Demon Slayer

Sango

The sky was painted in a brilliant color of oranges, pinks and dark blues; a sign of the waning sun. The waves of the beach slapped against the sandy shore in a quiet irregular, yet rhythmic pattern. On the mountain side, a woman mounted atop her two-wheeled vehicle, Kirara- named after her beloved cat - is on her way back home after another day's work of slaying a hostile demon and once again saving the day. Noticing the beauty of her current surroundings, Sango pulled over on the shoulder of the rail-guarded road and slowed her motorcycle down to a stop. It wasn't very often that Sango could just take a moment to just relax and enjoy the time she had to herself. So why not start now? Propping her elbows on the handle bars, she rested her head in her palms and let out a deep sigh. She just couldn't get enough of that beautiful view where the giant star and moon shared the same sky for just a brief moment before finally trading ethereal territories.

Sango was so enthralled by the sight before her that she barely missed the sound of whirring machinery gradually increasing decibels the closer it came.

She looked up to see a terrifying combination of steel and monster diving straight for her from overhead. The strange whirring sound was actually that of a buzz-saw acting as the abomination's very own hand. Quickly, Sango fired up her Kirara and sped out of the way mere seconds before the monster could make contact with her. She made sure to be at a reasonable distance away from her opponent before she stopped her Kirara mid-U-turn, pulling out two handguns as she dismounted from her vehicle.

The monster stopped its hand from spinning as it slowly turned to face its intended target. Sango took a brief moment to observe her attacker. Eyes; beady and red, flashing with nothing but pure murderous intent. Its mouth was full of fangs with globs of drool seeping from the orifice like a mindless buffoon. The beast was a giant, ranging from ten to fifteen feet tall. The torso was disproportionately larger than the legs, with muscles literally bulging out of his body. To top off the awful sight, scattered parts of the monster's naturally scaly body was covered in mechanical parts.

is this thing?' She thought with disgust.

Without another moment to think over what to call the creature, it rushed over towards the female warrior with speed that Sango had never seen on regular demons. She dove out of the way just in time to dodge the head-on tackle and in one swift movement, Sango finished out her frontward roll to pop up on her knees and shoot at her opponent. Her bullets whizzed through the air with deadly accuracy, but once they hit the body of the monster, the small pellets bounced off its chest, leaving only two scratches.

The woman thought to herself.

Said ammo, were bullets laced with purifying energy given to her by the old miko, Kaede. Ironic that in this day in age, being who were said to practice holy ways assisted in making the very objects that resembled hell's weapons. Loading her weapon within a few quick steps, Sango hopped up to stand on her feet and ran towards the demon firing a few rounds of bullets. To her fortune, the purified bullets seemed to be working; the demon's skin was blistering on contact and was in a great deal of pain.

Of course it remained unaffected on the mechanical pieces, but as long as Sango was getting the flesh, machinery would mean nothing. She slid on her hip through the giant's tiny legs and fired more bullets as she passed by, sending her opponent in a rage. Suddenly, the buzz saw on its hand began spinning again but instead of the creature charging at Sango, the hand detached from the demon's appendage and sprang forward with a long tail of chain attached to the back of the flying weapon. Sango stepped to the side missing the buzz saw, but the demon yanked its arm back sending the weapon coming back itself in an attempt to wrap Sango in the chain.

Too smart to know the demon's trick, Sango leapt straight into the air but not fast enough. The chain snaked around her ankle and as Sango went crashing to the ground, she accidentally let go of one of her guns; and it had only one bullet left. The demon was dragging the downed woman toward it, claws flexed and ready to finish off the slayer in one quick swipe.

Sango had two choices and one bullet:

Break the chain with this last shot.

Or...

Bank on the chance that this bullet will go straight to the head. She was rather close to the enemy.

She ran out of time to deliberate, the time to act was now! Just as predicted, the demon swung down with the intent to slice Sango to pieces but a last minute idea formed in the back of her mind. Sango brought her ankle up just in time for the demon to cut through its own chain, freeing her ankle. She made a mad dash for her Kirara and when she got there, Sango ran to the other side and yanked from the motorcycle a rather large gun. A combination of a bazooka and shotgun, this was the cherry that topped her arsenal. This was the gun she nicknamed the Hirakotsu. And for good reason...

She leveled the barrels to face the demon and fired a devastating blast of purifying energy that aimed for the head of the demon. The giant before her took to the ground to dodge the blast before it could even graze it. Thinking that victory was in its grasp, the demon slowly rose to its feet, a wide, toothy grin present on its monstrous features. It stalked toward Sango, but to its confusion, the woman was smiling.

"I think you should look behind you..." She said calmly as she quickly mounted her Kirara, her gun rested on her shoulder.

The demon reluctantly turned around only to be met with the powerful blast that it was sure it dodged moments before. Sango drove her cycle out of the way of the blast zone smiling that she could hear the pained, and final, cries of the abomination she had just faced. Once she was out of harm’s way, Sango picked up her phone and made a quick call to headquarters that a demon had been taken down at her location. She surveyed the damage to the roads and the mountainside. To her gratitude no one was around to potentially get hurt, and the knick in the street would be considered a pot hole, save for the giant carving from the demon's first attack.

The mechanical pieces were still intact, and to further investigate, Sango drove her motorcycle to the debris-ridden area to pick up a piece of steel that must have fallen off the demon from her last attack. On the back of the piece of scrap was a large initial of 'N' that caught the woman's eye and she raised a thin eyebrow in question.

With that, Sango fired up the Kirara once more and sped off for home in hopes she could speak with a friend of hers in the morning. This creature prompted many questions that needed answers.

Demon Slayer

Reijiko 

Deep in the heart of Greyson City, about twenty minutes from Sango’s former location in the mountains, stood another woman with short hair the color of blood and eyes covered by slick, thin shades reflecting the moon’s silver light. Her location was a perch atop a grimy dumpster reeking of the smell of rotting garbage old and new hidden in one of the many alleyway labyrinths. Strangely, this woman didn’t seem to mind this stereotypically awful place; it was literally the only place she could go for seclusion; the one place where her boss couldn’t find her.

Thinking of her boss put the woman in an antsy state. She needed a well overdue smoke. Pulling out a half-empty cigarette box, she slipped her mid and index finger in the cardboard container and grasped the thin piece of combined paper and nicotine, stylishly yanking it free from the box before placing the butt of the cig in her mouth. After a few more moments, the cigarette was lit sending the woman back to world of serenity.

‘Breathe in, and breathe out ol’ girl…’ She thought.

It wasn’t long before her face was covered in the tiny cloud of smoke, then a device attached to her wrist began to beep; quietly calling for her attention. With a frustrated growl, the woman put out her freshly lit cig and answered the video-watch. The screen immediately flickered to an extremely pale child with hair to match the skin and blank eyes that were void of emotion. Though the little girl would have been commonly mistaken for a robot, she was just the opposite.

“What do you want Kanna?” The woman asked gruffly.

Before the child ‘Kanna’ could answer however, a more boisterous, older woman by the name of Kagura with the same crimson colored eyes as the red-head came in on the scene; a small smirk on her face.

“The boss is need of your presence Rei-Rei.” Kagura teased.

“I thought I told you never to call me that. My name is Reijiko.”

Kagura scoffed, “I don’t think it matters what your name is at this point, because you’re still gonna take the heat for that runaway demon-droid you let out of your sights.”

“I said I would find it!” Reijiko snapped.

“Ha! I guess it would a lot easier now that it’s been destroyed.”

“What?! How!?”

Kagura flipped black tresses before giving her red-head counterpart a sideways glance, “Our best guess is that one of the local demon slayers got to it before you did, so now the boss is pissed that his expensive prototype has been broken. Way to go Chickie.”

With that, the screen on Reijiko’s video-watch went black, leaving the woman to sigh out in part grief and part anger. Naraku entrusted the damned thing with her; to make sure that the demon-droid was functioning properly and to report any signs of weaknesses or malfunctions.

‘I guess inability to follow instructions of higher-ups is a pretty good sign of malfunction…’ She thought sarcastically.

Reijiko stood upright on the dumpster can, her boots echoing out the sound of pounding metal throughout the alleys. She leapt off into the streets and sidewalks of Greyson, high-tailing it to her destination; though she dreaded her own arrival.

…

“She’s on her way Boss.” Kagura said softly as she pulled out a fan to cool herself.

Little Kanna followed behind her elder holding what looked to be a mirror, the contents not showing a reflection but acting as a camera that followed Reijiko’s movements.

A deep voice elongating the word ‘excellent’ came from a man with pale skin tinted grey and hair that flowed to his lower back. His dark eyes now in a calm, deep brown color followed the screen on Kanna’s mirror. He clenched his jaw at the sight of Reijiko, however. Though she was his most trusted field-woman, this major slip-up could not and would not go unpunished. The secret of Naraku’s plan must kept hidden until the time to strike came upon them, and what really frustrated this man was now he knows that some demon slayer knows the weakness of his demon-droids when he, himself, didn’t. It was time to hatch a new plan. Thankfully one was already formulating in the back of his mind.

Demon Slayer 3

The Plan

Dawn came quicker than expected for the taijiya, Sango, as she mounted her motorcycle with a bag clinging to her back, and sped off into the early morning sunrise. Sleep didn’t come easy the night before, and for good reason. That small engraving of the letter ‘N’ had been plaguing her thoughts ever since she picked up the broken-off piece of machinery that fell from the demon the other day.

She rode into the city, whizzing past the sign reading ‘Welcome to Greyson City’. Sango praised herself on waking up in time to beat early morning traffic of workers going in for their first shift; there was a still a sense of urgency in the air. Her destination was fast approaching, just one more turn around a corner and she would make it within the next few moments. As her Kirara roared to a stop, Sango gazed up into the window that was located at the fifth story of the building. Just as the woman expected, the blinds were shut and a smile crossed her face.

She thought.

Inside the apartment complex, Sango began walking up the steps to her dear friend, Miroku’s, apartment door. A faster set of pattering footsteps indicated that someone was running, but before she could asses from where the person was coming, a girl accidentally bumped into the taijiya sending the two crashing to the bottom floor. The mechanical piece flew out of Sango’s knapsack and hit the floor with a loud clang, alerting the slayer. After she scrambled to pick it back up, Sango looked up with concern for the other person involved in the accident. She found that it was a woman with bright red hair.

"Are you ok?" Sango asked while helping up the girl. Out the corner of the slayer’s eye she found a pair of sunglasses and went to pick them up. "Here you go. It’s a good thing they aren’t cracked." She said giggling as she passed back the eyewear.

The girl furrowed her scarlet brows as she snatched away the shades and covered her crimson eyes. She dusted herself of any dirt and proceeded to walk past Sango in a huff.

"Watch where you’re going next time…" The woman said disdainfully.

Sango placed both hands on her hips and snorted angrily; the nerve of city dwellers sometimes! Brushing off the rude woman, Sango restarted her climb up the stairwell, surprised to see that Miroku was staring down at her from the very top.

With a yawn and a scratch of his head, Miroku gave Sango a sleepy smile as he greeted her. "Quite the commotion down there; is everything alright?" he asked.

The slayer rubbed her behind in hopes of easing a bit of pain and returned a smile, "Oh yeah! Aside from that chick that irritated me a bit, I’m perfectly fine."

Sango was suddenly greeted by second hand, not her own, that was rubbing on her backside as well. In a fit of rage, she promptly let her palm come harshly into contact with the man’s face. Unsurprisingly, he sighed in defeat and walked after the storming slayer into his home.

"Jeez, first you wake a man from his sleep, then strike him, and now you’re barging into his home. I thought better of you Sangs." Miroku joked, only to be met with a harsh glare and a piece of metal pressed against his chest.

"I came here in hopes you can help me solve this mystery." Sango began. "Yesterday, I had the honor of fighting off a demon with various places of its body covered in mechanical pieces. I defeated the monster, but this part of the beast fell off and engraved in it is the letter ‘N’. I was wondering if you know of any big name manufacturers whose owners have this initial."

Miroku quirked an eyebrow questioningly as he observed the foreign object before shaking his head in the negative. Miroku was famously known as a know-it-all, so it shocked the slayer that even he couldn’t give her the answers she needed. However, Miroku was a man of science. He made a beeline to his study, which was covered in a mess of opened books and loose papers blanketing the wooden floors, and placed the mechanical piece under a microscope.

Sango looked over the scientist’s shoulder and huffed, "What’s that going to prove?" She asked.

"No need to be skeptical my dear. You said that this thing fell off of a demon correct? Well if I search for any signs of DNA, we can trace this directly to a specific type of demon. Who knows, maybe that half machine, half beast was a one time-"

Miroku was cut short an explosion was heard coming from outside. The man and woman instantly scrambled to the window overlooking Greyson City and saw a thin line of smoke emitting from an area a few miles from their current location. A fierce roaring echoed throughout the air and Sango immediately ran into action.

"I guess we’ll continue this later, I have a demon to take care of!" She shouted as she ran out the door.

Miroku stayed by the window observing the commotion going on, or what little of it he could see. Suddenly, he heard a faint, yet clearly identifiable whirring noise before being followed by a loud crash and an explosion. Knowing that Sango was already long gone, Miroku threw on some clothes and was out the door in a flash; getting in his car and driving off soon after.

Reijiko leaned against a nearby building, watching the mindless destruction before her. The droid was just brutish bait; just a brainless pawn in this mad scheme for complete and total control over the city. In fact, the crimson-haired woman had just witnessed the fall of many slayers trying to take on the challenge of taking down the beast. She was beginning to think that the first demon-droid was defeated on pure fluke, rather than being killed by a skilled warrior. She reached in her pocket to pull out a smoke, but stopped when something caught her eye.

A familiar woman rode in on the scene atop a motorcycle. She was carrying two pistols. Reijiko rolled her eyes feeling deeply skeptical that mere bullets would stop this powerhouse of genetic engineering, but her doubt immediately washed away when the first shots were fired and came into contact with the skin. Reijiko watched intently as the flesh of the monster began to sizzle and practically disintegrate. It then hit the red-head; this slayer must have been the one to defeat the previous demon-droid.

Just as she noticed the slayer end the battle with a giant blast from an even bigger gun, Reijiko figured the time was right to bring in her findings. Literally. The red-head positioned her hand in Sango’s direction and hurled a net made of a strong spider’s webbing towards her at break-neck speeds. The taijiya jumped out of the way and looked up to see her newest attacker emerge from the cloud of dust.

As Sango pulled herself to her feet, she gasped when she saw who it was before her. It was the same woman from her accident on the stairs.

"Well well." Reijiko started, "Looks like I’ve found my target…"