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ch. 11

“You need to react faster if you want to win, Tanjiro. At this rate, you’re going to be killed the moment you enter the battlefield and Zenitsu, run faster or I’m going to chase you down and actually kill you.” Zenitsu screamed and ran even faster, “Go back to training, Inosuke. If you can’t even beat Giyu, don’t ever dream of beating me.” Karasu blocked Inosuke’s attack and sent him flying. She shifted her focus back to Tanjiro, Karasu held an umbrella because the sun was still out to get her. Tanjiro charged towards her but before he could land a blow, Karasu was already beside him with her hand hovering over his face.

“You could’ve died if I had blasted fire in your face. Scratch me by sunset or I’ll deem you unfit and stop all training.” Tanjiro breathed in and breathed out, brainstorming ideas in her head but all of them led to him knocked out on the ground. Tanjiro realised something, Karasu had always let him make the first move. So he just needed to find the perfect form to use that can finish her immediately, and he did.

Tanjiro had never attacked Karasu with the intent to actually kill her, so this time, he will actually do it. He breathed, charging at her once again “Hinokami Kagura Dance!” Within a split second, his sword was inches away from Karasu’s neck. “乃ㄥㄖㄖᗪ  ᗪ乇爪ㄖ几  卂尺ㄒ : ᗪ丨丂丂丨卩卂ㄒ丨ㄖ几  ㄖ千  ㄒ卄乇  卩卂丂ㄒ” With just a few words, Tanjiro’s sword broke into pieces before reaching her neck. Karasu smirked, but before she could knock him unconscious he had already jumped back.

Pieces of Tanjiro’s sword floated in the air around Karasu, and with a flick of her finger it charged towards the boy. Tanjiro dodged them as they stabbed into the wall. Now he only had the handle of his sword and a fatigued mind and body. “That’s enough for today.” Karasu flicked her finger again and the pieces assembled itself together.

“No! I-I’m not done!” Tanjiro tried to get into a fighting stance again but his whole body ached, Karasu approached the boy who laid down on the ground visibly drained. She helped him up, “You didn’t scratch me but you managed to come close so you pass. Now rest up.” She smiled, before turning her attention to the 2 boys who were slacking off on the ground.

“Who said you two could take a break?” The duo jumped upon hearing Karasu’s ominous voice and rushed to do what they were told before they would lose their heads. "Zenitsu, come here." The yellow head walked to the girl, with trembling legs. Within a split second, he was knocked out on the ground. "Too slow. Try again." They went on for many rounds that it was already dark, and each time Zenitsu was on the ground screaming that he didn't want this. Tanjiro watched from afar, constantly encouraging his friends.

“Kara, I got you food.” Iguro called out, holding up 3 dead bears. Mitsuri waving enthusiastically beside him, while holding 4 bears and Giyu with 5 bears. Karasu contemplated if she should eat or not, as she countered Zenitsu’s sword with her blade. She glanced at the boy and Inosuke who was screaming and running, “Let’s end it here.” and almost instantly, the two boys ran inside where a row of delicious food laid. Karasu followed suit, entering the room that was filled with an aroma of heaven but to the demon, smelled awful. The boys feasted hungrily as Karasu finished the 7 bears presented to her in an instant. Shinobu soon joined in and all the seats were full.

“Karasu, can you tell us what your life was like before becoming a demon?” Tanjiro asked, staring at her curiously. Giyu expected Karasu to not answer because of how she was provoked greatly when Sanemi mentioned her past. To his surprise, she answered, “I came from a very fortunate family and was provided with everything I needed, I had a sister and 2 very loving parents. However, my parents, the maids, attendants and everyone else was killed by a demon. The demon forced me to become one of his kind, I refused at first, but then realised it was the only way out if I wanted to live so I accepted. In doing so, I bought some time for my sister to run away. She trained with a demon slayer and became an exceptional slayer but was killed soon after by the same demon.”

Karasu kept on speaking, as if what she was relaying wasn’t tragic at all. “So in order to get revenge for my sister, I trained under a demon slayer too. My master told me that it would be almost impossible for me to learn Sun breathing and tried to persuade me to learn a different version of it, but I insisted so I stayed with him for a few decades and managed to learn it. I loved and respected my master with all my heart, he was someone who saw me as me and not as a blood thirsty demon. However, he died.” Karasu placed her chopsticks down, her ruby eyes were not sparkling any more, it was dull and lost its shine like a faulty jewel. “I killed him. I ate him out of mere hunger and when I came to my senses, it was too late. After that, I swore to stop eating humans and resorted to feasting on demons and myself because it was my punishment. My punishment for taking the lives of people who had so much to live for. And the funniest thing is, I couldn't even exact my revenge on that man because I was cursed to never use that technique ever again. I loathed myself greatly and fell into despair. I tried to make up for my sins by helping the demon slayer corps as much as I could but it was just a way of comforting myself, because the guilt was still there.”

When Karasu looked around, she was surprised to see Misturi and the boys sobbing, Giyu and Iguro having a bitter sweet expression and Shinobu looking stunned. Mitsuri hugged Karasu tightly, crying away. She was confused, as more and more people came to join the hug. “Hey, why are you guys crying? It’s not some tragic story, I killed people! You should be, you should be…” Her voice trailed off, and she felt a lump in her throat.

Karasu looked at Shinobu from across the table, hoping she would do something about it and tell them, tell them how they shouldn’t be crying and instead ridiculing her. Shinobu walked over and hugged her, she whispered “We’re crying for you.” It was warm. Karasu didn’t understand why, but she felt her eyes water and soon found herself crying too.