The Five Senses ran together through an open field as the sunset painted the skies red behind them, Tanjiro leading the group with a look of focus directed up ahead, Inosuke closely behind cackling at the demons he was soon to face, Kanao with a plain expression staring on ahead, a grunting Genya who was sweating more than any of the Breath Users, but nonetheless kept pace with the group, and finally Zenitsu in the back, pretty much looking as nervous as it gets. "Man, oh man...I barely get out of an encounter with a Lower Moon alive and I'm probably already headed towards another...why did I agree to this again...?"
"...maybe because you were too distracted swooning over Aoi to think properly?" Genya asked blankly beside him.
"...oh, right, she was there..." Zenitsu recalled, looking down somewhat embarrassedly, "...I guess I didn't wanna seem cowardly in front of her...still, I'm sure it'll all be fine! Tanjiro's here, and he can beat anything!"
"I wouldn't be thinking like that if I were you, Zenitsu." Tanjiro told him, glancing over his shoulder at the blond boy, "Last time around, it was a whole gang of demons, and it was just three of us sent out. This time, we're going up against something that took out an entire squad of Demon Slayers, so it will probably require every one of us acting together if we want to succeed."
"...great. That's very uplifting..." Zenitsu sardonically muttered, "Thanks a lot, Tanjiro."
"You don't have to worry about fighting the strong demons, blondie!" Inosuke boisterously declared, "I'm gonna rip each and every last one of them apart, so just watch me!"
"Like I just said, this will only work if we all do this together." Tanjiro repeated himself, "We can't have anyone trying to bite more than they can chew, nor anyone slacking off on the rest of the team."
As he said that, Kanao would glance over and see a brief look of regret cross his face before he picked up the pace slightly and rushed somewhat ahead of the group. Of course, even if every one of them was a capable Slayer in their own right and had a fair idea of how the other's fought from their time sparring with one another, this was still a haphazardly gathered team with some wild cards thrown in the mix and no preparation whatsoever as far as teamwork went. He'd seemingly picked them out of convenience rather than waiting for a properly chosen squad and was paying the price for it.
At least that was what Kanao could assume as she took in her teammates' words and feelings silently, running through a few different scenarios in her head depending on what they might find when they arrived at Natagumo Mountain. For it to take a team of Eight Demon Slayers, especially one led by a Kinoto, it would either have to be a lot of demons attacking together or a single very powerful demon. Neither was a particularly good scenario, but at least in the former, they would be able to go about in their own separate battles rather than relying on their poor teamwork. That though would still leave the cowardly Zenitsu or the reckless Inosuke in trouble, but it still beat everyone dying due to not being able to work well enough against an overwhelming threat.
Looking over at the focused Tanjiro again, Kanao decided to do something he'd strongly encouraged her to do in the last few weeks, and would pick up her pace as well to get in close to him and voice her thoughts, "Tanjiro," She called, earning his attention, "are you worried about the stability of this team you assembled?"
"Ah...so you noticed." The swordsman sighed, glancing back briefly at the group behind, all out of earshot...except probably Zenitsu, though he seemed too nervous to really care, "Yeah, I guess I am, a bit. Still, it's not like I regret bringing you guys..."
She raised an eyebrow, "How so?"
"...there are certain things about the Demon Slayer Corps that I somewhat...disagree with." Tanjiro admitted, "I didn't want to risk getting into a squad with a conflicting ideology to my own since that might cause some bad friction if it came up. But...I do trust you all. And I know I can motivate Zenitsu and reign back Inosuke since I did it already. Even if the team is not perfect, I think we can still make it work."
"...I see." Kanao said, taking note of how vague his statement about the Corps was, but figured it probably best not to ask if he didn't go into detail himself already, "I do hope you're right."
"I'm trusting you with this too, Kanao." Tanjiro then told her, "The others are strong, sure...but from experience, I don't know if any of them could beat a Lower Moon like the one I fought. You though...I think you'd stand a far better chance against one. So if the others are backed into a corner and I'm not there...I'm counting on you to step in and help them."
"Of course." She stated naturally, "It is part of my duty as a Demon Slayers to aid those of my squad."
"...you know, you say that a lot, but I think deep down beneath all that presumed indifference there is still some kindness motivating you." Tanjiro admitted.
Kanao raised an eyebrow, and paused for a moment then, "...maybe...but there are things even I don't need a coin toss to decide on, Tanjiro."
Tanjiro chuckled briefly, "I guess you're right." He then paused as he seemed to realize something, "...wait, did you just make a joke?"
Having that pointed out to her, Kanao suddenly felt her cheeks grow a bit warmer for some reason, "...I tried to make it sound somewhat humorous." She admitted, "Was it...funny?"
"Well, it's a great start," Tanjiro told her with an encouraging smile, at which she couldn't help but to have the corner of her lips twitch into something just a bit more genuine than her own usual placid smile.
If truth be told, things seemed to have changed a lot for Kanao in the short time the other Senses had spent in the Butterfly Estate. Since that day where they had their first spar and she'd join the training, Tanjiro, in particular, had been encouraging her greatly to act out more on her thoughts and feelings rather than relying on a coin. It had been quite hard for her to get used to such an extreme and sudden change, but she hadn't used her coin once to decide something for her since that day, and despite how much of a challenge getting used to that again had been, moments like this had proved to feel very rewarding for Kanao. She silently wondered if her sister had caught onto that change and if that was why she'd insisted on sending her along for this mission.
Regardless, time soon went by, and the setting sun sunk into the horizon to give way to night. A few more hours and they would thus begin approaching their destination, the forested peak of Natagumo Mountain threateningly towering ahead of the Senses just a few miles ahead of them. As soon as it had come into view, not a single one of them commented a word about it, but the atmosphere in the group had evidently changed as a mixture of tension and expectation filled the air at the inevitable battle they were all rushing towards. And as the mountain ahead of them grew larger in their approach, so did that feeling present between them.
Finally, the tense silence would be broken by Zenitsu of all people as, with them finally beginning to approach the base of the Mountain, he'd suddenly perk up, "...I hear two people some distance ahead." He noted.
Tanjiro seemed to sniff at the air before he narrowed his eyes, "...not people. One is a demon." He informed them, breathing in, "I'll go on ahead, you guys catch up."
"What do you mean go on-" Genya was interrupted when Tanjiro suddenly rushed off in an immense burst of speed, leaving only a cloud of dust behind as he soon disappeared from their line of sight entirely, "...damn. He's fast."
Kanao pursed her lips silently, knowing she probably couldn't catch up with him in a straight dash like that, meaning it was pointless to even try. The best course of action then was to up her pace, but stay with the other members of the group. Whatever it was that lay ahead of them, she was sure Tanjiro could handle it at least until they got there.
Murata had, no doubt about it, been having what could only be described as the worst day of his life. First, his entire team minus him was taken down by a Lower Moon, and while initially, he thought all of them being taken out non-fatally was odd for a demon, it made a lot more sense when he realized they'd all become puppets to what could only be another demon, not in control in their own bodies and forced to hunt him down.
Because of his own puppet turned teammates, he'd been trapped in Natagumo for the last day with a fairly bad wound on his sword arm of which all he could do was staunch the bleeding by ripping out a sleeve off his Demon Slayer garbs and wrapping it around the gash. Somehow, the demon had also managed to control his teammates during the day as well, and his one attempt to descend the mountain had nearly ended up with him killed by Ozakis's and Fumito's blades. Luckily he'd managed to hide again, and had only managed to sneak past them as night fell.
Of course, this came with its own series of problems, as though the night gave him the advantage of covering himself with its darkness, it also had demons that could roam freely without fearing the burning sunlight. This became a problem rather quickly as, not long after he'd managed to sneak past his teammates and began running down Natagumo, he'd begin being pursued by someone, by something. And though it was too dark to see exactly what it was, he could hear the footsteps behind him, and see the outline of someone running after him, someone who got closer every time he glanced over his shoulder.
This went on with him trying to outrun his pursuer, until something suddenly tugged at his feet and caused him to lose balance, falling down on the ground face first. Grunting, he'd turn around and see the demon who'd been chasing him emerging from the shadows. It was another girl, but not the same one as before. She had white hair, and a pale complexion, with dots on her face and an almost completely white robe with the exception of a spiderweb pattern in her midsection.
"So you're the Demon Slayer who's been giving Mother's puppets so much trouble..." The demon mused, approaching him threateningly, "You sure were hard to find...but you're done running now."
"S-stay back!," Murata exclaimed, struggling to get back on his feet quickly and reaching out to draw his blade, only for the demon to lurch her hand forward, releasing a thick white robe-like substance that attached itself to his arm and dragged the Demon Slayer closer than her. In that brief moment, Murata would realize that this was the same thing she'd probably used in knocking him off his feet, before having a kick slammed onto his gut and being roughly sent flying back-first into a tree.
Murata grunted after hitting the ground, dazed as he sat up with difficulty, only to notice another strand of the substance, this one attached to the hilt on his sword. Before he could react, the demon tugged at it again and had his katana yanked out of its scabbard, with her catching it by the hilt. Unarmed and hurt, he could only watch fearfully as the demon availed curiously the weapon she held, "Maybe I could take this for myself...be more like her." She mused thoughtfully, before turning to Murata, "And what a better way to start than to use this blade in taking down its previous owner...?"
Before Murata could even reply, he'd be rushed by the demon, his own blade moving to be stabbed right through him. Currently sitting with his back against a tree, there was little he could do to dodge. His only option seemed to close his eyes and wait for the inevitable impaling that was about to happen. Except, rather than being mortally wounded, he'd feel something suddenly dragging him to the side to narrowly evade the blade. He'd open his eyes right before he was sent sprawling across the ground from the sudden pull of something moving very fast, and the only thing he'd be able to see in that brief moment was a blur of red.
The Spider Sister blinked in confusion as one moment, she was stabbing her newly gained katana into the bothersome Demon Slayer Rui had ordered her to hunt down and dispose of, the next the blade was halfway stabbed through the tree trunk he'd been leaning against just a moment ago. She dragged the sword out of the tree before hearing a grunt to the side and turning to look.
She would be met by the back of a red-cloaked and matching haired swordsman standing in between himself and the Demon Slayer. As the figure turned around to glare over at her, she'd see his red eyes and the hanafuda earrings he wore, as well as the sword sheathed on his waist, "...another Demon Slayer...? Though he isn't dressed like one." The Sister thought, "This one seems different...I gotta be careful."
The red-clad Demon Slayer didn't say a single word, nor tried to hide the animosity in his glare, only silently reaching out to wrap a hand around his katana's hilt. Knowing better than to try and fight against Demon Slayer with a katana though, the Sister chose to play smart and suddenly threw the sword, but not towards the new Demon Slayer, but rather straight at the one who she'd already taken down and was just now regaining his bearings as he sat up.
Despite that, the swordsman noticed what she was aiming for and quickly spun around while rushing to the side, managing to reach out with his arm to barely catch the thrown katana in between the tip of his middle and index fingers. The Spider Sister, however, took that as her chance and quickly used her web to enclose and wrap around the Slayer's torso, forcing him to drop the barely caught katana on the ground. Managing to entangle him, she then decided her best move was to finish this Demon Slayer off before he could get a chance to free himself.
"Demon Blood Art: Acid Coccoon!" She declared, releasing thick sprays of webbing from her wrist that, in moments, wrapped the Demon Slayer around a round cocoon of web similar to a ball of yarn. Grinning, she lowered her hands and approached the cocoon smugly. After all, there was no Demon Slayer that could escape her Demon Blood Art, no one she'd ever seen at least. Their swords simply weren't sharp enough to cut through her thick malleable webbing. In no time, this one too would have their flesh dissolved and made his body soft, leaving him perfect for her to feed on. Until then...well, she'd take her time with the first Demon Slayer.
The Sister's thoughts though would be interrupted when she felt a sudden change in the air. For whatever reason, all of a sudden, it'd suddenly gotten...warmer. And then, not a moment later, the cocoon would be cut open from the inside as stream of fire suddenly caused it to burst apart clean in the middle, burning away at the web and falling apart at both sides to reveal the half-shadowed visage of the Demon Slayer standing inside of it, his blade bursting with bright flames across its edge. She only had a moment to widen her eyes in shock and fear as he disappeared altogether from her sight, and before she could even wonder where he'd gone off to, a burning sensation was felt across her whole neck as her head was separated from her body, the red-clad swordsman silently stepping past her with the flames fading from his blackened katana as he sheathed it away.
Her body hit the ground dully as he head rolled away from it with a fixed expression of shock, "He...he got me...but how? How did he cut through my cocoon? How did he move so fast...?" She wondered as she began disintegrating from the neck up. But it didn't matter. Of course it didn't, all that mattered was that he'd gotten her, and now she was going to die.
It made her sad, but not because she was dying. Rather, because of how meaningless and empty it all seemed at this point. She couldn't remember her time as a human, she could barely remember her time before the family. She didn't even remember a name other than Sister of which she could go by, and in the time she'd had that name, her life had almost entirely been misery and loneliness at the hands of her 'family'...except...for her.
It was odd, seeing as she'd only known Chihime for a couple of weeks, and they had only exchanged one actual conversation in the previous night. But the Lower Moon had saved her, and actually treated her with an ounce of kindness unlike anyone else in the Spider Family. Sitting beside her at the rooftop watching the sky had been not only the safest she had felt for a long time but looking back on it, it was also the happiest.
If there was one thing she'd wished she could have done above all others, it was getting just a bit more time to spend with the Lower Moon Demon. She was probably up there watching the stars at that very moment, and the Sister really wished she'd been able to join her instead of being sent out to deal with the Demon Slayer. She really wished she could just go back up the mountain and sit beside her again for a few more peaceful hours, but it seemed like it wasn't meant to be, "...I just wish I'd gotten to actually befriend you...Chihime..." Were her last muttered words before she faded to ash entirely.
"Chihime...?" Tanjiro wondered silently with a raised eyebrow, having managed to briefly overhear the demon muttering something at her final moments, though the only thing he'd really caught was that odd name. Shaking his head and storing that info in the back of his mind for later reference, he'd then turn to the still startled Demon Slayer sitting injured in the corner staring at him nervously, "Are you okay there?"
"Who...who are you..?" The young man inquired nervously. Fair enough too, since Tanjiro didn't even wear the Demon Slayer garbs like everyone else, so for someone uninformed he might as well just be some kid with a sword.
"Tanjiro Kamado, Demon Slayer of the rank Kinoe." He introduced himself, raising his clenched fist to reveal the engraved wisteria marking of his rank located on the back of his hand. "I take it you're one of the Demon Slayers first sent out to Natagumo?"
"Yeah..." The young man affirmed, seeming more relieved now that Tanjiro made it clear he was indeed a Demon Slayer, and one with high rank at that, "though I'm the only one left now."
The Kinoe narrowed his eyes, "Were they all killed?"
"No...they're all alive, but..." He sighed, and Tanjiro could only look at the young man in confusion, "I guess it's best I just explain it from the start...my name is Murata, I'm a Demon Slayer of the Kanoe rank. I was selected alongside seven other Slayers led by a Kinoto to investigate Natagumo Mountain for demons. Before we could even start ascending it though...she appeared."
Murata's expression shifted as he said that last part and Tanjiro could see the genuine fear in his eyes at that moment, "Who's she?"
"...a Lower Moon Demon." He explained, and the younger Demon Slayer would narrow his eyes, "It was unlike anything I've seen before. She had a sword...and fought like a Demon Slayer."
Tanjiro blinked, "Like...a Demon Slayer...?"
Murata nodded, "She outmatched every single one our swordsmen, and even took out the squad leader, knocking out every single one of them, with only me managing to escape. At first, I was confused by her not killing anyone, but I would later realize their bodies were being controlled like living puppets by what I can only assume to be another demon. It tried to use them to hunt me down, but I managed to bide my time and get past them, but that other demon managed to catch up to me and...that's when you appeared."
Tanjiro took all that in, processing it slowly. A demon with a sword was rare, but not unheard of. Lower Moon Six Kamanue, as he so recalled, could turn both his arms into blades and fight similarly to a swordsman, but that was not the same thing as fighting like a Demon Slayer. Demon Slayers fought with katana, with skill and precision, with breathing techniques. He never even imagined a demon being able to use the last one, but if that truly was the case as Murata described, and so it seemed given how many Demon Slayers this swordswoman demon took down without even needing to use lethal force. And not only that, but besides the sword-wielding Lower Moon Five, he'd already confirmed two demons present in the mountain between the one he just killed and the one controlling the other Slayers as puppets. Who knows how many more there really were in total. This truly was the worst-case scenario...
Before he could even address Murata again though, he'd suddenly feel a set of very familiar smells approaching, and he'd look off to the side before the other members of the Five Senses came into view, soon reaching him and Murata. "So...did you manage to deal with the demon?" Zenitsu inquired, nervously looking around.
"...yeah." He said quietly, looking down for a moment, before turning back to his companions with a dire look in his face, "But it looks like the situation is worse than I thought." From then on, he'd relay the info he'd gotten from Murata back to his friends as well as his own thoughts on it, and their responses were, much as expected, quite varied.
Inosuke, of course, seemed delighted at the news, "HAHAHAHA! So it's a demon Demon Slayer slayer! Now that's a demon worth slaying!" He declared, showcasing his rich vocabulary.
Kanao looked suddenly more serious than usual, seeming to really understand the weight of the situation, "This is not good...we'll really have to approach this situation cautiously."
Genya, panting still after running for so long without the aid of breath styles, seemed a mix of nervous and annoyed, muttering something along the lines of, "A demon that can use breathing techniques...isn't that great...?"
And then there was Zenitsu. His reaction was also rather expected, and for once Tanjiro really couldn't blame the blond for how scared he looked, trembling nervously with his eyes darting left to right as if trying to spot a demon. He didn't say anything as opposed to others, but to be honest, he really didn't have to in order to communicate how he felt.
"Alright, given the information we got from Murata here, I think the best way to deal with the situation at hand is to start by focusing on rescuing the Slayers this demon took hostage as puppets." Tanjiro informed the others, "Once we do that, we can begin making our way up the mountain."
"Wait, you guys can't be serious!" Murata exclaimed nervously, earning the attention of all the Five Senses, "You all can't still really be thinking of going up the mountain after what I just told you! One demon alone managed to take out a squad larger than yours with no difficulty whatsoever, and who knows what other kinds of monsters could be up there! We gotta leave this place now and call for someone stronger to handle this, like a Pillar or-"
Before he could even finish talking, however, an angered Inosuke suddenly strode in his direction and suddenly pulled Murata up by his collar, slamming his back against the trunk of a tree, staring him down intently from behind the glassy eyes of his boar mask, "We don't need advice from the kind of trash who'd run off on his own team."
Murata blinked, surprised at the accusation, "I didn't run off! They were all captured, I had no choice but-"
"And that gives you an excuse to abandon them now?" Inosuke asked, leaving the Demon Slayer without a reply, "Yeah, thought so. Only a weakling would do something so cowardly as to run when his companions are still up there, alive, waiting for the only hope they got left as far as they're concerned…that's you. And you wanna run away." He dropped Murata back down on the ground, "Fucking pathetic."
Tanjiro narrowed his eyes, and while he couldn't endorse Inosuke's methods, he also didn't fully disagree with the boar headed boy's general idea. It was surprising though that something like this would come from him, but then again his self-declared-rival was still the one he'd interacted with the least amidst the Senses despite being the first one he'd met, so he supposed there were still surprises to be had. Looking around, he could also see that despite sharing in some of his surprise at Inosuke's reproaching speech, none of them looked as if they'd disagreed with it. Zenitsu, in particular, was looking away with harsh yet thoughtful eyes narrowed silently, the smell of shame in him making clear to Tanjiro that the blond had taken those words too close to heart.
"...well, he's right about one thing. We really can't leave those Demon Slayers behind to die. If they're still alive, then we've got to go up there and save them." Tanjiro declared, not one of them speaking up against him, not even Murata who now was shamefully staring down at his lap, at least until he was addressed by the red-clad Slayer, "Murata, how hurt are you?"
He narrowed his eyes, but replied quietly a moment later, "...I've got a pretty nasty cut on my arm from the fight with the sword-wielding demon, plus I'm pretty sure the one you killed also manage to hurt me pretty badly before you got here." He admitted, "All my comrades up there, probably fearing for their lives, and here I am, barely able to get up and ready to abandon them for my own safety...your boar friend is right, it is pretty pathetic."
"Don't worry about it, none of this is your fault. We'll handle this and save your teammates." Tanjiro reassured him before turning over to Kanao, "Kanao, you're the closest we have to a medic. Can you patch up his wounds while the rest of us go up ahead to handle the situation? We'll come back down once we've rescued the Demon Slayers, but if we don't by the time you're finished, you can just run on ahead and catch up to us."
Kanao nodded silently, and Zenitsu looked nervously at her for a moment as if wondering if he should ask to stay behind with Murata too, but the effects of Inosuke's words must've still been fresh on his mind since he chose to remain silent after all. Speaking of which, the boar-headed-boy growled and raised his already drawn swords ready for a fight, "Alright, come on, let's get going! There's a whole mountain's worth of demons waiting to be killed!"
"Yeah, we have no time to waste." Tanjiro nodded, staring at the pathway up the mountain, "Let's get moving."With that said, four of the Five Senses would move out again, leaving Kanao behind with Murata as she began working on his injuries.
As they began going up the mountain again, Tanjiro would fall back slightly so to get next to Zenitsu, "What Inosuke said back there, you know that doesn't apply to you, don't you?"
The blond blinked then, looking surprised at having been read so easily, but that quickly faded as he looked down somewhat remorsefully, "...you say that but we both know I'm not the bravest one out there, Tanjiro...why are you so sure I won't do like that guy and turn tail if the situation gets too bad?"
Tanjiro looked at his friend then as if he'd just asked the stupidest question, "Well...that's easy," He said as if it was obvious, "it's because you didn't. Don't you remember? You could've easily left me to fight off both that Lower Moon and his subordinate by myself, but even though we barely knew each other, you chose to come back and risk your life to help me out. If you'd just run away and I had to handle it all by myself...I'd be dead now, Zenitsu. No doubt about it."
"...huh. I guess I forgot about that." Zenitsu admitted surprisedly, only now, with Murata's situation side by side for him to compare it too, seeming to only then realize how brave he'd been back at Kaigara.
"When I say you're too hard on yourself, it's not just to make you feel better. I really mean it." Tanjiro reiterated, "Deep down, I know you're actually a capable Demon Slayer, Zenitsu. Hell, if you managed to control your fear, I bet you could get even stronger than me."
"Let's not go crazy now..." Zenitsu chuckled briefly, seeming a lot more relaxed compared to how he was acting just moments ago, which actually made Tanjiro smile slightly.
"Not to interrupt the sweet moment, but maybe you should be keeping a better eye on our surroundings, no?" Genya noted bluntly from the back of the group.
"Relax, if anything comes up, my nose will-" He caught himself mid-sentence as, at that very moment, his nose would indeed catch onto something, and he'd sudden;l halt his dash, "Stop." Tanjiro called out, calmly but decisively, making his entire group halt with him even the eager Inosuke.
"What?! Did you smell any demons?!" the boar headed boy asked vigorously.
"...no." Tanjiro responded direly, taking a hold of his katana's hilt as shadows suddenly began to emerge from the darkness of the forest, "Not demons."
Sure enough, the six shadows that emerged from the forest were not demons, but rather Demon Slayers. Dirtied, bloodied and tired obviously, but still Demon Slayers, all holding their own katana already drawn, with the sole exception of the tall and muscular man with the brown cloak, who instead wielded a Kusarigama. This, from presence alone, Tanjiro discerned was the Kinoto who'd led Murata's group.
"Help us..." One of the Slayers, a girl with a ponytail, groaned painfully.
"So tired..." Another one, a sandy blond boy, muttered, seeming on the verge of collapse
"Someone...someone's controlling us." The Kinoto managed to mutter with a grunt, "Don't get too close...it'll make us attack you."
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here alive, I promise." Tanjiro declared, drawing his blade, an example Genya and Zenitsu followed by unsheathing their respective swords, while Inosuke readied his already drawn weapons, "Not like I need to say it, but we mustn't use lethal force against them. Our best chance is to knock them out hurting them as little as possible."
"If I knew that, I'd have brought some of those wooden swords we were using to train..." Inosuke grunted, "It'd be a blast to smash some of those on their heads too."
"Try not to do that with those jagged swords of yours." Genya advised ironically, raising his kodachi, "Wouldn't be a very pretty sight to see, in all honesty."
"Maybe we should be more worried about them hurting us than us hurting them..." Zenitsu advised, obviously nervous, but not backing down as he held his katana with a two-handed grip.
Their exchange was cut short as four of the seven Demon Slayers moved in at them, and the Senses rushed to intercept them, raising their blades to block their attackers' weapons. Tanjiro would only exchange a few blows with his opponent before locking their katana together, grabbing his foe's blade by the blunt side with one hand while the other used his own sword's hilt to slam onto his foe's wrist and disarm him. Taking his weapon by the blade, Tanjiro quickly stepped back and shifted it into a proper grip before moving in, now dual-wielding both katana as he feinted at his opponent and, in his wrongful dodge, moved to knock him out with a clean blow with a katana hilt to his temple that had the Demon Slayer down on the ground in moments.
Tanjiro stepped past his downed attacker and was about to confront the three Demon Slayers that had stayed behind while the others rushed in when something suddenly grabbed at his ankle. He turned to look down, and widened his eyes when he saw the Demon Slayer he'd just knocked out, eyes still closed and with clearly no conscience left in him, and yet still crawling to attack him.
Shocked, the boy would take a brief look around at his comrades, and he would see much of the same. Inosuke would attack brutally and outright snap one of the Demon Slayer's katana in between his two jagged swords before body-slamming his foe hard enough to send him flying a couple of yards. And yet, upon landing, the Slayer would just get back up, as if nothing had happened, and charge off towards the boar-headed boy again. Genya would grab an opponent's arm mid-blade-lock and knee him in the gut, causing the Demon Slayer to keel forward and allowing the scarred boy to bring down an elbow at the back of his head. And yet, again did they rise. Even the panicking Zenitsu managed to duck under one of his opponent's swings and slashed then at the heel while he moved past the Demon Slayer, and yet the other swordsman didn't even stagger as he turned to move at the blond again when by all means he should be unable to even stand.
"...so that's what this is. Whoever is doing this, is not manipulating their actions, but the body itself. No matter how much we hurt them or try to knock them out, the body will just keep coming." Tanjiro thought, pulling his leg to force the unconscious demon slayer to let go of him, "This is bad...but there must be a way of taking these guys down without hurting them."
Before he could think any further, he would be alerted by his nose of the two quickly rushing Demon Slayers that hadn't moved in before, their red and green blades drawn and ready to strike him. Tanjiro would raise both his and the stolen katana to defend himself from the two attacking Demon Slayers. From the first strike he blocked, he would realize these two were stronger than the other Slayers, probably a few ranks above, but nothing his improvised dual-wielding couldn't keep at bay until he figured out a solution to this whole dilemma.
Despite his attention being split between the two swordsmen attacking him, he'd soon have a third opponent to focus on when a chain attached to a scythe ar its end flew out from the darkness aiming to slash through both the Demon Slayers as well as Tanjiro, he noticed what was happening soon enough to react however as he deflected two incoming katana slashes in quick succession, before simultaneously slamming both his weapons' hilts on the Demon Slayer's heads to knock them down to the ground. He then jumped at the last moment to narrowly evade the scythe's blade while guaranteeing the two others were too low to be caught in it, spinning midair and landing on his feet.
"Great...so they're also not unconcerned with attacking one another. This just makes things more complicated." He thought, backing up to open some distance from the kusarigama wielding Kinoto, and would get a glimpse of Inosuke bending his body to dodge a katana slash, causing the blade to instead cut a gash across the chest of another Slayer attacking him, "We gotta do something about this quick, or else they'll just end up killing each other before we can even save them."
The two Demon Slayer chased him and began attacking once again, forcing him to return to his defensive fighting. This time, however, two more Demon Slayers would rush in to join them, putting Tanjiro on the defense against four swordsmen at once. Whoever was controlling them seemed to have identified him as the biggest threat, and was thus focusing the numbers on him accordingly. However his Forescent training, despite the cringe-worthy name catching on with his peers much to his chagrin, proved to really pay off in the situation, seeing as he would've been impaled much earlier hadn't he smelled many of those attacks coming.
Even then, it wasn't like his problems were solved by that, evidenced by the Kinoto swinging in the weighted end of his kusarigama at a momentarily distracted Zenitsu, with Tanjiro not noticing in time to warn him. His friend was nearly struck in the head with deadly force, but fortunately, Genya ran in and took a tight hold of the chain, stopping the weight inches from cracking the blond's skull open, something he became very aware of given his pale complexion and his wide-eyed stare at the weapon. That was not all however as the Kinoto tugged at the chain harshly, dragging Genya closer while swinging down the bladed end of his weapon down at the boy. This time though, Zenitsu was the one who retributed the favor and jumped in for the save with great speed, swinging his blade at the last moment in midair to deflect the scythe and cause it to only narrowly miss his comrade.
Tanjiro was relieved to see the other Senses had each other's backs but had his own problems to deal with. He pushed one of the Slayers away with a kick, blocking two other blades and dribbling past the final one's slash in order to escape all the four Demon Slayers and jump back. He was cautiously considering his next actions when he widened his eyes, suddenly alerted by his Forescent of an attack from behind, and he'd spin around to cut down his opponent. He would be surprised, however, when his blade seemingly slashed at nothing, and yet something small fell to the ground at his feet. Tanjiro looked down and would widen his eyes as she saw a white spider quickly scurrying away. Pausing silently, he'd raise his arm and swung it at what seemed to be empty air only for him to feel something very thin but resistant string touching it, sticking to his wrist. A moment later and his arm would jerk upwards out of his control unexpectedly. He widened his eyes and slashed with his other sword to cut the thread yet again and release himself as it was finally made clear to him what was really happening there.
"Guys, be careful! The Demon is controlling them through spider threads like puppets! If a spider manages to attach their thread to you, you'll be controlled too!" Tanjiro quickly announced to the other Senses."Especially you, Genya!" He added then, and though the buzzcut haired boy grimaced at that, he didn't speak out against it, which must've meant he understood Tanjiro's line of thought. After all, just like he had his sense of smell to aid him, Inosuke had his incredibly sensitive skin and Zenitsu had his enhanced hearing, which would all make sure they could react before any spider even landed on them. Genya did not have such an advantage, however, and so he had to be extra careful.
Thinking like that made Tanjiro also wish Kanao was here. Just like she had seen through that Demon Assassin's Blood Art the first time they met, she could've probably noticed the incredibly thin strings manipulating the Demon Slayers much earlier than him. Regardless, there was no point in focusing on hypotheticals. After all, now that he knew how this puppeteering demon's technique worked, he at least had an idea of how to handle it.
Tanjiro would move in towards the Demon Slayers dashing at him, now only two remaining of the original four as Inosuke and Zenitsu had intercepted the first two. They rushed at him regardless, and Tanjiro would block the first one's blade and knock it aside with his second katana, throwing him off balance and allowing the boy to easily trip his opponent. He then crossed both swords to intercept the second one's strike and held down his blade in order to close in and give the Demon Slayer one of Tanjiro's infamous hard as hell headbutts that had him too in the ground in no time.
With the two Demon Slayers down, they would quickly begin to get back up, only for Tanjiro to slash at what seemed to be empty air at first, yet the snapping sound confirmed his suspicions as both the Demon Slayers fell back down to the ground midway through getting up, the threads controlling them finally cut. His fellow Senses quickly took note of what was happening and realized what Tanjiro had done, thus beginning to replicate it, quickly disposing of their opponent's too by cutting the threads controlling them.
Tanjiro, meanwhile, with his theory proven right, moved his attention over to his real target, dashing in straight at the Kusarigama wielding Kinoto that had proven so troublesome to deal with so far. As expected, he would throw in the large weight at the end of his chain towards the boy, but Tanjiro managed to jump in time to narrowly dodge it, spinning midair in order to be directly above the chain while facing it down before thrusting his borrowed katana at it, having the blade slide right through one of the links and stab itself into the ground, stopping the kusarigama's chain fully. He would then step down on the sword to thrust it deeper into the ground in order to properly anchor the chain, thus allowing him to start running across its thin length and towards its wielder. Though the Kinoto tried waving the chain in order to break Tanjiro's balance and have him fall off, the boy had already jumped by then, and flipped over his opponent, slashing his threads midair before smoothly landing on the ground, his released opponent collapsing on the ground behind him.
Taking a deep breath, he finally allowed himself to calm down somewhat seeing as the situation was finally dealt with. Now all they would have to do is cut down the remaining Demon Slayers and they could move their attention to the demon behind this. Except he'd let his guard down too soon, as evidenced by the loud, "SHIT!" He heard when Genya was caught by surprise at one of the rising Demon Slayers slashing him across the chest, though luckily it was the one whose blade had been broken by Inosuke earlier, so the little remaining of the blade didn't cut too deeply while Genya backed away safely.
The other downed Demon Slayers too began rising soon enough, momentarily confusing Tanjiro, until he realized the obvious, "...of course, as long as the spiders are around, they'll just reattach those strings and have them continue fighting." He silently cursed at his own stupidity in frustration, before pausing, "Wait, if they're getting back up, that means..."
His forescent confirmed what he suspected as Tanjiro turned around just in time to intercept the Kusarigama's scythe with his own blade once again, its wielder rising back to his feet with his threads reattached. Frowning, Tanjiro dodged another swing of his chain before jumping back, "If the demon's gonna play that way though, I guess I'll have to cut those threads in a way they can't reattach." He thought, rushing across the small battlefield and taking the attention of the rising Demon Slayers as they all began moving after him, "Guys, cover for me!" He called out to his comrades, and they did as requested, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Genya all jumping in between Tanjiro and the controlled Slayers to halt their dash, allowing him to turn around, sheathing his blade back into his scabbard and closing his eyes.
"The Breath of the Sun is a powerful style, one with capabilities even I don't understand fully." Tanjiro remembered his master once telling him, "It seems to draw out the very essence of the sunlight present in Nichirin to fuel its flames, giving it the power to combat demons in ways other styles simply cannot. Cutting through them is not the only thing it does after all. In certain cases, it seems to affect their abilities as well."
"Well...it worked against those temari...so it's worth a try." Tanjiro thought, shifting his footing and inhaling deeply, "Breath of the Sun, Sixth Dance..." He announced, drawing his blade slightly out of his scabbard as its flames shone brightly in the dark forest, before he disappeared entirely, only to reappear some fifty feet away from where he was, moving past both his allies and the controlled Demon Slayers in the blink of an eye as he lowered his still flaming blade, "...High-Noon Flare." In a moment, flames burst seemingly out of thin air over the controlled Demon Slayer's heads, burning the threads to ash and causing them to collapse before spreading out throughout the rest of web and burning down every single one of the spiders threading across it, as well as continuing to burn in their way up the mountain, probably towards where the demon controlling them all was.
In a normal situation, he would use that chance to chase off after the demon, but with the released Demon Slayers injured and collapsed, he thought best to see to their wellbeing and get them somewhere safe before continuing their way up the mountain. That said, he would only make a silent note on the direction those flames were headed before sheathing away his sword and striding to the downed Demon Slayers, which Genya and Zenitsu were already checking on while Inosuke grunted with his arms crossed nearby, impatient to continue with the demon-hunting. "How are they doing?" Tanjiro asked as he walked up to them.
"They seem fine...hurt and tired, not to mention completely unconscious, but I think they'll survive." Genya admitted, before staring over to Tanjiro, "Still, what exactly was it that you did back there? I've never seen a Breath Technique like that..."
"It's...complicated." Tanjiro admitted, scratching the side of his head somewhat awkwardly, "I'll explain it to you later. For now, we should probably focus on getting these guys back down the mountain."
"Well...there's seven of them and four of us, so either we each take two of them or we'll have to do two trips." Zenitsu calculated, "The Kusarigama guy looks heavier than the rest, so I could drag him alone while you guys each take two."
"HAH! I bet I can take all of them at once!" Inosuke declared boldly, seeming more interested in the whole thing now that it could be viewed as a competition.
"...you really shouldn't push yourself like that, Inosuke..." Tanjiro pointed out but was at least relieved things had seemed to end up well. He stepped in, looking through the Demon Slayers wondering which of the two he should pick up. And that is when he felt the smell, and he froze.
Something was wrong.
Though he couldn't make out much of the smell given how faint it was, he knew down to his very core that something was terribly wrong. After a brief look at the downed Demon Slayers, he'd realize something that he hadn't been able to make out in the heat of battle, and that was that all of them had very pronounced scratch marks on the side of their necks. Just then, the smell would become a bit stronger, just strong enough for him to recognize the scent of a demon mixed within it, and realize that the smell was coming from the Demon Slayer's downed bodies.
He didn't even have the time to cry out for Genya and Zenitsu to get away from the bodies before it happened, as every single one of the seven unconscious Demon Slayer suddenly burst into overwhelming purple flames. Luckily, Inosuke must've sensed the heat increase a moment sooner than himself, and manage to move in and drag both the boys away from the bodies before they all exploded into purple fire, but it still left every single one of them in a state of shock as, in a moment, every single one of the people they'd worked so hard to save had their lives consumed in a controlled inferno without as much as a single scream.
The wind would suddenly shift then, and Tanjiro's shock would be momentarily swayed when he felt the smell switch with it. He turned his head to the side to look up, and that was when he saw her. Standing atop a tall tree branch, her closed fist extended forward, was a demon. She wore a dark blue haori, with clothes underneath styled similar to those of a Demon Slayer and long brown hair reaching her waist, her face hidden behind a mask and a sword sheathed at her waist. It only took a moment after actually seeing her for him to realize two things: this was the demon that had taken down the entire group in the first place, and she was the one who'd just killed them.
Numbing shock gave way to burning anger, and Tanjiro didn't say a single word as he stepped away from his team, gripping his katana hilt tightly and taking a deep breath. He crouched slightly, focusing his strength on his legs, before he suddenly rocketed off the ground, finally getting the other Senses' attention. The demon reacted, jumping off the tree branch and over the treetops, but Tanjiro used the same branch as a platform to jump again and reached her regardless, drawing his blade intent on cutting her down in midair. Except, as he aimed to decapitate the demon, she'd draw her own sword almost faster than he could react and raise it to intercept his own.
Demon and Demon Slayer held their respective violet and black blades in a tight midair lock under the bright light of a full moon. Time seemed to slow down for a moment as Tanjiro noted the moonlight shining through the eyeholes of the catlike mask she wore, the Lower Moon Five symbol clear to see in her right eye. That, however, was not what shocked him. Rather, it was the finally registering smell that he didn't expect, and had him frozen for a moment. This though was enough for the demon to break the lock of their blades, bringing her katana down on him. Though he managed to block, the power behind it was enough to send him flying back down at high speeds. He'd try to grab onto a tree branch mid-fall, but his momentum was such the branch broke almost immediately. Still, it slowed him down to roll upon landing and get back on a knee.
The demon, meanwhile, only landed on another tree branch. She looked down at the group of Demon Slayers for another moment before sheathing away her blade and simply disappearing in a burst of speed just as suddenly as she'd appeared. "Whoa, what was that!" Zenitsu inquired in surprise, racing up to besides Tanjiro, "I think it's gone, but...are you okay, Tan-"
The blond cut himself short when he turned to look at his friend and saw in him a face none of the Senses had ever been privy to in the time they'd known him. With sweat pouring down the side of his head, Tanjiro looked absolutely terrified as he stared down at the ground wide-eyed, surprising al three other Demon Slayers present, "That smell...what was that smell...?" He asked himself, feeling his body shake, "It had the normal smell of a demon, but mixed beneath it there's something else...something...familiar."
Tanjiro would be unable to focus on his thoughts for so long before Genya called out, "Hey...is everything alright there, Tanjiro?" He asked, and as the boy turned to look at his comrades, he would notice all of them were staring at him worriedly. Even Inosuke, though trying to hide it, had a certain nervous smell about him.
Seeing that he nodded, taking a moment to breathe in deeply and recompose himself somewhat before rising, "...we'll be going our separate ways now." He said simply, surprising them all, "Me and Inosuke are chasing after the swordswoman demon, Genya and Zenitsu meanwhile will deal with the puppeteering demon."
"...you sure that's a good idea, Tanjiro?" Zenitsu inquired hesitantly, "Wouldn't it be safer if we all moved together as to have each other's backs? It's bad enough that we had to leave Kanao behind already, after all"
"...maybe. But Kanao can catch up, and I just can't let that demon run off like that." He told them in a tone that left little argument, pointing off in a direction leading up the mountain before any of them could say anything else, "That's where he the threads were leading to, so it's probably the direction your demon is located in."
Genya and Zenitsu both looked like they wanted to discuss this further, but after exchanging a brief glance, both only nodded to each other before moving off together in the direction Tanjiro had pointed them off to. "As for you..." He turned then to look at Inosuke, "Just try and keep up."
"HAHAHAHA! You don't need to tell ME that! Honestly, I could easily outrun you if I really-" He was cut short when Tanjiro, without even waiting for him to finish, took a breath and dashed off to follow after the smell of the sword-wielding demon, "Hey, wait up you bastard!" The boar headed boy called out annoyedly before chasing off after Tanjiro and up their way into Natagumo Mountain.
The demon known as the Spider Mother was quite annoyed with the latest turn of events. She'd been left in a clearing deep into the forest where not even sunlight reached and made to control those Demon Slayers Chihime had provided for her use. The idea was to use those as bait and have another group of Demon Slayers come after them, only to take them down when they arrived to rescue their captured comrades. She'd even kept them mostly unharmed, which worked wonders since it allowed her to make the best out of them as puppets with her threads, especially given the slight developments of her Demon Blood Art resulted from Rui having fed all the members of the Spider Family some more of his blood after his own ascension as Lower Moon Four.
And yet, when the Slayers took the bait and sent out another group to rescue the first one, she wouldn't have expected in a million years for things to take a turn like they did. One moment she was just controlling the puppets, sending them after the red-clad boy that seemed to lead the other Demon Slayers, and in the next, the Mother had been suddenly cut out from her puppets before odd flames suddenly consumed the threads she'd been manipulating them with and even left a burning pain in her hands despite the fire not leaving behind a single mark.
Regardless, she knew they would be heading towards her soon to try and finish the job. She could try and run away, but that would mean confronting Rui about her failure of capturing the Slayers, not to mention losing the ones she'd already captured. No...her best chance was to stay and fight, give them everything she had to beat them down. After all, she still had one more secret weapon up her sleeve, and with a few tugs at her threads and a wicked grin, she'd have it summoned, before sending out her strongest puppet in its way, ready to intercept the incoming Demon Slayers.
A/N: So, with this chapter, I reach the mark of 160k words. That makes this currently the longest story in the Kimetsu no Yaiba section of FanFiction the site, beating Novirp13's all-reigning fic Colors of the World. Granted, I take it about 50k of those words are Author's note and your own reviews, but even the Ao3 version where I remove the latter is about 120k words long, which is bigger than the earlier Harry Potter books. All that is kinda funny for me, because I am barely getting started with this. After all, just like in Canon, you can kinda measure how close we are to the Endgame by the number of Demon Moons taken down so far, which currently stands as one out of twelve, baring any possible replacements to the emptied ranks. Which means, yeah, long way to go, still.
With this chapter, we start the extremely important Natagumo Mountain Arc which, as I imagine you all already realized by now, will be extremely different from Canon. Just for starters, pretty much every single character is at least a bit stronger, the demons due to receiving an extra dose of blood and the Demon Slayers due to the extra training, which is why stuff like the Spider Mother's threads being harder to detect is a thing, and the Spider Sister was a bit more creative with using her own web. Speaking of her, it might not have been entirely made clear in this chapter, but Chihime's actions in this case were in retaliation for the Sister's death. I'll leave you to make your own conclusions from that.
Another thing present in this chapter was a usage of the Breath of the Sun I had eluded to before when Tanjiro and Kanao fought Susamaru and Yahaba, how it nullifies or burns down certain Demon Blood Art techniques like Susamaru's Temari or the Spider Mother's Threads. I honestly considered writing that out of the story for a while because it seemed too far out considering Breath Techniques aren't really supposed to be anything more than really fancy sword attacks with little magic to them, just some suspension of disbelief.
However, that was before we saw what Yoriichi could do with the Breath of the Sun. As you guys who keep up with the manga know, Muzan has recently began to manifest scars from being cut down by Yoriichi all those years ago. Which would be at least credible if he just healed from them and they remained in his body all this time, but NO. Because after his fight with Yoriichi he did his split and escape thing, and regenerated his entire body from a clump of flesh the size of his fist. Which means 99% of his current body never even tasted Yoriichi's blade, but the scars left by the Breath of the Sun seemingly engrained itself into his DNA and manifested even post-regeneration. Compared to that, nullifying a Demon's Blood Art seems very tame.
Anyway, I think that's enough for now. Next chapter we'll have Zenitsu and Genya facing off against the Spider Mother and her demon corpse puppet, plus some other interesting stuff, so look forward to that. My gratitude and thanks still goes to DownwardDive. He recomended me Solo Leveling and thus got me into Manhwa, and if the fact that I'm mentioning this now doesn't make that clear, it's a recommendation that I pass on to those reading this.
So…reviews. Let's go.
Cieszesi Niezmiernie: Alright so the meeting is on the way huh...
Chapter was really good as always, but if I have problem with anything is that Chihime was way to delicate in fight. Spider-mother is able to control corpses also quite easly but still Chihime didn't kill anyone. I mean come on not even a single served limb.
I kind of got a feeling that you try to make sure that Nezuko won't kill anyone while being a demon and that's seems quite forced in my opinon. She is a man eating monster now after all and I don't think she would have any contraindications with killing humans. At least she shouldn't have if she is truly loyal to Muzan.
I am still kind of hope that Tanjiro will accept Pillar position someday... maybe after spider family arc, if he manages to take Rui out. I also wonder how will Tanjiro react when he finally meets with Nezuko. I wouldn't be suprised if it started with denial since he saw her head being cut after all.
Can't wait for another chapter! Good luck :)
Yeah...as you will probably realize by this chapter, that is not what I was going for. Regarding Nezuko not hurting any of the humans TOO badly last chapter, there are three reasons. One, they work best as puppets the more intact they are. Two, her holding back on them makes it all the more shocking when she murders them all in one go. Three, as you might see later on in this arc, Chihime has an odd view on Demon Slayers from Kokushibo's teachings.
I also wanted her to have a good reason for doing what she did. Not that she needed one, but it gives her actions a human edge that I really want to shine through despite her still being, in every sense of the word, a demon. Still, that's not an impression I wanted to give, so it does make me wish I had her be abit more brutal against the Demon Slayers.
Now, regarding Tanjiro becoming a Pillar…well, think of it like this: his main reason to not become a Pillar is based on his philosophy about a kind demon existing out there, exemplified by his sister, and how an indiscriminate Demon Slayer could carelessly slay them, exemplified by Giyu. Once he sees that example of a kind demon corrupted in his surviving sister, that turns his entire world view upside down. How he comes out of that though is something you all will have to wait and see.
Deutzieg: Okay, so, uhhhhh after 2 months(or more...?) and 6 chapters, I'm finally here! *All Might pose
WOW! After 2 hectic months and a lot of training for my new job, I can finally back to my useless self and read this story and fanfiction again! Hurray! Feels good man, really.
I really wanted to review all the 6 chapters, but because my stubborn ass brain wanted to read all the 6 chapters in one sit and I don't want to write a long-ass review(sorry!) I guess I'll just review the latest chapter lel.
So, Tanjiro is really on another level huh? Zenitsu and the rest really needs to put their best if they wanted to be his equal, especially Zenitsu, keep going Zenitsu! You can do it!
And lord Boar is here! lol, reading/watching him always makes me laughing everytime, his fight with Kanao is pretty intense, and I can't help but smile like an idiot when Kanao jumps out of nowhere just to stop Inosuke fighting his man(Tanjiro), I know Kanao probably don't mean anything romantical with that, but my shipper side just goes boom like a rocket lol.
I don't think I need to comment anything about Chihime/Nezuko's fight, it's seems like she's pretty good, I bet she's better than all these lower moons. I wonder what is her Breath is, is it Moon Breath? Sun Breath? or a new different breath? Looking forward for it in the next chapter!
I think I know why you made Chihime use the mask, indeed, it would be really dramatical when Tanjiro finally face her, he would be somehow remember her smell, but wondering why another demon has her smell.
Bruh, I can't wait for another chapter, good work Sky! Looking forward for more!
Well, I haven't seen you for a while, but I'm really glad to see the story's first reviewer is still reading regardless. And though getting six reviews like that woulda been a blast, I'm still happy with just the one.
So yes, Tanjiro is a step above the rest, even Kanao somewhat despite them both knowing Full Focus Constant. The others will indeed have to improve as to catch up to him after this arc.
We also get some more Inosuke this chapter, the moment in special where he chastises Murata is actually quite important for his character, but you'll see that later. Plus there's also a little TanjiKana moment to show some change in their relationship, so I hope you enjoyed that.
Chihime is not necessarily the strongest Lower Moon, but she is without a shadow of a doubt the most skilled and well trained. That distinction will become very relevant as we move on with her. Her breath...well, that's another thing I'm holding off on until the right time
And yeah, you probably did guess my intentions with the mask. It's a means of postponing Nezuko's reveal for max effect. And given how much she's changed in the last two years, even Tanjiro has trouble recognizing her smell.
Anyway, thanks for the review. I do hope you can find the time to review again soon.
Neema Amiry: Thank you
You're welcome.
DriftingPhoenix: Rui and Chihime? Blegh! Also, Chihime win action? That's so cool! I wonder how Tanjiro would react when he sees his sister again, would he be devastated? (The connection between the spider sister and Chihime is sort of cute)
Well, they met, but what I think you and a lot of people are expecting is not per say the meeting, but rather the realization. Which will come, all in due time.
As for Chihime and the Sister's relationship...yeah, sorry.
LegoMyEggo02: Do you have any plans for Urokodaki?
Maybe...to be honest, that is something I'm still working out. I have ideas, sure, but no sure way of getting there yet.
FearfulFan1987: If next chapter is gonna go the way I think it gonna go, then I can't wait. Amazing story.
Can't really be sure what you expected, but I hope you were content with the results.
PopeEyes: It feels like there is going to be a Nezuko x Rui ship lol. Or an alliance.
Can't lie when I say that I've considered it, not because it is a particularly cutesy pairing, but to give Rui some extra character. I ended up deciding however that he probably doesn't have the maturity to even understand that kind of love, and even if he feels it, he'd still rather want Chihime as a sister by his side because it's just what he understands.
DEMONEZUKO: A nezuko fight scene :DDDD I wonder why she isn't killing them?
Yeah, I already mentioned some of my reasons for that in response to another review, but the main in-story reason is something I'll address separately later.
So, with all that said, I think we're good for today. Like I mentioned last chapter, there really is no use asking for Favorite and Follow for new readers, seeing as its very unlikely someone will reach this point in one go. If you did though, and are reading this...goddamn. Still, I will continue asking for Reviews at the end of every chapter, cause that kind of feedback is what moves me more than anything. That said, I hope to hear what you all thought about this chapter, and the next one should be coming at some near point in the future probably around a week from now. See you there, Sky signing out.
