Chapter 442 - My OC Stash #42 - And so the current flows by notTowfu (DemonSlayer) (1/2)
-I enjoyed reading ths mob character of an OC, the death flags tho has got me quaking
Synopsis: You will remain a mid-ranked demon slayer until the day you die. Despite this, you are perfectly content with your lot in life as long as you can assist the demon slayer corps. Falling in love with Shinobu Kocho was never part of your plan. Reader/Shinobu. Second person POV.
Rated: T
Words: 67K
Posted on: fanfiction.net/s/13519381/1/And-so-the-current-flows (notTowfu)
PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)
-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics/originals mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)
Chapter 1
”You don't have to be so stiff.”
You keep your entire form stiffly bowed, unsure of what to reply. Being told to relax by the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps will result in the opposite effect he intends, no matter how calming his voice. You wager only a directly injected muscle relaxant could help you now.
”Oh, how inconsiderate of me,” Ubuyashiki Kagaya exclaims, making a soft sound of realization. ”Anyone would be tense if it were their first time at headquarters, and the journey here must not have helped your nerves. I shall make haste and endeavour to keep our discussion to the point, then.”
Someone with a death wish will point out their fraying nerves has everything to do with the ensemble of Pillars glaring holes in your back, less to do with being thrust in a foreign environment. You are not such a person, and thus you settle on the best reply you can think of.
”Thank you, Oyakata-sama.”
You keep your head bowed to await further judgement. This will hopefully be your first and last time being thrust into the spotlight. Should you have to withstand another instance of this, you would prefer to get yourself roaring drunk first.
”Very well. First, let me begin by confirming how long you have been in the service of the Demon Slayer Corps. Our records show you been with us for an considerable amount of time, longer than most slayers, my pillars notwithstanding.”
There is a calculated pause at the end of his sentence. You know a subtle order to respond when you hear one, and you say, ”Indeed, it is as you say. This will be my fourth year in the organization.”
”And your rank?”
”Tsuchinoto, Oyakata-sama.”
There comes a number of disparaging grunts from behind you, the one from the Wind Pillar particularly ferocious. Their scorn glances off you like sunlight reflecting off a river's surface. You are unreactive where normal people would have bristled or lost themselves in shame.
It is not because you are resilient to emotions or think yourself special. The truth is far more tame. You can't recall when, but at some point during your career as a Slayer, no matter how many battles you overcame or how much you trained, you barely showed signs of improvement. Often, increasing the frequency and severity of training only yielded meagre results, and the time you took to recover would erase those hard earned upsides. Subjecting yourself to harsher methods changed nothing, and the conclusion you arrived at had drowned you in sorrow for weeks.
In this world, where the weak grappled at the straws to survive, you had been among the many who wished desperately to be one of the strong. But reality proved a cruel mistress, and aside from embracing death, you were left with no other choices. You had to accept the truth.
This was the extent of your body's potential, and Tsuchinoto was the highest rank you would attain in this lifetime. You would not advance. Not when your total demon kill count barely totalled over twenty.
Strangely, once you made peace with your circ_u_mstance, you were paradoxically stronger and more confident than you'd ever been. This surety of your limits has allowed you to survive skirmishes Slayers of the same rank would have been felled by. Your skill to judge whether a battle should be pursued to the bitter end or abandoned has handily saved your life more than a few times.
So, no. You have no reason to be ashamed.
Ubuyashiki must sense your resolve. He lets out a satisfied hum that evokes a wave of appreciative murmurs from Pillars and Kakushi kneeling nearby. The man then bestows you with a beaming smile and says, ”I am delighted you have survived this long, my dear Tsuchinoto. May you continue to live splendidly and aid us in the years to come.”
Your c_h_e_s_t swells with emotion. The missions you toiled over, your suffering at the hands of sadistic demons, lonely nights spent reading by the firelight… Ubayashiki's words instantly uplifts you. It is strange how easily he makes the blood and sweat you have spilled feel wholly worth it.
You now understand why the Pillars have remained intensely loyal to this man despite their tremendous strength. Earlier in your life, you've suffered under people with power who treat those under them like sc_u_m. In your experience, those people never stay in their positions for long. Ubuyashiki has been the head of the Demon Slayer Corps for as long as you've known, and it already tells you a lot about him than history ever will.