Hinokami's Blessing

Chapter 10

12Thirtypain03

WARNING: This story is rated M for mature-rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering make you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into a demon/human, or more will be labeled 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 toward her side to clear out any demons she saw within the vicinity. Already she quickly made work of two demons that had been bickering about which one got to eat her.

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

"Well, that's just great…" Nezuko mumbled, knowing their cover might be blown if they were 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 began to growl, as her demonic instincts began to kick in.

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. She was holding in the fact that she was suddenly wanting to crave human meat.

Nezuko looked over, hoping and wondering if her brother would make it out just fine. While she was confident in her 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 a 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 find anything regarding demons.

That is until she detected the faintest of a demon.

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

What she found, was rather disturbing.

A demon was 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 was the fact that it gave the demon high ground always, and so Nezuko found herself being kicked around by the demon.

It seemed the demon's talons were also good at 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. This demon was stronger than the previous ones she fought.

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 talon, stopping its 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. She had to complete her mission.

With a mighty 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 fault 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 he notice the 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 body 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.

"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 of what she was observing.

She saw a young yellow-haired 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. Somehow, this demon slayer's crying got her to snap out of her demonic desires.

"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.

Miraculously, and with a bit of humility, 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 flirting despite his nervousness. He seemed very nervous, and it made Nezuko confused as to why.

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, but he sighed a bit in relief, albeit conflicted.

"Even with that mask on, she's pretty…" Zenitsu mumbled to himself before continuing to go on his own way. "She had the attributes of a demon... Are my senses proving me wrong?"

Nezuko continued on her way, and now she was running into more demons on the way. She sliced through with m all with no problem, for the most part, the demons that did give her some trouble, she managed to rid them all. Just like Tanjirou, both showed he 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 good spirits 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 really looks like the center of a mountain…" Nezuko mumbled. Before she could continue her thinking, the sounds of rustling got Nezuko's attention.

This immediately caused her demonic appearance to occur, because of the sheer spike in anxiety she was feeling.

She quickly placed her blade in a tensed position, for the event some other demons were prowling. She then charged at the figure, her teeth barred as she had again fallen to her demonic desires.

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

It was Tanjirou.

Tanjirou quickly grabbed Nezuko, placing his sword in her mouth as she was, for a second trying to bite on the figure. However, once she noticed it was Tanjirou, Nezuko calmed down, and reverted back to her human form.

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, but I can say the same for you..." 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 there are here no demons. This must mean that either they've escaped, or they've been defeated…"

Nezuko looked onward, 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 feature was soon replaced by determination.

"You…" Nezuko mumbled in anger, whereas Tanjirou looked at the demon with a stoic face. Although even he was somewhat in a bad mood at this demon, he had to keep himself calm. He knew keeping his emotions in tone would cause him to retain his breathing better, but also prevent him from converting to his demon form.

The last thing he needed, was to kill this demon, not to be exposed as a demon and threat by the other demon slayers in the mountain.

Any instance that causes one to change their breathing, which includes their emotions could cost them the affinity of their overall breathing style, and fighting with 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 ou of 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 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 girl so different…" The HD asked, a bit worried, which he felt was being analyzed. "No, both of these slayers seem different..."

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 too? 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. "This demon has such a disgusting smell that I can smell his muscles and blood vessels accumulating towards his throat."

Nezuko looked at Tanjirou, noting his skills, 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 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 quickly, or 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 run 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 had enough, "I'm done playing with you rabbits."

Tanjirou sighed, breathing in, before he spoke, "Well these bunnies are going to show it's claws."

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, to 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. Her demonic appearance was coming into fray, as Tanjirou could smell the anger and strength coming from his sister. She felt her demonic desires bombarding her yet again.

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.

Thankfully, she was able to cut it down due to the added strength she was receiving. She maneuvered around the demon, as she also felt taller and stronger. It made sense, since she was at her demonic state now.

The HD's eyes widened in shock at the sudden speed and strength Nezuko was showing.

"Shit! This is bad!" HD exclaimed as he tried to grab Nezuko's figure. However, she was to unpredictable. She was flowing like water, deflecting his hands with her own blade.

"This girl's defense... It's surpassing that scarred brat! She's stronger than that girl, too!" The HD exclaimed as he pushed himself to his limits.

HD accumulated as much of his muscles as he could to strike Nezuko. Nezuko noticed this, and she continued onward with her form. It would only get stronger with every strike, and because she was a demon, she could continue with this.

However, the HD had to wait for Nezuko to slip up, which she did. He had managed to make Nezuko jump in the air, which the HD smirked.

"That's exactly what that brat did!" The HD realized, and replicating the move he did to Sabito, he smacked Nezuko right in the face.

"Nezuko!" Tanjirou exclaimed in shock, as Nezuko fell to the ground, her head in pain, as she was waiting for it to fade. She growled, and continued to attack the HD.

She kicked the bulging arm away, as it gave her enough time to maneuver around to climb and strike the HD's face. With a mighty kick, she broke the HD's nose briefly, before slashing his eyes out. The HD growled in pain, before he began to swing his hands wildly, trying to grab Nezuko.

In the end, it proved futile and Nezuko too found herself being caught in the demon's hand. The HD simply grabbed Nezuko while he was temporarily incapacitated.

"Nezuko!" Tanjirou exclaimed in pure fear as the HD brought her close to his mouth. However, he then stopped. All this time, Nezuko was growling, as she tried to get out of the HD's hands.

"What the hell is your smell?" The HD asked repulsed. "In all my times of eating Urokodaki's subordinates, 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 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 enraged at what he was told.

"DAMN YOU UROKODAKI!"

Tanjirou and Nezuko could tell and confirm now that this demon had a previous association with Urokodaki. Nezuko continued to combat the HD, but she was sent flying again, this time catching her footing.

"The both of you would be fourteenth 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 and anger. Her demonic appearance still present.

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

She began to cordially see some infrared lights, for some reason, Nezuko's vision was changing rapidly.

Tanjirou quickly dashed towards the HD, who swiped back and forth from the two demons. He grunted. He made the mistake of letting one of the bunnies go.

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 into a tree.

Nezuko took the opportunity to attack the HD, as she began to strike back. With a mighty growl, Nezuko kicked the HD's arm away, as she jumped through his torso, and grab the neck of the HD. With her sword, she hacked into the neck, which damaged it, in spite of the muscle HD had.

Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent

Nezuko continued to string her attacks, landing gently to make her quicker so that he struggled 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.

"Come on, Tanjirou. I warned you not to let your emotions run rampant..." The demonic version of him spoke.

"I'm learning this the hard way... I didn't think it'd be this difficult..." Tanjirou mumbled.

"Well if you want to emphasize your breathing styles, keep your emotions calm, but if you want me out, let your emotions out by all means." Demon Tanjirou chuckled.

Calming himself down properly, Tanjirou 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 breath, holding his blade out, as he spotted any potential threads he could use to strike the HD.

He began dashing 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 launch toward 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 the 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 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 slowly weaken the 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 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.

"That's it!" Tanjirou didn't care if his demonic version was influencing him, he wasn't going to let his sister be killed.

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.

"You bastard..." Tanjirou growled.

"Huh?" HD eyed the boy he was now facing.

"You will pay for this," Tanjirou responded.

"What is up with this boy... The girl was at least more demon-like than my expectations, but this boy... Is he a hybrid?" HD asked himself before his eyes widened at Tanjirou approaching him.

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 taking on 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 fainter than the girl's…" 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 slay 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. "I'll destroy this demon! Lend me your strength you demon blood!"

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

Tanjirou's eyes raged, as he was once again remembering his father's words. "Not you again... You've already hurt me enough... I don't want to hear from you..."

But despite this, Tanjirou followed his father's own words, unbeknownst to him.

He fixed his breathing, as he stared the HD down, finally showing some emotion.

"Seems you've finally shown yourself, demon." The HD sneered.

"Yeah." Tanjirou breathed in heavily. "This is the last demon you will be seeing."

Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin, Destruction

Tanjirou let out a watery storm as he began to swirl around his blade, which he struck down on the HD's head. While the demon was forced to stretch out 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 mere 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.

But he didn't care. He felt unstoppable and was going to use this to defeat this demon.

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

Tanjirou took the opportunity to strike.

Water Breathing, Sixth Form, Whirlpool

Tanjirou continued to strike, and the 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. "He's just a demon like me!"

"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 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 arms feel like falling off!" Tanjirou exclaimed, clearly panting from exhaustion. Luckily, he still had some reserve demon blood inside of him, he could feel it.

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

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.

Tanjirou chuckled as he saw the head of the HD flying off. He smirked, as he eyed his creation so beautifully. He began to approach the HD's remaining head and body, with the intent of stomping on the demon's figure, before something happened.

He unconsciously stared at the unconscious form of Nezuko, and immediately, his face calmed down. He felt his human instincts coming back, his protective brother's instincts...


"Brother! Help!" Nezuko yelled to Tanjirou, as he was eyeing Nezuko, her face full of panic.

"What's going on, Nezuko?" Tanjirou asked.

Nezuko gripped Tanjirou, as she began to cry. This worried Tanjirou.

"F-Father..." Nezuko mumbled. "I-I messed up..." Nezuko revealed.

Tanjirou sighed, before smiling sadly at his sister, "What happened?"

I accidentally spilled some glass on the ground where my father and mother were... I saw the two of them look at me, and I ran..." Nezuko revealed.

"What did their face look like?" Tanjirou asked.

"They didn't really show any..." Nezuko revealed.

"It's okay Nezuko... I'll protect you from them." Tanjirou smiled to his sister.

"But brother... They'll hurt you!" Nezuko sadly exclaimed.

Tanjirou placed a hand on his sister, "It's alright, Nezuko... I am the eldest brother, so I must protect those I care for... Even if it's from my own parents."

Nezuko began to cry, as Tanjirou could only face the two figures of his parents eying the two.

"Nezuko, I'll take care of this, go inside." Tanjirou sadly told his sister.

"No! I won't let you go! I won't let them hurt you again!" Nezuko yelled.

"Hey, Nezuko... Just be there for me in the aftermath..." Tanjirou gave Nezuko the same small smile.

Nezuko continued to grip Tanjirou's figure, as she was trying to help Tanjirou run with her. However, he stayed put.

"Please, Brother! Please!" Nezuko begged.

"I'm sorry, Nezuko..." Tanjirou sighed, pushing Nezuko away before he ran to the other side of the house. His father followed closely behind, hoping his mother wouldn't be so rude and violent to Nezuko.

Once again, he was in for another night of pain. Once again, he would have to hold his tears for his siblings. Once again, he was going to have to stay strong... But as he felt the footsteps become closer... He felt his heart rate rising. His eyes dilated, and he was having the adrenaline reach throughout his body.

But even with his body telling him to run, once he got to where he wanted to be, he held himself firm.

He was now going to be hurt more for running, but he had to hold firm.

It was the only thing he could do, to prevent his sister from being hurt.

Even as he felt the pain spiking across his body, only raised his arms to protect his head from injuries and blows.

All the while, all he thought about, was protecting his siblings. He didn't care if he was getting hurt, he didn't care if he would be scarred across his body... He didn't care if he would be labeled ugly for the scars he would accumulate... Or any side-effects of what could happen.

All he cared about... was protecting his siblings. He would do that with his life.

All the while, that smell of regret and hopeless spread across his father, even when he laid the first hand on his eldest son.


"Shit! He cut off my head! Urokodaki!" The HD yelled out loud 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 him really being able to speak.

"I'm going to see that damned 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 jagged-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.

Almost immediately, in combination with the state of his sister, Tanjirou felt his human instincts coming in full force. The jagged scars on Tanjirou's right forehead and left jaw were gone, and only the one on his left forehead remained.

"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 as 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 ned to black.

Tanjirou sighed, as he got up and, placed back his mask up. He went over to the rock where Nezuko's own body was unconscious. Once he looked closer at 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 way 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 subordinates of Urokodaki…don't have to worry any 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 nose was hit with the scent of a strong individual. There are 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 whose 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 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 enough 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 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 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, whose 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, 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. Even if he did not want to use the Hinokami Kagura, a sacred dance to belittle it to a sword st but considering the circumstances, Tanjirou considered this Hinokami's way of protecting him.

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, clearly confused by who this kid was. He noticed that the kid smelt a bit weird, but considering humans, they can vary in how they smell based on their lifestyle and blood types.

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 nullifying Douma's blood demon arts, as he hid the length and location 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 Kakashihi, Shinobu, and Kanao 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, get away from that demon..." Suddenly, the demon version of Tanjirou began to warn him.

"Wait, why?" Tanjirou asked.

"He is way too strong for you."

Tanjirou nodded, "I know, I can smell that."

"Then why are you fighting him?"

"To protect the girl! Why else?! I can't let this person die when I can do something about it!" Tanjirou told his demonic counterpart... And look!"

Tanjirou smiled under his mask, glad he had managed to survive. However, in the ten to fifteen seconds he had fought this demon, he was already tired, and straining himself due to the ice in his lungs. Tanjirou knew now, that he was far from being strong enough to fight this demon.

"I would recommend getting away from the demon now, then." Demon Tanjirou explained.

"That is if I can escape from him. He's placed ice statues across the field, the only way I can run is towards the demon slayers." Tanjirou told his demonic counterpart.

For Douma, this boy had the potential to be very strong. He could see how well the boy was able to fend him off, but he also knew how inexperienced he was. If he had more time, then he would be a very worthy opponent.

For now, he had to get this boy away from him. He couldn't seem to kill this boy, but only stall him and tire him out.

"Well, you've certainly annoyed me," Douma told the boy at last, clearly getting upset about interfering with his battle. "Just go away!"

"This is your chance!" Demon Tanjirou exclaimed. "Use your Hinokami Kagura, and ride the icy wind away!"

"How?!" Tanjirou explained, "Won't I hit the ice statues?"

"No, they'll diverge away while shooting the icy wind as well."

"Alright... I'll take your word for it..." Tanjirou thought as he prepared himself.

Blood Demon Arts: Cytokinesis – Icy Wind

With a blast of Doumawn hand, Douma blasted Tanjirou with an icy wind with such power it was at 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 now getting to him. He was so glad he pushed the boy away from him when he could before his body would uncontrollably shiver from fear.

"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.

"Ow... That hurt..." Tanjirou mumbled.

"It could have been much worse if we didn't do this. The demon if you chose to fight for a longer period of time, you could have died or worse..." Demon Tanjirou explained.

"I guess you're right..." Tanjirou sighed before he eyed Nezuko on the ground.

"Nezuko!" Tanjirou exclaimed as he quickly got up, 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 of 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 thought about at the moment and was not disappointed in what I did. Just to make everything a bit clearer, Douma was not taking Tanjiroseriouslyus until he launched the icy wind at 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 colored nirchirin swords and their crow, and for them to get their missions.

Against all the odds, and 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 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)

- Emotional Scale: The spectrum to determine certain traits Tanjirou will have. It is from -10, for completely emotionless, to 10, for exaggerated emotions. The certain amount Tanjirou feels from an emotional standpoint can represent the abilities he can receive and the abilities he cannot use. For example, using the transparent world will stop his ability to regenerate and activate a blood demon art like a demon. For peak emotionless state, Tanjirou unlocks a completely selfless state, and if Tanjirou is at his full emotional state, Tanjirou awakens his true demonic form. The longer he achieves awaken demonic form, the more powerful he is capable of being.

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 Nirchirin blades.

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