Hinokami's Blessing
Chapter 8
12Thirtypain03
WARNING: This story is rated M for mature rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering makes you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into demon/human, or more will be labelled in the chapter of occurrence. If a character has died in a chapter, that chapter will give a cause of death to that character.
Douma's POV
It was rather a devious plan of mine that I had for some time been planning. It was even more impressive for myself and the other demons that had been participating in such an action for quite the time.
How our master had yet to think about doing such a deed was a disgrace.
But alas, it was something Douma himself would fix. If you can't rely on someone to do something, do it yourself.
And that was exactly what Douma was doing.
In fact, for the recent times, Douma had been trying his best to be as devious as he could for now. The reason was rather simple. He had been looked down upon by many within the Twelve Kizuki.
A simple battle, against a Hashira, that Douma had failed, and almost lost. By sheer fault of Douma's own error, the Flower Hashira had managed to get away, whilst Douma was severely injured, desperately seeing him needing more of Muzan's blood.
It was an embarrassment for Douma, and he wanted revenge. He would never forget the individual who had caused him embarrassment, and humiliation for quite the time. Even to this day, he has Akaza, and even some of the Lower Moons laughing at him for the event.
"That girl was at least pretty." Was all Douma could say, and was the only redeeming quality he could see from the girl that had beaten him up. Then again, Douma had a pretty poor opinion of women regardless.
And so, he had been working alongside some other demons, those lower ranked to not make Muzan suspicious. As for what he was doing, he could best describe it as a way to get back at that demon slayer.
That damned Flower Hashira had costed Douma his reputation and respect, as now both demon slayers and demons alike saw him as pathetic. Both saw him not fit for his Upper rank, but considering he survived whereas those of the lower moon came and went, he was just hoping many of them would ultimately perish before they persisted.
Unfortunately, it seemed that he had managed to find a certain group of Lower moons that had sticked for an usual amount of time. The result was that he was being made fun of by the other demons for not being able to eliminate one Hashira.
One may think the others are hypocrites to laughing, however, since many of the Upper Moons are meant to be the ones to eliminate the Hashira level demon slayer corps, it was as if Douma had failed his job.
And so, as Douma continued with his own plans, he was doing this for the purpose of one, proving himself, and two, getting revenge on the other demons who had disrespected him.
After all, Douma was a narcissist, to an extent, and he was selfish in his own desires. He's even had his own cult before, where he would feast on them. He brought the worst desires out of people, and they died for it.
Douma chuckled, thinking of the possibilities of what could happen when his plans are put into effect. Though, with this he did have quite the question.
Would some of the Hashira be sent over to contain the issue? If that's the case, then that would theoretically give Douma to perfect opportunity to seek revenge and finally kill the Hashira responsible for his embarrassment and humility.
Douma chuckled, as he nodded towards the demons would be the ones to carry out the mission.
"Oh, how these are the best kinds of work, the ones where everyone else, except you does all the work, while you sit down and watch everything unfold." Douma chuckled as he was waiting for everything.
"What are you laughing about?" Douma turned to see the sister of Lower Moon 6, Daki.
"Just a plan to seek revenge on the one who's embarrassed me." Douma excplained.
Daki, for her part, never tried to care about what Douma did. He was a dangerous individual, almost on par as the demon king, and so Daki knew that whatever Douma was doing, just let him do whatever. Even the demon king would be unable to maintain and stop Douma from doing what he wanted.
Douma was just too powerful and worth too much to be a troublemaker.
And so, they found it worth keeping him around over kicking him out or killing him.
And so, Daki went by, wanting to talk to her brother or even Akaza. Anyone else except for Douma that she ran into.
Douma chuckled as he continued with his plight. He began to head out of the mansion that he stayed at. As much as he wanted to use Nakime, he decided against it, as he wanted to make this as privately as possible. In doing so, in the event it goes wrong, he doesn't really care, and at the best, he's praised by everyone.
And so, as Douma continued with his own endeavors, he was sure to avoid the two individuals who were more powerful and respected than him. Once everything was working out, Douma would be glad to see the reaps of benefit he would be receiving.
"So, when are we exploding the wisteria up?" One of the demons asked Douma.
Douma smirked, "Oh, when the newest recruits of the demon slayers are to be trying. So, when the Final Selection occurs. This'll allow you all and the demons trapped inside to combined, kill all those recruits. That'll send a message to the corps, that they're resistance is futile."
"But how would this help you regain your respect from that Hashira?" The demon asked, clearly regretting it once Douma stared at them in anger, evident in his rainbow, colourful eyes.
"Now, now, let's not get too ahead of ourselves, alright?" Douma chuckled to the demon as he pointed to him.
"Now you get the honours of being the first line of offence!" Douma chuckled eagerly, now wanting this demon to reap his own words.
"Uh, don't you mean-" The demon cut himself off before he could dig himself a deeper grave. "My apologies, very well." Was what he said instead.
Douma chuckled as he saw the demon run off. "Oh the joys of running everything based on fear, how strong such emotion is."
With that, he was nearing the completion of his plan, to hopefully secure his place and respect back.
He knew that flower pillar girl had too much of a good heart. He knew she would be among the first to want to help the recruits, and he knew she would recognize him and want to fight him, this time to finish him.
All that talk of feeling pitiful, would be the downfall of those who felt cocky.
And Douma would be the only one capable of performing such a feat.
Once he got the go, he was ready, born ready, for a second rematch. This isn't a matter of being ordered around by a boss, but rather it was an intrinsic motivation for one's own self-image, and Douma needed this regardless.
He would, inevitably, get his revenge, and respect. If he didn't now, he will eventually.
Tanjirou's POV
It has been around three months since Tanjirou and Nezuko were sent out by Urokodaki and Giyu to target and slay the demons responsible for the deaths of many demon slayers whose lives had been cut short due to these demons.
The demon slayers that were killed, were unable to reach their full potential because of these demons. If they had been given more chance to grow up and gain experience, then they may have made the difference between life or death.
Unfortunately, they were dead, and the least they could do for their dead families was avenge them.
That was what Tanjirou and Nezuko did. Whilst Tanjirou was hesitant and felt bad for how demons had to live, Nezuko had to remind him these were the same demons who had cause pain and agony to a family.
Tanjirou would then sigh and agree. The same demons that killed their family were doing the same thing as Muzan, and thus were no better nor different than that monster in Tanjirou's eyes. Still, he was going to give every demon he slayed a peaceful send off, unless they deserved none of it.
After their demon in Mukojima Village, they had found and were sent to other villages, including Setagaya, Hachioji, Takinogawa, and Ome, the last one being close to where Tanjirou and Nezuko themselves lived, or at least, the village their mountain was nearest to.
Regardless, Tanjirou and Nezuko were sent to those villages, for the sheer purpose of slaying the demons that, not only terrorized the villagers, but also those who were responsible for the deaths of demon slayers.
Tanjirou and Nezuko cut them down, slain immediately, Nezuko especially. Whilst Tanjirou had some mercy to slaying demons, it did not hamper his ability to killing them. He fought to free the demons of their curse. Nezuko, by contrast, was more for vengeance. She was unfortunately developing some hidden anger, and Tanjirou could smell the anger accumulating inside her.
Tanjirou had tried his best to calm her sister down, but it seems she was going down this path.
They were returning back from their most recent mission, and after slaying the demon from that area, they were now returning back to the mainland.
Tanjirou sighed as both he and Nezuko got on the ferry, and began to head back. It was during the day the ferry would last, and so they spent the entire ride sleeping, resting, after having such a extreme battle.
It made Tanjirou realize that in spite of all their practicing, they weren't strong to easily take down even the weakest of demons. Unless Urokodaki was giving them harder than average demons that they expected, they were currently relatively weak.
Tanjirou sighed as he woke up and, both he and Nezuko had woken and begun their trek back. It was quite the journey they had last time, but because both of them were demons, they were fine with performing such large journeys.
If anything, it gave them both a sense of exploration.
It was a good brief way of taking Nezuko's mind off of things temporarily. For now, Tanjirou was briefing over everything.
He was looking out for any crow, but did not see any. That meant that neither Giyu nor Urokodaki had any new missions for them.
Therefore the two were just left to their own devices.
It was strange that both had very little to do, after everything they did when it came to demon slaying.
Now, the two were just chilling, waiting for their next mission.
Their next mission would be critical, as they knew with each passing mission, they would be closer.
After half a week of more missions, Tanjirou and Nezuko were sighing based on their mission.
They were panting somewhat, as they stared down at the most recent demon they were facing.
Tanjirou looked at Nezuko, hiding around a damaged column of wall due to the demon's own hands.
"Seems this demon's hands are very strong, best to remain at a mid range to swipe the demon's throat without getting too close to be blasted off…" Tanjirou thought to himself.
Without much thinking, Tanjirou got out of his spot, dashing towards the demon.
Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow
In a display of pure elegance and strength, pouts of watery steps began to pule the battlefield as Tanjirou swung himself towards the demon, quickly ducking underneath the demon's fist.
With a mighty swipe, Tanjirou sliced the arm of the demon, making them a bit more vulnerable.
"If this demon's strength is its arms, then I'll strike them down!" Tanjirou exclaimed in his thoughts, slicing apart the demon once again, using his own demonic body to tank any hits from the demon's legs, which were much weaker by comparison.
Nezuko once again took the opportunity to strike.
Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel
Nezuko, performing a backflip to avoid the demon's remaining swing arm, which Tanjirou grabbed, began spinning and swiping the demon right at the neck.
The demon was only barely able to survive by kicking Nezuko away, but the demon had lost her arms as a result of Tanjirou.
"Damn you!" The girl yelled watching her arms slowly regenerate.
"Her regenerations not fast enough! That's the cue!" Tanjirou exclaimed as he performed the final move.
Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool
With a mighty snap of his wrist and body, Tanjirou concocted a whirlpool that caught the demon off guard, as he was moving so freely it was hard to keep track.
"Where did he go?" The demon asked, before noticing he was right to her left side.
"Shit!" The demon exclaimed, trying to kick Tanjirou away, only for the whirlpool to catch her off guard, and she lost her balance.
Tanjirou anticipated this, and swung his sword lower to comphensate, striking the neck of the demon, her head falling off.
"Damn you!" The demon girl yelled in pain, "You have those swords!" The girl yelled, and Tanjirou sighed.
"May you be human in your next life, you may rest now." Was all Tanjirou said, as he gave the demon a sad smile, with his mask, before leaving.
The demon girl could see that Tanjirou himself was also a demon, due to the teeth and fangs he had shown briefly. She then assumed Nezuko was also a demon, and before the girl knew it, she was crying.
Tanjirou kneeled down and placed a hand gently on the crumbling head of the demon girl as he watched her disintegrate.
At least the girl did not die alone.
Sighing, Tanjirou got up, with Nezuko waiting for him.
"Do you have to comfort them near death?" Nezuko asked.
"Yes, Nezuko, wouldn't you want the same?" Tanjirou asked, and Nezuko went quiet at that.
"How many demons have we slain so far?" Nezuko asked after a bit.
Tanjirou counted, "Around eight I'd say, almost nine with this demon."
"I see, how much more do you think we have to kill, brother?" Nezuko asked.
"I'd assume a dozen, but I could be wrong, that's the least, and the most may be like fifty." Tanjirou mumbled, "Actually now, that's the amount needed to become a Hashira!"
Tanjirou shook his head, as he decided to leave it at that. He noticed two crows when he looked up at the sky. One was going away, and he assumed that was the crow that was going to inform Giyu and Urokodaki about Tanjirou and Nezuko's progress.
But the other one was flying towards them already.
Nezuko and Tanjirou both anticipated another mission.
What they got instead, was something completely unexpected.
"Caw! Tanjirou Kamado and Nezuko Kamado are to return to Urokodaki's estate and house! Giyu will be attending this meeting as well!"
Both Tanjirou and Nezuko looked at each other in confusion and worry, before they decided that going back was their best bet now.
Packing up, and ordering some food, they began their trek to make it back to Urokodaki's.
Over the course, they would stop to practice their sword skills, by sparring each other to improve one another. In the meantime, they were also weary of the sun, however wearing clothing to cover their skin did act as a protecting.
It did make both of them wonder why demons didn't just do that. They weren't sure, but they instead just went along with it. They were able to be in the day, at least when it wasn't humid or the afternoon. Early morning and late evening were now times when the two could get out without worrying about burning.
This gave them more time to travel across the area, and eventually make it back to Urokodaki's house.
It only took them around a day and a half, which counting how far they were, the most East they've every been, it was something they were happy about.
"Hey Urokodaki!" Both siblings hugged their teacher, who hugged back.
"Glad to see the both of you making progress. I've gotten every report by the crows, and they all seem very emotional." Urokodaki explained, "You both are doing fantastic jobs."
"Thank you Urokodaki…" Both siblings mumbled, clearly unsure what to say.
"So, why did you call the both of us back to your house?" Tanjirou asked.
At this, Urokodaki looked over towards the house, "Let us wait for Giyu to come out."
"Alright." Both siblings nodded as they waited patiently for Giyu to come out.
After a bit, Giyu finally came out, but he looked a bit different. More stressed. While it was not evident with facial expressions, Tanjirou could smell the stress from Giyu, and Nezuko could sense from the heat proportion from his body that he was tense and stress.
"Is everything alright, Giyu?" Nezuko asked.
Giyu sighed, "Not necessarily, but rather we had an unexpected development occur."
"What happened?"
Giyu looked at Urokodaki for confirmation, in which he nodded.
"As you both now, there is currently Final Selection going on, where trainees go to prove their worth to become demon slayers corps. That same Final Selection area, or Mount Fujikasane, has unfortunately been attacked by demons." Giyu started off.
"But how? I thought the Wisteria was protecting them from outside demons?" Tanjirou asked. Nezuko nodded, clearly confused
"That was the main defense against external demons." Urokodaki jumped in to fill in the information, "Unfortunately, It seems some external demons managed to subdue and kill the wisteria out."
"What…" Tanjirou mumbled.
"It seems mass amounts of wisteria had mysteriously died, exposing the area to demons from the outside coming in. However, it also is allowing many of the demons trapped inside the foot of the mountain to come out." Giyu explained.
"That's…" Nezuko couldn't really say anything. That was pretty serious.
"So, we have a different final test for the both of you." Urokodaki started, and immediately both Nezuko and Tanjirou piped up once they heard this.
"You will be assisting many of the trainees in managing to contain and slay any demons that have gone lose within Mount Fujikasane." Giyu started. "In doing so, you will be tested, both for keeping your own demon presence quiet from any demon slayer, and will be tested among demons of a particular strength you are expected to surpass."
Tanjirou and Nezuko both looked at each other. They were officially being tested to the point of assisting in a major mission. A serious one where they would be working with other demon slayers. The possibilities of everything going wrong was enormous, and neither of them knew what to do.
"This may seem nerve wracking, but just remember to keep the face masks on you, and zip up your mouths, and make sure you evade any demon slayer, especially when trying to hide in the daytime." Giyu warned, and gave advice to the two.
"As for the demons, they shouldn't have any blood demon arts, unless you are unlucky to run into an external demon, but those will likely be countered by more higher ranked demon slayers." Giyu added.
"Understood, so we're going to slay and contain some demons who've escaped because the Wisteria mysteriously died?" Nezuko asked.
Giyu nodded, "For the time we don't know how the Wisteria died, but our personal expert in medicine, Shinobu is working on it."
"Is Shinobu your girlfriend?" Nezuko asked, causing a tick to appear on Giyu's forehead.
"No." He bluntly said, and Nezuko's eyes lightened.
"OH MY GOD SHE TOTALLY IS! THAT FACE OF DENIAL SAYS IT ALL!" Nezuko screamed, and both Tanjirou and Giyu recoiled.
"Why are girls like this… She's not even my friend… I have no friends, as she would say." Giyu mumbled to himself.
"If you both manage to succeed in the demands, then you both shall start your journey as demon slayers." Giyu concluded moving past Nezuko's outburst of glee.
Urokodaki sighed, "Also, if you can defeat this green, hand demon, I may try to increase your rank, and prioritize your ascension to an official demon slayer."
"A green, hand demon why?" Tanjirou asked, and he noticed a somber look from Giyu.
Before Tanjirou could continue, the images of Sabito and Makomo popped up. When they had turned to ghosts and dissipated, Tanjirou got the memory of how they died and how they were eaten by a hand demon.
It all made sense, and Tanjirou's eyes glared with determination, "I will avenge Sabito and Makomo for the both of you."
Both Giyu and Sabito were shocked to hear Tanjirou say their names.
"How does he know about them?" Both Giyu and Urokodaki asked, clearly shocked and surprised.
Regardless, the two of them bid them a farewell, made them dress appropriately to make sure they would not be identified for a demon characteristic, and they were sent on their way to Mount Fujikasane.
It took them around half a day, and they were thankfully allowed in, as they noticed the blades both individuals had. Tanjirou could smell a lot of demons, and Nezuko could trace the heat off of them.
"Nezuko?" Tanjirou asked. "Should we split up?"
Nezuko shrugged, "Maybe we should and try to meet up at the foot of the mountain?"
Tanjirou nodded, "Alright, I'll head North, you head South, alright?"
Nezuko nodded and hummed in agreement.
However, before both of them could, they were attacked by four demons.
Both had the same panic, "Four demons at once?!"
Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel
Thankfully, they both managed to split them in half, perfectly utilizing the angle their form could cover to slice two demons down at once, for both Nezuko and Tanjirou each.
Sighing in relief, they knew that there was much more, yet to come. And so, as they continued to push forward, with Tanjirou telling his sister one thing.
"Keep ahold of your anger, alright?"
With that, Tanjirou leaped off, to find any demons that he could notice or see. He had left Nezuko to go her own way, as he was focusing more on his part of the deal.
As he looked towards his area, he quickly sliced apart another demon that was just standing there. While he was hoping the demon was a human like individual like himself, he ultimately knew the demon was probably dazed from lack of human flesh.
And so, Tanjirou found it suit to rid the demon off of their agony. Tanjirou quickly charged towards the center of the mountain, his mask tightly sealed on his face to hide his demonic features. If any demon slayer sought after him as a demon, he would no doubt he screwed, for he had no easy way to escape.
Tanjirou sighed, praying once again for the demon who had died in his hands.
For the time being, Tanjirou continued to look towards the center, as he made his way.
As he continued to progress, he cut down every demon he came across with little to no strain of his body. He did not care if a demon could attack him. Tanjirou could heal from his injuries, compared to a demon if he managed to slice their neck off.
The main area of action came around a clearing, where there were some demon slayers who were getting attacked by quite the amount of demons.
Tanjirou could smell that the demons attacking these demon slayers this time were much stronger than the usual demons he usually fought.
At the moment, it seemed only one demon slayer remained alive. And he didn't even had a sword. This demon slayer seemed slightly taller than Tanjirou himself, He had a goatee black hair, and was the only one alive.
"How is this dude still alive?" Tanjirou asked, clearly confused, especially once he saw the dead bodies of other demon slayers.
That alone showed Tanjirou how stronger these demons were compared to the others Tanjirou could just slice off.
Tanjirou noticed the demon attempting to strike down the demon slayer.
Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash
Tanjirou quickly made his way towards the demon, which she clearly saw once Tanjirou got close enough to her.
To Tanjirou's surprise, his sword was only able to slice her arm, with the velocity and momentum he had being stopped by how thick her body must have been.
"Well, what's another demon slayer doing here?" The demon asked, clearly intrigued by Tanjirou, "Good luck trying to slice me entirely, my muscles will make it difficult!"
Tanjirou looked on to notice the girl demon, who clearly was muscular built. This was going to be quite the difficult battle.
The girl demon quickly charged to Tanjirou, attacking the demon boy with quick successive punches and kicks, which Tanjirou could feel was hurting him.
"Got to keep resisting!" Tanjirou mumbled to himself, as he spotted the opening he needed.
Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Trust
Quick as he could, Tanjirou slashed the demon right in the eyes, temporarily blinding the girl demon. Using this opportunity, Tanjirou kicked the demon away before the demon's regeneration allowed for her to see again.
Needless to say, the girl demon was pissed.
"You little shit, you'll pay for that!" The girl, quicker than Tanjirou expected jumped high in the air, punching the ground with her fist, creating an indent and shockwave, causing both Tanjirou and the other demon slayer to skid back until they were stopped by a tree.
"What the hell was that?!" Tanjirou exclaimed. "That was too strong to be normal, or even demon-like…"
The girl demon chuckled, "Yes! Hit two birds with one stone."
Tanjirou quickly shrugged off the attack, and the girl demon looked at him.
"So one of you still stands, huh? Guess I'll just have to continue beating you down!" The girl grinned as she once again ran towards Tanjirou.
Tanjirou's eyes widened yet again at his, "Got to keep her at the midrange!" He exclaimed to himself, telling himself not to get too close to this demon.
He quickly turned to see the other demon slayer getting up, though struggling a bit.
Once again, Tanjirou was send flying towards another tree, which this time he prepared for, landing feet first, before jumping back towards the demon.
The demon looked shocked as Tanjirou went for the killing blow.
Water Breathing. First Form: Water Surface Slash
Tanjirou attempted a quick sweeping slash from his sword, only for the demon to quickly raise her arms to block it again. The blade managed to sweep and slash both her arms, but it gave her enough time to move her head back, and she just glared.
"I'm not done with you yet!" The girl demon exclaimed as she launched her legs out, slamming it on the ground, once again causing a shockwave, this time being more powerful, and launching Tanjirou in the air.
The demon girl then kicked Tanjirou into a tree. Tanjirou couldn't land this time, and felt on the tree painfully, coughing a bit of blood. Still, he stood up.
The girl for her part looked confused, "How the hellare you still standing?!" She quickly grabbed the demon slayer who had tried to pounce on her, and slammed him down to the ground, stomping on the demon slayer.
Tanjirou's eyes reddened after that, and he was going to make the demon pay. He wasn't trying to kill this demon, he was now trying to save the demon slayer.
Water Breathing, Seventh Form, Modified: Curve
Tanjirou went to face the charging demon yet again, this time managing to stalemate her advances, before his blade stabbed right through her, and he continued his momentum, until he struck a tree.
The girl demon for her part also coughed out blood, but was still alive.
"If you want to survive! Then help me!" Tanjirou yelled, "I don't know why you are just sitting there, but if you want to survive, then it's best to cooperate!"
The boy for his part gritted his teeth, "I didn't ask for your help!"
Tanjirou sighed, "Well you're getting it, now what's your name?"
The boy, for his part looked very troubled, clearly not wanting to work together with someone he knew little about.
However, considering everything with the demon in front of them, he had no choice but to accept.
"Fine, Genya Shinazugawa."
Tanjirou nodded, "Tanjirou Kamado, and we're going to have to work together, now, why don't you have a sword?"
"Argh… I lost it." Genya explained, and Tanjirou sighed.
"Alright fine, but why are you choosing to continue pursuing the demon, then?" Tanjirou asked Genya, which he knew he was hiding some stuff about himself.
Under many circumstances, Tanjirou knew not to pursue other people's secrets, but in this situation, it seemed to be about his battle against the demon, which was something he needed to know about.
Genya knew this was something he would have to tell someone, especially in this situation.
"Fine! I can fight by eating demons." Genya revealed.
At this Tanjirou's eyes widened.
"Wait, this guy, eats demons to fight?! What kind of breathing style is that?" Tanjirou was clearly confused, as this was something he was not aware of, or even possible.
"So you need an opening to bite into the demon to fight them?" Tanjirou asked, and Genya nodded.
"I could give him some of my blood, if he so desires, but risking myself to being a demon could be a bad idea… I might have to make up a story to make him believe I'm human somehow…"
Tanjirou was stumped, clearly not knowing if this was a good idea.
In the end, the demon girl just looked at the two angry.
"Are you two having a conversation whilst I'm here!" The girl asked angrily.
"Hey, it's your fault you are allowing us to have this conversation." Tanjirou responded offhandedly.
"Grrr!" The demon girl lunged to Tanjirou, with the intent on choking the boy to death. She managed to grab Tanjirou and trap him by a tree, as she begun to choke Tanjirou out,
However to her surprise, Tanjirou was not hyperventilating, and instead grunting, and pushing the demon back. Albeit it hurt Tanjirou a lot, he was managing to do such a thing.
"This kid, how is he pushing me back?!" The girl demon was beyond flabbergasted, as she found herself being thrown off.
Tanjirou breathed heavily, as Genya too looked in shock.
Tanjirou quickly ran to Genya, as he looked at Tanjirou in a bit of an apprehensive tone. Then, Tanjirou cut open a part of his wrist. Genya looked at him in confusion, before he cupped some blood and told Genya to drink.
"If this'll help you fight, then just drink it." Tanjirou told Genya.
"I drink demon blood to do this, not human blood." Genya told him.
"I'm not entirely human, I should have some demon blood cells in me that should help you." Tanjirou told Genya, who was shocked at the revelation Tanjirou had given him.
Regardless, he gladly took the donation, and Tanjirou himself could see the demonic transformation Genya was going through. It was rapid and immediate, and even the demon girl was able to see it.
"What the hell are the both of you?" The girl asked clearly confused, "Whatever, I'll kill both of you!" The demon launched herself forward to Tanjirou, but Genya was able to intercept, and swipe at the demon who growled in pain.
Tanjirou took the opportunity to utilize his own attack to fight against the demon.
But she would not budge. She stomped her feet and caused yet another shockwave. This time both Genya and Tanjirou were able to evade, and continue their onslaught.
"That shockwave of hers seems unusually powerful. Could she be on th cusp of turning it into a blood demon art?" Tanjirou thought, and it wasn't the farfetched to think about.
After all, both Urokodaki and Giyu said that demons can manifest their blood demon arts into their own passions and fighting techniques.
There was no doubt in Tanjirou's mind that this demon was manifesting a blood demon art, to the point it was making her more difficult to fight.
Knowing what was at stake, Tanjirou eyed the girl demon with pity and focus, as he knew this demon was more difficult, and he was right. At least, he had another demon slayer with him, who may know about his own demon blood, at least is benefiting him for now.
Genya momentarily blindsided the girl demon with his own powers now that he had some demon blood in him, whilst Tanjirou used his water breathing to slice and dice the body of the demon girl.
If he could at least slice off her extremities, then he would make the torso vulnerable to a neck slash, which was exactly what Tanjirou was going for.
He grunted when the demon got a hit on him, but at least smiled when Genya took the bait and got a swipe in.
Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin, Destruction
Tanjirou, with a mighty swing let down his sword onto the demon girl, who raised her arms up.
Once again, Tanjirou made sure to slice through both of her arms, to give Genya the room to do his move.
The girl once again backed up, but was anticipated by Genya who purposely tackled the demon onto the ground, deciding to bite into her torso rapidly.
The demon girl howled in pain, before kicking Genya harshly into a tree, who at this point was exhausted and could only watch Tanjirou finish the job.
Tanjirou eyed the girl demon, focusing on the neck of the demon as he continued to combine with water breathing techniques into a combination, almost like a dance.
"Remember Tanjirou, remember to dance…" His father's words came back to talk to him, as suddenly, Tanjirou focused on his breathing, now moving quicker, stronger, and almost like lightning. The demon couldn't outrun him now.
Tanjirou eyed the demon, smelt the demon, and he could have, for a split second, see the demon's organs, muscle, nerves, and everything. However, he chopped it to his mind playing games with him and focused on cutting the demon's head off.
Tanjirou saw the opening thread towards the demon's neck, and he sliced it right open. The girl's eyes widened in shock and surprise
"You bastard! Why couldn't you have just let me escape this wicked mountain!" The girl cried. "I was trapped here against my own free will!"
"You were sent here for a reason." Tanjirou told the girl, "That reason was for hurting other humans."
The demon girl seemed to deny the fact she hurt anyone, and was just looking after herself.
All Tanjirou had to do was point at the decomposing bodies of the demon slayers she had clearly killed, giving her a serious face. He may have been an honest individual who would give demons the peaceful death, but for those who continued to lie their wrongdoing, Tanjirou saw no reason to comfort them.
This demon girl was a perfect example. Justifying her acts of causing death to her being trapped, scared, and looking out for herself. It was something he did not see as a legitimate excuse. Tanjirou himself was an example of a demon who did not need to eat human flesh and so was Nezuko.
Therefore, Tanjirou knew that with enough willpower and hesitance, any demon can withstand their own desires. Tanjirou knew this, and thus wanted to wish every demon could overcome their desires, and eventually become human with time.
Once the demon was disintegrated, Tanjirou picked up Genya, and turned towards the demon slayer girl, whom he smelt whilst he was finishing off the demon. He couldn't react to the girl knowing it could have distracted and inhibited his ability to slaying the demon.
"He's been injured when I found him fighting the demon. The other demon slayers over there are dead. Take him for his injuries." Tanjirou told the girl.
Said girl had large, lilac colours. She had a noticeable butterfly ornament on her ear, with a purple demon slayer uniform. She seemed to be Tanjirou's age, with black hair tied up. And a smile that seemed very force, if Tanjirou could say.
Regardless, he couldn't really focus on her. He had to focus on reaching the center of the mountain, where he would meet up with Nezuko. In the meantime, he nodded to the girl, giving her Genya's unconscious body to lie down properly before he was on his way.
"That was a close one, that girl was eyeing me up, I hope she doesn't think I'm a demon…"
A.N / Well that's chapter 8! We get to see a bit of action between Tanjirou, Nezuko and the rest. We also see the introduction of Genya, whom I think is an underrated character. Yeah he's a jerk in the beginning, but seeing what's expected of him, I can understand why he is how he is. With that being said, Tanjirou and Nezuko both have increased their overall fighting capabilities.
As for individuals who think Tanjirou and Nezuko are demons, only Genya would be suspicious due to the resulting increase in strength he got, and no, this is not Tanjirou's blood demon art, but rather it's Genya's unique form of battling demons. Tanjirou gave him a boost when he needed it because it suited his battling style overall.
As for the next chapter, we'll probably see more of this battling for the Final Selection, and perhaps a surprise visit from someone already. The plan is simple for now, but we'll see how everything is executed. In the meantime, I'll see you for chapter 9.
Character Profile:
Genya Shinazugawa: 15 years old, Male
- Status: Alive, Human
- Height: 5'10" (177cm)
- Weight: 152 Ibs
Abilities: Breathing Styles
Genya Shinazugawa:
American Breathing: (Uses a double barrel shotgun lol).
Demon Consumption: Can utilize the powers of the demons he eats.