Sitting in the highest tree the forest could offer, a woman with long grayish-black hair that parted just above her nose, covering her eyes, sat looking down at the ground below. She wore what looked to be a pure gray base kimono with a black sash, as well as a black haori. This woman then placed her hands together and prayed. Then after a few moments, she spoke up.
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"Oh, Gods up above." She prayed as she looked up towards the moon. "May the light of our Stars shine a path towards salvation for the children who are lost in this mountain of misery." The woman then extended her hands out and began to reach for the moon as it shined before her. As she did, a slight breeze blew, revealing her left eye as it had a small star emblem directly on it. "And may the Stars who fight for the sake of others reveal their true strength for those said others."
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In the forest below…
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As both Tanjiro and Inosuke entered the forest, Tanjiro looked back for a bit, then focused on his path. Looking around, he began to try and sniff out his enemies, but a horrid and putrid smell stung his nose with such an attack, that it caused Tanjiro to stop in his tracks.
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"Huh?" Inosuke stopped to as he looked back towards Tanjiro.
"Sorry about that." Tanjiro answered as he began to rub his nose. "The smell this forest is giving off just took me by surprise."
"Are you really that weak, Gunpachiro!" Inosuke yelled, only to then turn his attention toward someone walking with fear in their step.
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After meeting up with the fellow slayer, who was known as Murata, he began to explain that his fellow slayer had just begun to attack each other out of nowhere, but their attacks only lasted for a few seconds when a gray blur suddenly whipped past them and hung them in the trees.
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"So, this…blur just flung the other demon slayers up in the trees, where exactly?" Tanjiro asked after hearing Murata speak.
"Oh, just a bit that way." Murata said as he pointed slightly left. "I came this way to see if there were others. Then I ran into you."
"Then why were you scared?" Tanjiro asked yet another question, only for his question to be answered by what sounded like wires. Looking around, Tanjiro couldn't tell where it was originating due to the mountain's smells.
"That's why I was scared." Murata spoke up. "I soon as I and the other Mizunoto's entered the mountains, I heard that sound, then everyone began to attack each other."
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With Nezuko and Zenitsu…
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With Zenitsu tailing behind Nezuko, Nezuko continued to look around for any sign of movement. As Zenitsu continued to shudder in fear, Nezuko continued to grit her teeth, but was cut short due to a horrific color to fly directly into her eyes. As the color did, she held her eyes in pain.
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"Nezuko-chan?" Zenitsu said with fear as he knelt by the young girl's side. "Are you alright?"
"I don't know." Was Nezuko's only response. "I don't like the color this mountain is giving off." As Nezuko looked up, she noticed a figure sitting on the highest tree. As she looked closer, this figure's color was a grayish-teal color, a color Nezuko never saw before. "What's- who's that?"
"Huh?" Turning his attention to where Nezuko was looking, Zenitsu noticed the figure too. As the woman sat steadily on the swaying tree in the wind above, she had her arms extended outwards towards the moon, but then placed then back in their sleeves.
"Who are you?" The woman said in a soft, low voice.
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But before Nezuko could answer, Zenitsu placed his hand on her right shoulder and shook his head in fear. Practically giving the look of "Don't answer please." Nezuko stood up and placed her hand lightly on her sword, just as a precaution, since she didn't know if this new figure was her enemy or not. Staying completely focused on the figure, Nezuko quickly looked at Zenitsu, only to see a look of fear on his face. In that split second of looking away, Nezuko noticed grayish-black hair flow in front of her and saw the woman stared directly at her. But what was more terrifying in Nezuko's eyes, where that when she tried to pull her blade, she felt resistance, and when looking to see what prevented her from pulling her blade, she noticed the woman's hair wrapped around her blade. Preventing it from every leaving the security of the sheath.
As the two just stared, Zenitsu just stood there in fear, shaking beyond control. Then after a few seconds, Zenitsu fell to the ground. Or so he would have, if it wasn't for the woman's hair, as it wrapped itself in around Zenitsu and placed him gently on the ground.
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"Just who is this woman?" Nezuko thought to herself as the woman's face never turned away. "She doesn't seem to be a threat, but at the same time…" Not seeing this woman give any opening, Nezuko removed her right hand from her blade, and at the same time, the woman's grayish-black hair had begun to undo itself from her blade.
"If you seek the one responsible, head west from here." The woman spoke softly, and just loud enough for Nezuko to hear. "Boy, take…care of her." And like how she appeared before Nezuko, she disappeared in the blink of an eye, and appeared back on top of tree where she just sat with her hands extended towards the moon.
"What a weird demon…wait did she say 'boy'?" Nezuko spoke to herself as she turned her attention to see Zenitsu standing with his eyes closed. "Zenitsu?"
"This way." Zenitsu spoke as he then began to rush west.
"Ah, wait up!" Nezuko yelled after him.
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Meanwhile…
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"Well, this is embarrassing." Suzuha said as she was hung upside down by wire threads. Each wire held at least one part of her body. One wire held her right arm out, her left bent close to her body, her left leg bent a bit upwards toward her chest, and her right leg extended outwards. All while smiling with embarrassment.
"This shouldn't be, Big Sis." Rui answered with his monotone voice.
"But it is. I never would've expected you to find me so fast. I'm actually-" Suzuha cut herself short as the wire that held her began to cut into her. As it did, Suzuha tried her best to hold in her screams as the wire ripped and teared her skin off. "This…isn't going…to make me talk, Rui." Suzuha spoke through the pain, trying her best to keep her calm smile.
"Oh, I don't plan on going nicely." Rui spoke once more, but with more malice in his voice. "I plan on keeping you hung up there until the sun rises. Then you'll know the pain I felt when you and Sis left me."
"Pain, huh?" Suzuha spoke as she tried to move her right hand, but only felt the sting of the wire cutting deeper into her. "You're the one who doesn't understand pain."
"Huh? Oh, please, do continue." As Rui said this, he clenched his fist tighter, causing the wires to tighten. Expecting something like this, Suzuha managed to hold back her screams, and looked at Rui directly.
"Because…I never came alone." Suzuha answered.
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In that moment, Rui turned his attention towards his back only to feel his wires fall to the ground. As he looked back, he noticed a girl with black hair that had random white strands, opposite to Suzuha. As Koharu looked back, she said quickly.
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"Blood Demon Art: Mist of Infinite Dreams." Koharu said as she flung her right hand that had been bleeding. As she did, her blood seemed to boil and turned into mist surrounding Rui and the two girls.
"Try getting out of your own nightmares, Rui." Suzuha spoke as she began to run away from where she was held prisoner.
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As the sister had begun to run away from Rui, Koharu looked towards her sister.
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"That was stupid and dangerous! You were really cutting it close there, you know?!" Koharu yelled as she began throwing fist at her sister, while at the same time running.
"I know. But I felt you coming, so I knew I'd be safe." Suzuha answered, trying her best to block her sister's fist of anger. "And besides, you figured out your Blood Art and Breath, I still need to figure out mine."
"That doesn't matter. We promised each other not to do anything stupid! So, don't go doing anything like that again, you hear!" Koharu continued to yell as tears had begun to form in her eyes.
"Yes, I prom-" But before she could finish her sentence, Suzuha stopped with all her might and tripped her sister as well to stop her before they ran into a bigger problem.
"What was-!" Koharu's mouth was covered by Suzuha as she told her to be quiet, as she pointed towards the cliff.
"It's Father." Was all Suzuha needed to whisper to grab Koharu's attention.
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The two girls then looked towards a cliff in the distance. There sat a man in the moonlight, his hair shadowing his face completely. But his build is what scared the two the most. He had muscles on every part of his body. His arms were muscled to their max, as well as his legs. His abs were astounding at first glance, as well as his broad back. But one of the two girls knew the danger of angering a man like him.
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12 Years ago, …
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"Ahhh!" Suzuha screamed as Father had grabber her white, milky hair forcibly, not showing any signs of letting go. "Father, please! I don't know what I did to deserve such punishment, but please I beg of you to let go." As Suzuha spoke, tears began to stream faster and faster.
"You couldn't even figure that out for yourself." Rui spoke his normal monotone voice. "Your just as useless as Mother."
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The torment continued for minutes maybe hours, Suzuha couldn't tell. As she watched her makeshift family just stare and did nothing to help. Seeing no one coming to the rescue, Suzuha accepted her fate and allowed the punishment to continue.
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Present Time…
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Shaking uncontrollably, Suzuha grabbed her shoulders and tried her best to control her fear. Seeing her sister shake, Koharu comforted her sister by embracing her.
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"Remember, Suzuha…" Koharu allowed her voice to trial off so her sister could hear her. "We are no longer bounded by Rui or anyone. We only came here for her. She was the only one who treated us like we were her actual children. Only think of her and her safety and you'll do great."
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Hearing her sister's voice talk calmly, soothed Suzuha enough for her to think straight. Looking at her sister in her eyes, Suzuha saw her conviction. Nodding in agreement, the two sisters began to follow the large number of small spiders, and the large amount of wires which led to the one person they came to grab.
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Meanwhile, at the center of the Forest…
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Giggling, and pulling at the wires that extended from each of her fingers, a woman with milky white skin, and hair to boot, which parts just above her forehead and tied with two beads, on each loose pig tails that dangle in the front, as the rest of her long hair flows down her back. She also has red dots that point down towards her nose just under her parted hair above her forehead, as well as on her nose, and on each side of her mouth. She also has plump breasts and wears a long white kimono with large sleeves. Then without wasting a second, she continued to pull at the threads that lie just at the tip of each of her fingers.
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"Now, my little dolls." She said ever so sweetly. "Dance until your arms and legs fall off."
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As the deceased Demon Slayers continued to strike at Tanjiro and Inosuke, as well as Murata, she paid no mind to her surrounding and continued toying with the trio.
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Meanwhile, at an estate surrounded by Wisteria Trees…
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"Is that so?" A man with black hair spoke to the crow that laid on his lap. "Then, most of my children have been slaughtered?" Breathing in, then out ever so gently, he turned his attention towards three people that sat within the shadows of the estate. One was an older gentleman who looked to be roughly in his 40s, and showed absolutely no hatred nor happiness, just the expression of peace. His hair was a faded red, which looked grayer than red. He wore a red Demon Slayer uniform with black trimmings, and a black haori. Then a girl who just wore a smile plastered on her face, and her eyes had large compound-looking eyes that do not possess pupils, only a haze of gradient, purple iris. She has short hair that fades from black into dark purple, fastened at the back of her head with a white and purple butterfly ornament with split ear-length bangs that rise a little away from her head before they fall down to frame her face, two thinner chin-length strands below them. She also wears a butterfly haori over her Demon Slayer uniform. Then a younger boy, who has medium length, messy black hair tied back into a low ponytail and dark blue eyes. "Giyuu, Shinobu, and Joichirou. I ask that you take care of the matter. Don't let any more of my children die."
"As you command, Master." The three answered.
"Don't you think it sweet if humans and demons could get along? Tomioka, Sensei?" Kocho Shinobu asked as they began to walk away from the estate before rushing towards Mt. Natagumo.
"It's impossible." Giyuu spoke without ever looking back. "If demons eat humans, we must eradicate them.
"That's not entirely true. There are certain demons who won't consume humans. I know because I've met them when I was younger." Joichirou spoke right after Giyuu.
"Really, then I'd like to meet them." Shinobu said while placing her hand together.
"I would love to show you, if I could ever find them again." Joichirou spoke before rushing forward far faster than the young Demon Slayers. "If only…" As he thought this to himself, he remembered seeing a young man with a star-like emblem on his left side of his neck. But coming back from his memories, he realized he had left the children behind, but continued forward without stopping.