S ALL DRY AND TASTES NASTY!"

The tongue demon just continued to snicker as it crawled after them. "How will I know until I get a taste?" Its tongue then extended towards them, but Kanao and Shoichi only just managed to dodge it, and the demon's tongue ended up cutting a vase in half vertically.

"WHAT WAS THAT? HE'S QUICK-TONGUED!" Kanao shouted, hugging Shoichi closely. "EVEN SPLITTING VASES IN TWO!" The demon continued to crawled after them, once again extending its tongue towards them. "YOU CAN'T BE FOR REAL!" They managed to avoid it but ended up crashing through two doors into another empty room.

Kanao and Shoichi lay flat on their faces on the floor for a moment before Shoichi lifted his head and looked through the broken doors. He turned to Kanao and grabbed her hand. "Kanao! Get up!"

Kanao yelped, lifting her head to look at him while shaking and crying. "Eighty per cent of my fear is in my knees now!"

"This isn't the time to whine!" Shoichi replied as the demon crawled towards the broken doors.

Kanao, still shivering, lifted her torso slightly. "Go on without me, okay? Make a run for it!"

"There's no way I can do that!" Shoichi responded, beads of sweat on his cheeks.

Kanao let out another yelp as she sat up. He's such a good kid! She thought. He'd stay with me even though all I do is whimper! I've gotta figure something out. If I don't protect him, what will become of him? Dying before he reaches double digits would be way too tragic! But I'm so horribly weak! Kanao bowed her head in defeat.

"Get up!" Shoichi exclaimed, shaking Kanao by the shoulder.

I don't have the ability to protect him! Kanao thought, not listening to Shoichi. But if I don't protect him..

Suddenly, the tongue demon crawled up the stair that led into the room. "I'm gonna guzzle your brains out through your ears!" It said as it crawled towards them.

Kanao's brain freezes in a war between fear and a sense of responsibility, making her pass out. Kanao slumped to the ground with a light thud.

"Kanao!" Shoichi exclaimed. "Kan -" he paused as Kanao began to snore. She's out cold. He thought as Kanao laid flat on her back on the ground, asleep, as Shoichi held up her wrist.

The tongue demon snickered. "What's wrong with her?" It asked, continuing to crawl towards them.

Shoichi yelped and dragged Kanao's unconscious body backwards away from the tongue demon as it continued to crawl towards them, snickering. Soon enough, Shoichi had backed into a wall and was now stuck. The tongue demon would surely kill the pair of them with no hesitation.

"Die!" The tongue demon shouted, once again extending its tongue towards Kanao and Shoichi.

Shoichi screamed. "KANAO! PLEASE WAKE UP!"

Suddenly, part of the demon's tongue was sliced off, and the demon retracted its tongue.

As Shoichi began to cry, Kanao suddenly stood up, and his eyes widened in a mix of surprise and confusion. Wasn't she just asleep a second ago? Did she wake up? The tongue demon stared at her as its tongue regenerated.

Kanao then got into a position reminiscent of Iaijutsu and exhaled through gritted teeth, yet she was still unconscious.

Wh-what's that sound? The tongue demon thought, its eyes widening slightly. This girl.. she's giving off a totally different vibe!

"Kanao.." Shoichi said quietly, staring at her.

Kanao grasped just below her sword hilt and unsheathed her sword slightly, but not entirely. "Thunder Breathing.. First Form.. Thunderclap and Flash!" Kanao dashed forward and swiftly decapitated the tongue demon, her movements akin to lightning ripping through the air. Shoichi let out a small gasp as blood spurted out of the demon's neck.

Kanao's eyes snapped open. She looked down at the demon's head as it rolled on the floor, a small trail of blood following after it, and screamed as she jumped back. "HE'S DEAD?!" She yelled, trembling as his head crumbled to dust. "HOW'D HE DIE ALL OF A SUDDEN?! WHAT THE HELL? I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Shoichi stared at her, confused. "WHAT IS THIS? WHAT THE? YUCK!"

As the rest of the tongue demon's body disintegrated, Kanao looked over at Shoichi and let out a gasp, still shaking. "Shoichi.. don't tell me.." She said before rushing over to Shoichi and hugging her tightly. "Thank you! You saved my life! I'll forever be in your debt! Why didn't you tell me you were so strong sooner?!" Kanao cried.

Shoichi was stunned into silence. In addition to seeing a real demon, there was Kanao's incredible swordplay. Furthermore, he had never met anyone as dumb as Kanao. His confusion would not stop.. so he stopped thinking. He then rose to his feet. "Let's get going, okay?"

"Okay," replied Kanao, also standing up.

Kanao Tsuyuri's strength manifests only when she sleeps. While awake, her nerves and fear cause her to freeze up so she can not move. When faced with a life-threatening situation, her nerves and fear grow so extreme that she passes out.

Meanwhile..

"Damn! He sent me flying again!" The girl said to herself as she ran through the halls. "It's been three days of this shit! Runnin' through cramped buildings like this.. I'm outta my damn element!" She turned a corner.

As she continued to run and was about to turn another corner, a thick, blue hand appeared and was about to smack the girl, but leapt back before that could happen.

"You dodged, huh..?" Came a deep voice. "You seem awfully lively for a human.." Said the voice as someone came into view and crushed part of the wall its hand was grasping. "Your flesh will be well worth gouging out!"

The deep voice came from a tall, fat demon with blue skin, beady red eyes, fish lips, short purple hair, and a small horn in the centre of its forehead. It was wearing a brown tunic which exposed its chest, which had a blood splatter on it. The demon made a thunderous sound every time it took a step forward.

The girl exhaled from behind her boar mask, raising her hands up into the air. "Self-Taught! Beast Breathing!" She then grabbed her two katanas. "Ripping up such a good target is gonna be so worth it!"

The girl then sprinted towards the demon, who chuckled as it outstretched its arms and started to walk towards her. "It takes guts to charge at me head-on!" The girl slashed off both of its forearms. The demon let out a gasp and took a step back. "Owwie!" It yelled as the girl cackled.

"Drop dead, and be my stepping stone!" She yelled, running towards the demon again. "Third Fang! Devour!" She released two horizontal slashes at the demon and decapitated it.

The girl then kicked the demon's headless body to the ground and leapt onto the wall in front of her, using it to jump round the corner.

"Chargin' through! Chargin' through!" The girl shouted as she ran through the hallways.

....

"Marechi.. marechi.. marechi.." The drum demon said as he walked down the hallway. "If I can just consume some.. fifty.. no, a hundred humans' worth.." his eye trembled. "I need to find more marechis and consume them. That way," his iris rolled forward, revealing a blue iris with deep blue pupils. Except on his right eye, it read Lower Moon Six with a white x-shaped scar that covered the number. "I can reclaim my place among the Twelve Kizuki!"

Word Count: 1,320