Offering a chance
Hello again!
Just a quick note, I genuinely had so much fun writing this chapter!
Alright, I'll leave you with it now.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu.
"Haaa, I'm suddenly getting nervous; I've never seen so many slayers together." Murata murmured.
He was among a group of twenty five other demon slayers, all of them marching in the same direction.
"How about you, Shinazugawa-kun?"
"…a bit." Genya admitted. "Then again, having so many people to fight with us is a good thing."
"True." The senior swordsman conceded.
"Ah! Hey, Shinazugawa, Murata!" The two turned in the direction where they heard their names and saw a familiar woman with black hair tied in a ponytail.
"Ozaki-san." Murata greeted. "It's been a while, how are your injuries?"
"All better." She answered, moving her previously injured arm around for emphasis. "How have you two been? Any injuries?"
"Not many, my uniform keeps getting torn, though." Genya answered, earning a surprised look from the older woman.
"Since when do you talk?" She asked with a teasing grin.
"Ah, th-that…"
"He is mellowed out quite a bit since you last met him." Murata commented after his partner trailed off.
"Shut up!" The teen yelled to hide his embarrassment, although that only earned him the attention of the other members around so he ended sighing to calm down. "Where is Tanjiro? Is he with you?"
"Ah, nah, he sent me a letter saying he got injured during a mission, he doesn't know when he will be ready to fight again." She answered.
"That's a shame, let's hope he recovers soon." Murata replied and Genya nodded in agreement.
"By the way, I'm surprised there are so many slayers together." The Mizunoto mentioned as he looked around. "It looks like a lot of them know each other too." He added when he saw that several groups talking to each other while walking.
"The squad system has been in place for a while; I'm not surprised they became friends." Ozaki mentioned.
"True… it kind of reassures me." Murata added. "Although… it's kind of scary to think all of these members are going in the same direction."
"Yeah, what demon could need these many people?" Genya wondered.
"That-"
"Hey, come on, we just want to-"
"Shut up!" The three turned towards the commotion, as did most of the corps members there, and saw a swordsman with black hair, a yin and yang collar and his sword strapped to his back yanking his arm away from another member's grip. "You can play buddies all you want but leave me out of it, I have seniority here, I only met with you because those were the orders but don't think I will babysit you."
"Wha-?! We just wanted to know your Breath Style to discuss formations!" Another slayer of that group yelled back.
"Like I care!" The one with his sword in his back yelled before walking ahead, shoving away with his shoulder any other corps member that stayed in his way.
"What's his deal?" Genya asked with a frown.
"I dunno… let's just hope his attitude doesn't come back to bite him." Murata replied with a similar expression.
"Yeah…" Ozaki trailed off. "In any case, I talked to some of the others before spotting you two, there are apparently rumors of several demons in the mountain we're going to, not just one."
"That's… unusual." Genya said carefully.
"Yeah, I was surprised when I heard that too." The only female of the three shrugged. "Not that it really matters, we still have a job to do."
"That's right." Murata nodded his agreement. "And hey, even if there is more than one demon, I don't think we'll have to worry with all these people around."
"There is a saying about there being strength in numbers." Ozaki supported.
"…let's hope so."
"Something wrong, Shinazugawa-kun?"
"No, no… I just have a bad feeling." He admitted. "It's probably just nerves, don't worry about it."
"Relax, as long as we watch each other's backs, everything will be alright!" Murata assured him as he palmed his back.
The Kanoe didn't know how wrong he was or that each step got him closer to a nightmare.
"Then, we're going." Tanjiro said to the owner of the Wisteria House. "Thank you for everything." Zenitsu and him bowed while Inosuke just stood there, looking.
It had taken almost a month but their wounds were finally healed and a crow had come with their new orders almost immediately after the doctor had cleared them.
It had been an interesting time.
Zenitsu had developed a huge crush on Nezuko and continued to try to get along with Tanjiro, probably to get his blessing, while Tanjiro refused.
It's not that he doesn't want his sister to find someone but, given her current condition, she can't be in a relationship of that sort. If, after she becomes human again and if she wishes to be with Zenitsu, he would support them.
He told Zenitsu as much and… well, he thought about having the doctor check his eyes because he is pretty sure he saw the blond swordsman 'melting' from happiness.
Inosuke, on the other hand, just continued to lunge at Tanjiro to try and start a fight, it never went further than them beginning to run around the place… although that wasn't exactly advisable but Inosuke wouldn't stop until he got bored and/or hungry so the Kamado didn't really have a choice if he wanted to avoid being hit.
"Now then, for good luck." Hisa, the old lady that took care of them, said after bowing and took a rock and a piece of wood with a metal part attached to it.
"Thank you very much!" Tanjiro said as he and Zenitsu turned around and Hisa approached them.
She began to hit the rock with the piece of metal in the wood, making sparks and-
"What do you think you're doing, old hag?!" Inosuke yelled, lunging towards her.
Tanjiro quickly grabbed him and Zenitsu got between the boar and the elderly woman.
"What are you, a moron?" The blond asked perplexed as Inosuke continued to struggle to get rid of Tanjiro's hold. "She's striking sparks for good luck! It's a purification ceremony! Because we're gonna go on a dangerous mission!"
Hearing the explanation, Inosuke stopped his struggle and Tanjiro let go of him after it looked like he calmed down.
"Sorry about that." The Kamado apologized for his friend.
"Don't worry about it." She assured him. "Always live your lives with great pride. I wish you luck in battle."
With that, the three demon slayers began to run in the direction the crow had given them while Hisa bowed until they were out of sight.
.
.
.
"Great pride? Luck in battle?" Inosuke suddenly said as they ran. "What does that mean?" He demanded.
Zenitsu gave him a 'this guy's clueless' look.
"Well, yeah, now that you mention it, it's kind of difficult." While Tanjiro thought of the best way to answer him. "With great pride… I guess it means that you know your place and that you behave properly so that you're never ashamed of yourself."
The masked teen simply stared at him.
"And the old lady is also praying for our safety." The Kamado added.
"…so, what is this 'place'? What do you mean, 'never ashamed'?"
"Well, it's-"
"What exactly does it mean to 'behave properly'?" Inosuke continued, interrupting the red haired teen. "Why in the hell would that old hag pray for our safety anyway? She has nothing to do with us, then why? She has no clue what her own place is, does she?"
At hearing those words and the tone they were said with, Tanjiro.
"Hmph." Turned around angrily and hastened his pace.
'He sped up!' Zenitsu thought.
"I won't get beat!" And Inosuke also began to run faster after him.
It wasn't supposed to go this way.
"Gah!"
"W-wait, what are you-?!"
"Damn it, move! Don't stay near each oth-gh."
'What is this?! What is this?!' Murata thought in panic.
The group of twenty demon slayers had divided into two units of ten each to cover more ground in the mountain they were going, Mt. Natagumo, so they could search the forest that covered it with more ease.
Yet, not long after they got in, something strange happened.
As someone who has been in this line of work for years, Murata is aware that, when it comes to demons, you should always keep your guard up since you never know where they could attack from, doubly so if they have a Blood Demon Art at their disposal.
He was prepared to respond to a sudden attack by a demon, that wouldn't have been an issue, but he was not prepared for what was happening in front of his eyes.
At least half the members of his unit were trying to attack the others, their movements forceful and unnatural as if they were possessed.
He had barely managed to take distance from all of them, like his now fallen comrade had advised before someone stabbed through his heart with a Nichirin blade.
Yet, even those that he knows are dead due to their injuries, rose up again to fight.
'What do I do? What can I do? This must be a Blood Demon Art, it is obvious but where is the demon, how can I find it? And how is it controlling them? I-'
"Murata!" His train of thought got interrupted when someone yelled his name and grabbed his arm. "Come on!" Then practically dragged him along and away from the rest of the unit, most of them dead from what he could see, yet still moving around, while the rest was trying to escape in different directions like he and the person dragging him were.
"Get a hold of yourself, dammit!" Genya yelled as he continued to run with his senior in tow.
"R-right! Sorry!" Murata apologized as he began to move on his own. "What happened there?! I mean, what kind of demon art could cause that?!"
"I don't know but we can't stay near them and then look for the demon responsible." The Mizunoto answered, looking behind over his shoulder and seeing the bodies of his comrades giving chase. "Shit, we need to lose them somehow."
"Y-yeah." Murata shook his head to regain his bearings. "Let's move to the foliage, we should be able to lose them there."
The Shinazugawa nodded and the two quickly turned towards it.
'I just hope Ozaki-san's group isn't going through the same.' The Kanoe thought worriedly.
'Damn it! We were too naïve!' Ozaki berated herself as she parried one of her comrades' blades.
It wasn't entirely her fault, facing demons and risking their lives is something normal for Demon Slayers and it's not like she went into the mountain with anything but a 'prepare for the worse' mentality.
She just never thought that the 'worse' would be to have her allies suddenly turn their swords at each other.
It was obviously a Demon Blood Art that was causing all this, three members of her unit already lay dead in the ground, with four others crying out to run away from them as their bodies moved against their will to attack them.
'Whatever this demon is, if it can do something like this…' Gritting her teeth, Ozaki leaped backwards and whistled for her crow. "Inform headquarters! This mountain is more dangerous than we originally thought, we require reinforcements!"
Her crow cawed twice before flying away.
"Alright, we just need to hold out until the help comes, keep your distance and do your best to avoid injuring them." Ozaki ordered to the other two members that were still alive and not under the influence of whatever technique the demons were using.
"Right!" One of them answered, preparing his sword.
"…screw that!" While the other one suddenly began to run.
"Wha-where do you think you're going?!" Ozaki yelled after the swordsman with the yin yang necklace.
"I just need to find the demon doing this and cut off its head, you can stay here and wait if that's what you want!" He yelled back as he continued to run.
Half of the controlled bodies quickly gave chase as the others moved to attack the two slayers still alive.
"Shit, Ozaki-san, we'll have to-" His words were cut short when something suddenly stabbed him from the back, he looked down and saw a katana protruding from his chest.
"No, I'm sorry, my body, it just…" Ozaki apologized repeatedly as the demon hunter realized what happened, the life quickly leaving his eyes as his body went limp and his sword fell to the ground.
Against her will, one of Ozaki's arms held the body while the other retrieved the sword.
"W-wait, don't… stop!" She could only look in horror as her arm swung and her weapon cut off her fallen comrade's head.
"Hold up!" Zenitsu suddenly yelled; him, Tanjiro and Inosuke had arrived close the place the crow told them to go when the blond suddenly told them to stop. "Would you mind waiting a second?"
"Zenitsu? What's wrong?"
"I'm scared, all right?" He answered tearfully while sitting on the ground with his knees close to his chest. "Now that we're nearing our destination, I'm so scared!"
"Why the hell is he sitting?" Inosuke asked looking down on him, in more ways than one. "How creepy is that?"
"I don't want to hear that from you, Pig face!" Zenitsu replied before pointing forward. "Don't tell me you're not getting any vibes from that mountain!"
The other two turned to said mountain.
'It does look… ominous.' Tanjiro admitted in his mind. "Still, what good will it do to just sit here?"
"I told you, he's creepy?"
"I am not in any way creepy! I'm normal! I'm the normal one! You guys are the abnormal ones!"
Tanjiro was about to answer when a scent entered his nostrils and he turned towards the mountain.
"…hey." The Agatsuma called out when his friend suddenly went silent. "What's wrong?"
"What is this smell?" The Kamado wondered out loud before running towards the mountain.
"Tanjiro!" Zenitsu called out, while Inosuke quickly gave chase. "Come on! Don't leave me here by myself!" He got up and ran after them, still calling out for them to not leave him.
The three quickly reached the foot of the mountain and saw a person holding a sword on the ground, face down.
"H-help me." He begged in tears.
"He's got our uniform on! Something must've happened!" The Kamado thought out loud as he ran towards him. "Are you all right? What happened?" Tanjiro moved to help him up when his body was suddenly lifted up by an invisible force and sent flying back towards the mountain.
"Th-they were attached to me, too! Help me!" His yell for help was drawn out as the demon hunter continued to unwillingly move towards the mountain.
The three could only stare in shock at the sudden development.
'That… it must have been a Blood Demon Art and-' The red haired teen's train of thought was cut when a scent entered his nostrils, one that made him shiver. 'What… was that? That…twisted scent…' Clenching his fist to stop shaking, he took a deep breath to calm down and steeled himself. "I'm going." He declared.
"Hmph." Inosuke suddenly walked forward, shoving Tanjiro away. "I'll go on ahead, you can follow me, shivering." The masked swordsman said. "This is making me hungry."
"Inosuke…" Tanjiro just stared at him, surprised that he seemed unaffected by what they just witnessed.
"This is challenging enough for you, right?" Zenitsu asked, once again sitting on the ground and shivering in fear.
"Let's go!" Inosuke yelled before running forward, Tanjiro quickly following him while the blond could only stare at them.
'This place feels wrong.' That was the first thing Inosuke thought when he entered the mountain. 'It's nothing like my mountain… something is definitely weird.' He continued to march regardless. 'Well, I just have to beat down whatever is giving me this weird vibe!' He suddenly stopped when he noticed something in his hands. "Huh? What the hell is this?"
Tanjiro looked at it and the around, it was easy to tell.
"A spider web?"
"Jeez, this place is full of spider webs! What a pain!" The Hashibira exclaimed as he began to shake his hands to get rid of the webs.
"You're right." His companion agreed absentmindedly. "Inosuke?"
"What do you want?" He half-yelled, ready for a fight with his arms crossed in front of him.
"Thanks."
"…huh?" He immediately dropped his stance and just stared at the red haired teen in confusion.
"You said you'd come with me, and I felt encouraged." Tanjiro explained with a smile while his friend continued to stare. "That twisted, ominous scent I was picking up from the mountain… it made me freeze a little." The Kamado admitted. "Thanks!"
Inosuke didn't move, he simply continued to stare as images of Hisa bringing him food or offering some clean clothes came back to him for a reason he couldn't understand. 'The hell is going on…?'
"Inosuke…" The moment was interrupted when Tanjiro called his name, staring at two figures moving while crouch wearing their uniform. "Let's go." He whispered before moving towards them, Inosuke quickly following behind.
'Hm, those are…' The closer they got, the more he recognized the figures.
Making as little noise as possible, in case they were hiding for a reason, Tanjiro approached the two from behind and was about to put a hand to one of their shoulders when they turned around, hands around the hilt of their blades.
"Genya, Murata-san." The Kamado greeted. "I thought I recognized you, we came here to help."
"Tanjiro?"
"Wha… you won't be of any help." Genya and Murata said in turn. "Mizunotos can't do anything here, we need the Pillars or it's pointless!"
BAM
Inosuke suddenly punched Murata in the face.
"Inosuke!" The Kamado yelled, placing an arm between the two.
"What's your deal, boar?!" Genya added angrily.
"Shut up! As far as pointlessness goes, your existence itself has not point at all!" The dual wielder yelled, moving forward even as Tanjiro tried to stop him and grabbing Murata by the hair. "Now, tell us what's going, you spineless fool!"
BAM
This time it was Inosuke who was hit, as Genya punched him right in the face, making him stagger backwards.
"Is that any way to ask a question, asshole?!"
"Huh?! You want to fight, scar-face?!" The Hashibira moved his hands to his weapons.
"Stop!" Tanjiro got in front of him. "Fighting among each other won't solve anything, we have bigger things to worry about!"
Inosuke growled but let go of his weapons before crossing his arms and look away, as if dismissing the two swordsmen he doesn't know.
"…now." Tanjiro let out a sigh of relief. "Can you tell us what happened?"
Both Genya and Murata exchanged an uneasy glance before explaining what happened.
.
.
"…the ones that managed to survive ran in different directions and we managed to lose the ones that were being controlled on some of the foliage around." Murata finished explaining.
"We've been moving around to try and find a way to escape or find the demon controlling them but there is no luck, not to mention there is no telling when the demon responsible could find us." Genya added.
"I see, for now, I think we should- what's that sound?" Tanjiro stopped mid-sentence when he heard something among the trees, something like a string being tensed.
"There it is again." Murata said with a scowl. "It's this sound again."
"It's the same as when everyone suddenly began attacking each other." The Shinazugawa explained.
"Then, where is it coming from?" Tanjiro wondered as he began to look around for the source.
"…hm, shit!" Genya cursed, drawing his sword as several people wearing demon slayer uniforms and wielding blades began to appear from the trees.
The four prepared for combat as the possessed bodies of their comrades began their attack.
One of them lunged in an unnatural manner, making the four leap away and take some distance from each other, the rest of the controlled bodies quickly doing the same, aiming at one of them.
"These guys are idiots! They don't know it's taboo for us to fight each other!" Inosuke exclaimed; strangely proud, considering he did the same thing not too long ago.
"No, that's not it! They're not moving normally! They're being manipulated by something!" Tanjiro answered.
"Didn't we just finish saying that?" Genya asked as he dodged another slash. "Were you not listening, boar head?"
"Shut up! I just have to cut them to ribbons!" He answered, undoing the wrap in one of his swords.
"Are you for real?! Some of them are still alive!" The Shinazugawa yelled.
"Genya's right! You can't do that!" Tanjiro quickly supported.
"Stop denying me at every turn!" The Hashibira complained, lunging towards Tanjiro and hitting him in the stomach with his head.
While they were discussing, Murata was busy trying to block one of his former comrades' blade with his own.
"Murata, behind you!" Genya yelled when he saw another one moving to attack him from the back.
Tanjiro and Inosuke quickly moved and threw the two to the ground.
'Hm! A strange sweet scent from his back!' Tanjiro thought, unsheathing his sword and swinging it near the back of the slayer he had just sent to the ground.
'That's it.' He barely saw it when they were cut, but he had found out the secret. "It's threads! They're being manipulated by threads! Slash the threads!"
Inosuke quickly did that, slashing near the backs of three different corps members before saying that he had already noticed.
Tanjiro didn't listen to him, though, he was focused on finding the demon responsible for this in order to stop it but, every time he tried to smell it out, that same twisted smell he felt at the foot of the mountain invaded his nostrils, masking any other scent.
'What's that?' He thought as he used his left hand to block his nose. 'Hm?' And he noticed two tiny and white spiders moving along it. "Wha-?!" His arm was suddenly yanked but he managed to cut the strings before anything else happened. 'I see, so that's what it is.'
"There are spiders attaching the strings, it will never end if we just cut them, they'll just get re-attached!" The red haired swordsman quickly informed them.
"Then we have to find the demon responsible!" Genya said, noticing a few spiders at his feet and quickly moving away from them.
"Exactly!"
"Well, where is it? Can't you smell it out?" Murata asked as he parried another slash.
"I can't, there is this really strong scent that masks all the others, I can't tell where it is!" He answered, leaping back to avoid a slash, then parrying another and cutting the strings off of his assailant. It may not completely stop them but it does buy some time until the strings are re-attached. "Inosuke, can you find the demon?"
"Huh, and what if I can?" The masked swordsman said back, even as he continued to stab the spiders that disappeared in a poof of smoke with each stab.
"Then do it! Genya, Murata-san and I will cover you in the meantime!"
"Hm, who is that?" Genya's voice grabbed everyone's attention and they moved their sight upwards.
A demon with the appearance of a child was there, one would think he was standing on mid-air until they looked closely and noticed the strings at his feet.
He has milky white skin with several red dots in his face, white hair that reaches his neck and reached around towards his face, with his left eye covered by it and his visible eye was red with three dots on the pupil and is wearing a white kimono with spider web patterns.
"Don't disturb my family's peaceful life." The demon said calmly, even as he looked down on them.
"Family?" Genya voiced everyone's thoughts, no demon had ever referred to other demons as their family, as far as they know.
"Mother will kill you all right away."
"Mother?" This time it was Tanjiro who raised the question.
"Raaaaaa!" But Inosuke didn't care about any of that, using one of the controlled swordsmen as a spring board, he jumped towards the demon and slashed, barely missing the strings he was standing on top of.
The demon didn't react in the slightest, he didn't even deign to look in his direction, and simply walked away.
"Damn you! Where the hell do you think you're going? Fight me! Fight-guah." He was so focused on the demon that he forgot to break his fall.
"Inosuke!" Tanjiro called out worriedly but he immediately got back up.
"Why did he show up anyway?"
"That kid probably isn't the demon pulling the puppet strings! So, first, let's-"
"Okay, okay, okay! I hear you, all right? You want me to find where the demon's at, right? Shut up already, you damn fox!" The Hashibira exclaimed, stabbing both swords in the ground, taking a knee and extending his palms outwards. "Beast Breathing Seventh Form, Spatial Awareness!" In that moment, Inosuke was able to take a grasp of everything that moved in the vicinity of a certain radius. 'Come on, come on…' He continued to feel his way around the forest until finding his objective. "Found it! There you are!"
"You found it?" The Kamado asked as he kept at bay one of the controlled swordsmen.
"Yeah! That way!" Inosuke pointed with one of his swords. "I'm picking up a powerful vibe from there!"
"Really? You're incredible, Inosuke!" Tanjiro said as he pushed back his assailant.
Inosuke once more got that strange fuzzy feeling but got back to reality when a slash came his way, forcing him to jump back to dodge.
"We gotta take care of these guys or we'll never get anywhere!" The dual wielder complained. "I'm just gonna demolish them all at once!"
"You can't! Stop it!" Tanjiro yelled.
"You really have a one-track mind, don't you?" Genya muttered.
"There has to be a way-" A slayer moved forward trying to attack him but Murata intercepted the strike.
"I'll deal with these guys, you three go and find the demon!"
"What kind of talk is that, Mr. Pissed-My-Pants?" Inosuke asked nonchalantly.
"I never pissed my pants, you stupid boar!" Murata yelled back, much to Inosuke's chagrin. "I wasn't talking to you, so you can just shut up!" He stopped screaming when another body came his way, trying to cut him. "I know that wasn't my finest moment back there but I'm also a Demon Slayer! I'll find a way to hold them off! Now I know about the threads so I can cut them and these guys' movements are simple! I just have to watch out for the spiders and I'll be fine!" He assured them. "There are probably people from the other units being controlled as well, so you three go ahead!"
"Understood! We appreciate this!" Tanjiro agreed. "Let's go Inosuke!" And dragged his friend with him in the direction he had pointed to earlier; even as Inosuke kept saying that he wanted to punch him for calling him stupid.
"You better not die, you hear me?!" Genya yelled, also following behind them.
In another part of the forest.
Tanjiro, Inosuke and Genya continued to run forward.
"Damn it! I'm gonna punch that guy if it's the last thing I do!" Inosuke said, clearly angry.
"Stop talking like that!" Tanjiro quickly scolded him.
"He called me a stupid boar, okay Monjiro?"
"It's Tanjiro!"
"How do you get his name wrong?" Genya asked, genuinely confused, it's not a hard name to say.
"You shut up, Gunya!"
"It's Genya! Come on, it's even easier to say than his!" The Shinazugawa complained, pointing to his red haired friend.
"In any case, this is the right direction, right?"
"My senses never lie!" Inosuke answered the Breath of Water user proudly. "But… what the hell are these annoying threads?!" He moved his hands around to get rid of the continuously increasing number of threads.
"That must be how close we are to the demon!" The Kamado answered.
"Seems likely." The teen with the purple kimono agreed. "Oh and Tanjiro"
"Yes?"
"…Ozaki-san was with us too, she was in a different unit, though, so I don't know what happened to her." He said with a worried frown.
"…I see." Tanjiro answered. 'I hope she's alright.'
Sadly, he learned her fate sooner rather than later.
The three stopped at the sound of more strings moving around.
"That's…" The Kamado trailed off in horror as he saw his former overseer, threads attached to most of her body, her sword held in her right hand stabbed into the throat of a corps member, long dead, while her left hand held the head of another one.
"No. Don't come any closer." She begged, tears falling from her eyes. "Please summon someone of higher rank! Or everyone will get killed! Please."
"Ozaki-san!"
"You… Tanjiro!" She called out after hearing his voice. "Get away! Run!" Even as she yelled this, her body betrayed her will and moved to attack.
In a small clearing of the dense forest, sitting on top of a rock, a petite woman with milky white skin, red markings and long white hair with pale green eyes, wearing a white kimono that exposed part of her chest and a beaded necklace had her hands extended, fine threads attached to her fingertips as she moved them around.
"I wonder if you can defeat them." She thought out loud as she moved the strings. "The closer you get to me, the thicker and stronger these threads are, and the more powerful my dolls become."
"Mother…" The woman froze for a moment at the sound of that voice before quickly turning in its direction.
Standing near a tree was the demon that had told Tanjiro and the others to leave their family alone.
"You can win, right?" The boy asked with a neutral, almost bored, tone.
"Rui…" She whispered in fear at the sight of her 'son'.
"Don't you think this is taking too much time?" Rui spoke again, still with the same tone. "You'd better hurry up or I'm gonna tell Father."
Those words seemed to be the trigger to get her out of her semi-frozen state.
"I can do it! I can do it, all right? Mother promises to protect you!" Rui's 'mother' said almost hysterically. "So, please! Not your father! Don't tell your father! Just not him!" She practically begged, clearly terrified of Rui is 'father'.
Rui remained silent for a moment, simply staring at her with his neutral expression.
"Then, hurry it up." He said simply before walking away.
The 'mother' was practically hyperventilating, a stark contrast to Rui's calm demeanor before she forced herself out of it.
"Die! Die! Just die already!" She yelled, moving her hands around non-stop. "Or else there'll be hell for me to pay!"
Whatever had her so scared, it was enough for her to abandon any thought but the one of killing the intruders.
'No more… I don't want to suffer more… just die! Die! I don't want to suffer!'
'Damn it!' Genya cursed.
Not only Ozaki but also other demon slayers were being controlled by this demon and making them attack.
The worst part was one who clearly had his arms and legs broken, as they were bend in a way they shouldn't be, and he literally begged them to kill him due to the pain.
Inosuke was quick to agree until Tanjiro told him not to. In another situation, it would have been kind of funny to watch the dual wielder dodge attacks while also complaining at Tanjiro but not in this one.
'They won't let us pass… screw it! It's not worth their lives!'
"Tanjiro!" Genya called out as he dodged a slash and moved closer to him. "That box, it's the same you were carrying when we first met, right?" He made sure to convey the meaning behind his words with his eyes.
"That's right but why… you-"
"I hate to ask but there are no other demons around that I can take a bite from." The Shinazugawa interrupted. "Don't worry, just a bit of blood will be enough, I have no intention of actually biting her."
"The hell are you two talking about?!" Inosuke yelled, dodging more strikes.
"I know you don't want to reveal her existence but-"
"I understand!" This time, Tanjiro interrupted him. "Their lives aren't worth this secret."
"Hehe, my thoughts exactly." Genya said with a chuckle.
"Nezuko." The Kamado called out and not a moment later, his box opened, Nezuko quickly coming out and landing on the ground in her normal form.
"Hey, it's been a while." Genya greeted her, blocking a slash and then grabbing his assailant by the neck of his uniform to then throw him away.
Nezuko looked at him for a moment before smiling under her muzzle and humming in greeting.
"Nezuko, you remember what Genya was able to do, right?" The younger Kamado thought for a moment before nodding. "There are no other demons around so he needs some of your blood, please give it to him."
It took her a moment to process her brother's words and then she quickly dug her claw-like nails into her palm, drawing some blood.
"Hm, hm!" She called out, her palm extended towards the teen with the mohawk.
"Thanks and sorry!" He said before grabbing her hand and, although a bit embarrassed, began to suck the blood. 'Hm?' After cleaning her hand, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve while looking at the ground. "You know, demons taste awful but your sister's blood is quite sweet."
"…thank you?" Tanjiro said hesitantly.
"Yeah, I don't think I'd know how to react to such a statement either." Genya chuckled.
A controlled corpse tried to slash at him but Genya easily stopped the hand that held the sword with his own, not letting it move an inch.
"You guys go on ahead, I'll handle this!" He yelled as he looked back up, his features already demon-like.
"Oi, what the hell happened to you?! Can your sister make someone stronger, Gonpachiro?!" Inosuke yelled, noticing the change.
"Inosuke!" Tanjiro called out. "I promise I will explain everything later but for now, please just trust me and guide me to the demon!"
"…alright! But you will explain!" The Hashibira agreed with a huff.
"What… that's a demon and… Shinazugawa, you…" While Tanjiro, Inosuke and Nezuko ran away and Genya intercepted anyone that tried to stop them, Ozaki could only stare in astonishment, her mind not being able to fully process what just happened.
"Sorry, Ozaki-san, that's a long story." Genya called out. "We'll tell you after we get out of this." He said as he blocked another strike with his blade.
"Th- look out!" She yelled when her body was yanked forward to stab at him.
Genya tried to move out of the way but a barely alive slayer got in his way, so Ozaki's sword ended up going right through him.
"No… not again…" Tears began to fall from Ozaki's eyes once more as the two other 'dolls' moved to give chase.
"Hey, puppeteer, you're listening, right?" Genya spoke, not sounding like he was in pain at all. "You better get ready." He yanked off the sword in his gut and rushed towards the other two humans, kicking the dead one back while keeping the barely alive one at bay with his sword. "Because your head will roll today!" The Mizunoto roared, breaking the clash with his comrade and pushing him back. "You're not getting past me!" The Shinazugawa declared.
The ensuing fight was, in simple terms, a bloody mess.
Genya continued to force all the 'dolls' to stay there and not give chase to his comrades but, as much as he would like to, he is not skilled enough with the sword to block and parry all of their attacks.
So he simply took them.
Gritting his teeth to push through the pain and yanking out their blades from his body. His clothes now had a lot of holes and tears in it but the flesh beneath continued to regenerate even as he received wounds.
The only attacks that he made sure he absolutely doesn't take are the ones directed at his neck; while he doesn't completely understand how his ability works, much less why he has it, he doesn't feel like testing if he can survive decapitation, even less so if it's coming from a Nichirin blade.
Luckily for him, the puppeteer seemed to be either worried or occupied since the attacks aimed at his neck were few and far between and even the movements they made had become repetitive and mostly easy to predict.
.
"I'm still standing right here." Genya taunted, his clothes were covered in blood and the top of his uniform looked like it would fall off at any moment but he didn't look like he would move at all.
He continued to stand there, a bulwark between the controlled humans and his comrades behind.
'I say that but I don't know how long my transformation will last or if I can continue to stop them.' While his partial 'demonization' gave him enhanced strength and the ability to regenerate quickly, he was not impervious to fatigue. He would last longer than most people in his situation but he could not continue fighting forever, even if he had access to more demon blood in the middle of battle, he simply couldn't recuperate from fatigue by eating demons.
He doesn't know why, maybe the mutation in his body took away all of the energy he would use to recover from fatigue, maybe it was a result of not being a true demon, maybe something else entirely but the fact was, he will eventually run out of energy.
THUD
But it seems he is safe for today.
One after another, all of the 'puppets' began to fall to the ground, as if all their strings were cut at the same time.
'…sigh took you long enough.' The black haired teen thought with a chuckle as he sat down for a moment to catch his breath. '…no, rest later, I need to give first aid.' With that thought, he forced his battered body up and looked for the people that were still alive among his comrades.
A few moments before Genya's battle ended.
'Alright, it worked.' Tanjiro thought in relief.
After separating from Genya, Tanjiro asked Nezuko to go back into the box; people already saw her but he would rather keep her existence a secret to others for as long as possible.
He is aware those that survived could report her but he would think about it later.
As they continued to close the distance to the demon, not only did the threads increased in number but they also found a headless demon with a large body and blades instead of hands with threads attached to it.
The two swordsmen were worried for a moment, since there wasn't a head to cut, but Tanjiro thought of doing a monk's robe cut in it, it would be harder than cutting his head like normal but it's not like they had any alternatives.
Inosuke had quickly jumped forward, thinking he could do it on his own, only for the headless demon to prove quite stronger than the corps members they had found so far, being able to graze Inosuke and distract him for the spiders to attach strings to him.
If it wasn't because Tanjiro intervened he would have died and/or become another 'puppet'.
The Hashibira yelled to 'don't make him any giddier' when he told him to fight together but there was no time for a discussion.
Tanjiro kneeled so his friend could use him as a platform and cut off the demon's arms and then jump high, while he used a water breathing form to cut the demon's legs and bring it to its knees.
Aided by gravity, Inosuke began to fall towards the demon and couldn't help but think one thing.
'This is annoying.' The way Tanjiro thought and how things seemed to go his way was, for him, annoying. 'It's like it was preordained, flowing naturally as the water from a river; it's not about going first for him, it's the battle! It's the overall flow that he's watching!' Groaning, he used both of his blades to perform the monk robe cut, defeating the demon.
"It worked! You defeated it, Inosuke!" The Kamado said happily.
The masked teen simply stood still in the same position as when he landed after cutting the demon.
"Inosuke?"
Instead of answering, he threw away his swords and ran towards the red haired swordsman.
"Anything you can do, I can do, too, dumbass!" He yelled, grabbing Tanjiro by his waist and then throwing him away.
'What… wait…' His nose had began to work better as they got closer to the demon so he was able to sniff it out. "This scent… so that's what you were thinking, Inosuke."
.
'They got me! They got me!' Rui's 'mother' thought in fear. 'Even though that doll was my fastest and strongest! It's Rui's fault for coming to see me with his threats! And that other guy that wouldn't fall that kept distracting me!' She did consider letting go of her control over the 'dolls' that were fighting the one with the purple kimono but that would only mean that yet another person would be coming towards her. 'What do I do? What do I do?'
She didn't have much time to think, since she felt the presence of someone above her.
With the moon at his back, Tanjiro was quickly falling towards the 'Mother' Spider demon, his sword poised to strike.
'He'll kill me! He'll chop off my head! Think! You have to think!' Her mind worked frantically to try and think of a way to survive, she couldn't bring more dolls and she wasn't the type of demon that could fight directly, calling out for help was an option but she doubts the other members of her 'family' would be able to reach her, if they even bother to try to begin with. 'Think! I'll die if I don't'… but…' Then she realized something. 'If I die, I'll be released.' Her thoughts went back to Rui and Rui's 'father', convincing her of her decision.
Letting go of the strings still attached to her fingertips she extended her arms forward and raised her head, presenting her neck for it to be cut.
'And then, I'll know peace.' She closed her eyes, waiting for the blade that will end her suffering.
.
'She…' The Kamado quickly realized what the demon was doing. 'Then, the fifth… no, before that.' As he reached the demon's position, instead of cutting off her head like he originally planned to, he let his momentum carry him forward and, once he landed, he quickly turned around and placed his sword near her neck.
"…eh?" The demon woman opened her eyes, confused as to why there was no pain, before moving her hands to her neck and realize that it was still attached. "What…?"
"Don't move." Tanjiro ordered, his blade mere inches from her neck and ready to sever it at the first sign of aggression.
"Why… why didn't you kill me?" She asked, confusion clear in her voice but not daring to look back at him.
"Because I have something I want to ask first." The Kamado answered. "Why do you kill and eat humans?"
"…what?" The woman almost looked back in shock at such a question but stopped herself. "I'm a demon… I need to eat."
"If I told you there is a way for you to live as a demon but without having to eat humans, what would you do?"
"…what?" She repeated her earlier question. "That's… that's not possible."
"It is." He said back calmly. "Please answer my question, what would you do?"
"I…" The white haired demon couldn't answer; she had never even considered the possibility of something like that being possible.
If you're a demon then you need to eat humans, it's as simple as that, there is no alternative.
"I… don't know." She finally said. "I… I've already killed and eaten people… why would you offer me something like that? Can you just forgive me for it?"
"No." His answer came as fast as all the others. "It is not my place to forgive you, it's possible you can't ever be forgiven… but I know that being a demon doesn't make you evil."
Her eyes widened at such a statement.
A Demon Slayer was telling her, a demon, that she wasn't evil just because she was one; while she hasn't encountered many hunters and even less hunters that would actually say anything beyond 'die demon', she is certain that this is beyond unusual.
Her mind reasoned that this couldn't be real, maybe she was already beheaded and her mind was playing a trick on her or her executioner was playing her, giving her false hope before cutting off her head.
Slowly, very slowly, to ensure the swordsman doesn't perceive her movements as a threat, the white haired woman turned her head to look over her shoulder.
'…such kind eyes.' That was the first thing that came to her mind.
She expected to see contempt, hate, disgust, maybe even sadistic glee but no, the only thing that she could see in those red orbs and the swordsman's expression was kindness.
"If… if what you're saying is true... and you're offering to show me this path… then I would gladly take it." She answered after a moment that, to her, felt like an eternity.
'…she is not lying.' Tanjiro confirmed this by sniffing the air; while her scent was the same as most of the demons he has encountered, there were no lies in her words.
"I believe you." The Kamado said with a smile, moving his sword away from her neck and sheathing it.
"You… you do?"
"Yes." He nodded. "I will tell you what I meant but first, can you tell me what's happening in this mountain? And how come that demon that looks like a kid said that you were 'family'? I thought demons couldn't have one."
Her eyes immediately widened in fear.
"R-Rui… he… he… you saw him?"
'She's terrified.' The Kamado gulped. 'I haven't smelled so much fear since that time with the demon that could control others when I asked about Muzan.'
"He… he makes us act as his family and… punishes us… when we do something wrong." The demon woman explained, hugging herself to try and stop shaking to no avail. "I… I take it back… I can't leave he… he won't just kill me… he'll make an example of me and… and… and…"
"Miss, miss!" Tanjiro called out, gently grabbing her shoulders. "He won't hurt you! I will defeat him here and make sure he doesn't come after you again!"
"Wh-what…?"
"Unless they surrender like you so I can offer them this same chance… I won't leave this mountain until every other demon here is defeated." He assured her with pure determination in his eyes.
"Th-they won't… I-I know even just me accepting is strange but… Rui, in particular, he won't accept your offer, no matter what… if, if by some miracle he says yes… it will probably be just to trick you."
"Don't worry, he won't trick me." Tanjiro said. "I can smell when someone is lying to me, that's how I know you're sincere." With that, he took his hands of her shoulders and looked around. "Come out, please."
A cat's meow was heard before said animal appeared.
"This is Chachamaru, it will be your guide." He said, kneeling to pet the cat. "And here…" He took off his fox mask and gave it to her. "This is proof that I sent you."
"S-send me…?" She repeated.
"However, make sure no one spots you, including other members of the Demon Slayer Corps; this is not something that the corps is doing."
"It… it isn't? I-I mean, it makes sense, but then why…"
"Sorry but it would take too long to explain, the people you'll meet will give you the details." The Kamado said with a small smile. "Now go, I hope we can meet again under better circumstances."
The demon woman looked at him, then the mask in her hands, then back at him.
"…thank you." She finally said.
Tanjiro's smile widened.
"Then, I'll be going now."
"W-wait, what's your name?!"
"Kamado Tanjiro." With that, he bowed and began running back the way he came.
The demon stared at his retreating form, noticing that he showed his back to her without the slightest fear of retribution.
'This… am I dreaming?' Whether or not she was, there was no other path now, she made her choice, if she tries to go back to Rui then who knows what he will do to her. "Hm… nice to meet you… please show me the way?" She said towards Chachamaru.
The cat moved its head to the left, signaling for her to follow.
She began running after the cat, giving one more glance behind her in the direction of her savior and felt the metaphorical strings that Rui had placed around her heart loosen ever so slightly.
Ok, it's finally done!
I am fairly certain you can all guess what the letter Tanjiro sent to Tamayo was about now, right?
By the way, I am genuinely a bit mad; you see, I wanted to have this chapter up yesterday but, after writing around 6000 words in one long sitting, ending at around 7am, I simply couldn't think anymore, I needed sleep!
Then this day was a rather busy one but I won't bore you with the details; I had to go buy some stuff and it took time, let's leave it at that.
Anyway!
Full honesty, I didn't plan to let Mother Spider Demon survive back when I first began thinking about this story but a friend of mine from a discord server loves her and gushed about her and then I began thinking 'but what if…' and from there a bunch of other ideas involving her came to my head, before I knew it I had already included her in my plans for the future of this story.
Also, I decided to take the advice someone gave me in a comment in ao3 (I am publishing this story there as well, in case you prefer that platform to read it) and didn't go too into detail for things that already happened in canon. I believe it makes it better, not only for you since you don't have to read segments that are things you already know, but to me since I genuinely have a much better time writing things I think of instead of going to the anime/manga and doing the equivalent of a copy-paste.
There will still be certain sections that happen in the anime/manga that I feel I need to include since it adds to characterization, among other reasons, but I hope I can make those be the minority from now on and focus more on the things I want to change for this story.
Alright, I think that's it.
As always, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a comment.
Until next time!
