Our Mission

Some time before the Mother Demon encounter…

The winter winds did not blow as strongly in the Industrial District of Sattokotta, the district was the smallest compared, yet it had massively modern buildings to the residential and market districts, this was part of the ever growing modernization of the village soon to be city. Kagero and Utazo have trekked through the district multiple times during the week searching for the Mother Demon.

Suspicions had arisen all across Sattokotta ever since the last encounter with the demons, it was repeatedly reported that buildings just seem to be appearing at such rapid pace all across the village districts, but now it has halted, perhaps it was because of the bad weather increasing throughout the week that production had slowed down immensely.

"HAGHHCHOO!" Kagero sneezed so strongly that his cap practically hopped from his head.

"Ah man this cold is gonna murder me!" Kagero struggles to keep on his two feet with all this wind.

Utazo was ahead of him, not even stopping to give him a glance.

"OIII! UTAZOOO!"Kagero shouted, but he attracted many bystanders who were holding onto their clothing for warmth with his explosiveness. Utazo did not bother to look.

Kagero stomped his way up to Utazo, he shuffled through the deepening snow, holding onto his beloved cap.

"Utazo," Kagero gasps for some clear air that wasn't filled with sharp ice. Utazo finally stops to face Kagero with a disappointed look.

"Are you going to focus on the mission or what?" Utazo was unfazed by the cold winds blowing ever so strongly.

"It's too cold for me, I-I-I don't think I can go on anymore, I'm going to turn into a cube of ice and be TRANSFORMED FOR USE AS ICE WATER FOR PEOPLE TO CONSUME HAPPILY!" Kagero froze, dropping to his knees as if he were about to be consumed by the white snow of death, his fiery haori was turning into a sheet of ice along with his demon slayer attire.

"Ehhh? Did you not train to be a Demon Slayer or something you idiot?" Utazo looked unto Kagero with confusion and disappointment wrapped in one.

"I think my Demon Slayer costume is broken!" Kagero expanded his haori to see that his dark but red tinted attire was covered in particles of ice, giving it a white tint.

"How does your 'attire' break if you haven't fought an Upper Moon Demon, your attire is supposed to help protect you from this cold, heat, and demons themselves," Utazo wiped his glasses because a small piece of ice did not melt when it rested on the glass.

"I'm just really unlucky I guess, ehehe," Kagero nervously giggled a bit as he started smacking the ice from his attire, the particles would easily fly off with each palm that struck.

"Tough it out, we have a mission to do,the sooner we finish this search the sooner we can leave," Utazo sighed as he shook his head in disappointment.

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"Heeeeey!" a flurry of shouts came from the left side of both Utazo and Kagero.

From a short distance away from Utazo and Kagero, shouting came through the blizzard of freezing cold,

Kagero immediately recognized the voices, his frantic chills suddenly dissolved and fiery warmth came to him. Utazo felt the change in Kagero with his sense of beat rhythm, he held his confusion internally,

'I don't know how this idiot works.' Utazo then turned to where the shouting came from.

"Oiiiii!" Kagero waves against the blizzard

Utazo observed Kagero approaching two distinct villagers, he crossed his arms and just stood back.

"Kawamura-san and Uno-san." Kagero took off his cap so the wind didn't take it from him as he bowed. Utazo made a sharply confused look at the mannerism of Kagero, it was something he was completely unfamiliar with since all he has ever witnessed is the explosively sneering Kagero.

'Huuuh?' Utazo kept his reaction in his thoughts.

"Kagero-san." the girls both bowed.

"How come you're out here in this storm? I was just accompanying Yoshi-san," Kawamura tilted her head seeing Kagero's attire slowly building frost once again.

Uno quietly adds on to Kawamura soon after,"Yea, I had to request a mail-in through the government building for my family."

"Well, me and my partner here are looking around for anything strange," Kagero points backwards with his thumb to signal Utazo who was observing the interaction. The girls look at Utazo, who sighs disappointingly at the statement of being Kagero's partner, it even made his cheeks cringe.

"We're working together to put a stop to the disappearances happening around," Utazo looks around the blizzard that surrounded the group for anything suspicious, he did not want to somehow forfeit the mission if he wasn't able to spot the demons, or lose the demons again. Kawamura notices the massive odachi behind his back and her eyes widen at the realization that he was the one her mother spoke about that fought a monstrous creature that was a demon.

"Are you the one that fought the demon a week ago?" Kawamura points to his odachi.

"I and another one of our acquaintances, " Utazo added.

"Faolan, he is another partner of ours, he also fought the demon with Utazo," Kagero announced.

"He's probably the boy that made a crowd in the Residential District about helping them out, he's really lifted up everyone since then, no one has been disappearing lately too," Uno tapped Kawamura who made an "oooooo" sound of astoundment.

"I was there too!" Kagero interjected, but the girls displayed skepticism, "You sure?" Uno asked.

"Wow, looks like you guys really made a name for yourselves huh?" Kagero elbows Utazo, who dodges it easily.

"We're just doing our mission-" Utazo cuts his own words off with a thought returning to him from that night 'Protect the village,' the voice of Faolan returned.

'Just a mission,'

Faolan who zaps across him, slices the talon that was about to kill him. Utazo recognizes internally that he could've just died in this mission, this frustrated him. Even if Utazo would like to 'see' it as just another mission, there was something still deeper than just this mission, only Utazo knows, perhaps Faolan had broken that spell for a bit with those words. His face puzzled, maybe it isn't just him, he's never worked with a group of Demon Slayers, he's always had to work with himself to get the mission so he can--

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU FOUR STILL DOING OUT IN THIS STORM?"

A local government authority approached the small group, the four turned to the officer whose attire was a standard overcoat blazer for the cold, a tall man whose eyes one couldn't see. The Demon Slayers stood in front of the girls, the officer approached with an odd amount of aggression. Utazo noticed that Utazo's expression had changed once again, he became someone much more serious now.

"We're just looking around," Utazo replies.

"We were asking the girls if they know some sort of building around here that we need to get to," Kagero adds.

The local government authority inspects the group, and notices that the boys are wearing similar looking outfits, and are carrying weapons. He notices the odachi and the katana that Utazo and Kagero owned.

"Are you the one who supposedly fought some kind of monster?" The government authority spoke with demeaning sarcasm. "You honestly believe that Demons exist, haha" he let out a short puff of laughter.

"You do realize that there are actual lives that are being lost here?" Kagero replied frustratedly.

"Civilians are constantly moving in and out of Sattokotta, stop spreading fairy tales, the city is progressing just fine," the government authority rejects the notion completely. The girls were shocked with the attitude of government authority, it was to be expected in these modern times.

Utazo recalls the reports that have been made especially by Kagero,Yukina, and Faolan about buildings being made out of nowhere, no one seems to ever notice construction happening all over Sattokotta.

"How's construction going?" Utazo asked with an observant eye.

"Progress has been halted because of the recent storm for the past week, so all workers have been told to take the week off," the government authority brushed the answer swiftly without hesitation.

Utazo and Kagero were both silenced, they couldn't go any further with the government authority.

"This is pathetic," mumbled Kagero, Utazo instantly turned to Kagero.

"It is what it is then," Kagero shrugged sarcastically, his expression changed again.

"Excuse me? I think you all should go to your respective homes now. There's absolutely nothing you should be concerned about," the government authority rested his palm where his baton and domestic pistol sat, they could see a group of authorities silhouettes in the blizzard approaching.

The group decided to leave the sight of the government authority before any possible confrontational conflict between the groups. The authority's denial was not surprising to the Kawamura and Uno, because the authorities have not even declared the disappearances as a problem in the village, but for Kagero he couldn't fathom the idea of lives being so easily unaccounted for by the government authority, it left him with a sort of sadness masked by his changing behavior. Utazo started to see that now, he had realized that his sense of rhythmic beats let him know every time he changed, but it wasn't a fake mask Kagero was putting on, it was his way of being brighter to himself.

Utazo was sort of surprised at his behavior, he didn't believe that Kagero could get so serious, the one week and a half he spent with him always showcased one side of that explosive corps member. Utazo now wanted to focus back on the mission, 'the government problems can wait,' he thought as they stomped through the snow, heading now into the direction of the Residential district to see the girls off at least.

They understood that they couldn't interfere too much with the government, or the Demon Slayer members could be compromised, especially with the growing conflict with that particular officer.

'The buildings all look the same,' Utazo can see the varying replications of the city, 'What are all these buildings for?'

"Thank you," Kawamura stopped everyone to give a gesture of thanks to the Demon Slayers.

"Thank you," Uno also stepped in to give thanks.

"Haha, that's not necessary, but thanks, it's what we do!" Kagero bows in respect.

"Right, Utazo, it's our mission," Kagero looked to Utazo for reassurance.

Without a thought, Utazo replied,

"Yea, that's our mission as Demon Slayers," Utazo still looked around at his surroundings, the snow grew heavier, the winds blowing even harder now. There's an overwhelming presence in the direction of the Residential District.

'The rhythm is all over the place,' Utazo's chest twitched. Kagero notices the odd presence and raises his cap.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHGHHHHG,"

"RUN THERE ARE MONSTERS!"

"COME! DON'T LOOK BACK, MY SON."

Screams of civilians, men, women, and children as they burst through the storm. People came stumbling through the snow, leaving hundreds of trails as they ran past the group of four, looking for the safety of shelter. The shuffles of their feet crashed against the deep snow, families of people scurrying in fear, the terror that rested in their village had awoken. Kawamura and Uno expressed a grand fear and worry, they held each other. The authorities came from behind the group of four. The government authority who they spoke to was among the squad.

"YOU NEED TO GET INDOORS, THERE'S SOME KIND OF ATTACK ON THE VILLAGE," The authorities shouted, sprinting past the civilians that rumbled through the snow.

Utazo unsheathes his nichirin odachi, preparing for combat.

"There's something crazy going on now, Utazo!" Kagero unsheathes his bright nichirin blade, standing in front of the girls to guard them against danger.

'Those officers didn't spare a single person to watch over the civilians here, dammit,' Utazo fixes his glasses for a better view of the storm surrounding the four.

Screams of the officers soon are heard in the howling winds, Utazo rushes forward to where officers are headed towards the Residential district leaving Kagero behind to defend the girls and those who have retreated into the Industrial District.

But he is stopped.

Utazo witnesses children of Demons engrossing themselves in the corpses of a few dead officers who had nothing to defend themselves, for they only had to use useless batons. There was a multitude of other officers coming in from different intersections in the Industrial District, attempting to fight off the demons from each other. They bashed, whacked, and splattered the bones and skulls of some of the demon children, splattering blood as the demon children also slashed the necks and chests of the authorities. Some officers decided to run from the conflict seeing that this was unnatural, and the instinct of fear was kicked in as soon as the demons would not stay down after being brutalized.

"This is a massacre," Utazo spectated, watching the grotesque scene, yet he felt that they deserved it. 'They rejected the claims of the people, and this is the consequence,' Utazo thought.

'PROTECT THE VILLAGE,'

The thought of his mission had slipped his mind for a split second, the words of that one boy had somehow motivated his bones and nerves to move.

Utazo swings away the children of demons from the officers who are brutally injured, one of which was the government authority from earlier.

"Go to my friend in the back and take those civilians somewhere safe while we hold these bastards off!"

"ITS-ITS HIIM-HIM," a child Demon hissed.

"HE HUrt uSS,"

"KILL, DIE!"

"YES, EAT EAT FOR MAMA,"

"MGHMGMGMMM!"

Utazo held a stand-off at his position to somehow force the school of Demons to fearfully not pass him and attack the civilians still rushing past Kagero.

"Kawamura and Uno, there's something we're gonna do now," Kagero tips his cap in a cool fashion as the authorities finally approach, the girls decide to only listen. The recognizable authority from a bit earlier speaks up.

"We're going to round up the civilians to a safe space,"

"Is that right?" Kagero asks with unsure sarcasm.

"YES, I'M SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW IF THE STORIES WERE TRUE, ALRIGHT!" the authority whimpered, and the other officers turned in shame.

"Our reports were factual. There was evidence of people leaving the village, but then again—." Another one of the officers stops himself from further excuses, but Kagero notices something new.

"Go, and we'll save the village," Kagero smiles brightly at the girls. They appeared like the storm around them, their hearts and minds growing in the intensity of the situation, the ice felt colder than before, but somehow with Kagero, there was something there that the girls felt.

Kawamura and Uno burst before taking off with the officers.

"You two survive!"

"Please!"