Escape
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Guest review answer corner
Guest: Well… is this soon enough, considering when you left your comment? Haha.
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Alright, twenty chapters already, nice.
Sorry that there was a longer wait than usual for this chapter, there were certain reasons (not bad ones); I'll explain at the end notes if you're interested but, for now, I'll just leave you with the chapter.
As always, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba.
'I'm tired, my eyelids feel heavy.' Zenitsu thought as he lay down on the house of the demon he had decapitated. 'I want to rest.' That thought had been passing through his mind ever since he had landed, the poison still affecting him despite defeating the demon.
'Don't ever give up!'
And every time, those words surfaced, making him continue to use the breathing technique to slow down the poison.
"Hello~" He heard a voice. "Are you alright?"
"…who? Gramps." Zenitsu asked before seeing a woman with purple eyes and hair and a butterfly patterned haori smiling.
"Sorry, but I'm not your grandfather." The woman answered as she kneeled down and took out a small wooden box. "It's a good thing you slowed down the poison with the breathing technique or you would likely be a spider by this point."
"I heard Gramps' words… he kept telling me not to give up…" The blond said weakly.
"Oh, 'soumato', you mean?" She asked, her smile never wavering. "It is said that when people are about to die they search their memories to find a way to survive." She explained, taking out a syringe with a liquid from the box. "Well, I've never experienced that myself, though." She then took one of Zenitsu's arms, that had been shrunk due to the poison, and injected him.
"Alright, bring them down from there, make sure you're careful not to harm them." Zenitsu noticed some voices said from the ground and moved to see, noticing several people in a uniform similar to the demon corps but with their faces covered moving around and helping the others that were infected by the spider demon.
'I guess… I survived again…' That was Zenitsu's last thought before the tension left his body and he passed out.
'He is going to die at this rate.' Kaigaku thought as he continued to watch the exchange between Tanjiro and the strings demon. '…I might have a chance to go for his head if I just wait until he is about to give the finishing blow, I should be able to catch him by surprise that way.' He slowly, as to not make too much sound, moved a hand towards his sword and prepared.
'If only I could use the first form-'
'Shut up!' His face morphed into a snarl but he managed to get it back in control and focus. 'Now I just wait for my chance.'
'From the left!' Tanjiro ducked beneath a group of strings. 'Below!' He used his sword to block the hits and jump back, he immediately tried to rush forward but was forced to dodge to the side when more strings came from above him, all of them dancing to the rhythm of Rui's fingers.
"What's wrong?" The demon asked. "Why don't you say that again?" He taunted as he continued his attack, not even bothering to move from his initial location and just sending the strings to strike at his opponent.
Tanjiro stayed quiet, not having the time to actually answer, his mind focused on the fight; not that he would take those words back anyway.
In a way, it was his refusal to take back those words why he was still alive.
Despite his child-like appearance, Tanjiro is certain that Rui is the strongest demon he has fought so far, if the pressure he felt from earlier wasn't enough of an indication then the fact that he couldn't find any way to close the distance solidified that notion in his mind; while he wouldn't go down without a fight, if Rui wanted to, he could have completely surrounded the Kamado with his strings and cut him apart in one fell swoop; it was his anger at his words and wanting to make him suffer that was allowing Tanjiro to stay alive and try to find a way to win.
'Even so… I just can't close the distance.' The red haired teen's breath was starting to become shallow as he was forced to stay on the defensive without a way of retaliating. 'I can't cut those strings with a normal swing, I'll need to use a technique if I want to get past them.'
Taking advantage of a momentary pause in Rui's onslaught, the swordsman calmed his breath and focused.
'Here I go!' He dashed forward, sword at the ready.
"You really don't know when to give up." The white haired demon commented in a bored tone, sending more strings against him.
Tanjiro dodged the first two swings and jumped over a third one, his momentum sending him forwards to face a fourth string.
'First Form, Water Surface Slash!' Tanjiro focused on his sword and swung to cut the string.
Snap
'Eh?' Although what he saw caught him off guard, his training kicked in and allowed him to move his body to the side, gaining another wound on his face, this going above his nose bridge, but avoiding being cut in half had he continued moving forward in that direction. 'Damn it…' Tanjiro muttered from the ground, not able to land properly. His eyes then moved to his weapon. 'It broke!' He, of course, realized it when it happened with his earlier attack but that didn't make it any less of a shock now that he actually saw it without his instincts making him move.
Staggering slightly, Tanjiro managed to get back on his feet, Rui simply giving him a one-eye glare, clearly not done with torturing him just yet as his 'sister' looked on with a neutral expression.
'Urokodaki-san, Haganezuka-san, I'm sorry, my sword broke due to my inexperience.' The Kamado thought but was quickly brought of his head when the strings moved towards him once more.
'Later! Now is not the time for this, think! Think!' He focused on dodging the attacks, his weapon barely the size of a sword grip after being snapped. 'I can't cut the strings, then I have to close the distance and get his neck.' Taking a deep breath, he dashed forward as fast as possible but, like before, the strings got in his way forcing him to stop his rush.
'It's no good, I just can't close the distance.' He thought as he got his breathing under control once more.
"What's wrong? Aren't you coming?" The demon taunted. "Are you still not taking those words back?"
Tanjiro simply glared back, his mind racing to find a way to defeat him.
"Whatever, I'm tired of you; get cut into ribbons." Raising his right hand, several strings overlapping each other suddenly appeared in front of the swordsman, ready to tear him apart.
'Not good! I can't dodge!' The Kamado panicked, being caught off guard by the sudden attack as he saw the stings approach him. 'Wha-'
"Ngh!"
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro yelled, his sister having suddenly gotten out of her box and taken the hit for him, surprising all the onlookers.
Tanjiro held her sister before she fell and moved her towards a tree to let her down.
'These wounds…' The red haired teen grimaced, seeing his sister in pain, the blood all over her body and her right arm almost completely separated from the elbow down.
He quickly grabbed said arm and held it together.
"I'm sorry Nezuko, you had to protect your big brother like this." He said as he chanted in his head 'heal, please heal' while staring at her arm.
"That… is your sister…?"
"So what if she is!" Tanjiro yelled back towards Rui.
"Your sister… a demon… two siblings staying together even when one is human…" Rui began to mutter. "A true bond… I want it!"
"Wha-? Wait, please!" Rui's sister spoke for the first time since the fight began. "I'm your big sister, aren't I? Please don't abandon me!" She said, her face a mix of shock and panic.
"Shut up!" Rui lashed out, raising a hand and cutting her body with his strings. "You have also disappointed me… go kill the demon hunters in the mountain and then we'll talk."
"Alright, I understand." She said obediently, her body grabbing her severed head as she began to run away.
Once her steps couldn't be heard, Rui turned back to the Kamados.
"Come out, kid, let's talk." He said, his voice no longer holding a threatening edge, confusing Tanjiro. "I was very moved when I saw your sister, your sibling was turned into a demon and yet you two are still together… I don't think I have the words to correctly express this feeling." He began, a small smile that looked like that of a normal human boy. "Since you came here and threatened me, I have to kill you but there is one way that you can survive." Rui said, raising his right index finger for emphasis. "Give your sister to me, if you do then I'll let you leave these mountain."
"I don't understand what you're saying." That wasn't an exaggeration. For Tanjiro, the idea of even considering leaving Nezuko behind was so foreign that he genuinely couldn't understand what he just heard.
"I'm saying that your sister will become my sister from today onwards." Rui explained as if it was the most normal thing. "All you have to do is leave her here and leave, never to return."
Letting out a growl, and after moving Nezuko's, relatively, uninjured arm to hold her injured one, he put down the box in his back and walked out from behind the tree.
"Nezuko isn't a thing, she has her own feelings and will, she would never accept something like that!" The Kamado glared.
"Don't worry, I will forge our bonds, the bonds of fear; she will come around to being my sister soon enough."
"I will cut off your head before that happens!" Tanjiro declared, any fear or hesitation from the difference in their strength overshadowed by knowing what could happen if he loses here. 'I can't defeat him if I fight normally… I don't know how long I'll last but I don't have any other choice.' With that thought, he began to use Total Concentration Breathing, intending to use it non-stop for the rest of the fight.
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"Don't worry, I will forge our bonds, the bonds of fear; she will come around to being my sister soon enough."
'This… demon…' Nezuko thought, as she held onto her arm for it to finish regenerating. 'No… I only have… one brother left…' Taking a deep breath she stared at her arm as if forcing it to finish healing. 'And no one… will break us apart!' With a growl of exertion, her arm finished reattaching and she got up from her spot to stand beside her brother. 'Never again!'
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"Nezuko?" Tanjiro called out when the younger Kamado moved from behind the tree; she simply stood there, her eyes fixated on Rui and a few veins bulging around her head. "I see, you want to fight too, right?"
Giving one resolute nod, she prepared to dash forward.
Tanjiro smiled for a moment before doing the same.
"It seems you don't treasure your life… well, whatever." Rui said, clearly not afraid of facing the two at the same time as he moved a hand to his hair, revealing his hidden eye. "If you really think you can face a member of the Twelve Demon Moons and live, then bring it." The demon said with a demented grin, showing that his eye had the kanji for 5 engraved on it.
"Let's go!" Tanjiro said, not deterred in the slightest by that discovery; if anything, it added another reason why he has to defeat him.
"Nhn!"
With that, the two lunged forward.
Rui raised both hands and strings began to move to intercept them.
Tanjiro moved in front and used what remained of his weapon to block them, giving Nezuko a chance to close the distance; she jumped in the air and tried to hit Rui with a downwards kick, the demon simply jumping back, dodging it with ease, as the ground where he stood a moment ago shattered under Nezuko's strength.
Tanjiro quickly dashed forward, almost closing the distance between the two, when more strings appeared in front of him, halting his advance.
One of the strings almost managed to hit his arm from the side but Nezuko grabbed him from his haori and moved him back before it could.
Not wanting to give up the initiative, the Kamados lunged forward once more, this time moving in opposite directions to try and catch Rui in a pincer attack.
Against other demons that could have worked but not against this one.
Rui raised both hands, one towards each, and more strings lashed out to stop their advance; Tanjiro was forced to dodge and move back while Nezuko tried to power through them, counting on her regeneration to help her, but was eventually forced to relent as well when it was clear she would be cut in pieces before getting past the strings.
The three continued with their exchange, the Kamados trying to let Tanjiro get close so he could use what remains of his sword to cut Rui's head while the latter continued to easily, almost lazily, thwart every attempt.
'Damn it, this won't work, I can't get close like this.' Tanjiro thought as he dodged another group of strings. 'There has to be something, some way for me to get close.' He jumped back at the same time Nezuko did and the two landed next to each other. 'Something… cough.' He began coughing, the backlash from using Total Concentration Breathing constantly beginning to take its toll. 'It's okay… I can still fight, take deep breaths.'
"Mhm." His sister's mumble brought him out of his thoughts, as she looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"Nezuko?"
"Mhm!" She nodded once, her eyes moving back to Rui as she took a step forward to begin the charge.
"…I see." The Kamado grimaced but took a deep breath nonetheless.
Without a word, the two lunged forward, Nezuko on the lead.
"How long are you going to continue with this futile attempt?" Rui asked, his strings already moving to intercept the two.
Tanjiro stepped forward and deflected the first wave. Then the two slid below the second one and Nezuko barely managed to move Tanjiro out of the way of the third one, getting graced in her left leg instead.
This wasn't anything new, they were doing the exact same thing they have been doing all this time, which is why when Rui sent another wave that should have stopped and forced them to move back, he was genuinely surprised when Nezuko stepped forward between the strings and her brother, tanking the hit like when she revealed herself, blood splattering around.
'She let herself get hit?' Rui thought, the same feeling as before appearing in his chest.
"Ahhh!" Between Nezuko taking the hit and him being distracted, Tanjiro was able to quickly close the distance and move behind him, his sword poised to strike and moving towards Rui's neck.
Clang
'Wha-?!'
"Hey." Rui called out, unperturbed by the weapon that was currently touching the left side of his neck but not cutting through. "Tell me, did you think that my neck would be less resilient than my strings?" He asked, moving his head to glare at Tanjiro with the eye that has the number engraved.
Before the Kamado could answer, Rui turned around and kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing against a tree.
"Damn it." He cursed, looking back at him. "What, where is Nezu-" His answer was cut short when blood suddenly fell from the sky, right on top of his sword; he looked up to see his sister entangled upside down in mid-air in Rui's strings, blood dripping from her body. "Nezuko!" He called out in shock.
"She seems to be a bit rebellious so maybe I'll let her stay there under the sun for a while but don't worry, she will come around to being my sister eventually." Rui said, clearly not interested in Tanjiro's reaction. "You just have to go and leave her here now; you realized it, didn't you? You can't cut my neck, there is no way for you to win. If you go now, then I'll let you live."
Nezuko tried to fight against the strings but with a sway of his hand Rui tightened their hold, the younger Kamado letting out a muffled scream before falling unconscious.
'She is asleep?' Rui wondered, slightly confused. 'She seems a bit different from us… well, I can think about it later.'
'…sigh calm down.' Despite the situation and the rage that made his blood boil, Tanjiro forced himself to take long and even breaths. 'Don't let yourself be guided by rage and do something reckless, it will only work in favor of your opponent.' Continuing with his breaths, he looked at Rui, his red eyes glaring as if wanting to make a hole in the demon. 'Focus, unleash the best possible Tenth Form that you can!' Taking one last deep breath, he lunged forward. 'Total Concentration!'
"You still don't understand that it's useless?" The white haired demon said in a bored tone, sending more strings.
'Water Breathing!' Tanjiro began to dodge and deflects the strings as he spun with each swing. 'Tenth Form!' When another string got in his way, the Kamado swung with as much strength as he could muster and cut it. 'The Dragon of Change!'
'The rotations increase the strength of his swing.' Rui's eyes widened slightly when his strings were cut, something that the swordsman hadn't been able to do until now. 'That could be a bit problematic.'
'I cut it, if it's with the Tenth Form then I can cut them, move, close the distance, get right on his face and cut his neck!' Tanjiro continued forward, the dragon's fangs cutting or deflecting the strings in his way as he continued rotating to increase the strength of his swing.
"Hey." Rui called out, his hands suddenly turning red above the wrist as well as the strings that came from the tip of his fingers. "Did you think I couldn't make stronger strings?" Just as he asked this, he moved both hands back. 'Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Cage.' At his command, several web shaped strings suddenly appeared in Tanjiro's way. "I'm tired of you, goodbye."
'I can't dodge.' The Kamado realized the moment the strings appeared, there were even more than when Nezuko saved him. 'I can't cut them either, their scent is different, I don't have enough rotations.' Fear began to invade his body as time seemed to slow down. 'I can't lose, I have to protect Nezuko! I can't, I'm gonna be killed… I'm gonna die.'
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His mind began to look through his memories, from the earliest one to the most recent one, looking for something, anything, that could help him survive.
'Dad.' When he found one.
"Tanjiro." He heard his father's voice, an image, or more like a memory, of him sitting at the entrance of their home. "Breath; learn to control your breathing and become the fire god." The man that, saved for his sickly complexion, could easily be described as an adult looking Tanjiro with the same colored hair and eyes, and even a similar scar in his forehead, spoke.
A memory from long ago came to the surface, of when he was a young boy and Nezuko had just been born.
Since he was able to remember, his father had always performed a dance at the start of the year, his mother had explained that it was to avoid misfortunes and accidents by offering a dance to the fire god since their family works with fire.
He had been mesmerized ever since he first saw it, and that feeling had never gone away no matter how many times he saw the dance but one thing that always stood out to him was how his father was able to dance in the first place.
Kamado Tanjuro had suffered from a fragile body and was sick more often than not so seeing him dance from sunrise to sunset while on the snow is something that had always puzzled the young Tanjiro.
"There is a special way to breath." He remembered his father say one time he asked as he patted his head. "A way for you to not get tired no matter how much you move."
"A way to breath?" His younger self asked.
"Yes, if you manage to learn this way of breathing then you can also dance forever." Tanjuro said.
Tanjiro trusted his father's words, and even learned the moves for the Dance of the Fire God from him so he could carry on the tradition, but he passed away before he could teach him how to use that special way of breathing; he still had time until New Year's so he thought he could learn it in time by just continuing to practice the moves.
Needless to say, that plan was destroyed when he came back home more than two years ago and saw most of his family dead.
"Tanjiro." The red haired teen's thoughts went back to his father's words. "No matter what, you must pass this earrings and the dance to the next generation."
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"Promise me."
'Dance of the Fire God!' Tanjiro doesn't know what possessed him but after remembering that, his body seemed to move on his own, taking another deep breath he began to use the first step of his family's dance. 'Waltz!' The water dragon that was moving along his sword changed, its form distorting and morphing into bright red flames.
With the momentum he had from what would have been his last swing, he spun as he moved forward and slashed at the strings in his way, cutting them all.
'The strings!' This time Rui was completely caught by surprise, convinced that his strings couldn't be cut by the demon hunter, but he quickly recovered and sent more strings against him.
One of them grazed Tanjiro's shoulder and another one would have taken a chunk of his head had he not ducked in time, only grazing his scalp instead.
'Don't stop, keep running.' The Kamado told himself as he advanced, watching the strings to be prepared to dodge or cut them. 'If I stop now I'll take the backlash from changing from Water Breathing to Dance of the Fire God breathing; when that happens, I won't be able to move for a while.' Steeling his resolve, he continued forward, even as more strings appeared in his way. 'That's why, I have to finish him now! Run! I have to protect Nezuko!'
Letting out a wordless battle cry, Tanjiro jumped forward to quickly close the distance, the flames around his broken sword cutting through the strings that Rui continued to put in the way as he suddenly closed a distance that seemed impossible to, even when Nezuko's help.
'This guy…!' For the first time since the battle began, Rui actually felt like his life was in danger; jumping back, he sent more strings to stand in the red haired teen's way.
Tanjiro's body hurt.
'Forward!'
He was about to run out of breath.
'Forward!'
The muscles in his arms ached, he could hear his heart in his ears and blood continued to drop from his wounds.
'FORWARD!' Yet he couldn't feel any of it; no, it's not that he didn't feel it, it's that he couldn't afford to acknowledge any of it, his mind was completely focused in only one thing, protect his sister, any other thing was completely erased in order to focus on that.
The distance between Tanjiro and Rui was now four steps.
Rui jumped back and sent strings in all directions towards him, Tanjiro jumped and spun in mid-air to cut them all, he felt his legs begin to cramp but pay it no heed.
Three steps.
The two landed and immediately more strings appeared, forming a wall between the two; he swung with all his might to get rid of it, his arms yelling in protest but he ignored it.
Two steps.
Rui continued to retreat, Tanjiro not allowing him to gain any more distance as he continued to lunge forward; another wave of strings was sent from Rui's fingers, they barely got the chance to close the distance when Tanjiro swung his sword and got rid of them all.
One step; and finally…
'There it is, the opening thread.' Tanjiro saw it, the image that announced his chance at a victory. 'I'll beat him here!' More strings appeared in his way, the Kamado feeling them dig into his skin as they made contact. 'Even if it means getting slashed with him!' Ignoring the strings, Tanjiro moved his flaming sword towards Rui's neck, completely forgoing any defense against the strings that could, and would, cut his body apart.
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'So tired… I can't move…'
"Nezuko. Nezuko."
'Mom… is that you…?'
"Wake up, Nezuko."
'I'm sorry… I can't… I'm too tired…'
"You have to help your brother, I'm sure you can do it now." She felt her mother's hands on her face.
'Help… Onii-chan…'
"Do your best."
'I want to… mom… but my body… it won't answer me…' Nezuko thought, her body still limp.
"Please, Nezuko." She could hear her mother's tears as she kept talking.
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"Or your brother will die too."
Nezuko's eyes snapped open, seeing Tanjiro and Rui about to cut each other.
'Do not… touch… my brother!' She extended her left palm towards them, feeling something happen with the blood that covered the strings holding her in the air, the same strings that Rui had moved to try and block Tanjiro's current attack. 'Blood Demon Art.' The blood began to change colors, from its normal red to a pinkish color. 'Exploding Blood!' Closing her fist, the blood suddenly combusted, exploding into flames that immediately burned and snapped the threads that were about to cut the older Kamado, yet the flames didn't do anything to him as he passed through them.
'Wha-?!' Rui's shock was quickly replaced by panic when he felt the black sword of his enemy making contact with his neck once more.
"The bond between Nezuko and I…" A few droplets from Nezuko's blood that had landed on Tanjiro's sword began to ignite. "Can't be severed…" Aiding the swordsman in his swing and accelerating it further. "By anyone!" With those words, Tanjiro finally was able to sever the demon's head from his body, sending it flying through the air.
'I owe Ozaki-san so much.' Genya thought as he ran through the forest.
He was still in the middle of giving first aid to the hunters he held back, his transformation already reversed, when Sabito and Makomo had appeared and asked what happened.
Genya was a bit fearful that Ozaki would say something, all the other had passed out or were dead, but she stayed quiet for the most part, only adding a comment to what Genya explained but not saying anything about Nezuko or his 'ability'.
The two demon hunters' expressions made it clear they thought something was strange with their story, especially since Genya's uniform was barely recognizable yet there didn't seem to be any wounds in his body, but moved forward after instructing them to wait for the Kakushi.
A group of them arrived not too long afterwards and Genya left Ozaki and the others in their care as he ran to help the others, one of the Kakushi giving him his jacket so he at least has some protection against demons.
'I really hope they give me a chance to explain when they wake up.' The Shinazugawa is fairly certain that at least Ozaki is willing to hear him and Tanjiro out but he can't say the same about the others that saw the Kamado's sister and his own transformation. 'I'll worry about that later, for now, I need to keep moving!' Stopping that train of thought, he quickened his pace to find the others.
'That was amazing…' That's the only thing Inosuke could think as he laid down face-up on the grass. 'That girl, she didn't get hit once, she just kept moving around, dodging everything before cutting that demon's neck with that weird technique.' The Hashibira replayed what he saw in his head, not that he saw much, the girl with the fox mask was almost too fast for his eyes to follow. 'Am I really… that weak?' He remembered how the girl frowned when he told her about fighting him so he can prove he is stronger.
She had moved forward and tripped him so he was in the ground, one of her hands on his shoulder as she looked down on him.
"I don't like it when injured people push themselves." Her eyes had a mix of sadness and rage at his words. "Learn your own limitations and how to assess the state of your body before saying such reckless things."
Inosuke hadn't been able to say anything in return, his entire skin tingling similarly to when the 'Father' Spider Demon had mutated.
"Stay here and rest." She ordered before turning around and disappearing in the same direction the man with the fox mask had gone.
'…I am weak.' That's the last thing he thought before falling into unconsciousness.
'Tch, dammit.' Kaigaku cursed as he ran through the forest. 'Where did that demon go?' After watching Tanjiro's sword snap, Kaigaku decided that he was better off facing that other demon, rationalizing that facing him when there could be other demons would be foolish, at best. 'And what the hell was that? Why did that idiot have a girl in that box?' He is not sure what he saw, something about the girl seemed weird and the way the Strings Demon seemed to lash out only increased his confusion but he decided to think about it later once the demons were dealt with.
So, when the girl demon was sent away, he circled around in order to catch up with her and kill her.
'She shouldn't be too far from here…'
"Is… okay…"
He heard a voice and he quickly moved in the direction, seeing a man, naked for some reason, and a young woman with a butterfly ornament and a haori that resembled a butterfly's wings.
Noticing the uniform under the woman's haori, he approached the two.
"Ara, I didn't think I would find another demon hunter here." The woman said with a smile.
"Who are you?" Kaigaku asked with a frown.
"I'm the Insect Pillar, Kocho Shinobu." She answered.
Kaigaku immediately erased the frown from his face.
"And who might you be?"
"I'm- I mean, my name is Kaigaku, I was chasing a demon that was moving in this direction."
"Oh, is that her by any chance?" Shinobu pointed to the side where the body of the demon laid still. "I already took care of her so you don't have to worry."
"…her head is still attached." The black haired swordsman pointed out.
"I used poison to kill her, her body will become ash when the sun comes up." The smile the Pillar had when saying this looked a bit out of place, considering her words. "In any case, are there any other demons around that you know about?"
"Ah, yes, actually, there is another one not too far from here." He answered.
"Great! Please take me there so I can take care of it." She requested before turning to the naked man. "Please go find the Kakushi so they can treat any wounds you have and give you new clothes."
"Ah… yes…" He answered, covering his body with his hands.
"Well then, lead the way."
Kaigaku nodded once before retracing his steps to where Tanjiro and the String Demon were fighting.
'I did it.' Tanjiro thought before falling to the ground, face down. 'I don't know why it worked… but the Dance of the Fire God saved me.' The Kamado tried to control his breathing but it continued to come shallow and erratic, his body forcing him to acknowledge all the pain it was suffering and making it impossible for him to get up.
Thud
He heard something fall to the ground and moved his eyes in that direction.
"Ne… zuko…" He said, noticing his sister lying face up on the ground. 'She's breathing… that's a relief.' The swordsman began to drag his body towards her. 'I still… have to help… Inosuke… and Kaigaku-san.'
The Kamado continued to drag himself towards Nezuko even as his body protested that he should stop moving.
When his nose caught a scent.
'Impossible…' He muttered.
"You bastard." Rui's voice was heard. "You really pissed me off now!"
The demon's body began to move, using the strings to lift his head and reattach it.
'Why? I cut off his head!' Tanjiro thought in fear, his body barely responding as it is.
"Did you think that you won for a moment? I used my own strings to cut my head before your sword could." He said, his face set in a scowl as he glared daggers at the red haired teen. "You really pissed me off now, enough playing around, I'm going to kill you!"
'Don't panic, focus on your breathing.' Tanjiro had blocked out the sound of the demon's voice. 'As long as you breathe properly, you can keep moving no matter how tired you are.' He tried to will his body to get up, not letting the threads that suddenly surrounded him like a cage and were moving closer break his concentration. 'Calm down, breathe so you can keep moving.' As much as he wanted to, the Kamado's body was well beyond its limit, between the fight, using Total Concentration Breathing constantly and switching Breath Styles, he simply didn't have the energy to move without resting for at least a few moments anymore.
He felt the threads getting closer, about to cut his entire body apart.
Shing
When someone came running and cut all of them at once.
'Who…?'
"Hey, Tanjiro."
"That voice… Sabito…?"
"You look like you've been through a lot." The Water Pillar said, standing between his sibling disciple and the demon. "Be proud, though, if you managed to enrage a member of the Twelve Moons as much as this one seems to be, then you must have given him quite the scare." He added, his eyes never looking away from the demon. "But we can talk about that later, just rest and leave the rest to me now."
The Kamado whispered a 'thank you' before moving towards his sister once more.
'And I just told him to rest… well, it's not like I can't understand him.' Sabito thought wryly.
"All of you…" Rui seethed in rage. "You keep popping up one after the other like pests, I'm sick of you!" More strings appeared in front of him and they converged together, constantly rotating and leaving just a small, coin size hole in the middle. "Cutting Thread Rotation."
'Water Breathing.' Sabito took a deep breath before adopting a stance, his right leg behind his left one and raised his sword to the side of his head parallel to the ground, with the edge upwards and the tip aimed at the demon. 'Twelfth Form.'
"Die!" The demon demanded, extending his arm forwards to send the rotating threads against the swordsman. "…eh?"
The threads were supposed to have moved where Sabito was and cut him in pieces, leaving nothing but chunks of flesh, so when all the threads were suddenly cut apart and the peach haired man appeared mere inches from his face, Rui wasn't able to understand what had happened.
He was only able to register the sword that severed his neck once he realized that his head had rolled off.
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'What…?' Rui wondered, time appearing to slow down as the fact he was going to die began to catch up to him. 'How? What did he do? It was like he dashed forwards and my strings were all cut at the same time.' The white haired demon tried to understand the situation but once his head touched the ground and he looked at the Kamado siblings, that thought suddenly seemed unimportant.
'That's… a real bond…' He thought, unconsciously making his beheaded body move towards them. 'I wanted that… that's why I began my own family… since my human one was fake.'
'…sorry…'
A memory resurfaced in his mind, of before he was admitted into the Twelve Moons.
'It's okay, Rui… I'll die with you and accompany you.'
'What? What is this?'
His human memories began to resurface, of how his body had been fragile, how his parents were worried when he once went out in the snow and collapsed after taking a few steps, of when Muzan turned him into a demon, of when he first killed a human and-
'I'm sorry… that I couldn't give you… a stronger body… I'm sorry.'
'Ah, that's right.' Now that he was at death's door, he could finally understand and accept what happened. 'It's not that my parents didn't love me and that's why they tried to kill me.' He could remember seeing his father cry as he held a knife, ready to stab him in his sleep after he first ate a human. 'It wouldn't have worked even if he managed to, since I'm a demon, but… what I had back then.' Tears began to fall from his eyes. 'That was a real bond… and I severed it myself.' His body fell to the ground, almost next to the red haired teen and his sister.
Then, to Rui's surprise, the swordsman reached a hand and patted his back, as if he was trying to comfort him.
'So warm….' With his mind now clear, he could understand Tanjiro's words and how he was right, his forced bonds based on fear weren't real; every member of his family that didn't do as he said or made some sort of mistake, he punished.
He had lost count of how many 'siblings' he had gotten rid of and didn't even think twice about making 'father' go mad until he was little more than an animal that obeyed his commands, not to mention the times he had punished his 'mother'.
'No wonder they left me… fear can only go so far…' His head was almost done disappearing. 'I want to apologize… but I will never get the chance… my real parents, they went somewhere I can't reach them.'
"That's not true."
Suddenly, he was in another place, he couldn't describe it, he didn't feel ground beneath him or wind move or even saw anything around him but 'light', he was just 'somewhere', his head reattached to his body as he saw a man and a woman sitting in seiza in front of him.
"We're family." The man said. "We will always be together, even if it's in hell."
"Welcome back, Rui." The woman added with a smile.
Rui stared at the two, even more tears beginning to fall as his demonic features began to recede, his white hair turning black and his milky white skin adopting a normal human color as he ran towards the two.
"I'm sorry!" He yelled as the three hugged. "I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The boy continued to say through his tears as the three began their journey.
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"…I can't say I'm able to share your feelings on this, Tanjiro." Sabito said as he approached him while sheathing his sword, the red haired swordsman's hand still resting on the back of Rui's body as it continued to disappear. "But I can at least respect them." He added with a small smile.
"…Sabito… I'm sorry… could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, is it about your wounds?"
"No… in the pocket of my haori." He signaled to his left side with his eyes. "There is a small knife with a hollow grip, could you take it and stab his body… I can barely move right now… I promise I'll explain why later… please."
"…alright." The Water Pillar nodded, searching for the item and doing as told. "Here you go." He said as he put the knife back in the Kamado's pocket. "Hm?" Sabito raised his head and unsheathed his sword, blocking a slash.
"Ara?"
"Shinobu-san." The man grimaced as he saw his fellow Pillar land a few feet away after he deflected her attack.
"What is this, Sabito-san?" The Kocho asked, her smile not wavering. "Did you just protect a demon?"
"Tanjiro." Sabito spoke up. "Force yourself to move even if you can't, grab your sister and run."
Taking a few deep breaths, the Kamado did as told.
"I'm sorry, thank you." He said quickly as he began to escape.
"Shinobu-san." He called out. "I can explain."
"I'm sure you can, but you just let a demon escape, I can hear your story after I catch them and kill that demon."
The man grimaced before moving his mask from the side of his head and over his face.
"Won't you at least listen to me first?"
"After what I just saw? I think you and that boy might be under the influence of a Blood Demon Art." The girl with the butterfly ornament answered. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to treat any wounds you get once we help you."
'Damn it.' With a scowl, Sabito prepared to hold back his fellow Pillar. 'I hope Giyu or Makomo find you before anyone else, Tanjiro.'
'This is bad.' Tanjiro thought as he ran, having grabbed Nezuko's box as he escaped. 'What now? I will probably be dismissed from the corps… and everyone…' His mind went to the several people in the corps that have helped him or kept his secret. 'WHA-?!' When he suddenly felt something land on his back, making him fall and drop his sister.
'What was that? Just using Total Concentration Breathing to run was taking all of my focus so I couldn't sense anyone approaching!' He raised his eyes towards his sister when another figure, a girl with a white cape over a demon slayer uniform appeared. 'A slayer!'
The girl raised her blade, about to decapitate Nezuko.
'I won't let you!' Tanjiro forced his body to move once more, grabbing the girl from her cape and pulling, making her lose her footing and land on top of him.
"Run Nezuko! Run! Don't let them catch you! Hurry-!" His last sentence was cut short when he felt the heel of a boot make contact with the back of his head making it crash against the ground and breaking his jaw. 'Don't lose consciousness!'
Nezuko was running as she was told when the girl got up and began to pursue.
'Buy time! Even if it's just another second!' He got up, determined to get in the way of the girl when a sword suddenly appeared in front of him, making him jump back. 'Damn it!' The Kamado cursed as he tried to keep his breath steady to no avail.
"I never liked you… but to think you were protecting a demon."
'Kaigaku-san.' Tanjiro recognized him.
"I'll at least give you a quick death, consider it a mercy." Zenitsu's sibling disciple stated before dashing forward, his sword poised to strike down the red haired teen.
'The first step is Waltz, the second one is…' For the second time that night, Tanjiro's perception of time slowed down but, unlike before when his mind went through all of his memories, this time he forced it to focus on a particular set; the steps of his family's dance. 'Not that one, I can't do that one, not that one either.' He listed off as he remembered all the steps, the sword closing onto his neck with every passing moment. '…that one!'
Kaigaku was certain his sword would sever the lower ranked demon hunter's head in a few moments, between all the wounds he had sustained and the way he was breathing, there was little reason for him to worry.
So when his sword was mere inches from Tanjiro's neck and he suddenly disappeared from his sight, his confusion was understandable.
The black haired swordsman noticed a shadow and looked up, red eyes staring at him as Tanjiro reeled back and head-butted him.
'What…?' He passed out in confusion as Tanjiro landed.
'Quick, I have to-' The Kamado took one step before his body reminded him of the pain he was in and he immediately fell to the ground. 'My body… it won't move…' He tried to take a breath to keep forcing his body to respond but it was for naught, he was truly way past the point where he should be able to move, suddenly using one of the steps of the Dance of the Fire God didn't help at all.
"Tanjiro!"
"Gen… ya…"
"Shit! Are you alright?! Can you move?" The Shinazugawa asked as he knelt down beside him.
"Please… Nezuko…"
A rustle from behind distracted the black haired teen and he quickly turned around.
'Another demon hunter.' He gulped, seeing a woman with a fox mask and the uniform. 'Wait, it's alright, she doesn't know about his sister so-'
"Nezuko is in danger, right Tanjiro?"
Genya froze at those words.
"And you know about her." She directed her gaze to Genya.
"Y-yes…" He mumbled, unsure of what was about to happen.
"Then, please take him away from here." The woman said.
"Wait… Nezuko-"
"I'll protect her." She said without missing a beat. "You have my word, Tanjiro."
"Thank you… Makomo…" The red haired teen managed to say. "She went… that way…" It was a blessing that his hand was already in the direction his sister ran, because even moving a finger to point felt almost impossible.
"Can I trust you to get him out of here?" Makomo asked the teen with the scar on his face.
"Yes, leave it to me." Genya nodded. He wasn't sure why she knows about Tanjiro's sister but he is willing to wait to ask for an explanation.
"Then go." With that, Makomo began running.
"…I'll ask you what happened once we're safe, come on." Genya said as he moved Tanjiro to his back and began to run.
'She keeps dodging everything and doesn't attack.' Kanao thought as she chased after the demon with the bamboo on her mouth, who had shrunk her body until she was like a child, swinging her sword to try and cut her as she kept dodging. 'Why?' That question came to her head but she quickly dismissed it. 'There is no need to think, I'll just slay demons like I was told to do.' She moved faster to catch Nezuko, the sudden burst of speed catching the demon off guard, and her sword was about to connect with her neck.
Clang
When another sword got in the middle.
She raised her eyes and met the dark blue eyes of her fellow Tsuguko, Tomioka Giyu.
'Why is he protecting a demon?' She wondered.
"Giyu!" A new voice called out and she jumped back to stop the clash.
'That's one of master's friends.' Kanao recognized her.
"Take her away, I'll deal with this." Tomioka said, his eyes never leaving Kanao.
"Got it." Makomo nodded.
She said something to the demon that Kanao wasn't able to hear before the two began to run in the direction she came from.
'What's going on?' Kanao couldn't help but wonder. 'I'm ordered to slay demons but what do I do if another demon hunter protects them? Should I slay them too? Or wait until I receive new orders?' Without taking her eyes from the Water Pillar's Tsuguko, she moved one hand to her pocket and took out her coin, she threw it in the air and caught it in one hand before turning it over on top of her arm, since her hand was holding her sword.
Seeing the result, the girl with the side ponytail relaxed her stance slightly, making it clear that she wasn't going to fight but was ready to defend herself if Tomioka attacked.
Giyu stared at her for a moment before, without turning around, moving backwards, only stopping the staring contest once there was a large distance between the two.
Genya continued to run with Tanjiro on his back, trying to figure out what happened after they split up.
He can guess that Tanjiro fought a strong demon, considering the state he was in, and that someone likely saw his sister since that other demon hunter was trying to kill him but other than that, he couldn't really figure out what happened.
'Where am I supposed to take him? It's likely that the corps knows about him so I can't bring him to one of the Wisteria houses; maybe find a doctor in a nearby town and-' His thoughts were cut short when a woman with milky white skin and long pale hair appeared in front of him. 'Shit, of all the times to find a demon, why now?!' He cursed, crouching to leave the Kamado on the ground and prepare to fight.
"W-wait, please." The demon called out, her hands raised to show that she means no harm. "I-I'm not your enemy, I saw what happened and I want to help him." She said quickly, trying to look as least threatening as possible.
"Help?" Genya repeated, obviously confused. "Why would you want to help? Who are you anyway?"
"I… I'm a demon that was in this mountain… he spared me and told me that there was a way for me to live without eating humans." She answered, looking at the Kamado. "Please, he told me there was a place I should go for this a-and he needs treatment and… after what happened, the demon hunters probably won't help him."
'…that's true.' Genya admitted to himself but remained skeptic towards the demon woman.
"Why should I believe you?" He eventually asked.
"H-here." She moved a hand to her back. "W-wait! Please!" Immediately regretting the action as Genya tensed up again. "I-I am not trying to hurt you." Slowly, she took out a fox mask from behind her.
"That's…"
"It's his mask, he said that it was proof he sent me." The white haired woman explained.
"…what's his name?" Genya asked.
"Eh? Ah! It's Tanjiro! Kamado Tanjiro!" She quickly answered.
'She has Tanjiro's mask and knows his name… could she be telling the truth?' The Shinazugawa debated internally. 'But wait, she said she saw what happened to him, she could have heard his name and his mask fallen off during whatever fight he had-'
"Genya." Tanjiro called out, his voice barely above a whisper. "She's… telling the truth…" The Kamado managed.
"…alright then." He nodded before he felt the red haired teen going limp, finally passing out. 'Seriously, how were you still conscious before?' He snorted.
"U-umm…"
"He said you were good so I'll believe you, lead the way." Genya said.
"Y-yes, oh, b-but I'm not the one actually leading the way." She pointed down and to a cat.
"Whatever, let's just go." The Shinazugawa answered.
The demon nodded before turning around and following the cat, Genya quickly followed behind her.
Phew, done.
This chapter was hard to write.
As I mentioned in the beginning notes, I'll explain why the wait was longer than usual, feel free to skip this if you're not interested, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Ok, so… I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't have time (I literally have a lot of time now, due to the quarantine), the main reasons why this chapter took longer than usual to be ready were.
First: The manga is finished and with everything that was happening around it I was too focused on it to get too much work in this done (I still wrote a bit from time to time)
Second: I got Persona 5 Royal and that took away a good chunk of my time; I would call this the main reason why it took longer than usual among the three.
Third: This chapter went through SEVERAL drafts before I found one I liked; this is a personal thing but I only post things once I can read it and say with confidence 'alright, I like how this ended up' and for this chapter in particular that was… difficult.
It's not that I didn't like the previous drafts, I did, really, but for this chapter in particular I felt like it wasn't enough. I started reading the manga before the anime reached Natagumo and I was quite literally blown away with episode 19 (as I'm sure most of us were), I won't go into a long speech about it but that part at the end was incredible, to say the least, so I wanted to do my best to convey at least a part of it in this chapter.
I don't know if I can say I managed that, I'll leave that up to you to decide, but I didn't want to post this without at least being able to say 'I did the best I possibly could', hence the many drafts I mentioned before.
Well, I just wanted to explain the wait, I hope the chapter was worth it.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
Until next time!
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PS: SPOILERS FOR THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE MANGA, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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TANKANA IS CANON PEOPLE, YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!
