The Spider Family

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Guest review answer corner.

Guest: You're welcome! Genya deserved more screen time, hehe.

Well, I can't really give you answers without spoilers; suffice to say, Mother Spider Demon surviving and people seeing Nezuko will have an interesting effect on how Tanjiro's trial will go.

Thank you for the comment! Until next time!

PS: Here is hoping you don't get buried in more paperwork, haha.

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Hello again!

Sorry that this chapter took a while; I'll be completely honest, I got Persona 5 Royal and have been playing the heck out of it.

Such a great game.

Note: Thank you so much to Crisperia from discord for the help writing the part of Zenitsu vs Brother Spider Demon.

Without further ado, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba.

I hope you enjoy!


'Why? Why are they here of all places?!' Rui's 'mother' wondered in a panic while hiding, seeing several people with the demon slayer uniform ahead of the path the cat was guiding her towards thanks to her spiders; they were checking the bodies of their dead comrades.

"They're dead." One of them, a man wearing a tri-color haori and with a fox mask in his waist said solemnly.

A girl with another fox mask, this one held in the side of her face, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"There is nothing else to do here." A woman with a purple butterfly shaped hair ornament commented.

"It might be best if we split up." A man with a red haori commented.

"I agree with Tomioka-san." The woman with the butterfly ornament said before turning to another female, younger than her by the looks of it, with her hair tied in a side-ponytail with a pink butterfly ornament. "Kanao, look around for survivors and ensure the Kakushi can move without worry while we continue forward; is that fine with you?" She directed the last part to the other three.

"Yes." They nodded.

'What do I do? They're going to search the area, they will find me if I'm not careful!' Her mind raced, trying to find a way out of this. 'If… if I use my strings and-'

'I hope we can meet again under better circumstances.'

Her hands trembled for a moment before she closed them, hard.

'No… that would mean that he shouldn't have let me go.' The white haired woman frowned.

It wasn't easy to stop thinking about attacking humans before they attack her.

"Prr."

She looked down and saw the cat using a paw to poke her legs, grabbing her attention.

"We can't go this way… I think it would be better if we hide until they pass and then go." She explained, the cat nodding in understanding.

'For now… I'll try to go west; it's in the opposite direction of the bodies and it's likely that they will follow that trail instead of going in the opposite direction.' Nodding to herself, she severed her control over the spiders that were acting as her scouts and began to move; Chachamaru following behind her.


Zenitsu was having a bad night.

No, scratch that, 'bad' doesn't begin to explain how shitty his night was going so far.

He had entered the mountain the moment he realized that Tanjiro was still carrying Nezuko when he did and began yelling about how he shouldn't bring her to a dangerous area like this.

But, once the initial shock wore off and he was able to think semi-calmly, he realized that maybe he shouldn't be here.

The entire mountain put him on edge, the sounds around, the atmosphere, not to mention the fact that there could be demons lurking around, just waiting to get a bite of him, some bug already did.

But the worst part was yet to come, when he saw what could only be described as an oversized spider with a human head.

He had obviously began to run away, yelling about what the heck that was, until he reached a clearing in the forest.

Although that was by far the worse place he had seen in that mountain so far.

Held in the air by several strings attached to the trees around, there was a large wooden shack and from those strings there were people tied up, some looking in pain while their bodies had some weird purple spots, one of them had his limbs completely mutated and looking like spider legs, there were even a few members of the corps.

When the house creaked, making the Thunder Breath practitioner yelp in fear, a very large version of what Zenitsu had seen moments prior came out.

It was a demon, obviously, looking to be a male judging by his face but that was the only part of it that could be considered 'human', from the neck down, he had a human size spider's body.

The demon slowly moved down using a thread while Zenitsu stared in fear, stopping a few feet off the ground and grinning maliciously at the swordsman.

"You know what! I refuse to speak with anyone like you!" Zenitsu yelled before turning around and booking it out of the place.

"It's no use running away." The spider said with a chuckle. "You're already losing."

"What are you muttering about? I don't wanna hear it, so stop talking to me!" Zenitsu answered, still running. "I don't like guys like you, all right?" He stopped after judging that he was a good distance away, hoping that the demon couldn't get him.

"You already know how dire your situation is, don't you?"

"What do you mean?!"

"Take a look at your hands."

"Huh? What's wrong with my-" The blond stopped mid-sentence, seeing the veins in his hand bulging and a large part of his left hand covered in purple spots like the ones the people tied up in the air have. "What's this?!"

"It's poison. You got bitten by a spider, right? That poison will turn you into a spider too." The spider-human hybrid said with a laugh. "In another 30 minutes, you'll be my slave, crawling all over the ground!"

The demon then got a pocket watch and began marking the time-stamps in which the poison would take effect with a sadistic grin, clearly enjoying the fear on the blonde's face.

Zenitsu then climbed a tree, complaining and crying about how he doesn't want to turn into a spider.

The demon was actually baffled by his behavior.

What kind of demon hunter was he to just begin crying and complaining? He was expecting at least some sort of fight, some words of defiance, something other than this.

His confusion turned to boredom when Zenitsu suddenly fell unconscious on top of the tree he had climbed while his slaves crawled up towards him.

'I can't believe how spineless he is.' He thought as Zenitsu's unconscious body began to fall to the ground. 'He's gonna fall onto his head and die… what the hell?'

.

'Gramps… you saved me from my debt and took me in, even continued to train me despite all the times I tried to run away,' Zenitsu thought, remembering his master, Jigoro Kuwajima, as his body continued to fall.

He remembered how he also climbed up a tree after a particularly hard training session with his master, screaming that he couldn't handle it anymore while Jigoro tried to reassure him and convince him to go back to training. Suddenly, clouds covered the sky and a thunderbolt struck the tree and also him in the process, turning his hair from black to yellow. He was grateful for surviving that, but also felt that he must be the most unlucky guy in the world. Now his hair had this weird color and ironically he still couldn't perform all Thunder breathing forms. 'Sorry that I wasn't a better student.'

'It's fine if you cry, it's fine if you run away.' Those words suddenly sounded in his mind. 'But, don't give up!'

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"Thunder Breathing, First Form…" Zenitsu suddenly moved, adjusting his posture mid-air and using the tree as a stepping stone to close the distance to the demon.

Although caught off guard, he was quick to recover and he spit out a purple acid, forcing the swordsman to stop his attack and twist his body to dodge.

From the demon's point of view, it was as if he had suddenly turned into a different person.

He didn't give the demon hunter time to unleash his attack, though, quickly ordering his 'spiders' to attack him, making Zenitsu abandon the stance he took and begin to move around to avoid the attacks.

But no matter how many times he was thwarted, Zenitsu continued to take the same stance.

'I see, this guy…' The demon grinned evilly. 'He can only use one attack.'

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'I can't use any forms of Thunder Breathing except for the first one. Sorry for being such a bad student.'

'It's fine, Zenitsu.' Again, words from his master sounded in his mind. 'If you can only do one thing, hone it to perfection. Hone it to its utmost limit!'

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Zenitsu dodged another acid spit and the demon's slaves moved to where he would land; ready to inject more poison in his body.

'This is the end.' The spider demon thought with a wicked smile.

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'You endured all that hellish training! You'll be rewarded without fail!'

'Leave!' Another voice, his sibling disciple's, sounded. 'You're just wasting the master's time, he is a former Pillar, all the time he uses in training you is a waste! Aren't you ashamed of spending all day crying like a baby? Why do you insist on clinging here? Why are you even here?'

'It's not that I stayed, I have no parents and no one ever expected something from me. No one thought I could become strong and protect anyone or make someone like Nezuko-chan happy…'

His memories shifted to his many attempts at running away.

'…before, if I cried and gave up just once, people would leave me behind, Gramps never did; no matter how I tried to escape, he would always drag me back.'

'You're an eyesore! Get out of my sight! Stop wasting Sensei's time!'

'Kaigaku, you are incredible. Being able to fight demons without fear and learning all but the first form of Thunder Breathing, it's something truly amazing.'

'Don't ever give up!'

'But…'

'If you can only do one thing then hone it to perfection!'

'At least in my dreams…'

'Hone it to its utmost limit!'

'Gramps' words… sound a lot louder than yours!'

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Zenitsu managed to dodge the spiders trying to attack him by jumping back but suddenly coughed blood, the poison beginning to take effect and halting his movements enough for the spiders to jump and surround him.

"Kahahaha, that should do it for him." The demon celebrated, his slaves already surrounding the swordsman. "Wha-?"

When something happened.

All of the 'spiders' were suddenly blown away from the blond swordsman and the air seemed to be vibrating around him.

"What-?!"

"Thunder Breathing, First Form… Thunderclap and Flash!" The spider jumped and spit more acid. "Sixfold!" But it was for naught.

"He vanished?!"

He saw a flash of yellow but he wasn't able to keep track of the swordsman.

'For now, I'll go back inside my house, if he tries to break though one of the walls, I'll have an opening; there is no place for him to jump and get through the door.'

But he was wrong.

Zenitsu dashed six times.

The first five, he moved between two trees, moving higher with every dash; for the sixth one, he used one of the strings the demon had made, if they could hold a house they could certain hold him, and used it to dash towards the demon, unsheathing his sword, cutting his head and sheathing it again almost at the same time, the speed he was moving at making him break through the other side of the house and stay in the air for a moment with the full moon behind him.


Elsewhere in the forest.

"What was that… a thunder?" Tanjiro wondered out loud, thinking he heard something. "I don't smell storm clouds, though."

After telling Rui's 'mother' to run with Chachamaru he had gone back to Inosuke and, while the masked swordsman continued to brag about how he could do anything he could, Tanjiro was only focused on bandaging the wounds he got from that headless demon, much to the other teen's chagrin who continued to squirm out of the bandages.

After that, the two continued to search the area for more demons, arriving at a river that seemed to run down the mountain.

"Huh? A thunder? There are no clouds in the sky." Inosuke answered.

"Yeah… in any case, Inosuke." The Kamado called out. "I think you should-"

He stopped mid-sentence when there was movement around the forest side and the two immediately moved their hands to their weapons.

"…Huh?" A man wearing the corps' uniform appeared from the foliage.

"Kaigaku-san?" Tanjiro said in surprise.

"You… what the hell are you doing here?" Kaigaku asked.

"We were ordered to come here and help." The Kamado answered, letting go of his sword.

"I see…" The Breath of Thunder user frowned before looking at the masked swordsman. "What's up with him?"

"Huh?" Inosuke asked. "You have a problem with me or something?"

"He is Inosuke, we met outside the Tsuzumi mansion." Tanjiro chimed in before a fight could break out.

"And who are you anyway? Why were you in the forest?" The Hashibira growled, not liking the tone Kaigaku used when he asked about him.

"I'm Kaikgaku, a Kanoe; I was with a group of other demon hunters but we were ambushed by a demon that could control other people's bodies, I separated to look for that demon but I didn't have luck so far."

"Ha!" Inosuke barked a laugh. "Well good luck with that, Tontaro and I already defeated that demon!" He proclaimed.

"It's Tanjiro."

"…you what?"

"Monjiro gave it the final strike but it was thanks to my help that he managed to reach it."

"Him mispronouncing my name aside." The Kamado muttered. "It's true; we found that demon and stopped it, everyone should be free of those strings now."

"Strings?"

"You don't even know that? That's how the demon was controlling people." Inosuke called out a bit mockingly.

"Now listen here you little…!" Kaigaku trailed off and his eyes widened, looking behind the two teens and quickly unsheathing his sword.

The other two did the same and looked behind to see a girl, similar to the demon that was controlling the strings, but her hair is shorter and her kimono covers her entire body.

The girl stood frozen in place at the other side of the river for a moment as if she was just caught doing something wrong before beginning to run away.

"Get back here!" Inosuke yelled as he ran after her, Tanjiro and Kaigaku quickly following him.

"Father!" The girl yelled.

"Who are you calling father-?" The Hashibira stopped in his tracks and jumped back, landing on the surface of a rock that surpassed the river's depth, when something suddenly fell from the sky.

A demon, with a similar build as the headless one Tanjiro and Inosuke fought, with dark brown skin, red dot-like marks in his body and white hair that reached past his shoulders stood between the slayers and the demon girl.

"Don't come near my family!" He roared, revealing his face; it resembled a gigantic spider's with several eyes and pincers in both cheeks.

The 'father', as the girl called him, swung his fist towards Inosuke forcing him to move to jump back once more, the rock he previously stood on completely shattering on impact.

"I'm leaving the rest to you, Father." The girl said before leaving.

The 'father' moved immediately after his first blow and tried to hit Inosuke while he was still in mid-air with his right fist.

'Second Form! Water Wheel!' Tanjiro quickly moved and unleashed a technique towards the arm that was moving towards his friend to stop the attack.

'Fifth Form! Heat Lightning!' While Kaigaku aimed for the demon's neck.

The demon used his left arm to block the attack from the black haired swordsman, while his right arm continued to stay attached despite Tanjiro trying to cut through it.

'Not good, I can't cut it!'

The demon moved his right arm down and then his head forward for a head-butt.

Tanjiro saw his intention and met the attack head-on, literally, as he head-butted back; their heads making a loud thud sound when they collided.

Inosuke, having recovered his footing, dashed forwards and aimed his twin blades at the demon's legs but, like the other two's weapons, they weren't able to cut through the demon's skin.

"Damn it, so tough!" He complained.

The demon gave a wordless battle-cry and forced all the hunters away, swinging his arms and the leg that were attacked to get rid of them.

'Not good, I can't cut him even when using a technique.' Tanjiro thought after landing on top of a rock in the river. 'What should I do? I might be able to if I use the Tenth Form-'

His thoughts were interrupted when the Father Spider Demon glared at him and lunged, screaming about not 'going near his family' as he swung his fist.


'This is horrible.' Makomo thought as she and Sabito followed the trail of bodies; Giyu and Shinobu had moved in a different direction.

"There is someone up ahead." Sabito said.

She saw him as well; a member of the corps, based on the uniform, with black hair and he seemed to be looking over the bodies of his dead comrades.

The two hastened their pace, making more noise than necessary to call his attention.

The man turned and put a hand on his blade but stopped when he saw who they were.

"We're the reinforcements, are you alright?" Sabito said when they were within talking distance.

"Ah, yes… wait, Sabito-san?"

"Hm? …sorry, have we met?" He asked, a bit apologetically.

"Ah, not exactly, we went to the Final Selection together and you saved me from a demon but we never really met." The black haired man answered. "I know of you because… well, because you're a Pillar; anyway, I'm Murata."

"I… see…" Sabito trailed off.

"I'm Makomo and you know Sabito, can you tell us what happened here?" Makomo asked to get things back on track.

"Oh, well…"

Murata explained how they were ambushed and his comrades began to attack each other due to the demon's power and how he managed to escape.

"…after that, my partner, Genya, and the reinforcements that came before you continued forward while I held them off, they suddenly stopped moving so I'm guessing they managed to defeat that demon and I was trying to see if any of them was still alive but…" He trailed off with a sorrowful expression.

"I see." Sabito frowned and shook his head. "Which direction did they go?"

"That way." Murata quickly pointed. "Please hurry, Genya, Tanjiro and Inosuke are still only Mizunotos, although they're probably stronger than that I'm not sure if they will be alright."

"Wait, what was that?" Makomo did a double take.

"What?"

"Those names."

"Oh, Tanjiro and Inosuke, they're the reinforcements I mentioned."

Sabito and Makomo exchanged a look before quickly rushing forward.

"If you go back the way we came you'll find some Kakushi, tell them to give you first aid." Sabito yelled over his shoulder. "We better hurry."

"Yeah." Makomo nodded before smiling. "Good for you, Sabito."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Saving people during the Final Selection wasn't a mistake."

"…yeah." The Water Pillar answered with a small smile. "But I'll think about that later." His face turned serious and he moved his mask to the side of his head.

Makomo nodded as the two continued to run in the direction of his sibling disciple.


'Crap, that guy is way too hard to cut!' Inosuke complained as he dodged blows from the Father Spider Demon. 'And he just sent Kentaro flying like it was nothing, damn it, I really wanted to see what he was going to do!'

'Don't die until I get back! Make sure you don't die!' The red haired swordsman's words as he was sent flying sounded in his head.

"Ah, dammit, this is so annoying!" The dual wielder dodged a blow and tried to aim for the demon's neck.

The demon used his other arm to block, the blade barely cutting his skin.

'Thunder Breathing, Fifth Form, Heat Lighting!' Kaigaku tried to use the opportunity to aim for the neck from the opposite side but the demon moved his arm and put Inosuke between them.

The black haired swordsman clicked his tongue and tried to dodge the other demon hunter to continue his attack but was forced to stop and jump back when the demon tried to kick him.

Inosuke realized that he can't cut him and retrieved his weapon before taking some distance.

"Damn it, stop getting in my way!" Kaigaku yelled at Inosuke.

"Huh?! The hell are you talking about?!" He yelled back. "That was the demon that used me as a shield, are you blind or something?!"

"Stay away!" The two stopped and jumped in opposite direction when their opponent roared and lunged towards them.

'This guy… he is not like Monjiro, he doesn't try to see the flow of battle or coordinate at all.' The masked swordsman thought, getting a moment of respite when the 'father' continued to attack Kaigaku. 'Then it's up to me! Come on, how can we beat this guy together? Think, think…' Inosuke tried to come up with a way of coordinating with the other swordsman.

"Stop staring into space and attack, you masked moron!"

'Wait…'

"What the hell am I doing?!" Inosuke yelled before rushing towards the demon, gaining his attention. "I almost got infected by Tontaro's germs!" He jumped and brought one of his blades down. "Using my head? Cooperating with someone? That's so not me!"

Like before, the demon used one of his arms to block it.

"If I can't cut you with one blade then I'll use two!" Inosuke used his other blade to hit the one imbedded on the demon's arm repeatedly, as if he was forging a new sword, and eventually cut through, severing the arm. "Hahahaha, see that? You're not so tough after all!"

Father Spider Demon held his severed arm before suddenly running away.

"Wha… get back here!" The Hashibira yelled as he gave chase.

'Tch, that guy is annoying.' Kaigaku thought as he caught his breath. 'Still… I'll let him handle that demon, I'll go look for that other one.' With that, the Thunder Breathing practitioner began to run in the opposite direction.


'Damn it, I have to use a form to soften the landing!' Tanjiro thought as gravity began to do its work and pulled him back to the ground.

His plan to defeat the 'father' wasn't bad, after cutting down a tree to trap him underwater, he was about to unleash the Tenth Form to cut his head but, unfortunately, the Kamado underestimated the demon's strength and he managed to get back and use the tree to attack, forcing Tanjiro to use his sword to block but he was still sent flying away.

'Second Form, Water Wheel.' Tanjiro unleashed his move when he was beginning to get near the ground, managing to avoid breaking something.

He was still off-balance and almost crashed into a tree but better than hitting the ground without anything to cushion his fall.

'I managed to land somehow!' He thought in relief, relaxing for a moment.

"GYAAAHH!"

That scream, a girl's judging by the sound, cut off any thought of resting and he quietly moved towards the source.

"I beg of you! Please stop!"

'What is this?' The swordsman wondered, kneeling near a tree to hide his presence.

He reached the source and saw the kid demon that had warned them to not disturb them when they first encountered the controlled humans and the girl that they had chased right before their 'father' appeared.

According to the kid, they are supposed to be family; so why is the girl on her knees covering her face while some blood drops fell and the kid looking to be the one responsible?

"What are you looking at? This isn't some show, you know." The kid said nonchalantly, not even looking in the swordsman's direction, a spider-web held between his hands.

"Wh-what are you doing? Aren't you two allies?" Tanjiro asked in return.

"Allies?" The kid repeated with a bored tone. "Don't put our bonds on the same level as something so flimsy."

'What?'

"We're family, we're joined by a powerful bond." He continued. "And besides, this is between me and my sister. So don't interfere… or I'll carve you up." The kid looked in his direction for the first time and slightly moved his hands apart, making the spider web a bit bigger while his 'sister' stayed still on her knees, looking at the ground.

The Kamado gulped, he could tell that this kid was dangerous; in fact, he is probably the 'Rui' that the demon he spared talked about.

"You're wrong!" Yet, he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Whether it's your family or an ally, if you have a strong bond between you, then either one should be just as precious! Calling it flimsy if you're not related by blood… that's not true at all!" Tanjiro declared. "Not only that, but those who have a strong bond give off the scent of trust! But all I'm picking up from you two is the scent of terror, hatred and repulsion!" He stood up, glaring at Rui. "That's not what you call a bond! It's counterfeit! It's forged!"

Rui's only visible eye widened and his bored expression turned into a glare; his body seemingly trembling with rage at what Tanjiro had just said.

"Oh!" Before either could end their stare down, another person joined. "Look at that, a demon that's just the right size." A demon hunter with short black hair said, smirking. "Even I can take down a kid demon like this one."

"Hold up a second please-!"

"You can just back off!" The swordsman interrupted Tanjiro. "I want to take the safe route up the ladder. Since once you move up, you get more money from the top guys." He said, looking at Tanjiro before preparing his sword and looking at the two demons. "My unit's practically been wiped out, but I'll slay myself a decent-sized demon and head down the mountain. Take this!"

"Don't do it! Stop!" The Kamado tried to warn him but it was too late.

Truthfully, it wouldn't have mattered what he said, the second the demon hunter took one step Rui had moved his hands, a moment later, the entire upper half of the demon hunter had been cut into several chunks of flesh that it would be impossible to recognize him.

'In an instant… he cut him in pieces…' Tanjiro thought in shock, the sickening sound of flesh and blood hitting the ground and the scent of blood assaulting his nostrils. 'How did he…?'

"Hey, what did you say?" The white haired demon spoke, not even bothering to look at the human he just killed, his gaze focused solely on the red haired swordsman. "Look, you… what was it that you just said?" He wasn't yelling, or even raising his voice, but, despite how softly it sounded, each word conveyed nothing but pure rage.

'This kid…' Tanjiro trailed off, feeling a level of intimidation he hadn't felt in any demon he has previously encountered, making his body tremble against his will. 'The air just got heavy and denser!' Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down. 'Inosuke, Kaigaku-san, I'm sorry! I'll go help you as soon as I finish here, just hang on until then!'

"What you just said…" The demon began, his one-eyed glare sending shivers down the human's spine. "Let's hear you say it again." A few veins in his forehead bulged. "Come on, say it, will you?"

"Sure!" Tanjiro answered, his voice clear despite understanding that he is in front of a truly frightening opponent. "I'll repeat it as many times as you want! Your bond is forged!"


"Damn! That bastard…" Inosuke thought out loud as he looked for the Fatehr Spider Demon, his breathing labored. "Where the hell did he go, dammit?" He continued for a few steps when he stumbled and almost fell to the ground "I'm telling ya, this doesn't hurt! What doesn't hurt doesn't hurt!" The dual wielder forced himself to stand upright and once again used his Seventh Fang to find the demon. 'Where are you? Where are you? …ah!' He turned towards the top of a tree. "You're there!" Right where the 'father' is, lying on top of a branch and trembling. "You idiot piece of crap! How high did you climb up?" Inosuke yelled but there was no answer, not even a 'stay away from my family', from his enemy. "Damn you! So, you're plotting to make me use my head again, huh? In your dreams!" The Hashibira declared.

"rrraaAAagghhh."

"What…? Oh, I see! He's trembling with fear and dread at the sight of me, huh?" Inosuke let out a loud laugh. "Well, it's too late for that!"

"AAHHHHH!"

"What the… now what? D-did it just shed its skin?!"

The demon jumped down and stood in front of Inosuke.

His form had changed considerably; not only did he become bulkier but his arms and legs gained blade-like protrusions, his skin had changed from a dark brown to green, the amount of his eyes increased, his teeth became sharper, his mandibles more pronounced and he the hair on top of his head, gaining five spikes going upwards instead.

'Come on, that's bulking up way too much! This is looking really bad for me! I've never sensed this much force from an opponent before!'

For the first time since he can remember, Hashibira Inosuke experienced fear; an overwhelming sense of dread in front of an opponent that all of his senses were screaming he is no match for.

'No good… I can't win…' The moment his brain caught up with his instinct, his will to fight was almost extinguished, he simply let his arms go limp, barely holding onto his blades as the demon growled and moved his fist. 'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna be killed.'

'Don't die!'

'Eh?'

'Don't die until I get back!'

'That guy…'

'Always live your lives with great pride; I wish you luck in battle!'

'That old lady…'

"I'm not gonna lose." Inosuke whispered, tightening the hold on his weapons. "No way am I gonna lose!" He raised his guard once more. "I'm Hashibira Inosuke of the Demon Slayer Corps! Just bring it on, you dirtbag!"

THUD

'So fast! I can't see it!' Inosuke thought, his mind not even processing that he just hit and bounced off a few trees until he stopped flying.

The demon didn't stop there and was suddenly right in front of Inosuke again, sending another fist towards him

Inosuke barely had time to jump and avoid the hit, the tree that was behind him breaking from the impact.

'Beast Breathing, Third Fang, Devour!' The Hashibira took advantage of his position and, as he fell, used both his blades to perform an horizontal slash against the demon's neck.

CLANG

"It snapped! GAHH!" The moment he got distracted by his blades breaking, Father Spider Demon turned around and backhanded him, sending him crashing towards a tree.

'Crap… I failed to go on the defensive with my breath attack…'

"Grr." The demon approached the downed swordsman and grabbed him by the head and throat with one hand. "Don't come near my family! Stay away!" He repeated as he applied more pressure to his hold.

"I'm not gonna die!" Inosuke used the last of his breath to use another technique, stabbing the demon in the neck with his broken swords. 'They're in! They're in, but… what the hell? This thing isn't even flinching!'

The demon moved his arm, putting Inosuke at a distance of him, the swordsman losing his grip on the swords.

'I'm sorry.'

'Who… who is that woman? What am I seeing?'

'I'm sorry, Inosuke.'

'Why… who is that? And why are the faces of Tanjiro and Zenitsu showing up, and that old lady as well?'

'I want at least you to survive, Inosuke.'

'Wh-who are you?' He lost his train of thought when he began to cough blood due to the demon's hold on him. 'I… am I really gonna die?'

Shing

'Eh?' The hold on his head and throat suddenly lessened and he fell someone catch him. 'Wh-what…?'

"Phew, just barely made it." Someone said and he turned to see the person holding him, a man with peach colored hair and a fox mask on the side of his head. "You are as fast as always, Makomo." He said as he carefully laid Inosuke on the ground.

"Thank you." Another voice, a girl's, answered and the Hashibira moved to see a girl with black hair and, like the man, a fox mask on the side of her head. "It's a good thing we came this way." She said, moving her sword to the side and staring at the demon, several times her size. "I'll deal with this one, you can go ahead Sabito."

"Got it, I'll leave the kid here." He answered before standing up.

'Who… who are they? And that woman… did she just cut off that demon's arm? Just like that?'

"I'll see you later." Sabito said before beginning to move.

The demon saw him and lunged in his direction to cut him off, his arm already back from his regenerative abilities and aiming to grab him with both.

Shing

Both of his arms were suddenly cut and the black haired woman was suddenly standing in front of the demon.

"Sorry but I can't let you get in his way." Makomo declared. "Your neck seems a bit tough so it may take me a bit but… I'll definitely cut it off."

While this happened, Inosuke could only stare in astonishment, since he didn't even realize the moment the woman had moved.


'What the hell is that idiot doing?!' Kaigaku wondered.

After separating from Inosuke he had begun to track down the girl demon, it took him a bit but he finally found her, along with another demon and Tanjiro.

'That kid… no, he may look like a kid but that is definitely the strongest demon I have encountered so far.' Even from a distance and while hiding among the trees, he could tell that something was different about that demon. 'He uses threads… and they're fast.'

"I just want to let you know, I won't kill you in one blow." The demon said towards Tanjiro after forcing him back with his threads, a few cuts already shown on the swordsman's face. "After ripping you to shreds, I'll carve you up."

The Kamado didn't answer, instead he stood there with his sword at the ready while trying to catch his breath.

'He can't approach, those threads keep forcing him back.' Kaigaku analyzed as he saw the situation develop.

He will never admit it but, while he is fairly certain that he could defeat Tanjiro if they ever fought, he knows it wouldn't be an easy fight.

Oh, he will win, this isn't just pride talking but after seeing the Kamado's abilities during their fight against the Tsuzumi demon, Kaigaku knows that he is stronger but that doesn't mean Tanjiro is so much weaker than him that it would be a landslide.

'For him to not even be able to close the distance…' Kaigaku wanted to click his tongue but stopped himself; he is not sure how sharp that demon's sense are and making an unnecessary sound could give him away.

"But, if you take back what you said just now, I'll do you a favor and kill you at once."

'…what could he have possibly said that made a demon angry?' Kaigaku couldn't help but wonder, remembering how Tanjiro stopped him when he was kicking the corpse of the tsuzumi demon.

"I won't take it back! What I said was the truth!" Tanjiro answered. "The one who is not making sense is you!"

'Is he an idiot? What good can come from trying to provoke him?' Kaigaku thought, once again resisting the urge to click his tongue.

"You're the one who's mistaken!" The red haired swordsman declared and, while Kaigaku doesn't know what happened, he can't deny that the Kamado is completely certain in whatever it is he said and will probably maintain the same answer even if he is killed.

'Idiot.'


Alright, this seems like a good place to stop.

Not many differences from canon, save for Sabito, Makomo and Kaigaku, but those will come on the next chapter.

If all goes as planned, things should be getting interesting soon, hehe.

As always, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a comment.

Until next time.