《Avatar : The Last Airbender x Demon Slayer》
Y/N L/N. A humble girl from a small village, seemingly loved by the townspeople, suddenly runs away one night.
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After encountering a peculiar boy and his demon sister, they jo...
○ Chapter 43 : ○ ○ "Forest of Eternity : Part I" ○
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"Ready to go?" I ask Inosuke, having just finished getting my things.
"W-What the hell happened to your uniform?!" He points at me.
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"Your sleeves are gone! Was it a demon?! Where?!" He shouts, ready to draw his sword, and I chuckle, grabbing his hands to stop him.
"No, no, it's just my new uniform. It felt a little awkward to hide my arrows, y'know? So I had my old one modified. Luckily it came in time." I smile at him. "Anyway, you're ready to leave, right?"
He firmly planted his hands on his hips. "I was ready before you were!"
Laughing, I start walking, waving goodbye to the butterfly girls and Zenitsu when they called out to us, wishing us good luck, giving us food for the road and wishing our safe return. Zenitsu tightly hugged me, even beginning to cry, so we wasted a little daylight to comfort him.
Most of our journey was up in the air by glider, full of Inosuke's loud shouting and very aggressive gliding whenever I'd let him steer. We stop at a Wisteria House to rest for the first night, and then begin the journey on foot, the forest too tall and dense for me to glide over.
We make our way through the thick forest, and by now, a few days have passed us. The sun had set not so long ago, and this forest felt never-ending. "Phew, this village sure is far..."
I mumble, branches above my head crackling as Inosuke bounced to and fro, finding it entertaining to do so.
"If we were flying we'd sure have gotten there faster!" He grumbles.
"It's a village hidden by the trees! I could glide past it, we can't risk anything! Besides, if I break my glider again, I'll never hear the end of it from Lady Kocho!"
We keep walking, and a feeling of dread slowly overtakes me, but I don't say anything. It must mean we're getting closer to the demon. The sooner we get this over with, the better.
The trees are neverending. It's like an ocean of wood and leaves, but we're accompanied by the soothing song of birds in the distance, and our method was simple. Rest for most of the day, then travel by night.
I don't even know how much time's passed. The sun's beginning to rise by now, but my legs aren't tired at all. "Oi. I'm hungry." Inosuke grumbles, jumping down from the tree, grabbing at my hand.
"Hey! Let me go, we can take a break." He removes his hands and we sit down on the rock chairs we made for ourselves.
"Here." I hand him the nice box of tempura, and he takes his mask off, eating quickly.
I eat some onigiri too, Inosuke's loud munching getting on my nerves. "Do you have to eat like that?"
"Like what?" He comments, crumbs all over his face and food in his mouth.
I sigh, finishing the last of my lunch and covering my hand with a corner of the robe. "Stay still." I grab his face, and he thrashes around.
"What are you doing?! M/N!"
"Y/N! Just stand still, already!" Eventually, I managed to get all the crumbs off, his hair now messy and ruffled from all his movement.
"There! I know you grew up in the mountains but you can at least eat nicely!"
"Why should I?!"
I sigh, ending the tiny argument. "We should rest soon."
"I'm not tired." He responds, tossing the now empty box back at me.
"Now that you mention it, I don't feel tired either. I don't feel like I've moved at all, honestly." I furrow my brows.
"This forest's annoying! I wanna smash it!"
"Inosuke, don't do that." I scold.
"Why?! Won't we find the village easier?" He huffs.
"No. At best we'd cause a disaster and hurt the environment. Besides, just look around. Isn't it wonderful?"
He looks confused, staring blankly at the woods before us. "Eh?"
"For a moment, just forget that we're Demon Slayers. Forget and listen closely. Can you hear it?" I smile, shutting my eyes and listening to the hum and buzz of insects, the gentle whoosh of leaves and distant birdsong.
"What are you doing?" Inosuke even sounds confused.
"C'mon, trust me." I nudge him, and he hesitantly eases himself.
"...So what do I do? This is boring."
"Hush. Just listen." I smile. "Do you hear it? How the earth rumbles and stirs, how the wind brushes against the leaves and birds sing, accompanied by the melody of grasshoppers? Even great warriors take time to listen to the earth."
Opening my eyes, I can see him cross his arms, but quietly doing as told, not even mumbling under his breath. "It... is nice." He whispers just loud enough for me to hear, and I smile, reaching out and patting the top of his head over his mask, surprised at the fact he didn't pull back.
"Told you. C'mon, let's get going."
Inosuke and I began walking, and I'm quite unsure about what exactly he kept doing. He would point at big trees and shout to me about how great it was, or find some big boulder on our path and move it for me. It was certainly endearing, even with how strange it felt.
"You're really good at earthbending, Inosuke."
"Of course I am! How else would my minion have learned it?" He proudly huffs.
"Your minion?" I chuckle.
"Yes! My earthbending minion!"
"Alright, alright, let's keep moving."
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We keep walking, and as night and day pass us by, something still feels off. We've not grown tired at all, and no matter where we go, the terrain feels so familiar... I even started keeping track of the rocks in our way!
"Wait, Inosuke." I stop him as he yelled out again in frustration at our slow progress.
"What?!"
I take off my robe and tie it on tight to a thin tree.
"The hell are you doing?"
"Inosuke, doesn't it seem strange that, at this point, we've been walking for days, but we aren't tired? Not even the scenery's changed at all."
"What?? That doesn't make sense! Did you hit your head, M/N?"
"I'm serious, Inosuke! I'm telling you, something's wrong. Let's keep walking, I'll prove it to you." I finish tying it, starting to walk forward again, Inosuke running up to me as well.
Continuing to push forward, we don't settle down at sunrise, the need for sleep no longer present and physical exhaustion vacant from our limbs. All on our path, we kept hearing rustling and crunching branches behind us, yet whenever we turned around, no source could be found.
A rustling startles us, Inosuke drawing his swords. We listen carefully, not moving an inch, but the forest grew quiet. A bit too quiet... The leaves of the trees aren't even moving. This is so strange.
"Inosuke..." I mumble, and he turned to me, on high alert.
"What're you shaking for? It's not a demon."
"No, no... That's not it." I point towards the fabric I tied around a tree, the faint moonlight illuminating the orange robe.
"What the-?!"
"Inosuke, be careful! This has to be a Blood Demon Art."
"Damn it, M/N!"
"It's probably the demon that's been plaguing the village!" I draw my sword as well, the two of us looking around, unwilling to split up in the dangerous and unfamiliar environment.
A gentle breeze rolls through, carrying a familiar, yet suffocating aura. My heart drops to my stomach and I can feel the panic well up in me as I grab Inosuke. "Inosuke, we can't do this." I whisper to him.
"What?! M/N, don't be a cowar-!" I shush him quickly.
"Shut it! Can't you feel it?! This overwhelming evil... This isn't some regular demon or even an Upper or Lower Moon!"
