Warning: Violence
Warning2: This chapter has A LOT of bouncing perspectives! There are a lot of things going on at the same time, so take it slow!
Other notes: MeiMei and XR44 are vehicle brands. MeiMei is from Cyberpunk2077, XR44 is made-up
Giyuu reacted faster than the demon.
Springing forward, the hashira glided his sword through the vessels while simultaneously pushing a button on the small case on his belt. The steel rope darted out the compartment, wrapped with a clang around the upper railing of the crane's jib and yanked the young man upwards.
Wind whistled in his ears. Hot, odorous blood spattered over his face as the vessels snapped across the blade, but the hashira didn't notice it. The moment he was pulled at an equal height with the demon, he slashed his sword horizontally. For a fraction of a second, Giyuu found himself staring into the demon's questioning eyes.
There were no Moon marks in them.
"Urgent News, Urgent News. A demon is wreaking havoc in Itako."
The drone stuttered frantically, compressed inside the steel-like talons. "Urgent News, Urgent News. A demon—is wreak—I—hav—c..." the drone stammered, muffled by static, before giving a final beep as the talons crushed it.
Standing on the billboard, the winged demon gazed down at the traffic below him. The grey eyes, returned to their original state, traveled grimly over the panicked vehicles laid out below him. He kneaded his palm absently, and filaments of the broken drone crumpled off into the abyss.
If his estimate was correct, the hashira would appear right now in about half a second.
"Phase Two," the demon said quietly. The wings unfurled with a low shuffle behind his back. "Execute."
Giyuu twisted his body and slashed curtly with his sword, pushing himself downward. He landed softly on his feet, kneeling down to reduce the impact. Sword drawn back but poised in an offensive stance, he glanced upwards.
The demon stood silently a couple steps away. The slit veins lay limply on his shoulders, blood dripping over the fabric. A thin line stretched across his neck, showcasing the barely escaped blow.
An uncomfortable foreboding pulsing in his gut, Giyuu straightened out.
The demon was average height and looked to be, physically, at least forty years old. His eyes passed warily up and down the hashira. The demon lifted his hand. Giyuu instinctively braced his frame, and the creature paused. The fingers on the hand curled in a contemplative gesture.
"What are you doing?" Shinobu whispered into his speaker. Giyuu didn't answer. He himself did not understand why he was hesitating. Something about the demon seemed strange. The absence of Moon marks was just one of the irregularities. The aura was dark, darker than usual.
"Turn on your watch," the demon said quietly. The deep timbre rolled across his voice, and Giyuu felt a shiver go down his spine: it was the same voice from the recording they heard at the hashira meeting.
He tightened his grip, and there was a soft metallic ring.
"He's trying to find out how you found him," Shinobu said tightly. A barely visible wrinkle ran across his forehead. That's right. His watch began registering the blood vessels only when connected to Shinobu's tracker.
Without a single word, Giyuu closed the distance between them. The sword swung in the air. Completely still, the demon raised his index and middle fingers, the other fingers bent and the thumb relaxed.
His lips moved without uttering a sound.
The winged demon jumped, knees bent slightly and talons flexed. He was aiming for the red and orange flyer, right for the windshield. The force of the impact would naturally break the glass, and he could snatch a person or two… he already saw the pale, paralyzed faces of the passengers...
A middle-aged man with glasses...
And a woman as well...
They probably worked half a century to acquire a living here. They were coming back from a concert that was finally giving a discount.
A small sigh escaped the corner of the demon's lips.
Call yourself unlucky.
A strike of fire ignited right under his talons when he was about to break the windshield. The demon grinned, and the whites of his eyes turned black.
"Right in time."
Face illuminated with the blazing sparks, Kyojuro glared at him from behind the blade. His teeth were bared.
"I won't allow you..."
The passengers ogled in fright at the silhouette of the man standing in front of them, left foot anchored on top of the wipers, the right slightly forward, and entire body twisted to hold off the weight of the demon pushing on the sword.
"... to drag innocent people into this!"
The demon's grin widened. He leaned forward, until his nose brushed the human's.
"Copy that."
Abruptly, the demon leaped, arching back so that the wings wrap around his frame.
Demonic Blood Art, Second Form
Missile Rain
Blistering heat pulled at his cheeks, nose, forehead, chin, corners of his eyes, lips, mouth, everywhere where the demon's blood had landed. Clothes sizzled as the acid burned them through, and the edge of his blade melted slightly. Giyuu staggered back, unable to see and hear from the pain.
The wings unwound with a loud snap. Feathers zipped through the air like bullets.
Glass shattered.
Several feathers struck with a loud bang the metal carcasses of the vehicles.
Others jammed through the impeller blades.
The railing wedged into Giyuu's lower back, and the night sky appeared above his bloodshot eyes.
In a blink, several engines exploded from multiple directions, and flyers began spiraling down. Shrieks rose into the night.
There was a subdued wheeze when Kyojuro sucked in the air.
Giyuu choked out a gasp.
Everything slowed down to almost a stop.
The air stung against the scorched tissue as Giyuu fell down. His vision swam. Layer by layer, the pain sank into his body. Scramble out.
Acid leaked down his forehead, and Giyuu closed his eyes to protect the eyeballs. Though eyelids aren't much help, are they? Wind tearing at his sleeve, Giyuu pressed the lower arm onto his eyebrows, and the liquid pooled at the fabric.
Mind working at seething speed, Kyojuro's eyes darted to the side. There were MeiMei around three meters northward, several XR44s, and a heavyweight cruiser. It was falling on its side, terrifying in its sluggishness.
He could unleash his signature form which should have enough counter-gravitational force to slow the vehicles down. Still, he'd have to conduct that move constantly just to keep the flyers in the same position they were in. It was unrealistic.
"Are you enjoying the flight, Tomioka-san?"
Giyuu's eyes opened slightly and rolled upwards. The blood-soaked asphalt was approaching.
"I can't decide what's more pathetic, you dying because of an acid burn or a cracked skull. What do you think, Tomioka-san?"
Of course she had to tease him. She always did. However...
Kyojuro turned around. This wasn't a choice. He had to quickly focus on saving the citizens by whatever means possible even if it meant letting the demon loose.
Giyuu twisted in agony, scrunching his body and rotating so that his feet faced the ground. A rope projected from the case on his belt, catching on to one of the support poles. He swung over, the abrupt change of angle slowing him down. Clutching the sword with his numb fingers, the young man released a vertical water wheel.
Suddenly, two wide, metallic cords darted somewhere from the platform and hooked around the cruiser's edge. It was dragged carefully to the railing, and small drones swarmed around it, spraying water on the flaming motor parts.
Several laser nets wrapped around the flyers, halting them in their tracks. The drones scurried over them as well.
"Rengoku-san!"
Kyojuro turned his head to see Zenitsu running on top of the cruiser. The yellow-haired boy, a warning jacket tossed messily over his body, stopped and waved from the distance.
"We and the evac team will take care of the vehicles. Don't worry and go get that demon," the anxious voice resounded in the speaker. In the corner of his eye, the hashira saw Inosuke running with other demon slayers and public security workers. Kyojuro smiled tightly before raising his gaze. The demon hovered in the air, waiting for his reaction.
"Thank you..." the events sped back up, sounds returning to their deafening clarity and images flashing just as bright, "Zenitsu!"
Giyuu skidded roughly on the soles of his feet, the vessels bunching up and ripping underneath his shoes. Barely keeping his balance, the young man was able to stop. His heart was bursting inside his chest, and all of his clothes were crumpled from the cold sweat that sponged his body from the pain. Instinctual tears rolled down his cheeks, which only caused the mutilated skin to sting more. Breathing heavily, Giyuu rose to his feet.
The demon stood motionlessly at the base of the crane. The kimono was still settling down from the creature's descent down. An entire clearing was between them, the entangled vessels crawling weakly on the ground. Blood spilled out of the slits, spreading across the concrete in a quickly-growing pool.
Giyuu inhaled through his teeth, trying to get his brain under control. He had to avoid contact with the demon's blood at all costs. He slanted his eyes carefully. The sword was damaged, but not critically.
Static rumpled in his ear. Clumsily, Giyuu lifted his hand and took out the speaker. It was steaming slightly, ruined by the acid. Shinobu was gone.
"You're a pain," the demon said coldly, raising his arms in a composed gesture. Several blood vessels shot off from both his wrists and zoomed towards the hashira. Giyuu lifted his gaze slowly, and his nails dug into the hilt.
Kyojuro ran across the flyers and leaped right up to the demon. The creature dodged, wings ruffling behind his back, and placed a distance between himself and the hashira without difficulty. The young man landed on one of the flyers, but bounced off almost immediately and continued running towards the demon.
He'll prioritize collateral damage over my defeat, Kyojuro thought as he jumped. The flyers' gleaming surfaces dashed under his feet. I have to restrict his motions somehow.
Would long-distance slashes do the trick?
Flying back, the demon slid his gaze over the airway.
The compactness of the flyers really helped the guy. Their proximity made them into easy stepping stones. Add to that the quickness of the human's jumps, which minimized the time and, subsequently, the force of the landing.
As a result, the hashira encroached on him while keeping the passengers unharmed.
The demon's eyes returned back on the human as several long strikes sliced across the air. The creature shifted absently, letting the strikes pass next to him.
Releasing the feathers wasn't a smart idea. The human would slash them while continuing to run. Speed up, too. He, on the other hand, would have to pause momentarily to shoot out the bullets.
Well, he can work around it.
In front of Kyojuro and dozens of terrified passengers staring out their windows, the demon turned horizontally and stopped moving his wings. He slipped in between two flyers and plummeted down.
He's going where the airways are less tight, Kyojuro realized in horror. The young man swerved roughly across the flyer's hood, causing it to tilt, and ran back down the traffic. Nearing the evacuation team, he jumped on an unsuspecting drone.
The robot screeched, and the hashira's feet, already barely fitting on the smooth, round surface, nearly toppled off.
"Rengoku-san!" Zenitsu shrieked, almost dropping a metal rope with which he was fastening a flyer.
"Rope, now."
"B-but... Rengoku-san..." Kyojuro impatiently took the rope from the demon slayer's trembling hands. Bending down, he wrapped the rope around the drone and tied his feet firmly to the surface.
"This will do." Kyojuro stood up and tried to lift on his toes to check the sturdiness of his knot. It restrained mobility, locking his legs, but it was the only way he could think of at the moment.
"But this is insane!"
"Take care of the citizens," Kyojuro answered back and, without looking at Zenitsu, crouched down. The drone beeped furiously, but was silenced by the two fingers, holding the hilt, pressed to its screen.
"I need to pursue a moving object with wings. Do you understand that much?" The hashira said quietly. After a moment of silence, the drone beeped. With a short buzz, it maneuvered in between the flyers and plunged down.
Four disintegrating corpses lying at his feet, Sanemi straightened out. Blood dripped off his blade.
"Wataha District, cleared." He waited a second, then snarled. "Uzui, hurry up."
It took a beat before the sound hashira replied.
"Your timing is characteristically off," Tengen's voice echoed in the speaker. "I was in the middle of the job."
"They're low fries, aren't they?" The blood squeaked under his boots. With a stone face, Sanemi walked down the crimson-splattered alleyway. The metal doors were off their hinges, and most of the glass windows were broken. A stiff arm lay limply on the front steps of a store. "You should be able to multitask."
"You're stupidly contentious," he heard Tengen smirk tiredly into the speaker. "Anyways, I got my region under control. Twelve districts were hit heavily, and twenty-five in a tentative state. The rest are unscathed. Iguro?"
On the other end of the speaker, Obanai lifted his head and looked at the sky. By the time he made sure Mitsuri's safe in the hospital, Kyojuro already engaged AB-4527. He clenched his fist. The least he could do was keep their region under control.
"Ten hits, eighteen mild."
Sanemi stepped over a human corpse. After walking a few feet, the hashira turned around and returned back.
"Equal split." Sanemi lifted the dead girl into his arms and carried her over to the wall. He lowered her gently, making sure none of her now flexible limbs are twisted in an unnatural direction. But almost immediately after, he pushed one of her braids behind her shoulder to create asymmetry and, subsequently, realism.
His watch beeped, notifying him of a demon sighting several blocks away. Sanemi stood up and, pressing his fingers to the speaker, walked in the direction of the attack.
"Alright then. Reconvene in half an hour."
"Copy that."
Sanemi switched off the speaker. His walk broke off into a jog, before accelerating into a sprint.
Thirty districts away, the air was drastically different. Screams, growling, chewing, and steel rang against the pipes. People ran madly, demons pounced on top of them, only to be beheaded by demon slayers.
The muddy posters and paper advertisements whirled upwards when the motorcycle zoomed past them.
"Sector SE-17, two of them!" Tanjiro spoke quickly as his eyes darted down on the screen attached in between the motorcycle's handles. Squatting on the edge of the seat behind him, Genya tsked and tilted his head to gaze into the visor.
"Shut up and pay attention to the road!"
In a millisecond, he blasted off the heads of the two demons. Tanjiro obediently returned his eyes back to the platform. A corner appeared, and they veered around it with a screech. At the same time, Genya leaned on Tanjiro's back to get a better angle. Lifting the rifle up to his eyes, he shot the demon sitting on the roof.
"That makes it the forty-first. Damn," Genya spat. "Are they ever gonna end?"
Tanjiro didn't answer and pressed on the gas. The motorcycle flew over the gap between two disconnected platforms. It jolted at the landing, but Tanjiro caught the vehicle.
"Dammit, when will a hashira get here?" Genya gritted through his teeth, reloading the gun. "Tanjiro! Ask Nezuko how things are going on her end."
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro shouted into the speaker, deaf from the wind blowing his ears off from the speed. The platform curved, and he slanted the motorcycle until it nearly scraped the ground. Genya's fingers dug into his shoulder as his friend held onto him.
"Nezuko!"
Nezuko leaped and landed right on the back of a giant, spider-like demon clambering down the alley after a group of terrified people. Before the demon could realize it, Nezuko slapped her blood-stained palm onto its hairy spine.
Demonic Blood Art, First Form. The words flashed inside her mind in concentration. Exploding Blood.
Her blood ignited pink, engulfing the demon. Nezuko jumped off, somersaulting backwards, until her feet brushed the metal scrap of a rooftop. From the far, she watched how the demon burned. It hollered painfully.
The tips of her small claws twitched slightly. Nezuko gazed at the pinkish blaze, pride mixed with guilt. For some reason, she suspected with dread that her guilt differed from that of her brother.
Nezuko scooted instinctually up the rooftop, underneath the jutting balcony. Hidden in the shadow, the girl lowered her head. After a brief moment of hesitation, she typed quickly into her watch.
Okay
"Good." The frequencies jumped as her brother spoke to her from the other side. "Keep in touch once in a while, okay?"
Okay. Stay safe.
"Promise."
Nezuko turned off her watch and, scrambling from underneath the balcony, stood up. The dress fluttered around her knees. The demon girl walked noiselessly down the uneven rooftop. Her eyes moved back and forth, scouring the area for demons.
Suddenly, her nostrils flared. Nezuko whirled around, trying to pinpoint where the demonic scent was coming from. Tiles clinkering below her bare feet, the demon girl ran hastily across the roof and hopped down.
Straightening out, Nezuko sniffed in worry. The smell was faint, and it wafted somewhere from the right. The demon girl launched forward. The smell had a metallic sting to it, and it clouded unpleasantly in her nose.
Wheeling around the corner, Nezuko raced down a staircase. Her heart thumped unusually fast in her chest. Jittery, she skipped three steps at once, and her leg crashed clumsily onto the concrete.
Propping herself by the railing, Nezuko got up slowly. She swallowed, and the straps of her muzzle rubbed against the corners of her lips.
The bottom of the city was absolutely still. It was as if she fell into an aquarium; everything went mute. Screeches and hoots echoed dully above her head. All the demons left to the higher levels.
Nezuko wrapped her arms with her hands, pushing down the small, shivering hairs with one stroke of her palm. The small rocks tumbled under her toes as she walked forward. Scents whirled around her, camouflaging the one she was going after.
Nezuko closed her eyes, trying to ignore the flickering light bulbs and the sway of the electric lines above her head. Calming down, she opened her eyes back up and followed the quavering smell.
It whisked unevenly, and she lost it several times while she walked. The alleys and passageways kept on turning one after another. Nezuko felt as if she was going in circles. At this point, she doubted that getting the demon had any point at all; it had obviously retreated. The chances of the victim were minimal as well.
Nezuko entered a subsequent alley. For a few moments, she simply stood, unable to understand why this felt like deja vu.
The realization hit her a second later.
It was the alley where Rubikku lived. She just entered it from a different side.
The soles of her feet went cold from sweat. Foreboding squelched her stomach, and nausea crawled up her throat. If a demon got to Rubikku, the still, comatose human being, he wouldn't be able to fight back. Not even for a second - which is enough for a demon slayer.
She wasn't following the scent anymore. Nearly tearing off the knob, Nezuko yanked open the door and ran inside. The familiar room stung her eyes.
Empty bowls scattered all over. A mattress thrown next to the wall. A robot carcass lying limply in the corner. Nezuko began trembling.
The sweet aroma of blood floated quietly from the stairs of the basement.
Her heart thundered in her ears, going zigzag to her shaking steps. Nezuko couldn't slow down her breathing, and her teeth squeezed the muzzle. Slowly, she reached out and touched the cold metal of the door handle. It became damp from sweat.
Nezuko wavered. Everything rattled in her brain from fright, even though she knew she had to be prepared for what she could see. The demon girl squeezed her eyes, and, quietly, pushed open the door.
A long, metal table stood in the center of the room. Otherwise, it was empty.
A teenager was sleeping on the table. He was lying on his side, so his face was towards the demon girl.
Nezuko felt her throat clasp. The teenager wasn't human. His lips were partly open, and the lingering smell of blood drifted off the peeking fangs.
It stung in the back of her eyes.
Holding back the sob, Nezuko raked her claws over her palm to open the wound that had already closed. She couldn't take her eyes off the teenager.
At the smell of blood, the demon's eyelids fluttered open slightly. Nezuko's stomach dropped in horror.
The dark red eyes rose and froze on her face. His forehead wrinkled in confusion, before smoothening out in loss. Almost immediately, though, his face calmed, like a disappearing ripple on water.
"Nezuko."
The voice was overwhelming without the digital interface having to cut out the intonations.
A blood vessel sliced the skin on his cheekbone.
He couldn't hold any longer. Giyuu gritted his teeth, forcing his arms to move to deflect the attacks. The demon's figure was barely visible now from the swarm of blood vessels shooting at the human.
The surrounding crates were splattered in blood. It permeated the air so much that it was hard to breathe.
Giyuu bit his tongue, seeping out the salt to clear his mind, and angled his sword. With lightning speed, the hashira broke from the eleventh stance and sprinted towards the demon. Rapidly moving his feet, Giyuu twisted his body, and the blood projectiles redirected from his blade.
The demon's eyes expanded. Veins still shooting from his wrists, the creature bent his fingers.
Blistering pain hit Giyuu's feet as the acid ate at the soles of his shoes. His mind went on fire. He pressed his human fingers with his metallic ones as tightly as he could, gripping to the sword with the last of his strength. Sweat and blood blurring his vision, the hashira swung the blade with as much force as he could manage.
The demon's face twitched. With a loud snap, the veins zipped back into the wrists, and the creature leapt to the side. Giyuu skidded, blood splashing. His eyes were blazing with anger.
"Water Breathing," Giyuu hissed through his teeth. Several feet away, the demon lowered down on one knee. His brown eyes were fixed on the human.
"First Form."
Only several steps separated him from the demon's head. Absolutely still, the creature dipped his hand into the pool of blood.
Giyuu didn't have the time to stop. "Water Surface Splash."
"Demonic Blood Art, Third Form. Crimson Predator."
As he predicted, the lower decks had easier traffic.
Falling down, the winged demon eyed the terrified media robot bobbing around him. It ticked him off, but just like with the green-checkered jacket boy, coverage was necessary. Ignoring the wind ripping at his skin, the demon lifted his hand and massaged the bridge of his nose.
Going intentionally slow, he counted up to forty.
The wings cracked open, smashing the robot with their bones. The demon swerved upward, and angled his wings. The name of the technique passed quietly through his mind.
Flyers skidded out of control, blood spilling onto the controls as the drivers were shot through. Others exploded, feathers puncturing their gas tanks. A door ricocheted across the air and rammed into a billboard.
Nothing restricting his movements, the demon coiled and curved around the flyers. Lying on his back, the wind ruffling the feathers, he gazed at the orange spheres of fire as the vehicles burned above his head.
In this splatter of chaos, he didn't notice the steadily approaching silhouette. Blinking, the demon lifted up slightly. Is that…
The demon yanked up abruptly, cursing himself for the momentary relief. He tried swerving to the side, but was nearly decapitated simply from the force of the slashed air.
The demon roared from anger and, releasing his talons, flew right at the human.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form," the hashira bellowed. "Flame Tiger."
The blood surged under Giyuu's feet, knocking him over. At the last moment, the young man managed to group himself together and land on his feet. Wiping his chin, the water hashira looked up.
In between him and the demon, the blood coagulated and thickened, melted horridly into an organic-like shape. Gradually, the disformed substance molded into distinct features.
Giyuu's fingers twitched, and desperation flashed through his mind.
Blood trickled off the tiger's crystallized fur. Behind him, the demon stood motionless. The vessels swayed from his wrists, merging with the sliced veins crawling on the ground.
The tiger sprang at the hashira, and Giyuu jumped into the air.
The drone panicked and dropped several meters down. Kyojuro dipped with it, and the demon flew right over. Snarling, the creature whirled around, but the hashira was already over its head, sword raised to strike. The demon blocked with his talons, but the drone jumped upwards, flipping the hashira upside down and over.
The steel grated against the claws as the sword slipped out of the grasp. Kyojuro landed at the demon's feet and slashed horizontally with his sword. Everything below the demon's knees tumbled into the abyss.
The solidified flesh burst into blood as the metal sliced through. The tiger glided from under the blade, and before Giyuu noticed it, the animal's paw crashed right onto his chest. The blow sent him flying backwards and, this time, he was unable to hold his balance.
The creature's pupils dilated from pain, momentarily disorienting him, and Kyojuro rushed upwards. At this close of a range, the demon was practically immobilized—
The bones split from the joints with a nauseating crack and drove into Kyojuro's sides.
Blood spurted from the hashira's mouth, halting him momentarily. Instantly, the demon grabbed Kyojuro by the wrist and snapped it with a short twist. Kyojuro bit his lip to hold back a howl of pain, and his fingers instinctually let go of the blade.
The two crashed onto the top of a truck's trailer. The rope snapped, and the drone ricocheted off with a screech.
Several of the embedded wing bones broke at the impact, and Kyojuro nearly lost consciousness. Even so, his arms darted forward and caught the talons before they could come colliding down.
The blood flooded his mouth from the exertion he made his body do. His palms pushed against the talons, fingers gripping them with immense force. The demon hissed, looming as a dark figure over the human.
"I won't let you..." the talons smashed the fingers of the broken wrist and slammed the arm down. Kyojuro's eyes widened as bone popped in his elbow. Breathing heavily, he stared up at the demon. The grey irises stared back at him.
They were shaking.
"... kill me so easily."
The tiger placed his paw on the human's chest. Vision swimming, lungs burning and muscles trembling, Giyuu gazed at the animal. In a mechanical motion, he slid the sword through its neck. The tiger growled and drove the claws into the human's chest. It lowered its head, and Giyuu felt the fangs of frozen blood scrape the skin of his throat.
It was just a second when the demon lost control, overcome with hatred and furry.
His eyeballs rolled, and completely different irises, orange and rich, appeared in front of Kyojuro. A kanji number was written in them, with a long, claw-like strike across.
Former Upper Moon Six.
The tiger exploded.
Blood splattering off his hair and face, Giyuu lifted up abruptly. Several meters away, the demon was crumpled on the ground. His nails scratched at his chest, ripping open the skin, and his face was warped from agony.
Giyuu's eyes darted on the vessels scattered on the ground. They were swollen and sickly purple.
Wisteria.
There was wisteria in the blood.
Kyojuro gritted his teeth, forcing himself to look away from the mark. "Unfortunately..."
In his fury, the demon forgot to regenerate everything below his knees.
Meaning that the demon slayer's legs were untrapped.
"I return the sentiment."
With all his force, Kyojuro lifted his leg and hit the creature on the spine and the base of the neck. The demon gagged, losing his balance, and the hashira pushed him over his head. The bones ruptured, tendons splitting, and blood rushed out of the human's sides. Not allowing the demon to get to his senses, Kyojuro grabbed him by the neck with his elbow and slid off the trailer.
The demon wheezed, clutching his throat. In a millisecond, Giyuu appeared next to him, sword raised over his head. The demon shut his eyes, oblivious to the hashira as he tried to regain his breath.
The steel rang through the air as it descended.
The winged demon clawed frantically at the hashira's arm, trying to get him off. In response, Kyojuro squeezed his elbow, and the demon choked. Kyojuro felt the creature trying to extract the wings from his abdomen and clenched them furiously with his muscles. All I need to do is fall down to the Wisteria District. The wisteria will kill him all on its own.
"Shun."
Kyojuro crossed his legs over the demon's waist, restricting any movement. The demon wrenched his neck, trying to bite the human's arm.
The blood demon opened his eyes just as the sword grazed his hair.
"Where are you, Shun?" He shouted, foam flying off his lips and features strained from anger.
The projectors shut off.
The construction site plunged into darkness.
A red light flickered on the speaker in the winged demon's ear. The creature stopped moving, and his hand flew to press the speaker in.
Giyuu stared at the space where the demon just was.
No one was there.
Kyojuro felt himself grow cold from the sweat.
"Don't you dare!" He tightened his hold to the point that it hurt. The demon's lips became blue.
"Don't you dare pull one of your tricks!"
"... failed."
"What?" Kyojuro involuntarily loosened his grip in an attempt to hear the whispering demon. The creature lowered his hand and closed his eyes wearily. His mouth was partly open, sucking in the refreshing air.
"The operation failed."
Did he just... vanish?
Kyojuro felt the bones disappear inside of him. Right in front of his eyes, the demon turned translucent and flickered in a myriad of colors. The hologram dissipated, and Kyojuro stared at the sky spiraling away from him.
A/N: Oh my lord. This chapter was a BEAST, and I'm so tired and happy at the same time. I hope everything went smoothly with the swapping perspectives; just like in my previous chapter, I wanted to highlight the chaos and instantaneity (I don't think that's a word) of everything. Fingers ultra-crossed that clarity wasn't sacrificed too much for that purpose.
Also...(drumroll, ladies and gents)...This is the end of the first arc!
I know, 18 chapters for an intro. That's ceased to be funny after chap 5.
As a sneak peek into the next arc, I don't anticipate that much action or at the very least, not in the first five chapters as it had happened in intro. The plot will keep on moving forward, just in a slightly different way. To be fair, I'm saying this without actually haven written any of the new arc chapters so treat this with a grain of salt. But in any case, I feel that the story needs a break from all the insane stuff going on.
I am immensely grateful to everyone who's been reading this story. Thank you very much.
And finally, to cap off these author's notes...
Shun. Where are you Shun?
