Worse Than A Demon? (Sasori x Demon Slayer)

Chapter 6 Puppet-making

Sasori soared gracefully over the rooftops, his keen senses attuned to the familiar chakra signature of Ayumi. However, amidst the usual hustle and bustle of the village, he detected a subtle disturbance in the chakra flow. It was like a discordant note in an otherwise harmonious melody.

His instincts on high alert, Sasori came to an abrupt halt atop a nearby rooftop, his piercing gaze fixated on a darkened alley below. There, obscured by shadows, two figures engaged in hushed conversation, their voices barely audible above the din of the night.

Curiosity piqued, Sasori narrowed his eyes, focusing his chakra-enhanced senses to eavesdrop on their exchange.

"What do we do now? That brat killed the boss and the others," one of the men asked the other.

Sasori used chakra on his feet to walk down the building's wall silently, blending into the shadows. He observed the two men, both wearing Hyottoko masks like the other villagers.

"Okay, let's change the original plan. I'll sneak into the Chief's house and hold him hostage. you go and find the kids while I make the villagers kill the brat for their Chief. And when the villagers kill him, I'll steal everything valuable from the Chief and split it evenly with the kids if we can find them," the other man proposed.

"Good idea. you will sneak in at the dead of night and take him to the cave we found, while I go and see if the kids are safe." the first man agreed.

"Good plan, but how will you sneak in?" Sasori interjected. "We'll just break the window to his room and kidnap him," one of the men said confidently. Both men looked at each other, it took them a moment to realize that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

They looked up, searching for the source of the voice. They spotted the red-haired boy, who had killed the other bandits, walking down the wall. They seemed about to scream, but Sasori swiftly incapacitated them, rendering them unconscious. 'Sorry Ayumi, it seems something more important came up,' Sasori said as he picked up the two men. He jumped over the roofs to the workshop he was given by the Chief.

-Several moments later-

Ren opened his eyes, finding himself in a dimly lit room. The feeble glow of a light bulb revealed the confines of their captivity. Riku, bound to a chair beside him, stirred as well. The air felt tense, and their hearts raced with uncertainty.

"What's going on?" Riku's voice trembled with anxiety as he scanned their surroundings, his nerves on edge. Ren opened his mouth to reply, but before he could utter a word, the floor emitted a sinister creak, signaling an impending arrival.

From the darkness emerged the red-haired figure, the very one who had single-handedly ended the lives of all their comrades. His presence cast a pall of dread over the room.

"It seems you two have woken up," the boy remarked, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. His gaze bore into Riku and Ren, as though he could see right through their facade.

Riku, summoning all his courage, attempted to mask his fear with bravado. "What do you want? We are just innocent villagers," he declared defiantly, though his voice betrayed him.

The boy's skepticism was palpable. "Did I hit you too hard, or did you forget I was listening to your plan?" he inquired. Riku's anxiety intensified. "Now tell me where you got those Hyottoko masks from?"

Attempting to deflect suspicion, Ren jumped in, "We just bought them from a shop."

The boy stood with an unwavering demeanor, his gaze like ice piercing through the darkness, settling upon Ren with an unsettling intensity. "Don't try to lie. I can tell when someone's trying to deceive me," he stated with a chilling calmness, his voice resonating with an eerie certainty that sent a shiver down Ren's spine.