Daki was furious. No, beyond furious! She was livid! How dare these… these brats – these mere humans – challenge her and fight her so well? They weren't even Hashira! But they had to be close because why else would they give her – a Waxing Moon in Muzan-sama's personal favor – such a difficult time? They'd even figured out that if both she and Nii-san lost their heads, they'd die.
Still, she was sure she could win. The brats weren't faring so well anymore, even if their fighting ability had only increased as the battle wore on. They were slowing down.
With much glee (and more than a little relief) she pointed that out to them.
She sent a barrage at the two again and grinned when they could barely keep her from overwhelming them. Just a couple more minutes and—
Movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see two people coming their way and from the way they moved…
"Nii-san!" she cried out, both in fear and warning. "More Pillars!"
The distraction as the two Pillars touched down almost cost her. The two boys attacked at once and it was all she could do to stretch her neck out via scarf. Then she shot more of her scarves at the brats. She had to take care of them so she could help her Nii-san.
And there! The lightning boy tripped! She rushed forward, willing her scarves to go faster and harder than ever before—
White got in the way, sending swings of a blade so quick they created a miniature storm to redirect all of her scarves! It was one of the Pillars!
How dare he?!
How dare…
She paused and realized exactly what she was seeing, even as she swept aside the next attack by the boar-headed kid from behind.
This Pillar… he was…
He was…
UGLY.
Well, he might have been somewhat good looking if he didn't have all those scars all over and was growling at her like… well, a demon. She frowned, but then dismissed that thought in favor of redoubling her efforts.
He fought like a man possessed, though, arms moving at such a speed she couldn't get past his guard and had to block some long-range attacks of his own. How was he doing that? How was he – a human – doing that? With a sword?!
And then she saw his tongue…
That… that wasn't normal…
And then she saw his eyes, and her own widened.
Oh.
Oh.
Except… why? Why was a demon fighting for the Demon Slayer Corps? WHY?!
Did it matter? She'd have to kill him anyway… somehow! Tie him up and leave him for the sun, maybe? And then she and Nii-san could feast on the bodies she could smell. It almost made her mouth water.
And… the other demon's was watering too.
She grinned and shot another set of attacks at him, but he'd parry them, so if she could get him off to one side… right there! Maybe she could tempt him with a little blood of one of his compatriots. The lightning kid had remained behind the man, likely looking (except his eyes were closed still… listening, perhaps?) for another opening.
The white-haired man's sword fell to his left, and she was already attacking to his right, going straight for the kid. The scarf went right by his head and he could do nothing about—
What.
What?!
He'd turned his head and…
And bit her scarf!
She was honestly so shocked she didn't really know what to do.
And then…
And then he started eating it?!
She shrieked in outrage and actually raced forward, towards the man.
She didn't see or sense the boar-headed kid coming up behind her again, or the lightning kid readying himself. All she knew was this demon was eating her!
Of all the indignities of this night, this was by far the worst! The absolute worst!
She would…
And then her head was spinning off, away from her body.
What?!
She caught a glimpse of the boar-headed kid and the lightning kid separating in either direction…
Her head landed in the dirt and she could only stare back up at the boys that had beheaded her, both steering clear of the demon that had attacked her body and was literally tearing into her arms with his teeth.
She shrieked again, but before she could get much out, a plop had her turning her eyes as another head landed right across from her, looking at her just as shocked as she felt.
She blinked.
"O...Onii-san?"
xXx
Tanjiro clutched the child he'd (turned… hurt) saved to his chest as he pushed himself as far and as fast as he could while not hurting the girl. She was asleep, though, and he couldn't possibly hurt a demon… not permanently. And yet… he couldn't bring himself to put this child through more potential pain than she'd already been through, so he grit his teeth and pushed himself as fast as he dared.
He used his new understanding of the Lightning Breathing style to make it to the red-light district in a third of the time it would normally take, even traveling at a typical Pillar pace.
He was still too late. The kakushi were cleaning everything up when he got there well into the early morning, treating people, patching up large gaps in buildings, carrying bodies away, etc. His stomach sank when he saw that, knowing that he wasn't the only one who would feel guilty they hadn't been able to save everyone, even if he knew that was an unrealistic expectation at best.
He actually found Sanemi first as the other demon was standing on the ridge beam of a roof of one of the tallest buildings in town – so one of the fancier brothels that seemed to have come off relatively unscathed.
"Sanemi!" he said as he leapt up to the ridge beam himself. The wind Pillar looked back at Tanjiro and he knew something had happened. He could sense the other man's disappointment and self-directed anger. "What's wrong?"
"What are you doing here?" the Wind Pillar asked right back, causing Tanjiro to pause.
The time-traveler frowned. "I got a message from my sister."
Sanemi's now slitted eyes narrowed for a second, but then he snorted and turned to look back out over the city without commenting further. Part of Tanjiro wanted to laugh because some things never changed, like the Wind Pillar's grumpiness, but how he expressed it, apparently, did. He honestly would have expected Sanemi to yell at him right now. The fact that he hadn't only reinforced his idea that something had happened.
"Kamado," a low voice from behind had him turning around to see Iguro on the roof tiles. He must have still been recovering from the battle because he looked a little winded.
"Iguro-san," he acknowledged. "What happened?"
The man just cocked his head to one side, petting his snake. "She said you'd come."
Tanjiro blinked. "She? Nezuko? Where is she? Is she okay?" The blindfold he wore slipped a little, so he reached up and pulled it down all the way, leaving it hanging around his neck awkwardly. He didn't care.
Iguro glanced at Sanemi and the Sun Pillar followed his gaze. The white-haired demon kept his eyes firmly on the lightening horizon and waved his hand at the two of them, telling them to go on.
"I'm fine."
Tanjiro didn't think he was, but the man also didn't seem to be dying… nor did he seem that hungry from what the time-traveler could sense.
Oh.
"Y-yeah," Tanjiro said. "Let's go, Iguro-san."
"This way," the snake Pillar said, but paused to cough wetly. That… didn't sound good. Was the man injured?
They jumped from roof to roof, Tanjiro still carrying the limp form of Kimiko over his back.
"Who did he eat?" he asked the older Pillar softly when he was far enough away that Sanemi wouldn't overhear him.
Iguro-san snorted. "The demon he was fighting."
"Oh," Tanjiro blinked. Then he realized the only demons he knew of in the vicinity were… "He ate Daki and Gyutaro?!"
The Serpent Pillar stopped on the roof he'd just been about to leap off of and looked back at his fellow Pillar.
"Of course you'd know everything about them."
"Well, yeah. I infiltrated the Waxing Moons. Of course I knew them. They were killed, right?"
The man snorted. "Yes." He went to jump to the next roof but stumbled and fell to the ground coughing again.
"Iguro-san!" Tanjiro yelled, rushing forward.
"I've come to get you to burn out some pois—" before he could finish, the coughing continued, cutting off what he'd been about to say. Tanjiro couldn't see the man's mouth, but he could see the red staining the inside of the scarf he wore.
The time traveler's eyes widened. "You fought Gyutaro?"
"What of it?" the Serpent Pillar asked angrily, his voice hoarse.
"Why didn't you say so?!" Tanjiro practically shrieked. He shifted Kimiko on his back and scratched his palm with his claw. "Demon blood art: Palm Fire."
Before the older man could do anything else, Tanjiro had his hand out and Iguro's form was enveloped in flames. The older man's eyes widened and his snake twisted even more tightly around his neck, but he didn't say anything otherwise. The time-traveler, on the other hand, was kicking himself for not noticing the Serpent Pillar's sickly pallor or the darkness under his eyes or how his breath came out shallow and pained. Only a couple of seconds later, he had already begun to breathe easier, but Tanjiro kept the fire going until he could sense nothing of what he'd been burning away.
"There," he said with a smile. "That should help."
"Yeah," Iguro said. He looked up at Tanjiro, then looked away. "Thanks," he muttered.
"No problem!" Tanjiro grinned, relieved. He went back to making sure Kimiko was secure.
"What's with the girl?" the older Pillar asked, nodding to the child sleeping on Tanjiro's shoulder.
"Oh! This is Kimiko," he glanced over, his eyes softening sadly when he saw her green hair. "She… was a demon chasing down a human. I couldn't bring myself to kill her or try to cleanse her and potentially torture her to death, so…" he trailed off, not liking having to admit the only other option aloud.
He expected some push back or pained reaction from the Serpent Pillar. Thankfully, he said nothing. Instead, he studied Tanjiro and the girl for a second, then said, "Hmph," and turned. "This way."
They continued on for another couple of streets before Iguro dropped to the ground of an alleyway and led Tanjiro up to a sliding shoji door that looked more or less like every other sliding shoji door in the area. The neighborhood seemed rather run down and poor, especially compared to the lavish, over-the-top decorations of the part of the district they'd just come from.
Tanjiro was glad to be away from it, though. He'd never much cared for gaudy.
Inside, they found a small receiving room. Tanjiro removed his shoes after Iguro did, then the younger followed the elder over the worn tatami mats and into the next room where they found several people laid out and being tended to, mainly by women, all with hairstyles that denoted they were from one of the brothels. Perhaps rescued from Daki's sashes? He hoped so.
Those on the ground included Uzui with his three wives curled up next to him, sleeping (they'd been rescued then, thank goodness), Zenitsu, and Inosuke. There was also empty bedding in one corner. The moment the women saw who had entered, they immediately rushed over, tittering.
"You left so quickly!" one said to Iguro.
"You should be resting!" another insisted.
"Thank you," Iguro said, a little shortly, "but I'm fine."
"But," the first one started, however, she stopped when the Serpent Pillar held up his hand.
"This is Kamado Tanjiro and… Kimiko," he gestured to his companions. The women turned their attention on the newcomers and gasped when they saw Tanjiro's eyes and the kanji in them. They may or may not have noticed that the girl slumped over his back had six hands and no feet.
Iguro ignored their reactions. "They will be able to take care of the poison."
"Who else needs it?" Tanjiro asked.
"Just Uzui and… your sister," Iguro said quietly.
The time-traveler's eyes widened. "Where is she?"
"In another room," the Serpent Pillar responded, expression not giving a hint of the situation away. "But she's more stable than Uzui-san as far as we know. He lost consciousness about an hour ago and his pulse has been slowly getting weaker."
Tanjiro had to crush down every single brotherly instinct he had so as not to rush to his sister's side. Instead, he forced himself to nod. He'd have to take Iguro's word for it, and he would. So he knelt down by Uzui's side. His wives had already woken and were staring at him warily. He could see cuts, scrapes and bruises on them, as well as Hinatsuru's sickly pallor. Right, she'd drunk poison to fake a sickness to get away from Daki's scrutiny. Maybe he could burn that out of her too.
"He'll help," Iguro said calmly, reassuring the women. That surprised Tanjiro a little, but he sent the man a grateful smile before turning back to the prone form before him.
At least he hadn't lost his arm this time.
Taking a breath, Tanjiro scratched his palm again.
"Demon Blood Art: Palm Fire."
Several gasps sounded and everyone not in the know backed away in fear. Tanjiro ignored them, focusing on the poison he could somehow sense. Maybe there was something to that? He filed that thought away and continued to burn it away.
A tenseness in Uzui melted away and his breathing eased as the purple, bruise-like marks Gyutaro's poison created faded away.
After a couple of minutes, Tanjiro felt nothing else and then moved his fire to Hinatsuru. She yelped, but after a moment, she also relaxed, albeit with a wary look on her face.
That… hurt more than he thought it should. He'd stayed in touch with the shinobi in his first life and had considered them pretty close friends.
Like with everything else, though, he pushed that aside for later. He had a job to do.
Just a couple of seconds was all it took to get the poison out of Hinatsuru's system and he let the fire fall. Silence blanketed the room for several seconds after that, then Suma let out a loud wail and threw herself on Uzui.
"His pulse is back!" she cried.
"What, really?" Makio asked loudly.
"What's all the noise?!" Inosuke suddenly shouted. "I was sleeping!" Tanjiro looked over at the boy who had just jumped up and was yelling loudly, shaking his fists angrily. Next to him, Zenitsu curled up into a ball and threw the blanket over his head, then turned away.
"Be quiet," he whimpered.
Tanjiro just smiled as the now wary attending women tried to get Inosuke to lay back down again. It looked like everyone had gotten out of this alright.
Well, almost everyone.
He turned to Iguro.
"Where's Nezuko?"
The Serpent Pillar just nodded and turned to walk out of the room. Tanjiro followed wordlessly, ignoring the eyes on his back.
There was another empty room through the next doors, except for several kakushi standing guard outside the door.
Iguro paused in front of them. "I'll be able to take over from here. Go help with clearing out the town."
The black-clad people bowed and calmly walked past Tanjiro, then out the door they'd just entered from.
Tanjiro's stomach was sinking.
"Iguro-san… why isn't Nezuko with the others? Why was she seperated?"
The Snake Pillar didn't turn around. "They targeted her again. They want one of you Kamado's so badly… He pumped so much demon blood into her – not just a couple of drops like last time – I'm surprised she's lasted as long as she has."
The world seemed to fade away from Tanjiro for a moment as the old, familiar fear practically stopped his heart. In only seconds, it was replaced by a less familiar but still well-known, all-consuming rage that rose, unbidden, within him. It was a special kind of rage usually only entertained in regards to Muzan… but this wouldn't be the first time he'd practically wanted to rip one of the Waxing Moons apart either. With his bare hands.
He hated feeling like this. He despised it. And yet, every time something happened to his family… Every time.
"Kamado!"
Iguro's voice broke through the red haze somehow and he stared angrily at the man.
After several seconds, Iguro answered his unspoken question. "You were growling."
It took a couple of seconds for the words to register, but when they did, Tanjiro closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.
"Apologies."
Iguro just sat there for several more seconds.
"I'm glad you're with us and not him."
As tersely and coldly as the words were delivered, they went a very long way to calming Tanjiro. He couldn't quite bring himself to smile at the man, but he did nod.
"Thank you, Iguro-san."
The older man simply opened the door and then stood aside, gesturing for Tanjiro to enter.
"Could you hold Kimiko-chan for me?" the time-traveler asked.
Iguro backed away a little, wary, but after a moment he nodded and held out his arms, albeit with a grimace. Tanjiro shifted the girl into the other's grasp. She didn't so much as stir.
"If there are any problems, let me know."
Iguro nodded. Tanjiro returned the gesture. Then he looked at the doorway and walked in. The Serpent Pillar slid the door shut behind him, leaving the room in almost complete darkness. That didn't bother him. Demon eyes could see very well in the dark.
It took him a moment to find the quivering form of his sister curled up in a corner.
"Nezuko?" he asked carefully.
She looked up and Tanjiro's heart stopped again (if it kept doing that, he wasn't sure he'd recover, demon or not). Her eyes glared at him, glowing pink and slitted. Then she shifted and jumped at him, growling, fingers poised to rip and tear.
It brought back so many memories he hadn't had to deal with in so long.
That suddenly, he wasn't in a crowded city, but on a mountain, in the snow, desperately fighting off his sister as she tried to eat him. He wasn't a former kizuki or a demon slayer with years (lifetimes) of training under his belt, but a child desperately clinging onto the only other family member he had left.
"Nezuko!" he screamed in desperation.
In the memory, she barely reacted to him as he tried to fend her off with the only weapon he had – the ax. But in the present, she responded, eyes widening and…
And then they were normal, pupils round and the glow fading back to her usual color.
She stumbled, gaze fixed on her brother.
They stood there for what could have been moments or an eternity.
Then the tears came to her eyes, brimming and then spilling…
And the memories of the mountain again.
It was… disconcerting, how he kept falling back into that first lifetime again and again and again.
"O-onii-san?" she whispered, and those words more than anything else dragged him to the present. Nezuko, the demon from his memories, couldn't talk.
He rushed forward, enveloping her in a hug, uncaring if she tried to attack him. He'd survive.
"Nezuko."
She latched onto his haori, fingers curling tightly as she sobbed. "It… hurts."
He winced. "The hunger?" he asked quietly.
She shook her head, then paused. "I mean… yes… I mean… sometimes. But I'm fighting it, Nii-chan… I'm fighting it so hard. Sometimes I can… and sometimes I can't…." She hid her face in his chest.
Tanjiro's arms tightened around her.
"I don't want to be a demon," she whispered, her breath shuddering.
"I know," he said back softly.
"I can feel him fighting me…" Nezuko said. "I can feel him… but he doesn't have me… yet."
And Tanjiro's grip tightened even more, a growl escaping him.
He knew what he had to do… but he hated it.
"I can burn it out, Nezuko," he said softly. "I can burn it… but it will hurt more than this does."
Her shaky breath hitched as she thought about that.
"Do it," she said finally, her voice barely audible, even in the silence of the room.
Tanjiro winced. "Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"But…"
"Please." She sounded so desperate and tired… and he couldn't say no to that.
"Take off your Haori," he said softly.
She looked up at him, frowning in confusion. (Her teeth were sharp… he tried not to wince.)
"What?" she asked.
"You'll need something to bite onto."
Her round, purple-brown eyes blinked and then she closed them and nodded, shrugging off the haori with jerky movements that spoke of how difficult it was for her to consciously control her body.
"I'd let you use mine, but I just came from a rain-storm and am covered in day-old mud and travel grime."
She didn't laugh or even smile at his poor attempt to lighten the mood, but just nodded and grit her teeth.
"You can use mine as a pillow, though," he said, taking his own Haori off and folding it so the lining faced out. Then he put it under her head, letting her lay back softly.
"Here," he said, after rolling her haori up. "I know you love it, but…"
"I understand," she hissed, veins popping out all over her skin.
"Stay… OUT!" she growled, and her eyes were pink again… but her teeth looked normal.
He stuck the roll of material in her mouth and she bit down, hard.
"I'm sorry," he whispered before he scraped his palm.
"Palm Fire."
She screamed. Even muffled by the material in her mouth, the pained shrieks echoed around the otherwise empty room as her back arched and her head whipped back and forth.
Tanjiro couldn't stand it – couldn't stand seeing it or being a part of it… He started to let the fire die. They'd find another way or he'd get her to the Butterfly Estate where they could put her under and—
She grabbed his arm with her clawed hand, eyes staring at him hard.
Keep going, they said, despite the tears flowing down the side of her face.
He didn't want to.
Kami, he did not want to!
He shook his head, but her grip tightened.
I can take it.
He could practically hear her words.
He grit his own teeth and looked away. Then, ignoring his own wet cheeks, he pushed more will into the fire. It all but erupted and she went back to screaming. Behind him, he heard Iguro open the door, but no one approached him. Eventually the door slid closed again, leaving them alone.
He sobbed as he put his sister through the absolute worst pain of her entire life, pushing harder as he helped the war raging inside her – a war between demon and human; a war she'd been losing. But now… now she had a chance… even if it came at such a steep cost.
He didn't know how long it took to burn everything out, but eventually, he did. Nezuko slumped, exhausted, and he let the fire fade, leaving them in darkness once again. After a moment, he gently reached over and took the roll of material out of her mouth, seeing that she would, indeed, have to repair it. He winced, but then shook his head. That was a small price to pay…
"Onii-san…" she whispered, her voice harsh and pained, but also relieved. Then she sighed. "Thank you."
He leaned down, touching his forehead to hers.
"You're so amazing, Nezuko."
She huffed what was likely meant to be a giggle, but she obviously didn't have enough energy to really deliver it.
"I'll… sleep now."
"Okay," he said as her eyes closed.
Once her breathing had settled into a rhythm, not minutes later, he brushed the sweaty hair out of her face. His brave, amazing little sister. One day he hoped he could be as strong as her.
Eventually, he stood and walked over to the door, sliding it open. He didn't know how he looked, but from the expression on Iguro's face, he could guess it wasn't good.
"She'll be fine," he said. Well… he hoped. That was all he could do for the moment.
Iguro nodded, looking relieved himself.
"We have to leave, though."
The Serpent Pillar frowned with just his eyes and Tanjiro explained. "Muzan is a coward and evil, but he isn't stupid. He knows Nezuko was here. He knows she was fighting him and the transformation. He knows she was losing. And then, suddenly, whatever connection he was trying to build vanishes? He'll put two and two together. If we want any people here to survive, we all need to leave… now. If not, we'll be dealing with Kokushibo again or Muzan himself. In our current condition, we won't stand a chance."
Iguro's eyebrows drew together as he listened to and thought over Tanjiro's words. Then, finally, he nodded.
"I'll inform the others and take Uzui myself. The Kakushi can clear out in minutes."
Tanjiro nodded. "I'll grab Sanemi on the way out of town. We'll head back to the Butterfly Estate."
"Your sister's companions will want to go with you," Iguro pointed out.
Tanjiro pondered that for a moment, but then nodded. "That's fine, as long as they hurry." Then he glanced at the little girl still in Iguro's arms. He held his hands out. "Here. I'll take Kimiko and Nezuko for now. We'll get situated better on our way out of town."
Iguro nodded and handed the girl over.
"Go quickly," Tanjiro said.
"You as well."
And with that, they parted ways.
xXx
Huge thanks to Kaylessa, TimeLordTim, Found and Quathis for their help on this chapter! :D No, really, those guys were a HUGE help with this!
So, last chapter was a mean cliffie, but I wasn't up for posting two chapters of this and one chapter of Inevitability, so I decided to give you a surprise chapter in the middle of the week. So... SURPRISE! *Jazz hands* You can thank my discord server for this. ;)
Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)
