Yūsuke Mizuhara

## **Personality:**

Yūsuke always wore a stoic and unbothered expression on his face. However, he had a reserved personality and a very strong sense of justice with no tolerance towards those who don't know their own limitations and throw away their lives. He showed zero hesitation when killing demons and has no respect or mercy towards them like most Demon Slayers. Yūsuke was extremely by the book. He followed the Demon Slayer Corps' code of conduct without hesitation and was snippy to people who did not. Yet, he always kept his coolheadedness. Despite his aloof and stoic nature, Yūsuke was protective and caring towards those he is close to and considers his friends. However, Yūsuke would never let his personal relationships get in the way of his duty, as that would go against his own code.

## **Background:**

Yūsuke was born far away from the Japanese mainland, on the island of Tsushima. At the time, Tsushima was largely a haven for pirates, smugglers, and traders. Yūsuke never knew his parents and was raised by a gang of pirates. Even though his entire life was rooted on the island, Yūsuke always wondered what was on the other side of that blue blanket that is the sea. When he asked his pirate mentors, all of them said with disgust: "Civilization (the Japanese mainland), a pirate's nightmare." This never dulled Yūsuke's curiosity, as he kept hoping for a day when he would cross that ocean.

That day would come when he was 13. On that day, Yūsuke stood on a cliff and saw a fleet carrying invading troops from Joseon Korea rapidly approaching the island. They were attempting to clear out the Wako pirates on the island. At the same time, Japanese trade ships docked on the island were starting to sail back to the Japanese mainland, fearing encirclement by the Joseon Koreans. Seeing this as an opportunity to finally leave the island, Yūsuke snuck onto a trade ship and left for Japan as the pirates on the island tried to fight off the Joseon Korean army. As the ship left for the open seas, Yūsuke could see the fires on Tsushima from miles away.

Unfortunately for him, it was typhoon season, and a huge typhoon hit the ship he was on. The entire ship and crew perished within minutes and Yūsuke was blown overboard by a gush of wind. He managed to cling on to a piece of wood and did not let go. The storm raged on and blew him all along the Japanese west coast. It finally died down at the coast of the Kansai region and Yūsuke managed to see land. Using his remaining strength, he peddled over the dry land and fell unconscious.

When he finally came to, Yūsuke asked someone for his current location: the storm washed him ashore not too far away from Japan's then-capital, Kyoto. Yūsuke was exhausted and starving, so he decided to travel to the city and see what he could find. As expected, no one gave him anything. The majority of the Kyoto citizens were already poor enough to barely come by and no one was willing to help a beggar, not to mention an outlander (Yūsuke was from Tsushima and not a Japanese mainlander, remember?).

Fortunately, his luck was about to turn. When he came by a Blacksmith's shop, the owner was kind enough to give him something to eat. The owner, a blacksmith named **Tetsuoka (鉄丘),** was not doing too well. His worsening health prevented him from making good quality tools and his source of income is almost drained. He just had enough for himself and his daughter, **Konitsu (小日),** to come by, and needed help. Tetsuoka thus offered for Yūsuke to stay and earn his keep by helping him forge. Viewing this as the best bet to survive, Yūsuke agreed and started his day as a blacksmith apprentice.

In the beginning, Yūsuke hated this job: the forge was dirty and hot, and the work was quite hard. Despite these conditions, Yūsuke kept working there with the promise of a daily meal. Besides, had he been a tad bit more unlucky, he might have drowned in the ocean or been killed by the Koreans mistaking him as a pirate. He wanted to make the best out of the opportunity he has been given and really just enjoyed the company: Tetsuoke was wise and told him about the mysteries of life. His daughter Konitsu, who was around Yūsuke's age, treated him like a brother she never had. To repay their kindness, Yūsuke promised to one day lift them out of poverty.

With Yūsuke's help, there was a real show of progress. But suddenly, with the outbreak of war, steel weapons like the Katana were in high demand. It turned out Yūsuke had an innate talent for forging swords. So little Yūsuke did forge swords, and little Yūsuke was very good at it. Every sword he forged fitted with the guard and the hilt was a piece of art, and he made quite a name for himself. Peasants and nobles from far and wide came to witness the young master smith at work and the nobles often paid good money for his swords. In a short time, Tetsuoka and Konitsu went from rags to riches with the money Yūsuke made with his swords.

As quick as fortune came, so came misfortune. When Yūsuke returned home late once after delivering a sword, he found the corpses of both Tetsuoka and Konitsu in front of the shop. Before Yūsuke could comprehend the situation, he heard sounds of combat around the corner. Soon, a demon slayer, none other than the future Flame Hashira Enjūro Rengoku, appeared before him. Enjūro arrived at the scene a bit too late to save the two but chased away the demon before it could lay waste to their corpses. Enjūro threw the demon's severed head on the ground and it evaporated. He told Yūsuke to simply "get over it" and started to leave. But Yūsuke, with the only family he ever wanted dead, could not get over it. He followed Enjūro and wanted to slay demons just like him. Before, it was always his role to forge the swords. Now, it was his turn to use them.

Enjūro recommended him to a trainer and Yūsuke's training started. He was used to sweating and working in a hot environment due to the years he spent in the forge. And as he knew the basic composition and components of the sword, it was a bit easier for him to learn to fight with it than others. Not too long after, a girl called Yuri Hanae, having been sent here by the Oyakata-sama (see Flower Hashira headcanon), joined him in his training. Despite him being annoyed by her often teasing remarks, Yūsuke saw Konitsu in Yuri and passed the final selections with her.

When fighting demons, Yūsuke's joints and limbs displayed unexpected flexibility, allowing him to perform many acrobatic movements in battle. He racked up quite a headcount and was one of the swordsmen held in close observation by the Oyakata-sama. A 19-year-old Yūsuke was present at the Demon Slayer gathering where Yoriichi Tsugikuni was demonstrating his breathing techniques at the request of Hideyoshi Ubayashiki (the Oyakata-sama). Yoriichi then began teaching his breathing style to other demon slayers. Yūsuke was unable to master it, so Yoriichi taught him a modified style that focused on bending their body, arm, and weapon in a fluid motion to match the movements of rushing or flowing water. This fitted perfectly with Yūsuke's ability to adapt to any situation. He named this style after this feature and himself (the 'Mizu' in his surname means 'Water'). Thus, Water Breathing was born. Soon after, Yūsuke and his fellow slayer Yuri were both appointed Hashira. Yūsuke became the first Water Hashira and continued to fight demons with the same force as the waves that brought him to Japan.

## **Trivia:**

* Yūsuke's surname contains the kanji for "water" (水 *mizu*) and "meadow" (原 *hara*). His first name contains "hero" (雄 *yu*) and "concern oneself with" (介 *suke*).
* Yūsuke was one of the two Hashira who attended the semi-annual Hashira meeting mainly for the banquet that followed, the other being the Mist Hashira.
* Yūsuke forged his own nichirin blade. He was also the one who re-forged the Mist Hashira's rusted nichirin blade.
* Even though Yūsuke showed no hesitation when killing a demon, he did show leniency when a demon willingly surrenders. He invented the painless 5th form for exactly this occasion. This implies that he doesn't completely despise demons as some other Hashira do, and is willing to make an exception for a demon by mercy-killing them if they don't kill and eat humans. This shows that he is more pragmatic in dealing with demons rather than letting his hatred cloud his judgment.
* After both Konitsu and Yuri Hanae complimented his hair, Yūsuke started grooming and regularly applying camellia oil to it, resulting in its silky look.
* Although the Korean Invasion during Yūsuke's youth was not historically accurate, the Koreans did invade Tsushima briefly in 1419, during the Ōei Invasion. The second Korean Invasion was inspired by the Ōei Invasion.

## Yūsuke viewed the other Hashira as follows:

* *"I deeply respect him. If only he'd gotten there sooner..."* - about the Flame Hashira.
* *"I don't mind him. It did take me way too long to reforge his rusted sword. Never doing that again."* - about the Mist Hashira.
* *"I like him, though his behavior around women is awkward, to say the least. Just act natural, how hard can it be?"* - about the Thunder Hashira.
* *"I respect him. I often come to him for guidance, though his recitation of sutras and mantras can bore a man to death."* - about the Stone Hashira.
* *"I like her. We came from the same trainer years ago and she hasn't changed a bit. Just please stop teasing me."* - about the Flower Hashira.

* *"I don't know anything about him. He is like a shadow."* - about the Shadow Hashira.

* *"I respect her. I heard she was trained by Enjūro. I feel a little unsafe whenever she has her Naginata out. I wonder when I'll have to train my own student..."* - about the Phoenix Hashira.
* *"I hate him. He is as fierce as the storm that blew me here and twice as hot-tempered. He's going to get a stroke like that."* - about the Wind Hashira.
* *"I respect him. The Breath of the Moon is simply stunningly beautiful. Just be more confident in your abilities."* - about Michikatsu Tsugikuni.
* *"I respect him. When I look at his abilities I can feel Michikatsu's envy."* - about Yoriichi Tsugikuni.