Our Bodies Are All Wrong — Demon Slayer Corps: Gender Chaos Diary
One morning, the pillars and members of the Demon Slayer Corps wake up to discover something terrifying: their bodies have completely changed.
Tanjiro is now a girl. Zenitsu is crying in a cute high-pitched voice. Inosuke doesn't care at all. Nezuko is now a boy, standing there confused saying 'Big bro... something is really wrong with me.' Shinobu is now male and trying very hard to stay calm while clearly panicking. Rengoku's body changed but he's still happily eating breakfast.
Something ha
Our Bodies Are All Wrong — Demon Slayer Corps: Gender Chaos Diary - Even if water changes, it remains water
The night hasn't fully broken yet.
The soil of the training grounds was slightly damp with cold night dew. The edge of the sky was beginning to brighten, but stars were still visible.
Kamado Tanjirou stood alone, sword raised.
Water Breathing, First Form. Step forward, swing the arm.
Thud.
Balance collapsed again. Knees hit the ground. Pushing with palms, standing up.
(The center of gravity... still doesn't align.)
Third morning. Yesterday he fell. The day before, he fell too.
Tanjirou's current body had thin arms, small lungs, and a completely shifted center of gravity. The Water Breathing forms were something Tanjirou had spent years embedding into his body. But now, every sensation was off.
One more time.
Step forward. Swing.
He fell again.
Thud—hands and knees hit the soil. It hurt. But he stood up.
"I have to figure out how to fight with this body..."
A high voice. Still not used to it.
From the window of the recovery ward, he felt someone watching. Probably Zenitsu. Yesterday too, he'd watched from that same window with worry written all over his face.
Footsteps.
"Tanjirou! What are you doing out here in the dark like this, I woke up and you were gone—and you're on the ground again!"
Zenitsu came running into the garden. His blonde hair swayed softly in the morning air. His hair was a bit messy from sleep.
Tanjirou brushed the soil off as he stood.
"You don't have to worry. I... I have to do this myself."
"Why are you doing it alone? I'll help—"
"If I can't fight, I can't protect everyone. I have to find the feel of my own body myself."
Zenitsu fell silent.
Tanjirou raised his sword again.
In that moment, he heard a voice in his head.
—Water changes form but remains water. Even if the vessel changes, the essence doesn't.
Master Sakonji's voice.
Tanjirou held the sword and thought for a moment.
(I'm trying to recreate the movements of a male body. But this is a different body now.)
His feet were shorter, so his center of gravity was lower. His arm strength had decreased, but because he was lighter, his rotation was faster.
That's it.
He couldn't match the movements by copying them exactly. He should create movements suited to this body from the start.
Tanjirou changed his stance. He lowered his center of gravity more, held the sword shorter. He made his steps smaller, and instead used his whole body to rotate.
He swung.
The blade flowed smoothly.
He didn't fall.
(Ah...)
Something flowed from the center of his body. Like water. Completely different from before. He tried again. Lower center of gravity, power from rotation.
Smooth. It worked again.
Tanjirou's eyes shone. This was it. This feeling.
"Amazing!! Tanjirou, you're so cool!!"
—Thud.
Something hit his back.
"Huh—wait—"
Zenitsu came running from behind and clung to him.
Balance collapsed. The two tangled together, spun around, and crashed onto the soil.
Silence.
Three seconds passed.
"...It was finally working."
Tanjirou muttered, half-buried in the dirt.
"I-I'm sorry!! I was just so happy!! I couldn't help it!!"
Zenitsu lifted his face. He was very close to Tanjirou's. His orange eyes went wide, his ears turning red.
"S-sorry—my legs are tangled—"
Struggling didn't help.
"Zenitsu, calm down. Not that way—"
"But my legs!!"
"Don't pull—"
Without a sound, a presence appeared.
Someone was standing beside them.
Tomioka Giyu.
His long black hair fell straight in the morning light. Expressionless. Except his eyes—the way he looked at Zenitsu was incredibly cold.
Zenitsu froze.
"..."
"W-what's with that look!! I was just trying to help and we fell!!"
Giyu said nothing. He simply extended his hand toward Tanjirou.
Tanjirou took it and stood up. Giyu's hand was slightly large and firm.
(Something... feels different from before.)
Something in his chest felt strange. What was this? He'd felt it yesterday too. Nervousness? But he should be used to Giyu by now.
Tanjirou brushed the soil off.
"You two, can't you both just get along...?"
Zenitsu stared at Giyu, and Giyu glanced at Zenitsu.
Sparks seemed to scatter between them, at least to Tanjirou. He still didn't understand why.
---
A little past noon, the three of them headed toward the northwest forest.
Last night, the Kakushi Crow—the raven that served as the Demon Slayer Corps' messenger—had brought urgent news. A Kakushi who entered the northwest forest had gone missing. Kakushi were the support staff of the Demon Slayer Corps. They didn't have the strength to match the Pillars, but they tracked the scent of smoke.
About thirty minutes' walk northwest from the Butterfly Mansion. At the entrance, the wisteria flower barrier—the scent that kept demons away—had a gap.
"Here. The wisteria scent cuts off."
Tanjirou stopped. The barrier—the fragrant aura of wisteria flowers that kept demons at bay—had a hole. Branches were broken in one place, badly.
"We're really going in...?"
Zenitsu grabbed Tanjirou's sleeve. His face was pale.
"We can't leave the missing Kakushi."
Zenitsu was silent for a while.
"...Okay. Let's go."
His color hadn't returned. But his eyes changed. Not the scared look from before—he was facing forward properly.
(Zenitsu is reliable when it counts.)
Tanjirou thought it honestly. He just didn't say it out loud.
The three of them held cloth to their mouths and entered the forest.
As the trees grew taller, the sunlight dimmed. The air became humid, with a slightly sweet smell. Tanjirou's nose reacted.
(This scent... it makes you drowsy. Smoke.)
"Be careful. There's residual smoke scent."
Giyu nodded silently. Zenitsu pressed the cloth tighter.
A little further in, there was luggage at the base of a tree.
A black cloth bag. The kind the Kakushi of the Demon Slayer Corps used. But no owner. No human presence nearby. Just the luggage, lying there.
"The person... the scent cuts off here. They were taken further in."
Zenitsu stared at the luggage and fell silent.
As they went deeper, claw marks appeared on a thick tree trunk. Three deep vertical lines. Wider than Tanjirou's palm. The bark was badly torn.
"...It's huge. A really huge demon."
Zenitsu's face went white.
Then.
"Interesting, interesting..."
A voice.
Low and muffled laughter. Impossible to tell where it came from. From the trees above? From underground? The figure wasn't visible.
"Are you confused by your changed body? That face... it's irresistible."
All three drew their Nichirin swords at once.
Tanjirou tried to trace the demon's scent. But the sweet smoke smell was too strong. He couldn't pinpoint where the demon was.
White smoke began seeping from cracks in the tree trunks. Thin smoke rose from gaps in the roots.
"We're retreating."
"Huh—"
"We can't win now. Hurry."
All three ran.
The demon didn't chase. The voice stopped. It just watched them run, calmly.
That—terrified Tanjirou far more than if it had attacked.
(It has composure. It doesn't think it needs to hurry. That's how confident this demon is.)
The forest exit came into view. Bright light from outside filtered through the trees. Almost there.
Then Tanjirou's right foot sank into the ground.
"Ah—"
A hole. Hidden under fallen leaves, his right foot sank in up to the knee. It wouldn't come out.
"This is bad!"
Zenitsu shouted. In that instant, someone grabbed Tanjirou's right wrist.
Giyu.
He pulled up with one motion. Even with Tanjirou's different body weight, Giyu's pull was completely decisive. Pop—Tanjirou's foot came free from the hole, and he was back on solid ground.
But the momentum of being pulled made Tanjirou stumble forward.
Toward Giyu.
Their faces were close.
Giyu's eyes wavered. Deep-colored eyes meeting Tanjirou's. Like he was trying to say something, but saying nothing at all—
Tanjirou's heart beat hard.
(Huh... why—)
"Danger!!"
Zenitsu came flying in.
All three tumbled together onto the soil.
"The smoke's coming! Run!!"
Everyone stood and ran. Feet kicking soil. Trees flowing past. Light growing larger.
They burst from the forest.
In that instant, the sweet smoke scent vanished.
All three collapsed onto the grass. Zenitsu had his hands on his hips, catching his breath. Giyu breathed quietly and returned his sword to its sheath.
Tanjirou checked his own chest again.
(Why did that happen just now—)
It was the tension from escaping the forest. Probably. He told himself that.
"Tomioka! Don't get your face that close to Tanjirou!"
Zenitsu protested at Giyu.
Giyu said nothing, just slowly brushed off his sword sheath.
Tanjirou turned to Giyu.
"Thank you for saving me back there."
Giyu turned his face slightly away.
"...Be careful."
Short. But it reached Tanjirou clearly.
Zenitsu was making a small groaning sound toward the ground. Tanjirou didn't quite understand why.
---
Back at the Butterfly Mansion, Shinobu came out of the research room.
The male version of Kocho Shinobu had shorter, glossy black hair and stood about 175 centimeters tall. Even with the changed body, the calm bearing and precise words hadn't shifted one bit. He adjusted his thin gloves while looking over the three of them.
"Please give me your report."
Sitting on the tatami of the main hall, Tanjirou explained in order. The hole in the wisteria barrier. The Kakushi's luggage. The size of the claw marks. The low laughter and smoke. That it never showed itself.
Shinobu nodded while listening.
"The demon's fighting method relies primarily on smoke disruption. If we engage head-on, we'll play right into its hands."
"So what do we do?"
Shinobu stood and took a small wooden box from the shelf.
"If we create scent balls made from wisteria flowers from the medicinal garden as the main ingredient, we can potentially neutralize the smoke. It's a preventative measure—a protective fragrance, so to speak."
Zenitsu's eyes lit up. So did Tanjirou's.
Shinobu continued.
"—However, preparing the ingredients will take a full day. The earliest completion would be tomorrow afternoon to evening."
Both their faces fell.
They couldn't move tonight. In the meantime, the missing Kakushi's safety remained unknown. Something heavy pressed down on Tanjirou's chest.
"What should we do tonight?"
"Tonight, you don't leave the Butterfly Mansion. If you move while the smoke spreads at night, you'll play right into their hands."
He knew it was right. But the impatience of just waiting wouldn't fade.
---
Evening came.
On the way back, Zenitsu walked beside Tanjirou.
For a while, both were silent. The scent of wisteria drifted past.
"...Hey, Tanjirou."
Zenitsu spoke in a slightly lower voice. None of his usual exaggeration.
"Promise me you'll let me fight with you tomorrow. I know I'm scared, but... I don't want you going alone."
Tanjirou looked at Zenitsu's face.
It wasn't red. His eyes were serious.
"...Yeah. Let's go together."
Zenitsu broke into a smile. A genuinely happy smile.
Tanjirou's chest stirred again.
What was this feeling? It had happened several times today. When Giyu pulled his hand. When Zenitsu made that face.
It was the tension from escaping the forest. Probably. Definitely.
Giyu was on the veranda of the Butterfly Mansion.
Watching the two of them walk side by side from a distance. The sunset painted his profile orange.
Giyu's lips moved slightly. No sound came out. But the shape seemed readable.
—Tomorrow, all three of us go.
The wisteria flowers in the medicinal garden swayed in the evening breeze.
Tomorrow night. Only one day left until then.
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