"Let's do this together!" Laura and her new alley Tanjiro shouted together in perfect unison, but whether their synchronisation would work just as well in the heat of the battle remained an open question without an answer. At least, they had a great start and that had to count for something.
Laura glanced from the corner of her eyes at the crimson-haired boy standing firmly by her side. Earlier, the aura surrounding him had been a mess, a concert of emotions, but now it had settled down entirely and was as calm as a lake deep in the forest. Some flickers disturbed the image, but it was to be expected. The human being was a mass of countless emotions and never would one dominate all others. Besides, the blond girl was certain she looked much the same, not that she could see her own aura. It had always escaped her sharp gaze.
Still, the course of the battle would change from now on because it was Susamaru and Yahaba against Tanjiro and her. The demons' combo attacks would be a hassle to deal with though. That much she had learned during the brief encounter from a few minutes ago when the Arrow Demon had supported his companion before Susamaru stopped him from assisting her any further.
There was something else bothering Laura's mind. Even when Yahaba and Susamaru were demons and had ridiculous physical strength, both preferred attacks from the distance. Of course, one of them could just hide their true abilities to throw them off, but her master had never mentioned that demons were capable of using two different kinds of Blood Demon Arts, so she doubted that Tanjiro and her had to fear any bad surprises in this matter. However, this knowledge didn't help in calming her mind.
Laura eyed Tanjiro's katana and wondered if he would be okay in a fight such as this. Naturally, his sword was the most effective weapon since a single strike could easily end the lives of the two demons whereas the bullets of her guns could be dodged or the effects they caused rendered useless. They were fighting demons with the capabilities to regenerate endlessly as long as their heads weren't severed by Nichirin swords, after all. Still, even the best weapon was useless if it couldn't reach the target, in this case, the necks of Yahaba and Susamaru.
'Looks like this will be rather tricky for Tanjiro and me unless we find a safe way for him to get close enough to cut their heads off..' Laura summarised their current situation.
Shifting her focus back to the demons, a shiver ran down her spine as Yahaba stared at her with the eyeballs in his palms knowingly. Seemingly, the demon had come to the same conclusion as she did if his smug smirk was anything to go by. His eyes opened and closed and Laura wanted to vomit at the sight. That had definitely not been on the list of attractions she wanted to see in this country.
From her side, she heard a murmur, so quiet that she almost didn't hear it. "These eyeballs in his hands are still creeping me out!" Tanjiro whispered to himself and Laura couldn't agree more with her temporary partner.
A sudden shift in Susamaru's posture and the ringing of bells alarmed Laura that the next strike was about to begin. "Watch out, Tanjiro! They are about to attack!"
Not even a moment later, Susamaru threw her six balls at them. At the same moment, Yahaba released his arrows which attached themselves to the flying balls, granting them the power to defy physical laws once again.
Laura aimed at one of the balls before they were too close and shot. She didn't expect it would do anything, but she had to try at least. It was still better than simply dodging every incoming attack because it was only a question of time before exhaustion would lead to doom.
The bullet hit the ball perfectly, but just as the blond girl had expected, the damage was merely superficial. It didn't stop the flying ball or reduced its speed and if she saw right, the hole inside the ball was regenerating almost immediately after the damage was afflicted.
"Like hell, something like this will work on my Temaris, Laura! I wonder how long you will last with your bullets against my indestructible, sweet children!" The female demon shouted, confirming what Laura had figured already. But there was no time to think of another plan for Laura since the combined attacks of the two demons had closed the distance between them.
Jumping to the side, the blond girl dodged the first Temari aiming for her life and immediately leapt back further because it suddenly changed trajectory in mid-air. Due to the barrage of attacks from every direction, Laura couldn't aim properly at either Yahaba or Susamaru. If she was to shoot now, it would be a miss without a doubt, so she saved her ammunition for the time she had a chance of hitting one of her targets.
Beside her, Tanjiro was doing pretty much the same as she did except that he managed to slice a few of the Temaris in half. But even then they weren't stopped in the slightest as they recovered in just a few seconds and were whole again. He cursed aggravated under his breath.
"Dammit! No matter what we try, it feels like these two are always a step ahead of us! Do you have any ideas, Laura-san?" He asked her as he turned his head in her direction.
"I'm as clueless as you- Behind you!" Laura shouted suddenly when she saw how one of the Temaris emerged from the ground in Tanjiro's blind spot. Startled and with big eyes, the redhead turned around immediately and could only gasp in shock as the Temari was mere moments away from ripping off his head. There was no time for him to dodge it anymore.
"That's one down for the count~" Susamaru sang in the background. "This time for real."
In the wild storms of attacks, the demons must have sent one of the Temaris underground for a surprise attack and it would be successful if Laura didn't act now! She took a strong inhale of as much oxygen as she could get with one breath, filling her lungs before sending every last bit of precious air directly into her legs. Her muscles filled with energy and she darted forward, grabbing Tanjiro by the back of his collar and pulling him away from certain death just in the nick of time. He yelped at the sudden pull as both teens could feel how air pushed away by the fast-spinning Temari brushed over their skin like little whips made from wind that felt like the cold touch of death itself. This had been close, way too close.
"Oh, man..." Susamaru drawled disappointed about the missed kill from afar. "It's no fun if nobody dies and we were so close on top of that."
"Don't worry, Susamaru. It's just a question of time before one of them falters and falls." Yahaba chirped in, making his fellow demon smile like a carnal animal again.
"I guess you're right~" she sang as she called back her Temaris.
While the two demons were occupied with their temporary dominance in the battle so far, Laura helped Tanjiro to find a solid footing again. She still had a firm grip on the back of his clothes because his legs were trembling slightly from the second near-death experience of the day. She figured he needed some sort of reassurance right now as much as she did if the whiteness of her knuckles, trembling from the adrenalin pumping through her veins, was anything to go by.
Tanjiro took a deep, shuddering breath to calm down his racing heart before he addressed his saviour. "Th... Thank you," he croaked with a shaking voice, his mind still processing how close he had been to death right now, his body limp from the dread and shivering from the brush of death itself across his skin.
"You're welcome, albeit I would save those words for later when we both made it out alive of this mess," she answered honestly with an even voice that betrayed how she truly felt on the inside. She saw no reason to put the truth in sugary sweet words, for no one could tell what would happen in the next few minutes.
"Right!" Tanjiro called back with vigour, his blade already safely secured between his fingers again. It was surprising for the girl from where he got the energy to recover this quickly from a near-death experience, but she wouldn't complain since it helped her as well in calming her racing heart and mind.
Taking their stances again, they were back to square one where everything began, only more exhausted than before. Both teens could still manage without problems, but how long could they last against the two demons in this war of attrition if they didn't find a way for Tanjiro to get close enough to behead the demons?
Susamaru and Yahaba probably thought the same since they made sure that their attacks would keep the Demon Slayers as far away as possible from them. Tanjiro only got to slice Temaris over and over again now that he could see the directions they were coming from due to Yushiro's help, but it was the best he could do in the current situation. Every time he tried to get closer to the two demons, they stepped back and kept their distance or angled their attacks in such a way that would force him backwards.
At least, he gave Laura enough time to aim properly with her guns, but none of her shots hit their target, at least not effectively enough that they could have changed the course of the battle.
Yahaba's eyesight must be equal to hers, enabling him to predict their movements by the smallest flexes of their muscles. He knew when Laura would shoot at him and dodged the bullet long before it left the gun with a loud bang. Susamaru, on the other hand, took a more risky approach to avoid Laura's deadly bullets if one could even call it that. The female demon didn't bother to dodge and instead let herself hit on purpose, smiling wildly in pure madness as pain travelled up her spine and made her spine prickle from excitement.
Before the poison inside the bullet could affect her, she ripped the damaged parts of her body off and threw them away without a single moment of hesitation, regrowing them at an incredible speed. It was a dance on the knife's edge and a crazy method of battling, for one mistake in judgement could end fatally for the demon. The ever-growing smile on her face showed that she was enjoying every second.
"More! More! More! Play more with me!" Susamaru yelled giddily as she threw her Temaris once more at the two teens. Tanjiro and Laura alike were panting heavily by this point, their movements getting sloppier with every dodge, the Temaris getting closer and closer to hitting them. How many waves of tinkling bells had they evaded and how many more could they manage? Sweat covered their skin and it only became worse since most of the time they had to jump out of the way. This only caused their exhaustion to grow even faster. That being said, Laura faired better than Tanjiro did, her breathing not as loud and ragged as the redhead's.
She skidded across the floor as three Temaris were chasing her while Tanjiro ran across the wall of the house to avoid the other three chasing him down. Wooden splinters and dust clouded the battlefield as the noisy balls returned to their master.
Tanjiro and Laura had managed to avoid this wave as well, but now both were kneeling on the ground, their breathing heavy and irregular. Both Demon Slayers were near their breaking point, their exhaustion catching up to them.
Despite the dire circumstances and the threatening smiles on their opponent, Laura chuckled between her pants. "This ain't looking good for us."
Tanjiro, his mind dizzy from the lack of enough oxygen, tuned in to his temporary partner's chuckling with his own, a small smirk decorating his delicate features. It was the only thing they could do right now. However, Tanjiro hadn't given up hope of turning around this battle yet. How could he when his sister was relying on him? He would never abandon her, no matter what.
Forcing himself back to standing, he was about to go for another attempt of getting close enough for his sword's edge, but Laura stopped him. "Wait!" She said, grabbing the end of his checkered haori. Something about her scent had changed even when he couldn't put his finger on what it was. It made him slightly uncomfortable.
"I've an idea to turn this fight around, but I really don't like it. On top of that, it's mostly just a gut feeling and rather risky. Still willing to go with it?" Laura asked.
'Ah, so that's why her scent has changed,' Tanjiro concluded from the sudden shift he had picked up. If she didn't like the idea it was no wonder her scent became different. Throughout his life, the redhead had learned that a person's smell always mimicked their emotions to some extent. It could be difficult to conduct the exact feeling at times, but Tanjiro would always have a general idea of what was going through the people's heads he met.
"I will," he answered her. "I trust you." He added a second later, causing Laura's eyebrows to shoot past her hairline. Tanjiro had to admit he surprised himself a little bit with that phrase. He had meant to keep it for himself, but it slipped past his lips before he realised what he was doing. The redhead couldn't help himself though. Something about Laura gave him the impression that he could trust her and that she wouldn't betray him.
He smiled sheepishly at the blond girl, scratching the back of his neck as his cheeks turned slightly redder than before. Must be his exhaustion.
In response, Laura only laughed before she stood up. "I was about to ask whether you trust me or not, but looks like there's no need for that anymore." It didn't help the warm colour covering his cheeks a bit when she said that.
She took a few more steps closer to the demons, stashing away her weapons. Tanjiro eyed her curiously, but also with worry since she showed no signs of drawing another of her loud weapons or using the sword attached to her hip. He was about to call out to her, but Susamaru beat him to it.
"Laura~" the demon cooed. "I take it you have accepted your fate and are offering your head willingly to us?"
"Nope," Laura answered matter-of-factly, emphasising the p with a pop. The sound echoed across the otherwise silent battlefield. Tanjiro grew even more confused by the blond girl's actions because they didn't match the determination he could pick up in her scent.
"It's just I have no intention of kicking the bucket today, so..." she drawled. A moment later, she was already pulling her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at the demons. "See ya' later!"
With that, she dashed away, one hand waving farewell above her head before she rounded the corner of the house and was nowhere to be seen anymore. Only her thundering footsteps in the background indicated that she was still around, but for how long only she knew.
Tanjiro, Yahaba and Susamaru alike were stunned by the sudden departure. They were enemies but in this instance, they found a common ground, a mutual understanding. The blond girl's sudden departure had caught each of them off guard and, mixed the cards of the battle anew. All three of them stared at the now blank spot where Laura had stood for only a few seconds, still seeing the silhouette of her body.
The remaining demon slayer blinked several times with a slightly parted mouth, desperately trying to convince his brain that it was just imagining things – to no avail. There was no Laura to be found anymore right next to him, which meant he had to face the two demons by himself now.
Long seconds that felt like hours or maybe even days passed by until his reaction caught up to the events.
"Eh..." he stuttered before turning his head around. His eyes were wide from shock and in danger to pop out of their sockets in his skull. "Don't leave me alone, Laura-san!" Tanjiro yelled in panic, his voice laced with disbelief. Laura hadn't given off the impression to be a person who would leave him alone just like this even when she had basically dumped him just now. He couldn't believe this to be the truth.
An ominous chuckle from behind pulled his attention back and he remembered that he was still very much in the middle of a fight, one Tanjiro had to face on his own now. The Arrow Demon was looking at him, his intent to kill unbound. It made the blood inside Tanjiro's veins freeze. If he received such a menacing stare from Yahaba, the calmer and more reserved of the two demons, then what kind of glare would he get from Susamaru?
The female demon's face was currently hidden beneath a shadow cast from her hair, so Tanjiro couldn't tell what it currently looked like. The euphoric, maybe even ecstatic, smell radiating from her mixed with the rotten stench all demons had to them made his nose tingle in disgust and increased his rapidly growing panic.
When Susamaru looked up, her expression was one of pure carnage. Feral smile, wild eyes and bared fangs. For a moment Tanjiro thought she would jump at him then and there, slaughtering him like helpless cattle. But he realised that she wasn't looking at him, but at the spot, Laura had stood.
"Playing catch with us now, Laura?" She drawled dangerously, her excitement about the sudden and unexpected turn of events easy to catch in her voice. Tanjiro observed how Yahaba stared at his partner, displeasure appearing on his face.
"Susamaru, you certainly are not-" Whatever the male demon wanted to say was cut short by maniac laughter from the Temari Demon.
"Like hell will I let you run away! This is way too much fun! Play more with me!" Susamaru screamed so loud that Tanjiro's ears hurt from the shrill shriek. The ground beneath her feet cracked open when she dashed away, ignoring Yahaba's shouting complaints about her action, rounding the same corner as Laura and then she was out of sight, leaving behind an enraged Yahaba and a stupefied Tanjiro.
The poor boy had hardly processed his partner's sudden departure and now he was forced to do it all over again. 'What is with everyone running away?' He thought to himself as a wave of insults washed over him, courtesy of Yahaba who was openly cursing his now missing companion. But when Tanjiro refocused, his brain began working properly again, analysing the new situation he found himself in.
Beforehand it had been Laura and him versus the demons, something that was under normal circumstances equal to a godsend. But this fight was anything but usual. Urokodaki-san had said so himself after Tanjiro had returned from Final Selection. Demons never banded together, and always acted on their own without anyone's help. Therefore, two demon slayers should face a much easier fight against a singular demon.
However, Yahaba and Susamaru mocked his master's words by fighting side by side, their teamwork easily surpassing that of Laura and himself even though Tanjiro didn't get the feeling that the blond girl and he weren't working well together. The combination of their Blood Demon Arts was simply overwhelming, leaving little to no openings at all for them to strike.
But now Yahaba was on his own with no temaris he could order around anymore, temaris that had made it extraordinarily difficult for Tanjiro to get close enough in cutting range. Laura's words from before echoed in his mind. How she didn't like her idea and how glad she was to hear that he trusted her. It suddenly made sense as his brain pieced the whole picture together.
"I see. So that's what you were aiming for, Laura-san." Tanjiro mumbled under his breath. Moments later a feral smirk found its way on his lips and he swung the blunt side of his sword on his shoulder while stretching out his other hand in front of him, using it to measure the distance between him and the Arrow Demon.
"Yahaba! I'm going to behead you now!" The redhead yelled across the battlefield before he charged, unleashing the second form of his breathing style. His opponent only cursed his missing partner for falling for such an obvious trap, his eyeballs snapping close and unleashing a torrent of red arrows.
XXX
Nezuko's face twisted in pain as Tamayo worked on the stumble that had been a complete leg not long ago. The old demon inspected the wound as carefully as she could. Demons might be able to recover from such injuries, but that didn't mean they couldn't feel pain anymore. A demon's nervous system was identical to a human's, so the pain they felt was the same. Long-forgotten memories of served limbs stirred in Tamayo's mind, but she pushed them away. There was no time to live through her unending nightmare again, especially not now with the situation as dire as it was.
Instead, the beautiful woman looked in worry as Nezuko's wound wouldn't close on its own, at least not anytime soon. She could see how the flesh was regenerating, albeit at a pace that was far too slow for a demon. Nezuko would have to suffer in agony from her missing limp before the pain would cease. And she didn't want to think of how long it would take for the leg to recover entirely. Tanjiro's younger sister was truly a unique demon, able to survive without consuming human flesh, but seemingly such an ability came to a high price.
Tamayo opened the box of utensils Yushiro had placed next to her before he went to observe the battle, pulling out a syringe containing a yellow liquid. Her patient looked warily at the object, reminding the doctor of the faces she had seen throughout the ages. Funnily enough, all of them made the same expression and it managed to cast a small smile on her lips despite the circumstances.
"Nezuko-san, there's no need to worry. This medicine is specifically designed for demons such as us. It boosts our ability to regenerate," Tamayo explained automatically like she always did when her patients eyed her medications warily.
Nezuko's shoulders fell slightly, indicating that she accepted the explanation, surprising Tamayo. The young demon behaved like a child most of the time, not that Tamayo minded it the least, but it was hard to tell what was going through Tanjiro's sister most of the time. She wondered if this behaviour was another side-effect of Nezuko refusing to consume human flesh.
Carefully, she injected the yellow liquid near the bleeding wound until nothing was left. The effects of the medicine were noticeable only a few seconds later. The oozing stopped right away whilst flesh and bones began to regenerate. Tamayo was surprised by how strongly Nezuko was affected by the medicine, but Yushiro's enraged muttering from the other end of the room caught her attention.
"This lowlife!" He yelled a moment later.
She barely managed to turn around before her fellow demon was already in front of her. "Tamayo-san, we have to flee now!" She gasped, shocked by his words. "Yushiro, we couldn't-"
"Please forgive me for what I'm about to say, Tamayo-san, but I won't risk our safety for scum like this."
Tamayo was really surprised, dumbfounded even. She had known her assistant for decades by now and learned how to deal with him. If she reminded him to be polite, it was enough most of the time. In some heavier cases, she had to add a stern look on top of that but that was as far as she had to go.
However, Yushiro stared, almost even glared, at her with an expression she had never seen before on him, his eyes burning with an emotion she couldn't quite name for it was a symphony of many different kinds. She could tell that none of them originated from a good sensation.
"One of them, the blond girl, has already run away! I've seen it with my own eyes and I'm certain that insolent, red-haired fool will follow her in no time. No human would willingly put their lives on the line for demons such as us!" Yushiro screamed before he clasped his hands over his mouth, eyes wide in shock. He must have said more than he had initially intended, but it was already too late and the damage was done.
A few seconds of silence passed by between the two demons before Tamayo turned back to Nezuko, observing how the patient's foot was recovering faster than before. "Tamayo-san... I-"
"Don't apologize for being honest about your thoughts, Yushiro," the elder demon calmly said, her voice even and soft despite the inner storm raging within her. "I appreciate that you didn't hide your concerns from me and I can't say anything that will lessen your worries, so I won't stop you if you wish to leave. I will stay, however, and believe in humanity."
How could she leave in silence when young children were risking their lives for them, abandoning her current patient on top of that? Nezuko looked like she wanted to throttle the male demon, veins already appearing on her forehead. Tamayo patted them away gently, smiling at her fellow demon, telling her silently that there was no need to be angry about anything. Her attempts of calming down Nezuko worked and the girl even leaned into her touch, making her feel warm within her chest. An image of her family flashed in front of her inner eye for the fraction of a second.
On her other side, her firm declaration was met with silence from a stunned Yushiro, his mouth dangling open, showing his small fangs. It made Tamayo almost chuckle to see Yushiro losing all his wits. It was a rare thing to happen.
She could understand why her assistant would want to run away, but she had a feeling deep within her that everything would turn out alright in the end. Something about the blond girl and Tanjiro led her to a particular set of memories from almost five hundred years ago, the single sun that radiated within the blackest and oldest darkness like a shooting star in the skies. She had no idea why she was reminded of the events from this long ago, but it gave her the motivation and the will to trust.
Suddenly Yushiro, who overcame his stupor, sat down without a word, not daring to look at her. "I could never leave your side, Tamayo-san," he mumbled and it made her smile softly at him. Despite the circumstances, the silence enveloping them aside from Nezuko's low hums felt comfortable until a loud gunshot sliced through it like a hot knife.
A few moments passed before Yushiro mumbled something again, shame mirroring in his eyes. "I'm Sorry For What I Said..."
Whether the apology was directed at her and Nezuko or the two demon slayers still fighting outside, Tamayo didn't know. She didn't push her assistant for an answer either and simply accepted his words as they were.
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I hope Laura's little trick wasn't too lame lol. I just figured it would be something Susamaru would jump on because she loves fighting so much and what is better than a little chase to lift the spirits, right?
Anyway, it's unbelievable how long this first arc is turning out! Honestly, I didn't expect that, but words keep running away from me. I hope I manage to keep things interesting with the changes I'm doing to the canon plot. ^^
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter! Parts of it are already written, so it shouldn't take too long for me to finish it, haha.