^ Chapter 45 - Supreme Territory ^
Demon Slayers from every rank within the corps were fighting for their lives within the Infinity Fortress, with even the lowest ranks having to steel themselves against the seemingly unending waves of Lower Moon-ranked demons that poured from every conceivable hiding place imaginable.
Everyone was fighting for the future they so desperately wanted, a world without Muzan and bloodthirsty demons, and at the top was Kiriya and his two youngest sisters. Always in constant communication with their crows and other members who had received Yushirō's special tags, the three children continued to draw floor plans of the Infinity Fortress to give their loyal soldiers every kind of advantage to get them closer to Muzan.
As one of Kiriya's sisters were drawing one such plan, her brush wavered slightly and the paper started to appear blurry. She was crying, because she couldn't stop seeing the family members she had lost. Their smiling faces, the giggles of her older sisters, all of it was gone.
"No crying. Don't ever stop your hand." Kiriya reprimanded firmly, but with a gentle tone, without turning his head. "We will not lose."
"R-Right! I'm sorry, Oyakata-sama!"
Outside the doors of the main room sat the patriarch of the Rengoku Family, Kyōjurō's father, Shinjurō, with his old nichirin blade resting in front of his knees. Calmly he looked straight ahead towards the back fence of his home's garden, his senses on high alert for any possible ambush that could occur.
He had heard the explosion at the Ubuyashiki compound and seen the flames with his own eyes, and he wondered what kind of expression that Kagaya had on his face when he sacrificed himself for the greater good. Shinjurō had been thinking of why he had allowed Kiriya and his sisters into his home to let them use it as their base of operations, why did he have such a sudden change of heart.
Shinjurō had apologized to Shinobu for his outbursts back then, and he had been overjoyed to learn of his son's recovery after nearly being killed during the Mugen Train incident. He had even warmed up to Tanjirō, but he still held resentment towards the organization he had once been a member of. Not even just a member, he was the previous Flame Hashira. He still drank, and he still mourned the death of his wife. So why?
Something told him that it was partly because he had finally woken up from his own self-induced nightmare upon seeing how determined his son was. He could see himself in Kyōjurō, that their ideals were the same. Deep down though, the real reason was something he dared not admit to anyone, not even his own family. He was scared. Losing his wife to illness when their sons were still young had wrecked him as a man, and it only got worse the more he drinked to drown his sorrows.
He was scared of losing his son, which was why he stopped training him and wished that he had never joined the Demon Slayer Corps to follow in his footsteps. That fear was now gone. The way his son boldly went to battle without any reservations about losing his life, as he once had done, and that this notion was shared by Tanjirō, had changed him. Even his youngest son Senjurō, who wasn't as great with a sword as his older brother, had matured and showed no fear even when the battle had begun.
Shinjurō was pulled out of his mind when he heard the skittering of a spider in front of him, his eyes falling down to his feet. A white spider was scurrying past him, his eyes tracking it until it went to the person sitting next to him outside.
Amai was a meter or so away from him and she reached her hand down to pick up the spider, keeping it for a few moments as they exchanged information with one another, before she set it free. Because it was in the middle of the night she was able to be outside without fear or worry for the sun, and thanks to that she was able to use her skills to quite literally cast an invisible web around the entire perimeter of the Rengoku home that acted as an alert system.
"That little boy in there is amazing, from what I can hear...even when he lost his dad, mother and sisters, he's giving it his all." Amai said softly before glancing at Shinjurō, who nodded his head.
"These kids at such a young age are encouraging me so much. Just as my own son and his friends are, right now, I will risk my life and protect them." Shinjurō replied back as he clenched his fingers around his kneecaps slightly, tugging on the fabric of his pants after moving his gaze back to the garden. "I won't cast shame on the Rengoku Family name any longer."
He was surprised when a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder and he turned his head and saw Amai smiling softly at him. Without even saying anything, he understood what she was saying in her eyes alone.
Shinjurō chuckled a tiny bit and relaxed himself a tiny bit, with Amai taking her hand back and closing her eyes again in order to focus on her spiders and continue to monitor the area for any signs of danger. She wasn't going to let her new friends down.
^ Sagiri Mountain ^
To say Urokodaki was tense would have been an understatement. The elder was currently in his home, silently watching over the young Nezuko as she lay under the covers of his own futon, growling silently and sweating profusely. A bucket of water and a rag were next to him that he used to dab her forehead often.
For safety concerns she was moved far away from the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters to a location that Muzan would have never suspected, and the first choice had been his lonely shack at Sagiri Mountain. When she was dropped off, he was given orders by Kasugai crow to administer Tamayo's medicine to her as soon as it had arrived. That moment came several hours ago before sunset, and as instructed he gave her the dosage.
Now he was putting sleep inside in order to watch over Nezuko for however long it took for the drug to do its work. Nezuko grinded her teeth together a little and whimpered lightly with sweat pouring down from her forehead, leading Urokodaki to wipe her skin with the cold rag yet again.
"It looks like she's in pain. But I shouldn't be this worried...this medicine was made by the same demon who saved Tanjirō, Tamayo. My only concern is...will it be possible for Nezuko to go back to being human?" Urokodaki thought after placing the rag back on the edge of the bucket, his eyes never moving away from the young girl struggling before him. "If Nezuko returns to being human, that will put a wrench in Muzan's plans...part of me thinks that Tanjirō should be here as well, but that would severely lower our chances of beating that man."
Because Muzan had knowledge of Nezuko and Tanjirō being able to walk in the sun, his sights were set on both of them. If he devoured either one of them, his perfect dream of conquering the sun would be fully realized. Tanjirō of course would fight tooth and nail to prevent that, and with his power easily equal to all the Hashira, and maybe even that of an Upper Moon itself, Urokodaki thought, the obvious choice for who would be taken far away from the frontlines was Nezuko.
Tanjirō would be surrounded by powerful allies that would give Muzan hell if he tried to single him out, and he was the one that wanted Nezuko to be transformed back above all else. He was selfishly taking the burden of being Muzan's sole target all onto his back, and it brought Urokodaki a whole different kind of worry.
He thought of these siblings as his own flesh and blood, his son and daughter, ever since he embraced them after Tanjirō's return from Final Selection. Urokodaki wanted nothing more than for both of them to live through this ordeal, and as he thought more about it, his wrinkled hands tightened up and his heartbeat increased. Closing his eyes he inhaled deeply and exhaled, relaxing his already tense shoulders and forcing out all of the negative emotions welling up inside.
"The words 'final act' have crossed my mind many, many times. And every time they do, the heart in my body shakes and beats faster. This long fight might actually come to an end tonight. I never thought I would live to see the day."
Urokodaki nervously gulped while tiny beads of sweat trickled down his neck, and before long he soon found himself bringing up his hands and clasped his hands together firmly. He usually doesn't pray all that often, only when he feels its necessary. But in that moment, it was needed more in his life than ever before.
"Tanjirō...thinking about it, I feel like the moment you brought your demon sister to me, a giant cogwheel somewhere began to turn. Both of you led to a series of events that brought us here, to this very moment." Urokodaki thought with shaking arms. He hoped that this singular prayer would be carried far and wide across Japan to where Tanjirō and his friends were. "Please...don't lose, Nezuko. Don't lose, Tanjirō. Everyone, don't you dare lose!"
^ Infinity Fortress ^
Kyōjurō skillfully twirled his blade around after sidestepping Akaza's rush, his one eye identifying an opening in the demon's defenses instantly. Flipping his hands he took one hard step forward and summoned his flames to consume his crimson blade.
"Honō no kokyū, Ni no kata: Nobori en ten!" Kyōjurō's sword swung up straight and true in a rising arc, poised to sever Akaza's curled left arm at the armpit.
Akaza suddenly flinched for a moment, allowing the Flame Hashira's scorching hot blade to slice clean through out of his shoulder and spray his blood at the ceiling, his arm falling useless off to the side a second later. He snarled at the pain from Kyōjurō's crimson sword, but dealt with it as he whirled around and threw a backhanded punch right for his enemy's cheek.
"No chance!" Kyōjurō shouted into his face while taking one hand off his sword and stopping his arm dead in its tracks, just like before during their first battle. Not stopping, Kyōjurō pushed the demon's arm away, grabbed it under his armpit with his monstrous strength. "Uwwooooooghh!"
Using all of his body weight and momentum he then spun around in place and slammed Akaza into the wall next to him, shattering the wood and paper and sending a tremor down both ends of the corridor they fought in.
Using the temporary opening Kyōjurō aimed for Akaza's neck but missed when the Upper Moon Three escaped, darting to the left where Kyōjurō had no sight and regenerating his lopped off arm. As he did a deep cut appeared across his face over the bridge of his nose and both his eyes, blinding him for a tiny bit.
With Kyōjurō between him and Giyū, the latter was standing completely motionless in awe of the former. He hadn't even been able to draw his sword yet because he had been so captivated by the splendor and sheer power that both combatants had. He had never personally seen such a powerful demon get physically stopped by a Hashira, but when he saw Kyōjurō halt Akaza's punch with just a single arm, he started to understand what kind of strength the man had obtained thanks to the mark over his left eye.
"Kyōjurō...you may have tied with Gyōmei as the strongest Hashira among us. Maybe even surpassed him." Giyū thought without mincing his words while staring at Kyōjurō's back as he and Akaza stared one another down. "It's no joke...your power matches that of Upper Moon Three. To fight so ferociously without even breaking a sweat...it's no wonder Tanjirō made you his role model."
"You seemed to flinch there during our quarrel, Akaza. Something happen?" Kyōjurō asked with his blade tip pointed at Akaza, the demon lowering his head somewhat and scowling.
"Someone I despised finally kicked the bucket. I'm honestly kind of glad that he's dead now." he replied, Kyōjurō raising an eyebrow inquisitively.
"Was it another Upper Moon?"
"Caww! Caww! Upper Moon 2 has been slain! Slain by Tsuyuri Kanao, Hashibira Inosuke, and Kamado Tanjirō!"
Akaza's eyes darted to the Kasugai crow that soared by them, Giyū looking as well as a wave of relief swept through his body. That was where Tanjirō had run off to, and while they were occupied with Akaza, he had managed to kill the demon ranked one spot higher than their opponent.
He instantly thought of the day he first met Tanjirō, that snowy day when he had fallen into despair at his sister's transformation and bowed his head to him. The day when he cried and begged him to spare Nezuko's life. And now he had just successfully killed the second strongest of the Upper Moons.
"Haha! Incredible! Excellent work, Tanjirō! That's one less threat we have to worry about now!" exclaimed Kyōjurō with a heart laugh while carefully ensuring his guard was still up in case Akaza tried something.
"Kyōjurō, do you remember what I told you when we first met? 'You're at the precipice of achieving Supreme Territory'." Akaza asked of the Flame Hashira as he clenched his fists, popping all five of his knuckles in both hands at once. Kyōjurō tightened his grip and readied himself, the real fight was about to begin. "I believed you were incapable of reaching the realm of Supreme Territory. But as you are now, I know now that I was wrong."
Akaza then slammed his bare feet into the wooden flooring he was standing on, taking on his primary stance unique to his Soryū Style martial arts. He extended his right arm with a half-clenched fist facing his body and bent his left arm close to his chest with an open palm.
When he settled down into the stance with bending his knees into a half-crouching position, the glowing light blue snowflake-shaped compass appeared beneath him just like he had done so before. This was his unique ability, Technique Deployment, and as soon as Kyōjurō saw his create it, he knew what was coming next.
"Okay, let's get started. It's time for the feast, Kyōjurō." Akaza stated as he stared Kyōjurō dead in the eye. He was tempting the Flame Hashira to make the first move, so that he could have an opening before Kyōjurō would on him
This plan was ruined however when all in one fluid motion, like a trickling stream of water, Giyū finally joined the fight by dashing past Kyōjurō and unsheathing his sword with water bursting forth from it
"Mizu no kokyū, San no kata: Ryūryū Mai." he uttered, his even-keeled expression carrying him forward as swept his blade in a winding pattern, attacking Akaza from all angles.
"Oho, so you're a Water Hashira? It's been around fifty years since I last ran into someone actually worth my time! Hakai Satsu: Ranshiki!"
"Mizu no kokyū, Jū Ichi no kata: Nagi."
Appearing perfectly still to the Upper Moon, Giyū's body moved at incredible speeds, cutting through and deflecting all of Akaza's fearsome blows before any one of them could even reach him. The surrounding walls and floor behind him were devastated by the displaced air created by Akaza's punches, but Giyū himself was left unharmed.
Laughing at the technique he had never seen before, especially from the previous Water Hashira that he had killed, Akaza was then immediately assaulted by Kyōjurō, who appeared right behind him ready to strike with sword raised. The Demon ducked to the right and immediately swerved with quick feet movement to get up right behind him, hand poised to decapitate him in one sweep.
Kyōjurō reacted quickly by ramming his elbow right into Akaza's temple, catching him off guard with the speed of his reflexes and ferocity of his blow, knocking him off balance just enough to Giyū an opening to pummel him with another Water Breathing form. Cutting off an arm that Akaza quickly grew back, the two exchanged a multitude of blows
Sparks flew every time Akaza's balled fists made contact with Giyū's blade, and it seemed like the Upper Moon was beginning to gain the advantage until Kyōjurō whirled right back around and swung at Akaza's ankles.
"Hakai Satsu - Kiyakushiki: Kamuro Saki Wari." Akaza delivered a powerful rising axe kick in reverse that forced Kyōjurō to block with his blade, the force lifting him up off his feet.
The shock wave created by the kick was still enough to pummel his body and he grunted when his nose started to bleed, before he quickly wiped it away and blew flames out of his nostrils to clear out any remaining blood or residue.
Akaza then backflipped end over end, dodging and blocking the two Hashira's attacks with his hands or feet in a splendid display of fighting prowess. So incredible was the battle that Akaza laughed yet again and started to demand Giyū of his name so that, like Kyōjurō, he could remember him for as long as he lived. Some would say this was arrogance talking, that he already believed he had won, but rather it was Akaza's indomitable will. He was that confident in himself and his abilities that even the threat posed by the two Hashira wasn't enough to shake him.
He kept pressing Giyū for his name, even when he flatly declined that notion, which only made Akaza's punches and kicks get more deadlier in his excitement. The pugilist's fighting style eventually proved too much for him to handle and he grunted when Akaza kicked him with the force of a speeding train. Giyū's body was sent soaring through the wall on their right opposite the chasm they were fighting next to, the crashing wood and other materials getting fainter and fainter until he vanished entirely.
"Tomioka-san! Dammit!" cursed Kyōjurō while looking down the holes left behind by his companion's body, only to feel Akaza's violent presence appear right next to him.
"Ahhh, Tomioka huh? That his actual name, or just the surname?" Akaza asked with a wicked smile, fist reared back ready to go.
"Honō no kokyū, Shi no kata: Sei En no Uneri!"
"Hakai Satsu: Kishinya Eshin!"
Akaza's eight powerful punches connected with the wall of flames produced by Kyōjurō's circular sword swing, the connection point between both causing an eruption that blew open a hole into a connected room. Kyōjurō was sent skidding backwards into that adjacent room by the blast and Akaza was pushed to the ledge of the chasm, the wind and fire soon dying down a couple seconds later.
Kyōjurō grit his teeth and maintained his stance, his breathing beginning to get a tad bit more ragged after using all of his strength in every single technique thus far. As the dust and smoke dispersed he saw Akaza waiting for him, a perpetual grin on his face, without the slightest scratch on his pale skin or even the faintest hint of exhaustion.
"Incredible Kyōjurō, simply incredible. I didn't think it was possible, but you did it. Let me praise you for a bit." Akaza said while the fingers of his left hand popped back into place from getting broken after colliding with Kyōjurō's sword. "I really didn't think you were capable of reaching Supreme Territory, but my goodness! Look at you now! I'm feeling pure happiness, Kyōjurō! The only thing about you that still bothers me is that dumb worldview of yours about staying human and protecting the weak."
Kyōjurō's fingers tightened and his breathing immediately stabilized, his one eye narrowing as he steeled himself against the insults he knew were coming. Akaza put a hand on his hip and waved his hand a little, still grinning as reminisced about their time together at the Mugen Train incident.
"I was a little shocked that the kid you defended by that train was able to kill Dōma. That had to have been some kind of fluke or something, because the last time I saw him, he was a weakling compared to you." Akaza continued, before a cloud of flames that burst to life around Kyōjurō and the resulting heat wave from them silenced him.
"Do not speak ill of that young man, Akaza. The strength he has obtained through his own hard work is not to be trampled on." Kyōjurō stated in a leveled tone that hid a stronger, passionate emotion of anger beneath it. "Spitting on anyone's face, regardless of who they are, is not the way to live."
"You're misunderstanding something, Kyōjurō. I only hate weaklings. I only speak in the faces of the weak, because they repulse me and nearly make me vomit. The laws of nature dictate that they will be eliminated."
"Everything that you said is wrong. The fact you're standing here right now is proof of that alone. Newborn babies are weaker than everyone else, so they need someone to help them in order to live. Like a caring mother, or strong-willed father."
As Kyōjurō lectured the demon, he was thinking of his own parents in his mind. The fiery will of his father Shinjurō, who initially taught him and his younger brother how to fight and wield a sword as the Flame Hashira before him. The firm, yet undeniably soft and caring nature of his mother, who even in the short life she had imparted unto him the words and the will he lives by.
Both of their lives and wills had come together to shape his own, and that was why he was so passionate about his duty and status as a Hashira. To protect the weak is the task and will of the strong, that is his creed. And he will execute that creed until the very last day that he would draw breath.
"You're the same, Akaza, you just can't realize it. Someone must have protected and helped you. Who they were, I've no idea, but that doesn't change the facts. The strong should protect the weak, and then the weak will become strong, and in turn they will aid and protect those weaker than them. That is the law of nature."
Akaza's smile had faded by then and the more he listened to Kyōjurō speak, the more the veins in his already clenched fists bulged out. He had his fingers so tightly packed together that he was actually beginning to draw blood. Why were his fists shaking so badly in frustration, even when just a few minutes ago he was expressing his utmost joy to be fighting the Hashira now that he had become stronger? Then it hit him.
Instinctively he couldn't accept this person before him, no matter how hard he tried. He gave Akaza an unpleasant feeling that gets on his nerves, like nails scratching metal. The dissonance he was feeling in his stomach made him want to throw up.
Perhaps he was the one misunderstanding something, Akaza thought. In the beginning he thought that he was unhappy because he was never going to reach Supreme Territory and grow stronger, but defied that expectation and broke past the barrier. That means he should be happy now, right? Wrong. The unhappiness Akaza felt wasn't going away, and now it was finally becoming clear. Everything, from his eye, voice and words, scraped at his entrails from inside with a rasp.
"In the beginning, everyone's a baby at everything they do. They get help from those around them, then remember what happened. But don't compare yourself to other people. The opponent you are fighting will always be yourself." spoke a voice over Akaza's shoulder as a hand seemed to press its weight down onto him, a somewhat pure presence manifesting itself behind him. His eyes widened and his arms stiffened at the touch. "You'll become wonderful if you keep going for ten or twenty years. And then you will be the one helping people."
Akaza violently threw his arm back as if to push away the hand that was on him, his head turning with it, only to hit nothing but air and see there was no one behind him. The edges of his sleeveless top flapped in the wind his arm created and Kyōjurō's eyes widened at the unexpected reaction.
"Why did he just swing into the open air? There was nothing there." Kyōjurō thought to himself before Akaza lowered his arm and slowly looked back at him with anger-filled eyes.
"Kyōjurō, you are really, really unpleasant." he said. Akaza then suddenly attacked Kyōjurō with blinding speed, his fist already cocked back for a punch. "Hakai Satsu - Saishiki: Manyōsen Yanagi."
His attack missed Kyōjurō when the Hashira leapt backward deeper into the room, the floor taking the full force of Akaza's punch instead and erupting into a shower of wood fragments while cracks spiderwebbed out in all directions.
"His speed's increased, I'm going to have to make the necessary adjustment to keep up with him." Kyōjurō thought rapidly when the demon was on top of him yet again in an instant.
"Hakai Satsu - Kiyakushiki: Hiyūseisenrin."
Kyōjurō roared as he took on everything the devastating two-legged attack, his blade blocking each blow as the flowing motion brought both of them up off the floor. As Akaza turned mid-air to spin and press the attack, Kyōjurō countered with a fierce kick of his own that threw the demon off balance, allowing the Hashira to use the ceiling as a springboard to bend his legs.
"Honō no kokyū, Ichi no kata: Shiranui!" he bellowed before shooting down at top speed, his flaming sword held right behind him as he gunned for Akaza's neck.
The ceiling caved in behind him from the force of his jump and both he and Akaza were taken downwards, crashing through the floor that Akaza weakened earlier to another room directly below the first. His attack had only succeeded in slicing off his opponents arms, but that didn't prevent him from using his legs to keep Kyōjurō at bay long enough for his arms to regenerate.
Kyōjurō's crimson blade was certainly making it harder for him to recover from his wounds for a reason he can't quite figure out, but he was hardly thinking at all about anything else other than the drive to pummel his enemy into the ground.
Back and forth they went, trading blow for blow, with Kyōjurō showcasing the fruits of his labor by never losing a beat even when he began to feel himself tire little by little. His mark was beginning to burn as well, and he could feel his heart rate increase in direct correlation with the heat of his flames. It was just like their first fight, and it was exactly as Muichirō had described prior to the creation of the Hashira Training. Even with that realization, he also knew that he couldn't keep up this brawl forever. Akaza's techniques were overwhelming and he was on the defense more than on offense. What's more it seemed like his blows were always aimed at his vital points, as if they were being attracted there by magnets.
There had to be a rhyme or reason to this, there just had to. So he delved into his memories, thinking back to their first battle and examined every single little thing that occurred. No stone was left unturned.
"Honō no kokyū, Roku no kata: Mushiatsui!" said Kyōjurō as the air around his sword was superheated by the blade, leading to it shimmering somewhat as he swung it at Akaza's neck.
Watching it come in closer and closer he bounded back to avoid it, only his neck to get cut right open after the fact and drench his chest with blood. Growling from the wound for a moment, he smirked and punched his fists together with a sneer and laugh before assaulting Kyōjurō with more powerful punches that sounded like thunder cracks.
"Hahaha! That's a pretty fun technique! It looked like your blade was wavering and cut me even when I dodged it, so how'd you do it, huh? Tell me Kyōjurō, tell me!"
Kyōjurō grunted as he batted away one of Akaza's punches and delivered one of his own, socking the demon right in the jaw and breaking the bone with an audible crack. He attempted to spin around and follow up with another back-handed blow, but Kyōjurō leaned back and drove his foot deep into Akaza's abdomen.
Thrown back like a ragdoll, he struck the wall and nearly broke it down because of the strength of Kyōjurō's kick. He had little time for respite as Akaza was on the attack yet again, so he had to start another technique, bringing his sword down for a slash on Akaza's forehead before the demon then clapped his hands to either side of his sword, immobilizing it entirely.
"Hmmn?!" grunted Kyōjurō with a widened eye as he tried to force his way out of the hold, but Akaza hardly budged.
Thinking quickly, before Akaza could break it, he brought his knee up and rammed it into the exact same spot he had kicked him earlier, breaking several of his ribs at once and making blood fly out from Akaza's mouth.
Despite that he still kept his hands firmly pressed together on either side of Kyōjurō's sword, a mad grin on his face as he tensed up his biceps, ready to break his sword. A stream of water then appeared and both of Akaza's hands were cut from the wrist, freeing Kyōjurō and surprising Akaza. Turning to face the attacker, he found a battered and bruised Giyū with a fairly big hole in the back of his haori that showed a couple of small cuts and a big bruise..
He had been the one to cut off his hands, but despite his appearance looking relatively the same, his whole aura had changed drastically compared to before.
"I am angry now. There's a searing pain in my back. Great job blasting me all the way back there, Upper Moon Three." he said in a quiet, but quite obviously enraged tone. Akaza could see the change in his demeanor, as could Kyōjurō, who was more than happy to see his comrade back in action.
"It's good to see you again, Tomioka-san. Hmn, I hope you had a pleasant time getting back here." said Kyōjurō with a smile, the Water Hashira remaining silent as he and Akaza looked into one another's eyes.
"I honestly didn't want to wield my blade to the best of my ability. And I don't like joining fights where the opponent swings at everything for the fun of it. But right now, I met someone so strong he overwhelmed me for the first time in a long time." he thought when the heat in his body started to rapidly increase at the same time his heart beat got faster. His vision was beginning to narrow and his hands grew clammy, until he gripped them tighter around his sword. "My sealed senses were slapped awake and dragged out to a place where the strong face off. The life-or-death moment...I finally understand it."
Giyū then felt a dramatic increase within himself as a dark blue mark that appeared as a fluid-water like design formed on his left cheek. His potential unlocked, Giyū and Akaza then attacked one another, only this time it was the latter's turn to be caught off guard when Giyū's increased speed and precision brought him close to yet another decapitation at the hand of the Demon Slayers.
He noted his opponent's changes and made the necessary adjustments in order to match him, now trading blow for blow with Giyū while Kyōjurō was gifted with a much-needed break in the fighting. Catching his breath and looking over himself, he took advantage of the time he had to think about their strategy going forward. Even with the two of them now having the special mark, they still wouldn't be able to outlast a demon like Akaza.
Muzan was still alive somewhere within the confines of this labyrinth, and every second they spent fooling around with his minions was another second towards the demon lord winning this war. That meant it was even more imperative to finish this fight with Akaza as soon as possible.
"The issue are his attacks...they're incredibly accurate with high destructive power. And how can he react to attacks even when they're from behind or from his blind spots?" Kyōjurō asked himself with his eyebrows furrowed, the cogs in his head going into over time before his very first exchange with Akaza appeared in his mind.
"Your battle spirit is quite polished...you're at the precipice of achieving supreme territory. Those words, 'battle spirit'. Wait a minute...could it be…"
Kyōjurō's eyes widened then memories he knew didn't belong to him flowed into his mind, specifically one involving a young man who looked quite like himself or his father. The hair was practically identical, and the handguard on the man's blade was unmistakably an exact replica of his.
For all he knew, it was his, since he knew that upon getting his first nichirin sword he didn't have to have one forged for him from the swordsmiths. What interested him the most was the man standing across from who he assumed was an ancestor of his. He looked almost like an older Tanjirō, but with long and messy black hair tied back in a large ponytail. Like his pupil, the man had a flame mark on the left side of his head down to his left eye and a pair of hanafuda earrings that were strikingly similar to the ones Tanjirō wore today.
He could hear them speaking to one another, and he was shocked to hear the man with longer hair comment on fighting demons without showing any kind of killing intent whatsoever. His ancestor, understandably concerned with how they could fight without any killing intent, asked him why.
The response the man gave back shook Kyōjurō to his very core and instantly sparked an idea in his mind.
"Because I know for a fact there will come a time when demons will learn to counter our attacks just by sensing our killer intent. That is why you must learn to let go. Make your mind invisible to the outside world, and only then will you see beyond it."
"I'm not sure if that's as easy for me as it is for you, Sensei. Passion and fighting spirit is part of who I am, I can't possibly set that aside or change that part of me. Is there any other way to access this ability?"
"What I explained doesn't necessarily have to apply to you. Discover your own path, just as you are doing now in training. Dig deep into your passion, your heart, and set it ablaze. Burn as bright as your passion, and maybe then you will find what you seek."
Kyōjurō was awoken from the memory by the sounds of battle and he watched Akaza deflect and counter Giyū's sword with uncanny precision, while also giving back attacks aimed precisely where his vulnerabilities were. Piece by piece, the puzzle started to formulate a picture. Battle spirit, instinct, killer instinct, supreme territory. All of it was related.
And with what that short memory brought to him, he closed his eye and focused his mind, focused his breathing. He sharpened his senses, and imagined a ball of fire igniting inside the very core of his being. With each breath he took it started to grow bigger and bigger, becoming hotter and brighter by the second. As he did this his mark also began to burn, the tingling feeling spreading throughout his body to the very tips of his fingers.
Blood was continuously pumped by his heart at a rate far beyond what a normal human could achieve, and with that his senses also became sharper. He became aware of his own heart beat, the sound of his blood rushing through his arteries, the tensing of his muscles, and at the center of it all was the fire that kept increasing in size and power.
"Ignite your heart...set your passion ablaze...like a raging inferno, feel the heat spread through your body. Don't just feel it in your heart, but in every single nerve, tendon and muscle fiber." Kyōjurō told himself as his fingers slowly tightened around the handle of his sword, the crimson blade beginning to turn brighter. Steam rolled off Kyōjurō's body the more he breathed, with tiny wisps of fire even appearing out from his mouth. "Burn so bright that it will overwhelm him...overwhelm that demon with the passion of a raging inferno, of an erupting volcano! Of a radiant sun!"
Kyōjurō's eye shot wide open and he was immediately aware of the thunderous pounding of his heart, it sounding like it was almost at the point of failing. His body felt like he was standing in lava, as if the very blood in his veins was boiling. Looking down at his sword, he was shocked to see it was glowing so brightly that it looked like a fresh new blade just taken out of a swordsmith's forge.
The heat was incredible, with the very air around him shimmering and crackling, but to him it felt like practically nothing. Being the Flame Hashira had allowed him to build a resistance to intense heat because of his techniques, so even with the super-heated blade in his hands, it hardly affected him. What made him the most astonished was when he set his gaze on Akaza and Giyū, still wailing away at one another.
"So this is what he meant...to look beyond the world…" he thought in awe as instead of their clothes and skin, he saw them only as transparent figures with muscles, brains, nerves and organs. Every single motion they made, no matter how big or small, he could immediately catch it and deduce what was going to happen. "Let us see how that demon can contend with me now...if my hunch is correct, his technique allows him to sense 'battle spirit', otherwise known as killing intent...like my ancestors before me, that's night impossible for who we are...so rather than take it away...I've amplified it so much so, that maybe I can overwhelm him instead!"
At the same time Giyū and Akaza's fight was reaching a new level of intensity when the demon was able to counter the Water Hashira yet again, trading a slight cut in the neck for a deep gash across Giyū's chest from the shock wave he created from his fists.
Giyū tried to assault him with one of the Water Breathing's strongest forms, but even that wasn't to stop the rampaging pugilist demon. In fact, he was beginning to realize that the advantage he once had at the start with his mark appearing was rapidly being taken away. Akaza was countering practically all of his forms now, and the deep cuts he was making previously had become less and less lethal to the point he could barely scratch him.
"This is turning into an utter mess, he's even learned to anticipate my attack forms. This demon's unbelievable...this is Upper Moon Three." Giyū thought with a slight growl before pushing away Akaza's fists with his sword, jarring his arms and making his ears ring from the sound of the air being displaced so furiously. "This man is carnage, a man who has given up everything but fighting."
"Looks like you've used all your Water Breathing forms already, Tomioka. But don't worry, I'll end this for you. You lasted quite a while compared to the last Water Hashira I faced!" Akaza declared with a grin, Giyū's jaw muscles tightening as he swung down towards the demon's head.
Akaza merely brought his right arm up to within an inch of the blade's leading edge, fist turned inward, and then rolled it back violently with such strength it completely snapped Giyū's sword in two.
"You're kidding me. He broke my blade by punching it from the side."
"Farewell."
Giyū's whole body tensed up for the killing blow as he watched Akaza's fist go straight for his solar plexus, the same place where he had impaled Kyōjurō. Just before his fingers could touch Giyū's uniform however, he felt his other opponent's battle spirit come from his left side, so he readied to block him with his free arm while turning his eyes that way as well.
Instead he was instantly blinded by what appeared to him as an overwhelming amount of battle spirit, so bright and powerful it was like a miniature sun had appeared in the midst of their battle. Akaza reeled from the intensity, only to feel the slight brush of air go over his face, and then he froze when he saw he had lost his entire right arm below the elbow. The limb made a plop behind him and when he turned his head and body, the wound failing to regenerate instantaneously, he saw Kyōjurō on his opposite side now.
His super-heated glowing blade made a loud hiss as the blood it had was instantly evaporated by the heat, and when he turned his head to look at Akaza, their eyes met and the latter felt every single hair stand up on top of his head. The very cells of his body were screaming at him to kill him right now. This wasn't the same Kyōjurō from before, something had changed. Something drastic.
Giyū tried to take advantage of Akaza's hesitation and rushed the demon with his broken sword, aiming for his exposed neck while he was staring at Kyōjurō. Glancing at him Akaza's body moved rapidly, his stance widening as he then activated his Technique Deployment and felt his wound finally heal, reforming his lost hand.
"This fight is now over, Akaza. You won't delay us any longer." Kyōjurō said before he made his move before Giyū, taking a single step forward towards him with the intent to kill.
Akaza was prepared for his battle spirit detection compass, the technique he always deployed at the start of every battle, to warn him of where and how they'd attack, but once again he was overwhelmed by a fiercely bright light. Forcing himself to stare at its core, he saw Kyōjurō's one blazing right eye and his confident smile within a body that was as luminous as the sun.
This was what had blinded him when he had tried to kill Giyū, and the more he looked at the light of the Flame Hashira's passion, the more disrupted his senses became. His compass couldn't handle the sheer vigor and force of Kyōjurō's indomitable will and spirit.
"What? He's increased the potency of his battle spirit so much that it's actually overwhelming my compass?! How is that possible!" thought Akaza with squinted eyes, his jaw clenched. "Calm down! It's-!"
"Honō no kokyū, Ichi no kata: Shiranui!"
Kyōjurō ducked his head down, blade held back, and with a burst of speed he was behind Akaza in an instant, an explosion of fire shooting out from his blade after he had sliced clean through the demon's neck with a biting hiss.
A look of disbelief was frozen on Akaza's as he contemplated what the hell had just happened. He was so shocked in fact that he didn't even register he had been cut until he felt his blood start to gush out and his head slowly start to separate from his neck.
"In all my centuries, I have never once seen a human with that much battle spirit. To harness such passion and determination, it threw my senses into chaos. He was right in front of me, but it felt like he was everywhere around me." he thought as the image of Kyōjurō's illuminated form remained stuck in his mind, the purest and strongest concentration of battle spirit ever conceived. "I pride myself on my will, on centuries of the best of martial arts, but I was still bested in the end by a sword-wielder. Did he truly reach it? The 'Supreme Territory' I always wanted?"
Akaza's head slid away from his neck as his body fell forward, coming off about halfway before he forcefully gripped his cheeks and firmly pressed it back onto his neck. He wasn't going to let himself go out this way, not yet. Not before he achieved Supreme Territory. He never wanted to stop getting stronger.
Giyū this time was the first to react and with an accurate throw his broken sword pierced through the back of Akaza's skull and impaled his head, pushing it out of his hands and off his neck for good.
The few seconds that occurred between his head leaving his neck and it eventually hitting the ground was filled with one single thought. To get stronger. To get stronger than anyone else. He wanted more power, more strength, more will. To achieve Supreme Territory.
When they saw Akaza's head disintegrate into ash and drift off, Giyū dropped his shoulders a bit and was ready to relax, before he noticed Kyōjurō frown and keep his blade at the ready. Following his gaze to Akaza's still standing body, he waited a few seconds to see if it too would follow his head. Nothing happened, and that's when the Water Hashira felt a chill go up and down his spine.
Suddenly Akaza lifted his right foot up and once again activated his signature Technique Deployment, the light blue glowing snowflake-like diagram appearing on the floor beneath him once he took his stance. His neck muscles tightened up and the severed portion was squeezed to the point that any kind of disintegration couldn't happen.
"He's still fighting even when his head was cut off! This demon is truly a force of nature!" Kyōjurō thought when he attempted to attack the headless Akaza, only to cough and spit up some blood as the overexertion of his heart started to get to him. Blood tears oozed from his eye as well, and he was forced to bring his blade up to defend himself. "Dammit…! I can't hold that form too long, and my vision is getting cloudy!"
Akaza's foot came soon after Kyōjurō's moment of weakness, the beads around his ankle colliding with his left side and knocking all of the air out of his lungs in an instant. Kyōjurō felt several ribs crack before he was sent flying into the wall, the wood and stone caving in around his body and pinning his arms.
"He has to be trying to stave off the disintegration...is he trying to turn into something else? No...he's trying to make his head no longer a weak point! Just like his master!" Kyōjuro thought as he pulled one arm out from the wall and was about to pull the other before Akaza was right in front of him, fist raised back for the death blow.
"Mizu no kokyū, Shi no kata: Uchishio!" he thought as he swept his way around Akaza, cutting through both his chest, hip and arm to stop him from attacking his ally. He was sorely mistaken to think that would stop the Upper Moon when the wounds healed in just a second, and his arm grew back in yet another second. "He's regenerating at this speed, despite losing his head…!?"
The headless Akaza and the rapidly tiring Giyū entered another fight to the death, with the Water Pillar's techniques failing to do any meaningful damage to the demon time and time again. He took a fierce blow to the gut and thank the gods it didn't kill him, but he stumbled back and dropped to a knee while blood dripped freely from his nose, mouth, and a deep blemish on the right side of his head.
He was reaching his limit, and he wasn't going to be able to do anything else for much longer. Thankfully by that time Kyōjurō had freed himself from his plight and had recovered, his blood having dried and his sword beginning to cool and return to its normal crimson color. Akaza stood opposed between the two swordsmen, with even the exhausted Giyū holding back his pain in order to stand and be united with his fellow Hashira.
"An indomitable spirit. One that never bends no matter what obstacle gets in their way. We are not samurai. We have no katanas. But we wield our swords in our hearts. The only thing we use are our fists." spoke an unknown voice to the Upper Moon, the gruff yet gentle nature behind it causing him to feel sick to his stomach.
"What an utter...eyesore…" he thought as he stepped towards Giyū, intending to kill him first since he was the closest to death. Before he could do that though, a soft pair of hands gently wrapped around his wrist and held him back with hardly any strength behind them.
"Hakuji-san, please...stop already." spoke a young woman with tears in her eyes, the demon turning his body ever so slightly as if to look back at her.
"Let go." Akaza replied harshly.
"Just stop already. Let's go to the other side."
"I can't. I have to kill these people." Akaza said again harshly.
"But why?" the girl asked.
"I have to become strong. I will kill anyone who gets in my way."
"But why, Hakuji-san?" questioned the girl again. "Why do you want to be stronger?"
"Because if I don't, I won't be able to bring it back. The medicine for Dad."
When Akaza was still human, he was already branded a criminal by the magistrate of the territory he lived in by having three pickpocket tattoo lines imprinted on both of his forearms. Threatened with having his wrists cut off, he merely laughed in the face of the magistrate even after getting whipped and beaten within an inch of his life.
He was only eleven, and for those who misbehaved as much as he did, their lives were destined to be one of trouble. The truth was that he wasn't pickpocketing people for the fun of it. His bravado and snarky attitude hid a deep-rooted care for his father, who he was treating with medicine he was buying with stolen money.
Unfortunately for him, life had decided to throw him a curveball. His father hung himself upon getting word that he had been caught again. The young Hakuji held the letter that his father had written to him before comitting suicide tightly in his hand when he visited his grave, and for an entire day he remained there.
To him, at that moment, he wished the world would disappear entirely. Hakuji wanted nothing to do with anyone or anything. To him, the world and all its people could fuck right off.
"He wasn't a bother to me. Why did he apologize? My dad never did anything wrong. It didn't hurt to receive all of that punishment for stealing." thought Akaza with tightened fists, his eyes staring, unblinking, at the person he once was as he was repeatedly beaten by the magistrate's men. "They could whip me and break my bones, but I could have endured anything for you Dad. Even if it lasted hundreds of years. I would have even died for you."
Akaza snarled as he swept his hand through the memory, dispelling it like the smoke from a fire, and stood in darkness once more before another memory appeared behind him. Turning his head, he witnessed a slightly older Hakuji in his mid-teens beating up several older men in the street of a new town with nothing but his fists. That's when he showed up. A man who owned a nearby dojo had come after hearing about a young man about to kill several men, and when he had arrived he was impressed with Hakuji's fighting skills. As it would turn out, when Hakuji tried to fight the man, he was thoroughly beaten in a heartbeat.
This man was Keizō, and as soon as Akaza saw him his facial expression twisted up and he forced himself to turn away. Not watching the memory play out didn't stop the voices from being heard, and even when he covered his ears he was still able to hear them because it was his own head he was in.
Seeing Keizō again reminded him of another thing as well. That man and Kyōjurō were practically the same. He finally understood why he never liked the Hashira, not because of what he did, but because of how the man's passion and optimism made him remember his boring and lame past. He wanted it to go away, he wanted all of it to go away. All he wanted to think about was getting stronger and killing those in his way.
That aversion of course changed when the soft and gentle voice from earlier appeared, first with a light cough. Akaza's heart skipped a beat and he found himself watching the memory again, seeing the young girl from just a moment ago looking at him with her hands over her mouth and a light blush. He was in Hakuji's body, looking through his eyes.
"Y...Your face...you're hurt. Are you okay, mister…?" she asked, her voice alone making Akaza's and Hakuji's eyes brighten up a bit.
"I will cure you for sure. Help you. Protect. Lies and empty promises...my life itself was filled with nothing but empty promises. Completely and utterly worthless."
Akaza separated himself from Hakuji and retreated from the warmth of the memory, hoping it would go away and leave him in darkness again. He was wrong again as more of his past kept coming in, with the time he spent taking care of the man's daughter Koyuki through her illness.
She had been born weak, and taking care of her led Keizō's wife to drown herself from the stress she had. He had to do it all, from watching her through the night, changing the cloth on her forehead, changing her clothes, everything that one person could possibly do for another in such a weak state. But because of having to take care of his Dad, Hakuji didn't mind doing this for her.
In mutual exchange for his services, Keizō taught Hakuji his unique martial arts style, which he had used to obtain the land and dojo that they lived in. Learning from the man who always had a passionate smile on his face was able to heal Hakuji's heart, even if he was the only pupil under Keizō's care. Even when the members of another nearby dojo would harass his master, Keizō would keep a smile on his face and maneuver his way through their insults until they would leave him alone. Akaza watched two years go by and he remembered when, upon turning eighteen, he was given a proposition that he never thought he'd get from Keizō.
"Can you take my dojo, Hakuji? And you can have Koyuki as well." said the man happily, with his daughter blushing profusely and not hiding her shyness at all.
"I had the tattoos of a criminal, so I never imagined having a future. Much less a future where I was loved by someone. Maybe what my dad told me was right, that I really could find the right way to live." Akaza thought as his eyes closed and the rigidity in his shoulders slackened. Even his fists came undone and for a tiny little moment in time, he even smiled. "That fleeting hope where I could possibly fix my life grew so big I couldn't control it. And at that moment, I wanted to protect two people, even at the cost of my own life."
When the bad memories came soon after, Akaza's smile had vanished and the anger inside of him welled up again once more. The well that his new family that he had married into was poisoned, and he wasn't even there to stop what happened next.
Keizō and Koyuki were killed, and the promise he had made with Koyuki the day she was able to see the fireworks for the first time in her life was unfulfilled. To become stronger than anyone else and protect her for his entire life, those words became hollow. Empty.
Akaza's mind turned dark red as he recalled the brutal, monstrous way in which he murdered all sixty seven members of the dojo that had caused the deaths of his loved ones. The crushed skulls, the smashed innards, broken bones and disfigured bodies. So horrific was the incident that the records were deemed too unimaginable to even be considered factual, and so they were later burned, lost to the annals of history.
Drenched in blood and with eyes devoid of anything, Hakuji then met the catalyst for the redirection of his life. Akaza stared at the Muzan of the past and hardly flinched when Hakuji's head was pierced by the demon lord's hand, before finally everything turned dark again and he was left alone.
"I became a demon and lost my memories. I wanted strength once again, and nothing else. Even though there wasn't a single thing left I wanted to protect. I really didn't want to live in a world where I lost my family, but for over a hundred years, I kept pointlessly murdering over and over again. Yet at the end of the day...it's all just a pathetic, comical, uninteresting story."
Akaza's head had started to reform in the present and he was still standing motionless between Kyōjurō and Giyū, who looked like he was about to pass out from how hard he was breathing.
"Soft, brittle, weak...humans break too easily. They disappear into nothingness." Akaza thought when half his face reformed and he immediately lunged at Giyū, prompting Kyōjurō to leap into action.
"I won't allow you to threaten this generation any longer! Akaza!" he bellowed as he swung for Akaza's head to decapitate him again, for as many times that he had to in order to win. Flames burst forth from his blade as he neared his foe, before his body's fatigue from earlier started catching up with him again and he lost all feeling in his fingers, causing his sword to fall free from his hands. "Dammit! To think I'd lose my sword like this…! Using that see-through technique earlier drained me more than I thought...but I can't leave Tomioka-san in danger!"
With a flame of passion and determination blazing in his one eye, Kyōjurō continued forward, before with a mighty roar deep from the gut he rammed his fist right into Akaza's jaw with enough strength to shatter bone.
Akaza reeled from the blow and he stared Kyōjurō in the eye for a brief second, before seeing Keizō instead smiling at him with that look on his face the first time they had met.
"Get a fresh start, young man." he had said, and it was those six words that made Akaza finally realize the truth he had been searching for all this time.
"I hate weak people. Weak people never fight face to face and poison wells. They lack patience. They will quickly reap what they sow. I killed people with these 'protecting fists'." Akaza thought while stumbling back a few steps, before he received another punch in the face by Kyōjurō that sent him back further still. "I blooded my sensei's precious Soryū style, and I couldn't respect my father's words. I know now...the one I've been searching for. That's who I wanted to kill."
Once he found his balance again, with Kyōjurō grunting and wiping his nose a bit when it started bleeding again, Akaza met his opponent's gaze and held it. The dust settled around them and the slight creak of wood was the only noise that persisted between them. Giyū said nothing as well as he sucked up some of the blood dripping from his lip and spit it to the side, his wavering vision getting worse by the second.
He was amazed to see that Kyōjurō was still even able to stand and fight with such strength against the Upper Moon, but at this point even he must be feeling exhausted. Kyōjurō wasn't one to suddenly let go of his sword, after all.
"Kyōjurō," Akaza said, his voice a little softer than usual. "Thank you."
Kyōjurō raised an eyebrow before Akaza then smiled a little, then raised his fists as if he were about to attack. Bracing himself, Kyōjurō and Giyū were both shocked when the demon unleashed his powerful fists not on them, but on his own body. When the devastating barrage of punches ended, what they saw was Akaza's body left in a totally ruined state, with huge chunks of flesh missing, broken and fractured bones that were easily visible, his head was gone again, and his left arm had been shredded down to the bone.
"Why did he attack himself? And why did he smile and thank Kyōjurō?" Giyū wondered as he saw Akaza's body stumble a little, before finally stopping.
The self-inflicted wounds then started to heal rapidly, including his head, but before they could continue any further Akaza's fingers twitched and they started to slow down because of his own will forcing them to.
"Enough. Just stop...don't regenerate any more. This match is over, I lost. I lost the moment he decapitated me. The way he overwhelmed me, and conquered my advantage, it was magnificent. He won fair and square." Akaza thought, his hands slowly closing up and quivering as he kept forcing his wounds to stop healing. "It's over. I just want to go to hell like a man."
Akaza opened his eyes and suddenly found himself in what he figured was Limbo, because standing right in front of him was his father. He didn't know how long he had been waiting there for him, but something like that didn't matter. Seeing his father was enough for him.
"Dad...are you okay now? You're not in pain, right?" Akaza asked, his father smiling and nodding.
"I'm fine, Hakuji. Thank you."
In Limbo and in real life, Akaza collapsed to his knees, with his appearance before his father changing back to when he was still a human. Back to when he was still Hakuji, a young man who had a rough start that had a chance to change his life for the better.
"Sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry. I couldn't fix myself. I'm useless…" Akaza said, lowering his gaze to the ground.
"That has nothing to do with it. No matter what you become, a son's a son. And a student's a student. We won't abandon you even if you die." Keizō said he appeared next to his birth father, that very same smile Akaza remembered him having on his face. "Though, well we can't exactly take you to heaven."
For a moment it seemed as though Akaza was finally going to let go and end his struggle for superiority, before Muzan appeared from the darkness and grasped his head tightly. The demon who created Akaza tempted him with the desire for strength he so desperately craved, the very reason for his existence.
Hakuji was Akaza in a split second, and the regeneration he was halting in real life picked up briefly, with the Upper Moon again grasping to his prior thoughts. That thought then changed when Akaza's head was then held gently by the chin by a pair of soft, feminine hands that he would recognize even if he were blindfolded. His head was tilted back and he looked into the eyes of his fiancee, the gentle purity of her eyes with their flower-shaped pupils relaxing his pained soul.
Muzan's hand and the darkness that surrounded him was pushed away by Koyuki's presence, the golden orb that she brought with her bringing Akaza in as well as she cupped his cheeks and smiled.
"Hakuji-san, it's okay now...you can rest. You've done all you can. Thank you." she said her words beginning Akaza's final transformation back to his human self.
Tears welled up in his eyes when their broken-glass appearance faded away along with all of his tattoos, and with a firm hug around Koyuki's waist with one arm, and the other gripping onto the back of her clothes, he began to cry for the first time in over two centuries.
Emotions that were bottled up for all of those years came pouring out in both his voice and in his tears, and Koyuki took all of it with her usual, gentle smile while running her hand slowly through his black hair.
"I'm glad you remembered all of us. And I'm glad you returned to being the old Hakuji-san…" Koyuki said as she pulled his head away from her chest for a brief moment, just so that he could see her face again as she began to cry as well. "Welcome back, my husband…"
Akaza, now Hakuji once again, held Koyuki even tighter against his own body as the golden orb surrounding them slowly started to shrink as they started to fall towards the flames of Hell. He didn't even have to ask why she was there with him, because he already knew the answer.
They were separated once before. Not again. If he was going to Hell, then she was going with him, no matter what. It was her turn to take care of him now.
"I'm home, Father. I'm back...Sensei, Koyuki-san...I'm home."
In the human realm, Akaza's body had ceased regeneration entirely as he finally let go and allowed his body to disintegrate. Piece by piece, his body decomposed until every single particle of ash had drifted away into nothingness. When that happened Kyōjurō's arms dropped to his side and he stumbled a tiny bit, a sigh escaping his lips when he allowed himself to finally relax.
"It's finally...over...haha…" he mused to himself, glancing at Giyū once he had walked up next to him.
"We were able to win…" said Giyū, nodding.
"How are you holding up, Tomioka-san…?"
"I'll live...you?"
"The same, hmn...though...I think…"
Kyōjurō wasn't able to finish his sentence before his body gave out on him and he collapsed, falling face first onto the floor and passing out from sheer exhaustion. Giyū wasn't too far behind, with his legs losing all feeling in them first, which dropped him down to his knees.
He gasped for air momentarily before he brought his shaking hands up right before he started feeling himself falling forward. Quickly stabbing his broken sword into the floorboards, he stacked his hands on top of the hilt and let his forehead land on top of them. A couple seconds later he too lost consciousness, drifting off into a deep slumber.
A/N I loved this battle just as much as the previous one. Kyojuro just going ham on Akaza, It was awesome. Wanted to get this chapter out yesterday but it was getting late and I have the last day of stuff to do for my new summer camp job before starting tomorrow. It's gonna be 8hr work shifts every week so that could slow down chapter production, but its not like I'll be doing homework or anything like that haha. Don't think it'll be too much of a problem, especially since I've been on a roll these past few days.
I will say, it took me a bit of time to try and figure out how Kyojuro could access the Transparent World, and since I couldn't just make such a passionate and will-driven character become completely different, I decided to play with the idea that he essentially got so passionate (while also increasing his heart pump rate and all of that to the utter max), he was able to access the state. It's why his blade also got super-heated too, he was just too GD hot from all that blood being pumped around so rapidly.
Also, I think I'll be closing the poll after the next chapter. Not as many people participated in it as I thought there would, plus I don't want to keep you guys hanging forever. To the small number (compared to the number of views this story gets), I appreciate it! Thank you for taking part of that little project of mine, and I'll definitely take into consideration what you guys voted for! I hope you'll be satisfied with whatever option I go for in the end.
Think that's everything! That should be three Upper Moons down, with only one left to deal with. Of course he's the strongest of the bunch, so that will be a spectacular battle as well. I HOPE you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you did, leave a fav and a follow if you haven't already! Also don't be shy about leaving a review telling me what you thought, I want to see please! Just be respectful about it! :)))
See you guys next time!
Translation(s):
Honō no kokyū, Ni no kata: Nobori en ten
- Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun
Mizu no kokyū, San no kata: Ryūryū Mai
- Water Breathing, Third Form: Dance of the Swift Current
Hakai Satsu: Ranshiki
- Destructive Death: Disorder
Mizu no kokyū, Jū Ichi no kata: Nagi
- Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm
Hakai Satsu - Kiyakushiki: Kamuro Saki Wari- Destructive Death - Leg Form: Cap Tip Slice
Honō no kokyū, Shi no kata: Sei En no Uneri
- Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation
Hakai Satsu: Kishinya Eshin
- Destructive Death: Eight-Layered Demon Core
Hakai Satsu - Saishiki: Manyōsen Yanagi
- Destructive Death - Crush Type: Willow of a Thousand Flashes
Hakai Satsu - Kiyakushiki: Hiyūseisenrin
- Destructive Death - Leg Type: Ring of a Thousand Flying Planets
Honō no kokyū, Ichi no kata: Shiranui
- Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire
Honō no kokyū, Roku no kata: Mushiatsui
- Flame Breathing, Sixth Form: Sweltering Heat
Mizu no kokyū, Shi no kata: Uchishio
- Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide