Death-Defying Arts
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest installment of Breath of the Rifleman! We got an interesting fight in this chapter and a lot of Haiku dialogue, so hopefully you'll all enjoy it. As per the usual I'd like to give a shout out to LoneTaker, groche9655 and Noble Eight for their contributions to this story. And to answer a possible guest review: Hey, the guy really likes his place nice and neat. Now then, onto the story!
Forest of Swordsmith Village
The flash of blades, guts and blood flying everywhere marked the scene outside of the old shed where Haganezuka was as the Saiketsu twins cut through another dozen fish monsters with razor-sharp fins, their naginatas twirling elegantly around their bodies. "Oh ho, not bad at all," said Gyokko, who'd taken up position from one of his pots on a tree, "let's see how the two of you do against these fish." The Upper Moon demon produced another pot in one of his many hands which sent out several smaller fish monsters which resembled goldfish.
"Such a rubbish thing," said Mukuro as he and his sister readied their weapons.
"They're hardly even altered," added Kuroko as she shifted her stance, absentmindedly forming a picture out of a blood puddle she'd stepped in.
"Yet even more proof that you don't understand true art," said Gyokko as the fish suddenly puffed up as if they were taking a deep breath, "art is in my very technique, observe: Thousand Needle Fish Kill!" The aquatic summons let loose a shower of needles then from multiple angles, making dodging the attack nearly impossible. Not that dodging was the only option available to the twins, however.
"This technique lacks taste," said Mukuro as he twirled his naginata in front of him, the speed of its rotation more than fast enough to ward off the mass of needles in front of him. He didn't need to worry about behind him as his sister was mirroring his actions to deflect her own set of needles.
"Puffer fish would be better," added Kuroko, the stoney visage on her face only cracking slightly.
"It seems neither of you understand underlying meaning or nuance," mocked Gyokko, "the real artistic thing about fish such as these is how they mislead the opponent with their small size and complete lack of warning about the needles.
"Except you warned us," noted Kuroko as the the shower of needles ended, giving them an opening to leap in and slice up the latest batch of fish.
"By calling out your attack," continued Mukuro as he put his naginata to the ground, drawing yet another picture with the blood on his weapon.
"You lack subtlety," they both stated as they leapt forward next and attempted to slice off Gyokko's head. The demon was quick to retreat back into his pot, leaving nothing but an empty vessel which was quickly sliced through by Mukuro.
"That was one of my precious pots you blind wannabe art critic!" Raged Gyokko as he popped up from another pot on the roof of the shed. But his ravings were cut short by the presence of Kuroko behind him as she too attempted to take his head. The demon sensed her and ducked at the last moment, again leaving an empty pot behind which was quickly destroyed. "Such disrespect, and here I thought I was among fellow artists."
"But we do know art," said Kuroko as she leapt back down to join Mukuro.
"We know it better than you," added the Saiketsu brother before leaping forwards while both spoke at the same time. "Observe, Third Finisher: Raijin and Fuijin." The twins quickly split apart with one bouncing off the lower part of a nearby tree while the other leapt high and performed a similar maneuver.
"Nice try, but not quite good enough," said Gyokko as he quickly produced another pot, "try this!" A very large fish monster with massive human arms was summoned from the pot, quickly snapping at the twins with razor sharp teeth. But its presence wasn't enough to completely stop the Saiketsu's attack as they managed to slice into its head and arms. The creature snarled in anger as it swiped at the two once again, tearing through a couple of trees as the naginata wielders nimbly leapt out of the way.
"Fourth Finisher," the twins said in unison as they charged in while mirroring each other's movements, "Red Fuji!" They both hit the fish monster with a powerful uppercut from their naginatas, carving into it so deeply that the pot on top of its body was also sliced through in the process. In a quick flourish, the duo whipped the blood off of their weapons into yet another art pattern, this one resembling a school of fish.
"Did we not tell you," said Mukuro with a tilt of his hat.
"Our art is superior," continued Kuroko while pointing her finger at the Upper Moon.
"For it has nuance," said the twins at the same time.
"You call a couple of blood drawings nuanced?!" Questioned Gyokko angrily, "I can hardly tell what sort of picture you're even trying to make. Don't go comparing such absent-minded scribbles to the magnificence that is the great Gyokko!"
"A couple you say," questioned Kuroko before moving her naginata in a sweeping motion.
"There are more than a couple," continued Mukuro as he mirrored the movement of his twin sister.
"Yes, far more than that," they both said at the same time. Gyokko was still quite annoyed at the way they spoke but glanced around regardless. His eyes widened then as he looked from one part of their current battleground to the other. 'How can this be,' he thought as he noted every spot the Saiketsus had wiped the blood off their weapons, 'they should just be absentminded scribbles, but they're more than that. Animals in motion, ocean waves, continents. They drew all of this without completely taking their focus off the battle at hand, how is such a thing possible?'
"Alright," said Gyokko as he held up another pot, "I'll grant that you somehow managed to make one or two discernible pictures with such a limited supply of ink or paint."
"Some call it secret," said Mukuro as he got back into a battle stance.
"Good artists know the saying," continued Kuroko before they both spoke again at the same time, "never waste a stroke."
"Of course I know of such a basic idea," said Gyokko, "but I can mostly certain waste the both of you! Octopus Vase Hell!" A mass of giant octopus tentacles erupted from the pot held by the Upper Moon, all reaching towards the Saiketsu twins in an effort to ensare them.
"Fifth Finisher," said the Twins as they shifted their weapons into thrusting positions, "Sudden Shower!" The two fighters peppered the tentacles with powerful jabs, the speed of their attacks and retractions causing a mess of sliced up tentacles to obscure Gyokko's vision. "Second Finisher: Midnight Ambush of Sanjo Palace." The Upper Moon's eyes widened as he realized both of the naginata wielders had somehow gotten behind him and were bringing their weapons right towards his neck.
Gyokko felt his body get two deep cuts as he just managed to escape into his pot and remerge on another pot in a tree. "You're both quite tricky," he said while spawning several small pots in his hands, "but it's time to end this. Behold my next technique: Ten Thousand Gliding Slime Fish!" A large school of flying fish spilled out of the Upper Moon's pots, seemingly swimming through the air as they quickly moved to cut off any escape route the Saiketsu's could use as their teeth flashed menacingly.
"First Finisher," said the Saiketsu twins in unison as they twirled their weapons skillfully, "The Great Wave." The duo performed a mass of number of wide sweeps and slashes, cutting through several fish at once with each swing while standing back to back. It was a gory spectacle as the flying fish were quickly sliced up, leaving a mass of blood and fish guts flying through the air which the Saiketsus again used as cover to launch their next attack. "Final Finisher: Thirty-Six Views-The Final Tour of Japan."
Gyokko's eyes widened as he was hit with a flurry of slashes, all of which spread his blood on the ground in an elaborate fashion. If one took a moment to admire it, they'd discover that it resembled a map of Japan. The twins let out a breath as they relaxed their stances for a moment. "Were it so simple," said Kuroko as they both turned to a shadow in the trees.
"I must commend the both of you," said Gyokko as his shadowed form spoke from the trees, "I never expected that kind of skill from two people who didn't have the rank of Hashira within the Demon Slayer Corps."
"We are but artists," said Mukuro as he resumed his stance alongside his sister.
"We merely use blood as paint," continued Kuroko.
"So I've noticed," said Gyokko as he glanced at the leftover skin on his other pot, "you two would have gotten me if I hadn't molted. Thankfully, I was still one step ahead." The Saiketsu twins were about to ask what he meant when they suddenly collapsed down to one knee. "Ah there we go, I hadn't expected it to take so long but the poison has finally kicked in."
"When did you do this?" Questioned the twins at the same time.
"When I used my ten thousand fish technique from earlier," explained Gyokko, "their bodies are filled with percutaneous poison. Getting even a little bit of it on your skin is enough to drop most people, so it's amazing the two of you are even still conscious. But that's actually good in this case, because I'm about to turn the both of you into some exceptional pieces of ar-." The sound of splashing water interrupted him as his attention was drawn to where he'd trapped Muichirou, or rather had had him trapped.
A Minute Earlier
Muichirou's mind was all over the place. For so long now his memory had been hazy, like there had been a mist clouding it. But it had all started coming back to him the moment he decided against the logical course of action and saved Kotetsu instead of heading back for the village chief. He continued to surprise himself by protecting his new swordsmith, Kanamori, and Tanjiro's swordsmith, Haganezuka. It got him a few spikes for his trouble, but that hadn't been the real problem.
He'd gotten caught up in that pot-shaped water technique and didn't have enough air in his lungs to break out with one of his breath forms. He'd spied Kotetsu in the corner at the time and felt more than a little relief when the naginata-wielding twins showed up. It had given him some time to sort out his jumbled thoughts as he remembered his family, his twin brother, and how they all died. It was a demon who took his brother and caused him to finally lose his temper, leading him to tear it apart in a hundred different ways until the sun finally came up and turned it to ash.
Ubuyashiki found him after that, giving him the choice to walk down the path of a slayer. Now here he was, drowning on dry land while watching two others hold their own against an Upper Moon. His worries might have been over if not for one thing, Kotetsu. The boy had rushed over to him the moment he had an opening and began stabbing the water made pot with a carving knife, to no avail. Tokitou couldn't really speak thanks to the water, but he thought his gestures would've been clear, the boy needed to get out of here before more fish monsters showed up. But the boy wouldn't give up, he just kept stabbing at it.
Then the situation turned for the worse as he noticed the twin fighters fall to their knees. Kotetsu noticed this too and did the first thing that came to mind, he pressed his face to the water pot and breathed as hard as he could. He actually succeeded in getting some air bubbles into the pot, just enough, in fact, for Tokitou to suck into his mouth and perform one more technique. 'Breath of the Mist Second Form: Eight Layered Mist!'
He slashed open the pot with eight powerful slashes, one on top of the other as it finally lost its shape, dumping him on the ground as he coughed up the water which had gotten into his lungs. 'Finally,' thought Muichirou as he pulled the spikes out of his body, 'I can't let myself get caught in that again.' "Tokitou, you're out!" Cheered Kotetsu, "you have to hurry now, I think those twins are in trouble!"
"Don't worry," said Muichirou as he got to his feet, determination clear on his features, "I'll take care of him." He shot forward then, right as Gyokko unleashed another pair of octopus tendrils towards his current opponents. He succeeded in cutting through the two tentacles, though his blade broke three quarters of the way through the second one. 'Shit, the blade was too dull,' he thought as he leapt back to avoid the remains of it.
"Oh it's you," said Gyokko in mild surprise from the shadows, "I thought you'd die right away from that water basin, so I actually forgot you were still here. But that's alright, your body might actually make a good addition to the sculpture I have planned." 'Though I don't know where he got those birthmarks,' thought Gyokko as he noted some mist-like marks on his body. It was then that a memory suddenly flashed through his mind, 'wait a moment, the earring brat apparently had something like that too. Oh well, it won't make a difference.'
"Tokitou Muichirou," yelled Kanamori as he came running into the clearing, "use this!" He tossed a sword to the Hashira, who easily plucked it out of the air and drew it from its sheath.
"This is my sword," noted Tokitou as he examined the familiar geometric four blocked design of the hand guard, "you made this for me, Kanamori, thank you."
"Oh no, I just followed Tetsuido's instructions," said Kanamori. 'That's right,' thought Tokitou, 'Tetsuido was my first bladesmith until a heart attack took his life. I made him worry because I trained so hard that I coughed up blood.'
"It doesn't matter how many swords you use," said Gyokko as he produced another pot, "you'll be my art one way or the other!"
"You two," said Muichirou as he glanced at the Saiketsu twins, "thank you for your help up to this point. If you can move, get to safety. I'll take it from here."
"It's still such a shame," said Mukuro as he and his sister struggled to their feet.
"There was still art we could do," agreed Kuroko as they stumbled away.
"They shouldn't worry so much," said Gyokko, "I'll get to them soon enough. Now let us make this quick, Octopus Vase Hell!" A mass of tentacles was expelled from the pot then, threatening to constrict around and crush the Hashira. Or so it seemed at first.
"Breath of the Mist Fifth form: Sea of Clouded Mist," said Muichirou as he advanced forward at a breakneck pace, his blade covering a wide area with numerous slashes as he carved through the tentacles in quick succession. Gyokko was forced to dodge out of the way as the Mist Pillar sliced through the tree he was on, retreating to another spot in the shadows as he unleashed another technique.
"Ten Thousand Gliding Slime Fish!" declared Gyokko as he again summoned his school of flying fish at the Hashira.
"Breath of the Mist Sixth Form," said Muichirou as he leapt into the air, "Moonlit Mist." He flipped upside down and unleashed numerous long range slashes, dicing up the mass of aquatic creatures before landing on the ground once more. 'Twice in one day, my attack was sliced up,' thought Gyokko in disbelief, 'but no matter, it will also turn into a poisoning just like before.' "Breath of the Mist Third Form: De-misting Blast." The fish guts, scales and poison were then all blown away by some wide swings from the Hashira.
"Wait, you blew all of that awa-," Gyokko said before having to dodge another strike.
"I poisoned you earlier, how are you moving around like that?" Questioned Gyokko, now on a new tree branch.
"Who knows, honestly I feel amazing right now," said Tokitou, "and I happened to get a good look at all of your tricks while I was in that misshapen pot of yours."
"Oh, trying to draw me out with a cheap provocation," said Gyokko, "how quaint. The great Gyokko would never lose his composure over such a thing. It's unsightly how desperate you must be to win."
"Who's being cheap," said Muichirou, "everything about you is quaint and disgusting, from the way you look to what you say. There isn't a single praiseworthy thing about you or your art."
"And you're just an uneducated country bumpkin who doesn't understand a single thing about art," Gyokko shot back, "it's like trying to show a book to a fly or a cockroach who can't read!"
"Really, I see all kinds of art right now from two people who speak in Haiku," said Muichirou, "their technique far exceeds yours because they don't waste a stroke while you just mash things together. Seriously, I can tell with a single look that the chamber pot you're in is deformed beyond belief, have you even noticed how uneven the sides are?"
"I AM THE APEX OF BEAUTY!" Exclaimed Gyokko, "you just don't see it because you have maggots in your eyes! So I'll show you true beauty, gaze now upon my true form!" The Upper Moon emerged from the shadows then, revealing the fins on his head had grown to resemble long hair while his smaller arms disappeared and were replaced by two arms with webbed hands covered in scales. His body had also grown more muscular and his lower half was even more serpentine.
"You're now the sixth person who's seen me in this form over the centuries," said Gyokko, "these scales that I've kneaded together in my pot are harder than diamonds, so prostrate yourself before my perfect beauty!" Whatever response the Upper Moon was expecting to receive, what he got was a blank stare and complete silence from the slayer. "Why aren't you saying anything you retarded brat, you really know how to get on people's nerves!"
"Well you just got all scaly," said Muichirou, "and really I'm not that surprised. Can't you be anything that doesn't reek of horrible fish smell-?" Gyokko's fist was suddenly inches from his face as he finished his sentence. The Hashira moved as the area he was just in was completely pulverized by a barrage of punches from the Upper Moon.
The strange thing about Gyokko's attack, was that everything he tore apart with his punches turned into fish, including part of the wound he managed to inflict on Tokitou's side. The Hashira had fortunately managed to flee into one of the trees during his attack. "Now who's running to trees," said Gyokko, "not hardly surprising given my incredible, God-like power. Everything I touch with these fists turns to fish, my body is not only soft but springy and my scales are faster than waves. I am a free existence that knows no bounds!"
"So in other words, this is the best you've got," said Muichirou as a rare smile spread across his face, "if that's the case, then you're never going to touch me."
"Oh you think so," said Gyokko, "try this, Blood Demon Art: Deadly Scales of War!" He sprang forward like a serpent then, bounding around in numerous directions as he forced the Hashira out of the tree and on the defensive, parrying each attack with his blade which thankfully didn't turn into fish due to being Nichirin steel. He struck at every angle possible, laughing as he did so until he came up behind the swordsman. "Now fall to my incredible superiority!"
"Breath of the Mist Seventh Form," said Muichirou without glancing back, "Obscuring Clouds." The Hashira seemingly disappeared then, confusing the Upper Moon as he tried to locate his supposed prey. He spotted him a moment later and swung his fist at him, only to be confused again as the Hashira seemed to disappear in a cloud of mist. This happened to him a few more times, always with the same result, he disappeared the moment his fist was about to connect.
'What's going on,' thought Gyokko, 'where is he? He seems slow every time I see him but when I attack he disappears.' That's when he noticed it, the entire area seemed to be shrouded in mist, and it was, unnerving. 'No, this is nothing to the great Gyokko, I shall overcome this with little difficulty!' To that end, he struck out whenever he caught even a glimpse of the Mist Pillar.
Strangely, he started to see flashes of things that were, familiar. 'Is this my life, flashing before my eyes,' he thought as he saw the image of a boy in a fishing village. That had been him, decades ago, back when he was a boy named Iruka, when he'd thought fishing would be all he did. Then they came, the fleet of gunboats led by a name referred to by most as Commodore Perry.
It had been like a sign from the world to him, an inspiration that his destiny lie beyond the shores of Japan. He took the first shiphand job he could get after that and when the moment arrived, he stowed away on a departing vessel. He arrived on the mainland then and for the next several years, worked his way up through China all the way to Paris where he encountered what many now call the 'Impressionist Movement'. That had been the inspiration which led him to try art, eventually landing him an apprenticeship in one of the many studios which had emerged during that time.
A few years later he finally revealed his art to the world, and was met with laughs, jeers and boos that chased him off-stage. They called him an unoriginal hack and his most prized work a blatant rip-off of 'The Rape of Sanbine Women', originally painted by Giambologna. So he altered his art again and again in an attempt to get himself acclaim, but his increasingly bizarre works wound up getting him blacklisted from the community instead. The only way he could work in an art-related field then was by selling paint, to the very artist who'd bested him with their own skill.
He hated all of them, save for one. His name had been Vincent Van Gogh, a man with a compromised vision but whose genius was undeniable to the eyes of a true artist. The two were pen pals for some time after their first meeting and Gyokko felt his love for art reignited as he again tried to show his passion to the world. But being blacklisted made such a thing near impossible in France and thus he made his way back down to Itally where he found another use for his talents, counterfeiting.
Yes, through some strange series of events he wound up working for the Mafia of all people, using his skills to recreate existing works. It tore at him to do so, reminding him of the successful artists who had outshone him years earlier, but he needed the money. So he bided his time until he got enough money to return to Japan, a temporary refuge as it turned out when who should find him but the Yakuza who were running their own counterfeit art side business. They threatened to expose him if he refused their offer and that had been the final straw.
A Short time later, several carved up bodies with missing limbs were found on the shores of the Japanese coast. Gone was the painter and the pot sculptor, now there was the murderous artist who used human body parts for his work. It was all a blur after that as murder after murder was committed until one day, a man wearing a white hat with red eyes discovered him putting together a mockery of Michelangelo's David. Instead of killing him, he granted him the powers of a demon, and from that point on he was a human no longer but the Fifth Upper Moon, Gyokko!
Which was the last thought he had in his mind before he felt some sort of breeze pass by his neck, and then the world was upside down. "Where did you get the idea that you were the only one not being serious," said Muichirou as Gyokko realized what had just happened. 'He cut my head off, my head, my head, my head! How, how is such an unnatural situation possible, how is it I've lost to a child?!
"You maggot infested brat!" Raged the defeated Upper Moon, "how dare you do this to the great Gyokko! You repulsive, inferior creature! You are nothing special so how, how did you cut my head off?! I, who am worth a hundred of your beings, I who am a superior chosen one who has given your worthless lives some value by making you into the greatest pieces of all ti-SLICE!"
"Yeah yeah," said Tokitou dismissively as he sliced up the demon's head into pieces, "just die and turn to ashes already."
"That was amazing Tokitou!" Exclaimed Kanamori as he, Kotetsu and the Saiketsu twins approached the victor, "I don't know what happened exactly, but it was still awesome."
"A sublime technique," agreed Mukuro with a nod of his head.
"Not a single wasted stroke," added Kuroko as they both did a quick bow to the Hashira.
"That's great and all," said Muichirou, "but I need to get back to Tanjiro and the others now. They were fighting another Upper Moon when I got blown away."
"Are you sure, you look kinda shaky," noted Kanamori as he circled the Mist Pillar, taking note of his injuries, "and I think I hear wheezing too."
"I'm fine," assured Tokitou with a haggard look on his face while his body shook, keeping up a smile despite it, "I feel absolutely great. I am totally okay. Now come on, dammit, we need to get back there before-BLEEGH!" Foam suddenly started coming out of Muichirou's mouth as he fell face first onto the ground.
"AAAAAAHHH, Tokitou!" Exclaimed Kanamori, "you are totally not okay!"
"This is a bad time," said Mukurou as Kanamori noticed they looked a little paler than usual.
"But we're a bit poisoned too," said Kuroko, her and her brother's faces still showing the same neutral expression, until they fell onto their backs.
"OOOOOOHH NOOOOOO!" Exclaimed Kanamori, "and Haganezuka won't stop sharpening that sword for anything! What do we do Kotetsu?!"
"Start by turning them on their sides so they don't swallow the foam in their mouths," stated Kotetsu, managing to remain calm, "then we need to get some antidotes."
"I believe I can help with that," said Izayoi as he emerged from the shadows, "after all, I carry many antidotes to demon poi-."
"AAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGHHHH!" Both Kotetsu and Kanamori screamed, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the shinobi. As for Izayoi himself, he let out a sigh. Today had been a long day.
About the Same Time: Outskirts of the Swordsmith Village
"Tanjiro heads up!" Called Subaru, just in time as the swordsman managed to avoid being crushed by an air pressure attack from the wooden dragon head. Though he couldn't focus on that for long as he jumped out of the way of a lightning breath attack from another one of the dragon heads. 'Okay, we got five dragon heads, each about twenty meters long and every one of them is capable of using the powers of the primal emotions. And here I thought I would be done with dragons for a while after Hokkaido.'
He was broken from his thoughts as he leapt to the side to avoid a sonic attack from another dragon head. Since there were only four of them, Zohakuten had decided to focus two out of the five dragon heads on him while the remaining three handled Tanjiro and the others. It was only thanks to his demon mark and Azakeru's blood demon art that he'd managed to keep up so far as the Hatred manifestation tapped one of his drums again, ordering the two dragon heads to unleash a combined sonic attack. 'Gotta time this just right,' thought Subaru as he charged forward and leapt between the two heads, causing them to hit each other instead.
"Now try this," said the Matagi as he unloaded a few shots at the demon, hitting two of his drums and stopping the movements of the dragon heads fightning Nezuko and Genya. And none too soon given that Nezuko's had just managed to get a hold of her arm while Genya had gotten wrapped up by the body of the one he was fighting. But as he was about to take another shot, the two dragon heads from earlier lunged at him, shooting a combined lightning strike attack. 'Shit,' he thought as he slammed his foot on the ground and used part of his Mountain Stride technique to leap up, back and over the attack, his hairs standing on end from being so close to a mass of electricity.
Zohakuten hit his drums again while Subaru was still in midair, causing them to release miniature versions of their heads which opened their mouths to reveal an even smaller head. This process continued as the dragon head 'tongues' stretched and attempted to bite onto Subaru. "Breath of the Rifleman Third Form: Bayonet Dance," he said as he twirled his rifle in midair, slicing up the dragon tongues with his technique. And while it was successful, it left him open for another air pressure attack as he was hit right before landing on the ground, slamming him downward with enough pain that it felt like a boulder had been dropped on him.
'I can't take too many more of those,' thought Subaru, groaning in pain as the dragon heads moved towards him. The Matagi was able to force himself up and moved forward just in time to avoid the heads, but as he was about to bring his gun up he saw there was another problem: Tanjiro had gotten his arm caught by the tongue of the dragon head he was fighting and was being reeled in. "Oh you've got to be kidding me," he said as he took aim at Zohakuten and pulled the trigger, only to hear a click in return, "and now you're shitting me!" By this point, the dragon head had chomped down on Tanjiro, intending to crush his whole body within his jaws.
Subaru reloaded as quickly as possible, intending to fire the moment he was ready. But as he raised his rifle something odd happened: the dragon head holding Tanjiro was sliced up. "Wow, that's one big monster," said a familiar, and welcome voice as Kanroji practically glided down to the ground with a, mostly, unharmed Tanjiro on her back. "Anyway, sorry for being late, you all did a great job to hold out for this long."
She proceeded to set a confused, and at the moment deaf, Tanjiro down on the ground before turning to face Zohakuten. "Hey you, that'll be enough bloody thirsty pranks, so I'll be taking Nezuko and Genya back now!"
"Who do you think you are, harlot," seethed Zohakuten, "I only take orders from one person in this world-BANG!" He stopped as he noted a shot had hit the wooden cocoon holding his real body.
"You're a coward who takes orders from a bullying coward," said Subaru as he cycled the bolt on his rifle, feeling a little pissed at his attitude towards the Hashira who'd just saved his friend, "so quit acting like you're in a position to judge anyone." Zohakuten grit his teeth at both the Matagi's comment and his attempt on Hantengu's life as he proceeded to beat a few more of the drums on his back.
"Resonance: Bolt of Death!" Exclaimed the Upper Moon as two of the dragon heads fired a sonic blast and thunder blast simultaneously.
"Kanroji, Subaru move!" Yelled Tanjiro as he struggled to get up. A struggle, it would turn out, might not be all that necessary.
"Breath of Love Third Form," said Mitsuri as she leapt in the air, "Lovely Kitty Shower!" She swung her whiplike sword in multiple directions, unleashing a mass number of slashes which not only countered the attacks but cut through them entirely with the sheer force of them.
"Holy shit," said Azakeru in his head, "maybe you really should get Tanjiro to marry that girl."
"It's not out of the question after seeing that," Subaru thought back as he glanced at the dumbfounded expression on his friend's face, "but priorities first." As he thought this, he noticed another bit of movement from the woods as Izayoi came bounding out of them.
"Subaru Genjirou, catch!" Said the Shinobi as he tossed the now familiar, and large, Browning Automatic Rifle to the Matagi. The slayer quickly slung his SMLE on his back and caught it, quickly cocking the action as he leveled it at the Upper Moon.
"I guess this means it's time for the next round," said Subaru as he and Mitsuri took their stances.
"Yes, I'm really mad now," said Kanroji, also annoyed about that harlot comment from earlier as she spoke to the demon, "you may look like a kid, but hurting my friends is unforgivable, so prepare yourself!" Zohakuten grit his teeth as he beat his drums again, signaling the continuation of their battle.
And so another Upper Moon has met his end at the hands of a slayer with the demon marks. But Hantengu still remains and his strongest manifestation will not go down easily. But we'll get to all that in a bit, in the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as the battle draws close to its epic conclusion! 'Til then.