Argentum: Alright chapter twenty nine! Time to get into the good stuff~.
Slayer: Good stuff how?
Judan: Yeah you actually never told us what you had planned for this one.
Argentum: Upupup! No spoilers!
Kanroji: Yeah!
Grel'Slyfer: Oh I know-
Shadow: That's because you're a fictional character made out of Argentum's mind.
Grel'Slyfer: And aren't you the same little brother only with Slayer?
Shadow: Yes…
Kanroji: That's… sad?
Shadow: Meh.
Slayer: Meh.
Judan: Heh.
Argentum: Okay! Let's move on from here. Kanroji could you start us off?
Kanroji: Sure! Ahem! We here at the lovely Dark Guard productions own nothing but Oc's and reality building concepts. Everything else belongs to their wonderful and lovely owners! Now without further ado…
Everyone: Here's the story!
Hello= Regular talk
Hello= Thoughts
[Hello]= Radio
(Hello)= Telepathy/Mind reading
Chapter Twenty Nine: How we met Mrs. Love or… How I met a shoggoth's more attractive long lost cousin…
I could only look on sadly as I dug holes to put in the many bodies of the dead into. It was sad but I didn't let that bring me down. Thankfully halfway through the man who was thrown from the top floor had woken up. His name Satouji Kaien and though he wanted to help, we simply had him rest. As he watched us, Innosuke who I had also healed woke up. His first act was something we should've expected.
Opening up his eyes the boar boy screamed. "YAGHHH!" Being the closest to him at the time, Zenitsu screamed in fright as Innosuke jumped up and started chasing him. "FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME!" Poor Zenitsu was chased around by the crazy man for a few moments before he hid behind Tanjiro. "Fight me!"
Tanjiro frowned before standing his ground. "No! None of us will fight you, besides we're busy burying everyone who had died in the mansion. You should instead help us with that."
Innosuke gave him a strange look before arguing. "Why would I do that? What's the point of burying dead things in the ground?!" The rest of us frowned at that, yet somehow Tanjiro took what he said in a completely different way.
"Oh I get it! You're just tired and in pain still." The face Innosuke made was priceless. "Don't worry! I understand that everyone has different pain limits, you just reached yours!" At that point even Kanao was sighing, for while I knew she liked the guy. She was obviously not oblivious to his faults. The rest of us even Nezuko were also giving him the same look of dissapointment.
Innosuke however took it to the other extreme. "WHAT?! How dare you?! I Innosuke Sama will bury hundreds of more bodies than you!" With a scream the boar boy ran inside the mansion. Turning to us Tanjiro frowned.
"Did I say something wrong?" The sounds of collective face palms could be heard that day. Thankfully we were done with a quite a bit of time to spare before nightfall. As we said goodbye to those we helped Innosuke was ramming his head against trees. Something about making his head as hard as Tanjiro's or whatever. I honestly had stopped paying attention to the half-naked man. Instead we were following Oniki to a wisteria estate. A place where demon slayers stayed to rest and heal their wounds. Originally it was Tanjiro's crow who told us to follow him. But Oniki knocked him out and he was now being carried by Tanjiro.
What is up with her and that crow? Sighing I began thinking about why we were heading to the estate in the first place. I mean sure we were a little roughed up, but I had healed all of our injuries. When I had asked she said she was asked to keep it a surprise. That only made me worry more about whatever was going on.
Along the way we all introduced ourselves, though Innosuke got all of our names wrong. Even called Tanjiro Kamaboko Gonpachiro, I will admit Tanjiro's reaction was a little funny.
"Who the hell are you talking to?!"
"You!"
"No! It's not!" Shaking my head I decided to let the kids argue amongst themselves. Thankfully we were only about an hour away, thus making it to the estate with plenty of daylight. Once we arrived a kind old woman was the first to greet us.
"Oh good evening, you're the group led by Smith San aren't you?" I couldn't help but blink at that, yet it did make sense. I was the one mostly calling the shots in our little group.
So stepping forward I gave a small bow. "I suppose we are." The old lady nodded and opened the door to the estate more.
"Good to hear it~! Now come on in, we not only have dinner out for you, but also have a special guest for you to meet. But first we have baths ready along with clean clothes to wear. We'll be cleaning yours as you eat." Confused I simply nodded and led the way by following the kindly old woman inside. Even though Zenitsu was calling her a monster, and Innosuke didn't seem to have a clue on what an old lady even was. Thankfully Tanjiro was quick to reprimand them, meaning I didn't have to because I was exhausted after everything I did that day.
Honestly a bath was just what I needed, and the clean blue and white striped yukata's were also nice to wear. We guys however were the first done so even while Innosuke ate, the rest of us waited for the girls. After a few minutes Zenitsu seemed to perk up.
"Hey! I think I hear another woman talking to Kanao San, and Nezuko Chan." I couldn't help but hum as the girls entered in. Blinking I was surprised to see a woman about my age enter with them.
Her pink to lime green hair bobbing as she seemed to vibrate with excitement. "Oh~! It is so good to finally meet you Michael Kun~! Kyojuro Kun has told me so many good things about you~!" I blinked at that before nodding a bit hesitantly.
"I see… I'm glad to hear it, though I will have to apologize. I don't quite know who you are Ms." As she sat down the woman giggled, her three braids swaying a little.
"That's fine! But to introduce myself I'm Kanroji Mitsuri! But feel free to call me Mitsuri."
I couldn't help but let my eyes widen in recognition. "Ah! I know who you are now! Kyojuro Sensei has told me about you! You're the love Hashira, one of his former students right?" She nodded as I smiled. "Great! I'm honored to finally meet you."
She nodded before giving me a rather radiant smile. "It's great to meet you to~!" She then looked at the other guys. "I'm also happy to meet the rest of you~!" While Zenitsu and Tanjiro both blushed and greeted her back, Innosuke only kept to eating. Unfortunately for the first two, Nezuko and Kanao noticed their blushes and narrowed their eyes at them. I decided not to light that fuse and simply talked more with Mitsuri as the two young teens sat next to their crushes. No doubt in a hope to keep their attention off of the rather attractive love Hashira. Yes I admit she was rather beautiful, but hey! I'm allowed to think that and not think anything further.
Shaking my head at their antics I continued my talk. "So what brings you all the way out here? If it is to "chaperone" us that's fine, though I thought that none of you would be able to help us out for a while." She giggled before clapping her hands together.
"While that might be true… I managed to scramble together a number of able bodies to cover my post. So now I'm here with all of you~. However with your track record of defeating strong demons, along with the number we have together. We'll probably be going on much more difficult missions from now on." I nodded my head at that.
"I understand, I'm just happy to have you with us." She smiled brightly with a nod.
"I'm also happy to be here~! Meeting all of you and a nice demon like Nezuko Chan has made this all worth it to me!" Smiling myself we all devolved into regular talking, though Innosuke did steal some of Tanjiro's food. But stopped when Tanjiro simply offered him more. His yells of frustration were pretty hilarious.
I am the greatest lover amongst Line breaks! Love to all of you! MWAH~!
We ended up staying at the estate for two days, in which I had examined Nezuko and gave the go ahead for her to stand in the sun. The hug I got from the young girl nearly broke my spine. On the plus side she could now simply stand out in the sun, Mitsuri was actually just as excited as the rest of us. Barring Innosuke who continued to try and pick a fight with Tanjiro. Well that or try and get him to head-butt him at the very least. He failed on both accounts, didn't stop him from head butting a bunch of trees around the estate.
We also had to stop him from attacking the old lady as she did some kind of goodbye ritual. Something about creating sparks and wishing us good fortune in battle, hoping that we carried ourselves with honor. I'll be honest and say while I perfectly understood what she said, I had no idea what the whole sparks thing was about. Unfortunately Mitsuri simply laughed at the whole thing.
Guess that means I'm still the "adult" of the group then. Sighing I walked up to Mitsuri a question on my mind. "So did you receive any orders for us? Or are we simply hanging out until we get something? Cause I'm always up for more training if I'm honest."
After giving me a small giggle the love Hashira answered me. "Well I'm sorry to disappoint you on that, but we do have some orders. I had actually received them this morning." Nodded gesturing the shorter woman to continue. "You see we are actually leaving to investigate a village. We were called specifically because we've lost contact with everyone else sent there. At this point we have suspicions that we're dealing with a kizuki. What rank I couldn't tell ya, though based on your report of the lower six, along with how you changed Mukago chan. We have only ten suspects left. Here's hoping it is a lower moon."
As she crossed her fingers with a smile I nodded. "I agree on that, personally would rather deal with five, three, and two. With how that monster Muzan has empowered the moons, I'd be scared to go after lower moon one." With a sigh she nodded in understanding.
"I hear you." She then puffed out her admittedly large chest. "But don't worry! I'm here to help protect all of you!" I couldn't help but chuckle and nod at that. "Hey?! What's so funny buster?!" I brought my hands up in surrender.
"Nothing Mitsuri San, just relieved is all." She didn't look too convinced but nodded anyways. "Speaking of relieved…" I turned towards the kiddos. "I'm glad you decided to give our ragtag group a chance. Especially Nezuko, I can't tell you how much I appreciate that."
She waved me off with a smile. "Oh it's not big of a deal. Besides! She's too adorable to be evil in my eyes so all is good~!" This time it was I who nodded at that, it was completely true. "Besides she's one of the only people who has let me braid her hair!" That was also true, looking back at the sun walking Nezuko I could see that her hair was in one large braid. Smiling lightly I began talking with the love Hashira about more mundane things.
I also asked her for a lot of training tips, but that was just a side thing. By the time night fell we had arrived at a rather large town. In fact it was so large it was almost a city. Looking around I could see some minor electric lights, mostly on individual outdoor stands and wealthier looking shops. I was a bit surprised to see how most of them were selling crafts. Whether they be jewels, pottery, paintings, fine clothes, or even swords. I could also pick up the slight smell of sulfur.
Tanjiro having a keener sense of smell quickly asked what I was going to ask. "I've never smelt so much sulfur in my life, do know why that is Mitsuri San?"
She nodded and turned to us with an excited smile. "Yep! This is a hot spring town! I figured that once we kick the demon's butt, we can soak up in the springs~!" I was now intrigued, I had never gone into a hot spring before. The girls and Zenitsu also looked excited by the prospect. Tanjiro seemed about as intrigued as I was, and as I expected Innosuke didn't seem to care. "Alright!" Giving a small fist pump along with her yell, Mitsuri brought me out of my musings. "Let's go find a place to stay while we're here, than let's go out and start investigating! Kanao, Nezuko, and Tanjiro you're with me. Innosuke and Zenitsu you'll be with Michael Kun."
Everyone agreed and we left to find some place to stay. Thankfully since this place was basically a tourist town, there were plenty of places for us to stay. There were also a few gambling halls I was interested in, but that was for later. Being a Hashira Mitsuri practically paid for all of our stay in a rather fancy inn. I had to force her to accept myself paying for at least a fourth of it. Had to pay over two hundred k, but I still had more than a million yen left. So I wasn't strapping for cash anytime soon. Who knew cheating with magic while gambling paid so well?
We ended up getting three rooms. One for the girls, one for Zenitsu and Innosuke, the former of whom I prayed for his continual survival, and one for me and Tanjiro. Of course the room the love Hashira got for her and the other girls was enormous. Something about how young ladies need to be pampered or something, I didn't truly care about her reasons. I would've honestly have done the same for my girls.
It was at this time that I discovered that Tanjiro also wrote in a journal. "Huh guess that's something else we have in common then." After a small laugh Tanjiro nodded.
"I suppose so, how long have you been keeping yours? I started when Nezuko fell unconscious." Nodding I told him.
"A little more than two years now, same as you I guess. Started when I arrived in this dimension actually." He gave a hum before commenting.
"Still hard to get my head around all that, yet I know you're telling me the truth." Finishing up his entry Tanjiro sat on his bed looking at me. "How do you deal with all of it?" Turning to him I raised an eyebrow before he elaborated. "I mean how do you keep standing up when you keep getting knocked down? Because while I mean this in a very respectful way, you're the one who keeps losing fights, to opponents who could crush all of us like insects. Yet you keep on trying no matter what happens. Guess I'm just wondering how I could be like you."
Closing my eyes I closed my journal, deciding to finish my entry later. "It isn't easy Tanjiro… The first big battle I lost was against Nel'Ren, that was also the first time I had friends and comrades die right in front of me. I was scared and in a panic, knowing that my only chance of survival was to literally run." Sitting on my bed I looked at him seriously before I continued. "For a while after that, I simply wanted revenge on the one who hurt those I cared about. That desire only grew after my fight with Grel'Slyfer, but you want to know what happened during my training?"
He gave me a pleading look. "Yes please." Nodding with a grin I told him.
"I learned that it's not about me." He gave me a look of surprised as I elaborated. "I learned that it doesn't matter if I lose or die, as long as I do everything I can to save those who need saving. Then I can die with a smile on my face, it was a better way to live than simply wanting revenge. I also learned that if I get knocked down, then I need to simply get back up and keep trying. No one was ever born perfect, we all have our flaws. However as long as you keep living, keep getting back up, eventually things will work out. And if you die… die knowing that you did everything you could and those around you will still carry on."
He looked down at the floor with a sad look in his eyes. "That sounds hard… especially when life is so unfair." Sighing I agreed with the poor kid.
"It is isn't it? But! Life was never meant to be easy, sometimes things happen for a reason. Even if the things that happen are awful. As for you I would have never wanted what happened to you to happen. However know there is a bright side to all of this." He looked up at me with a glare.
"A bright side? How is there a bright side?! My family was murdered and Nezuko was turned into a demon! How is there anything good about that?" I gave him a bright smile before answering.
"Simple… you made a lot of friends right?" His face softened but he was still glaring, so I decided to go for the throat so to speak. "But more than anything you met Kanao didn't you?" His eyes widened in understanding as I continued. "Let's not forget that without that monster Muzan, a lot of people would've never been born. That there would be a chance that Kanao would've never been adopted by Kocho San and her older sister. That Zenitsu would still be in debt thanks to his ex-fiancée. There are many other examples but that's the way life is. Besides who's to say you won't be the one who beats Muzan?"
His eyes widened further in shock. "Do you… do you really think that I can defeat him one day?" I simply shrugged with a smirk.
"Who knows! That's the way life is, a bigger mystery than anything else isn't it?" He nodded before giving me his trade mark smile.
"Thanks Michael San! What you've said has really helped me." I simply waved him off with a smirk.
"Don't sweat it kid, you're basically like a younger brother to me. So if you need any more advice I'd be happy to give it. Can't promise you'll always like the answers I give you, or even have any to give. But I'll do my best to help ya." He nodded before yawning. "Heh guess it is late isn't it? Get some sleep; we'll need some for tomorrow." He nodded and laid down.
"Goodnight Michael San."
Laying down myself I looked up at the ceiling head on my arms. "Good night to you to kid." After a moment we both fell asleep, dreaming of a better tomorrow.
I am the greatest lover amongst Line breaks! Love to all of you! MWAH~!
The next day began with a soak in the hot springs and a hearty breakfast. Though Innosuke now seemed to greatly respect Mitsuri, if only since she beat him in a food eating contest. It was a bit of a shock that she could eat so much in one sitting. Made me wonder who ate more, the pink haired woman? Or my white haired princess?
I hope to never find out. Not sure my logical mind could handle the strain. After that horrifying thought we had all split up into our groups. I immediately began missing the others, I also began wanting to smack both Zenitsu and Innosuke upside the head.
"Hahaha! What's that?! Can I eat it?!" Innosuke was rushing to look at all the stalls; normally I'd be fine with that. The wild mountain boy had never been to a place like this so I could understand his curiosity. What I wasn't okay with was how he constantly tried to leap over the stalls. Constantly forcing me to pull him back to avoid an incident.
Zenitsu on the other hand… "Wow you're so pretty! Hey mind-" I smacked him each time and pulled on his collar. "Hey what was that for?!" Shaking my head I eventually had enough and sat the kids down on a bench, if anyone were to look it. It would appear as if a father was reprimanding his kids.
"Okay enough with this! We're here to investigate not sightsee! Now we might have a chance if we finish quickly and efficiently. But not right now!" Both looked down at the ground in shame. Sighing I turned to Zenitsu and gave him the stink eye. "I am also disappointed in you thunder boy." He flinched as I lectured him more. "I honestly thought you liked Nezuko, who also seems to like you a lot because of how you stood up for her. But here you are simply chasing skirts! If you can't clean up your act than forget even asking Nezuko out on a date." An arrow seemed to pierce his heart and he fell to the side, blood coming out of his mouth.
"Your words, your words cut deep yet I can see the truth in them." Sighing I could only hope that what I said was enough to make him clean up his act.
That's when I turned to Innosuke with a softer look. "As for you I just don't want you to get in trouble. You could end up in jail, and if you don't know what that is. Well it's a place made of stone walls, and iron bars. You'll be stuck behind a door of iron until we can get you out." That seemed to do the trick and the boar boy shivered in fright. "Alright I'm done with my lectures, from now on just behave and help me out okay?" They nodded and I helped them up. "Okay let's continue on, if any of you have any ideas on how to proceed please voice them." They both gave a salute and we moved on.
Asking around we discovered how there was an old castle to the north of the village. No had lived in it for a hundred years, and now it was some sort of tourist attraction. However according to a few people we talked to, there have been weird sounds and lights in the castle lately.
They had started about two weeks ago, the same time when the slayers the corps sent began disappearing. Now I for one believed in coincidences, but this didn't wasn't one. I couldn't help but roll my eyes though. I mean a castle? Seriously?! Were they trying to not avoid attention? Shaking my head I had Zenitsu lead the way towards the others. His hearing easily able to pick up their sounds. When we found them they were all eating ice-cream. Well besides poor Nezuko who was sitting on a bench sadly. I couldn't help but wince at the scene. Poor, poor Nezuko… I hope Tamayo is able to find a cure quickly.
Shaking my head as Mitsuri waved she gave us a bright smile. "Hello boys~! Had any luck? So far we've only been able to find out that our fellow slayers disappeared, when they investigated an old castle." I gave a nod before sharing what we've learned.
"That coincides with what we've discovered. Guess we should go up and investigate it ourselves, though I suggest doing so only a few hours before morning. That way we can have an escape route in case the demons turn out a bit tougher than we thought. Always good to have a backup plan and all that jazz."
The pink Hashira nodded with a serious look. "While I don't know what jazz is, I can agree with that." I could only sigh inwardly at how once again no one understood my slang. I was happy that Mitsuri agreed however, then again I wasn't all too surprised considering Kyojuro Sensei helped train her. However what happened next did surprise me.
Zenitsu walked up to Nezuko and bowed his head in some shame. "Forgive me Nezuko Chan! I fell into bad habits during the search and flirted with some other girls! Please forgive me and know that I still really only like you!" Our jaws dropped at what he said, even Mitsuri looked a bit shocked. Nezuko on the other hand patted his cheek while giving an eye smile. She then raised two fingers up.
"Mhm mhmm mhm!" Somehow Zenitsu understood her and cried tears of joy. They then hugged with Zenitsu yelling out his gratitude.
"I promise not to waste your second chance Nezuko Chan!" The rest of us had no idea on how to respond to this. For it seemed as if the two had somehow, someway gotten together without them saying anything, or even the rest of us knowing.
I could only say one thing before slowly walking up to Tanjiro. "Guess my lecture worked more than I thought." That's when my reason for walking up next to Tanjiro became clear. For I had to put my arms underneath his and hold him back after he unsheathed his sword.
"Let me go! That's my little sister he's flirting with!" I could only sigh as I struggled to keep the kid from killing Zenitsu. Yep me and my princesses constant teasing of him and Kanao, had definitely opened up his eyes to these sorts of things.
I am the greatest lover amongst Line breaks! Love to all of you! MWAH~!
It took about twenty minutes to calm Tanjiro down, and we only succeeded because one… Nezuko gave him a very stern look. And two Kanao kissed his cheek saying it would be okay in the end. Shaking my head from those thoughts I got out my looking glass and peered at the castle. I was doing some preliminary reconnaissance; from up on top of a tall tree I could see the entire castle. It was massive; however I could see a few entrances we could use.
"Guess we'll have to split up, me and Tanjiro could be one group." Thinking further on it, I had decided that Zenitsu and Innosuke would in another, and Nezuko and Kanao could be another. Poor Mitsuri however would be alone; though seeing how she was a Hashira I was sure she'd be fine. "Unless we run into an upper moon…" Shaking my head from those thoughts I jumped down. I had done all I could without entering the castle. We had a few more hours before the time we had decided to enter the castle. So the rest of time we had would probably be spent preparing.
Meeting back up with the others a few yards away from the tree was in I gave my report. "There are a number of entrances; however I've picked out the four best entrances for us." They nodded as picked up a stick and began drawing a rough topside view of the castle. "I and Tanjiro will enter through the furthermost back entrance." I drew an arrow to where we'd be entering. "Zenitsu and Innosuke will be entering through a hatch at the top of the castle." I drew a circle around that one. "Nezuko and Kanao will going through a balcony entrance on the far west side." I made another arrow there before drawing another to the east side.
The love Hashira, understanding where I was going sighed. "Well I guess I got that entrance right?" I nodded with an apologetic smile. "Well I suppose that makes sense, I am the strongest one here. However! It is still a good plan Michael Kun~!" I couldn't help but rub my head sheepishly at the praise. "Well! Anyone have any stories to tell while we just wait around?" After a moment I shrugged.
"I might have a couple." So as they all paid attention to me I told the story of Cthulhu. Suffice to say everyone was ready to face a lowly demon after I was done. Separating me and Tanjiro stealthily entered our staging point. Avoiding any guards who were there to make sure no one entered in. They honestly sucked at their job. As we entered we kept a hand on our swords, ready to strike whenever danger reared its ugly head. The castle was very dark, having no light sources in the entirety of its quiet halls. I had to use my Lyb'Craeft and Tanjiro his sense of smell.
It got even worse the deeper we went. For one while Tanjiro was the first to smell it, the stench of rotten flesh quickly became apparent. Holding my nose along with Tanjiro we followed our noses. We were led to a locked cellar.
Looking at each other I sighed. "Well… not like we aren't already committing a felony for breaking and entering in the first place." With one swift movement I cut the lock and we descended down a long stairway. Once down there I closed my eyes. "If there was any need for proof, well here it is." Down in the cellar were the many half eaten bodies of the demon's victims. Looking around we could see the bodies of the various demon slayers as well. Next to me I could feel Tanjiro's anger rising, so to calm him I put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, save your anger for when we meet them face to face."
Taking a few calming breaths the kid nodded and we left the cellar. "Michael San…" I looked at Tanjiro as he asked his question. "Does it get easier? Seeing so many dead…" Patting his shoulder I simply shook my head, not many words needed to be said. "I see…" With that we walked on in silence doing our best to find our enemy. As we made our way through the castle, we eventually ended up searching the upper floors. "This place is a lot bigger than I first thought."
I nodded at that. "Why do you think I had us split up like we did? Besides we-" I was interrupted by a flying kick to the face.
"Gotchaaaaa…" As I slammed into a wall I could hear my attacker apologizing profusely. "I am soo sorry Michael Kun! I wasn't really paying attention and I saw you and thought you were a demon!" As the love Hashira apologized to me I simply healed my broken jaw.
Coughing a bit I decided to not hold this against her. "Don't worry, no permanent harm done. But since you're on the second floor I assume you're done with your side of the castle?" Helping me up she nodded with a frown.
"Yeah, but I unfortunately couldn't find anything. I was hoping to meet up with Kanao Chan and Nezuko Chan on second floor. Guess I just ran into you two first." I was rather impressed by how quickly she got the east side done. However while impressed I wasn't surprised, Mitsuri was still a Hashira after all. Deciding to stick together we started searching around the second floor. It honestly made me wish we had radios or something similar. Would've made communication instant and a breeze, for we currently had no idea if the girls had finished searching this floor.
That's when something leapt out at us. I was the first to spot it with my Lyb'Craeft, and just a moment after Tanjiro smelt it coming. Both of us quickly grabbed the pink woman and jumped out of the way. Not a moment later something crashed in the spot we were just at, destroying the floor in the process.
"Damn! I was hoping to get you all in one swoop." Drawing out swords I narrowed my eyes at the one who attacked us. Stepping towards us with a sinister smile was a demon. Though I gripped my sword harder when I saw the kanji for two in his left eye. He was scratching his beard while observing us, his golden cat like eyes slightly glowing with malice. "How about that? Not only has a Hashira been sent, but also two of my lord's special targets. If I were to kill all three of you I'd surely be rewarded!" He got into a martial arts stance, stomping on the ground as shadows rose around him. "Prepare for combat you heathens!"
I am the greatest lover amongst Line breaks! Love to all of you! MWAH~!
As I deflected a shadow tendril I was starting to feel sick and tired of facing Kizuki. Next to me was Tanjiro who was doing what he could to dodge and deflect the attacks coming at him. We were fighting back to back as Mitsuri attacked the lower moon directly. Her sword more like a long ribbon than actual blade, its pink four leafed clover Tsuba acting as a respectable guard. I honestly had no idea how she could fight with such a weapon, or even how a sword like that was made. Yet it was still quite impressive.
"Stand still wench!" The lower moon also had a hard time attacking her, the love Hashira's flexibility allowed her to simply twirl or cartwheel out of the way of his attacks. Knowing that she'd be fine I blocked another shadow tendril. Narrowing my eyes I realized that these shadows didn't exactly connect back to the demon. Looking around I tried to find where the source was. I found it in the form of a floating orb of shadows.
Smirking I yelled out to Tanjiro. "Hey! Aim for the shadow orbs! They're what keeps these attacks autonomous!" His eyes widened before nodding and charging forward. Knowing that he'd be fine I charged at another one. San no kata Kien Banjo! Cutting through the shadows, sword set ablaze I lifted my sword up high. Intending on destroying my target in one strike. I was honestly starting to believe that having a Hashira on the team had made this job real easy. That's when I felt something slam into me, coughing with a wince of pain I was thrown back. Rolling to my feet I deflected another tendril before looking at my assailant.
I couldn't help but groan in frustration as the figure spoke to the lower moon two. "Hey Rokuro! Having some trouble with these weaklings I see!"
The now named Rokuro spun around forcing Mitsuri to dodge a twist of shadows. "I had everything under control Wakuraba! I had no need for help from a weaker moon!" As the scarred and pointed ear demon laughed, I saw his right eye.
"Great… lower moon two and three! Can this get any better?!" That's when the ceiling collapsed much to everyone's surprise and my frustration.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Told you there were demons down here Monitsu!" It was Innosuke and looking down from the floor above was the rest of our group.
"I didn't say I didn't believe you! I said we shouldn't cause any large amounts of damage you idiot!" At this point the two demons looked at each other and shrugged. That's when the third moon struck, his speed was a match for even me, however his target was Innosuke. Running forward I took a slash at him only for my blade to go right through him. I couldn't help how my eyes widened in surprise. Now on the other side of me he jumped up and kicked me. As I tumbled forward Innosuke struck. "Nigel!" I couldn't tell if he was doing this on purpose. However like with my attack his two swords simply went through his neck. "WHA?!" With a punch to his stomach Innosuke was sent flying.
The demon laughed before turning to its supposed superior. "See?! That's how it's done!" The second lower moon simply growled before looking up, and attacking the ceiling with more shadows. This caused Kanao, Zenitsu, and Nezuko to fall down. Though Only Zenitsu fell on his back, the girls had landed on their feet.
"YEOW!" Sighing I stood up as we all regrouped around him.
Looking at the two demons made me frown. "Alright so the lower moon two can manipulate shadows, and the lower moon three can become intangible. Any ideas Mitsuri San?" She hummed looking at the both of them.
"Well… speed would be the most important thing against them both. However unpredictability would work really well on the lower three." I perked up at that.
"Unpredictability eh?" Thinking on it I smirked. "Alright simple enough! You, Innosuke, and Nezuko should take him on then." She nodded at me as the other two got ready to fight. "The rest of us will deal with lower moon two!" As Kanao and Tanjiro nodded, Zenitsu finally stood up. He was shaking in his boots and I suddenly remembered something. "Zenitsu?" He looked at me as I coughed into my fist. "Please forgive me for this." He looked at me in confusion before I slammed my fist down on his head. That quickly got everyone to stare at me in disbelief.
Though as he fell unconscious I saw the look Nezuko was giving me. She didn't look happy, thankfully I didn't have to explain much as some shadows spears were launched at us. That's when with lightning speed Zenitsu cut them. With a clink his sword was in his sheathe. Everyone stared at him and then at me.
"Yeah he does that somehow." Suffice to say no one had anything else to say. "Alright break!" Running forward sword covered in flames I attacked Rokuro. Both demon moons looked significantly less confident now. Reaching my target I swung down. San no kata Kien Banjo! Seeing my sword coming down on him, the second lower moon raised his hand to command a shadow shield to appear. It blocked my attack however I wasn't the only one attacking. Now behind him Zenitsu unleashed yet another lightning fast strike. Electricity sparking off his body. This time the lower moon had no choice but to dodge.
However as he did so he struck out with a shadow covered fist. "Got ya!" He however did not get Zenitsu as a watered covered blade came down on his arm.
"Ni no Kata Mizu Guruma!" Gritting his teeth at the lost appendage the demon jumped further back.
Unfortunately someone else was there. "Go no kata Ada no Shakuyaku." With a calm voice Kanao attacked. The demon's eyes widened as he rolled forward. His head being saved while the rest of his body was cut to ribbons.
"ARGH! Bitch!" Tanjiro took offense to that and rushed forward.
"Don't you call her that! Ichi no Kata: Minamo Giri!" Sword aimed at the demon's neck, our opponent growled before slamming his hands on the ground. All around him shadow spikes appeared underneath us. While we managed to escape from them by jumping out of the way. We had forgotten about something else, and the shadow orbs swung tendrils of shadows at us. Gritting my teeth I used a form mid-air.
Shi no kata Sei En no Uneri! As I cut through the ones attacking me Kanao did the same. Zenitsu simply moved out of the way with lightning speed. Tanjiro however was smacked in the ground with crack.
This time it was Kanao who got angry. "Tanjiro!" Rushing forward as more tendrils prepared to impale the kid Kanao attacked. "Shi no kata Beni Hanagoromo!" Destroying the tendrils she stood in front of Tanjiro as he stood up.
"Thank you Kanao Chan." She simply smiled at him as they both got ready to fight again. Rokuro was now looking mightily angry at us.
"To think I'd almost be slain by a bunch of children, I can see why my lord wants all of you eliminated!" Yelling he swung his arms forward, summoning a huge wave of shadow tendrils at us.
I was about to rush forward when Zenitsu came in clutch. "Ichi no kata Hekireki Issen Rokuren." With six passes of lightning the entire attack was obliterated. Rokuro only looked on in shock as I followed Zenitsu's lead.
Hachi no Kata Kanpeki En! As my flame sphere collided with the demon's hasty defense I looked at the other two. Seeing what I was doing Kanao charged forward, behind her was Tanjiro who used his strongest form.
"Jū no Kata Seisei Ruten!" Still ahead of him Kanao struck first.
"Ichi No Kata Bara O Hikisaku." First form tearing rose, it was the first time I'd seen Kanao use it. However I wasn't too surprised to see that it was a single powerful cut. Flower breathing was based on water breathing after all. As she swung a shadow tendril defended Rokuro, above her the shadow orbs attacked. Rushing forward I jumped up and aimed at the source.
Ichi no kata Shiranui! As I destroyed one of them, a bolt of lightning that was actually Zenitsu destroyed the other. As that happened Tanjiro made it right in front of the lower moon.
As Rokuro's eyes widened Tanjiro swung. "That's enough!" A slight barrier of shadow covered Rokuro's neck, however with one final push Tanjiro cut right through his neck. The demon's body fell to its knees as its head flew off. Tanjiro was now panting from the exertion of using his strongest form. Though that didn't stop him from using the knife tool Tamayo gave us, to extract the demons blood. Walking up to him Kanao put a hand on his back.
"Will you be alright?" Turning to her Tanjiro gave his trademarked smile.
"Yeah huff… thanks for worrying about me Kanao Chan." She smiled at that before turning to the other fight. As I also turned towards it I narrowed my eyes. For while it wasn't harder per say… it was definitely not as straight forward. However the team taking the lower moon on looked a lot less banged up than us.
Deciding this needed to end I yelled to Zenitsu. "Zenitsu! Take that one out!" Though unconscious the thunder boy zipped forward. Attacking from behind the moon wasn't able to react in time and quickly lost its head. As it fell to the ground we all sighed in relief. While not the most difficult battle I've had, it was for sure the trickiest. Thankfully we had a fairly large group of competent demon slayers. Honestly it kind of felt as if we ganked the demons into oblivion. So as Nezuko got the third lower moons blood I stretch out my back.
Sheathing my sword I walked over to Mitsuri as everyone celebrated. "Well guess that's that. How'd we do in your opinion?" Stopping her cheer she gave me a smile.
"While still rough around the edges, especially with how you knocked out Zenitsu Kun, I think all of did splendidly~! In fact you probably could've taken these two on by yourselves!" I couldn't help but smile at the praise.
"Thanks! We'll make sure to continue training so we can match you some day." With a huge smile she was about to say something else when the far wall exploded. Eyes widening I was barely able to turn around and block a strike aimed at my neck. There was a clang, and my then my arms felt as if they broke. It was only pure instinct that I didn't die; even then I was launched into the far wall. Breaking through it into another room.
As everyone called out to me in worry I sat up healing my broken ribs. "That was unpleasant…" Looking up at my assailant as Mitsuri jumped back as she was also slashed at. My eyes widened in fear.
"You insects have now defeated four of the lower moons, despite how our lord gave them more power. All of you would become truly dangerous if left to fester. Yet like an infection the only thing we need to do is cut you out." His long black and reddish hair flowing in a ponytail. It was however his eyes that got my blood to freeze. Besides having three sets, the set where his normal eyes would be had two specific kanji in them. One in each eye…
"Jogen… Ichi?" The upper moon one was here, his purple-and-black-patterned nagagi kimono, along with his black hakama pants. Gave him a distinct samurai look. Tying it all together was a white cloth like belt. Finally was his sword that sent shivers down my spine. I could tell that it wasn't metal; the sword looked like it was made of flesh, red and veiny along with a multitude of eyes. However what I noticed most distinctly was the flame like markings on his face and chest. In fact they reminded me of the scar Tanjiro had on his forehead.
He must've noticed my observation for he had turned to me, his expression still stoic. "So you're the dragon Val'gin told us about? I'm not impressed. Nevertheless I am here to finish all of you off. Prepare your final prayers." As I stood up I only had one thing to say to everyone.
"Whelp… guess we'll all just die then." Everyone even the upper moon gave me various looks of confusion or irritation. But hey! Could anyone honestly blame me for believing we were all about to die? Nope! Wasn't like I knew how the fight was about to go, and boy! Did the fight become the most interesting I'd ever had! But that's for next time.
I am the greatest lover amongst Line breaks! Love to all of you! MWAH~!
Argentum: Whew! Four down eight left to go!
Tanjiro: Then we can deal with Muzan right?
Kokushibo: No… you will all die here.
Grel'Slyfer: I like this guy.
Argentum: You would.
Slayer: Well to be honest he does have a very cool look.
Judan: Yeah until he turns into what's basically an eldritch abomination.
Kokushibo: Hmmm… Should try and avoid that in the future.
Slayer: Yeah, had to kill way too many of those myself.
Grel'Slyfer: Same~.
Tanjiro: Please don't mention those things… I'm going to already have Cthulhulian nightmares already.
Argentum: Heh.
Shadow: Can I do my job or are all of you simply going to talk about the elder things?
Judan: Go ahead.
Shadow: Alright so as you the readers may have noticed we started making forms for flower breathing. If only because like flame we could not find all of the forms. If any of you know please go ahead and tell us and we'll do some edits. Thank you.
Slayer: That it?
Shadow: Yep.
Judan: Sweat! Alright Kokushibo please finish off the chapter!
Kokushibo: Affirmative. This has been a Dark Guard production now signing off.
Everyone-Kokushibo: Goodbye!
Judan: Why didn't you say goodbye?
Kokushibo: Waste of time.
Slayer: What is with some people?