It all fell down ~ Demon Slayer Fanfiction

Chapter 8: The Demon King

(please let me know if the questions i ask at the end of each chapter are inappropriate or uncomfortable for anyone to answer and i'll change them!)

Ryoshi Tanaka

"About the Demon King? What do you mean?" Ryoshi had asked, raising an eyebrow. The demon had sighed, crossing her arms. "I'll explain if neither of you attack me."

"Well... you did help us before. But that doesn't mean-" Ryoshi had heard the female next to him had begun, before Eman had groaned in annoyance. "Look, I don't have enough time. We all need to stop going around in circles."

Ryoshi had stared at the demon for a few moments, before nodding slowly. "Fine... explain. But if I see an urge to attack within you, I won't hesitate to fight back." He had said simply. "Fair enough." The demon had said, as she looked away. "Anyways, right where I left off." She had begun. "You know who the Demon King was before, right?" She had questioned, her tone of voice low, her back facing the two demon slayers.

"It was Kibutsuji, right?" Ryoshi had asked, raising an eyebrow again. Eman had glanced at him before nodding slowly. "Well, that part is correct. But..." She had begun. "But what?" Kyō had questioned, taking a step forward. However, Ryoshi had noticed Kyō's expression changed into one of surprise. As if she realized something. "Wait... wasn't he-"

"Dead? Yeah, we all thought that, right?" Eman had asked, turning around to face the two. She had slowly folded her arms, the serious expression on her face still remaining. The two demon slayers had stood there in silence, looking at one another for a few moments. "Hold on a second..." Ryoshi had begun. "Shouldn't this mean-"

"That the battle should be over? Yeah, I thought so." Eman's tone of voice was more blunt than anything. She certainly wasn't messing around when talking about a matter like this. This left Ryoshi with more questions. If the Demon King was gone, then shouldn't all of this be over? How come Kyō and Ryoshi still remained as demon slayers alongside the others within the mansion?

"You're hiding something, are you?" Kyō had suddenly asked. Ryoshi had immediately turned to her, hearing her question. Hearing that, his hand quickly moved to his weapon. However, Kyō had lifted up a hand in front of Ryoshi. "Let her talk."

Ryoshi had paused for a moment, then slowly lifted his hand off his weapon. He had sighed quietly, crossing his arms. "Fine." Eman had stayed silent afterwards, and turned away. However, the next thing that Ryoshi had heard shocked him.

"There's a new Demon King in his place. And matters with him are much worse than you think." The male couldn't believe his ears. A new Demon King? How was that possible? Wasn't Muzan the only one who would be able to turn others into demons? Now Ryoshi had a lot more questions.

"...how so?" Kyō was just as bewildered as Ryoshi was. The two had stood there, trying to process the information. "Well... I don't know all the details. But what I do know is that the new Demon King was once a demon slayer, just like you both are now."

"Was he a Hashira before this?" Ryoshi had asked. That was certainly one assumption that might make sense. Eman had only chuckled, folding her arms once more. "He's the same age as the girl who took you all in."

That made both demon slayers freeze in their spots, with looks of shock on their faces. This was certainly a much bigger surprise than the earlier one. The new Demon King was the same age as Taeko? But Taeko was only 15 years old. How was that possible? "T-The same age as Taeko?" Kyō had begun. "B-But how is that possible? Someone like him?"

"Hey, you don't have to believe me. But it's the truth."

Ryoshi had paused for a few seconds. He then quickly shook his head. "Okay, this is all too much to take in. You're telling us that there's a new Demon King. And then you tell us he's the same age as Taeko? What's next, the two were once friends, or something?" He had asked, a slightly exasperated tone in his voice.