The Demon Slayers Sidekick

There was silence in the room for a moment.

Angelica's eyes started to fade as her soul left her body.

Just then she silently turned her attention to Risa and held out her arm towards her before her corpse turned to dust. Just like the earth.

With that, Risa let out a sigh of relief.

But then, the earth under her began to rumble and she was launched into the air. She felt like her life was flashing before her eyes as she began falling. She didn't even know how many times that had happened today.

This was Angelica’s last attempt to get rid of her. However, the attack was for nothing.

Fwoosh!

Feeling something warm grab hold of her, Risa opened her eyes and saw Rorio there. Holding her in his arms.

“You alright?” he asked.

Risa was too tired to respond with words, so she just nodded. Letting out a sigh of relief, Rorio landed on the floor and gently placed Risa on the ground.

Feeling her strength come back to her, Risa sat up and faced Rorio.

“Did we....do it?”Risa asked.

Rorio nodded.

“Yeah. She's gone.”

Risa let out another sigh of relief as she laid back on the ground.

It would only take her about ten minutes to recover enough stamina to move, but she knew that the wounds she obtained would take at least a few weeks to heal even with healing magic. Domino, however, seemed to finally get back up on his feet and he stretched out his arms as he spoke to Risa and Rorio.

“Rorio? Risa? What I miss?” he said in a way that sounded more like someone who just woke up from a nice nap rather than someone who slept through pretty much an entire battle.

Risa noticed a raging fire start to burn in Rorio's eyes as he turned to look at Domino.

“Well, while you were napping. We had to take down the first of the four Creator Knights. Again, while you were napping!”

Rorio's tone made it clear he was quite pissed.

Walking up to Domino, Rorio got up in his face.

“What the hell was up with that, Domino!? You didn’t help in the fight at all!”

Domino looked slightly offended.

“It's not my fault that lady knocked me out!”

“You're the freaking Demon Slayer! You shouldn't be that easy to knock out!"

“My ability to stay conscious has no connection to my title as the Demon Slayer! She hit me really hard! At least acknowledge my help at the end there!”

The two continued to bicker for a few more minutes before Rorio finally had enough and stomped out the door.

“Well, whatever! We’re done here so let's get moving!”

Risa finally had enough strength to walk and got up to follow Rorio as Domino was left behind.

“Hey! Wait up Rorio!” Domino shouted.

“No!”

“How cold!”

Receiving such a disappointing response, Domino trudged behind them as the group made their way out of the building.

Once outside, they decided since the city seemed abandoned, they might as well use some of the empty buildings as a place to sleep for the night as the moon rose in the distance.

It had been pretty early in the day when the group entered, but with the all-too-clear darkness around them, it was obvious several hours had passed.

After about twenty minutes, they all decided to rest inside a building with a few spacious rooms inside it.

Domino had insisted that they find a smaller, more compact place as a bonding exercise, but Rorio and Risa vetoed that idea without hesitation.

Thus, with their battle over, the group all went to sleep that night proud of themselves...besides Domino who still tried justifying being knocked unconscious.

Rorio woke up first and looked outside to find the sun coming up in the distance.

He took in a morning breath ready to see what the day brought when his ear suddenly perked up.

“Found you!” shouted a nearby voice.

Rorio’s attention was immediately directed to the roof in front of him.

What he found was a woman clad in a ninja suit standing there looking at him.

“Shit!” Rorio grumbled as he pulled one of his swords and jumped from his room window.

He landed on top of the roof with ease and faced his opponent.

Sensing the danger, the ninja immediately drew her duel-daggers and barely dodged Rorio's attack as he charged at the ninja and attempted to kill her.

The woman jumped back a step as Rorio continued to swing.

She dodged over and over without attempting an attack which confused Rorio.

After a few minutes, Rorio let out a loud groan and rubbed his eyes.

“Look. It's been a long week. I'm just gonna make this clear right now, I don't give a damn about your city's stupid rules about love and stuff. And for you to be so focused on it to the point that you’ve tracked me down, I'm starting to get really sick of it.”

The ninja spoke up with a squeak.

“No! You've got the wrong idea! I swear that any problems you had to deal with within the city of Lust Street have been dismissed! Actually, there's something I need to discuss with you and your party!”

Rorio raised his eyebrow in confusion.

“Huh? What do you mean?"

Domino and Risa woke up around the same time as each other and came downstairs from their rooms to find Rorio and a strange ninja woman sitting at a table. Remembering what Rorio had told him about the ninjas of Lust Street, Domino was about to draw his weapon when Rorio spoke up.

“Relax. She said she had something she needed to discuss with us. We have to be willing to hear her out for her to leave us alone.” Rorio said in a bored tone.

Domino turned his head from Rorio to the ninja woman before loosening the grip on his blade. Domino turned to Risa and signaled her to calm down as she looked about ready to attack this stranger herself.

The ninja woman looked at the three of them before turning back to Rorio.

She stared at him for several moments. As if recalling something before nodding her head.

“I see you’re just as cold as last time we were like this.”

Rorio looked at her confused.

“Huh? What are you talking about? Am I supposed to know you?”

Taking notice of his tone, the woman suddenly grew flustered.

“Oh! Sorry! I should probably introduce myself! I'm Quinta. The one who tried shooting that arrow at you a little while back.”

Taking a moment to think back, the events came back to Rorio

“Oh yeah. I forgot about that,” he muttered as he remembered the event with the ninjas while inside Lust Street and how the first one he had spoken with was trying to shoot him.

“What's this about arrows?!” Risa blurted out.

It made sense she didn't fully understand. She wasn’t there for most of those events after all.

Rorio shrugged his shoulders.

“Meh. It's not important.”

Blowing off Risa’s confusion, Rorio kept his attention on Quinta.

“Back on topic. Why were you looking for us? You said you had some reason. I’ll listen to what you have to say. However, If you don't word it correctly, I might have to consider you a stalker.”

Quinta let out a pout.

“I'm not a stalker! I needed to talk with you all!”

“What for?” Rorio groaned.

Quinta was silent for a moment before her face went a bright red as she attempted to speak.

“Um...Well...there's...a favor I need to ask of you.”

“Not interested.”

Rorio got up and started walking out the door.

Quinta let out a gawk of surprise before glaring at Rorio.

“You didn't even hear what I had to say!”

Rorio let out a frustrated sigh.

“I don't normally do favors. And considering our history, I don't exactly think of us as friends. So no.”

After those words, Rorio started to take his leave once again.

“Come on Rorio. Let's hear her out.” Domino said trying to get Rorio to give her a chance.

Domino probably felt bad for her. She had come all this way to ask something of them, and Rorio was just blowing it off the minute she attempted to get to the point.

Realizing there was no budging on Domino whenever he got like this, Rorio let out a groan and rolled his eyes before returning to his previous spot.

“Ughh! Fine!”

He plopped back down in his chair as he looked at Quinta.

Quinta smiled at Domino even though you couldn't tell through her mask, and stood up to speak directly to Rorio.

“I, commander of the B squadron of the Lust Street regulation force...request to join the Demon Slayer and his companions on their journey!”

“...Huh?”

In response to those words, everyone gave the same collective response.

A little ways away from the Demon Slayers and his companions, a man clad in silver armor ran down the hall of a large castle.

Soon enough, he stopped at a set of giant doors that were created from gold and iron and sparkled in a way that seemed like it was begging to be opened.

With a deep breath, the man opened the doors and walked in.

The doors closed behind him with a loud clang and he found himself standing face-to-face with someone cloaked by the shadows.

Without any hesitation, the man got down on one knee and lowered his head to the ground.

“My lord. Angelica has been defeated,” he said, reporting what he had seen with his own eyes. This man was one of the most powerful Creator Knights in the Creator’s ranks.

So powerful in fact, that the Creator kept him at their castle as a personal guard and informant. The one cloaked in the shadows seemed to think to themselves for a moment before reaching out their hand and a list of people that they considered allies appeared on a paper before them. They crossed out the name “Angelica Devolt” and then made the list vanish.

The person then turned to look at the knight and spoke words that were so quiet that only the knight could hear them.

The knight nodded and stood up as he placed his hand against his chest in salute.

“Understood. I promise that if whoever did this manages to accomplish defeating the other two knights, I will crush them without fail.”

The one before him nodded and moved their hand signaling for him to be dismissed.

The knight gave a single bow and then left.

After his departure, the person cloaked in the shadows leaned into their chair. Pondering what the future had in store as an eerie smile crept across their face.

Domino, Rorio, and Risa made their way down the road as the sounds of someone humming could be heard behind them.

Rorio looked back to Quinta who was happily walking behind them.

To understand why she was with them, we must return to a few hours prior.

“Please let me join your party!”

“Not gonna happen.” Rorio rejected Quinta without a second thought.

Quinta crashed to the ground like she was hit by an anvil from his response.

She immediately jumped back up in a way that seemed almost cartoonish.

“What!? Why not!?”

Rorio didn't answer. Instead, he started making his way out the door.

However, Domino interjected.

“What's wrong with that Rorio? With our current situation, wouldn’t more party members be a good thing?”

Rorio rolled his eyes and turned to Domino.

“If I recall Domino, you're the one who always kept us from adding new party members since you claimed it was your destiny to fight the Demon Lord with no one but your sidekick at your side. Also, this lady practically tried to poison me back in Lust Street and had her friends attack me when I found her out. Not exactly someone I could put my faith in.”

Risa went wide-eyed.

“She did what!?”

“Long story. Anyway.”

Rorio moved it along as he turned back to Quinta.

“The answer is no and that's final.”

That was the last thing Rorio said before shutting the door behind him with Risa not far behind.

Domino stood there for a moment with a look of surprise.

Normally, Rorio wasn’t this stubborn on things. In fact, even after everything that happened before coming here, he just went with the flow and followed behind Domino while helping out any way he could.

But this time, he didn't hesitate to shut down something Domino was supposed to decide. How much had he really changed since their last meeting?

Domino's mind went back to their final discussion ten years ago. He could see Rorio trying to keep his anger in check. All while trying to hold back the depression and sadness he had when requesting to stay behind while Domino continued his adventures

He wasn't acting too different now than he was then, but he seemed to lose his temper a bit faster and didn’t hesitate to harm those who got in his way. He seemed to have almost lost his compassion for others. At least, to a certain extent.

After a moment of silence, Domino turned to Quinta who looked to be on the verge of crying.

Trying his best to ignore her tears, he walked out the door to catch up with the others.

As the group found a new path to travel on, Rorio stretched out his arms and looked to the sky.

“Now that that's over, what should we do now?”

Risa made her way over to him and started talking about what she thought they should do.

As the two continued their conversation, Domino walked a little behind them unsure where to squeeze into the conversation.

A few hours passed after that. And eventually, the group came upon a strange-looking stall on the side of the road with a person who spoke out to them.

As they drew close, Rorio let out a loud groan.

“Hello, lucky travelers! I'm the one and only Party Saleswoman! Looking for a new party member? Well, I got the one just for you! She's brave, and good with a bow, not to mention she’s hella hot! Whattaya say?”

The group walked right past her.

“No thanks,” Rorio replied in a bored tone.

The Saleswoman froze in place at his cold response. He recognized her as one of Quinta's ninja buddies.

As the group walked away, The girl patted Quinta, who had been sitting under the stall, on the head as Quinta looked to be on the verge of crying.

They continued walking for another hour when Quinta jumped out of a bush and faced them in what was a surprisingly revealing ninja swimsuit.

“If you agree to let me join your party, it's all yours!” she shouted.

“No,” Rorio responded as the group walked past her once again.

Quinta froze on the spot as her hair blew through the wind. It was as if she wasn't expecting the same response.

Twenty minutes later.

“As commander of the B squadron of the Lust Street regulation force! I demand to join your party! This is not a request!”

“HAAA!”

SLAM!!

“HIII!!”

Risa punched Quinta hard enough that she was sent flying off through the air before crashing to the ground not too far away.

Domino and Rorio looked at Risa in surprise.

“Holy crap Risa!” Domino shouted.

Risa turned around red-faced as her voice hissed with anger.

“She's just..so...annoying!” Risa growled.

Rorio turned to look between the dizzy Quinta and the angry Risa.

“Huh. And I thought I was gonna snap first,” Rorio muttered as he and the others left Quinta to lie on the ground.

The three continued on with a few more attempts from Quinta which normally resulted in either Rorio or Risa sending her flying.

After a while, Domino decided it was finally time for a break.

“All right, guys. Let's rest here for a bit before making our way to Con-die City!”

The other two nodded and the group set up a small resting spot.

The location they were traveling to was Con-die City which was a place in the Outburst very well known for their outfits and weapons.

While Rorio and Domino were fit with some pretty good weapons already, they still wanted to make sure they got a change of clothes since they'd already been wearing the same outfits for an extensive amount of time. Risa also wanted to get to the city and grab a proper shower.

The boys normally just used Domino's water magic to clean themselves, but Risa wasn't on board to do something so uncivil quite yet.

After about another half an hour of walking, the group reached the end of the road and looked down at the city below them.

Con-die was a place that seemed to be bustling with life. Demi-Humans, Wolfmen, Lizardmen, and other strange and unique creatures moved through the streets.

The town itself seemed to be a giant square consisting of over a thousand houses and almost looked like a mix between a modern town and a desert village with how the houses seemed to almost all be made out of sandstone.

Unlike the houses, the streets were paved with cement and gravel. Even dark gray sidewalks were visible from far away if you looked close enough.

The group stared at the sight in wonder.

While Rorio and Domino saw many sites on their adventures, they never got the chance to see stuff like this. It almost left both Domino and Risa mesmerized.

"Here. Put these on."

Suddenly, Rorio threw a cloak at Domino and Risa the prior of which struggling to get a hold of it. But after several minutes of struggling, he finally managed to see and turned to Rorio who was already putting on his own.

“Remember, humans aren't normally considered friends here in the Outbursts. So make sure to keep the fact that you’re human as hidden as possible.”

Risa nodded in confirmation, but Domino looked at him as if lost about something.

“If that's the case, then why are you putting on a cloa-mphf!?”

Rorio immediately shut Domino up as Risa looked at them confused.

Rorio hadn't mentioned to her that he was a Demi-Human, and he understood that by her reactions to the two of them before, she wasn't really aware of who the Demon Slayer and his Sidekick true forms were.

She mentioned hearing stories about Domino, but almost nothing about Rorio other than he was Domino's sidekick. And Rorio preferred to keep things that way until he was ready to tell her since people always got weird around him when he pulled out his ears and tail.

Rorio gave one more serious look to Domino before letting go of his mouth and walking away.

Domino wasn't really sure how to respond to his friend’s actions, but knew it was best to leave it at that for now and followed behind him.

Risa felt like she was missing something, but followed behind Domino silently.

The group entered the city undetected and looked around.

Now that they were inside, everything seemed much more impressive.

The buildings didn't just consist of sandstone, but also some quartz and other materials that made for more sturdy houses.

The colors seemed to mix well too. From time to time, a few people glanced in their direction but none tried confronting them.

As the group continued making their way through the city, Domino seemed to catch a glimpse of something.

Telling the others he needed to do something, Domino left Rorio and Risa alone for a bit.

Rorio didn’t think much of it and was about to move things along when Domino came back holding an all too familiar face.

“Look who I found following us!” he said proudly.

“Hey! I wasn't following you! We both were just...uh..just conveniently going in the same direction!” said the nervous Quinta who struggled to get out of Domino’s grasp.

A vein popped onto Rorio's head as he let out a frustrated sigh.

Deciding it was best to just get this problem over with, Rorio made a decision.

“Haa...let's just sit down. I'd rather not cause a scene that would make people suspicious.”

Rorio turned his head to Domino as if asking for permission and Domino nodded.

The group walked over to a small table outside one of the city's many restaurants and waited for Quinta’s explanation.

“So tell me. Why do you wanna join us so bad?” asked Rorio in an irritated tone.

Quinta turned to Rorio.

“Uh...Well...ya see...I..I..” her voice started to trail off which caused a vein to pop onto Rorio’s head.

“Just spit it out already!” he shouted.

“YEEP!

This caused Quinta to almost let out a yelp.

She looked down, blushing nervously as she fidgeted her thumbs.

“Because...I think you’re cool...”

Domino looked at her confused.

“What was that?”

“I said because I think... you’re...cool.”

Domino still struggled to hear her.

“I don't entirely understand what you mean by that. But maybe you should speak up so the others can hear.” Rorio said despite already hearing her words thanks to his enhanced dem-human hearing.

“I said It's because I think you guys are the coolest people I've ever seen okay!”

Upon saying that, Quinta’s cheeks went so red that she looked like a tomato.

Domino looked at her, surprised. Meanwhile, Risa was speechless, Rorio just rolled his eyes and looked to the sky. This wasn’t something he needed to hear. He already heard enough praise towards Domino to know where this was going.

“Well...Mostly you blue-haired guy.”

Rorio’s eyes went wide for a moment as he turned to Quinta.

“The way you stood up to my boss so easily was one of the most incredible things ever! It inspired me to leave my post in search of you and maybe get to know you and your friends better!”

A sparkle seemed to gleam in Quinta's eyes as she recalled the events of Rorio when he faced Lori in her castle throne room in Lust Street.

Rorio didn't know it, but Quinta went to watch the events play out and ended up viewing the entire thing and found herself captivated by Rorio's fighting skills.

While Quinta continued to think back on the events, Domino flopped onto the ground in defeat. He was so used to being complimented and adored that someone treating him as more of a side character had him completely distraught.

“She didn't get to see me in action, and now she thinks you're the only cool one Rorio. My self-esteem can't take it,” he groaned.

After recovering from the surprise, Rorio relaxed into his seat and tried to ignore his face growing a little warm from the compliments.

A few minutes passed without words from anyone else after that.

Wanting to break the uncomfortable silence, Domino finally popped off the ground.

“Well! I guess I'll just have to show you how cool I really am! Welcome to the party Quinta!” he shouted happily.

Rorio looked at him with an expression that read “Really dude!” before looking over to Quinta and sighing.

“Haaah. Fine. As long as you don't pull anything, I guess you can join our party,” Rorio grumbled.

“REALLY!?”

Quinta burst up from her seat and tried to tackle Rorio in a hug which he attempted to dodge. Leading to Quinta hugging his leg instead.

“THANK YOU!” she shouted sobbing in happiness. Rorio glared at her and attempted to kick her off but she clung on no matter what he did.

Thus, a new member was added to the Demon Slayers party.