Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

Chapter 72: Professional hater

[Seiji's POV]

Hatred was bitter.

Like medicine.

And like medicine, although bitter, it makes you feel better afterwards.

I didn't know who it was that propagated the idea that hate was a way to destroy oneself and revenge only left a person more hollow than before, but I knew that they were liars.

Or maybe they were not completely true because that statement didn't apply to me.

"Please....n-no moree-ee~" a slushy mess of flesh and bone said to me.

"What is love?~ Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more~" I sang in return, with a smile that showed the weight that had been lifted off my chest.

Did you know that I was never fond of songs because I was deaf? I had to put my hand on a speaker and feel the vibration to get close to appreciating songs, like Miles from Baby Driver. But obviously, I knew about songs like 'Rick Roll' and 'Baby Don't Hurt Me' because of the memes.

The sun had already begun peeking out from the mountains at this point but I put the old demon in a shade to keep him from disintegrating.

"Why are you being so dramatic? You act as if you have been exposed to the cruellest torture for a whole night." I said with a chuckle. I extended my hand and allowed a few drops of blood to fall from the cut in my palm.

"Come on, drink up and heal, I think I nearly got the hang of Beast Breathing by repeatedly grinding you into a paste," I said but the spoiled fruit-looking ahh demon remained unresponsive.

At this point, I was not really annoyed. I had my fill of violence. I could not imagine a way to inflict more pain on him.

My hatred by no means had run out. It was just that I no longer had beef with this specific demon. I knew that although he was the one who killed my parents, he was just a pawn of the ultimate cause of their deaths.

For example, an earthquake happened and a slab of concrete crushed a man. It was the slab of concrete that directly killed him but the main reason behind it was the earthquake.

Similarly, it was demons in general and Muzan Kibutsuji that were the main cause.

I kept on poking the demon with my sword while deep in thought until the sun had risen high enough to finally put an end to the demon. After the existence of the vermin was finally removed from the world, I took a deep breath.

A breath of fresh air that I did not share with that stain. It felt more refreshing than usual - like the world suddenly had an AC.

For a long time, I used to think that hate led a man nowhere but self-destruction. As I said, we've all seen Naruto and we all know where hatred led the Uchihas.

But you know what? My 16-year-old self believes that hate can indeed lead a man where he wants and give him fulfilment, the same as love does.

And revenge was sweet, it was not empty. If you felt empty after enacting revenge, you probably didn't do it enough.

So I'll keep on being a hater without an once of apology.

I didn't have to be a kind-hearted soul who healed with the power of love and forgiveness. I would heal my trauma with the bitterness of hate and revenge.

If I realized that my belief was stupid and wrong by the time I matured more in my 30s. Then.....I'll leave that to future me. Sucks to be him.

But then again, what 30-year-old man did not have to deal with the consequences of their younger self? You do stupid things in your teenage years and deal with the consequences as a middle-aged man, that's how it usually goes for most people.

Well, enough about justifying how I was going to be a professional hater. I think it would do me good to finally check up on Mitsuri and visit Rengoku while doing so.

I need my love Hashira to dilute all the spite and hate in me.

...

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...

"Seiji!!!"

Her pink hair was dancing to the tunes of the wind while she ran up to me with the enthusiasm of a child on a Christmas morning.

She wore a Keigoki - a white long-sleeved shirt with black pants - which told me that she was in the middle of training.

Her signature big tits were bobbing up and down when she ran up to me as if they were happily greeting me.

Yet no matter how much her sexy body attracted a perverted man like me, my gaze was glued to her smile. Was it strange that her smile was the one that made my heart skip a beat?

She looked so happy. It was a privilege, I told myself, that someone was that happy for my mere existence. It made me appreciate life.

The rest of the world fades away and my incredible eyesight only saw her.

....that was probably why I didn't see him coming.

"Seiji!!" a voice with more vibrations - which meant that it was deeper and more masculine - called out to me and the fact that I could see the vibrations meant that it was close.

I felt a rush of wind on my skin and a hard chest (obviously not Mitsuri's) smashed on my stomach and tackled me to the ground.

We fell.

"Hahahahahaha!!" I opened my eyes to see Rengoku laughing above me.

"You disappeared for three months and suddenly sent your fiance to train under me? You sure are a character, my friend," he exclaimed.

Not the waifu I was expecting but okay.

Then Mitsuri finally reached me with tears of joy running down her face. She threw herself on top of me, pressing her whole body against mine.

My arms immediately wrapped around her as if that was their natural state. Finally, a soft chest pressed against mine and I closed my eyes to feel her warmth.

She was saying things but I didn't see them. I only said.

"I miss you too,"

....

After the heartfelt reunion, we went inside Rengoku's house. For the record, this was not his father's house. He had his own home which he bought due to my suggestion, I admitted that I might beat up his father in one of his drunken episodes.

If we fought, he wouldn't know whose side to take so he bought the house.

Now Mitsuri was sitting beside me, her head leaning on my shoulder while I sipped tea. Rengoku was in the kitchen for a while before he came out with some snacks and a tea of his own.

"So, how have you been?" he asked me while settling down opposite to me.

"Better than ever before," I said and paused, thinking about what happened last night.

Finally, I gave a genuine smile, "I killed the demon that ate my family,"

Rengoku nearly choked on his tea and Mitsuri froze.

"Pardon?"

"I killed the old demon who attacked and devoured my family that night. Well, technically he died from the sun but I tortured him the entire night," I repeated myself calmly like I was commenting on the weather.

"That is...quite a heavy statement," he said thoughtfully and rubbed his chin, "I'm lost for words,"

"There's no need for words, I'm okay," I said and Mitsuri held my hand with concern. "I thought I would never see him again so it was a pleasant surprise. My experience actually made me face my past and allowed me to have a new perspective so everything turned out for the better, "

From now on, when I wake up in the middle of the night due to having a nightmare, I will find comfort. When the scene of my sister getting devoured alive played in my mind, the scene of the same demon grovelling like a worm under me would also play alongside it.

It was not a cure but it soothe the pain.

Not only that, I accepted the fact that I was spiteful and that revenge satisfied me. I was a professional hater.

I looked between Rengoku and Mitsuri with a hidden smile. Maybe it was because they were opposites to me that I liked them so much. They were everything I was not. If they were in my shoes, they would probably forgive and fight to make sure nothing like that happened to anyone else.

"What about you Rengoku, anything happened in these three months?"

"Nothing noteworthy like yours. I trained a lot and completed some assignments,"

"What rank are you now?" I asked.

"Kinoto,"

"Oh," I blinked. "So you are only one rank away from being a Hashira now,"

Rengoku was not speedrunning being a Hashira like me nor was he a genius with overpowered eyes. So his growth was more steady and slow. But it still came as a surprise that he moved up the ranks so quickly.

"Yeah. I hope to fight alongside you soon, shoulder to shoulder!" he said with a wide grin.

"I never consider you to be below me Rengoku, you were always my equal," I said and he laughed, not wanting to argue.

"What about you Mitsuri? You've been awfully quiet?" I said and she lowered her head when I looked at her.

What's with her?

"A-are you mad at me?" she suddenly asked under my gaze.

It took me a while to even realize why she would think I would be mad at her - that's how much I was not mad.

"You told me to stay at home and wait for you. But I disobeyed your words and came after you," she said in a soft tone that was not her at all.

"Would I make for a bad wife?" she looked up at me, big emerald eyes glittering with tears.

I nearly forgot that this was the 1920s in Japan. Wives were expected to listen to their husbands and not go against their words. Even though I assumed that she could make her own decisions, she might think that I would be mad at her for it.

My arms immediately wrapped around her small waist which was seemingly shaped to be held by a man and pulled her even closer to me. She blushed, and I liked that her guilty face was replaced with a bashful one.

"Of course, I'm not mad silly," I kissed her forehead, "Instead, I'm deeply glad that you wanted to help me and remain by my side,"

She gave me a smile full of relief.

"Now tell me what happened to you so far," I said and moved away from her because I saw that Rengoku was looking away,

It was not appropriate to be too intimate in the company of others, Japanese culture.

"Well...it happened one day when I decided to run away from home to come to you. Then I realized I didn't know where you were but that was when this black crow with a scary voice came..." Mitsuri started and retold her experience so far.

I listened to her with great attention. For a deaf man, you'd be surprised that I made for a good listener.

We also discussed about how she was going to train. I told them my plan of making her learn fire breathing with Rengoku first and then her becoming my tsuguko after she became a Demon Slayer.

I enjoyed the company of two of the most positive people in the whole world. You couldn't help but feel like the world was sunshine and rainbow when you were with them.

Not that they were naive or delusional by any means.

Rengoku just gave off this reliable aura that nothing bad would happen when I was around him. Even though I knew he was many levels weaker than me, his bravery and courage made me feel at ease.

Then there was Mitsuri. My eyes saw the naked truth of the world, in all its cruelty and tragedy. But when I was with her, I would look at the world through the reflection of her emerald eyes and it was beautiful.

The world she saw was beautiful and when I was with her, she allowed me to see glimpses of her world.

It inspired me to make the world as beautiful as she saw it.

And it goes without mentioning, we ate a lot of food as well. Rengoku and Mitsuri were great cooks so I ate a week's worth.

It was fun and precious time - every second I spent with the people I love.

It was also another reason to hate the demons.

I won't let them take this away from me.

Like that one ghost said, hatred was born in order to protect love.

..

..

[IMAGE]

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Author :That will be all for the week. Thanks for reading.

And please everyone, keep sending me AI generated pic of Seiji if you can.