Solar Blade

Replacement

"What do you mean it's gone?" Tanjiro asked, searching around the clearing.

His mind began to race furiously. Would that mean... [Name] was without a weapon? No, that wasn't right! They needed a blade to behead demons! But Tanjiro saw [Name] upholding a stoic expression. He was never sure what they were thinking. They could either be overthinking and panicking on the inside or indifferent.

[Name] crossed their arms and sighed, and their eyes told Tanjiro that they weren't telling him something. Were they hiding more from him? Hiding an overpowered weapon was one thing, and now they had the nerve to keep something else from him? No way.

"[Name]? You're hiding it, aren't you?" Tanjiro asked.

"No. I've no idea where it is. But I'll survive," [Name] spoke calmly.

Tanjiro flinched, hearing their words. Did they really have no faith in finding the blade? Wait, why did he care? He wanted it gone in the first place. He shook his head, trying to remove any thoughts he knew would confuse him further. But how would [Name] survive? Were they just that strong? If their achievements had been achieved with a demonic blade, he assumed not.

"You're going to die."

"No I'm not."

"Yes. You. Are."

[Name] scrunched up their brows, before turning their head away from Tanjiro. He didn't believe in them at all, did he? They'd show him. They didn't need a fancy 'Douma-Sword' to do so. They reached into their pockets, finding the needles that they had almost forgotten about. [Name] squinted at a tip of a needle, before deciding that these were flimsy and useless. It seemed they'd have to steal a blade from a corpse.

"Tanjiro, do you smell any bodies?" [Name] asked, shooting up to their feet.

"What? Yes, but what for?" Tanjiro asked, pointing in the general direction he was detecting the scents from.

[Name] and Tanjiro began moving towards the scent of the decaying bodies as they began to explain, "I have a feeling there will be many a sword laying around for me to... acquire."

Tanjiro paused, comprehending [Name]'s words. They were going to... steal a blade?

"What, no! You can't do that!" Tanjiro protested, trying to grab them.

[Name] shook him off, walking further towards the rotten scent of bodies. "Says who? The body?"

Tanjiro sighs, before giving in. [Name] didn't care what they did. As long as their survival was ensured, they'd go to any measures. After a few minutes, [Name] came across a body, its arms torn off and a portion of the head missing. Blood oozed out into the ground, as bugs rushed towards it. [Name] grimaced as they turned the body over, squelching sounds coming from the body. [Name] quickly grabbed the blade that was still inside its scabbard, before slipping it into their scabbard. After that, [Name] hurried Tanjiro away from the area, as a demon soon emerged, continuing its meal on the applicant.

Now that they had reached the top of the mountain, it was time to reach the bottom of the mountain. They both decided to split up, realising that one slowed the other down. [Name] was quite distracted, the hope of finding their blade again hot in their mind.

As they continued down the mountain, a cold aura clung to them. They held out their new sword in front of them, cautiously descending the mountain. It was strange, getting used to a blade that didn't shine a bright blue. They took in a deep breath, before bursting through the trees. As the scenery flashed past them, they stuck their blade back into the scabbard, only for it to not fit properly. With a groan, [Name] looked down to their scabbard... to find that another sword already occupied it.

With wide eyes, [Name] dropped the stolen blade, and unsheathed the blade that already sat inside the scabbard that should've been empty. To their shock, a bright blue hue met their eyes, and the same demonic scent. They froze on the spot, staring at the blade. Yet, when they looked in the sword, they could see their eyes... with a rainbow pair right above them. Spinning around, [Name] was met with Douma's face, the face they wanted to punch more and more every time they saw him.

"Ah! How is the little snowflake bearing?" Douma asked with a grin on his face.

"Little snowflake?" [Name] asked, before knitting their brows, "I'm fine."

"Hmm, your clenched teeth tell me otherwise. Are you angry?" Douma asked, touching [Name]'s nose.

"If you touch me I'l-"

"You'll what? Curl up and rock yourself to sleep? Run back to your brother? Stitch a kimono back together while sobbing into it?" Douma mocked, earning a punch in his jaw, served by [Name].

His eyes widened, and he rubbed his jaw, not expecting that. Perhaps, they didn't need the blade after all. But he admitted, he deserved that punch Perhaps stitching a kimono together was a bit too far. But his response was nothing near apologetic.

"Oh, hush. You're overreacting. What's making you angry?" Douma asked.

"I'm not angry. I'm... confused," [Name] spoke quietly.

Douma's brow lifted. Confused? [Name] could see the question marks in his eyes, so they figured out that they had to somehow spell it out for him. Oh this would be so much easier with Tanjiro here.

"I'm confused because... I lost your blade. But then, it's suddenly back in my scabbard again!" [Name] reiterated.

"Ahh, that makes sense. And you're right. That is confusing. To put it shortly... I stole it," Douma chuckled.

"Hm, I figured. But why?!" [Name] asked, their voice exploding at that last sentence.

"Well, I realised that it's quite a giveaway of my presence. So what I did was simply remove my scent with wisteria," Douma answered.

That was... a good explanation. [Name]'s shoulders slumped, disappointed that he hadn't given an unreasonable response. Another chance for a punch wasted. They crossed their arms, tilting their head. If sticking the blade in wisteria was all that needed to be done, it would be quite simple to remove the scent. Perhaps they would make a new scabbard, the inside somehow incorporating wisteria. What a useful plant.

"Oh... thanks," [Name] muttered.

"Oh? What was that? I didn't quite catch that," Douma cooed while placing his hand to his ear, [Name] knowing very well that he heard what they said.

"No. Go away now," [Name] spat.

"Oh well, be like that then," he responded, before disappearing into the trees again.

𐙚˙⋆.˚

After a few minutes of walking, Tanjiro found himself at the bottom of the mountain. [Name] wasn't here yet. Where were they? There were only 3 other candidates here. A boy with a large scar across his face and a buzz cut and flap of hair in the middle of his head. A girl with short, thin black hair and a pretty butterfly ornament fastened in her hair. And finally, a blond haired boy wearing an equally bright yellow haori. Why were there only 4 people? Weren't there around 20 towards the beginning. Yet, something was wrong. Where was [Name]?

Tanjiro walked forward, booking around the small group. [Name] was nowhere to be seen. Their smell wasn't in the area. Had they not yet reached the area yet? Had they been... killed? Tanjiro heart latched onto his ribs as his eyes widened, realising what the situation could be. Yet, he feels a palm striking him across the bad of the head. He pivots around, seeing [Name]'s face with a smile on their face. 

What? You thought I died?" [Name] chortled, "Brother, you should know that I don't die easily."

A/N

Helllooo. After being away for a while, I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of a schedule again! (Ha- watch me ditch you guys again... jk jk). Anyways, so um... [Name]'s frickin sword is back. If I actually finish this, I'll make them snap the sword. WAIT I'll make them do it in Douma's face as well! 

Question: Who's got the best hair in KNY? (I'm running out of questions guys help me)

Taisho Era Secret: Nezuko is learning how to play chess. She wants to play with her siblings when they get back. Little does she know... you can't play chess with 3 people.