Author's Note:

So just to prepare you for this chapter and future chapters, I've rewritten some of the demons in the upper ranks and one lower rank demon in the 12 Demon Moons. Akaza is one of the said demons. Based on his backstory Akaza had no reason to become a demon. Everyone he loved was already dead, so what did he have to fight for? So, I rewrote him to be an anonymous spy for the demon slayers. And by that I mean, he secretly passes on messages about Muzan's plans to the demon slayers, but they don't know that it's him doing it. The other demons I rewrote also secretly work against Muzan and had similar experiences. I'm giving them redemption arcs because I believe that in a way they deserve them. Some of these rewrites, you may not like, but I'm not going to force you to keep reading this. With that said, let's get on with the story. Enjoy.

Chapter 8

Tori was sent out on many missions after she had returned home, She slayed many demons and every demon she faced would be much stronger than the previous. Unknown to her, the upper ranks of the 12 Demon Moons were observing her. They watched her style of battle and tried to look for weaknesses in her fighting style. Once they gathered enough information about this new pillar, they gathered in the same place where their leader awaited them. They explained to him what they had learned about the Raven Pillar and even managed to give him her name. While their leader didn't care for the name much, he found it nice that he wouldn't have to call her "The Raven Pillar." Then it was brought to his attention that she was showing signs of fatigue. This made their leader smile wickedly. Now he knew just what to do to get his hands on this girl. He sent away the upper moons and he began preparing to put his plan into motion.

One day Tori was returning from a mission. She killed scores of demons within the past few weeks and she never had a moments rest. As Tori walked her feet and legs were shaking and her body felt heavy. It was like she was carrying chains with weights attached to them. Her movements felt restrained by a lot and her body began aching badly. There was no doubt that she needed rest. But as she was walking into the demon slayer headquarters, her body started to shut down to a point where she wouldn't be able to move. Tori, however, forced herself to keep moving. Then Rengoku, Iguro, Mitsuri, Kanae, Shinobu, Sanemi, and Giyu were walking back from seeing the master. When they saw Tori, they couldn't have been more delighted to see her. Giyu, on the other hand, knew something wasn't right. He could tell by the way she was walking that something was was definitely wrong. While Sanemi was happy to see Tori, he noticed Giyu's expression and that he started to quickly walk over to her. Rengoku waved his hand and greeted Tori loudly, but then Rengoku's happiness to see Tori quickly faded when he finally saw the way she was walking. When Tori took her last step, almost immediately, she fell forward. Tori was collapsing. Giyu, being just a few steps away from her at that point, managed to catch her before she fell all the way to the ground.

Panicked, they all ran to Tori to find out what was wrong, but they saw that she was completely exhausted and thin too. Giyu already knew that Tori had been sent on too many missions and now it had finally taken its toll on her. He then stood up and held Tori in his arms. Then he began walking towards Tori's house. The other hashiras followed him. When they arrived, they went inside and put Tori to bed. The girls began making dinner for Tori, while most of the guys left to inform the master of Tori's situation. Giyu, however, stayed by Tori's side. He never moved and just watched her anxiously waiting for her to wake up. Shinobu then came in and spoke.

"Ara, Ara~ this somehow feels nostalgic. You and me waiting for Tori to wake up." Shinobu said, "I'm

sure she'll wake up very soon, Tomioka-san."

Giyu knew that Tori would wake up, but not as soon as Shinobu was thinking. So, with him knowing this, he didn't trust Shinobu's words. Shinobu saw that her encouragement didn't seem to work. In all honesty, she didn't really believe herself either. There was no way of knowing when Tori would wake up. The other hashiras returned and they saw that there was no change in Tori. All of the other pillars were worried that Tori would die. She had been pushed over her limit and now it had taken its toll on her. They hoped that she would pull through. Tori, however, was deep in her mind speaking to her father about an inevitable future. He told her what she needed to do before she left the headquarters again. She needed to leave a final testament, so that her comrades would be able to learn of her final wishes. Even though she had a high chance of surviving the four years of suffering that awaited her, there was still a chance that she could die. Understanding this, Tori knew that she had to be prepared just in case her death was upon her. The pillars convinced Giyu to leave Tori to rest and they would come back and check on her later. They all left her alone and just a few seconds after they left, Tori woke up. She immediately got up despite her aching body and pulled out some paper and ink. She then began writing her final testament. She wrote:

To my closest friends: Giyu Tomioka, Kyojuro Rengoku, Kanae Kocho, Shinobu Kocho, Kanroji Mitsuri, Shouta, Rikku, and Sakura.

To my comrades: Obanai Iguro, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Himejima Gyomei and Muichiro Tokito.

To my family: Mother, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta.

To those I consider to be apart of my family: Master, Kanao, Aoi, and the triplets.

At the time that I am writing this, I have just awakened from passing out upon my return from my mission. I had a dream and have spoken with my late father. For he has warned me of a great danger that is coming for me. This is a challenge that I will not be able to overcome alone. He told me that I will suffer for four long years and that I have a high chance of surviving it. Even so, I have a chance of dying from this. My father told me to prepare for the inevitable by writing out my final testament. I understand that I could die as I do not know what awaits for me in the future, so here are my final words and wishes:

I am so grateful to have all of you in my life. Everyone of you has taught me many things about myself that I never even realized up until now. All of you mean so much to me and I wish I could return everything you have given me, but that is impossible. Please do not mourn me unless you find my dead body. If my body is not found, take in the possibility that I could be still alive. Keep a firm belief that I could still be human. I do not want anyone to cry if it turns out that I have either vanished, or I am found dead. No matter how devastating the blow is, you have no choice, but to keep on living. So, do it. I will not have any of my loved ones put themselves to death. Should it ever happen that my blood family will be in danger, my empty house shall be their refuge. If either one of my siblings become a demon, allow that demon to live. I know this is against the code, but I want the said demon to be given a chance to become a human once again. While there may not be a way to change a demon back to a human now, I am willing to believe that someone will try and find a way to do the impossible. If my brother Tanjiro becomes a demon slayer for this reason, help him. Guide him. Allow him to make this wish come true. I have left many journals for him to study. There's one journal in particular that I want him to read. It will be the only one with a book mark in it. Make sure that he reads it. Train him to be the best demon slayer he can be. My final wish is a very selfish one. I want to give my youngest siblings a future. I want them all to grow up nice and healthy. The existence of demons threatens to take away their future. I wish for their future to be protected and preserved from demons at all costs. I don't wish for you stray from helping other people, but if there are those who are willing to help me ensure the survival of my family, I will forever be grateful.

You have trained and taught me well. Do not ever think that it was all for nothing. I do not know when or if I'll be able to return, but I know one thing. I will never stop fighting and trying to get back to you. Even if it takes a thousand years, I will fight and find my way back to the ones who helped to raise me and train me to be the strongest demon slayer I can be. I have no regrets in my life. I know for sure that when I die, if I die, I will be at peace. I want that same peace to find your hearts as well. Be strong and do not cry. Push forward with everything you have. I believe in all of you, just you believed in me.

Yours truly,

Tori Kamado

Once she finished writing her last words, she let the ink dry and then she folded up the paper and left it by her nightstand. Then she lied back down in bed and just stayed there. Then Giyu and a few Hashira went back to check on Tori. Iguro was trying to convince Giyu that even if they go back now, there wouldn't be any kind of change in Tori's condition. When they got there, however, Giyu saw Tori's eyes were open and he walked in and sat down next to her. The other hashira came in as well and Giyu spoke.

"Tori, are you okay? You've been asleep for at least seven hours." Giyu said, "We've all been very

worried about you."

"Don't worry, Giyu. I'm mostly okay." Tori replied, "Every muscle in my body hurts like crazy. It's

almost impossible to move. I still feel really tired, but other than that I'm just fine."

"What happened to you that made you get like this? Why didn't you stop and rest?" Shinobu asked,

"It's not normal to take on so many missions at once. No doubt that the Master wouldn't ask you to

take on so many missions."

"I honestly don't know. All really know was that I was being asked to slay scores of demons each of

them stronger than the previous." Tori explained, "And even getting to their location was very energy

consuming. I never had a moments rest. By the time everything was over, I felt so weak I could barely

keep myself standing upright."

They explained to Tori that Master Ubuyashiki believed that there was a miscommunication in the orders he gave out and it confused her raven. So, she was given incorrect orders. Tori, however, wondered if this deadly trial that she was being put through was actually starting to happen. She wondered if someone intentionally weakened her. Dismissing these thoughts, she decided that it probably wasn't that. Kanae came in and brought Tori some food. Tori ate up the food rather quickly. Then one pillar told her that the master was offering her a chance to go home and have a break from slaying demons. She had been a little stressed lately, so she took up the offer. She would take a month off and stay with her family so she could refresh herself. Days later, Tori got ready to leave for her break. She hugged her closest friends and bid everyone a farewell. But Giyu, however, knew there was something else going on. Tori's tone of voice gave him a clear clue that Tori knew something they didn't. He didn't dwell on it too much, but it did worry him. He stayed and watched until Tori was completely out of his sight range. Then he turned around and left.

Tori walked for while across the country. She admired the sights that she always missed on the count that she was always speeding away to complete missions. She reached at least a quarter of the way before disaster struck. Tori was walking and not paying much attention to where she was going. It was then that she bumped into someone. Looking up she saw a man dressed in a nice black suit and a white fedora that looked almost silver in the moonlight. His pants were also that same white. There was no doubt that he was a man of high class. If the moon wasn't so bright, she probably wouldn't have seen him. She picked herself up and brushed of any dirt. She then looked at back at the man she bumped into. She then spoke to him.

"Please forgive me, Sir. I wasn't watching where I was going." Tori said, "If you'll excuse me, I'll be

on my way."

Tori started to walk away, but the man the firmly grabbed her by the arm. Tori tried to pull away, but she couldn't free her arm. She then stepped on his foot hard and she was finally able to free her arm. She looked back at the man who had grabbed her. The man finally spoke to her.

"So, you do have some tricks up your sleeve. I'm going to enjoy this hunt very much." The man said,

"Don't worry about earlier. I'm not offended at all. You came right to me. That saves me a whole lot of

trouble."

Tori slightly shivered at the venom in the man's voice, but then she was in complete shock and fear when she saw what this man actually was. He looked at her with glowing red eyes and she saw his fangs. Anyone could mistake this person to be a vampire, but this man was no vampire. Vampires didn't even exist. Tori knew she had been talking to a demon. She could already feel this demon's power radiating off of him. This demon was far stronger than any demon she had ever faced. She knew she wouldn't be able to win against him. She then tried to flee, but, when she saw that her path was blocked by upper moon demons, Tori knew it was futile to even try to escape. She knew that this was what her father was trying to warn her about. She knew she would win the fight, but that didn't mean that she couldn't at least put up a fight. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. She then drew her sword. This surprised the upper moons and even the man himself. Then he spoke to her.

"You really think you can win against me?! You must be insane to think you can survive this attack!"

He said.

"No I know that I'm out matched, but I'm not just going to give in. I'm not going down without a

fight." Tori replied, "I would be considered a coward if I didn't at least try to defend myself."

"I admire your warrior spirit. It will be almost a shame to prove to you how futile this is." He

responded, "Almost. Just give it up, girl. Fighting me is pointless."

"Maybe so, but there's no harm in trying. I like I said, 'I'm not going down without a fight.'" Tori

continued, "Did you really expect that I would make this easy for you?"

"Suit yourself, but you are going to lose. Why not save yourself from the humiliation of defeat and just

surrender to me." The man rambled.

"Humility? I can take humility. I don't care about winning or losing. All I care about is that I prove to

you that I'm not the easiest person to take down." Tori retorted.

At this point, all of the demons present were completely shocked by her statement. She didn't care if she won or lost. All she wanted to do was prove her point. A few of the upper moon demons had to admit that she was a true warrior. She wasn't backing down from the fight and she was willing to fight till the end. They watched her take up a stance, but it was a very unusual stance. She was crouched low to the ground and still standing on her feet. But unannounced to them, she shifted her weight down to her legs so she could push off of them with a lot of force. Then the man spoke.

"Is that supposed to be a fighting stance? It looks more like a curtsy." He said.

"Do you want to know why they call me the Raven Pillar?" She asked ignoring his comment.

The demon replied, "It's because of your breathing style."

"Yes that is one reason, but there's another. If you can guess it, you might be able to overpower me

without much trouble." Tori responded.

The demons began laying out guesses, but all of the guesses were wrong. Even when the man said his guess Tori could only smile and tell him that his guess was wrong. They continued to try and guess what the other reason was, but they all failed miserably. Then Tori finally spoke.

"Sorry none of your guesses were even close. I'm afraid that you've failed." She said, "The other

reason that I am called the Raven Pillar is because of this..."

Tori then pushed off of the ground with tons of force. She was already high up in the sky before the demons could blink. They were all shocked. Tori then began using her five minutes to analyze her opponent. She found more confirmation that she was out matched, but she was able to form a strategy that would help her to last for awhile. Longer than the demons would expect her to. She learned that this demon had recently gained knowledge of all of her breathing style forms and of her fighting style when using them. But clearly, he wasn't informed of her secret weapons. Her intellect, her second breathing style, and the movements from the sun breathing style. She then came up with a plan and began her descent. The demons below her were in shock and they couldn't comprehend the fact that she hovered in the air for a full five minutes. Humans, in fact, shouldn't be able to do that, but there was no denying what they had witnessed. They watched as Tori descended towards them. She started the fight by clashing with the man. He tried to block her, but her blade sliced clean through his arm. She was able to draw blood from him, but his regeneration speed was so fast that his arm didn't fall off. The fact that she was even able to cut him was unimaginable. All of the demons were shocked by Tori's strength. Akaza, the third upper moon rank, thought to himself, She cut through Muzan's arm! This kid must have some insane strength. Even so, Muzan knows all of her attacks. Even if she has a well-formed plan, he'll just counteract each attack she throws at him. Tori may not look like much, but she definitely has some real strength. Then the fight between Tori and the Demon King continued, but Tori pulled off a surprise that shocked all of the demons, especially upper moon one, Kokushibo. Tori began using the movements of the Sun Breathing style and she attacked and deflected many of the attacks.

Kokushibo then began to think to himself, How does this girl know the Sun Breathing technique and perform it so well? Wait, no… She Is struggling. Her body isn't suited for the technique, but she can perform the movements extremely well despite the fact that she's struggling with it. Perhaps she can tell me if there are any remaining Sun Breath users that are still alive. I want to make sure that my brother, Yoriichi's breath style continues to live on. Yes, I was jealous of him and I did hate him with my guts once, but now I realize that I just wanted to be like him. Now that my brother is gone, I must make up for my mistakes and helping this girl is what I need to do to accomplish my goal. All of the upper moon demons watched as Tori finished performing the twelve forms of the Sun Breathing style. She continued this for a few hours, but she constantly changed direction and made it hard to predict which way she was going to go. At this time, Tori's closest friends, Shouta, Sakura, and Rikku, were now arriving on the scene. They saw Tori surrounded by demons and she was fighting the strongest one. They watched her and hoped she would be able to escape or at least beat the strongest one. Tori had just finished repeating the twelve forms for the eighth time in a row. Tori panted heavily, but she still had loads of stamina left. The demons were shocked that Tori had managed to exceed their expectations of how long she would last against Muzan. It was no joke to say that her endurance was off the charts.

Kokushibo was watching Tori very closely. He saw that she was very skilled and had been well trained. However, she was nearing her limit. The next attack that she dished out would most certainly cause her to collapse. Muzan then taunted her saying that she was close to reaching her limit, but Tori didn't care. She still had one last trick up her sleeve and she was going to use it to go out with a bang. She began assuming the stance of the Thunder breath style's first form. Muzan would then attack and she would dodge and assume the same stance again. This repeated over and over until she reached the tenth time assuming the stance. She was at her limit, but she didn't care. Tori was now ready to unleash her secret weapon. Then she let her final attack loose. Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash-Tenfold. She slashed at Muzan ten times and the final slash was when her decoy sword finally broke. She kept up the act and pretended to be shocked that her sword broke. Then she tumbled and found herself unable to get up. Then she looked up to see her friends looking at her in shock. Tori lost. Kokushibo then read Tori's mind and made sure she couldn't detect him. She then began thinking her final words to her friends. Shouta, Sakura, Rikku, my best friends. You and all of the other demon slayers all share the same delusion. You think that we pillars are invincible and that we always come out on top no matter what the situation is, but the reality is that we're the exact opposite. We are just as human as you and we all suffer severely. We may be able to obtain demon like abilities, but we gain them through intense training. We are not invincible. I'm sorry that you have to learn this sad truth. I bid you all a farewell. I don't know when or if I'll ever see you again, but I hope that you'll keep on fighting until the day we do cross paths. Mom, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta, my beloved family. I'm sorry. I won't make it home this time. Please, be strong until the day I return. If I return at all… Kokushibo then saw the young demon slayers that Tori was looking at. They were her friends. He watched as Tori passed out and Muzan then picked her up. He then took her away while the upper moons started to follow. Akaza and Kokushibo, however, stayed behind. The three demon slayers came out of hiding.

When they realized there were still two demons remaining, they were about to go back and hide, but Akaza then stopped them and they thought they were going to be killed. Akaza and Kokushibo, however, did not even dare to kill these young demon slayers. When the three friends realized that the demons were not attacking them or even attempting to kill them, they became confused. Akaza then spoke to them.

"Hey you're Tori's friends right?" Akaza asked.

"Yeah we are." Shouta answered.

"I know that you three must be in shock because your friend was not only defeated, but taken." Akaza

continued.

Sakura cried, "Why did you take her from us?! Why?! She has a family to get back to!"

Kokushibo then said, "That is precisely why we want to help her."

The three friends looked up in shock at these two demons. Then Giyu Tomioka, the water pillar, arrived on the scene. He was followed by Sanemi Shinazugawa, the wind pillar. When they saw that there were upper moon demons standing in front of them, they charged forward. But then, Giyu suddenly stopped and dropped his sword. His eyes were wide with shock at what he was looking at. Sanemi stopped and looked at Giyu's expression. The wind pillar was now counfused. Akaza then started to walk towards Giyu. Giyu, who was in complete shock, just fell to his knees unable to process what he saw. His mind flurried with thoughts of disbelief. Sanemi was trying to find out what was wrong, but he saw Akaza coming towards them. He then stood in front of the water pillar and held his sword up ready to defend him, despite the massive grudge he had towards Giyu. Akaza stood right in front of Sanemi, but made no moves to attack. All Akaza did, was just stare at the wind pillar. Snaemi was now even more confused. This demon wasn't giving off any ill intent or any blood lust. Then the wind pillar decided to test both demons using his blood. Akaza caught on to what the pillar was doing and neither he nor Kokushibo attacked Sanemi. The wind pillar now eased up and was surprised that two upper moon demons were not attacking him.

Sanemi then stepped out of the way and looked back at Giyu. Akaza then knelt down to meet Giyu's eyes and he placed a hand on Giyu's shoulder. Giyu looked up at Akaza and saw his kind eyes, but the numbers engraved on his eyes were probably the most disturbing part. But the water pillar took in the comfort that the demon was offering him. Giyu then started to cry because he thought Tori had been killed. Sanemi was now in shock because he had never seen Giyu cry before. Then Akaza spoke to Giyu.

"Hey, she's not dead. Not yet." Akaza said.

Giyu looked up at Akaza and asked, "Where is she then? Is she okay?! Tell me that she's okay!"

"Relax. She's fine, but as for where she is, well… She's been abducted and is on her way to the

'Infinity Fortress', if she's not there already." Akaza answered.

Shocked, Giyu angrily grabbed Akaza by his vest and shouted, "Tori's been kidnapped! Tell me! Who

did it?!"

"Hey, chill. Do you really want to pick a fight with Muzan Kibutsuji? Because that's who kidnapped

her." Akaza informed.

Giyu's shock only continued to grow, but soon he fell back onto his knees and once more tears streamed down his face. His thoughts began to form a massive whirlpool in his head. Muzan had kidnapped a person who meant so much to him. There were no words to describe how angry he was, but even so, his anger alone couldn't defeat the Demon King himself. Giyu began to wonder if there was any hope of either saving her, or at least seeing her again. Then Akaza laid his hand on Giyu's shoulder once again and spoke to him.

"Hey, don't worry. Kokushibo and I are going to help her." Akaza said.

"How? You work for Muzan! What makes you think that I would trust you to help out a demon

slayer?!" Giyu retorted.

"Because, I also hold a grudge against that demon coward, Muzan. I hate him with my guts." Akaza

replied.

"Why do you hate your master? He gave you strength and power." Sanemi commented, "Don't you

enjoy being as powerful as you are?"

"I can assure you that all of this power I have is a curse. Many centuries ago, I lost everything. My

father, my career, and my future with the love of my life. I had nothing to live for, so I wanted to die.

When I met Muzan, I was given a choice to become a demon or to die. I chose to die, but that snake-

hearted coward turned me into a demon." Akaza explained, "After I became a demon, I cursed his

name out loud and somehow I didn't die. I've removed the curse that Muzan places over the demons he

creates. Now, I can talk about him freely. So, I've decided to work against Muzan by spying on him

and watching his every move. I've been relaying messages to one of my other colleagues and he's been

passing those messages along by telling them to your lower ranking demon slayers. That's how I've

been informing your master of Muzan's plans. However, it seems that my last message didn't get

through in time. I was hoping to warn you of Tori's abduction before hand, but it seems that my

warning never made it. Either way, it doesn't matter. Muzan has Tori and it's going to be extremely

hard to get her out."

The three demon slayers and Kokushibo then approached. Giyu and Sanemi looked at the young demon slayers. The wind pillar was about to scold them for refusing to slay the demons, but then, Giyu held his hand out to Sanemi and he shook his head. Giyu knew that these were Tori's closest friends. He asked them what they had seen and they explained Tori's fight and how she managed to draw blood from Muzan. They told them how Tori's sword broke and how tired she had been when the fight was over. Kokushibo then jumped into the conversation and told Giyu about the fight from his and Akaza's point of view. This told Giyu that Tori's friends weren't there for the whole thing. Then a voice sounded behind them. Everyone turned and looked to see Kanae, Mitsuri, and Shinobu running up to them. When the girls arrived, they were shocked to see two upper moon demons behind them. Then Giyu reassured them that they had been tested by Sanemi and they won't attack. Relieved, Kanae then explained to Giyu that the master had called for an emergency meeting while the two of them were away. Sanemi looked over at Giyu. With his unreadable expression, it was easy to tell that Giyu already knew what the meeting was about. Sanemi also knew as well. He turned back to the girls and finally spoke to them.

"Girls, if this meeting had anything to do with finding or protecting Tori, it's already too late for that."

Sanemi said.

Kanae asked, "What do you mean, Sanemi-san?"

Then Sakura came up and revealed that she had gone to get the proof that Tori had been abducted. She showed them the broken sword. All three of the girls gasped in shock at the sight of Tori's broken sword. Kanae asked if Tori was dead, but Akaza explained to her that she wasn't. He proceeded to explained that Muzan had kidnapped her and that they wanted to help her, but they didn't know how long it would take. Kanae asked them to elaborate more on the difficulty of the task of saving Tori. Akaza and Kokushibo explained that because of the fact that they're the closest demons to Muzan, they had to keep up appearances. It was for this reason that they didn't help Tori when she fought against Muzan. They couldn't blow their cover. If Muzan found out that they were working against him, there would be no doubt that he would kill them and any hope the demon slayers had of defeating him would be lost. They explained that they were spying for the demon slayers, so that way they could take him down from the inside. The hashiras looked at each other and they all agreed that these demons were trustworthy. Kanae then turned to the demons and spoke.

"In that case, we'll leave Tori in your hands. Just as long as you promise that you will get her out."

Kanae said, "She means a great deal to us."

Akaza nodded, "I know she does. You have my word. We'll free her from Muzan's clutches, but like I

said, 'I don't know how long it will take.' We have to find out what Muzan plans on doing with Tori

and then find out when he'll be leaving the 'Infinity Fortress' alone again because that will be the best

time to free her. This could take weeks, months, or even years. It not easy to pull off big missions like

this when Muzan is around."

"Hey, Sakura, could I see the blade for a moment?" Shouta suddenly asked.

Sakura handed him the blade of Tori's sword. Shouta took a look at the blade and he saw severe chipping on the blade. He pointed it out and they all were in shock. The hashiras theorized that the chipping may have been gradual because they noticed that Tori would always look at her sword blade before withdrawing her sword. Kokushibo also added to that theory by mentioning that the chipping might have gotten worse during her battle with Muzan. They all nodded in agreement, but Shouta continued to examine the blade and he told them that there was something off about the blade. He held the blade horizontally and he pulled it apart like it was nothing. All of the demon slayers present were shocked and even Kokushibo and Akaza were stunned by this. Then Shouta explained,

"Okay, I'm going to be really honest here. I wasn't even trying to break the sword. If her sword breaks

this easily, it should have broken a long time ago."

Mitsuri commented, "On the contrary, my sword is made very thin and whip-like, so it too breaks

easily. You are right, however, Tori shouldn't have a sword like that. A demon slayer's sword is

supposed to match the durability of the demon slayer's body. Tori's sword was made less durable, so it

should've broken a long time ago. Why would Tori use a sword that breaks so easily?"

Sanemi asked, "Do you think Tori knew about this?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did. But the question is, why didn't she go and get her sword fixed if she

knew that it could easily break?" Rikku added.

Kanae reasoned, "I'm sure that Tori had her reasons for this, but let's not dwell on it for now. The first

thing we need to do is inform the Master about Tori's abduction."

"Oh! Wait hold on. Before you warn the Master, there's something I need to show you. The girls and I

found this while cleaning Tori's house." Shinobu said.

Sanemi complained, "It's just a piece of paper. What's so special about it?"

Shinobu then replied sarcastically, "Oh, I don't know! A mysterious paper that was found in an easy to

see spot as if it were planted there. It could probably contain a clue to what's going on here. And maybe

we can get a glimpse into what Tori was thinking about prior to this situation. So can we move this

along?"

Giyu then walked up and took the paper out of Shinobu's hands. He asked her if she had opened it. She replied with embarrassment that she didn't and while regaining her composure she continued saying that she would never invade Tori's privacy. Giyu rolling his eyes then opened the folded piece of paper. But, the minute he looked at it, his eyes went wide with shock. Kanae looked at Giyu with concern. There was no doubt that Tori meant a lot to Giyu. Kanae also knew that he had gone through a lot in his life. Understanding this, she placed her hand on Giyu's shoulder and asked him if he was okay. Giyu snapped out of his shock and looked at Kanae. He didn't speak, but her showed her the paper. Kanae saw the letter had been written by Tori. She then looked closer at it and saw it was a final testament. After telling the others what this piece of paper was, Kanae read it out loud to them. Tori's final words revealed that she knew this event was going to happen and she was also aware of how long she would be gone. They listened to her final wishes and all of the pillars present agreed to abide by them. Sanemi did express his concerns about allowing a demon to live, but when the others convinced him otherwise, he too agreed to it. Akaza and Kokushibo expressed their shock at the fact Tori knew this event would happen and that she wouldn't win. The fact that she still fought anyway despite knowing this was completely mind blowing. The demons told the demon slayers how much they admired Tori's fighting spirit and her desire to protect those she cares for most. The hashiras and Tori's friends nodded with smiles. Kanae then asked her crow to inform the master that Tori had been abducted.

Giyu offered to take Tori's friends to see Tori's family, so they could inform them about Tori's situation. The others agreed that it was a good idea for him to do that. Akaza and Kokushibo told them that they were going to check on Tori and they all nodded. They all went their separate ways as they all agreed not to tell anyone about Akaza and Kokushibo being spies. Giyu lead the young demon slayers down the path to Tori's house. They reached the village by sunrise that morning. Giyu took them to the local restaurant so they could rest. Mid-morning finally came and Rikku asked how they were going to find the house of Tori's family in a village this size. There were tons of houses and it would take forever just to find it. Giyu couldn't help, but chuckle and he told them that Tori's house wasn't in the village. It was on the mountain and he sent his crow here ahead of time to let the Kamado family know that they were coming. Then they heard the laughter of young kids approaching. They saw a young boy and a girl skipping to and fro around an older boy. The older boy spoke.

"Shigeru, Hanako, stay close now. We're not selling charcoal today, we're meeting with the water

pillar." Tanjiro informed, "Both of you stay where I can see you."

Hanako turned to her older brother and asked, "Is Nee-san going to be with the water pillar, Oni-chan?"

Shigeru chimed in, "Yeah, is she? She was supposed to come home today, right, Nii-chan?"

"Yes, Nee-san was supposed to arrive today, but I can't guarantee that she'll be with the water pillar."

Tanjiro explained, "Besides, the crow said that the water pillar had news for our family. I'm unsure if

it's good news or bad. It's making me nervous if I'm being honest."

Tanjiro then looked over and saw Giyu and three people he didn't recognize. Tori wasn't with him and this only worried him even more. He called to his younger siblings and they walked over. Tanjiro greeted the water pillar and Giyu then thanked Tanjiro for coming to meet them. He introduced Tanjiro to Tori's closest friends. Tanjiro greeted them and introduced himself and his younger siblings to them. Tanjiro sat down with them and he placed Shigeru in his lap and held Hanako's hand. Then Tanjiro spoke.

"I understand that you have news for my family, but the crow neglected to mention if it was good news

or bad news." Tanjiro said, "So, I've been pretty nervous the whole hike down here."

Giyu replied, "My apologies. I should've been more specific with my instructions to my crow. I'm

going to have to be really honest with you though, I do not have good news for your family."

Tanjiro put Shigeru down and responded with a serious tone of voice, "If I had to guess what this news

is, it would be that Tori's not coming. Is she?"

Giyu continued, "No, she isn't."

Hanako interrupted, "Why is she not coming?"

Tanjiro scolded, "Hanako, it's rude to interrupt someone if they're talking. Please don't do it anymore."

Giyu nodded in gratitude and proceeded, "I think it's better that we discuss this topic with the rest of

your family, Tanjiro. The news we have for you is too big for just three of you to hear."

Tanjiro agreed that it would be better to have his whole family hear the news. He knew that Tori wasn't coming, but the question was why wasn't she coming. Was she needed for a mission? Many questions filled his head, but he hoped that she was just needed for a mission and she was just coming late. Part of him, however, couldn't help but feel that this wasn't the case and something had happened. Rikku noticed that Tanjiro seemed to be worried. He placed his hand on Tanjiro's shoulder to help console him. Tanjiro snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Rikku. He thanked him for the kind gesture. They reached the cart and Tanjiro placed his younger siblings in the cart and let them ride up the mountain. Giyu and Tori's friends followed and they began their journey up the mountain. The group arrived at the house of the Kamado family just as the sun was setting. Kie, Tanjiro's mother, welcomed her children back home and welcomed Giyu back to her humble household. Giyu explained to her that he and his fellow demon slayers, who were close friends with Tori, had news for her family. Kie nodded and she asked them to come inside and discuss it. Once everyone was inside, Giyu began to explain Tori's situation and why she wasn't coming to them. After the event was explained and the broken katana was revealed, the whole Kamado family was in tears. Although he wanted to be angry, Tanjiro knew that he couldn't. He still decided to speak his mind.

"Why….? Why didn't you do anything to help her?" Tanjiro asked, "You're her comrades. You

should've been helping her."

Shouta replied, "You're right, Tanjiro. We should've helped her and we had every plan to. The

situation, however, was already out of our hands. Most of the demons that surrounded her had strengths

equal to that of three hashira. Me and my friends can't come close to matching that kind of power. Plus,

the demon, that your big sister was fighting, was way more powerful than the other demons. The fact

that she held her ground for as long as she did was very shocking. If we had tried to help her, we

would've risked suicide just to help her escape. I, honestly, don't think that Tori would've wanted us to

pointlessly sacrifice ourselves for her."

"Besides, we have evidence that she knew that this event was going to happen and that she wasn't

going to make it through it." Sakura informed, "She wrote in her final statement that she had talked to

her late father, who had warned her about the event. He apparently told her that she would be gone for

at least four years. So, with this knowledge in mind, Tori fought against the demon even though the

odds were against her. She put up on heck of a fight too. She wasn't going down easily. She fought

until she went past her own limit and her sword broke. That's when the battle was officially over."

Rikku then added, "It still bother's me on the fact that Tori was fighting with a sword that break so

easily. A demon slayer's sword is supposed to match the strength of the slayer wielding it. The sword

will only break when the slayer fights an opponent that is beyond their level and that did happen with

Tori. The demon she fought was way beyond the level of a pillar and her sword broke on her last strike.

It would seem that Tori's overall prowess kept the sword from breaking until now."

Giyu nodded in agreement, "Yes, if she had been at full strength, her strength and skill would have

rivaled the overall prowess of the demon she fought. Even if the sword was gradually chipping, it held

up until she went past her limit and used a second breathing style. Tori knew that her sword was

breaking very easily and yet, she didn't go to get it fixed. Clearly, something else was going on through

her mind. It would seem that she knew something about the sword that no one else knew."

It was then that there was a knock on the front door of the Kamado family's house. Kie answered the door only to see a strangely masked man in front of her. The man there was a long silence between the two, but then the man finally spoke.

"I'm so sorry to bother you this late at night, but do you mind if I stay here for the night?" He asked, "It

is far too dangerous to travel to my location right now."

"No, I don't mind at all. Please do come in." Kie replied, "I wouldn't want for you to be devoured by

those awful demons."

"Oh, thank you kindly madame. Thank you." He said, "I'm trying to deliver this package and it would

be disastrous if the demons killed me before I delivered it."

"It's no trouble at all." Kie responded, "Please make yourself at home."

The man then looked to see demon slayers in the house as well as a hashira. Giyu recognized the man as a sword smith for the demon slayers. The sword smith saw the water hashira and three other demon slayers among the family. Then he saw a broken sword on the ground and he grew intrigued.

The sword smith asked, "Who's sword is that?"

Giyu explained, "It was Tori Kamado's sword. She was recently up against the demon king, Muzan

Kibutsuji. She lost the fight and her sword broke. She was also ultimately abducted by him."

"Well, it's about time that sword broke." The sword smith said, "She must have been extremely

powerful if it broke now."

Shouta questioned, "Would you mind explaining what you mean by that? Are you saying it should've

broke sooner?"

The sword smith continued, "That sword isn't Tori's real sword. It's a decoy. It seems that she made

that decoy last a long time. It should've broken ages ago. Tori has her real sword hidden in her haori, so

she's not completely without a weapon. If she fought against Muzan, I'd say that she fooled him

because she still has a sword on her. The decoy was made for that exact situation. If something

happened to her, she will still have a sword with her."

"Being prepared for every eventuality is something my sister would do." Tanjiro commented, "She

would make sure that she has a way to fight back."

"I just hope Muzan doesn't take her real sword from her, if he finds out that she still has a sword."

Sakura added, "Otherwise, it will be hard for her to fight back."

Meanwhile, in the Infinity Fortress, Muzan placed Tori in a chamber and he took her haori off and then he chained her up. He put a collar with a chain attached around her neck and then he tied a chain around her waist. Placing manacles around her wrists and ankles, Tori was very tightly restrained. He then retracted his claws so that he wouldn't scratch her too soon. Afterwards, he forced her mouth open and gagged her. For the final touch, he put a blindfold around her and now he was finished until she woke up. Muzan left the chamber and told Akaza to search her haori for weapons and ordered him to get rid of them. Muzan walked away. Akaza went in and saw that Tori was heavily restrained. It broke his heart to see her like that. He pulled out her daggers and found out that she had another sword hidden in a pocket in her haori. He found a secret compartment and he hid her weapons in it. He closed the door and locked, so that no one could take Tori's weapons. Akaza was on his way out when Muzan came in and Tori was now starting to wake up. Muzan told Akaza to stay in case he needed him. Tori thrashed and struggled trying to break her restraints, but she stopped when she heard Muzan give a small chuckle. Muzan then pulled the blindfold off of her and then pulled the gag down. Tori looked straight up at Muzan. He then grabbed her by the chin.

"Your fear brings me great joy. I love seeing my victims in complete fear of me." Muzan said, "I would

really love to see you suffer. Seeing you in absolute pain would satisfy me for a whole week. I'll

destroy any hope that those pesky demon slayers have of defeating me."

"If you want to kill me, then go right ahead and do it." Tori replied, "It's not you that I'm afraid of."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to turn you into a demon, my dear." Muzan chuckled, "If I

killed you, what use would you be to me dead."

"I'd rather die, than become a demon. So, just put an end to me!" Tori cried, "I'll never serve you! Go

on give me your best shot!"

Muzan looked at her with disappointment and in the blink of an eye he pushed her against the wall. Tori gasped in pain from the impact, but Muzan would not lift another finger to kill her. He was determined to turn her into a demon. He tightened his grip around her neck as if he were trying to choke her, but he wouldn't allow himself to go that far. Tori was now looking deep into Muzan's eyes and she was now preparing for the worst.

"If you die, what do you think will happen to your family? Who's going to protect them, if you're

dead?" Muzan whispered, "Let me rephrase my last statement. Either you become a demon, or I'll send

hundreds of demons to attack your family. I don't think the demon slayers can stop that many demons

at once now can they? Are you really willing to let all of the people you love die with you?"

Tori stared at Muzan with widened eyes. The threat he gave her echoed loudly in her head. Muzan planned to kill her family. She couldn't allow it. Tori saw no other way out of her situation. So, she had no choice, but to become a demon. Tears started to stream down her face. She was now giving up her freedom to become a mindless servant to Muzan. Muzan smiled to see her giving in.

"So what will it be, Tori Kamado?" Muzan continued.

"Alright! Alright! I'll become a demon. Just, please, spare my family." Tori begged, "Leave my loved

ones out of this."

"Now that's a good girl. I knew you would come around." Muzan praised, "Now let's get this

transformation over with."

Muzan removed his hand from her neck and then he unsheathed his demon claws and he slashed them across the front of her neck. Tori grabbed her neck and she struggled to breathe as the transformation took place. Her hair grew a little bit longer, her canines grew into fangs, claws grew from her nails, her eyes became as purple as wisteria blossoms, her skin became extremely pale, a crescent moon appeared on her forehead, and a pattern of stars ran up her arms, legs, and the rest of her body. Tori looked at herself and she hated what she had become with a passion. It was then that it was revealed that she retained her humanity, her sense of self, and, when she cursed Muzan's name, she did not die. This revealed that Muzan's curse had not transferred over to her. Muzan didn't care about these flaws and looked at how stunning she turned out. He then gave put a dead human's body in front of her. Tori started to gag as she looked at the dead body. Muzan then forcefully fed her the human flesh, but doing this only caused her to vomit as her demon body rejected the blood from humans. The demon king grew angry that she couldn't eat human flesh. Akaza then walked over and offered her his blood. She tried to refuse, but he forced her to bite him and she found that she enjoyed demon blood better than human blood. Muzan than calmed down understanding now that demon blood was acceptable for her. Muzan than ordered Akaza to look after her and he left. Tori was left in tears as she hated being a demon. She wanted to go back to her family and just stay with them forever. Akaza hugged her and comforted her. Tori was now a demon and this was only the beginning of her four years of suffering.

Tori now began wondering what torments that Muzan had in store for her. She did, however, know that Akaza was on her side and was going to do whatever it took to free her from Muzan's captivity. Tori knew that she wasn't alone and with the help of Akaza and the other demons he worked with, she would be able to gain back her freedom.

Author's note pt. 2

This took so long to get out because I lost motivation. I'm not in a new setting and I am now more able to keep writing. Hopefully, this trend continues before even when I am back at my house. My high school graduation is coming up soon, so I'll be busy this week. I may not have enough time to get a new chapter out, but we'll see. I'll see you all in the next chapter.