He Who Fights Demons Ch 2

...Not really much to say. Posting Ch 2 cause I have three chapters of this written.

Lemme know if like and all that!

Also, changing the view scheme on these, cause they're not gonna be public for quite a while.

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“Shigeru, I swear in the name of all that is holy.” I said in a deadpan drawl that drew the youngest of the Kamado gaggle short.

At first, my emotionless tone had been because I was still acclimating to having a flesh and blood body again, on top of having been ‘awoken’ long before my body’s thirteenth year.

“Takeo, if you stare at the pastry any harder it’ll catch fire.”

Then my boss at entertainment had liked it so much that he offered me bonus materials as well as a steady supply of exotic magical and futuristic materials for my Workshop if I kept it up.

Naturally I had no choice but to continue. If I kept it up long enough and dropped it at a sufficiently dramatic moment, I’d get a replicator from Star Trek, a civilian one.

One that I could jailbreak and remove the locks stopping it replicating weapons and ammo.

“Hanako, I swear to Hinokami…you stop chastising Takeo. He’s just excited. You were equally excited when I got you that new kimono.”

It had been awkward at first, but by now I was used to it.

As were the kids I was holding court over. Yeah they were a pain in the ass, but they were my pain in the ass. And Ma and Pa Kamado had been making bedroom eyes at each other ever since I Captured him and used the Body Tune-Up buff to heal his Tuberculosis.

“Tanjiro, I told you to pick out something for yourself. That’s a hairpin. Your hair is not long enough to style with that hairpin, ergo, you are not getting something for yourself. Put it back and choose something for yourself.” I hesitated. “Don’t you look at me like that. You either pick something for yourself or you get nothing.”

To my surprise, the moment Tanjuro was healed his Tier had jumped from 4 to 5. Meaning the man was a true badass. According to the Catalog, that was the Tier of most high-power demons and the Hashira.

I was a Tier 5, but I had two Templates, and a number of Company Talents that boosted my learning and base abilities. The only thing Pa had was his slightly magic breathing.

Maybe now that he was healed he’d agree to spar with me?

“As usual, you’re a godsend, Nezuko.” I said with a sigh, patting my eldest younger sister’s head.

“You’re so funny, big brother.” She said with a laugh, holding the hands of Hanako and Shigeru.

“No, no I am not.” I answered in a deadpan. “I only wish Tanjiro was equally reliable.”

The object of my scrutiny stiffened with a sound not unlike a strangled cat, he then turned to me and whined. “Big brother, that’s not fair!”

“If anything I’m too generous with my praise.” I retorted, making him lean back as if I’d stabbed him, much to the amusement of the gaggle.

The day in the town was going pretty well. The townspeople were fairly used to our shenanigans.

It was then that I got a ping from my HUD, and my heart jumped all the way to my throat.

I cut what I was doing and made my way to the new nav-point. The Kamado gaggle surprised by my sudden movement.

I ignored their questions as I power walked until I found myself in front the a house of a family I hadn’t met. They were selling puppies.

There were seven puppies in a little box, and a small hairless puppy on a separate box, he was sad and cold. But the moment he saw me, his tail started to wag so hard it shook his entire back half.

“You don’t want that one, son.” The man selling puppies said as the Kamado gaggle caught up to me and, as one, began to squeal over the adorable animals.

“And why would that be?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Two months that dog been alive, and not a single hair has come out of its hide.” The man said, shivering in disgust. “Not to mention, that dog came out looking weird. That animal is cursed, some god or demon has cursed it.”

Ignorant peasant.

It became incredibly difficult to maintain my stoic demeanor. I could see why he might think the dog ‘cursed,’ compared to Japanese dog breeds, Xoloitzcuintlis were weird. Hairless, muscular, and rather rough looking with a face some ignorant people will never love.

But expositing the many reasons why he’s an idiot would be a waste of my time. So I scooped up the pupperized Xolo and held him close to my chest. “Then I guess that means you won’t mind if I take him with me. Worry not, I won’t charge you for taking this ‘cursed cur’ away from you.”

The man scowled, but ultimately shrugged and muttered something about curses as I gathered my gaggle and continued on my way.

We still needed to waste more time, because going by Pa’s vitals, him and Ma were still busy making us another sibling.

 Thankfully, I now had dog. I pawned the sleepy but happy pupper onto Nezuko, the only one among the gaggle I could trust with custodianship.

I did eventually throw in the towel and led the kids back home. I did not understand why anyone would find the daily life of a secretly magical semi-medieval peasant interesting, but the flow of extra resources for me to play with in my Workshop whenever I could put together a few extra minutes told me whoever was watching this, liked it.

“Big brother, what are you going to call him?” Nezuko asked, rocking the pupper who had fallen asleep in her arms, nuzzling his head against her developing bosom.

Damn dog, he’s lucky he’s adorable and pupper sized.

“Xolo.” I said, the dog’s ears twitching as he napped.

“That’s a weird name.” Takeo complained. “I think you should call him Jiro.”

“Denied,” I shot back, “his name is Xolo.”

This, of course, sparked a furious war within the gaggle. Sides were chosen, alliances made, a most horrifying slaughter took place via tickling.

Poor Hanako found no allies as Shigeru flagged and I was forced to pick him up to continue the journey home.

The war entered its cold stage as Takeo and Hanako both flagged, forcing me to pick them up.

Xolo, the lazy bum, slept through the whole ordeal.

Hmmm…if and when I get some Credits, I should see about getting him a Template.

Maybe Krypto’s, the only thing better than a dog, is a dog that can bench press a steam locomotive.

I gave Nezuko instructions on how to care for Xolo. Xoloitzcuintlis were a bit finicky due to the majority of them growing minimal hair. If he grew up the same as when I got him out of that Biotechnica lab, then he’d eventually grow a bit of fuzz on his ears and little else.

But that was fine, he was the handsomest wrinkly sock in existence.

We arrived home to see Pa sitting on the porch, drinking tea and looking quite satisfied with himself. He gave us a serene smile as we arrived. “Hey kids, do try and be quiet, your mother is asleep.”

Which…woah, that woman could make several trips up and down the mountain in one day. For him to have tired her out to that extent?

Life. Goals.

Gods I couldn’t wait for the girl I’d chosen to get here already.

All I knew was that she’d arrive ‘dramatically’ and I couldn’t explain the Company to her, for ‘drama.’

That would likely bite me in the ass later, particularly when I left this universe.

I wouldn’t any time soon. I’d grown to love this group of concentrated annoyance I called a family. But some day.

As the kids quietly made their way inside and around the house, and Hanako asked if we were having fish for dinner, I got myself a glass of water and sat next to Tanjuro as he reeked of smug satisfaction without the smug.

So, I guess he was just satisfied.

“Thank you, son.” Tanjuro said suddenly.

I shrugged. “Eh, they’re a handful, but I figured you and Ma wanted some time alone.”

He smiled like he knew something I didn’t, his chest and shoulders much broader and solid than they had been for years. “As you say.”

We sat there and I sipped my water while he drank his tea.

Shigeru tripped and fell while chasing Takeo. He looked up, his expression at a halfway point between confused and constipated.

“Oi!” I called out lazily, unconcerned. “You okay?”

“Yes?” He asked.

“Good! Pick yourself up and get back to it!”

“Okay!” He said enthusiastically and got back to chasing his older brother. Fall already forgotten.

“You’ll make a fine father someday.” Tanjuro said happily.

“Dunno about that.”

My dog padded over at some point and laid down on my thighs, curled up and fell promptly asleep.

Well, I’m now stuck here from the next few minutes to the next few hours.

“Hanako, be a dear and bring me some more water, would you?”

=][=

My workshop was the only place I could find a modicum of peace. Especially since the birth of Rokuta.

I’d managed this Heculean feat mainly because I’d been able to squirrel away the time to put together small solar and thermal powered biosign scanners keyed with the family’s biosignatures.

So, I’d put in a portal to my extra-dimensional apartment there. Using my Mechanicus Themed workshop, I’d made the pipes that I used for plumbing, they only looked like clay, but were in fact plasteel alloyed with .2% adamantium by volume. By my calculations they would not rust for several thousand years and could survive your average World War 2 artillery barrage.

Perfect for me not to have to worry about them.

Likewise, the waterwheel obfuscated the pump that got the water all the way to my home. Well, the waterwheel did the lion’s share, but it could only create enough water pressure to get it two thirds of the way there, the rest was a pump buried at halfway mark to get it the rest of the way.

Wasteful? Maybe but I enjoyed feeling clean at the end of a long day of work.

I picked up the nails that my machinery had finished production of. The house was far too cramped for such a large family, so I was going to make an extension, then I was going to make a new house for myself.

I was still debating whether to do indoor plumbing, rather than a separate building with a septic system.

On the one hand, convenience, on the other, plumbing was a boring, fiddly bitch and I’d much rather pay someone else to do it.

Problem being I didn’t have anyone to do so. My primitive as fuck shower was a luxury that only the wealthiest people of this time could hope to have. The infrastructure for the skills I wanted to subcontract quite frankly did not yet exist. At least not in the region of Japan that I lived in.

An alarm sounded, prompting me to move on from the nails. A different machine opened its guts, a blade sliding out on its conveyor belt, tempering done.

I smiled broadly.

The naked blade before me was perfect. A European Bastard Sword, made of an alloy of alchemically treated Silver, Adamantium, and Nichirin iron. The resulting steel was stronger than anything that could be produced in my current reality, though not as tough as a blade made of pure Adamantium. It would cut through a solid two-inch block of steel without damaging its edge, but if I tried running a Disruptor Field through it, the metal would corrode, and it would explode in my hand.

But, mystically, it may as well be monster kryptonite. The Alchemical Silver and Nichirin iron, in theory, amplified the power of the Sun that I ran through the blade whenever I used Sun Breathing.

In short, it was a very good blade, it just needed to be sharpened, and the grip and a pommel had to be installed.

As I lifted it by the bare handle, the metal turned a coal black, the letters on the blade standing out a blood red.

Oh yeah, I’m absolutely leaving this behind to flabbergast some historian far in the future.

I set the machines to produce a second bar of the same material, this one would be a katana, and it would make a perfect gift for Pa.

I also queued up a third blade, sister to mine, but made of pure adamantium. This one I would put a disruptor field on.

One blade for people, the other for monsters. Always tailor your load out for the enemies you will face.

Geralt may have had his head quite a bit up his ass, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what he was talking about when he taught the asymmetrical warfare seminar.

I used the power tools to sharpen the blade, then took the scabbard produced by a different machine and went back to the portal room. My extra dimensional home was three hundred square meters and had all the luxurious amenities I missed and did not dare indulge in lest I become used to them and spend less time with the new family.

I still indulged in the store-brand oreos that the house provided.

I stepped back to my very primitive ‘workshop’ by the lake and set about carving the grip for my sword. I had some deer horn from the last mating season I’d been saving for just this occasion.

Sanding the horn down and wrapping it in leather to make a proper grip took a few hours, but it was well worth it as the blade fit perfectly in my hand.

I stepped outside my workshop, drew the blade, and took it through the sunbreathing forms, gliding through them while working out a few issues. The longer handguard of the hand and a half sword interfered with a few of the attacks, but after a few repetitions, I had modified the forms to fit the weapon.

Then, for the funsies, I performed the Hinokami Kagura, the flourishes and extra movements of the dance making me feel like the baddest motherfucker in the land.

My HUD pinged me that the motion sensors along the pipeline that led home were detecting two human sized objects traveling toward me. I decided to keep practicing the Hinokami Kagura, put on a bit of a show.

Besides, I’d been letting my practice slip, I’d been far too busy crafting my sword.

I got another notice that the two objects had ceased moving. Furtive glances cast while I worked the forms showed me that Nezuko and Hanako were both staring, mesmerized by the show I was putting on.

They also had Xolo with them, the dog had shot up like a weed, growing to the point that his shoulder was even with my knee, he didn’t have the coat to be comfortable in the snowy season, so Nezuko had knitted him a sweater.

He stood in front of my sisters, resolutely blocking their path in case they might try to move forward and get hurt by the whirling steel blade.

I did two more repetitions of the twelve forms before stopping and sheathing the blade in its scabbard.

I turned to my sisters. “Nezuko, Hanako, good day.”

“Where’d you get a sword!?” Hanako demanded, running forward with sparkling eyes.

“I made it.”

“That’s so cooool!”

Nezuko approached more slowly.

“That’s incredible.” She said with a soft smile. “But aren’t swords illegal now?”

I let my lips twitch up into the slightest hint of a smile. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”

“Big brother, what’s that red thing?” Hanako asked, pulling on my coat.

Turning to look, I saw a mass of red floating down the river, it shifted, revealing skin white as a sheet.

I had torn my coat and kimono off before I had made it two strides, my mind catching up to my body as I ran to the water. “Go home! Tell Mom and Dad to set the fire high and prepare a futon!”

The two girls jumped at my order, and ran off, Xolo following after them as I took a deep breath to brace myself and jumped into the ice-cold river. The water was so cold I felt icy flame crawl up my limbs and into my heart, the lethal chill mitigated only just by my Wild Defense. I swam to the floating form, grabbed it, and struggled back to shore.

I really should have left the sword at the shore, as light as it was, it felt like a fifty-pound brick.

Once I got to the shore, I inspected my passenger. She was a beautiful redhead, her clothes tattered and bloody, wearing armor that was little more than scrap.

I lay her down on her back and lay my ear over her mouth and nose, and of course she wasn’t breathing, that would be too easy. Putting her on her side on the recovery position, I put my closed fist on her belly button and pressed up hard.

By the third time I did it, she convulsed and vomited out a whole lot of water. It was fascinating to see someone vomit and cough without waking up, but she was breathing and that’s what mattered.

Picking the girl up, I took a deep, lung stretching breath, feeling the oxygen force my lungs to inflate, the blood vessels expanding. Then took off running toward home.

In mere seconds, I caught up with and ran past my sisters, who had only made it two thirds of the way home.

No matter, I’d just take care of things myself.

When I got home, I ran past Ma and Pa. The latter of whom was the only one not to startle at my speed. He merely took in the situation at a glance and did the very important job of dealing with everyone’s questions, freeing me to take care of my guest.

I laid her down on the room we use to sleep, put out a futon, then undressed her, the children peeking in to see what I was doing while Mom kept them out of the way. Dad, bless his soul, piled charcoal onto the stove and built a larger fire. Moving the futon to be as close to the fire as was safe.

The girl’s skin was pale, unnaturally so, the tatters of her armor were made of steel and painted bronze, they were strapped to her body by bands of velcro and came off easily, the brown and yellow corset that kept her large teardrop breasts from spilling out was cut off of her, I couldn’t afford the time to figure out how to untie it. The scarlet sash around her waist and her belt was easy enough to remove, as were her thigh high socks, opera gloves, and underwear.

I took all of half of a second to admire the beauty of the girl at my feet. Pyrrha Nikos had really surpassed my every expectation. I unceremoniously ran a towel over her body, did what I could to towel her hair, and promptly lay her down on the futon and piled her high with blankets.

“It’s no good.” Dad said, making me turn to him with a raised eyebrow. He stuck a hand in the blankets. “She is cold as ice, she has no body heat for the blankets to trap. By the time the fire warms her, it might be too late.”

Well…she was my, as much as I hated the term, ‘waifu’, she just wasn’t aware of the fact yet.

I stepped up my Sunbreathing as I stripped out of what remained of my clothes, my HUD informing me that my body temperature rose to a dangerous threshold, dried myself with another towel, and crawled into the futon/blanket pile, hissing as her ice-cold skin pressed against my overheated skin and leeched it of warmth. I continued my constant use of sunbreathing to force my body to create more warmth.

“Who is she?” Shigeru asked.

Turning to look at him, I saw that he was the one that managed to sneak past Mom and Tanjiro as they herded the rest of the Kamado gaggle.

“I don’t know.” I lied. “Hanako spotted her floating down the river.”

“Will she be okay?”

“Yes. She will be fine.”

“Okay.” Shigeru said with the certain conviction that only a child can achieve, he nodded and went to try and help Mom and Tanjiro by spreading the gossip he’d just retrieved.

I was in better shape than I’d ever been in in my original body, even after basic, and nearly a year spent Edgerunning. But even so, staying in a plank position for much longer would get uncomfortable.

I shuffled us around until I was laying on my side, the unconscious girl tucked tightly against me.

“Do not falter in the Hinokami Kagura.” Tanjuro said, making me realize I had, indeed, stopped using Sunbreathing. “It is the girl’s only chance.”

“Right, thanks pops.”

He nodded with a soft smile, then examined Pyrrha’s clothes. “I have never seen armor of such make, nor of such quality. Her clothes too, even though they are damaged nearly beyond repair, they are of immensely high quality.”

I nodded and said nothing.

“I suspect she has quite the story to tell.” He said, patted my head, and went to help Ma with herding the children.

I cuddled the unconscious girl until her body temperature normalized, then crawled out of the futon and put on the change of clothes Ma had set out for me.

She gave me a smile and some porridge, which I ate gratefully, warmth spreading from my core to my extremities.

Now it was over but for the waiting.

I went to sit at the porch and looked out at the mountain.

“So.” Pa said as he took a seat next to me, holding the scabbard to my new anti-monster sword. “Why don’t you tell me about this fascinating weapon?”

Well shit.