Interlude

Fighting without seeing the end

Guest review answer corner.

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Guest: Genya is the definition of 'looks like he could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll' and he definitely could have used some friends in canon.

When you think about it, Tanjiro and Genya have a lot in common; they are both the (or one of the) eldest sons, they care about their families, Muzan screwed them over and they're more determined than almost anyone else (not counting the pillars).

Well, I guess I'll have to outlast you in enjoying the cheering and encouragement because I'm certainly not getting tired of receiving it before you get tired of giving it, hahaha.

Thanks for the review, until next time!

AzureFan2: Thanks, glad you like it!

I don't see my motivation wavering any time soon bu~t I won't deny that having more reviews would give me even more motivation, therefore making me want to write more and having the chapters out even sooner :)

I'm a he, by the way.

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Okay, this chapter will be significantly shorter than usual; there is a reason for it, though.

You see, while Tanjiro and Genya were fighting the demons, it's not like Ozaki and Murata were sitting on their thumbs waiting and so I want to show that, even if they're not the main focus, other Demon Slayers do things and aren't just there for the sake of being there.

As always, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say that I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba each chapter? Not rhetorical, this is a genuine question.


The downwards strike of a man wielding a club was easily side-stepped and then the assailant was hit back with the dull side of a katana.

The woman with the sword quickly took some distance between them and was then forced to parry a sickle by a new enemy before kicking them away.

A third one tried to catch her by surprise and grab her only for her arms to pass through the air as the swordswoman was already a few feet to its right.

This had been pretty much the entirety of Ozaki's fight; avoid being hit while keeping her assailants at a distance and move so she's not overwhelmed by numbers.

She wasn't too worried during this fight, even if controlled they were still humans, aside from the fact that they didn't get knocked out they couldn't hold a candle against a demon.

That was true at the beginning of the battle but now, a full two hours later, she was beginning to reconsider.

It's true that the controlled humans were nowhere near the threat that a demon posed but, unlike the demons, she couldn't cut off their heads and be done with it.

Ozaki was in great shape, she had to be if she wanted to survive her battles against Demons, not to mention Total Concentration Breathing it's not something you can pull off if your body isn't strong enough to handle it after all, but she was still very much human and fatigue was beginning to pile up as she was forced to constantly defend herself without the option to reduce the number of her assailants.

Another group tried to get her and she once again began to dodge, parry or block to then get some distance.

She did try getting out of their sight and hiding to rest for a moment around the half-hour mark but the second she wasn't seen they moved against some of the not controlled humans around or towards Murata who was getting people out of the burning buildings.

After they did that, she had no choice but to always stand somewhere they could see her, even worse, she had to be close enough so that they would attack her, if she got too much distance they would turn away to find other prey therefore forcing her to move closer and get their attention.

'Damn it, how much longer?' That question had been repeating itself in her mind from around the one hour mark, slowly chipping away at her mental fortitude.

Fighting is something she could do without issue but in every battle she has fought so far there was always an end in sight, the moment she cut off her opponent's head the battle was over, so even if it was a long fight she knows how to end it.

This was not the case now since there is no way for her to know when the fight will end. The only thing she can do is keep the 'puppets' busy while Tanjiro and Genya finish off the demon but even then, there is a chance that they are not able to win against it.

Worst case scenario, the demon would show up in town before the night ends forcing her to fight while exhausted.

Jumping backwards to avoid a sickle, the black haired woman took a deep breath to clear her head.

'Don't think like that, just believe those two will manage and continue fighting here.' Saying that to herself for the third time she poised her sword to receive the next group of assailants.

"Ozaki-san!"

"Murata, is the evacuation complete?" She asked, even as she began to maneuver around a group of enemies.

"Yes, I just emptied the last building." He answered and unsheathed his sword before drawing the attention of some of the 'puppets'.

"Good, now we just need to hold on until Tanjiro and Genya finish off the demon."

"Yes!"

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An hour later and the end of the fight was still nowhere in sight.

"You know? I think I never really paid much attention to it but I need to thank whoever made the uniforms." Ozaki said, standing with her sword held in her right hand, her left arm was hanging limply on her side.

"Yeah, I lost count of how many times I would have lost something important if it wasn't because of it." Murata answered, holding his weapon with both hands and ignoring the blood dripping from his cheek.

After Murata joined the fray the two managed to keep the controlled humans at bay with ease for quite some time but not long after every single 'puppet' that must have been scattered to attack the townspeople converged in their position, worst still, they flanked from both sides.

Knowing that they couldn't hold off that many while surrounded, they checked which side looked to have the least resistance and broke through.

They didn't do so without some wounds, though.

While the uniforms did a good job stopping sickles and other bladed weapons from cutting them, it couldn't stop the strength behind a hit so when Ozaki was blocking a strike from one of their foes, another one managed to catch her by surprise and hit her with a club; she managed to raise her left arm in time to block but the strength behind the hit was more than she expected, adding her fatigue and that she was still holding another enemy back and the attack ended up being far worse than what she needed.

At best, her bones are cracked, at worst broken.

'Any time would be good you two.' She thought, referring to her two juniors.

"Ghaaa-" Almost as if on cue, every single person there stopped moving before falling to the ground unconscious.

"…what the… did they do it?" Murata asked, shocked at the sudden end of their battle.

"Looks like it." Ozaki answered, letting out a sigh of relief before sheathing her sword. "Let the townspeople know that it's over and to come back again to help put down the fires, I'll begin on that while you go."

"Actually, it might be better if you go tell them." Murata said calmly, earning a look from the black haired woman. "My wounds are shallow in comparison and you must be way more tired than I am, not to mention I can use both arms." He explained himself.

"…fair point." Ozaki conceded. "Where are they now?"

"Go west and you will see a path inside of the forest, you can't miss it."

Nodding, the Tsuchinoto took off.


After she informed everyone that the situation was under control and asked their help putting down fires, most townspeople were somewhat sceptic, thinking that maybe she was being controlled by the demon. Luckily, Kei was there and she said she was going to go help. The others quickly joined, not about to let a little girl do all the work.

And so, everyone that wasn't injured began to help putting out the fires, going to the different wells, filling buckets with water and then passing them around.

The process was repeated over and over.

Meanwhile some people moved the humans that were previously controlled to the side and tended to the bodies of those that couldn't escape the demon's sudden attack.

'I know I should be happy we managed to limit the damage but…' Ozaki trailed off as she caught glance of a man crying over someone's body.

Shaking her head, she continued to help, making sure to not use her injured arm.


By the time the fires were finally all put out the sun was up and shining over the town; the damage could have been worse, all things considered, only a part of the buildings were razed to the ground while most of it was still more or less intact, with some buildings needing more repairs than others.

The death toll, while it also could have been worse, wasn't small and was by far the worst blow the town had received. Some people had even blamed the controlled humans for the death in their grief; luckily, some of the other townspeople maintained a level head and managed to control the situation before it would get bad. It would take time but they would recover.

With that done, Ozaki and Murata decided to go check on their juniors since they still hadn't come back.

"How far is that makeshift temple?" Murata asked Kei as the girl guided them.

"It's pretty far but we should be able to get there and back before lunch at our current pace." The girl answered, clutching the fox mask Tanjiro had given her to her chest as if wanting to avoid anything from damaging it. "I just hope they're okay."

"Don't worry, we'll probably end up finding them mid-way to the place." Ozaki assured her.

"But the red haired nii-chan didn't have his mask; he said it contained a protection spell, what if he's hurt because he left it with me?"

"Hehe, while having the mask may be good, there is no way he managed to defeat demons by just relying on it, don't worry." Murata answered her.

"Ozaki-san! Murata-san! Kei!" As they heard their names, the three looked forward and saw Tanjiro, Genya and at least ten other people walking in their direction.

The two Demon Slayers seemed to be okay, at least from a distance they couldn't see any obvious injuries.

The people walking behind them were another story, most of them looked injured, only a few in any major way, luckily, but… there were also some death among them, carried on the backs of the ones that looked to be in the best shape.

"Those are… Mom! Dad!" Kei yelled, ignoring everything else and running towards her parents.

"Kei!" The two yelled back, as they ran towards her and hugged her. The girl clearly took after her mother as they both had the same features as well as the same hair style and eye color while the father's eyes were brown and his hair was cut short and was a lighter shade of black.

"I-I was so worried! I thought you, you… wah!" She couldn't even finish her sentence as she began sobbing and burying her head in her parents' embrace.

The two Demon Slayers accompanying her smiled at the scene.

"What? No hug for me." Another voice asked.

"Nii-san!" Kei yelled as she looked up.

Her brother, much like her had black hair but inherited his father's eyes.

He was currently been helped to walk by another of the people rescued and he quickly helped him forward so he could join the family reunion.

"Everything okay?" Ozaki asked her two juniors even as she continued to smile at the scene.

"Yes, there was more than one demon but we managed to bring them down." Tanjiro answered.

"More than one?" Murata asked, surprised.

"We'll explain when we get back." Genya answered this time before stifling a yawn.

"Hmm, we're not going to be sent into a new mission immediately like before… right?" The Kamado asked nervously.

"Don't worry, if the crows haven't told us anything then we get one or two days of rest." Ozaki explained. "I believe we've earned them."

"Tell me about it, I feel like I could keel over at any second." Murata said with a sigh.

"Well, we still have to go back to town before we can rest." Tanjiro chimed in.

"They're right, come on." One of the freed prisoners said after overhearing them. "I want to get there as soon as possible."

A chorus of agreements followed that statement.

"Tanjiro-san." Kei called out, standing next to him. "Here, thank you for letting me borrow it."

"You're welcome, I trust it kept you safe." He answered with a smile as he took his fox mask.

"Yes! And you even saved my family, thank you very much!" She bowed before running off towards said family.

With smiles on their faces, everyone continued the path to the town.


And done!

Like I said, this chapter is considerably shorter than the others but I already explained why earlier so I'm not going to repeat myself.

If you're wondering why I didn't just put the fight at the town on the previous chapter, I tried, but I couldn't find a place to add it that felt right for me so I decided to make it its own chapter plus adding the aftermath of the battle from Ozaki and Murata's side.

I also thought about writing about 'Priest' and 'Miko' is backstories… but I felt like it would be adding words for the sake of doing so instead of for an actual purpose.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Don't forget to leave a review!

Until next time!