Warning:
Mentions of anxiety attack, death, grief and gore.
When I was younger, I thought my life was ironic — things that I anticipated to occur never did so and things that I never imagined to even exist happened to me all the time.
The only solace I had within this life of mine was that the ripples I was creating in the original plot were of my own choosing — that I had a choice and a say in things that I wanted to change and get involved in, no matter how unexpected.
However, I never realized that that wasn't ever the case either.
I never thought that my very existence was causing ripples through the plot, even when I was not directly involved in it.
I huffed a humourless laugh as I watched the last few rays of the Sun fade away, leaving the darkness of the night behind to creep its way through as I felt a strange sense of calmness.
Or should I call it numbness? I didn't know anymore, especially since there was still a dull ache lingering in my chest that I could neither express nor ignore — a most likely sign of building anxiety due to all that I came to hear very recently.
"I-I didn't do anything! It was Warabihime, who hated Byakuren House! She hated the business that House got and how it was out of reach of her influence!"
I felt a sharp ache in my chest as the words that the Hostess of Kyougoku House confessed came back to me.
"Sarota-san?"
I looked back at Uzui's wife Hinatsuru, her worried pinkish-violet eyes making me want to pat her as I gave her a carefree smile.
"I hope you are done with everything you need, ma'am?"
She nodded briefly before peeking at my face again, "Are you alright, Sarota-san? Your complexion looks quite pale..."
"I'm fine," I reassured her as we finally started moving, "And even if I am not, we don't have time for that. So, let's focus on the mission at hand, yeah?"
I knew my curt answer must have felt very rude to her but honestly, I currently didn't have enough mental space to do anything except focus on what was at hand.
I didn't get the time to properly even think about my emotions and I knew that once I did start on them, I'll break apart. That, or I will do something that I will regret for the rest of my life.
'I'll get time to process it later,' I consoled myself as we travelled to the designated spot we had planned to meet, 'I have to protect them first.'
The sun was already down, making every second very precious to us as now we were in the part of the day where the demons had the upper hand.
"At least," I subconsciously said out loud, "The streets are relatively empty."
"Was that your doing, Sarota-san?" Hina asked curiously.
"You may say that," I wondered how to answer the question while not looking like I was scheming about this for years, "However, it was Hashira-sama who helped the most in it."
The plan we had made was quite simple — divert the people by rumours and corner Daki by seeking out the hostages before she can use them against us.
The first step to the plan, that is, the rumours were already executed. I knew it would work quite well, too, since I had planted similar rumours for years now.
And since these rumours also connected with the originally passed down prejudice about 'Hime' Oirans, people started to gossip more and more about both the rumours, making more stories out of them than I ever anticipated.
The only thing now left was to fan them with believable evidence or a short deadline, which Uzui did for me.
"Hinatsuru-san," I called out to Hina once we reached the designated spot: the rooftop of the Kyougoku House, "Now, please listen to me carefully. I need you to collect all your weapons as well as clothes and anything you guys brought with you to the Flower District within the next fifteen minutes. I don't currently have enough time to explain to you why, but can you do it so, please?"
Hina nodded silently as she disappeared to follow what I asked of her without any questions.
I sat down on the rooftop before closing my eyes and focusing on the auras near me. I needed to find Uzui and Zenitsu and meet them there before the demon found us.
However, it would be a rather ideal situation if the demon did not find them first—
My breath hitched as I felt their aura more towards the West, near the end of the Lower House brothels, with an unfortunately familiar demonic aura.
'So, the battle has already started.'
The current plan, as I and Uzui had devised, was to track the underground space where the Demon had held the hostages captive while also gearing up for backup as much as possible.
To do this, we followed through the passages made by Daki underneath the brothel — most of which were found by Uzui's buff mice, in the absence of Inosuke.
Since rescuing the hostages took priority, Uzui and Zenitsu followed the buff mice from aboveground as the said mice went through the passages to find Daki's underground storage; their extraordinary hearing ability aided them in this endeavour while I and Tanjiro stayed behind to formulate the backup gearing.
Tanjiro helped me block off the entrance of the passages under different Houses before we separated our own ways — Tanjiro, to gather his own (as well as Inosuke's) bearings, and I, to bring Hina out of harm's way from Daki's sashes.
Most of this plan of ours was heavily luck and time-based — one misstep could cause Daki to come and attack Hina while I was there to get her out or attack Uzui and Zenitsu when they just found the hostages.
Thankfully enough, Shiori managed to act perfectly as a fast signal between me and Uzui; he sent her flying towards me in a way to inform me that he had found the underground storage with Zenitsu.
As soon as I received the signal, I broke Hina out of the room by completely dissolving Daki's sashes with my blood and carrying her out of the Lower House as fast as I could.
What was left now was to gather the weapons and pieces of equipment left by Uzui's wives and prepare them as a standby in case we needed backup, which we definitely would.
'Uzui wouldn't have agreed to it though,' I mused as I took a deep breath, 'If I had told him about it.'
After all, my only job was to get Hina out of that Lower House and tell her to leave the Flower District — which I definitely wasn't doing, since I knew it would be suicidal to do that.
That's quite a different thing that Uzui would kill me if he knew what I was doing.
I shook my head to get rid of the useless thoughts as I felt Hina come back — this was not the time to think about all these things. I can't afford the time to waste on such thoughts when I barely had enough to even act on them efficiently.
With that thought in my mind, I instructed Hina to follow me discretely; after all, it'll be better to find Uzui's wives and reunite them without grabbing Daki's attention.
It'll be more than just troublesome if we did.
"Hinatsuru-san," I called her as we reached nearer to our destination; I could already see Daki's sashes flying around from here, "Please follow my lead and help me relocate the innocent bystanders as well as the Demon's captives away from the battlefield."
"Hai!"
"I'll also need you to find your fellow..." I hesitated before I just blurted it out to get it over with, "Your fellow wives and stand by at a distance from where you can provide us with any assistance needed."
She nodded silently to my words as I continued, "I would rather prefer to not involve you and the others but I don't think we'll have the luxury, so—"
I immediately took out the fans from my sleeves and sliced the incoming sashes towards us, my focus narrowing down on what was happening on the battlefield in front of us.
"—So!" I took off my white satchel and handed it off to Hina, "Use the vials inside it to dissolve any demon or its miscellaneous parts coming towards you, yeah?"
Hina looked at me strangely before I pulled her away from the field of attack; I think it was better to jump off the bloody roof than become the victim of their disastrously long-range fighting.
"Hina-san~!" A loud, shrill voice called for my companion, "You are here!"
What greeted me was a sight to behold.
Uzui's two wives were coming out of a giant hole in the ground, while Tanjiro, Inosuke and Uzui were fighting with Daki on the right side of the said hole.
'It almost looks as if the Earth collapsed here,' I mused off-handedly as I jumped down from the rooftop and immediately went in to remove all the hostages from the area, 'How much strength did Uzui use to even crack the ground this wide open?'
"Hinatsuru-san—" my eyes met with Uzui's other two wives as well who looked blankly while I gave them a nod of acknowledgement, "I'll help you take the hostages aboveground but please relocate them to the Kyougoku House or anywhere farther away as soon as possible, yeah? Since the boys are fighting this side, all the Lower brothels are more likely going to collapse."
I grabbed the back of the haori of an unconscious Zenitsu as I gave the three older females a reassuring smile, "I'll make an opening for you as soon as I go up. Please follow me closely till then, I hope it's alright?"
It was extremely fortunate that Uzui's wives were excellent listeners and even better followers as we took out the hostages without any hassle.
"You ugly piece of trash!" I could hear Daki's scream echoing through the alleyway (roadway? Wide alleyway? What?) as I got out of the collapsed hole.
"Blood Breathing, fifth form," I opened my fans wide as I quickly sliced a path through all the random sashes surrounding us with the rapid successive movement of my fans, "Blood Moon."
"Aneki!"
A shiver went down my spine as the whole aura of the battlefield changed, a sudden ominous silence following it as my eyes desperately tried to look through the dust flying around.
'Daki finally released all her power,' the realization made my back stiffen as I focused on locating the exact location of Daki and her somewhat uncoiled aura.
"You pathetic, repulsive fuckers," Daki's voice echoed as I moved ahead towards where I felt the boys standing, "Do you think you have any right to talk, huh? The repulsive have no reason to live — you can all just die and rot together!"
My breath hitched as my eyes met demonic lime green ones; even the sight of her making my stomach roll as I realised the difference between our strengths since her very aura made my throat sting with pain when I neared her.
'Child...'
She looked very young — almost too young than I imagined her to be. Or saw her back when she was disguised as a human.
'How old was she when she converted?' I mused silently as I jumped back to avoid the sashes she sent towards me, 'Wasn't she already in the business when she—'
"Where do you ugly—!"
"Out of my way! Uzui-sama is coming through!" I jumped out of his way as he attacked Daki head-on. It was almost comical how excited he seemed at the aspect of fighting.
With the way he attacked her, it seemed quite easy too — his clear attacks slicing through her sashes with unbelievable ease. It almost made me believe that we could finish her off early.
Almost.
Daki screeched as she sent a fresh wave of her sashes towards Uzui, making Tanjiro and Inosuke jump in as well to help him.
"Oi! How are you cutting these worms so easily?!"
"Inosuke! Stab them and—"
Tanjiro gasped loudly as I stepped in beside him suddenly; cutting the five sashes Daki sent in addition to the thirteen Inosuke and Tanjiro were already handling.
"Concentrate on their movement," I reminded them as the sashes dissolved due to the blood on my fans, "And practice your techniques. If you want to cut them with ease, either practice high speed or brute force."
"High," Tanjiro heaved as he continued, "Speed?"
"Cut them before they bend."
Both the boys stared at me as Uzui engaged with Daki alone, his excited laughter echoing in a very eerie manner.
'Her strength is in far-range attacks, which means I'm essentially useless here without the advantage of my blood,' I calculated silently as I cut through her stray sashes in quick succession, clearing the path around us to avoid the boys getting hurt.
'But,' my eyes met Tanjiro's as he and Inosuke passed through to attack Daki as well, 'It's not her that I am worried about. It is her brother.'
As far as my memory served, the issue with the Demon Moon six was not her stamina or strength but her long-range attacks and her brother — without killing whom you could not eradicate her either.
That meant two necks to cut, where one was of cloth-like texture while the other one had poison.
'Oh shit, the poison!' If I could, I would have facepalmed myself. How could I forget such an important plot point?!
Then again, what did the poison do? Fuck, I don't remember that either.
'The poison was made from the demon's blood, which means it most likely either corrupts the human body to paralyze it or slows it down to a certain extent.' I concluded.
"Killing for no reason, without a second thought! Without any remorse!" Tanjiro yelled as he and Uzui attacked her neck while Inosuke dealt with her sashes, "I won't allow that kind of tyranny, no matter what!"
Daki kicked the two of them off her with a very powerful kick, which almost resulted in a sharp enough wave of air to pass that pushed Inosuke back as well.
However, before she could start her attacks with those annoying sashes again, I skipped forward to attack her head-on — my only aim being to dissolve her head and her neck, if possible.
"Blood Breathing, seventh form," Her lime green eyes met mine once again as I clicked my fans open for the maximum impact, "Blood Red Sun."
My concentrated blood solution seeped through her skin as I swung my fans across her chest and face before she unleashed her onslaught of sashes to create a dome around me.
Thankfully enough, Uzui and Inosuke helped me out of that situation while Tanjiro grabbed me to shield me from the attack.
Daki's painful screams echoed through the night as we watched her face and collarbone dissolve in a gruesome manner; an ethereal white smoke came off her wounds making them seem even more ghastly.
I could feel Tanjiro's grip tightening over me as he gently tried to position me behind him, which almost made me laugh.
He was trying to protect me from the gruesome sight almost of her as if I didn't cause it in the first place.
"You!" Daki growled out of her half-dissolved face, making me wonder if she would have glared at me if my blood hadn't dissolved her eyes, "Right, it's you, isn't it? The fucking Dokuchi that he told me about!"
I felt a shiver go through my spine as her ominously coiled aura flared, "I'll kill you! I'll torture you to death like I should have done!"
"Oi, you damn demon," Uzui's confident voice cut through her incoherent screaming as he looked down at her with an almost irritated look, "Shut up with your whining. No one wants to listen to you crying."
"What? What kind of ridiculous drivel—"
Uzui took out his nichirin blades and sliced through the already wounded demon, "You are too weak. I refuse to acknowledge you as an Upper-Rank Demon."
"I can't believe you were the one I was searching for." His tone sounded a bit disappointed as Daki's still-healing head slipped down her neck, leaving everyone stunned.
Well, except me.
'If I didn't know what was going to happen,' I mused silently, 'I would have thought we won.'
I felt almost detached as Daki kept yelling with her head in her hands while Uzui kept humouring her as well; did he already detect that something was wrong as well?
"Then, why is your head in your hands? That's beyond weak!"
"I'm not weak! I haven't lost yet, alright?! I am Upper Demon Moon Six!"
"Just shut up and die an unflashy death already. It's totally obvious that you've lost."
"I'm really powerful, you know!" It pained me to see how childishly Daki kept arguing forward, "And I'm going to get even stronger once I—!"
It reminded me of how she was still a child when she was converted.
"Not buying it!"
Uzui, however, I had no words to define or defend.
It was then that Daki started crying and throwing a full-blown tantrum as she beat her hands on the road, "I really am Upper Six! I'm not lying! I have the number to prove it, too! I'm amazing, you hear me?!"
"You've got to be kidding me," Inosuke mumbled in disgust and disbelief beside me.
"How," Tanjiro hesitated before he started again, "How is she still... talking? Why isn't she disintegrating even after being beheaded?"
His comment pulled me out of my stupor, making me realize again that it was not the time to watch silently; while they may not know what is happening, I had no excuse.
Without wasting any time, I stepped forward and dashed to inject my concentrated blood into her leftover body — while I don't know if it will be enough to kill her as intended, it was worth the try.
Every attempt to change the flow and minimise the damage of the plot was worth the try.
My breath hitched as I felt her coiled aura expand and disseminate; the whole sensation of it made my blood freeze and the back of my throat ache as I could literally feel her brother divide his body from herself.
My attack on Daki was completely evaded by her brother as he relocated them to a faraway corner of the alley, his yellowish-orange eyes glaring at me as he held his sister delicately in his arms.
"There, there, why are you crying?" His scratchy voice tried to soothe his sister as he focused back on her, "Can't you even reattach your own head by yourself? You sure aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?"
The coil of anxiety in my chest gripped me harder as I finally felt his aura distinctively from hers — he was the true owner of the coiled, ominous aura that I was feeling up until now and it just got worse once he finally detached himself from his sister.
"What happened to your face, hm?" It was eerie watching him gently heal his sister's face with a somewhat soothing tone, "You need to take care of your face, you know? Since you were born with such a pretty face."
There was a gentleness in his tone that reminded me once again that the demons were once humans — despite how they looked and lived now. However, as I looked at Daki's brother, I found myself admiring his grotesque beauty, too.
Without a moment's notice, Uzui flashed through to attack them; his speed and the strength behind his steps left the whole place covered in dust.
Even then, the demon managed to evade him perfectly.
"Huh, not bad." He tilted his head and smiled in a twisted manner as he turned back to look at Uzui, "You stopped my attack, didn't you? Even though I was going for the kill. Good for you, man. Good for you — protecting the pretty little human, showing off like that, huh?"
That was when I realised why Uzui attacked him so suddenly.
He was protecting me.
"Lucky you, man," the deformed demon continued as his eyes roamed around to look at all of us, "That face of yours... Nice. I like your skin, too. Not a blemish, birthmark or scar to be seen, huh? And you have some meat on your bones, too."
His compliments to Uzui almost seemed sincere as he continued by degrading himself, "I can't gain weight, no matter what. You're a tall guy too! I can see you're well over six feet! You must get tons of attention from the ladies, don't you?"
'Was it like this in the original too?' The sudden transition in conversation bemused me as I watched the demon spout complaints about Uzui's prettiness before Daki loudly complained about how we apparently bullied her despite her trying her best.
A pang of pain went through my head at their melodrama as the demon drawled about his 'sweet little sister with no brains' and how he will massacre everyone who bullied her.
'Is this what they call the villain's monologues?' I wondered silently as the demon prepared to throw his sickles towards us, 'I can't believe Uzui is silently letting him continue as well.'
"—Because my name is Gyutaro!"
His sickles flew past Uzui and me, making his eyes widen as he looked back to warn the boys.
Thankfully, Zenitsu appeared, in his as-always-sleeping state, and deflected the sickles away. Even then their trajectory only bent a little as it still went back towards the demon — its movements almost akin to that of a boomerang.
'That pair of weapons is going to be the most troublesome of all.'
"How envious I am..." Gyutaro drawled, his eyes moving towards the trio before meeting mine for a brief second, "You really are a good-looking guy, aren't you? I envy you. I bet you have all the ladies vying for your attention."
The way Gyutaro said it made me feel icky and looking at the trio's faces, I was sure I wasn't the only one who felt that way.
"Of course," I can't believe Uzui is humouring him again, "I'm a flashy, glamorous ladies' man, so that's a no-brainer. And I even have three wives, no less."
'Why the fuck would you brag about it here, of all places?!'
"Did you," even Gyutaro looked at him with disbelief before bursting out with anger, "Did you just say you have three wives?! Are you kidding me—!"
His burst of anger was followed by blood flowing down his sickles as it extended into a form of an extension to his weapon — the slashes of his blood looking akin to that of thin blades of a sword.
My vision tilted as I was suddenly grabbed by Uzui and relocated to avoid Gyutaro's blood-blades.
"Oi, Sarota!" Uzui's voice rang in my head as I looked back at him with equal alarm, "Did his blood touch—"
"No, it didn't," I immediately consoled him before looking straight ahead as liquidated blood sickles followed suit to attack us, "And I'll strongly advise you to avoid any contact with it at all costs, too."
My fans sliced through the ones on the left as Uzui impaled the ones on the right, both of us trying our best to avoid making contact with the Demon blood in any form. Unfortunately, it was quite hard to do so since they exploded once they were hit.
"The sister," Uzui started as he took out three black balls from his belt, "She didn't die even when decapitated. Does that mean the brother is the real body?"
He threw the balls in the air before accelerating their speed with the slightest push of his sword; the final target of those balls being the demon siblings.
"It doesn't matter!" I finally answered as the bomb blew away nearby buildings along with the area the demons were in, "We have to cut both their necks anyway — they both are parts of the same body."
Eerie laughter echoed as the smoke cleared, making the impromptu ball of sashes visible for all to see.
"The pretty lady is right," Gyutaro drawled as the sashes moved away to show him with his sister on his back, "We are two people in one!"
"Well," Uzui grinned as he looked back at the demon siblings with a challenge in his eyes, "I can tell it's not going to be a walk in the park, then!"
I gave him a look from the back as he stepped in front of me as if to shield me.
"Tch, this pisses me off," Looks like I and Gyutaro agree on the same thing here, "You're good-looking, you have three wives," I hate how his eyes moved on to my figure before going back to Uzui, "And on top of that, you're full of swagger. You're different, aren't you?"
The look in his eyes became sharper and fiercer as he continued, "You're not like any of the other Hashiras I have killed. You must've been special since the day you were born. A chosen talent, right? That makes me so jealous! I need you to die as soon as possible!"
"Talent?" Uzui sneered openly, "Do I look like someone with any talent? If someone like me gives that impression, you really are living a blessed, ignorant life."
"Hashira-sama—"
"You may be centuries old but if you've stayed shut in a place like this, I guess you can't help being ignorant of the real world beyond the streets of this district."
"What do you know about it?!"
"You guys yap a lot for someone who was eager to fight and kill us all," I loudly interjected this time, turning the attention of the three chatterboxes to myself, "And I hope you do not mind me interrupting, but if you are done with your inferiority complex and shorthanded compliments, then can we just face off and get it over with, Gyutaro-san?"
It was kinda amusing watching the males blink at me in bewilderment for a few moments while the only other female scoffed at me loudly.
I was ready for her jab to come as well before her brother started laughing in that strange manner of his.
"Huh, the first time someone called my name was to ask to continue the fight!" He tilted his head to look directly at me, "Quite impatient to die, aren't you pretty lady?"
"I'm not usually patient enough for irrelevant monologues, I'll give you that," I directed that at Uzui, who gave me a blank stare in return, "Beyond that, your blatant disregard of someone's effort in their work and image in the name of 'talent' reminds me of another useless fight I've already had in the past. And I have no wish to listen to that shit again."
That apparently made Uzui laugh this time as he shook his head and turned back to... pat my head? What—?
"Ha, I absolutely agree, Sarota!" The Sound Hashira laughed loudly as he looked forward at the demon siblings, "Me, chosen? Don't give me that crap! You have no idea what flamboyant people I am teaming with. Some are complete enigmas and then there are some who can take up a sword and become a Hashira in two months!"
"And then there are some," I didn't miss the way his eyes strayed to me before going back, "Who fights using two sets of weapons! You are naive and ignorant to call someone like me talented!"
"Then how do you explain it?" Gyutaro glared at Uzui as he started scratching his sickly grey skin, "How you avoided my blood sickles, which are drenched with deadly poison? You think you can survive them without talent?"
"I didn't know possible inherent biological traits can be considered talent as well," I mumbled absent-mindedly and was ignored promptly too as Uzui continued instead, stating how it all didn't matter since he came from a line of Shinobi and was trained to be resistant to all kinds of poison.
That apparently started another debate on how he can't be a Shinobi since they were supposedly wiped out in Edo Period.
'...Where's the skip button when you need it?'
"So confident in your skills, huh?" Gyutaro smiled creepily as he gripped his sickles, "I'll kill you with my poison only!"
Two sickles came flying through as Uzui immediately deflected them with his swords and blocked my view of the demons completely.
"Sarota—"
Gyutaro's liquidated blood blades were next as we both attacked it together, our stance changing to be side-by-side while I could hear the trio fighting behind us as well.
"We need to separate them!" I said out loud, shifting aside to give Tanjiro space as Uzui attacked the siblings head-on while Tanjiro took his place beside me to cut through the last of his explodable blood.
"Onto it!" Uzui loudly declared, "In a flashy way!"
Inosuke howled and jumped in to help him corner the siblings too, which worked quite in our favour as Uzui was able to kick Daki off her brother's shoulder.
"Don't you dare kick my little sister!"
"You scumbag!"
Inosuke and Zenitsu stepped up to fight the sashes Daki sent towards them while Tanjiro and Uzui dealt with Gyutaro.
'It looks like we have the advantage over them,' I immediately shook my head at my own thought, 'As if. They most likely aren't fighting us seriously, yet. However,' I observed the fight from a passive glance while taking my swords out to impale the sash coming towards me, 'None of us is injured at all currently, which means we don't have any handicaps yet.'
Having no current handicaps meant that we had more disposable moves in our hands, like Nezuko and her adult demon form as well as Tanjiro's Sun breathing forms.
I took a deep breath as I expanded my consciousness more to help me focus on the auras around me and give me the advantage of 'sight' of their movements and predictability.
With that, I sprinted in Daki's direction at the quickest speed I could and impaled her directly while she was distracted, my sword piercing through her neck as she looked at me in utter disbelief before choking out blood from her mouth.
"Aneki!"
I jumped back to avoid the incoming sash from the side, swinging the sword in my right hand to attack it blindly as my blood sprayed on the sash and dissolved rapidly.
"You dokuchi bitch!" Daki folded herself in before kicking me away from her, "I will kill you! You see, I will—!"
I watched as she choked and vomited blood, her neck dissolving from the inside as my blood inserted into her body ran its course of effects.
'It's still not enough to kill her.'
Although, it was enough to deter her for the while.
Though, before I could do anything otherwise, her brother sent his own attack with his sickles and their thin extended blood blades that Inosuke and Zenitsu dealt with easily in my stead.
"Damn, I botched the chance to finish off this one!" Uzui loudly proclaimed as I felt the coiled demonic aura approach me rapidly.
I immediately jumped back and created as much distance as possible between myself and the demon siblings while Gyutaro showed up to protect his sister.
My back collided with Uzui's chest as he stood right behind me, his animated expressions making me unconsciously grin as I nodded at him.
It was going well.
At least, up until now.
"Hold on," Gyutaro's eyes levelled with mine and Uzui's, "You're onto us, aren't you?"
"About what?" Uzui gave him his default cocky smile.
"Not that finding out about us will do you any good since you're going to die a slow and steady death anyway!" Gyutaro started scratching his face vigorously as he continued, "Even as we speak, we're creeping towards victory, can't you feel that! No matter how many of you are there, you can never win!"
"That's for us to see, you shitty mantis!" Inosuke replied out loud, making me almost laugh as Uzui agreed to it as well.
"We are gonna win!" Uzui's eyes sparkled with excitement, "Us, the demon slayers!"
"No way can you win!" Daki growled out, letting me know she had somewhat gotten her voice back despite her neck still looking like a hot mess, "Not when the Hashira who's your only hope is ravaged by poison!"
We all looked back at Uzui, who seemed to look no different than before except for his sudden excessive sweat.
'The poison still hasn't spread enough then,' I noted silently as my eyes roamed through all his exposed skin to quickly assess the area of injury, 'That means it most likely got through his limbs and hasn't made it to his torso yet—'
"Oh, we're going to win easy, you stupid bottom-feeders!" His confident proclamation took me out of my thoughts, "I'm at the top of my game when I'm shackled by poison in my system!"
'Weird flex, but okay.'
"You're all going to die anyway, so stop with those sparkling eyes."
"Yes, spare us your bravado!"
'Why is everyone talking this much today?' I genuinely wondered as I tuned out the nonsense Uzui started to spout in response and instead focused on a basic plan as I assessed everything I already knew about them — or at least, remembered about them.
"You heard him!" By the time I tuned in, Daki was almost fully recovered and way too much lively for my tastes, "Not a single one lived to see daybreak! Long nights are always on our side, after all." I felt her aura shift as she stood up, "Every last one of you, just die!"
"Zenitsu!" I yelled out, moving aside instantly as he followed suit to my unspoken instruction while I dragged myself and Uzui aside to give him space.
His movements came as loud and swift as a thunderbolt when he attacked Daki back, not only throwing her and her sashes off completely but also pushing her away from the current area of battle.
"Zenitsu!" This time it was Tanjiro who called out to him before I interjected.
"Tanjiro, Hashira-sama!" Both looked at me instantly, "Leave Daki to me and Inosuke!" I nodded to Inosuke, who immediately followed my lead and sprinted away to join Zenitsu.
"You both focus on her brother—" I instructed as Uzui shielded me from the sickles that Gyutaro had thrown at us, "—and don't forget to use Sun Breathing as you see fit, Tanjiro! You have the advantage of knowing two Breathing techniques, use them!"
The younger slayer nodded to my words before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to coordinate his form before attacking Gyutaro head-on.
"And Hashira-sama!" Uzui paused and turned to me, "Follow the rhythm. While the attacks may seem random, everything has a beat and a pattern to it. Draw that and you'll find the opening!"
The smothering look he gave me almost made me gulp before I ran away from his gaze and towards Daki and the boys.
'I hope he is not onto me.'
Which would be a bit miraculous, considering how I've been spouting shit that I shouldn't have known for pretty much the entire mission. Uzui would have to be dumb to not pick up that I knew something outside of the realm of just information gathering.
'Then again,' I switched my swords for my fans, 'That is a worry I should entertain once we get out of this alive.'
"In this city, women are the merchandise. The same as objects." I could hear Daki monologuing as I approached them, "Getting sold, bought and destroyed. The owner is free to do with them as she chooses. Ugly people have no right to eat any meals and the inept shouldn't be treated as humans!"
"Quite bold of you to assume that you are the owner of anyone," My fans almost sliced through her neck as she moved away from me in surprise at the last second, her expression clearly showing she didn't see me coming at all, "And pretending that you treat those who are beautiful as humans either."
"You..." Daki's growled as she stabilised herself on the rooftop of some Lower House.
"Why," I glared at her, "You think you are the only one who knows how the Red District works, hm? Don't play with words here, child. Even if the people here sell their services, it doesn't make them the product — only the provider."
A wave of sashes almost lunged at me as Daki screamed in rage, "I'm not a child, you bitch! You think you are better than me with those stupid morals of yours?!"
"Absolutely not!" Folded the right fan in and switched it for my sword as Zenitsu and Inosuke covered for me, "But at least, I don't do the same horrible things to others that were inflicted upon me!"
"You're wrong about that!" Daki started chuckling as her eyes widened in a crazy look, "The horrible things done to us, the things that made us suffer... we do them back to others and collect on those debts!"
I impaled multiple sashes around me in quick succession using my righthand sword and pushed them down on the roof as I sliced them with the fan in my left hand.
"We can never make up for our own misfortune unless we collect it from the blessed. Because that's the way we live our lives!"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" She genuinely bewildered me with all the nonsense she was blurting out, "Making up for your misfortune? Hah! Don't make me laugh! You died years ago — you think the amount you have 'collected from the blessed' isn't already fulfilled, even if we go by your skewed mentality? Are you that conceited to think you are entitled to other's fortune or stupid enough to think you deserve it, huh?"
"We've killed off everyone who's ever levelled false accusations at us," the look Daki gave me was scalding, "And we will keep slashing the windpipe of those who stand against us — just like you guys!"
The bloodlust Daki emitted almost made me stumble, my body freezing immediately as I felt Gyutaro's bloodlust extend towards us as well.
'Even with this much distance,' my eyes widened in horror as Daki somehow opened another eye in the middle of her forehead, 'The siblings are in sync enough to aid each other.'
And that was going to be tedious as fuck.
"Zenitsu, Inosuke!" I lunged at the incoming wave of sashes — not towards us, but towards the other side of the battlefield, "Do not let any sashes get away from this side!"
I didn't bother to see if they heard me or not as I blindly sliced and cut through any and all sashes coming off from her.
"Shut up! Stop screeching in that damn shrill voice!" I agreed silently with Inosuke as her loud giggles grated on my nerves even more than usual.
Zenitsu joined us as I cut through her belts in series of succession, my balance getting more and more off with each attack as I used two different weapons in each hand.
'This won't do,' I stepped aside to avoid the sashes trying to attack me from my blind spot.
"You can't even get close to me!"
"Shut up, you Worm Woman!" Inosuke jumped in to dislodge some of the sashes coming towards me, his swords engaging with them but not able to cut them through properly, "If you want to prove anything, why don't you shut your trap and see if you can kill us!"
"Alright, as you wish!"
A fresh wave of sashes attacked us from underneath the roof we were standing on, making our positions vulnerable as she cornered us into little moving space.
"Inosuke, Zenitsu, cover me, quick!" I took this chance to take out the vials of the solution that I made with my concentrated blood and wisteria oil while also switching to my fans completely.
"Blood Breathing, fourth form," I took in a deep breath, "Crimson Cut."
My sharp horizontal slashes cut through and disintegrated all the nearby sashes, giving us enough time to take a breather as I instantly handed them the vials and stood in front of them as a shield against the incoming new waves of sashes.
"Use that solution to dissolve the sashes!" I loudly instructed, "Splash it over on your sword or use it directly — your call!"
With that, I attacked Daki head-on, fighting her with all I had with one aim only: harm her enough for the others to decapitate her when she's weak.
"You!" Daki's sharp eyes met mine amidst all our attacks, "I should've killed you myself! I shouldn't have left you for those worthless demons—"
"What?" I felt a knot forming in my lower abdomen after she suddenly started speaking; I had an inkling of what she was talking about but I was too afraid to accept it.
Or even acknowledge it, like the coward I was.
"You!" She pointed at me as she finally managed to put some distance between us, "You are that rat from that shitty brothel in Kurto, aren't you? I can't stand you dokuchi garbage!"
"What did you do?" I hated how my voice quivered, "You... Were you the one that wiped out Byakuren House from the Kurto District?"
"Of course," the sadistic smile she directed at me made my heart sink, "Now that I remember, that Oiran birthed you, didn't she?" Her eyes looked over me once, "You look quite like her too, I think. Or maybe not, hm?"
Her words distracted me enough that I was unable to detect the sudden onslaught of sashes she sent towards me from both sides; thankfully they were handled by Inosuke and Zenitsu as they jumped in to protect me.
She obnoxiously giggled again as her grin widened, "Ah, how wonderful it would've been if I was able to eat you too. Both mother and daughter dutifully adding to my beauty!"
"You..." I couldn't help but ask, "Why did you attack my brothel?"
"Huh? Why shouldn't I?" Daki looked at me as if I was stupid, "You inept humans kept stealing my positions, my business! Why wouldn't I just remove it? Your existence there only gave me an opportunity to finally remove the trash!"
My breath shortened as I felt my vision blur, her words cutting through me as she continued, "If only he had allowed me to wipe that brothel through — I wouldn't have left you alive at all!"
Her lime green eyes looked down at me as she sneered, "Hah, but I only got that Oiran out of that whole brothel to keep. The rest of them were so ugly that I didn't even want to engage with those trash."
Ugly, trash, things — that was all they were to her and those demons.
'They weren't even living beings for these creatures.'
I felt like I couldn't breathe as a sharp pain went through my chest; this whole ordeal left me frozen and stiff with shock and anxiety.
My head clogged up with thoughts and voices, memories that went through at a blurring speed that did nothing but put a fog through my mind as I stayed there, paralyzed.
I could feel someone drag me aside but even that felt like it was done so in a different dimension — as if, I wasn't in my own body anymore.
It felt surreal as I looked at my hands as if they weren't my own.
They weren't either. My hands were darker and much larger; hands in my past life, that is.
And yet, being in this life after stealing someone else's body, I wasn't even able to protect my (their?) family here either.
'Again.'
Another sharp pain went through my chest as I crouched down, my head feeling foggy and my whole body aching in a manner I never felt before. It was almost as if someone was suffocating me and I could do nothing but accept it.
"—ki!" It wasn't until I was suddenly jerked up that I looked towards Inosuke, "Oi! Aneki! What happened to you?!"
"Ah," I dumbly looked around us, noticing how the rooftop we previously were on had collapsed and I was now standing in between two Lower Houses, out of sight from anyone else.
"Aneki?"
"I'm sorry," I apologised instantly as I came back to it, realising the gravity of the situation once again; this was not the time to mourn or panic. It was not—
"Just sit down here!" I was suddenly pushed down, making me lose my balance as I promptly fell on my ass, "And stop whatever you are doing! Lord Inosuke and his minions will protect you!"
The sight of the boar mask huffing greeted me as he looked over at me once before nodding, "Yes! Stay here and stay hidden! I will protect you from the demons!"
His words didn't register till he went back to the battlefield; my mind still coping with the sudden fog I was facing.
'Useless.' I looked down at my trembling hands as I felt my anxiety finally simmer down to a manageable level, 'Such useless emotions.'
(~×~)
Tanjiro's breath hitched as his sister transform into what looked like a complete, adult demon before she lunged at the male demon in front of her — protecting him and Uzui as both suffered from the demon's poison.
His younger sister, Nezuko.
He felt like he failed to protect her once again as she had to step up to fight for him instead; even her muzzle falling away to show her true potential as a Demon shook him as he thought she'll never have to do this in the first place.
A pang of guilt went through him as he thought about how he was restricting her from fully exploring her demonic potential — it wasn't something he thought would be needed and honestly, he wished she didn't have to come to fight with him like this.
He wished he was strong enough to face the Upper Demon Moon alone.
And yet, now that he looked at his sister burning away the demon and his blood-covered sickles, he wondered if this was for the better. Fighting alongside his sister to protect everyone.
Maybe this was better.
Tanjiro forced himself to stand up, shifting all his focus to shift and stop the poison from spreading in his body before sprinting ahead to help his sister.
"Flamboyant!" Uzui's confident compliment made Tanjiro smile as he sliced through the blood attacks of the demon, "Your sister is very flashy, Kamado!"
Nezuko grunted as she was pushed away by Gyutaro, to which Uzui followed and attacked him frivolously while Tanjiro skipped over to check if his sister was alright.
"Nezuko? Are you alright?"
He couldn't believe how different she looked, felt and smelled — it was almost as if she was not the same person anymore.
And yet, when her pink eyes met his, he knew it was his baby sister.
"I'm sorry," he caressed her head, "It hurt, didn't it? I'm sorry for making you suffer, for... for not being strong enough. Thank you for coming out and protecting us, Nezuko."
"Go to sleep now," he watched as she grunted once again before she transformed back into her much younger form, "Please go to sleep and heal now. Onii-chan will handle it from here."
What happened after was a series of simultaneous events, with the first being the demon's blade-like blood coming in horizontal swirls towards him, which he barely managed to avoid with his sister in his arms.
That was followed by the brothel they were fighting in caving from all the damage, making them shift to the area nearby.
Lastly, a sudden onslaught of belts followed after them, making Tanjiro stagger as he was not yet able to put his exhausted sister back into the wooden box. Even worse was the fact that Uzui's wife had been spotted by the male demon, who now approached her directly.
"Leave her alone!" He could hear Uzui's scream as Tanjiro immediately calculated what he could do.
Leaving his sister was not an option either since the demon siblings made it clear that they would kill her, given the chance.
Then that meant—
"Fight someone of your own calibre," her familiar voice made Tanjiro slump down in relief as he watched Miyasha jump on the roof at a lightning speed and push the demon away from the older woman with her attack, "Why don't you?"
With some distance being put between the demon and Uzui's wife, Miyasha immediately engaged with the Demon directly; making him focus completely on her as Uzui's wife attempted to remove herself from that area.
Tanjiro flinched as the Sound Hashira finally broke free of the dome of belts that the female demon had encased them in with a loud bang.
With Uzui free and Tanjiro done safeguarding his sister, both approached the demon without a moment's hesitation. Unfortunately, the troublesome belts meddled again as they came in waves towards their field of vision.
Cut them before they bend.
Miyasha's voice echoed in Tanjiro's head as he followed through with her advice, blending in the Sun Breathing with that of his Water Breathing technique to compensate for the low defence of the former technique.
That was the solution he desperately needed — the combination of both Breathing styles.
Tanjiro took a deep breath as he focused on slicing through all the belts in one go, his arms and torso aching more and more with each movement as the poison spread throughout his body.
But that didn't matter right now. No. What mattered was to kill the demon and protect the people they have been so desperately fighting for.
That's why Tanjiro didn't hesitate when he jumped and went in for the head of the demon, his action matched by the Sound Hashira as each approached the demon from the opposite sides.
However, the demon was as fast as them, if not faster, since he immediately clashed their swords with his sickles.
"You think the likes of you can cut off my head? Never going to happen!"
The demon looked directly at him before turning his head completely around to stop Uzui's attack on his head, which only resulted in the demon falling back to initiate his horizontal swirl attack.
However, before Tanjiro could do anything, he was pulled back by someone grabbing his wooden box — allowing Uzui to redirect that demon into another area to minimise the possible damage to others.
"Uzui-san!"
Tanjiro fell back, his ass hitting the rooftop as his eyes met familiar bluish-violet ones.
"Aneki?"
Her eyes looked bloodshot as she looked down at where Uzui went, "Tanjiro, Hinatsuru-san." Both the parties looked at her instantly as she called their name, "I need you to listen to me carefully, alright?"
She looked back at the area where Zenitsu and Inosuke were fighting the female demon, "Tanjiro, go aid the other two boys and stop the sashes from coming here, alright?" She looked at both of them again, "We need to separate the siblings so that they cannot aid each other at all. Their strength is in the other, so we have to divide them before we can conquer them as a whole."
"And to do that," she took out a small vial from her haori, "Use this on your swords and stab her. It will temporarily slow her down if used in small dosage and completely paralyze her for a short period if you use it altogether."
"Hai, Aneki!" Tanjiro immediately took the vials of what he knew was some kind of solution for her blood.
"And use your Sun Breathing technique as much as possible," she paused before correcting herself, "No, use it moderately. Do not strain yourself beyond your limit — we have no idea how long the fight may go on. Blend it with your Water Breathing technique if plausible, understood?"
"Hai!"
"And Hinatsuru-san," the other female nodded as she looked at them breathlessly, "Immediately disperse and leave the area. I know you have removed the civilians already, and I thank you for that, but now I need you to either leave this area or—"
Tanjiro and Miyasha jumped to immediately block the incoming attacks -— Tanjiro cutting through the liquid blood blades while Miyasha dealt with the forming dome of belts.
"—go to the other, safer side to protect yourself."
"I understand," he could sympathise with Hinatsuru as he knew how it felt to be the one who was always being protected, "Don't worry about me, I'll go hide. Just focus on winning!"
With that, Tanjiro and Miyasha's focus completely shifted towards the belts approaching them.
"Tanjiro," He looked one last time towards his sister by faith, "I'll leave this to you and the boys then, alright? Give your best!"
(~×~)
It was a mess.
The whole fight was a mess I couldn't help but feel hopeless at as it prolonged further and further with each attack.
'Patience is a virtue.' I repeated to myself as I sprinted towards Uzui to aid him with Gyutaro.
I knew the boys could handle Daki well on their own — I gave enough hints for them to figure out the rest and they were no fools.
The only one left was now Gyutaro and his stubborn neck.
I found the two of them locked in an intense fight, the speed of which left me dizzy as I realised my lack of insight.
I cannot interrupt their fight without handicapping Uzui — especially since it looked like he had finally found the rhythm to his attacks and was now following it through.
'The poison in his system, however...' I noticed with disdain how almost the whole right side of his body had a dark bluish bruising, letting me know that the poison had spread throughout his body and it was only a matter of time until it will start paralysing him.
'The only way to stop it would be to divert his blood flow completely but that would take him to absolute concentration for a good few minutes.'
A swirling wave of thin blood blades completely covered the area as Gyutaro attacked with everything as a last ditch effort, their range going beyond as it even affected the boys fighting Daki on the other end.
The most I could do was to block a certain amount of it; however, it did not stop much beyond the obvious as I looked back at them.
My heart sank as I watched Uzui cough and fall over, knowing quite well that the poison has most likely already reached his heart.
'Fuck.'
I sprinted and attacked Gyutaro without a second thought, my actions surprising him a bit before he looked at me with disdain and attacked me with his sickles again.
His sickles clashed with my nichirin fans in a loud bang, our eyes meeting as he attempted to send horizontal swirls of his blood once again.
'Attempted' was the keyword as I clung to him without hesitation and made him hunch over, which led to his position being unstable and the swirls being misdirected. That narrowed down the harm that would have been caused to the trio fighting Daki on the other side.
I could hear their grunts and struggles as they yelled at each other and Daki, while I and Gyutaro kept clashing our own dual weapons on this end.
'I cannot do this for much longer.'
I knew my limit and I was already past it — my body was aching from head to toe and my bad wrist was stiff enough to make my movements awkward. What made it all worse was that my fans were damaged as well. Still, I pushed through to somehow see the end of it.
That was all I could do right now, after all.
"Tanjiro!" I yelled loudly as Gyutaro's sickles barely cut through my throat, "I need you here, right now!"
"Calling someone to save you, huh?" His drawl was as taunting as ever, "Don't worry, I'll kill him after you, too."
I glared at him before pushing in one last time with my fragile fans, his sickles bending them so much that the left one broke and my already damaged right wrist jerked up the other fan to somewhat deflect his sickle away before pushing him with all my might to create some distance temporarily.
However, he immediately followed to attack me again, which I already had already anticipated.
I instantly took out my sword and impaled it through that one eye of his, making him scream as he jumped back to finally give me some breathing space.
My eyes quickly looked back to Uzui and Tanjiro, noticing that the former had already started twitching and the latter was rushing towards me as I engaged with the male demon.
"Quite quick on your feet, aren't you, Dokuchi?" His arrogant smile only grated on my nerves as he desperately held his injured eye, "But even your movements are becoming sluggish. What use is your blood if you can't even fight?"
"Disgraceful! So disgraceful!" He kept repeating it as he scratched his neck, his melting eye slowly stopping its dissolution as he spoke, "How weak was that Hashira! All he had was bluster! Leaving you behind to struggle like this as all it took to stop his heart was the poi—"
I simply side-stepped as a loud bang echoed through the alleyway, Uzui's loud attack making my own ears ring as bulky swords clashed with demonic sickles. It was strong enough to even produce sparks.
I took that time to catch my breath as I watched Uzui take on Gyutaro completely on his own. And since I knew he could handle it (and if I did go, I would only be a hindrance), I silently stood there and watched them fight.
It wasn't until Tanjiro jumped in that I stepped into the battle again.
"Tanjiro!" I called out to him as we bolted towards Uzui and Gyutaro, who were jumping from one rooftop to another as they battled, "Cut his neck with the Sun Breathing technique!"
I didn't wait for his reply as I blocked Gyutaro's attack on Uzui's torso, my sword dislodging his one sickle as Uzui blocked his other one and pierced him through the chest with his second nichirin sword.
Tanjiro jumped on my and Uzui's shoulder, using us as leverage to reach Gyutaro's neck and behead him.
The next few moments were the longest ones in my life as I and Uzui watched and waited for his head to be disconnected. And when it did, the force of our attack completely threw off his head in the other direction.
The fact that it was over took a few moments to settle in before a shiver went up my spine at the still-inflating aura from the demon's body.
"Kamado! Sarota! It's not over ye—!"
I forcefully stood up before kicking the body of the demon away with all my might, knowing full well it won't affect much beyond the bare minimum.
However, even that seemed enough as long thin blades of blood came rotating out in the airborne body, its range barely missing us as I covered the damaged bodies of my fellow slayers with my own before I heard the sound of something burning.
'Fire? What?'
"Kamado Nezuko?"
Well, that answers my question.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that the whole attack ended (burned away?) and I could slump away from my position on top of Uzui and Tanjiro's bodies. I could still my heart in my ears as the adrenaline rush still persisted in my body.
"Sarota!"
I opened my eyes to look lazily at Uzui, who looked panicked enough to almost be comical. That made me laugh as I gave him a reassuring smile — or at least, what I hoped to be so.
"Why did you shield us?" His voice was as frantic as his body language, "You—"
"—You both are more injured than me," I breathed in as I felt Nezuko hurry towards us, "So, don't be silly, asking why the fuck I did what I did."
I smiled at the pocket-sized Nezuko running towards us with her itty-bitty legs; her cuteness gave me the strength to force myself to get up and start the final part of the mission.
It would be better to wrap this up before the anxiety settled in and I broke down in front of people.
"Nezuko, dearie," I smiled as she gave me a worried look, "Don't worry, your brother is good." I nodded towards the unconscious boy lying beside me, "Do me a favour, and burn away the poison in your brother and Uzui-san's system, yes?"
I stood up and dusted my clothes, noticing how I had damaged my haori to shreds once again, "I'll bring others back here in a second—"
"Sarota." I looked back at Uzui as he gave me the sincerest look I've ever seen on him, "You have my gratitude."
"And so do you have mine," I smiled at him as I looked down at Tanjiro, "For saving my sweet Ototou."
I could hear Uzui's chuckle as I finally left them to look for others; my eyes scanning the debris with a motive as I reminded everything that happened in the past few hours.
The whole area looked like a natural disaster hit it but, thankfully enough, there were not many casualties — or, at least, I didn't feel any auras besides the familiar ones around me.
'Hopefully, everyone's injuries are not as severe as it was in the original.'
Honestly, that would be my biggest achievement if I could change at least some of the results of the plot.
"Tanjiro!" Zenitsu's desperate tone echoed in the dark night as I rushed towards his direction, "Aneki!"
My speed, unfortunately, was not much considering how my body still ached and stiffened.
It was almost a wonder that I could still move, actually.
"Aneki!" Zenitsu's familiar whining greeted me as he noticed me approach him, "I woke up and my body hurts all over! Both my legs! I can't move them! Are they broken?!"
"Ne, ne, Itsu-kun, it'll be alright, it'll be alright," I immediately kneeled down and felt around his legs, noticing that much of his right leg showed the familiar blue bruising as I had observed on Uzui, "Ah, you are being affected by the demon Gyutaro's poison. Let me quickly bring you back to Nezuko so that she can detoxify you."
"Aneki!" I was suddenly jolted down as Zenitsu grabbed my sleeves and shook them, "Aneki, I am not dying, right?!"
"No, no, you are not—"
"Then save Inosuke!" His words made me pause as he continued, "It's not like I don't deserve pity too but that boar is in very bad shape! The Sound of his heartbeat is very faint! Please, save him."
'Zenitsu... has changed so much.' I couldn't help but observe as he forced himself to somewhat get up and point towards Inosuke, his whole demeanour showing how worried he was for his friend even when he was whining about his own pain just a few moments ago.
"It's alright, Itsu-kun," I softly reassured the crying boy as I checked Inosuke's pulse and his body's condition, "He'll be fine. He has mostly been affected by the poison that has spread to his body. He'll be fine in no time once we bring him to Nezuko."
And that was the truth, considering how his pulse was stable enough to have time before he hits the critical hour.
'However,' my frown deepened as I positioned Inosuke over my shoulder, 'The poison has spread into his whole body. How much did he move to let it settle in this quick?'
"Itsu-kun, give me a minute and I'll be back to take you with me — I hope it's fine with you?" I couldn't help but smile as he nodded his head, "Good, I'll be off then."
With that, I made a quick job of going back to where I left Uzui and Tanjiro, noticing how his wives were already there and tending to the Sound Hashira while also crying and thanking Nezuko continuously.
Nezuko immediately sprinted towards me as soon as she saw me approaching, making my job easier as I handed over the young slayer to her and instructed her to detoxify him as well before I brought in Zenitsu.
"Hinatsuru-san!" I called out before I left, "And, uh, other wives of Hashira-sama — can you please clear the debris around here a bit to create a temporary area for me to work on? I'll need some space to provide some basic first aid to everyone here, especially those with broken bones."
I got a few nods back before I rushed back to Zenitsu, my mind completely preoccupied with what I needed to do and the best treatment method to minimise the damage done to their bodies.
"Aneki!" I smiled at the young boy as I gently helped him sit up straight before carrying him in my arms — princess style.
"A-Aneki?!"
"Ah, I apologise for carrying you this way, Itsu-kun," I said off-handedly as I traced my way back once again, "But your legs are not, particularly in a good shape, I'm afraid. And since I'm not quite sure yet if you have broken your bones in your legs or not, I'll rather prefer to avoid straining them too much — I hope you understand."
It made me chuckle at how shyly Zenitsu nodded; the whole imagery made me feel warm and protective of the little blond while I carried him as securely as I could.
"Is Inosuke alright?"
His concern made me chuckle again as I smiled reassuringly at him.
"Yes, yes he is. And I'll make sure you are too." I promised him as we reached the designated area before I set him down near a very awake Inosuke and a still unconscious Tanjiro, "And Zenitsu?"
"Hai, Aneki?"
I patted him as he gave me a shy expression, "I'm proud of how much you've grown."
I could see how much my words left him speechless but I didn't have the time to elaborate on my words any further as I focused on giving everyone a basic treatment first.
That was my final process for the mission, after all; the only thing I was remotely good at.
Fortunately enough, no one was injured beyond their body's capacity — except maybe Tanjiro, since I could almost guarantee that he had more than half a dozen broken bones and severe internal bleeding if his swollen abdomen was anything to go by.
Even Uzui was fairing better than him, considering how the Sound Hashira mostly had a few broken (and suspected hairline) fractures in his hands and ribs along with a deep cut across his left eye and his lower abdomen.
"Now, focus on my hand and close your eye once I tell you to, alright?" I instructed naturally as I checked the condition of his eye — the whole injury was deep enough to not only bruise and bleed through the eyes but also the eyelids, "Okay, good enough. You'll need stitches on your forehead and cheeks to close up that wound as well as an immediate eye check-up, presuming that you already are unable to see anything from it, am I correct?"
"Yes." The look Uzui gave me was one of amusement that I pointedly ignored.
"That means your cornea is most likely damaged and with all the blood, I'll also go ahead and say that there is internal bleeding between your cornea and iris," I explained softly as I cleaned his face with alcohol once again, "I won't give you false hope, but the best you'll have is a blurry vision from that eye."
"And the worst?" Makio asked directly, to which I gave her an apologetic smile.
"Complete loss of vision in that eye and an eye patch."
Uzui laughed loudly at my reply as he clapped my shoulder, "That sounds very flashy, I must say! I can even match with Kyojuro!"
I didn't bother to dignify that with a response as I instead shifted to cover up his cut temporarily with bandages, "Do not open these bandages before you reach Butterfly Estate. I have gone ahead and temporarily applied appropriate dressing to the wound but I don't have the equipment nor the required clean environment to put stitches on you right now. So, please do heed my words."
"Yes, doctor." Uzui and three of his wives chorused, which amused me quite a lot. Such dorks.
"How are the rest of them?"
I hummed before I answered Uzui, "Better than expected, honestly. It was mostly the poison which posed any kind of threat to them."
And that was the truth, considering how Zenitsu had minor fractures in both his legs (none in his joints, thankfully enough) and Inosuke merely had severe cuts on his body and (as per my assumption) some minor internal bleeding.
It was almost miraculous how we got out of a fight with an Upper Demon Moon with only such few injuries. Especially in the case of Uzui, who only had his left eye damaged permanently and nothing else.
I could see Uzui wanting to ask something of me but Tanjiro gained consciousness suddenly, making everyone fuss over him as he tried to get up and leave.
"I have to go search for the demon's head!" Tanjiro pleaded, his eyes looking up to mine in a silent plea to help convince others, "I can't rest until I find them!"
Silence followed after his words as I felt everyone's eyes on me as if waiting for my verdict.
"Well," I sighed, "Don't look at me like that, I'm not your mother — you can leave if you wish to but I'll still suggest you to, at least, not walk."
"But—!"
"Nezuko," I ignored Tanjiro's words as I looked at the pocket-sized demon, "Can you carry your brother on your back to wherever he needs? Or should I do it?"
Nezuko shook her head as she huffed and stood up taller in a manner to show that she can do it.
"Good," I looked at them both before turning back to my white satchel again, which somehow survived the whole ordeal, "Now shoo, I need to clear this space too."
It was almost comical how everyone looked at me and waited for my instructions to do anything; acting as if I'm their keeper. Or mother.
The thought of it made me smile; it oddly made me feel warm and needed and didn't know what to think about that.
That is, before I felt the auras of people approaching us. And knowing the chaos they were about to cause I silently stepped aside to a corner where I was hard to see. I didn't have the mental, emotional or physical energy to give much of a shit about that cynical Snake Hashira right now.
Uzui looked at me weirdly before he heard the footsteps of the approaching Kakushi and a very obnoxious Snake Pillar — the former of whom I welcomed heartily as I engaged myself in helping them shift the wounded slayers while also informing them about the first aid I had already applied on them.
(~×~)
"Hm? I see. Six, huh? That would be the lowest of the Upper Ranks. So, yes, congratulations are in order. Right, six or not. I don't mind offering you more praise."
Tengen looked blankly at his fellow Hashira, kinda regretting greeting him like this as he lay there unable to even properly explain the whole situation due to his exhausted body.
Not to mention, the cynical Snake Pillar was as dry as he ever came to be, making his wives take a personal offence to his unenthusiastic attitude and insincere words.
"Well, not that your praise will do anything for me." He replied almost off-handedly as his wives jumped in to defend him instead, before backing down when his fellow Hashira didn't comment back.
"Besides," Tengen decided to add in the end as his gaze went to the youngsters lying beside him, "It's not like I did it alone."
Iguro's eyes scanned through the field around them before settling on Sarota, which made Uzui feel oddly protective, "I can't believe everyone survived, hm?"
"Relatively unharmed too," a fact that Tengen still couldn't believe himself and refused to take credit for, "In fact, there is a youngster who survived as well, and will definitely reach his potential for sure — that young man you hate, Kamado Tanjiro!"
"Wait, no way," Tengen watched with satisfaction as his fellow Hashira's eyes widened in disbelief, "He survived? This battle?"
"Very flamboyantly too!" He almost bragged as laughter spilt from his mouth, "Even his demon sister, Kamado Nezuko, played a vital role in the fight! She cured us of our poison made from demon blood, look!"
Tengen smiled as he looked to the side to meet the eyes of his other benefactor, "And also that woman you find so distrustful, Sarota Miyasha — she is the one because of whom there are so less casualties! Her information is as precise as her instincts!"
It amused him how flustered Iguro looked, his expectations of them being completely disproved as each of them held their own ground and proved that they were worthy of the chance given to them by Oyakata-sama.
In fact, if anyone asked Tengen now, then he would not hesitate to back up Nezuko and the claims her brother and Sarota did for her.
It took Iguro some time to gather himself before he shifted to ask bluntly about how long it would take him to recover and return to duty.
And while he was quite sold on the idea of retiring, Tengen couldn't help but feel like he'll be missing out on a lot if he did. Especially missing out on digging around how exactly Sarota orchestrated this whole mission for the result to come out this good.
And how did she know the name of the female demon, even when she didn't even introduce herself?
However, before he could answer anything, they heard excessive coughing from Sarota as she almost staggered and fell over — making everyone worry for her as Makio immediately went to her aid.
Tengen's eyes widened as he realised that his worst fear came true — Sarota was poisoned, too.
(~×~)
Heavy coughs wrecked my body as I hunched over and covered my mouth, my hand coming over red as blood dripped from my fingertips and lips.
'Ah, fuck. I am poisoned as well, huh?'
Another series of coughs came through as I tried to suppress my body's reaction. Unfortunately, that only made it worse as my head and whole throat ached.
'It feels like I am melting from the inside.'
I heaved a sigh when I felt small hands grip my sleeves — the sight of little Nezuko made me smile before I remembered she was a demon. And my blood wasn't much compatible with them.
"Makio-san," I smiled at the older woman as I requested, "Can you please remove Nezuko from beside me? I don't want her touching my blood — it could seriously injure her." I smiled apologetically at the little demon as I explained, "No sweetie, you cannot detoxify me; my blood won't allow any demon to be in contact with me, let alone their demon blood art."
Nezuko's sad, worried eyes almost broke my heart before Obanai's voice interrupted the sweet scenery.
"So, are you going to die then?"
'Ha, you wish—'
"Not quite, Hashira-sama," I gave him my best 'I'm a professional adult' smile as I continued, "Since the poison itself is derived from Demon blood, my own blood will neutralise it; albeit, slower than how Nezuko would have done."
And with a healthy dosage of pain, too, might I add.
Obanai's heterochromatic eyes stared me down before another series of coughs wrecked through my body.
'Maybe I'll cough out my soul this way too and pass onto a decent anime as my next life.'
I almost smiled at my own thought before worried Kakushis swamped me and tried to help me through — completely preventing me from listening to Uzui's reply to Obanai's previous question.
Add Zenitsu and Inosuke's worried grunts and questions to that and it was a chaos I wasn't (unfortunately) unfamiliar with.
And while that in itself created a hassle, the chaos and all the fussing finally gave me the sense that it was over. That I had made it.
I had completed the Red District arc with no one dying — not even civilians.
And that gave me an odd sense of calm before I was made to close my eyes and rest up for the while.
See who returned from the dead (unwillingly), lmao. I did not expect my hiatus to be as long as it lasted, but oh well.
I genuinely apologise for being MIA for this long — honestly, a lot happened with my depression and anxiety and stress being at the peak, but now I'm better. Or at least getting better. I'm good enough to come back to my healthier coping mechanism (that is, writing).
Other than that, guess what? I'm also getting my own poetry book published! So yeah, it's very hectic but I got some time to finally finish this chapter and revamp it once before uploading it.
I hope you liked and enjoyed it~
》Taishou Secrets《
The twins and Rengoku gave their final selection at the same time; also one of the major reasons why they are close friends. Uzui was not a Hashira at that point but was on quite a few missions with the three of them once he became a slayer; thus, the friendship.
And that'll be all for this chapter! Thank you so much for your kind reviews and please review this one as well if you want to— And yes, I am reading them! Honestly, it motivates me like no other! I mean, I am an attention whore so xD
Stay safe and stay healthy!