Hinokami's Blessing

Chapter 9

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.

Nezuko's and Tanjirou's POV

Nezuko continued on her way towards her side to clear out any demons she saw within a vicinity. Already she quickly made work of two demons that had been bickering about which one got to ate her.

Of course, there was a bout of confusion when they realized Nezuko was a demon. Apparently, many demons can tell whether one is a demon or not, especially when they are closer proximity towards the individual.

"Well that's just great…" Nezuko mumbled, knowing their cover might be blown if they're not careful.

Still, she made quick work of them, as she cut them apart right on the neck. Perhaps the element of surprise was giving Nezuko the edge, since many think she's a demon on their side until she slices their necks off.

Sighing for a bit, she continued her journey, even managing to save a demon slayer on the way. The boy thanked her, but mumbled something about her looking mysterious considering she was wearing a mask.

"Please, you would call me worse if you saw what was behind that mask…" Nezuko thought to herself as she continued.

She wasn't going to let one human get in her way of what she was told to do. She was going to do her job, and that was that.

"T-Thank you…" The demon slayer thanked Nezuko who merely nodded and went on her way. For the most part, her area seemed to be rather quiet, in comparison to the rest of the area.

Nezuko looked over, hoping and wondering if her brother would make it out just fine. While she was confident in her own abilities, she couldn't say the same for her brother, as knowing him he would probably get in the way to protect others.

Shaking her head, knowing she was overthinking, she instead put in her mind that Tanjirou was a strong individual and was probably doing just fine. Even if he was fighting most of the demons, he would be fine.

His brother always had the protective role, and it was something that was pretty much innate for him.

Nezuko continued her journey, but wasn't anticipating much. She couldn't really find anything regarding demons.

That is, until she detected the faintest of a demon.

"Finally!" Nezuko exclaimed as she began to run towards the source of the demon.

What she found, was rather disturbing.

A demon was clearly chewing on a deceased demon slayer, so much so that the slayer's arm was completely gone, with only the bones remaining.

Nezuko quickly rushed and kicked the demon right on the back, managing to get the demon off of the dead slayer. The least she could do is prevent the demon from eating their dead body.

In the meantime, the demon snarled. Nezuko looked rather confused when the demon let out an animalistic growl.

To make things more confusing to Nezuko, the demon began to sprout wings.

"What the…" Nezuko mumbled, as she was confused about what this meant.

"Maybe this is a blood demon art?" Nezuko asked herself, but denied it after not seeing any usage of the demon's blood.

The unfortunate problem about this demon with the wings were the fact that it gave the demon the high ground always, and so Nezuko found herself being kicked around by the demon.

It seemed the demon's talons were also good with grabbing objects as Nezuko found herself being swung around and thrown aside by the demon.

"Grr…" Nezuko mumbled as she got up, not giving up.

Watching the demon charge towards her at such a quick speed, as it was descending and using gravity to help, Nezuko had to use the fastest move she had.

Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust

Nezuko accurately pierced the demon's on the talon, stopping it's advances, despite skidding quite a bit, and even clipping a tree. Nezuko panted a bit, having to use her entire strength just to stop the demon.

Before she knew it, she was being lifted off by the demon, who was now flying high as a way to avoid Nezuko.

Nezuko gritted her teeth. She was in no way allowing this demon to escape.

With a might stab into the torso of the demon, she stabbed right into the spine of the demon, stopping it's flight.

Of course, being a demon, their spine would eventually recover, and they could move again, but for now, Nezuko was free. The problem was that she was now falling, with nothing helping her from hitting the ground painfully.

While she knew being a demon would make her not die from the fall, but the idea of feeling the pain was not soothing.

And so, she was trying to move herself to perhaps use a breathing technique to stop her momentum. That's why she knew using one of the breathing techniques would help.

Clearly noticing a particular tree, she would use that to help lower her momentum. While it would be painful, it was better than the other alternative.

Water Breathing, Second Form: Lateral Water Wheel

Nezuko twisted her bosy around horizontally, using her spinning body to absorb some of the impact caused by the momentum. For now, Nezuko was unable to see where the demon was, but she hoped the demon fell to the ground before it could regenerate its spine.

Nezuko eventually found herself hitting a branch, as she tried to grab a branch, which in actuality caused her to break it and damage her hand.

Once Nezuko hit more branches, she was able to stop her descent. While she did hit the ground, it wasn't to the point of it hurting much.

She panted, before getting up, looking around for the demon that had brought her so high into the air.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find it.

That is, until she heard the sounds of thunder occurring.

"What the…" Nezuko mumbled. "Since when is there a thunderstorm?"

Despite that, Nezuko could not tell where the lightning was coming from, nor from what was the source.

"Or who…"

What she did hear, however, were the sounds of crying, and rapid footsteps.

She turned around, and almost swore at the site at what she was observing.

She saw a young man with yellow haired bangs, running away from the same flying demon that Nezuko herself had encountered.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Nezuko mumbled to herself, ignoring the pleas of the demon slayer.

"PLEASE HELP ME! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!" The demon slayer exclaimed, it was here did Nezuko ever feel she had run into the weirdest demon slayer ever.

"Calm down!" Nezuko exclaimed. And interestingly enough, the demon slayer's tone changed immediately once he heard Nezuko's feminine voice, the demon slayer unusually switching his tone to being more flirtatious.

Needless to say, Nezuko was a bit weirded out by him.

The demon however, stared Nezuko down, "You! You're the one who attacked me and broke my spine!"

Nezuko shrugged, "Yeah, I did."

The demon immediately charged Nezuko quicker than she anticipated, and thus got struck down.

The boy immediately looked at her in concern, but stared the demon down.

"How dare you hurt such a pretty woman!" The boy exclaimed.

"Pretty woman? Don't joke around with me." The demon chuckled, as they swooped down to swipe at the boy.

However, miracously, the boy survived, surprisingly easily, which made Nezuko a bit surprised.

"How did this boy dodge the demon's attack so quickly? I'm a demon, yet I struggle to dodge it!" Nezuko exclaimed. Quickly, she got up and left the demon to an unexpecting attack,

Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool

Nezuko quickly attacked the demon from behind, managing to slice the demon's neck off.

The demon gave a noise of shock.

"What the hell! I was talking to him! I wasn't even fighting him!" The demon exclaimed in shock, before they began to disintegrate.

Nezuko sighed in relief, before turning to the demon slayer.

The boy seemed very nervous, but introduced himself, "Hey, I'm Zenitsu Agatsuma, who are you?" He asked, looking a bit flirtation despite his nervousness.

Nezuko sighed, the best she could do was tell him her name and then be on her way.

"Nezuko Kamado, you should get to safety, or continue slaying demons." Was all Nezuko said as she jumped off. Zenitsu had no sense of direction to where Nezuko went

"Even with that mask on, she's pretty…" Zenitsu mumbled to himself before continuing to go on his own way.

Nezuko continued on her way, and now she was running into more demons on the way. She sliced through them all no problem, for the most part.

There were some demons that did give her some trouble, but she managed to rid them all. Just like Tanjirou, both she and him had no real problems. It seemed that they were more than ready to deal with many of the demons within the area of Final Selection.

They both only had some small issues in slaying many demons. They only had a couple they were worrying about. For now, Nezuko felt confident about them. Tanjirou, by contrast was more determined, but he took was in a good spirit and condition.

Nezuko continued her journey until she spotted a circular area.

She continued to look around, not knowing if she was in the center of the mountain.

"This doesn't really look like the center of a mountain…" Nezuko mumbled. Before she could continue her thinking, the sounds of rustling got Nezuko's attention.

She quickly placed her blade up and tensing in the event some other demons were prowling.

Before she could ask who it was, the figure revealed himself.

It was Tanjirou.

Nezuko sighed. Ironically, the mask Tanjirou wore made him a bit more threatening and it for a moment scared Nezuko.

"You scared me, brother…" Nezuko sighed in relief.

"Sorry…" Tanjirou chuckled. "How was your experience"

Nezuko sighed, "Found a demon that could fly, and a weird demon slayer."

Tanjirou chuckled.

"What about you?" Nezuko asked.

Tanjirou sighed, "Well, I encountered a demon slayer who eats demons, and a demon who loved martial arts…"

Nezuko chuckled, "Well, at least we came out on top."

Tanjirou nodded, "I mean, we've made it to the center of the mountain, we there's no demons. This must mean that either they've escaped, or they've been defeated…"

Nezuko looked onwards, clearly trying to discover anything worth notifying his brother.

Considering how dark it was, Tanjirou and Nezuko had to use their other senses besides their vision. Both of them have superhuman senses and so could tell if there's a demon nearby or not.

Unfortunately, neither of them could sense a demon, and so they were left to just wait.

Before the two would stay, they eventually began to sense something. As they headed West, they ran into a grotesque demon.

Said demon was green, with giant hands. Both Tanjirou and Nezuko's eyes widened.

"This demon smells much stronger than the other ones I've seen!" Tanjirou's eyes widened.

He turned to Nezuko, and he could see that she too was dealing with a similar predicament. She took could tell this demon was strong.

However, one thing that caught their attention was the olive green skin and large hands that were also alongside the pupils. Both of them knew exactly who this demon was.

"This is the demon that killed Sabito and Makomo!" Both Nezuko and Tanjirou exclaimed in their minds.

Immediately, both of them felt a just of justice and vengeance in slaying this demon. Both of them wanted to kill this demon to avenge their fallen mentor.

And for Giyu and Urokodaki, too.

And so, despite their initial fear at how strong the demon seemed, their fear were soon replaced by determination.

"You…" Nezuko mumbled in anger, whereas Tanjirou looked at the demon with a stoic face. Even he was somewhat angry, but he had to retain what his father taught him. He knew keeping his emotions in tone would cause him to retain his breathing better.

Any instance that causes one to change their breathing, which includes their emotions, it could cost them the affinity of their overall breathing style and fighting. The battle spirit and presence, Tanjirou knew he had to keep his at bay.

And so, he merely stared down the hand demon.

"So this is the demon Sabito and Makomo failed to kill." Was all Tanjirou could think about.

He breathed it, waiting for the hand demon to strike. Considering how large the demon's limbs were, he assumed he would most definitely be using those.

Once the hand demon attempted to grab Nezuko, she quickly moved out the way, with a mighty leap, she tried jumping, to strike the demon's neck immediately.

However, Tanjirou noticed the demon wasn't even protecting his neck.

"Why is he not protecting his neck with his own limbs? Does his neck have some form of protection we're not aware of?" Tanjirou asked himself, clearly confused.

Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash

Before he could ponder further, he noticed Nezuko trying to slice the hand demon's (HD) neck off, only to fail, as she was clearly struggling.

Tanjirou's eyes widened before he realized what the deal with this demon was. Quickly grabbing Nezuko and avoiding the HD's attempt at grabbing them, Tanjirou eyed the demon.

"So this demon has a good sense of manipulating his limbs and muscles to make demon slayers struggle with slicing his neck… I see…" Tanjirou thought to himself.

He raised his blade, and the hand demon eyed him.

"So, you are finally getting involved as well?" The HD asked as well, however he merely eyed Tanjirou with a bit of apprehension.

"Why is this guy so different…" The HD asked, a bit worried, which he felt was being analyzed.

Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance

Tanjirou began to bend his body around, almost dancing around the HD's attempts to grab and stomp his figure. However, he kept maneuvering around it, as he continued to dodge the demon's attacks.

"Why is this guy moving so erratically? I cannot tell what he's doing!" The HD reacted, before noticing the guy was finally jumping up.

"So this kid uses water breathing to? And the mask, makes sense who he is." HD chuckled as he remembered Urokodaki, with a bit of hatred.

Before he knew it, he quickly manipulated his own body, putting more muscles around his limbs, trying to block and absorb the strike.

"I can tell his muscles are probably tightening around the area I'm striking. If I want to easily slice his limbs and neck, I'll have to do it unexpectedly. Unless my demonic strength can make a difference, I know I cannot slice through directly." Tanjirou thought to himself.

Nezuko looked at Tanjirou, noting his skills, and clearly feeling better, knowing that Tanjirou was capable of taking care of himself. But then she chuckled to herself, thinking that she was being somewhat stupid for thinking her brother wouldn't have been able to take care of himself.

He was the eldest for a reason.

Nezuko breathed in, thinking critically.

She knew she couldn't strike the demon conventionally, realizing the demon's neck was a lot more sturdier than she anticipated. She was probably thinking Tanjirou had an idea, whilst Nezuko herself was thinking of other tactics.

The two had to think quick, else the HD would realize they both were demons, and then it could potentially change everything. If demon slayers came to the fray, it would make everything worse.

Nezuko knew the two of them had to fight off this demon. She had just ran into a weird demon slayer and while she did find him a bit cute, she could tell he was somewhat a flirt. For Tanjirou, he hoped those two demon slayers were doing alright.

In the meantime, the two of them had to fight for justice and vengeance.

The HD once again tried to catch Nezuko, only for her to dodge.

Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin

Nezuko quickly sliced the HD's hand off, severing it.

However, the other hand went for Tanjirou, and he too quickly sliced and severed the arm.

The demon clearly had enough, "I'm done playing with you rabbits."

The demon's arms began to bulge in intensity, clearly knowing he had to take these two seriously, as for some reason he was telling something different about these two.

Once he struck his hand down, he, too the shock of both Tanjirou and Nezuko, grabbed a tree, ripping it from its stump, before throwing it towards the two.

"Watch out!" Tanjirou exclaimed in shock he dodged the tree. Nezuko jumped over it somehow, as her legs were pretty strong, and then dodged another swipe from the HD.

Tanjirou gritted his teeth as he charged to the HD as he seemed focused on Nezuko.

Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide

Despite attempting to cut the demon right there and then, the demon quickly grew a limb out of his back and grabbed Tanjirou.

"Brother!" Nezuko exclaimed in shock, as she got angry and charged to the demon.

"Don't touch my brother!" Nezuko angrily told the demon, as she once again charged to the HD.

The HD grinned as Tanjirou tried to yell to Nezuko not to be so reckless, but his mouth was covered by the demon's arm.

Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux

Nezuko tried to swipe more and more, hoping that eventually she would be strong enough to strike the HD down, only for it to once again get embedded into the skin of the demon.

In the end, it proved futile and Nezuko too found herself being caught in the demon's hand.

"Nezuko!" Tanjirou exclaimed in pure fear as the HD brought her close to his mouth. However, he then stopped.

"What the hell is your smell?" The HD asked clearly repulsed. "In all my times of eating Urokodaki's subordinate's, I've never wanted to NOT eat them."

At this, Tanjirou was shocked, only to then feel his body slam into another tree painfully. Nezuko too found herself being thrown at a tree, as the HD clearly had no intention of eating them now.

"Those masks of yours… You are Urokodaki's subordinates." The HD told the two.

"Yes, we are, what's it to you?" Tanjirou asked, clearly knowing who this HD was at the end.

"What year are we in?" The demon asked.

Tanjirou eyed the demon confusingly before answering, "Uh, we're in the Taisho era…"

"WHAT?!" The HD asked, suddenly being enraged at what he was told.

"DAMN YOU UROKODAKI!"

Tanjirou and Nezuko could tell and confirm now that this demon had a previous association towards Urokodaki.

"The both of you would be fourtheenth and fifteenth apprentices of Urokodaki's I've encountered, and through it all, I've eaten them all."

Nezuko could only look at them in shock.

"The two of you in particular remind me of two individuals. One with pink hair and a scar on his mouth, and a girl with a flower-patterned clothing." The HD explained.

Unfortunately, this was the exact description of Sabito and Makomo. Tanjirou now knew that this demon was not mournful or had no regret for his actions. He took pride in eating Urokodaki's own subordinates.

To say the both of them were pissed was an understatement. For Tanjirou, he had to calm himself, whilst Nezuko felt her vision turn red.

Whether it was her ability to see some infrared lights, for some reason Nezuko's vision was changing rapidly.

Tanjirou quickly jumped towards the HD, who swiped back and forth

Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux

Tanjirou managed to chop apart some of his limbs, but he eventually got caught again, being punched in the neck, causing him to once again be launched in a tree.

Nezuko took the opportunity to attack the HD, as she too begun to strike back.

Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent

Nezuko continued to string her attacks, landing gently to make her quicker so that the HD struggle to stop her.

However, while she was managing to stall the HD and enrage him, Tanjirou got up, and calmed himself. He had briefly let his emotions cloud his memory, and it had caused this to happen.

Calming himself down properly, he felt his overall senses improve yet again, this time he eyed the HD carefully, as he continued in his pursuit to strike down Nezuko. She was doing well with dodging his attacks, but he knew they couldn't yet again kill him conventionally and directly.

And so, Tanjirou let out a calm breathe, holding his own blade out, as he spotted any potential threads he could use to strike the HD.

He began to jog towards the HD, as he left his breathing as constant as he could. He followed the breathing he did, to strengthen his breathing style. Perhaps it may hurt him, but he went ahead with it regardless.

He felt himself moving faster, and his overall senses were amplified. Jumping, he surprised himself with a mighty swipe towards the HD.

Total Concentration – Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust, Curve

Tanjirou, with a mighty swing stabbed the HD in the upper left part of his back. The HD for his part gasped at the sudden pain he was feeling, not expecting the boy to be up so soon.

However, Tanjirou was not done. He continued to slice through the demon, even when he blade was embedded. He was somewhat surprised that his blade was not breaking at the sheer amount of muscle it was cutting, but Tanjirou continued, more surprised he was actually able to slice through the demon's own body, that he tried to stop.

Eventually, Tanjirou managed to slice it out through his shoulder, but it wasn't enough to kill the HD.

"So close!" Tanjirou mumbled as he quickly dodged back.

Nezuko took the opportunity to strike the now weakened demon.

Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide

Nezuko concentrated on a specific point of the demon's limbs, seeing the vast amount of arms that were now sprouting from the demon. She managed to slice through many as she continued to, but was unfortunately captured by the demon yet again.

Nezuko coughed by some blood due to the sheer tightness she was being held by. Of course, the demon tried to get a taste of her, and Tanjirou lost it.

Before his blade could reach the HD however, he gargled, as if to say his body was not going to accept what was being presented.

"Gross…" He mumbled as he threw Nezuko out, this time her head hitting a rock, causing her to lose consciousness. While she would eventually heal and wake up, being a demon, it was a brutal gesture of negligence that got her brother angry.

He had managed to at least perform water breathing and slash a solid half of the HD's total arms.

"Why is a demon fighting for the demon slayers?" The HD asked, clearly looking to Tanjirou, and the unconscious figure of Nezuko.

"I could tell by her taste, and it would explain why the two of you smell and taste disgusting. I'm assuming since she's a demon, that you are one too? You both give off the smell of demons, even though yours is much more fainter than the other girl…" The HD remarked. "Who even are you? Demons trying to live in a human world, look at the hypocrisy you both are living on, the farce!" The HD exclaimed.

Tanjirou gritted his teeth, in panic as he knew his cover was unraveled by the HD. He knew now he had to quickly rid the HD while he could.

"Follow the breathing! The breathing allowed you to properly cut him apart! This time I'll make sure to slice his neck!" Tanjirou thought to himself.

"Remember Tanjirou, remember to breathe." Tanjirou remembered his father's own words, which was something he quickly connected through the entire time.

He fixed his breathing, as he stared the HD down, not really showing any emotion, or not much.

Total Concentration – Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin, Destruction

Tanjirou let out a watery storm, that begun to swirl around his blade, which as he struck down on the HD's head. While the demon was forced to strike his own hand out in an attempt to protect his head, Tanjirou managed to slice through the hand that was coming towards him.

The watery aura came crashing down onto the HD as he was forced to grunt in pain and back up a bit.

"Damnit, this demon seems to be getting stronger, I'll have to trap them and leave them out in the sun somehow…" The HD pondered. "Or at the very least, knock them both out and then run off…"

Unfortunately, the HD would not be able to run away, as he knew the demon would catch onto him.

He growled, as he punched Tanjirou.

The sheer size of the punch caused Tanjirou to back up a bit, as he was merely centimeters away from the fist. He wanted to strike the HD right now, but it was quite the situation. Nezuko seemed to remain unconscious, and Tanjirou needed to slice the demon right here and now.

He breathed in yet again, as he continued his own constant breathing as he swiftly dodged another strike from the HD.

Tanjirou took the opportunity to strike.

Total Concentration – Water Breathing, Sixth Form, Whirlpool

Tanjirou continued to strike, as his blade he was striking out was continuing to pick up momentum, via his swinging body.

The HD's face widened as he could feel a difference in the boy.

"What is this boy doing? Why is he different than the other ones?" The HD asked himself as he felt his arms being ripped apart by the blade.

"This is bad!" The HD exclaimed, as he tried to regenerate his limbs, but he was tired, and running out of energy and steam. Yet, the other boy, Tanjirou continued.

He wasn't finished once he finished carving out the HD as much as he could. That wasn't to say Tanjirou had an easy time.

He had an excruciatingly hard time managing to cut through the demon's limbs, but he continued.

"I have to keep doing this, even if my own arms feel like falling off!" Tanjirou exclaimed, clearly panting from exhaustion.

He took in more breathing, as he exploded into action yet again.

Total Concentration – Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash

With a mighty swing of his blade horizontally, Tanjirou properly aimed towards the HD's own neck, successfully managing to slice the demon's head off.

The HD's head came off, with a clear face of shock.

"Shit! He cut off my head! Urokodaki!" The HD yelled outloud before the blade came down on his neck.

When his head was on the ground, he looked nervous, "My body is crumbling, I can't stop it… I-"

"I'm gonna die… All I see right now is that stupid demon, who wants to be a demon slayer!" The HD mumbled to himself, not really being able to speak.

"I'm going to see that damnned demon's face for the last thing in my life…"

To the HD's surprise, however, the demon boy raised his mask, and showed his face,

A saddened face, full of regret and pity. His face was pure, but also corrupted by the demonic features that resided on his face.

The demon boy had two flame like marks that swirled from his left forehead, and the right jaw, meeting them and connecting to the boy's nose.

He gave such a sad noise.

"I-I'm scared to leave, scared to be alone, please… Why did I bite my brother… Why did I kill him… Please, just hold my hand like we used to…" The HD begged.

Tanjirou looked at the demon, and sighed. He held the remaining hand the HD had.

"May you be born a human in your next life, full of gentleness and without the tragedy of the demons we are." Tanjirou gently told the HD, who began to cry hysterically.

As the HD's own eyes began to fade, all he saw was black. Before he knew it, he dissipated before his own consciousness, before everything turned to black.

Tanjirou sighed, as he got up, placed back his mask up. He went over to the rock where Nezuko's own body was unconscious. Once he looked closer to her, he noticed that Nezuko was just sleeping.

It seemed that she was just tired, as the hit to her head must have used up some of her energy in healing the damage. That and the other injuries she suffered on her body was enough to make her fall asleep.

It also didn't help that Nezuko herself does not have other means of regenerating her energy. While Tanjirou could eat some human foods to help him regenerate, and sleep, Nezuko could only sleep.

Heisting Nezuko on his back, he quickly began to run off out of the Final Selection.

He and Nezuko had both managed to avenge them. Gain vengeance for Urokodaki and Giyu, and avenge the others.

"I did it… I avenged all of your suboridnates… You all don't have to worry no more. The other children that the demon killed, you too don't have to suffer as well…" Tanjirou thought in his head as he continued to run with Nezuko sleeping on his back.

He did not mind the somewhat quiet instances, as it seemed for the most part many of the demons and demon slayers were no longer active.

"Either the demons were slayed, or the demon slayers were slayed and the demons escaped…" Tanjirou thought as he continued his trek back to the outside areas of the mountain.

As he continued, he then smelt something.

"What is that smell?" Tanjirou asked no one in particular, as his noise was hit with the scent of a strong individual.

"There's multiple different smells, but they're both strong!" Tanjirou thought in a panic.

He had to get out of the forest as soon as possible. He had to get out for Nezuko's sake. He had to go back to Urokodaki and Giyu, letting them know of their accomplishments. They had completed what they needed to do to become demon slayers officially.

Tanjirou panted as he kept running, making sure to avoid everyone he could. He did not want to run into that demon slayer who could eat demons, nor the other demon slayer girl who's smile was too fake for her own good.

As he continued to run, he briefly felt his arms falling from Nezuko, but he contorted and maintained his own standing. For the moment, he looked around, before he realized something.

"I'm lost…" Tanjirou said out loud.

For the moment, there was one specific smell that was still within the forest that he could smell. Unfortunately, both individuals he could smell were incredibly powerful. They weren't as powerful as that man who had turned him into a demon, but the individuals were both powerful regardless.

Tanjirou jumped on top of a tree, hoping the height would give him the advantage in seeing around him. As he continued to jump, with Nezuko carefully around his back, and holding her tight, he continued to look, that is until he noticed two individuals in a clearing.

Both individuals were where Tanjirou's smell was coming from, as he could tell both of these individuals are strong.

One was a demon, and the other was a human.

The demon was rather tall, with a muscular body, and a smile that seemed very fake and full of pure chaos. His hair was platinum blond hair seemingly asymmetrically across his head. Tanjirou could tell this demon, by how close he smelled compared to Muzan, must have been comparable to strength to that man.

The other one, a human was a girl. She seemed tall for a girl, and was slightly taller than Tanjirou himself. She had long, straight, black hair reaching below her waist, but that did not stop her presence from being very powerful. Her eyes were pale violet, with it being slanted towards her face. She also wore two butterfly haori on the sides of her head, which made Tanjirou think that this girl was related to the other girl he previously bumped into, giving Genya to the girl for healing.

Likewise, Tanjirou could tell not too far away, many demon slayers remained, and thus Tanjirou knew he couldn't escape through that way without being deemed suspicious.

Unfortunately, that was the way he had to go to reach back to Urokodaki.

Tanjirou sighed, he only hoped the crow was telling Urokodaki and Giyu of their status and ability to defeating the demon they both had wanted them to.

Tanjirou noticed the two were involved in a very tense battle. The human girl was struggling as the demon boy chuckled.

Tanjirou quietly made his way closer to the battle, as he was staring down. He was glad his mask was still up, preventing him from being identified by the others.

It seemed the demon was an ice theme individual, as he was seemingly manipulating ice techniques around the surroundings. It did make sense to Tanjirou, as the demon boy in question seemingly lacked clear emotions and was just smiling for the sake of it.

Once the demon managed to strike the girl in the abdomen, she coughed out blood. To make matters even worse, the girl was struggling to breathe, as the ice was clearly getting into her lungs.

Tanjirou had seen enough, putting Nezuko down near the tree he was standing on, to make sure she would be safe, he jumped down.

Considering how strong this demon seemed, Tanjirou knew he had to use his breathing techniques to the best of his abilities. Tanjirou thought back to his father's words, as he increased his speed thanks to his breathing techniques.

Once it seemed the demon was about to win, he found himself being struck in the side by a second individual,

"Oh… What is this?" The demon turned to his side, and the girl looked in shock at the second figure.

The figure was an individual who was shorter than her, with burgundy red hair, and a mask with two differing meanings. One side had flaming marks, while the other had katana-like figures.

"Who is this person?" Both individuals asked.

"I got here in time…" Tanjirou mumbled, as he breathed in tightly, making sure to avoid the ice.

"No matter, I'll just have to strike you down before I get back to you, Kanae." The demon boy smiled evilly as he launched his hands out.

"Such a shame to be such a creature, huh Douma? I pity you." Was all Kanae told the demon, who's name was apparently Douma.

Blood Demon Art – Cytokinesis

Tanjirou's eyes widened as he knew what this was.

Seeing the girl struggle to breathe, Tanjirou knew he had to at least do something.

"Such a waste of time…" Douma mumbled as he launched an ice storm towards Tanjirou.

Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide

Tanjirou's eyes widened as he felt the ice interfere with his breathing. Regardless, he continued. He wasn't going to stop. Unfortunately, his move wouldn't hit, as Douma manifested his blood demon art into a hard ice block, that Tanjirou couldn't break through.

Tanjirou began to cough as he felt the ice reach his lungs.

It hurts, he knew it would, but he could regenerate. Perhaps he was abusing it a bit too much, but he will power through. He would save this demon slayer from this demon, no matter the strength.

But the way the ice felt in Tanjirou's lungs, it reminded him of back home.

When he would perform the Hinokami Kagura, even when it was very cold, he could breathe properly. He didn't feel the strain of the cold hitting his lungs.

Almost as if he was protected by the cold when he breathed and did the Hinokami Kagura.

As Tanjirou felt his lungs coughing the ice out, Tanjirou knew, that for this demon, Douma, he'd have to use the Hinokami Kagura.

By breathing the way of Hinokami, Tanjirou knew his father's words of warding off threats and evil were very true. And now, he knew why. He could use it to help nullify this demon's demon arts.

Tanjirou breathed in the same form he did when he was performing the Hinokami Kagura, which was modified by his training with Urokodaki, to better enhance it. He was able to power through Douma's demon arts.

Douma, for his part looked a bit confused.

"What is this kid doing? Is he negating my blood demon art?" Douma asked.

Unbeknownst to him, Tanjirou had managed to breathe properly to the Hinokami and with that combined with the total breathing constant, he then charged to Douma.

Hinokami Kagura, Sixth Form, Solar Heat Haze

Rushing towards Douma, Tanjirou breathed in, effectively nullifiying his demon arts, as he hid the length of his blade.

When Douma tried to create another ice block to block the attack, Tanjirou's blade cut through it with ease. It didn't just cut through, but it also grazed Douma on the torso, a horizontal slash that hit him by the tip of Tanjirou's blade.

Douma's eyes widened, before he chuckled. "Whatever this kid is, he seems powerful."

"Why is my body shaking from this boy?" Douma asked himself as he stared at the boy. For now, he merely shook his head, he had to slay down this kid.

"Kanae!" The sounds of the kakushi, Shinobu, and Genya all rushed to pick up Kanae, who by now was unconscious, but breathing. It appears Douma's demon arts had gotten to her lungs. And now, Tanjirou was stalling the demon.

Douma once again used his demon art, to manifest into an icy hand.

Hinokami Kagura, First Form: Dance

Tanjirou managed to strike the icy hand down with some difficulty, as he continued to circle the demon as he was evading Douma's demon art.

Tanjirou was panting, as he felt his lungs getting hit with a bit more. He was glad the Hinokami Kagura was helping him deal with it. That is, until Tanjirou noticed the others had managed to get Kanae off to safety.

Tanjirou smiled under his mask, glad he had managed to survive.

"Well you've certainly annoyed me." Douma told the boy at last. "Just go away!"

Blood Demon Arts: Cytokinesis – Icy Wind

With a blast of Douma's own hand, Douma blasted Tanjirou with an icy wind with such power it was point blank range for Tanjirou. He couldn't dodge nor absorb it.

Douma took a sigh in relief, as the shakiness of his body was not getting to him. He was so glad he pushed the boy away from him when he could.

"That has to be master's cells reacting to that boy… But why?"

Tanjirou felt his body being lifted off before it went flying into the forest.

Tanjirou hit a couple of trees on his arm, leg, and hands. He had quickly covered his nose and head to prevent him from taking any serious injuries.

Eventually he landed, and he coughed out blood for a bit, before he calmed down. Despite the Hinokami Kagura helping him with avoiding to worst of his demon arts, it still got to him a bit.

"Nezuko!" Tanjirou exclaimed as he quickly got up, ran and found Nezuko in the same place he had put her.

He looked up noticing it was still dark, but figured he had a couple hours before the sun came up.

Holding Nezuko, Tanjirou quickly ran out the forest, managing to avoid many of the demon slayers, who had surrounded Kanae after her battle with Douma.

A.N / Well, a lot has certainly happened. Tanjirou has met Kanae and Douma! What a twist, hehe. It was something that I actually thought in the moment, and was not disappointed in what I did. Just to make everything a bit clearer, Douma was not taking Tanjirou serious until he launched the icy wind to him. There was no way Tanjirou was strong enough to keep an Upper Moon at bay.

Anyways, we'll see both Tanjirou and Nezuko finally be able to get their own coloured nirchirin swords, their crow, and for them to get their missions.

Against all the odds, and the possibilities of everything going wrong, Tanjirou had managed to avoid all the things that could wrong. For now, I'll see you in Chapter 10. Chapter 10 won't be as hectic, but maybe a bit more of conversations with other characters.

Character Profile

Kanae Kocho: Female, 20 years old.

- Status: Alive, Human

- Height: 5'7" (170cm)

- Weight: 145 Ibs

Kanao Tsuyuri: Female, 15 years old.

- Status: Alive, Human

- Height: 5'2" (157cm)

- Weight: 107 Ibs

Douma (Doma): Male, 132 years old.

- Status: Alive, Demon

- Height: 6'2" (188cm)

- Weight: 192 Ibs.

Abilities: Breathing Styles

Tanjirou Kamado:

- All Water Breathing forms (except 11th form, Dead Calm)

- All Hinokami Kagura forms (except 13th form)

Nezuko Kamado:

- All Water Breathing forms.

Kanae Kocho:

- All Flower Breathing forms.

Kanao Tsuyuri:

- All Flower Breathing forms, except for the final form.

Abilities: Blood Demon Arts

Douma (Doma):

- Cytokinesis: Ability to generate ice and frost from his flesh. The ice can be used for defense, as Douma had used a giant ice block to protect himself from the nirchirin blades.

o Icy Wind: Douma manipulates the ice in a wind form, pushing anyone close to him away.