Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.

XV: Fight

One moment.

For a single, everlasting moment, everything was quiet in the pitch-black darkness that had erupted around the ballroom.

Then it all turned to chaos.

There were shouts from the regular civilians who didn't know what was going on. Kanao noticed that the voices of the Aranea family were not included.

How could she have been so stupid? Shinobu's nod of 'approval' was actually a nod signaling the start of the true mission. Even though it looked like some type of support… what is it that her sister was trying to portray? The simple movement had a duel-meaning, perhaps?

Putting her thoughts aside for the time being, she tugged on Tanjiro's arm (he seemed to have come to the same conclusion as her, judging by his lack of surprise at the sudden dark) and dashed to the nearest safe location she knew the way to, which was a small hallway off of the main room. Shinobu had previously instructed her to memorize the map of the mansion, so that when the time arrived that everyone would be in darkness, she'd know where to go by knowledge and instinct.

By this point, gunshots could be heard echoing off of the tall walls of the room. The hidden mafia members must have recovered their senses and figured out that they have been breached.

Kanao tried to ignore the thoughts of what may have happened to Rose, Zenitsu and Inosuke, who were still at the table as far as she knew. Pushing them to the back of her mind, she quickly sat down with her hand still attached to Tanjiro's arm.

"Alright Kanao, what's our plan?" He whispered. Technically their assigned plan was to simply hold off all of the mafia members while the teachers and more experienced Demon Slayers went to assassinate the Aranea family, but she knew what he meant.

There was no time to flip her coin, and she wouldn't be able to see the outcome in the dark even if she did. It felt so wrong to do so, but she spoke, trying to convince herself that it was because she was asked a question, and had to make a response. She wouldn't get beaten if-

A nearby gunshot reminded her of what she had to do. "We need to first steal night vision goggles, or whatever it is they may have, off of the mafia members." She deduced that since they were shooting, they must be able to see. They wouldn't want to shoot their own side, after all. The school didn't let them carry their own night vision goggles into the party, since they were too bulky to try and hide in comparison to the smaller knives and guns. "Then we have to take out all of them."

"Alright." Tanjiro confirmed. She realized that he must have been looking to her for a plan because she was technically higher ranked than him. Being the successor to Shinobu's position, she is given a greater status among the Demon Slayers.

The two stood, gripping each other's hand to ensure that they stayed together. Then, staying low to the ground, they sprinted back into the chaotic ballroom.

.

Gunshots and shouts rang around them as they ran, Kanao leading the way. Occasionally they'd hit an overturned chair or table, and sometimes other things that she'd rather not say.

After some time, they managed to find the source of one of the gunshots. The sound deafened Kanao's ears, being so close, but she managed to take out a knife and incapacitate the person, judging their position by instinct alone. She then stole the night vision goggles off of his face (she was correct, they did have them. Seemingly as a precaution more than anything else, they must have hidden the goggles within the room somewhere along with other utilities. Unless they saw the Demon Slayers coming, but she didn't think they did), and gave them to Tanjiro to wear. He didn't know his way around in the dark like she did, so Kanao would simply take the next pair.

.

Stealing another pair of night vision goggles wasn't too difficult. The biggest issue was the fact that she couldn't see, so there were some missed attempts at knocking the unfortunate person unconscious. Really, it was a miracle that she didn't get shot or stabbed in the process, although Kanao now sported some minor scratches.

Putting on the goggles, she was greeted by her surroundings in a green shade. Now finally being able to see, she could easily find and disable her enemies. But there was a downside to being granted vision once again.

The bodies of both the mafia members and her fellow Demon Slayers were littered on the floor, in pools of blood. Swallowing thickly, she continued on. Growing up in the slums of the city meant that she knew death well. Her brothers had died lying in their own blood. She herself had nearly passed on that way, too. She could pay her respects to them once the mission is finished. Holding her grip on Kanae's knife tighter, she took a breath. Then, she kept following Tanjiro.

.

Eventually, they found a group of Demon Slayers. The band agreed to take over duties in the ballroom, while Tanjiro and Kanao went to find (and possibly assist) the others who may need it. As far as they knew, there was activity within nearly the whole mansion.

Kanao had a bad feeling, but ignored it. What good would her intuition do?

Little did she know that soon, things would prove her bad feeling to be correct.

.

After a few quiet areas, the two opened large double-doors to unexpectedly find a large room full of mafia members. It almost looked like a second ballroom, only slightly smaller. Luckily, the mafia were on the other side of said large room.

Locking eyes, a silent conversation passed between Tanjiro and Kanao. Well, more like an argument. It only lasted about five seconds, but it seemed like longer.

You go on ahead, leave me behind. I'll deal with them. Kanao didn't want Tanjiro to be hurt, she'd much rather put her already broken self in harm's way than him. She also felt that it was her responsibility, for a reason she couldn't properly define.

I can't do that, and you know it. Tanjiro, on the other hand, wanted to protect Kanao. Even though she obviously doesn't need it, an instinct wanted him to.

At that, Kanao put on the small and sad smile. The mafia began running towards them. Dodging a bullet, she took her coin out of her pocket. Turning a nearby table over and ducking behind it for protection, she flipped it. Not sure whether to be relieved or dreadful at what it told her to do, she made what was probably the boldest decision in her life.

Turning back to Tanjiro, who had also evaded the gunfire by using a similar tactic as she did, she grabbed his arm and led him back to the door, using her own gun to fire back at the others.

"Kanao, what are you doing?!" Tanjiro's eyes went wide as he was pushed out of the room. With a single word as her answer (which was part of her original decision), she shut the doors on him. "Go."

Once the doors were closed, she swung back around to the room. Dashing for cover, she leapt back behind the table she was previously behind. But not before a bullet grazed her side.

The pain exploded, traveling up and down the right side of her waist, but she tried her best to ignore it. Peering around the table, she counted the remaining mafia members. Four.

Breathing in deep, she imagined that she was in a training exercise back at the apartment. Four targets, moving. She began to count in her head.

One

Aiming her gun to the man's leg, she pulled the trigger. A shout of pain told her she hit the mark.

Two

This time, she went for the left shoulder. This was an easier target, so she managed to aim and fire without as much stress of missing.

Three

The table she was using had a lot of bullet holes by this point, so she rolled behind the one that Tanjiro was using. Tanjiro, who probably could've helped her a lot if he were here. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she shot. It missed, and she silently cursed before firing again. She hit him right between the ribs. She felt bad, since that injury would probably mean death.

Four

She narrowed her eyes at the final target, who had hidden themselves behind a table just as she did. After some careful peeking out and firing, she managed to hit them in the arm. Wouldn't incapacitate them for too long, but she'd deal with it when the problem arises.

Hearing a small click when she pulled the trigger again, she discovered that she had no extra ammo left for her pistol. There wasn't anything she could really do, so she opened the doors to the room and ran out to look for Tanjiro and the other Demon Slayers.

.

She sprinted through empty hallway after empty hallway. Finally, she arrived at what she recognized (from the map) as the door to the garden.

Pushing it open, she dashed in, knives prepared for battle, when she saw something that made her eyes widen.

Tanjiro was crouching, clutching his shoulder. One of the Aranea family, Rui, was smirking nearby with a gun in his hand. There wasn't anyone else (alive, anyway) in the area. Everything went into slow motion. Kanao bolted towards her friend, prepared to take the bullet she knew was coming, when something entirely different happened.

BANG

The gunshot echoed into the night. Blood blossomed on Rui's leg.

Kanao stared at Tanjiro, making sure he was alright, but his eyes were on something- no- someone else. Following his stunned gaze, she set her eyes upon the one person she would never expect to see here, let alone anywhere but that quiet private hospital.

Nezuko stood determined, the gun in her hands still aimed at Rui.

TTTTT

Cliffhanger time, part two: writing at midnight.

I should have done this a long time ago, but I'd like to thank the following people for their reviews:

Manu259, MagicKit, Frost Glaive, SpineCricket, silver strm, Guest, jalus, CrumpetsAndTeaLeaves, and NeonTheUmbreon23.

Reviews are like energy drinks for me, inspiring and motivating me to keep on writing this story. So thank you so much!

Anyway, I think I'll be able to update next week. So see ya then!