Demon Slayer: The Strange Demon

by Blackdrag-rose


Interlude: Convincing Battle

Pinkamena said nothing for a few moments as her power finished bringing them into her personal world, where she put them on the outskirts of everything else, that way whatever happened next wouldn't bother the rest of the residents of this world, even though an echo of Oyakata's mansion formed around them, and once her Blood Demon Art was done she found Sanemi pointing his blade at her.

"What did you do to us, Demon?" Sanemi asked, though as he did that the rest of the Hashira, save for Giyu, stood up and faced her as well, most keeping their blades sheathed while waiting to see what happened between them, but she was a little impressed that he was maintaining a sense of calm after discovering that a Demon was nearby.

"I activated my Blood Demon Art, bringing us to a place where what we say won't be heard by those who shouldn't know what's been said," Pinkamena replied, where she stood up and watched as Sanemi's blade followed her, informing her that he saw her as an enemy now and no longer considered her a Demon Slayer, to which she raised a hand and pulled the mask off to the side, showing them her true face, "my power is known as 'Chaos World', which allows me to bend reality to my will, so if I wanted to bring us to a safe place, such as this world, it is within my power to do so... if I want to heal your arm, I can do so... if I want to give Oyakata his sight back, I can do that while he's here."

Sanemi paused for a moment as the cuts he made on his body, to attract Nezuko to his blood, healed before his eyes, as he likely assumed that she would have lashed out at him once her power was activated, though her words caused him and the others to turn their eyes back to where the Leader of the Demon Slayers rested, discovering that the rot was no longer over his light purple eyes.

"I... I can see!" Oyakata said, surprising the Hashira and the young girls that were sitting near him, where he took his time taking in the area they were currently in, no doubt because it had been years since he had been able to see anything with his eyes, given the rate of the rot, before he focused on Pinkamena, "Even though Sakonji spoke highly of you in all the letters he sent, convincing us that you were to be trusted, it's nice to finally meet you and see you, even if the latter is only temporary. I am Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the current head of the family that has been waging war against Kibutsuji, and these are two of my children, Hinaki and Nichika Ubuyashiki, though I have three more that you've met the most of... I've been told that I have a soothing voice and a charismatic personality. You... you are a unique Demon, and we are lucky to have you on our side."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Kagaya," Pinkamena replied, as she had a feeling that he didn't like being known by all of the titles that went to someone who ruled over an organization like this, and that he allowed them to call him 'Oyakata' in place of the other titles, likely to put their minds at ease or something, though she suspected that it was okay for her to speak like this, given his attitude towards her, "Like I said, this newfound sight will only last while you're in my world, and I'm also stopping the rot from spreading while we're here, but I'm afraid that there's not much else I can do to aid you... Chaos World isn't strong enough to do such a thing while maintaining my sun protection. Basically, my power is active at all times, keeping me safe from the power of the sun..."

"So you aren't playing fair." Obanai stated, where he stepped forward and joined Sanemi, while the others stood off to the side as they observed what was going on at the moment, though he hadn't drawn his blade yet, making her wonder what he was up to, all while this information must have shocked the others, even if it wasn't the whole truth, "You're like a snake in the grass... how can we trust what you are telling us?"

"Because I gain nothing from lying to all of you." Pinkamena stated, causing the two Hashira in front of her to raise their eyebrows for a moment, no doubt because they weren't expecting her to say such a thing, but the others seemed eager to hear what she had to say on the matter, all while Tanjiro remained near his sister's box, "If I wanted to keep myself hidden, and learn more about the organization's key points, I wouldn't have revealed that I was a Demon to your Leader, but by telling the truth, that I'm a Demon whose not bound to Muzan's will like the rest of my kind and that I'm willing to fight my own kind to keep Humans safe, I might gain acceptance. All I desire is keeping humanity safe, which means using both my Blood Demon Art and my Breathing Style to do battle with those that like killing Humans... namely the Lower and Upper Moons that serve Muzan... even if my true goal is the end of the Demon King."

Of course the one thing that she didn't tell the truth about was the fact that she had conquered the sun shortly after she became a Demon, though such a thing would raise questions and might spread rumors to Muzan, so for now she wanted everyone to think that it was her power giving her a unique edge over the other Demons and she could see that several of the Hashira were considering the benefits of having her on their side.

"You are a fool for thinking that you would get away with this, that we'd allow you to leave with your life." Sanemi said, to which several eyes rested on him for a moment as he sliced open his arm once more, showing them that he was using the same trick he used on Nezuko, causing him to smirk as both he and Obanai stared at her, no doubt thinking that they knew something no one else knew, "My blood is special, Demon, as none of your kind can resist the aroma of it once it has been spilled... except that brat, which will annoy me to no end."

"Oh, so you're one of the Marechi that Kyogai was talking about," Pinkamena replied, where she had to admit that Sanemi was telling the truth about the situation, the aroma of his blood was enough to make certain Demons come over and see what was going on, or it would have if they were in the waking world, though to counter that she summoned part of Rui, an arm, and tore into it for a moment, surprising them as she swallowed part of her meal, "however, I'm not drawn to the blood of Humans, like the rest of my kind are... rather I'm capable of sustaining myself on the blood and meat of Demons, hence why you don't have to worry about me attacking Humans. When I fight Demons I snatch the fallen body parts and drop them in part of this world, giving me a stockpile of food for later, and it even applies to those I didn't fight..."

In that moment Sanemi growled and rushed at her, apparently not caring about those that were around her, to which she sighed and flashed through the air, where the others found that she was standing behind the Hashira, stopping him in his tracks before he could do anything to her, causing her to move her food back to the Storehouse.

"It's rude to attack while someone is talking," Pinkamena stated, where she stepped to the side and walked away from the area that Kagaya was resting in, because it seemed like Sanemi wanted to fight and she was more than happy to oblige, as it would give her a chance to see what made the Hashira different from the rest of the Demon Slayers, where they silently watched as she formed a grassy plain for them to fight each other in, "There, now we have an arena to fight in, so if you want to face me we won't have to worry about harming Kagaya and the rest of the watchers... but be warned, I won't go easy on you. Also, just a word of warning, you'll find something interesting happening as we fight each other."

Sanemi said nothing as he walked into the area Pinkamena had prepared for them, though she also found that Obanai was with him and was in the middle of drawing his blade, to which she said nothing as she kept her mask off her face and carefully drew her blade, while noticing that Tanjiro and the others were gathering near the copy of Kagaya's mansion, to watch and observe them. In that moment Sanemi rushed forward, at a rather blinding speed that would leave any normal Demon or Demon Slayer caught off guard, where the wind gathered around his blade as he slashed in what seemed like a horizontal cyclone pattern, coming out as a cyclone that cut into the ground as well. Sanemi and Obanai were surprised by what they were seeing, as this wasn't something any of them were expecting to see when they engaged her, though that was when Pinkamena shifted her stance and unleashed her own Breathing Style, focusing on the First Form as she swung her blade and slashed his attack apart. Based on what she knew that was the First Form of Wind Breathing, called Dust Whirlwind Cutter if memory served, though she learned that from Sakonji and it was confirmed when Sanemi came to a stop for a few seconds, mostly to think about what she had done to stop his attack.

Most of her knowledge on the other Breathing Styles came from her mentor and the time he spent with the slayers that learned the other techniques that could be learned, while this confirmed what she knew about the other styles, but as she thought about that Obanai rushed at her, allowing her to find that his blade was winding like a snake, and he moved like one as well. It was an interesting technique as she swung her sword at him, their blades meeting as Obanai's slashes came at her in a winding pattern, something that was different from what she was used to and it allowed him to cut into both of her shoulders before she pushed him backwards. The Serpent Breathing techniques were new to her, as there was next to no information on it and that meant Obanai had to be the only wielder of it, or at least the only one that mattered, and her second foe said that the technique he used was also the First Form of his style, named Winding Serpent Slash, but that was when he and Sanemi changed their stances as they rushed at her. It became clear that they were trying to layer their attacks on top of each other and confuse her, so she would be unable to defend herself, and she quickly realized what the Hashira were aiming for, so she shifted her body so her arms and shoulders would take the hit while saving her neck, as she was sure that being beheaded would kill her anyway.

"I can tell you guys don't like me, since you keep aiming at my head." Pinkamena commented, which she knew because of the fact that they were treating her like a Demon and not one of their own allies, though as she said that, and both of her foes readied themselves for another round, she raised her open hand and grasped her mask, "Very well, I guess I'll fight you in my true form."

Sanemi, Obanai, and the others watched as she moved the fox mask in front of her face and then yanked her hand back, as if she was doing something, causing some energy to envelop her for a few seconds before it pulled away, revealing her fox form to them. One thing the pair noted was that the bits of energy had been crimson colored, meaning she had to be using her Blood Demon Arts now, though as they considered that Pinkamena shifted her stance as she focused on one of her other techniques, because a few of her Chaos Breathing techniques hadn't been used yet, or at least since the day she made and perfected them. Such as the Fourth Form: Mirror Strike Tide, which mimicked the motions of Water Breathing's own Fourth Form, though the key difference was that hers knocked the incoming attacks back at her opponents, which had been designed for when she faced off against some of the stronger Demons, such as the Upper Moons. In fact such a power came in useful as Kyojuro charged into battle, unleashing a series of powerful slashes that she suspected was the Fifth Form of Flame Breathing, Flame Tiger, and sure enough his attacks formed a flaming tiger that rushed at her, though her movements struck it and knocked the creation backwards.

What she discovered was that none of the other Hashira moved to join the fight, simply watching her as she fought those that were in front of her, though Kyojuro, on the other hand, seemed to sense that she was an ally and wanted to test her strength with his own blade, to the point where she spun around and knocked all three of them backwards, just to give herself some space.

"I have to say, fighting you guys is rather intense, but I'm afraid that this battle is going to end soon," Pinkamena stated, a fact that was followed by the three Hashira appearing surprised, or at least Kyojuro was and the other two didn't seem to care at all, to which she held her right arm out and gripped her weapon as she focused her energies on what she wanted to do, "Allow me to explain something: Chaos Breathing has ten Forms, each designed to face Demons without causing any damage to the environment around me, since I want to save Humans and take down Muzan... however, while I was in the middle of creating those ten Forms I also created an eleventh, one that is far too dangerous to use in the cities and the more populated places our enemies might be hiding in."

In the following moment her energy surged, a mass of crimson energy wrapping around her blade while surging all over the area she was standing in, though the act of her doing that caused the three Hashira to stop as everyone watched what she was doing. Pinkamena had practiced this Form in her personal realm, hence why Tanjiro had no idea what was going on right now and was as surprised as everyone else, which was how she knew it was more dangerous than the moves she had used so far, something they would understand soon enough. While she did that she also used a bit of her power to alter the form of her Mindscape, adding a mountain off to her left, though as they realized that she could do that as well, even if it should have been obvious due to her earlier actions, she got ready and shifted her stance. Sure enough the three Hashira thought they might be her targets, which was a good thought to have since they were in the middle of a fight, but her true target was the mountain as she swung her blade, releasing a crescent wave of crimson energy that surprised the people that were around her as it rushed towards her true target.

By the time her technique was over the upper half of the mountain was gone, totally erased thanks to her actions, and she could see that many were surprised by her attack, even Kagaya was shocked by her technique, especially when he took a moment to consider what it would mean if she used it in a populated area.

"Chaos Breathing, Eleventh Form: Lunar Fang." Pinkamena said, where she made sure the lingering bits of the technique were no longer attached to her blade before sheathing it, while seeing that all of the observers were surprised by this turn of events, something she was expecting after the display of her true power, "Like I said, this Form is too dangerous to use in battle, since we either fight in crowed spaces or heavily populated areas, so if I used it I would hurt, probably kill, all the innocent Humans that are in the vicinity... if I did that, without caring about the innocents, it would make me the same as Muzan and those that serve him."

"And I believe her, so we will treat Pinkamena as an ally in our battle against Muzan," Kagaya stated, as Pinkamena had, in the moments after finishing her attack, brought them back to the copy of his resting place, something that Hashira to stop for a second and sheath their blades, showing that they acknowledged his statement, even if most still didn't trust her, so she would have to convince them in due time, "Now then, I think its time we returned to our reality."

Pinkamena nodded as she recalled her power, where everyone watched as the barrier fell apart and disappeared within a matter of seconds, all while the rot and blindness returned to Kagaya, who didn't seem annoyed, rather he accepted its return, and once everyone was done she reverted back to her pony form as she pulled the mask the mask to the side, and as soon as that was done the Hashira knelt before their leader once more.

"I know that, despite this, many of you and our comrades won't accept two Demons as our allies, so to prove that you are here to save Humans you must force them to acknowledge you," Kagaya continued, which Pinkamena had been expecting for some time, as some of the Hashira didn't care for her and a few, like Giyu and Rengoku, already approved of them, or at least her, before he considered what he had to say, "Defeat the Twelve Kizuki... do that and the gravity of your words will changed, to the point where many will accept that you are allies."

Before Pinkamena could acknowledge the command, and begin to wonder about when she would find the next member of the Kizuki, Tanjiro informed them all that he wouldn't stop at the Lower and Upper Moons, he'd kill Muzan as well, just to convince the others that he and Nezuko were on humanity's side. As Kagaya told him to focus on the Kizuki, since his current strength wasn't enough to take down the Demon King, Pinkamena noticed that a few of the Hashira were resisting the urge to chuckle or laugh, no doubt believing that Tanjiro was foolish for announcing such a thing. As Kagaya went on about the Hashira and their talents, however, the only member who seemed to approve of Tanjiro's words was Kyojuro, in fact he seemed to be smiling after seeing Tanjiro's determination to save innocent people, and free his sister from the fate that had thrust upon her. In that moment she decided that she liked the Flame Hashira, far more than the others at the very least, and had to wonder what might happen in the future, once they were no longer at this meeting, where she had a feeling that he might seek her out in the future, but decided to shelve the thought for the time being as they moved onto the next topic, the Pillar Meeting they had gathered to hold.

Of course she and Tanjiro weren't Hashira and that meant they had to be taken away, so two of the Kakushi came in and carried off her companion and Nezuko's box, though Kagaya did tell her to give Tamayo his regards, where she chuckled a little as she left the Hashira to their meeting and left the area they were in. Or at least they tried to since Tanjiro made an attempt to stop the Kakushi from leaving, though it was put to an end by Muichiro loosing a few pebbles at his forehead, as interrupting Kagaya, in his eyes, was worthy of being punished, and being stunned allowed the Kakushi to take Tanjiro away before he got them in trouble. What Pinkamena discovered was that the pair of Kakushi were annoyed with her friend and, as they departed from the mansion, demanded that he apologize for filling their hearts with terror, since they were afraid that the Hashira would punish them for his outburst, though she tuned them out as well. She considered the movements of Kyojuro and the other Hashira as the meeting about her and Tanjiro ended, as Shinobu had motioned for her followers to collect Tanjiro without moving that much, save for a single clap that seemed to be the signal, but at least her friend could rest up and ready himself for whatever the future held for them.

It took them some time to depart from the area that the mansion was in and return to the Butterfly Mansion, where they found Kanao hanging out in the garden, unaware of what and who might be around her, while one of the girls in charge of the injured, Aoi Kanzaki she recalled, found them and ordered the Kakushi to bring Tanjiro to a bed.

Sure enough it didn't take Pinkamena long to hear Zenitsu shouting about something, where it seemed like he was against the treatment he was being forced to endure, to heal the poison and wounds he had suffered after facing off against one of the spider Demons, the 'brother' she recalled. Aoi was able to shut Zenitsu up with a brief shout of her own, something that caused him to cower under his bed sheets and hoped that she would leave in due time, though it didn't last long as both he and Tanjiro got into a conversation, where the loudness was cut down by Aoi simply glaring at him. Inosuke, who was resting nearby, didn't say much and when he did talk it sounded like his voice had been altered, only for them to find that his throat had been crushed, meaning the Spider Father had done a lot of damage to him after she and Tanjiro went to find Rui, his 'Mother', and his 'sister', but she was happy to see that he was alive. From what she could see all three of them had suffered a variety of injuries during their time on Mount Natagumo, some minor and a few major, but based on everything she was seeing Pinkamena could tell that they should, in due time, make a full recovery so they could head out and continue their duties.

Of course she knew that they would have visitors in due time, since Tanjiro had saved some of their allies before the lot of them went deeper into the mountain and found Rui's family, and that they would have to train to make sure their bodies were in peak condition, but for now she watched over the Butterfly Mansion as she waited for some orders to arrive, due to her being the only one capable of work, and wondered what her next foe would be like.