Breath of the Void

Breath of the Void: Chapter 22

My computer shut down when I was in the middle of editing this chapter

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It was in the afternoon when she was met with a surprise.

Shuten Dōji would have never expected any of the Demon Slayers to come to her for advice to get stronger— she had been kicked out of Tamayo's lab a number of times already by that Butterfly Girl, so she knew that one didn't like her.

Musashi tolerated her, though she was rightfully wary. They got along alright, but in terms of advice on getting stronger, Musashi didn't need it from her— and that darling Rock Pillar was mostly the same. That Wind boy was just horrible, and the darling girl with the braids seemed to be a bit scared of her. The one-armed, former Pillar didn't like her, but that was normal— he did like her a bit more when the two of them crossed sake cups, but he didn't like it when she popped into his training grounds to torment the little Slayerlings who he made run.

That Snake boy was interesting, he seemed almost disturbed by the fact that he didn't mind her— she had teased him by ignoring him in favor of talking to his little familiar, who was just as disturbed at the strange kinship it seemed to feel.

The Water Pillar and the little Mist boy (the one that ended up around Musashi much more now) were mostly indifferent, but it was still fun to tease them. And of course, like Musashi, the Flame Pillar tolerated her.

That said, Musashi and Himejima were plenty strong without needing help from an Oni.

So, as stated before, she hadn't expected anyone of the Demon Slayers Corps to come to her for help on getting stronger— Voluntarily, that was.

And even if any of them did, she would have never expected one of the Pillars.

Ah, but then again, love was such a strong incentive for a human to do something.

Resting her chin on her palm, she gazed at the man sitting in front of her through half-lidded eyes.

"And what, exactly, is in this for me, mm?" she asked, raising a brow.

The Flame Pillar, Kyojuro Rengoku. A relatively normal man, if one were to take away the fact that he hunted Demons for a living. Appearance-wise, though, he did draw a lot of attention to himself— his golden mane of hair made him stand out in Japan, but Musashi was hardly different with her pale locks and blue eyes.

Shuten should've known that, if any of them were going to come to her for help, it would have been the Flame Pillar.

Love was something that always interested her— She had no idea what exactly it was in human terms. For her, 'love' was breaking bones, wild laughter, and killing in another's name. It was taking the heads of enemies and presenting them to their object of affections.

It was blood and drink, and scars made by clawed nails and sharp teeth. It was laughing and howling as hands tore through skin, muscle, and broke through bone. It was cooing and soothing with honeyed words as hands dug into one's organs.

Shuten didn't know human love, though she pretended to at times.

Emulating it in order to figure out what made humans, human.

She held herself back when interacting with the Demon Slayers.

Shuten wouldn't say she loved humans. She wouldn't say she hated them either.

So, as she sat with Kyojuro Rengoku sitting in front of her with a determined look on his face, she hesitated to turn him down outright for the task he requested of her.