Demon Slayer: The Demon Hunter

Word count: 2048

<—>

In the serene countryside, far from the lively chaos of urban life, surrounded by verdant greenery and forests stretching in every direction, the deep rumble of the locomotive resonated beneath the bright full moon.

It moved along swiftly, its roar and occasional honks breaking the peacefulness of the night. Its presence was unmistakable, as multiple carriages moved in harmony, all powered by a single engine. The glow from the train's lights could be spotted from miles away.

At the front of the train, a figure stood with hands clasped behind his back. A calm, collected look on his face. To an observer, he might seem like someone taking in the beautiful surroundings or relishing the serene atmosphere. However, despite the smile on his face, the reality was quite different.

"Dreams... are a reflection of the subconscious. They embody our whims, desires, and aspirations, driving us to pursue our goals with resolve." The person spoke softly, his voice tranquil and soothing, a stark contrast to the loud train beneath him.

"They are the reason for our accomplishments. It's truly fascinating; without dreams, would we have reached this point?"

He turned, his eyes resting on the connected carriages. "I envy them, to pass away while lost in dreams. To fulfill their desires to the fullest, blissfully ignorant of the world around them."

A smile crept across his face, not entirely innocent, as a dangerous spark flickered in his eyes. "I can only imagine... the expressions they would wear when their deepest fantasies twist into nightmares. What sounds would escape their lips upon realizing their demise?"

He faced the front of the train, arms outstretched, feeling the wind rush past him. "I know. It would be..." he licked his lips, his grin growing wider. "Marvelous."

As he continued to indulge in his twisted fantasies, he noticed something in the distance—an object racing headlong toward the oncoming train. "Oh? This could be quite entertaining," he murmured, recognizing the figure as a human sprinting toward the train.

With deliberate, measured movements, he began to sink into the train, soon disappearing as if he had never existed.

<—>

'In hindsight, this might not have been the best idea after all.' Fujino wasn't exactly known for his intelligence; his grades back home were proof of that. Still, he had his moments, and this certainly wasn't one of them.

He had been running for hours, far beyond the capital and any sign of civilization, deep into the countryside, just following tracks and doing nothing but running.

He had to take several breaks to regain his stamina, then resume following the tracks, only to take another break. It was a never-ending cycle.

So, yes, he was beginning to regret ever going along with the plan, or even accepting the quest in the first place. After failing the "Free XP" quest and having his day completely ruined, he begrudgingly decided to complete this one.

He just hoped it wouldn't be as eventful as the last.

Then, at last, Fujino's persistence paid off when he spotted the gleaming lights of a train in the distance. He finally allowed himself to stop and take a breather.

"Finally! I was starting to think I fucked up and missed it or something," he exclaimed, feeling a wave of relief wash over him that his efforts weren't in vain.

Finding himself on a flat terrain, he leaned against a wooden fence to catch his breath. Who knew running for this long could be so exhausting?

[+3 AGI] 

[+1500 XP] 

[Name: Fujino Yuki 

Level: 48 (8970/25,000) 

Race: human 

Health: 830/830 (+5.3/sec) 

Stamina: 31/920 (+6/sec) 

STR: 107 

DUR: 78 

END: 86 

AGI: 92 

INT: 31 

CHA: 44 

Attributes Points (AP): 17]

'Eh? I didn't see that coming... Not that I'm complaining, I'll take all the help I can get.' At least there was a silver lining to his situation, and his efforts wouldn't go to waste.

After taking a short break, the train finally approached, and he could hear its rumbling from afar. Trains in this time period were significantly louder than what he was used to.

He waited for the right moment and leaped aboard, gripping the railing of the farthest cabin at the very end. After a brief struggle, he pulled himself up and landed on the floor.

'Alright, here comes the hard part'. With a steady hand, he drew the sword from its sheath and examined it closely. It was a Nichirin katana, similar to his previous one, but this blade shimmered in a vibrant green rather than blue. He had picked it up while leaving from the mountain weeks earlier, from his battle with the slayer-puppets.

[Nichirin Katana (Green) 

Rarity: Legendary - Durability: 190/220 - Power: 130 

A remarkable sword forged from a rare material called "Scarlet Ore." It possesses the extraordinary ability to absorb sunlight, allowing it to change color. This weapon is particularly effective against demons.]

He carefully placed the sword and its sheath into his Inventory, wiped the sweat from his brow, adjusted his clothes, and swung the cabin door open.

Since Fujino had jumped onto the train without a ticket, he needed to blend in, acting like any other passenger to avoid drawing attention, especially from the conductors.

He wasn't afraid of the law at all, but if they discovered he was dodging the fare, it would complicate things for him, which he wanted to avoid.

His worries turned out to be unnecessary, as he was met with a bewildering sight. Every single passenger, from children to adults, was sound asleep.

'Okay, I definitely didn't see this coming.' He scanned the passengers, and indeed, they were all in various states of slumber. Some had their heads resting on each other's shoulders, others were dozing off with newspapers, and one man had food dangling from his chopsticks. There was even someone fast asleep on the floor.

This, of course, unsettled him and put Fujino on high alert. It was clear that this was no ordinary situation; these people had been put to sleep by some unnatural force. Given the nature of the world he inhabited, it left him with only one possible culprit for this scenario.

'As I thought, there is a demon on this train. No wonder they couldn't find any evidence or witnesses; they were all knocked out cold.'

Fujino made his way to the next carriage, his sheathed sword visible since he knew no one would challenge him about it. To his disappointment, this carriage was just like the last—everyone inside was fast asleep.

This only heightened Fujino's anxiety; clearly, the demon responsible for this was quite powerful to have put so many people into a deep sleep.

Then a troubling thought struck him. 'If everyone is asleep, then who's driving the train?' The realization made him go pale. Battling demons was one thing, but piloting a train full of unconscious passengers was far beyond his capabilities. His name is Fujino Yuki, not fucking Spider-Man.

With that, he took off, moving through carriage after carriage, only to find more sleeping passengers, which only added to his unease. Near the front, he burst through another door, and when he looked at the occupants, he recognized some familiar faces.

A boy without a shirt sporting a boar head, a figure in a green and black checkered kimono, a man in a white haori with flame-like patterns at the edges and long yellow hair with reddish streaks, and another boy dressed in a light blue kimono with brown hair.

'Observe'

[ —> Flame Hashira 

Name: Kyojuro Rengoku 

Level: 113 

Health: ?/? (Unconscious) 

Stamina: ?/?]

[ —> The Protagonist 

Name: Tanjiro Kamado 

Level: 39 

Health: 630/630 (Unconscious) 

Stamina: 850/850]

[ —> Lord of the Mountain 

Name: Inosuke Hashibira 

Level: 33 

Health: 760/760 (Unconscious) 

Stamina: 520/520]

[ —> Demon Slayer (Kanoe) 

Name: Shimada Tetsuya 

Level: 32 

Health: 500/500 (Unconscious) 

Stamina: 630/630]

Fujino wanted to cry. How could he not? He clearly recalled his last encounter with a "Hashira," and it had been anything but pleasant. Given this one's level, he knew he stood no chance in a fight.

'Stay calm, Fujino. Just stay calm. This isn't the same one that almost killed you. Demon slayers aren't the bady guys... I hope. Just don't use Demonic Assimilation, and you should be okay.' He took several deep breaths to calm down.

The wooden box beside Tanjiro creaked open slowly, catching Fujino's attention and freezing him in place. He gripped his katana tightly, ready for anything. To his astonishment, the source of the commotion turned out to be none other than Nezuko herself.

"Nezuko?! What the fuck were you doing in that box?" he exclaimed, noticing her unusual size. "And why are you so small?!"

His eyes weren't playing tricks on him; Nezuko was indeed smaller than he remembered, her oversized clothes making it clear. If he hadn't known her before, he might have mistaken her for a child.

When she spotted Fujino, her eyes lit up with joy, and she rushed over to hug him. "Mmmm! Hmmm!" 

In that moment, all his worries faded away as he focused on the adorable girl embracing him. "Aww, I missed you too, Nezuko. You look... so grown up since I last saw you."

The dry look she shot him made him wish he could disappear. Social interactions was definitely not his strong suit!

"Ah! I almost forgot! Nezuko, why is everyone on this train asleep?" he suddenly remembered the situation and asked her. Judging by her surprised expression as she looked around, it seemed she had no idea.

She approached her brother, nudging him gently before taking his hand and placing it on her head. When he didn't respond, she decided to take action and headbutted him. The sound of their skulls colliding made Fujino wince.

Looking up at him, she had a bruise forming on her forehead, blood trickling down, and tears brimming in her eyes. "W-wait, please don't cry! Everything will be okay—"

But before he could finish his reassurance, she headbutted him again, and this time, pink flames erupted around her and Tanjiro. Fujino's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight. "WAIT NEZUKO DON'T BURN DOWN THE TRAIN FOR FUCK'S SAKE—"

As the flames subsided, they revealed a mostly unscathed Tanjiro and Nezuko. Fujino let out a silly "Oh." He then awkwardly scratched his head while looking at Nezuko, who stood with her hands on her hips, giving him a look that clearly said, "Shut up, I know what I'm doing."

It was then that Fujino noticed the four individuals surrounding the slayers, all of whom were tied to him by ropes at their wrists. He had been so focused on the slayers that he had overlooked these four.

He also observed that the rope connecting Tanjiro to a girl had been burned away. This reminded him of his battle with Rui, when those same pinkish flames had appeared and incinerated Rui along with his threads.

From what he had witnessed, he theorized that Nezuko's power could harm demons as well as their blood demon arts, as shown by Tanjiro being unharmed while Rui had been burned by the same flames.

Considering that the girl tied to Tanjiro hadn't been burned, it was safe to concluded that the other three were likely humans too, which meant they couldn't be responsible for the attack. This left the perpetrator still at large—

He swung his blade diagonally behind him, slicing clean through a hand that had lunged at him from the shadows. It fell to the ground, writhing uselessly before disintegrating.

[100 XP]

"Nezuko!" he called out, catching her attention. "There's a demon on the loose. I need you to wake them up and protect the passengers. I'll go look for the demon, okay?"

She nodded and began to go around and helping the slayers, while Fujino stepped outside the carriage and climbed onto the roof. He intended to investigate the locomotive and see if he could find the driver.

Fortunately, he didn't have to search for long when he spotted a figure standing at a distance…

<—>

Taisho-era secrets!

Fujino Yuki loves trains and frequently takes them to explore Tokyo during his spare time. He finds joy in watching the beautiful scenery pass by outside the window during his travels.

<—>

3 chapters in a week?! chat am I cooking?