Demon Slayer: The Strange Demon

by Blackdrag-rose


Mizunoto: Rest and Discovery

With Kyogai defeated, and the Boar knocked out for a time, Pinkamena left Tanjiro and Zenitsu to talk to the children and bury the ones who had been slain inside the mansion, where she found that her crow was resting on a nearby branch, no doubt to get out of the way in case their new friend attacked her, and quickly made her report on the situation, making sure to give her crow every detail it needed. As much as one would be tempted to take credit for killing a former Kisuki, given the sheer power that one of them had to possess, she made her report as she witnessed it, Zenitsu took out a Demon despite falling unconscious during battle, the Boar hunted down another one and tore it down like it was nothing, and both she and Tanjiro fought the former Kizuki on his own turf, her providing a distraction while Tanjiro killed him. She made no mention of the blood she acquired, nor did the crow ask about it, as both of their crows had been asked not to reveal Tamayo or her plans to make a cure just yet, because she had a feeling that there might be those in the Corps who would be unhappy if all of the Demons suddenly disappeared, so for now only she and Tanjiro knew about it, while their crows remained silent on the matter. Once she was done making her report on this mission, and the crow departed for their headquarters, she leapt up into the tree for some time and rested there, allowing Tanjiro to put Zenitsu as they and the children tended to the fallen boy, allowing her to keep an eye out for any intruders that might be seeking the boy who happened to have rare blood in his veins, which they had to deal with as well at some point.

Eventually the Boar woke up screaming, why she had no idea, and she found that Tanjiro and Zenitsu had prepared a bed of sorts for him to rest in while they were working on a grave, though he seemed more interested in fighting than helping the fallen, hence why he was focused on Tanjiro and no one else right now, but she did learn that his name was Inosuke Hashibira, meaning he was capable of reading and speaking. Of course the interesting thing was that Tanjiro's head had sustained no damage from his initial attack, meaning his forehead was much harder than one might expect, though it did look like he was going to have some miscommunication with Tanjiro when they talked about the grave, which she tuned out as she waited for the crow to arrive. Apparently everyone knew that he was trying to get Inosuke involved in burying all of the slain people who were inside the mansion, and soon enough she found that all the bodies, three to be exact, were placed in the ground, causing her to focus solely on the sky as her crow returned with news, good news this time around, causing her to jump down and join the others once more. The first thing they were supposed to do was give Kiyoshi a bag of Wisteria, a pouch he could wear at all times to ward off any and all Demons who tried to come at him in the future, so at least he and his siblings could be safe once more, causing them to wish Tanjiro and the others farewell before departing, but after that Pinkamena beckoned for the others to join her and the crows as they headed for their next destination, even if she was keeping it a secret right now.

While they walked Inosuke, oddly enough, talked about his past and told them some things about himself, like the fact that he grew up in the mountains and didn't have any family that he knew of, though they knew that he had to have a mother and father, otherwise he never would have been born in the first place, and let him talk since it allowed them to have a bit of noise before they reached their destination. Another thing he did while they walked was occasionally lash at the trees, as in he headbutted one every now and then, no doubt adapting to Tanjiro's attack and had to trying to make it so he had a new way to show his dominance over everything around him, though since he wasn't interested in helping Tanjiro, as he walked without a care, Tanjiro carried the box in front of him with Zenitsu on his back. They then learned a few more things about Inosuke, that he had acquired his blades from a few Demon Slayers he had tested in the past, and it had lead to him finding out about the Final Selection, hence why he charged in, demonstrated his Beast Breathing to a few worthy Demons, and then charged out to find more enemies to pit his strength against, though he had returned at the end of the Final Selection to listen to the little children and some of their statements before leaving again. He also had a habit of either mispronouncing names or did it intentionally to piss off someone he wanted to fight, as Tanjiro told him his name and Inosuke called him 'Gonbachiro Kamaboku', confusing Pinkamena's friend for a moment before he realized the meaning behind the words, even though their conversation seemed to annoy a resting Zenitsu as he screamed for them to stop shouting at each other.

Pinkamena, on the other hand, found that Inosuke was more respectful around her, as while he wanted to fight her, just like how he wanted to face Tanjiro at some point in time, he knew that she was far stronger than Tanjiro was and didn't attempt to give her a ridiculous name, meaning his senses were far sharper than she originally thought and had to take a moment to wonder what would happen if they fought each other, before turning her attention back to the road that they were being lead down.


As it turned out the crows lead them down the road for some time, to the point where it became night, before coming to a stop outside a large house that had a decent sized fence surrounding it, which happened to have a front door that had the symbol of the Wisteria flower on it, something that told Pinkamena and the others that they were in the presence of allies this time around, though Tanjiro and the others hadn't figured out what was going on.

"Rest! Rest!" the crows stated, where they circled around the group for a few moments, with Pinkamena's landing on her arm for a time so it could speak to all of them, even though Zenitsu's sparrow still seemed out of place, causing the others to pause for a moment as they realized what it was saying right now, where a smile graced her face as she noticed how shocked Tanjiro and the others were, "The injured will rest until fully healed!"

Tanjiro was surprised by that fact, especially since he had faced Kyogai with injuries and hadn't gotten a chance to recover after facing Muzan's Demons in Asakusa, though that was when the door opened and an elderly lady stepped out, whose grey hair was tied in a bun and she wore a plain maroon kimono, but she did welcome them to her house, despite the fact that Inosuke thought she was weak and Zenitsu thought she was a monster, given that she quickly prepared a meal for all of them and had beds ready for them as well. The crows informed them that those with the crest were allies to the Corps, as they maintained rest houses that Demon Slayers could rest in recover in, meaning people like the lady saved the lives of those who fought Demons, all without asking for anything in return, meaning it was more about repaying them for their actions in the past. The old lady also called for a doctor, likely another ally of the Corps, to come and check on Tanjiro and the others, though where each of them changed into more casual clothing before Pinkamena discovered that all three of her companions had broken ribs, Inosuke had four and the bump on his head, Tanjiro had three, and Zenitsu, somehow, had two despite the lack of fighting he did in the mansion. Once that was done they were free to eat and rest up before their next mission, where they discovered that Inosuke ate like a barbarian, which made sense considering the fact that he grew up in the mountains and likely hadn't been taught anything, by those he encountered during his travels across this land, but, since the old lady prepared four meals, Pinkamena pulled her mask to the side as she joined them.

What she discovered was that she was able to actually eat Human food, as she had been told that being a Demon meant that such a thing would have been impossible, hence why Sakonji focused on making sure Tanjiro had everything he might need to keep at his training without collapsing from starvation, where she got some looks from Zenitsu, who was studying her more than others had done in the past.

"I had no idea you could eat Human food, Pinkamena," Tanjiro commented, because he had spent two years training with her and had never seen her eat anything during that period of time, making him believe everything Sakonji told him about Demons and their habits, information that his companion gained as well so she could learn more about her kind, even if she was different from the other Demons.

"Neither did I... and now I regret not tasting some of the food we've seen in the past." Pinkamena replied, though she had to admit that the food that had been prepared was rather tasty, which seemed to be either fried food or well seasoned food, all while Inosuke seemed eager to pull Tanjiro into a fight and ate some of his food, only to growl in annoyance when he offered him another piece, as if he was so hungry he should eat his fill, causing her to chuckle, as these guys were fun to be with and watch every now and then.

"You know, that reminds me... Tanjiro, why are you walking around with two Demons?" Zenitsu asked, figuring that now might be the best time to ask the question that had been bothering him, even though he was bothered by the fact that the sun's rays did no damage to Pinkamena while they were walking towards the mansion and this house, meaning if they had to face her she was likely going to wipe the floor with them.

"My sister, Nezuko, was turned into a Demon and we're trying to cure her... Pinkamena, on the other hand, isn't bound to the traditional definitions of a Demon and wants to bring down their leader," Tanjiro answered, which was the truth, his friend was traveling with him so they could bring down the Kizuki, grow in power as they fought stronger Demons, and, at some point in time, take down Muzan to free this world from his darkness, before he considered something as Inosuke continued his eating.

Zenitsu, of course, didn't appreciate being called strong, as Tanjiro made a comment about it when he tapped his nose for a few seconds and told him what he smelled, and he didn't like the fact that he couldn't find someone to take him out of this nightmare, like the girls he had passed by previously, and when they were done eating he found that the box was now opening, causing Tanjiro to smile as Nezuko came out. Of course Pinkamena found that Zenitsu was annoyed by what he discovered when he laid eyes on her, apparently forgetting that she was Tanjiro's sister and not a girlfriend or fiancee, to which Pinkamena finished her own meal, replaced the mask once more, and headed out to make sure the house was safe from Demons, since she was the only Demon Slayer who could fight right now. There was another reason for her wanting to separate herself from the others, in addition to wanting to get out of there before Zenitsu threw a fit over everything he had been through so far, as she jumped up onto the roof and extracted part of Kyogai's body as she sat down, because while she was pleased with her discovery she was still a Demon and needed flesh to survive, which she normally ate out of sight so it didn't bother Tanjiro. Of course over the next couple of minutes she heard Tanjiro and Zenitsu arguing, as it did look like the latter was utterly annoyed by the fact that he had guarded Nezuko's box and seemed to be misunderstanding the situation he had discovered, so she waited for some time, to see if they were going to tune it down and actually get a bit of sleep, to recover and prepare for whatever the future held.

She maintained her sitting for an hour before flashing back down into the room and struck Zenitsu in the back of the neck before he could react, allowing her to put him in the bedroll prepared for him as Tanjiro and Inosuke got some sleep, to which she returned to her post and silently ate her other meal, allowing her to maintain her Demonic power and grow it at the same time, all while feeling a surge of power after devouring a former Kizuki's blood.

Pinkamena, feeling that happen to her, closed her eyes for a moment as she shifted between worlds once more, returning to her domain without delay, where she reappeared near the Storehouse and paused for a moment as she noticed that a new addition had appeared nearby, part of Pinkie's version of Ponyville had returned to her mindscape and it looked like a few ponies were wandering around again. That told her something interesting, the more power she gained, by devouring more of Muzan's blood, the stronger her hold on this world became, likely influencing Chaos World as well when she took a moment to think about it, though as she walked down the street she noticed something else, part of this world was no longer what she remembered from her time in Pinkie's mind. Resting off to the side was a mansion that looked exactly like Kyogai's, an interesting thing when she thought about it, and as such she walked over to it to see what was going on, even though she had a feeling that her time in this world was influencing her mindscape in some manner, reflecting the houses and buildings she had been in since surviving her encounter with Muzan, who likely had no idea she was the one she met by the riverside two years ago. What she discovered was a figure who looked a lot like Kyogai, only he wore a kimono that was dark green with white lines separating it, sitting in what had to be the porch of the mansion and seemed to be playing his drums once more, though sitting next to him were his manuscripts, his stories that he tried to write before becoming a Demon and joining Muzan's forces.

"Kyogai?" Pinkamena asked, as this was something she wasn't expecting, because while part of her had been expecting to regain control over Pinkie's created mindscape, or even make her own for that matter, she wasn't expecting to find one of the Demons she and Tanjiro had killed residing in the outskirts of her world, where the former Demon looked up for a few seconds and smiled, as he seemed more Human since the color had returned to his skin, where she found that he had light blue colored eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the newest arrival... Susamaru explained things to me." Kyogai replied, where she found that he sounded happy about what had happened to him, because she and Tanjiro had treated him, his writing, and his Blood Demon Art well, instead of treating him like trash and dismissing him, though this information caused her to raise an eyebrow for a few seconds, due to the fact that this was the first time she was learning about all of this, "From what we've discovered the Demons that you have slain and collected, regardless of whether or not you actually dealt the finishing blow, end up in this place, due to the fact that you take in all of our blood... Yahaba thinks part of your Blood Demon Art creates echoes of those whose blood you have taken in."

"Huh, that makes sense... at least in the context of Chaos World." Pinkamena commented, because Tamayo had told them about the curse that Muzan put in his blood, so he could crush those who mentioned anything having to do with his name, something their demonic ally had wiped out so she and Yushiro didn't have to worry about while she, on the other hand, had no worries about such a thing, since her unique nature prevented such a thing from happening in the first place, but she had to pause for a second, "Wait... did you say 'we'? Is every Demon I've collected here?"

Kyogai nodded his head for a moment, showing her that she understood this part of her power, a part she was only now finding out about, and explained that the former Demons were residing inside his mansion, which was connected to her power and expanded for every newcomer who joined them, meaning every Demon whose body rested on the other side of the mindscape, in the Storehouse, had a room in this place. One thing he told her was that they had visitors from time to time, as it appeared that before he showed up there was no home for them, so by taking in Kyogai, whose power had been tied to his mansion, it gave the echoes of the Demons a place to live, and it appeared that most of them chose their Human forms, instead of appearing as their twisted selves. The visitors happened to be the ponies she had seen earlier, who were also new in her mindscape since she was sure they hadn't been here the last time she stopped by for a visit, but instead of being frightened all of them seemed happy to have newcomers, likely taking in her knowledge of this world and acting upon it, and some wanted to interact with Kyogai and the others. In fact, a pair had come by and had taken a look at his writing, plus his drumming, meaning they were interested in what he had to share and how he could improve, instead of being shunned like those from the world he had left behind, and that wasn't counting what the others experienced after their arrival in this odd spiritual world.

Sure enough she found Susamaru playing around with Yahaba, who didn't seem worried about his clothing and it was due to the fact that he actually had a second set, so one for playing and one for casual, while most of the others seemed to be focusing on other things, like how a young man who looked like the Swamp Demon seemed to be tending to some plants, no doubt connected to his power in some manner. The former Horned and Tongue figures, however, seemed to be in the middle of a game with each other, playing a game of this world that she wasn't familiar with at all, while the Hand Demon appeared to be meditating with a shrine full of fox masks, no doubt reflecting on his actions and paying respects to those who had fallen during the Final Selections he had been apart of. In fact it looked like part of the Demon Mansion, as she was going to call it, was dedicated to those the Demons had eaten when they were alive, showing that some regretted all of their actions since accepting Muzan's blood, especially the Hand Demon, who appeared to be the one who started this trend once everyone had a room of their own to call home. Even the Swamp Demon, who had been killing young girls as soon as they came of age, seemed to have some sort of remorse and guilt for his previous actions, in fact when she walked into the new mansion, which was clean and orderly, she found that he was staring at a picture of a young girl who had to be sixteen, making her wonder if he had killed someone important to him and the Demon blood altered him in some way to match his grief.

When she thought about that even Kyogai had a picture of his editor, someone he didn't like very much, set up with all of the pictures she had seen, and the Hand Demon duplicated his own pictures, one set for his room and each matched the mask that each child had worn, while the other went to the mass shrine, causing her to smile for a moment as she saw it, as it seemed like taking Muzan out of this equation improved their personalities.

"You know, while it was foolish of us to attack you, I don't regret it... not after all of this," Susamaru commented, seeing her walk through the mansion and take in everything that was happening to the Demons she had slain, not to mention taken to her Storehouse, where the young girl seemed to be happy, not in the murderous manner that had been caused by all of the blood she had been given, "I wonder what will happen when you face one of the true Kizuki... their blood with likely do wonders for you and this marvelous world."

"I'm already thinking ahead, to what that means for everything," Pinkamena replied, taking a moment to look up at the sky for a time, as the sun was out and those who had been Demons were unharmed by it's rays, no doubt another ability of Chaos World when she thought about it, before she turned towards the area that the Storehouse rested in before letting out a sigh, "however, it's time that I got back to the waking world... I have a feeling I might run into a Kizuki soon, and that I'll need to be ready for such a fight."

Susamaru said nothing as Pinkamena faded from her new mindscape and returned to the waking world, where she found that it was still nighttime and that the others were sleeping without a care in the world, to which she waited there for some time and found that her crow was returning, no doubt to send her out while her friends and comrades rested, and she did so without delay, allowing herself to grow stronger while she waited to see what the future held for them.