Chapter 48: Chapter 42
After some time the storm passed and both Seikichi and Kanao were already back on the move. They were both already close their destination and when they got their they both were completely dumbfounded.
The area was so destroyed that you'd think a deity personally came down and destroyed the place. Dried blood was everywhere as well as deep gouges in the ground.
It seemed nothing was spared in this fight as there was animals completely cut in two laying scattered around.
"Wow."
Seikichi muttered as he stepped over a toppled tree. Kanao was just as surprised as he was but she was better at controlling her emotions than Seikichi was.
"You think Kyoshi could have done this in a fight with a demon slayer?"
"Possibly." Kanao answered.
Seikichi walked over to a tree trunk and slid his hand across its smooth base. He looked around and was more than astonished at how amazing the cuts were.
They were clean and smooth which showed whoever did this had amazing swordsmanship and training.
"Hashira."
"Hm?"
"Either a Hashira did this or someone on the level of a Hashira." Kanao explained.
Although the scene was truly shocking they had to admit the swordsmanship used was just that good. Seikichi wondered if Kyoshi was actually this good with a sword of was it just a Hashira's work? Either way he was impressed.
*COW* *COW*
They both looked in the sky and saw another crow flying there way. Immediately they thought another demon slayer would be coming over, but that thought was immediately extinguished.
Yui was jumping through trees and as she came upon the scene she completely ignored them and stammered as she looked at the destruction.
"To have a fight like this…"
Yui was speechless just as the other two.
"Hey!!" Seikichi called.
Yui looked down and furrowed get eyebrows at Seikichi and Kanao. She jumped down from the tree and they both converged towards each other to speak.
"What're you doing here?" Seikichi asked.
"Investigating."
"I see. You with the DSC?"
"Yeah, from the information branch." Yui answered as she glanced towards Kanao.
'Wow, she's just like everyone says.' Yui thought as she stared at Kanao who smiled at her and waved slightly.
"Hey!!" Seikichi yelled as he waved his hands in front of her. She suddenly snapped back into reality from her dazed state and looked towards Seikichi.
"Ah, sorry. What were you saying?" She asked with a slight laugh as she felt slightly embarrassed.
"I was asking about what you were investigating. We could bounce some information off each other." He suggested.
Yui was conflicted now. On one hand they were going to keep this away from Seikichi and that was an order from the leader himself.
While she didn't want to violate that order, she didn't think it would be bad if they had his help. After all, it's his best friend and more importantly he could really have some useful information.
"I'm looking for someone that fled my village a while ago. He's strong and good with a sword so I've been going around looking for leads." She explained.
While the information was valuable, she didn't want to lose the trust of the DSC because she broke an order. She knew how much every Hashira respected Kagaya and they might've abandoned her if she went against his wishes.
"I see. He must've had a crazy trainer then? These cuts are really impressive." Seikichi said.
"Yeah, my teacher taught him personally." Yui said. Obviously a lie which she was feeling regretfully about telling since she might've lost some good information.
"I see." Seikichi said as Kanao whispered in his ear before walking off.
"What about you? What're you investigating?" Yui asked.
"I'm looking for a friend of mine. I'd imagine he's also strong and could have possibly done this in a fight with a demon." Seikichi said.
Obviously he couldn't talk some random girl from the information branch of the DSC that his friend was a demon. He'd have to kill her if she ended up telling others.
"Seikichi." Kanao called as she looked at a tree trunk.
Both Seikichi and Yui looked towards her and she gestured for them to come over. They walked towards the tree trunk and looked at it as their eyebrows raised.
There was a "W" carved into the trunk with an arrow pointing forward. Aside it was the abbreviation "DSC". It meant that if any demon slayers pass by, they should head west.
It also had a "H&K" inscribed which meant this pertained to those of Hinoto rank to Kinoe rank.
They looked at each other and nodded as Seikichi and Kanao started walking off, but Yui's attention was drawn towards something else.
She went over towards the slight shine she saw and removed some of the dirt which covered it and her eyes widened.
It was the tanto that she gave Ren to give to Kyoshi. She took this as a sign that Kyoshi was here and that he had part in causing all of this. She wiped the tanto off and looked towards Seikichi and Kanao who looked at her silently.
"Sorry…" She said as she caught up with them. The nod was a silent agreement to travel together for a while since they both seem to have similar goals which led them to the same place.
Yui put the tanto around the back of her waistband and ran with Kanao and Seikichi. They didn't have a specific location, but surely they'd find something there.
…
As they continued to run they passed by a few more notes telling them where to go and at some point they came across a post which said to go to the village up ahead.
The village up ahead was a known place for most travelers as it was usually used to rest, eat, restock on luggage and then leave.
It was also a village that let demon slayers in and get what they need for free and stay however long they wanted. They only had to show their rank at the gate.
Once the group made it there, they flexed their arm and on it their rank appeared in glowing purple letters.
Seikichi being a Hinoe along with Kanao and Yui was given a pass after the two of them confirmed she was with them. They were let through the gates and into the village.
It was quite the calm but lively place. You could hear some arguing going on along with people laughing and talking as it was a regular thing considering they hadn't been susceptible to demon attacks.
There were a few demon slayers walking around as samurai who made sure the village stayed peaceful inside and killed demons on the outside.
As Seikichi, Kanao and Yui walked into the village they started going towards the closest inn considering it was the most logical place to go.
Walking in, you'd see a lot of tables with a large amount of people sitting and talking along with eating and drinking. They walked between the the tables and greeted the waiters as they headed to the front counter.
The woman behind the counter watched them walk over and sit in the chairs as she straightened up. They put their arms out and flexed as their rank appeared in purple text again.
She looked at their arms and nodded before sliding them two room keys since the place was packed and those were the last two rooms the inn had.
They nodded towards her and took the keys as they went up stairs.
…
"You two can get one room and I'll get the one next to it, but for now we'll search the rooms for any notes left behind and meet up in whatever room we find it in." Seikichi said as he handed them a key.
They nodded and split off into the two room.
Yui and Kanao's room was fitted with a desk, a coatrack, a bed, and a wardrobe. The room was in good shape and nicely cleaned which was to be expected.
The beds were made with black blankets and white sheets along with black pillows. Next to the bed was a window with the curtains closed which they walked in and opened.
"Wow, I didn't think there were places that knew about the DSC and operated like this." Yui said as she opened the wardrobe doors.
She pulled out the dressers at the bottom and didn't see anything in them. She looked back towards Kanao who opened up a dresser at the desk.
"Here." She said as she took a envelope from the drawer. It was stamped with a Hashira seal and before opening it they went to Seikichi's room.
When they walked in the bed was flipped over, the wardrobe was in the middle of the room and all of the draws were just being opened.
"…We found the letter." Kanao said as she was a bit stunned from the sight of the room. Seikichi looked over at them and pushed himself up with a sigh.
"Let's go back to your room." He said as they nodded and closed the door. They went to the girls room and closed the door behind them as they opened up the letter.
As they took the paper out they saw it was folded four times and there was quite a bit written in the letter.
They began reading it silently; each with their own thoughts about what they read. The letter was written by Obanai and it vividly described what happened in that forest.
The word choice used made it quite obvious they were serious about displaying Kyoshi as a horrid demon with no form of reasoning.
The letter ending with them telling the reader send the message to HQ while they waited there to be taken to the DS Hotel ran by Hisa.
After reading the letter everyone was rendered speechless. Their train of thought was derailed and they seemed to be frozen like statues.
They looked at each other silently each not knowing what to say or do.
"Wow, okay." Seikichi said as he wiped his eyes.
"I didn't think he was that strong. Even two Hashira weren't enough to hold him." Yui said as she sat on the bed.
"You know Seikichi's friend?" Kanao asked.
Realizing what she said, Yui's eyes widened but then she just gave up on hiding it and nodded.
"Me and a few other Hashira were looking for him and…"
"Why?" Seikichi interrupted.
"Well, some of us were looking for him to get him to the HQ since Kagaya wanted to speak with him. The other Hashira were looking to kill him since he was too much of a threat." Yui explained.
"So they kept the fact that they were trying to kill my friend away from me?"
"No, they split the decision. Those that wanted to bring him into the HQ should find him first and if those that wanted to kill him were to find him then they could."
"Ohhhh I see. Turning his life into a game makes it all better. Why didn't I think that."
"It wasn't like a game, Kagaya decided on it to be fair for everyone since everyone had different thoughts."
"So he was the one sat there and decided to make a game out if this? Now that I'm on the topic, who even are you? Why would they tell you, a random, anything about Kyoshi before telling me? Not to mention the fact that it's about his life."
Feeling a hand on his should he stopped talking and heaved out a heavy sigh.
"Kyoshi was his friend as a kid, so this topic is tough for him." She said.
Yui nodded understanding her statement and why Seikichi was getting so agitated.
"Well…firstly I know Kyoshi because he visited my village at one point. We didn't actually talk much but we had a special interaction." Yui said as she blushed slightly.
"He left the next morning and so I'm looking for him." She added.
Seikichi and Kanao stared at her with slightly widened eyes and Seikichi's mouth was hung open.
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I haven't done much on Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, so do you guys want a lil update on them next chapter?
Anyways, the SDS ff is coming along fine and should be uploaded mid-march as planned.
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