Heya, everyone. It's DeathlyJazzHands here. Look, I want to apologize for the three-month wait. But, in hindsight, I didn't know just how much Technoblade's IRL death would've affected this story, as well as myself. When I made that original post back in July when I said that "his Death wouldn't affect the story" it turned out to be a lie, and myself being in denial over the fact that he was actually gone.
I know you all didn't come here to listen to my sapfest for an apology, however, I know you came here for some fighting. But, before we get into that, I want to go over some things and point out some stuff that some people either, A: refused to pay attention to, or B: got caught up in everything that certain details were glossed over.
So, allow me to point out the obvious to some folks who didn't pay attention. Not gonna name any names, but you know who you are.
Let me get one thing clear here. The fight that is currently going on, the fight with Mitsuri Kanroji, Munakata Amijiro, Rui, and Hanako, is one heavily favouring the Demons for very, very obvious reasons that I shouldn't have to explain, so fairness between the two teams is unbalanced ON PURPOSE. You probably can't even begin to imagine how infuriating it is to have it blatantly set up that the Demons, at least the ones under Technoblade's control, are meant to be overpowered, and then have people turn around and go "Um, actually, [proceeeds to bring canon Demon Slayer scaling into a Demon Slayer fanfic where it doesn't nor can't be applied to].
You have no idea how infuriating it is, and if you do, then know you are not alone.
Another thing that I've noticed that people have been saying is that Mitsuri should stand no real chance against Rui. And you'd be right! Normally, Rui would've wiped the floor with her. But, if those people had been paying attention, they'd know that Rui is PURPOSELY GOING EASY ON HER. Why? Because he was ordered to by Technoblade. Their stated mission is to WARN the Demon Slayers that if they advance on this territory with hostile intent, they will be met with the full destructive force that they can muster. Their goal is NOT to kill them. Henceforth why Rui is lowballing his speed, strength, and dexterity. Because he was ORDERED to.
Not to mention, even then, they're still going to overpower them because, and I can't stress this enough, THEY HAVE THE BLOOD OF AN ACTUAL, HONEST TO CHRIST, GOD IN THEIR VEINS! This was done not just as a reason for them to move around in the sun, but it also gave them incredible physical strength and immunity to Nicherin Blades. Keyword: Nichiren.
I've seen so many people say that I've made the Demons unkillable and that this story is far too basic, or this, that, or the other thing. The issue is that people are jumping to conclusions, and it also brings me to part of the reason why this chapter, and this story, as a result, have been on Hiatus, minus Technoblade's death.
People may or may not know this, but words can sometimes hurt or demoralize writers. Honestly, whenever I see someone jump to conclusions, or leaves a scathing comment saying how I've ruined the story because of "this, this or this" it really hurts my self-esteem.
To put things into perspective, I could have easily deleted this fic, moved on with my life, and forgotten that I ever wrote it. But in the end, who would've won? The fans of this book? Or the people who put those comments there in the first place? My first reaction to things like that is anger, and for good reason. I mean, imagine pouring a full year's worth of your life into a story, and then getting people who say they already know the end of the story, without the end already being out, or start spouting nonsense they know nothing about, and refuse to fact-check themselves because they want to take the moral high ground? (You know who you are).
Think before you comment. That's all I ask. If you're unsure about something, don't start spewing bullshit out of your mouth, and get pissy when I respond telling you you're wrong, or say I don't care, when I obviously do.
Now. Enough of my nonsense. I think I've dragged down the mood enough with this. So, let's jump into the chapter, shall we?
xxXXxxXXxx
Mitsuri didn't know what to do. Quite frankly, she had no idea if what she was seeing was real or not, but either way, she wasn't given the chance to think about anything that she had just witnessed, as Lower Moon Six rushed straight for her at a speed her eyes could not comprehend. The Demon's deep, orange eyes glared daggers into Mitsuri's own, the Love Hashira's eyes widening to the size of saucers.
Where was this speed before? Where did it come from? Why was Lower Moon Six faster than Lower Moon Five?! Something wasn't adding up here, that much Mitsuri knew, and it was starting to frustrate her.
The Love Hashira tried to jump away, or at the very least get out of the way of Lower Moon Six's physical range, only for the Demon to keep up the pressure. The Demon recoiled its arm as she prepared to unleash an attack, but Mitsuri had already predicted that. She knew the mannerisms of Demons, or people for that matter, who were ready to fight. She was a professional fighter herself, so of course, she would be able to see overly choreographed attacks like that one.
Raising her left arm, while using her whip-like sword, Mitsuri was able to parry a slash from the Demon, but only barely. The next attack came at the exact same speed, except this time, she didn't get the chance to parry it, the Demon's claws digging into and tearing away at the flesh of Mitsuri's left arm.
The Love Hashira bit back a scream, swapping her blade into her non-dominate hand and trying to slash the Demon's arms off. Much to her shock, the Demon saw this and jumped upward, following the wrapped pattern of the whip-like blade, and used her upper body to block the attack, the sword biting into the skin and digging a few inches deep, but ultimately stopping before it could even reach the bone.
"C'mon now! Did you really think I'd let you cut off my arms?! I'm not that stupid! 'Sides, my body's more durable than you think!" Lower Moon Six spat, glaring down at Mitsuri, who narrowed her eyes with grit teeth.
Mitsuri knew that this battle was fruitless and that the more time she wasted against these seemingly invincible Demons, the likelier Munakata was going to die. She had to get away, or at the very least, stall the Demons long enough so she could run away.
However, before she could remove the blade from Lower Moon Six's body and resheathe it, a few strands of webs shot forward, wrapping around Mitsuri's blade. With a tug, the blade came flying out of her hands and over toward Lower Moon Five. Blood squirted from the wounds on Lower Moon Six's body, though they regenerated before it became too much of a hassle—not like there would've been any issues for The Demon in the first place due to how fast she was able to regenerate.
Mitsuri had only ever fought a Lower Moon once before in her life, that being the previous Lower Moon Two, and even then she didn't even kill it. The most she did was kill a few straggler Demons around it and attack it once or twice before being put to the sidelines due to her injuries. It was Rengoku who ended up killing that Demon, not her.
But from her experience, not even the former Lower Moon Two was nearly as strong as these two. So either Muzan had gotten his act together and started to create super-powerful Demons, or, there was something else going on.
Then, without warning, Lower Moon Six grabbed the Love Hashira by her injured arm, then slung Mitsuri into one of the nearby trees, her body hitting the trunk of the nearest tree with a hard thump, causing the Love Hashira to gasp in pain. A sickening crack echoed throughout the small cove of trees and forestry as she fell to the ground, slumped up against the tree, unable to feel her waist or legs.
Panic filled her mind when she tried to move her lower body. She could feel a numbing sensation, but that was it. She couldn't feel her toes, her ankles, or even her knees as she tried to move them. What made it worse was that when she coughed, blood came out instead of spit. He looked down at the ground, trying to figure out something, anything.
A snicker came from in front of her, to which she lifted her head as high as she could see what was going on. Mitsuri watched as Lower Moon Five hoisted her blade up into the trees, leaving it there to hang, and out of her reach. Not that she could get up and make a run for it anyway, seeing as her legs weren't working. Then, almost as if the world wanted to spit on her some more, the two Demons approached her downed form, the Hashira's eyes widening.
This was it.
She was done for.
She was going to die at the hands of a Lower Moon.
Not only that but a Lower Moon who somehow was able to survive getting their head cut off. No Demon should've been able to do that, and yet Lower Moon Six could.
Mitsuri closed her eyes, awaiting the sweet release of death. She thought back to Obani, and how she wouldn't be able to talk to him again. She thought back to her friends and companions back at the Demon Slayer Headquarters, and how she would never be able to slay the monstrous Demons that plagued her country ever again. But most of all, she would never be able to find the person who was just right for her, unable to find whom she wished to spend the rest of her life with.
And when she finally came to terms with it all, she bowed her head. Without her sword, she couldn't fight back. But even then, she now knew that it was impossible to kill at least Lower Moon Six. Not unless there was sort of trickery involved. But it wasn't as if she would've been given a chance to know what it was.
Not anymore.
"Oi! Are you even listening?!" A voice called out to her, making her eyes snap open and for her to raise her head. She was met with Lower Moon Six glaring at her, a sneer on her face. "Ugh! Can you believe this? She's not even listening! Alright, then I'll say it again. My lord wanted to warn you and your little ragtag group of friends that if you ever come back here again with hostile intentions, you and your group of friends were going to face our wrath, you got that?"
Mitsuri wanted to scream and shout with indignation but found herself unable. Not because she couldn't, but because she was too hurt to do so. She had given it her all to try and fight Lower Moon Five, only to have Lower Moon Six be the one to take her down, and for the aforementioned Demon to stripe her of her sword.
And now she was expected to believe that they were going to spare her?! What kind of nonsense was that?! Demon's never spared others. No matter how many times she ran into a Demon, they never sparred a single human they came across. That was why The Demon Slayer Corp existed. So it was hard to believe that these two were going to spare them.
Mitsuri watched as Lower Moon Five walked over to Munakata, and knelt to him on the ground. Once again, panic rushed through her system, but by that point, it was too late, and involuntarily, she felt her eyes begin to droop before everything went dark.
xxXXxxXXxx
Silence. That was all that surrounded Technoblade. Now, normally, when everything was silent, that meant only bad things were happening. But, this was different. Instead of something bad happening, Technoblade was merely thinking, and had requested for some peace and quiet. Those that were in the house did so, on principle, taking up to doing mundane chores like cleaning or reading a book. It had been over 6 hours since he put Takeo to rest, and 6 hours since he had sent Hanako and Rui out to warn whichever Hashira that had been skulking around the woods.
Maybe it was the Water Hashira, Giyuu Tomioka? It was possible, but unlikely. Come to think of it, he hadn't gotten any word back from Urokodaki either by letter or by bird. It was possible that he did commit seppuku after all when they last saw each other. If that had been the case, then Technoblade wasn't going to grieve his death. If he chose to kill himself over teaching him Concentration Breathing, then that was on him.
Aside from that, a lot of things had been happening lately. None of which Technoblade liked. From what had occurred back at the Infinity Castle, to the letter that he had received from Ranboo of all people, things were starting to get hectic. A part of him was concerned about Ranboo, especially now that he knew he was in this dimension with him.
And if that had been the case, then that meant that his amnesia was gone. And if his amnesia was gone, then their friendship was bound to have taken on a new light. After all, the last time they had spoken to one another back when he had his memories was when he and him were fighting over… well, he couldn't remember what they were fighting over, and if he forgot then it was probably something stupid.
Although, if there was something that had confused him, it was that a few hours again, his heart seized up. If it wasn't for his immortality, and the fact that he had been, well you know, The Blood God, he would've died, you know, if he had been a mortal soul. He didn't know why it happened, but he had an idea of what could've caused it.
But, he'd rather not have thought about it. He knew about the Multiverse, and the only time his heart seized up was when a version of him passed away. So, when it did, he took a minute to pray for their safe travel to the afterlife, then kept going on, well, going on.
Technoblade reclined against the wall as he crossed his arms, watching from a distance as Dream read a book. The man in green looked up at Technoblade, a mask covering his face as he spoke. "Got something on your mind, Techno?"
"Several things," Technoblade groaned out, narrowing his eyes at Dream. "But I got one prevalent to you. Why'd you kill him?"
At this, Dream groaned, closing the book and placing it down face-first on the table. "We've been over this twice now, Techno. I killed him because he was a traitor. Don't tell me even for a moment that you wouldn't have done the exact same fucking thing. Because I know you would," Dream snapped, glaring underneath his mask as Technoblade shook his head.
"No. I wouldn't have. You know I wouldn't have, so—"
"Oh, for fucksake! Look at you speaking out of your ass again!" Dream interrupted, standing up and meeting Technoblade in the eyes from a distance. "You know what you are, Techno? A goddamn hypocrite!"
Technoblade scoffed. "You're one to talk," the pigman said, uncrossing his arms, a hint of a glare in his eyes as Dream clicked his tongue against his teeth.
"For fucksake, shut up for just one second and listen. You say you're against child soldiers, yet you're more than willing to let Nezuko run out and be just that! You say you wouldn't kill traitors like Tanjirou, yet you've done it a million times in the past! You say that you're not going to shed blood anymore, yet look at you now! You didn't just renounce your vow of peace, you spat on it like it was a fucking dead dog!" Dream shouted as Technoblade narrowed his eyes.
"Watch it, Dream, or—"
"Or what?! You'll break my mask and kill me? Then that just proves my fucking point! This entire time we've been here you made it a point to try and change, and all you've been doing is back-peddling on your stances! You hate child soldiers, yet you let Hanako become a Lower Moon and let Nezuko train with Kokushibo to become a Demon Slayer traitor, which in itself is even more dangerous than being a Demon Slayer! You're an anarchist that teamed up with a fucking KING, and you're telling ME that I'm the bad guy for doing the same fucking thing you would've done!" Dream snapped, making Technoblade clench his right hand into a fist.
"Dream, I—"
"No. Enough. I'm not talking about this anymore. You know damn well I'm right. Thanks to you my mask is nearly in tatters, barely keeping itself together. Not only that, but I know at some point Wilbur is going to come and finish the job. He even said as much when he first attacked, and quite frankly with his new position as Upper Moon Three and with the increased blood intake he got from Muzan, I don't doubt for a second that the moment he gets the chance, he's going to kill me. Now, unless you have something else important you need to tell me, I'm going to go for a walk to calm myself."
With that, Dream left the mansion as Technoblade watched. When the man in green left, Technoblade sighed. What made that entire speech annoying was that Dream was right. It was thanks to Rui that he had figured out that what he was doing was already wrong, but now with Dream now pointing it out to him… well, it made him understand just that much more.
L Bozo.
Stupid.
Dreamnoblade?!
Ayo?! Married couple moment?
Kiss and make-up!
Dream x Techno moment?
Wtf is wrong with u all
Technoblade shook his head. "And now they're back from their year of silence… lovely, just lovely…." Technoblade thought, growling as he slumped against the wall. Every so often, the voices would leave for a year to give him some time to himself. It was an agreement they made 400 years ago, and ever since then, every 50 years, they'd piss off for a bit.
And now they were back. They also tended to ship two people together when things got weird or strangely sexual. Or, if they saw any kind of chemistry. When Technoblade had befriended Philza, the voices started to call their "platonic ship" whatever the hell that meant, Sleepybois. inc. He didn't know what the hell any of that meant, but if it kept them appeased, then he wasn't going to stop them.
And recently, as it appeared, they were "Shipping" him and Dream together, calling it "Dreamnoblade." He had to admit that it sounded incredibly stupid. Besides, he wasn't gay, nor was he straight. He was Asexual and Aromantic. Now, granted, he wouldn't have minded if he had started a family with someone, but not out of love or anything, mainly just so he could have something else to work towards rather than anarchy or bloodshed.
Based!
Based!
Based!
Super Based!
Based!
"Shut up…." Technoblade murmured, the voices quieting down. "Another 50 years of this crap… fuck me…."
Ask Dream!
FFS
Bruh
Fuck the blob!
Based
Based.
"SHUT UP!"
This was going to be a nightmare.
xxXXxxXXxx
"Are you sure you're cooking it right?" For the millionth time, the complaining voice of Tommy made Nezuko's left eye twitch. They had been travelling with one another for the better half of a week, and as of right now they were on a break courtesy of her Kasagui Crows telling them that they were being given a two-day break from slaying Demons.
In total, between the two of them, they had killed over 10 Demons. She wasn't going to lie, it was kind of boring. Not once had she had to put any real effort into killing them. She was beginning to think that her training with Upper Moon One might have made her a little bit too strong. Either that or Moon Breathing was just busted. Most of the Demons she fought were pushovers, and the one time she had an issue she pulled out her Demon Blade and made the Demon shit themselves.
She even recalled that fight pretty vividly, seeing as it happened yesterday. Nezuko shuttered thinking back on it. That was the last time she'd ever look at tentacles on a squid the same way ever again. Thankfully, Tommy was nearby and saved her from her fate of… whatever the hell that Demon was going on about.
Tommy even mentioned something, saying that "he'd seen far too much Hentai to know where that was going" whatever that meant. Although Hentai did translate to pervert from English. Whatever that Demon had planned for her, she didn't want to know. Quite frankly, she was glad Tommy was there to save her, otherwise, she was quoting him for this "freaky shit would've probably gone down."
Once again, she didn't want to know.
But, aside from him saving her ass from certain death, and whatever else, she had to put up with him being a picky eater. A decent trade-off, if only on the surface level. He ate apples, bread, and some meat. She found out the hard way that he wouldn't eat lamb, and by that, she meant that he woke her up in the middle of the night by splashing cold water on her face from a nearby river.
Another thing was that Tommy was childish, but then again she had lived around young children for most of her life, so she was used to it. However, it was rather annoying, especially coming from a guy who was at least 3 years her senior. Then again, she had to grow up pretty quickly, what with everything that was going on.
"Tommy…. I've cooked this about a dozen times when I was younger. I know what I'm doing," Nezuko said as she hovered the metal pan over the campfire. Inside of it was some freshly caught, de-furred and skinned rabbit meat, specifically two legs, while the rest of it was in a sack over by the roll-out mat underneath the tree. It was an extra big roll-out mate, and it was Tommy's.
Tommy was nice enough to let her sleep with him, though it was pretty weird in the beginning, and still was. Yet, Tommy kept his hands to himself, and that was all she could ask for. Though, she had woken up a few times in the middle of the night to him grabbing her wrist with tears running down his eyes. It was clear Tommy had some metaphorical Demons of his own that he was dealing with, so she'd try to comfort him the best she could, even while he was asleep.
Of course, every now and again the ugly fact that she would have to betray him in the future showed itself to her through the constant reminder of it in the back of her head. Taking in a deep breath as she cleared her thoughts, Nezuko focused on cooking the food in the pan as she carefully flipped the meat over with her bare hands, gritting her teeth at the stinging pain of touching the hot meat.
"Alright, alright. Sorry…." Tommy murmured as he scooted away from the fire, crossing his arms as he fixed his Haori. Nezuko's had hers off, only wearing her Demon Slayer Uniform. She was hanging her Haori to dry seeing as it was wet from falling into a puddle.
Tommy wasn't going to lie and say that he didn't find Nezuko cute. In fact, he'd probably go on a limb and say that most Japanese women were cute. The difference here was that Nezuko was a kid, and he was around 20 years old. He also knew that she was the one whispering to him whenever he'd have a night terror. That used to be Wilbur's Job when they were still living under the same roof.
He frowned. Wilbur. The thought of him made Tommy's chest hurt. He had ended up becoming the one thing that he swore to destroy, a monster. Dream had killed Ghostbur, and subsequently, supposedly, brought Wilbur back from the dead. 'Course, he never saw proof of that, and now he never would, what with him being stuck in this place.
And now, he was a Demon Slayer. All he wanted to do was find Ranboo and get home as soon as possible. So, he became a Demon Slayer. That, and he needed money. From what he had heard from Kyojuro, his recently adopted brother, was that Demon Slayers did get paid by the organization, roughly 100 yen per Demon they kill—at least, at the lower ranks. The higher you go up in the ranks, the more money you would earn. 100 yen sounded like nothing compared to everything else in the world, but when it was adjusted to inflation, that was over Fifteen stacks of Diamonds back in the SMP. That much money could net him a goddamn fortune!
Of course, that was if he was able to get back to the SMP. Which, as of right now, seemed practically impossible to do.
"Tommy, the food's ready," Nezuko said, snapping her fingers in front of his face as he sighed, taking the rabbit leg from her hand as she smiled. He bit into it, chewed, then swallowed. "Well, is it good?"
"Yeah," Tommy said as Nezuko smirked.
"I told you, I've cooked this before. You have to stop doubting my cooking skills, okay?" Nezuko replied as Tommy sighed, biting into the rabbit's leg again, not giving her a response. They sat like that in silence for the remainder of the night.
He decided to go to bed early. He was tired, confused, and alone. Sure, he had Nezuko for company, but she wasn't a friend. She was an ally. Nothing more, nothing less. And even then, with her being so secretive about that other sword of hers that he had asked about on numerous occasions, a part of Tommy believed her to not be an ally.
And so, Tommy fell asleep on the roll-out mat, leaving Nezuko to put out the fire and clean everything up. For her part, the Moon Breather sighed, shaking her head with a disappointed gleam in her eyes. There were times when she wished he'd help clean up, but considering everything else that was going on, and how high alert and rested they needed to be, it made sense for him to want to go to bed early.
After 20 minutes, and making sure that Tommy was asleep, and just as Nezuko was about to pack everything away, the bush behind her rustled. Nezuko placed a hand on the hilt of her Nichern blade and looked over her shoulder. Standing there, completely relaxed, was Kokushibo.
"What are you doing here?!" Nezuko harshly whispered as the Demon gave her a flat expression.
"Is it wrong for me to check on my student?" Kokushibo asked as Nezuko pointed over to Tommy, and immediately the Demon understood. His body took on more of a human appearance after that, and by that the four extra eyes closed, sinking into his skin, and the eyes that were left changed into more human-like eyes. "Is that better?"
Nezuko sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yes, Sensei. But, may I ask why you're here? I never took you for the caring type," Nezuko said as Kokushibo gave her a solemn glance.
"I… wanted to apologize for what happened with… you know who," Kokushibo said, dancing around his master's name for the mission's sake. "I was not aware he would try and play underhanded like that. As such, I wanted to apologize to you on his behalf."
Nezuko snorted, shaking her head as she let go of the hilt of her blade. "It's not you who needs to apologize. It's him. As far as I'm concerned, you did nothing wrong, Sensei." As Nezuko said that, she stood up to face him. She had grown a little taller, now up to Kokushibo's chest in height. This caused the Demon to smile, even if it was faint.
"You've grown, not only as a Slayer but quite literally," Kokushibo said, frowning slightly. "I don't think I've ever had an attachment to another human like this in years. I think I'm growing soft, and he knows it," Kokushibo said as Nezuko looked away.
"I… see. So, does this mean it's goodbye?" Nezuko asked as Kokushibo nodded.
"Unfortunatly. The next time we see each other, Nezuko, it will not be as Student and Teacher, but rather as Slayer and Demon. I've taught you all I can teach you, and as of now, I cannot risk my position was, well, you already know. With how irritable he has been lately, I believe that if I show any more signs of weakness that he may kill me. I've been by his side since the beginning, but it is clear that things have changed. I—"
"Then join Technoblade," Nezuko blurted out, making Kokushibo tilt his head.
"Hmm? What was that?" Kokushibo asked as Nezuko clenched her right hand into a fist.
"Join Technoblade. If he is going to kill you for showing an ounce of weakness, then he clearly doesn't care about you. He clearly doesn't care if you live or die, even if you've been there since the beginning. I, I just… I don't want to lose you…." Nezuko said, resting her head on his chest as Kokushibo recoiled, though only slightly. "Y-you're the closest thing I have to a father figure, and… I can't stomach the idea of losing you. Please… I… I don't want you to go…."
At this point, Nezuko was on the verge of tears, and it caused Kokushibo to think. He came here to cut ties with Nezuko, as per the orders of his master. He told himself he could do it, he told himself that it would be easy, that he had no attachments to this human. And yet, here he was, struggling to tell her "no, I can't do that".
"Have I truly gone soft?" Kokushibo thought, looking down at Nezuko, who was hugging him for dear life. He thought back to the time when he was human. It reminded him of when his brother would cling to their mother…. And then, he felt the same pity as he did back when he was a human, and that pity had brought him to a mortifying realization.
"She's right…." His life as a Demon flashed throughout his mind, as the realization that all the times he was willing to give his life for Muzan, Muzan never once did the same when he was in danger. Never once did he acknowledge the countless times that, before the twelve Kizuki was formed, had he ever shown an ounce of gratitude for his self-sacrifice. For the times he was willing to die to protect his master.
"He doesn't care…!" Kokushibo thought, a mix of emotions flowing through his mind as he felt a surge of weakness, brought on by his own emotions. "So if he doesn't care… then neither shall I."
"I'm… sorry, Nezuko… but… you're right. I'll… I'll think this over," Kokushibo said, putting a hand on Nezuko's head as she looked up at him, tears in her eyes. Using his free hand, he wiped the tears from her eyes, then smiled. "I won't leave you alone. I promise. For now, get some rest. I… I must speak to Technoblade."
With that, Nezuko let go of Kokushibo and went to go to bed, all the while the first original Moon Breather left the forest, and began his journey to the mansion belonging to Technoblade and his Syndicate.
-To Be Continued-
