Rokuro grinned as he stood behind a clump of trees, eyes searching the clearing where they would spring their trap. He could already taste Lord Muzan's blood, could only imagine the power it would give him…

How lucky were they that this had happened? That the boy had actually shown up for this? It had been a bit of a gamble to come here, but it had paid off.

His grin widened and he crouched, already in his first release mode. His demon blood art allowed him to 'power up', so to speak, granting him an immense amount of speed and strength for each release. Currently he could release up to four times… and humans would have a difficult time keeping up with him at one or two.

Each release granted him an extra limb as well – a semi-prehensile tail – and while he also gained facial markings similar to a monkey known as a Mandrill, that wasn't nearly as important as the speed and stamina burst he got with each release. Too bad he had a harder time thinking with each release too, but that tended not to be a problem above two tails unless he was going up against another demon.

He couldn't see where Wakuraba had situated himself, he'd disappeared into the foliage far too well, but wherever he was would make for good long distance support. Rokura could barely make out Kamanue across the clearing, holding fist-fulls of his paper shikigami. He'd mainly be in charge of keeping the kid in the clearing (and more importantly, other demon slayers out) while Rokuro and Mukago fought him up close.

She just had to lead him straight here…

Why was it taking so long?

Where was she? Had he captured her? Killed her?

No, Mukago may be flighty and lazy, but she was also one of the twelve Kizuki for a reason. And she should know she couldn't take on the kid that killed Enmu without backup. She'd be there.

Although it would be nice if she could get there before the sun rose!

He resisted the urge to begin pacing and he wasn't the only one. Kamanue seemed to be fidgeting even more than he normally did and he could hear Wakuraba grinding his teeth somewhere up above.

And then he heard something else… footsteps.

Immediately his grin returned and he crouched down, ready to pounce. He wanted to wait until the kid knew – wanted to see the look of horror and realization on his face… wanted him to know he was beaten.

And if the others knew what was good for them, they'd wait for Rokura to attack first – just like they'd planned.

Mukago ran into the clearing, looking like Rui, then stopped on the other side and turned back into herself. She didn't turn around.

The kid raced into the clearing, blade ready to strike, but he must have noticed the change because his eyes widened. Rokuro nodded at Kamanue, who grinned and a wall of paper shikigami built up in seconds, blocking off where the kid had come from. The wall of reinforced paper – stronger than wood – continued to build up in a circle around them.

The demon slayer still swung for Mukago's head, but he was distracted and thrown off. She ducked easily. He threw himself forward, rolling in the air to land on his feet holding his sword up between him and the she-demon.

"Who are you?" he asked warily. Apparently she hadn't opened her eyes yet. Rokuro couldn't see her face, but he knew the smile she was giving him. He'd seen her give it to prey before.

Rokuro could also tell when she opened her eyes because the kid's breath caught in his throat, before he forced himself back into the strange pattern of breathing. The kid glanced behind him, up in the trees, and then off to where Kamanue hid. Then he glanced around the clearing, right at where Rokuro hid. So he'd marked all of them. Impressive. Not that it would help him in the end.

"Waning Four…" he paused. "And three other Waning Moons."

Mukago clapped her hands. "Ooh, interesting! Well spotted! No wonder you beat Enmu!"

The brat's eyes narrowed a little.

"What do you want?"

"Weeeeeelllll," she drew the sound out, "Lord Muzan wants to talk to you. It's quite the honor, really. We're here to take you to him!"

If anything, the kid's expression darkened for several seconds, but then he just up and smiled a bright, innocent smile at her.

"No, thanks."

"Aw, come on!" she whined. Rokuro rolled his eyes, but let her continue. If she could persuade him, then it really would be better (if more disappointing) for all of them. "You're going to him either way, so you may as well just come along. It'd be so much easier for all of us!"

The boy's smile didn't falter as he opened his eyes. "I'd rather die."

Mukago blinked, then sighed. "Fine." And with that, she duplicated herself. "I'm so glad you're not a Pillar!" all four of them said at once.

Before they could even take a stance, Rokuro saw his opening and he lunged forward, using his speed and strength to aim for the boy's head. A little love-tap to knock him out. The kid must have sensed him coming somehow because he ducked and rolled, but got to his feet just in time to meet one of the Mukago clone's claws.

She didn't have any real offensive capabilities other than her normal demon speed and strength (unless she pulled off her final move, but he doubted she'd get that far) – hence why she was still a Waning Moon. The kid kept up with hsder easily for about two seconds before the others reached him and he had to jump back and away. She didn't let up and Rokuro made a leap for where the kid would land, both pursuing him. The boy, somehow, realized it would be over if he landed and managed to flip in mid-air, using one of his breathing techniques to make Rokuro move or risk losing his head.

Impressive.

But he could tell the kid was having difficulty keeping up with all of the Mukagos. Still, he didn't have a single scratch on him just yet…

And at that point, the kid took off one of the Mukago's hands. She screamed and melted away, dropping in a puddle of goo on the forest floor. The kid's eyes widened, and he seemed to get more determined – like he thought he could win.

Not happening.

Rokuro sped towards him again. The kid saw out of the corner of his eye, but instead of simply dodging out of the way, he grabbed one of the Mukago's and jumped back, putting her directly in front of Rokuro, who couldn't stop in time.

In seconds, he skidded to a halt, disgust on his face as she was now goo all over the floor and his body.

"Oi! Stay out of my way!" he bellowed, knowing full well it wasn't her fault, but angry at the situation anyway.

"Well if you weren't charging all over the place like a raging rhino," she shot back.

Then the kid just appeared behind her, blade ready to swing. He may have succeeded in taking her head if Wakruaba hadn't taken that moment to enter the fray. A blood-red 'X' shaped shuriken-like weapon hit his sword, knocking it off course. The demon slayer cut off Mukago's horn instead and she screamed. Her other self rushed in, getting her out of harm's way while a series of those X-shaped weapons began to rain down on the brat. He deflected them fairly easily but Rokura jumped forward, this time stopping in front of the kid, fist raised to send him to dreamland.

Their target managed to deflect it with his sword, but Rokura didn't let up, heading right after him and punching again and again. The kid still deflected or dodged each shot. Rokura couldn't help it if he felt a little giddy; he always had enjoyed a good fight. He kept it up, pushing the offensive, and the brat continued to match him. Rokura had already released twice, so he decided to up the game and released a third time.

The expression on the kid's face made it completely worth it. He knew he was screwed…

Except he wasn't.

"Hinokami Kagura: Parhelion Rainbow."

His movements changed. Instead of flowing like water, he suddenly flashed like fire. Whereas before, he'd practically danced as he fought, meeting everything Rokura could give blow for blow and just moving around what he couldn't, now he ran at his opponent in full offense. Worse, Rokura knew he'd smacked the image of the kid at least twice, but his fist met nothing both times. And that suddenly, he was on the defensive as the demon slayer thrust and swung, eyes forward and angry… and yet pitying? Was that really pity? Why could he see pity?!

Without thinking, he gave into his final release and lost all but his most basic thought-processes.

It would be worth it.

xXx

Kamanue bit his lip as he watched the fight before him. No wonder the demon slayer had been able to beat Enmu. He could match Waning Two in his fully-released state. That kind of speed was easily Waxing Moon level. If Rokura could actually retain his thought-processes, he'd likely be a match for Waxing Three. Maybe…

And the kid was keeping up. Not just with Waning Two, but with Waning Three's thrown X-es. This kid had to be Kmanue's age (well, the age when the Demon Moon had been turned), so how could he be this good?!

Very suddenly, he was glad Rokura had more or less dragged all of them together to fight the kid.

Next to him, Her Laziness recovered from losing two of her clones. It shouldn't take her long to recover (probably wouldn't take so long if she actually worked at it instead of lazing around like the rotten coward she was, but saying so wouldn't help them at the moment so he kept his mouth shut).

"Okay, I can see why Lord Muzan wants him…" the coward muttered. For once, he agreed with her.

If the kid was this good now… they had to take him out before he got even better. So… why did Lord Muzan want him alive? Shouldn't he want the kid dead?

Were they good enough to take him alive?

"He's only human – and tiring already," Kamanue muttered, more to reassure himself than anyone else.

"Of course he is," Mukago said with a scoff. Waning Six ignored her.

Then, much to their horror, the kid got in a shot and took Rokura's arms… They grew back fairly quickly, but still...

Mukago gasped and Kamanue felt his stomach clench and drop.

That had been Waxing Moon speed.

How was he not a Pillar?!

Beside him, Mukago curled in on herself. "We should run…"

"If we run, we die!" Kamanue shot at her. "This is our last chance. Do you think Lord Muzan will accept anything else? If we fight here – if we go all out together, we might stand a chance!" As much as he hated to support her of all people, he also wanted to live.

In the clearing, Wakuraba began raining down his Blood Art shuriken as Rokura backed off for a moment, staring blankly at his arms as they finished growing back. His loss of his mental faculties at this stage was very much not helping.

"All out? H-how?" Mukago asked.

"Don't you have your final form of your blood art?"

"I lose all my healing and regeneration if I choose one form and all of my speed and strength if I choose the other!" she hissed.

"Well, choose one!" he said. Then he held up a handful of shikigami. "And put these around your neck. It'll provide more protection at least." They both knew it wouldn't add nearly enough from a direct blow, but it might be able to deflect a grazing slice.

In the clearing, Rokura roared and flung himself back at the demon slayer, who jumped up and over the charge, but it cost him. He grit his teeth as three of Wakuraba's X-es landed home in his legs.

"See!" Kamanue said, "we can take him! We just need more fighters and maybe a distraction."

"A… distraction?" she asked, blinking as she realized something. Then she grinned. "I've already made eye contact with him."

"Why didn't you use that before?" he almost screamed.

"Easy for you to say, hiding here!"

"I'm doing what I'm supposed to!" He pointed to the walls of shikigami that he'd built. It wouldn't truly stop either one of the combatants if they were desperate enough, but it did give a basic area to work with, keeping other demon slayers out more than anything else. "Now are you going to take my protection or not?"

He sent a small group of paper dolls towards her and she reluctantly allowed them inside her guard. He'd have to burn them later as they'd touched her… but it would be worth it.

"Fine!" she said and changed form, then stepped out into the clearing.

The kid's eyes widened when he saw her… and in the middle of the fight, he froze.

(Seriously, she should have used that before! This was why she was still a Waning Moon!)

"Nezu… ko?"

Funny… she still looked like a demon. Was that Mukago losing control of her power or…?

Rokura, thank Muzan, didn't waste time, grabbing the kid by the neck just as several more of Wakuraba's X-es made their home in his back. He gasped, eyes going wide in pain before clenching shut. The X-es would melt soon – they were made of Waning Three's blood after all – but for now, they were either very lucky those hadn't pierced his heart, or Wakuraba was a better shot than any of them had given him credit for.

The kid grit his teeth, only opening one eye, the other still squeezed shut in pain, as he looked over at Mukago.

"Nezuko… what? Why? How…?!" he managed to get out around Rokura choking him. It sounded like more than just physical pain. Was that why he'd become a demon slayer? Because he'd lost this… whoever it was? Had she become a demon?

Behind them, Wakuraba came wandering out of his hiding place, holding a red spear in his hand and grinning.

"Well, it looks like we got 'im."

The kid struggled, and raised his blade.

"Onii-chan! Don't!" Mukago cried out.

So the girl was his sister? Just how much of the other person's relationship and memories did Mukago get with her 'mirror' ability? (It just wasn't fair that someone as lazy as her got such an amazing blood art.

The kid froze, staring at her.

"Please… just let them take you…"

For several seconds, the forest remained quiet and it looked like the kid had given up. He looked down, eyes closed. Kamanue relaxed a bit and edged into the clearing.

Then the demon slayer changed.

"Don't you…" he said, voice practically a growl as he grabbed his sword with both hands. "Use her face!"

Then he looked up and Kamanue gasped. Those weren't the eyes of a human… not the bright red – almost pink – and definitely glowing ones that said 'Waxing Zero'.

What?!

"Hinokami Kagura; Clear Blue Sky!" His sword swung up and Kamanue could swear he heard the kid's neck break as he swung! He shouldn't be able to even move! No human should even…

But he did.

A circle of flame appeared, and shot out, pushing them all back.

And then the kid disappeared.

"Mukago, now's a good time to use your final form!" Kamanue said, retreating back into the bush, pulling out more shikigami as he did.

Wakuraba raised his spear he'd been leaning on, tensing to fight again, but something cut through it… and took his head with it. "Hinokami Kagura: Waltz." The kid appeared for just a moment, swung, decapitated Waning Three, and then vanished again.

Mukago reverted to her normal form and a duplicate appeared beside her. The only one she had left. They locked hands.

"Kuro no Gappei!" she yelled. The two of them merged into one. Instead of the half-white, half-black fur around her collar, it was now completely black. So she'd gone for offense? Surprisingly brave of her. Also very necessary in this instance.

Her speed doubled and she leaped forward, intending to work with Rokuro just as the kid turned to fight the approaching Waning Moon Two. The blows that followed… he couldn't see. Off to the side, Wakuraba's body was disappearing and all of the remaining X-es, as well as the spear in his hand, melted away. That meant it was up to Kamanue to provide long distance support. His walls were built, so he could concentrate on that now… he hoped it would be enough.

He sent a fist-full of shikigami out towards the fighters, directing them to follow and attack him when he leaped away. The kid swung, cut through and burned many of them, so Kamanue sent out more.

He was running out though… and it would take time to make more…

The kid disappeared again, reappearing behind Rokura, who managed to turn in time to have his fist cut right down the center. The kid didn't let it stop, making sure it followed through, although it didn't cut Rokura's neck. But that was close. The Waning Two yelled in pain and fury, backing off to heal as he literally held himself together. In his place, Mukago rushed forward, swinging at the kid's side, but he dodged (somehow) again!

Kamanue redoubled his efforts, directing the shikigami at the kid's back and neck and whatever else he could get to. The boy winced and then seemed to get angrier. His wounds healed almost immediately, but he wiped his hand (his clawed and flexed hand) along where the shikigami had cut him, smearing his fingers with the remaining blood, and then flung his arm out wide.

"Demon Blood Art: Palm Fire Explosion!"

Waning Six's eyes shot open wide… wait, did he just—?!

But he didn't even have time to finish thinking that sentence as a red flame shot from the boy's hand and literally exploded throughout the clearing. He tried to get ahead of it, but it spread so quickly…

And then pain. PainpainPAIN!

The world burned and he couldn't think of anything else – couldn't see that the forest around him was, in fact, not burning. Couldn't see the boy land in the center of the clearing while the other two demons screamed. The fire wouldn't – couldn't – kill them, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

No sooner had the boy landed, than he launched forward and cut off both of their heads with a cry of "Hinokami Kagura: Raging Sun!"

Their cries stopped and their bodies burned away. Kamanue saw this out of the corner of his eye and knew he had to move… he had… to get away…

The fire – blessedly, thankfully – stopped, and he tried to get up. All of his shikigami were gone – burned in the fire, so he had nothing to work with – no weapons… no wonder he was still the weakest of the Twelve Kizuki. (How was he the only one still alive of the Waning Moons? Except for Rui...)

He rolled over and managed to get to his hands and knees, then went to stand as his skin began rebuilding itself… but it was too little, too late. One moment he had reached out to grab a tree trunk, and the next, the kid was there, standing over him, looking down with determined eyes that also somehow seemed sad… even with the kanji written in them.

Was this all a farce? Had Lord Muzan sent him to kill them all? Was he somehow infiltrating the demon slayers? This made no sense.

The last thing he saw were those eyes – eyes that should be a deep brown-red, but were now glowing bright… and still so kind and infinitely sad…

Then his sword slashed down.

xXx

Imagawa didn't know what to do. The silk threads turning people into puppets were attached by spiders and there were so many spiders everywhere! Slicing each one with a sword did nothing, but seemed to be the only way to kill them, and they were already fighting their comrades and trying to cut the threads attached to them. They hadn't lost anyone yet, but more than one person had a broken arm or leg and it was just a matter of time and where was Kamado-san?!

And then the fire came, spreading over the mountain and Imagawa knew he was going to die.

He didn't want to die…

And yet, he hadn't run. He was so proud of himself for not running.

Others tried to run, but Imagawa just stood there, letting his sword drop and waiting for the fire. It flew past them and he scrunched his eyes shut, expecting pain.

It never came.

Gasping, he realized that the fire didn't burn… it felt warm. He'd even describe it as comforting somehow… but this couldn't be anything but a demon art… just… what?!

Then he noticed the spiders, burning, withering, and flaking away as if they never was. He blinked in confusion and from the yelps of surprise from the other demon slayers, he wasn't the only one.

More shrieks and screams and then… it was over. The fire vanished as if it never were, burning away anything that had been demonic. Blinking, he looked down the mountain a little ways and saw Miyabe standing there, looking about as flabbergasted as he felt.

No, seriously… WHAT?!

For the second time that night, his friend looked to be at a loss of words. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, and then she just looked back to where the fire had come from.

The same place Kamado had disappeared to.

"Kamado-san…" he said.

"Go," Teruano said from where he lay with a broken leg, drawing both of their attention.

"What?" Imagawa asked.

"We have enough here for now. Go support Kamado!"

"But—"

"He's just a kid!" Taruano said, his dark hair slick with sweat and sticking to his forehead. Imagawa felt something similar happening with his own short pony tail. They were tired and tense and had been fighting for far too long…

But Taruano was right.

"Hai," he said. "Miyabe?"

She nodded at him, and they took off through the trees.

They encountered no more demons, and it took them over an hour to find Kamado Tanjiro, collapsed against a tree on the edge of a clearing, sword right by him.

Miyabe found him first. "Imagawa!" she called (insisting that since they'd saved each other's lives, there were no need for formal suffixes. It still made him blush a little, even as he raced towards her).

Everything else flew out of his mind when he saw her kneeling besides Kamado, lightly slapping his cheeks. Much to their relief, he groaned and forced his eyes open. Red-brown irises and round pupils met his and then closed again.

"Kizuki," he muttered.

Both Imagawa and Miyabe stiffened.

"What?" Miyabe asked.

"Waning… Moons… gone?" He barely seemed to be able to open his mouth, slurring the sounds out with great difficulty.

"Waning Moons?! As in plural?!" Miyabe asked worriedly, looking around. Imagawa did as well, but they found nothing.

"Everyone… okay?" Kamado gasped.

Miyabe and Imagawa exchanged glances. "The last we saw, yes," Miyabe finally reassured.

"Good," Kamado said with a small smile… and then he collapsed.

"O-oi! Kamado!" Imagawa yelped.

Miyabe quickly checked him over, but he looked fine. "Not a scratch on him. No bruising, no swelling that I can see, no broken bones…" she bit her lip. "If there are Waning Moons around here, I think we need to risk moving him…"

Imagawa nodded and went to grab his arm.

"I'll carry him," Miyabe said. "You have more techniques that can defend us. Mine are all power. Besides," she winked at him, "I'm bigger."

He snorted, feeling a little of his fear and worry melt away. "Whatever. You are not bigger. I'm taller."

She shrugged and laid Kamado across her shoulder. Imagawa bent down and picked up his black blade. Huh. Black. He'd never heard of someone with a black blade before. Was that because of his Sun Breathing Style that he'd mentioned?

"You coming?" Miyabe asked.

"Yeah," Imagawa said hurriedly and went to run after her when something caught his eye. It was a series of tracks in the mud. He leaned down and looked at them… they were much larger than Kamado-sans…

After a moment of studying, he quickly stood and rushed after her. "He must have fought someone here – maybe the source of the fire? They were large."

Miyabe stiffened a little, but otherwise simply kept walking. "Guess we better keep an eye out, then."

And with an unconscious fourteen-year-old recovered, they hurried down the mountain as quickly as they could, only really relaxing when they came across the kakushi helping their teammates.

Even though at least four people quit the demon slayer corps after that, their group hadn't lost a single person.

xXx

"Caw! Caw! Report!" The Kasugai crow called out as it landed on Kagaya's table, drawing his attention away from the papers in front of him.

"Ah, yes. You are Kamado-san's crow, Hachiko-san. Welcome. Please, tell me what has happened at Mount Natagumo."

"Kamado Tanjiro has defeated Waning Moons two, three, four and six. Alone."

Kagaya's eyes widened and he stared at the crow with his fading vision, wondering if his hearing had gone too because…

"Please, explain."

And the crow did.

xXx

AN: Yes, I do think that the crows are sentient at least and semi-sapient. Also, I've been informed that it is Mukago instead of Mugako. So it's changed here and I'll go back and change the other chapter later.

After quite a bit of back-and-forth between Tim, Quathis and I, we came up with all of these blood arts for the demons. I'm pretty happy with them, but it is just our imagination, and by no means canon at all whatsoever. I know that Mukago/Mugako seems to have a LOT of different powers here, but it's really just one with a couple of interesting applications and some minor enhancements thrown in. She has a 'mirror' demon blood art, which has two base forms and a final form, really. Base form one allows her to mirror the most precious person of whoever's eyes she looks into. (Notice she looked into Rui's eyes and his most precious person at that time was himself… just saying.) Base form two is her using her 'mirror' ability on herself. This results in identical doppelgangers, up to three (yes, this says a lot about her too). Final form allows all of any remaining clones to join back to her for a temporary boost/power up. I do think she got one of the most versatile powers, but she was also the one Muzan said was planning on running form any pillar she came across. So… *shrug* take that as you will.

Will be posting a side/sister story with the bios we came up for them if you're interested. :)

AN: discord. gg/EVUrHMd4za (no spaces)