The Dancing Star
Chapter 16
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 POV
Nezuko's eyes widened as she watched the arrow engulfed in water curve strike Tanjirou's sword. While it seemed her brother was unharmed, he was launched in a compromising position, as he was high on the wall at the moment.
That left Nezuko alone, at least until Tanjirou found a safe way to get down and drop to assist her.
"There we go, now at least I can fight you one by one, isn't that fair?" The voice of the demon they were fighting, Kento spoke up as he now focused on Nezuko.
The demon girl could only eye Kento before she was forced to move, for another water arrow was launched toward her.
She quickly swiped across, slicing the arrow into two, which seemed to have done the job of ridding it of its uncontrollability.
Nezuko had to carefully maneuver towards Kento so that she could strike the demon, but it was a lot more difficult as the demon continued to launch arrows from his crossbow.
Managing to slice them apart, she had at least found a way to handle the arrows of Kento for the time being.
Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance
It was as simple as that, or at least Nezuko hoped, for she had managed to get within the distance.
And upon getting close, she swung her blade in a curved nature across from her, as Kento eyed her with a bit of a terrified expression.
He then stomped on the ground, causing a metal board to activate, swiping towards Nezuko, and getting between her and Kento.
However, her blade managed to go through, as she plunged her demon strength into the strike.
Though with a bit of difficulty that caused Kento to finally move from his position.
It was here did Nezuko yank her blade out the metal board, as she stared down at Kento.
Nezuko then realized how tall the demon was.
He towered over Nezuko, and that terrified her. He was much more powerful than her, even if she was able to perform some feats.
Nezuko sighed, as Kento looked infuriated.
"There are children who are kindhearted and good-willed, but then there are children like you. Annoying who must be punished." Kento commented as he moved his arms and legs around as if he had been catatonic for quite a long time.
"This guy talks like a monk…" Nezuko thought to herself, as she charged once again.
Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel
Because of the rest of the contents within the orphanage and temple getting in the way, with Kento throwing books and other stuff at Nezuko, she had to use a form that took care of a wide array of space.
And so, she opted for the water wheel, since she could easily spin her body around.
It helped.
Kento was deciding to use everything in the environment to help him survive.
Nezuko could see that.
But alas, Kento had more things he could use especially with the crossbow he had on him.
"Haru wa arashi, natsu wa kaji." Kento called out as he began to fire out arrows from a crossbow.
This time, the arrows held a flaming trail, and Nezuko's eyes widened before she dodged.
She could feel the heat coming from that arrow, as Nezuko watched as Kento launched another.
Nezuko gritted her teeth as she tried to dodge, avoiding and ignoring the flaming feeling of the arrows.
Somehow, it seemed that his arrows didn't have any form of flaming properties that could potentially burn down the building, so that was one less thing to worry about in Nezuko's opinion.
Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux
Kento tried to remain the distance away from Nezuko so that he could try and cut her off with his bow.
However, Nezuko was picking up momentum and strength, and with each strike she made, Kento found himself having less room to go with.
He needed to distract Nezuko long enough to give in the advantage,
He briefly eyed the cover he had in the room once again, and he acted as quickly as he could.
Holding his hand out, he picked up the semblance of the metal board that Nezuko had cut through.
With a mighty swipe, Nezuko slashed right through the metal board, cutting it clean.
But it was enough to slow down her assault and give Kento the time he needed to dodge and act.
He gripped his bow and hand, and before Nezuko knew it, the arrows he launched out now had electrical properties coming out.
Nezuko tried to dodge instinctively just like with the flame arrows, but to her shock, she felt herself being zapped to an extent.
"What?!" Nezuko exclaimed quietly, as she felt her entire body having electricity traveling through her.
She felt her eyes widened as she was being electrocuted from the inside out.
"No!" Nezuko heard the voice of what appeared to be her brother, yelling out, seeing the pain Nezuko was going through.
Even if she was a demon, she was still experiencing pain.
Tanjirou growled in anger at seeing his little sister getting electrocuted by this demon.
Nezuko tried to look across her body to identify if any arrow had struck her, but to her surprise, none did.
That meant that this was the glancing effect of the arrow itself.
This could be much worse than even the water arrow he had sent to Tanjirou.
However, she couldn't stop the electrocution, but she did notice Kento had remained still, clearly using some energy to maintain the affinities for the arrows.
"Nezuko!" Nezuko barely looked up to see her brother still high in the air.
"The arrows! He uses energy to maintain the affinities on the arrows!" Tanjirou yelled out to Nezuko.
Surprisingly, Kento looked alarmed after hearing that.
And it held some truth to it. If that was the case, then the more arrows he launched out, the more energy he would have to use to maintain them up.
Before Nezuko could even try and counter the current predicament she was in, she heard a roar of pain come from Kento.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kento yelled, as before she knew it, she was no longer being electrocuted.
But how?
She turned to then see Tanjirou eating a chunk of Kento's shoulder, as the two were seemingly fighting with trying to get his shoulder freed from Tanjirou's fangs.
But Tanjirou did not budge. His teeth and grip on the demon were just too strong.
The more Tanjirou kept his fangs in, the more he could add to the nutrients he got, for he was deepening to consume as much blood as possible.
All the while this happened, Nezuko grabbed her blade and ran to the now distracted Kento.
Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust
Kento howled in more pain as Nezuko thrust her blade directly into the other side of Kento.
He growled as he knew he had to get Tanjirou off him.
He could feel his blood being sucked from the inside, and he felt weaker.
All the while the sister plunged the sword deep inside of him.
And so, he acted,
He grabbed the arms of Tanjirou before he pushed his back onto the wall, making Tanjirou yelp in shock, and with that, Tanjirou let go of Kento.
Then, Kento managed to kick Nezuko away, her blade still penetrating inside Kento.
"Oh, you worthless children," Kento commented before he called out another praise.
"Heiwa wa kaze no yo ni." With that, Kento then launched an arrow toward Nezuko, who was still relatively close to him.
The arrow struck right on Nezuko's chest and she was flung straight into the wall.
She could feel a large force preventing her from even moving out of the wall, meaning she was stuck yet again.
Thankfully, Tanjirou was still up, and with his blade, he was able to sneak for the most part behind Kento.
But Kento detected the movement from behind, and his eyes widened.
Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel
Tanjirou spun his body quickly trying to get towards Kento, and all Kento could do was dodge, increasing the distance between him and Tanjirou.
Tanjirou grunted. He had just waited for his perfect opportunity, and so he needed to do something extra.
He had to extend his strikes. And thus, when he landed, he immediately went back on the strike.
Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent
Tanjirou quickly ran to try and strike Kento.
He swiped at Kento, who launched his fist horizontally, but Tanjirou quickly jumped over the demon, a feat impressive in itself, as Tanjirou eyed where he wanted to strike.
All the while Nezuko watched, before she found herself falling onto the ground in front of her, as Tanjirou eyed what he wanted to do.
Hinokami Kagura, Tenth Form: Fire Wheel
The blade Tanjirou had turned from water to yellow flames, as now he swung himself around, with his blade connecting to the skin of the demon.
Kento howled in pain once again as he felt the blade of a different feeling this time slice in in the back.
Tanjirou silently cursed, as he had hoped he could have struck the back of Kento's head.
In the end, at least Nezuko was now up. He took the time to grab the blade out of Kento's back before he backed up.
Kento eyed Tanjirou as the larger threat, now that he had two blades on him.
But that didn't mean Nezuko was out of it.
Before Kento could even prepare to strike Tanjirou, he was struck with a kick from Nezuko, which sent him flying a bit away.
Nezuko took the time to quickly come to Tanjirou to grab her blade, which he gladly gave her back,
"Good to see you alright, Nezuko…" Tanjirou sighed in relief, as it took some time for Kento to get back up.
"Are one of you a demon?" Kento suddenly asked, clearly angered by the sudden development of these two individuals now fighting him.
"You pitiful demons, wanting to steal my residence?" Kento suddenly asked, accusing the two siblings of doing so.
Tanjirou and Nezuko eyed Kento, who was angry. His wounds were regenerating at quite the pace he wanted, especially the one on his shoulder, where the boy had bitten inside of him.
"Strange… I don't know why, but the place where that boy bit into me is not regenerating…" Kento thought as he found it hard to move his hand.
"You pitiful children deserve the fullest of all punishments. Nanakorobi Yaoki." Kento called out, as before the two knew, seven arrows fired out at an angle.
Tanjirou and Nezuko both ducked as low as they could before a final, eighth arrow was aiming directly down toward them.
"Nezuko!" Tanjirou exclaimed in shock before he pushed her out of the way, the arrow grazing Tanjirou's abdominal sides.
Nezuko growled at the act that Kento had put them through before she forced herself to break the distance between her and Kento.
Tanjirou was not too far behind, as he was able to regenerate his wound thanks to the demon blood, he received from Kento.
Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool
Nezuko was the first to strike Kento, whipping out a large amount of wind to catch the demon inside.
Kento looked on in shock, as the arrows he tried to strike all were sent back.
But that was because, before he could even realize it, it was all deflected by Tanjirou's form.
Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux
Using the momentum and strength of the constant slices, he had successfully managed to slice apart the rest of the arrows.
Nezuko used her whirlpool to trap Kento within.
Tanjirou panted as he eyed Kento inside the whirlpool, unable to escape.
"There it is! Now!" Tanjirou yelled in his mind, as his blade once again turned to flames as he switched his breathing.
Hinokami Kagura, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky
With Kento properly trapped inside the whirlpool that Nezuko set up, slicing Kento apart with multiple strikes, it was Tanjirou that was going to land the finishing hit.
Kento's eyes widened in shock before he saw Tanjirou prepare to swing toward Kento.
But Kento had no way of dodging since he was just trapped by Nezuko's swipes and breathing style.
All this time, Tanjirou had waited for the proper and exact time to strike, which was now.
And with a resounding pop, Kento's head fell off his body.
Kento's eyes widened in shock, as he felt his head fly quite the way.
In the end, everything else fell.
Tanjirou and Nezuko landed on their feet, and the rest of Kento's large body fell with a thud.
Kento's eyes could only look on in grief and shock, as the reality of death suddenly set in for Kento.
"No…" Kento thought. "How did it come to this?"
…
There was once a time when Kento was a human.
That was not surprising, considering every demon was once a human.
But Kento often considered himself a unique human.
His parents believed in him for great feats, as he was supposedly born at a sacred time of the year, to the point that he was named Hoshinari. Hoshi, because it meant star, and nari because he was coming into being.
Together, they both symbolized a celestial event of a comet passing by.
As a result, both of Kento's parents placed a lot of burden on him.
But even then, Kento was a strong individual. He knew that especially with the jobs and the life he was exposed to at such a young age.
He would have considered himself living in an average household. Nothing too privileged, but not necessarily struggling. He had to work a bit for his essentials, but he had no problem doing just that.
Under his skin, Kento learned the prospects of the religion he foresaw. All the while he was with his father learning to become a priest.
A priest was very common in the city of Yauru, because of its religious priority.
All the while, Kento's father noticed that Kento was very good with children.
It was a given. His mother was always good with children as well, and they assumed it was a family thing.
Nonetheless, now Kento was being prepared to care for children, particularly orphaned children.
By this time, he already doing some of the jobs his father was doing, as he was reaching that age of retirement. All in all, Kento had a relatively normal life.
But alas, he was now taking care of a temple. He had risen the ranks, and now he wanted to do more.
He was a follower, despite being a leader. He took advice from the community to be the best individual he could be.
He loved his job and everything he did.
And then he decided to start taking in orphaned kids. He set up the temple to allow for around 20 kids to reside within the temple, or now an orphanage.
And that was now his life.
He took care of the kids and was often looked at as a very nice and generous caretaker. He was somewhat surprised how he was able to afford the 20 rooms for every kid, but they all seemed happy, and that was all that mattered.
That was until something happened.
It was a simple night, albeit a thunderstorm.
Many of the children were a bit terrified that a thunderstorm was going on.
But that did not bother Kento in the slightest. He was someone who loved being around the children. He was a father to them, and that was all he needed in his life.
He had a perfect life.
Until that man came.
He was not sure why that man came, or what was the purpose of it, but Kento knew he was bad news.
"Alright everybody, I want you all to go to your rooms." Kento told the orphans with a relatively serious tone."
"Is everything alright?" One of the kids asked, and Kento knew it was one of the older kids.
"Yes. I just think it's time for bed, and the thunderstorm seems to be getting worse." Kento explained to the orphans. He was being relatively serious, and the kids could see this.
"A-Alright." They mumbled, and with the help of Kento, many of the orphans were put to sleep.
That was one of his larger worries out of the way.
Now, it was time for the other worry threat.
Kento, with a bow that he had left within his room in the event he had someone trying to threaten him or the kids, carefully went outside.
But he didn't see anything.
All he could hear was the sound of raindrops falling, and the look of a typical thunderstorm.
"Maybe the thunderstorm is putting me on edge…" Kento mumbled to himself.
"I'd say you are right." Kento momentarily jumped when he heard a new voice very close to him.
But Kento never got to see the individual who snuck up on him.
He was struck in the neck with something, he could have sworn it felt like a needle before he blanked out.
Kentowoke up a couple of hours later on the couch.
He was very confused about what happened to him.
He later realized he couldn't remember anything.
"Kento! You're awake! He's awake!" One of the boys exclaimed in surprise and grief.
Before Kento knew it, a bunch of other kids, almost two dozen approached Kenti, and began to hug him.
Perhaps it was the sheer confusion of what happened to him, or that he for some reason cared for these kids.
And despite the alias of what happened to him, Kento found himself watching over the kids.
A gnawing feeling to help and protect these children.
The way they smiled, and were so open to him, made him feel like he was at home.
It made everything a bit easier, in that he didn't necessarily want to turn into a demon.
Of course, he ran into a demon and was injected with the demon's blood. And now he was a demon.
And he knew it. He wasn't one to not believe in demons. He had to think everything over once he realized what happened. This was especially well known for him after he had for some reason started to burn when exposed to the sun.
As a result, he was thankful that many of the kids never strayed away so far from the times they got to go out. They all looked after each other, and they were all responsible.
And Kento couldn't ask for more.
Under his alias as Kento, he was a compassionate monk and strived to suppress whatever his body was telling him.
He was horrified that he had a feeling of wanting to eat the children he raised.
Under his malevolent skin, he yearned to be a human, desperately clinging to his now fading memories as a human, as he felt his demonic instincts becoming stronger.
He tried finding solace in the sacred walls of the serene Japanese temple, but alas it only served as a stall to the inevitable.
Sometimes he wanted to just spend the time he could with the orphans before it was all gone. But he was a compassionate monk for a reason. He was strong-willed and wanted to protect them.
He didn't care when they started to ask why he never played in the sun, or why his eyes got a bit more like a cat, as long as they weren't afraid of me, then it was all fine.
With the temple's sanctity, Kento's humanity seemed to flicker like a fragile flame. The same one he had when he took the children under his wing.
He now yearned for the times he didn't have such a determination to now want to fall to his instincts.
He tried.
The children found comfort in being around Kento, for he was just a very good caretaker, but they were unknowingly awakening his demonic instincts.
Unfortunately, the struggle to suppress his demonic instincts became increasingly challenging. Each day, he abstained from the sustenance of what nature wanted him to do. Nature wanted him to gnaw like a beast, to eat the children.
And even as he tried to maintain his humanity, and try to take care of them, the fragile balance shattered.
An ill-fated moment, and occurred one evening. It was while he was playing with the children. He was going to read them a bedtime story.
Unfortunately, his fatigue was now at a point where he couldn't hold on anymore.
Before he knew it, his demonic form emerged involuntarily.
The children recoiled and watched in horror, their screams full of terror, as their trust was shattered so innocently.
Despite the promise Kento tried to tell himself, he couldn't fulfill it. The commitment to protect the children eventually became the monster he failed to protect them from.
And as he dug into the skins of every child, none of them escaped. They all died in the same, tragic way that Kento did not want to do.
He had tried so hard to end up failing in the end. His willpower had faltered for just a little bit, and that was all it took for him to do something irredeemable. He had eaten every child that he had taken care of.
They were all gone. All eaten.
And just like that, Kento was all alone.
Left with the very temple and orphanage that he had promised his parents to take care of.
All this time, he had wailed.
He cried as a demon as the night crossed. Many people thought it was the sound of a broken animal, rather than a crying human, that was how irredeemable Kento thought he was.
And as dawn broke, he just remained inside of the orphanage, usually cheery and outgoing in its aesthetics, was now alone and quiet. It was almost like a storm had passed by, killing every inhabitant.
The orphanage had unexpectedly gone abandoned.
Even as people tried to go in and find out what happened, nobody ever came back out.
They began to say there was a monster inside the orphanage that killed all of the orphans and the caretaker.
And that was true. He was consumed by the monster, and the children were all consumed by him.
He cherished the children and was a compassionate monk, but that was all scattered like fallen petals.
He was a demon, and he was now consumed by sorrow and remorse. Unfortunately, he knew that he was at a point of no return. He had tried so desperately to conserve his humanity, but tragedy occurred.
He had cared for the very beings he had eventually consumed. And all he could do was let himself be consumed further by his demonic counterpart. There was no use for him trying to remain a human. Gone was the compassionate monk he had always been and was destined to be. In place was a demon with a thirst for human flesh and blood now. He was now in an irreversible place to be.
In the aftermath of such an event, the temple became a somber place. The halls of the orphanage were now haunted by perhaps the soul of the orphaned children he had slaughtered and eaten. Every room Kento approached tormented and tortured him mentally, as he would be haunted by the memories of the once innocent times.
Alas, those times were now gone, for Kento was now a demon and a ruthless one at that. He wandered around, knowing that redemption was unachievable no matter what he did. He had tried to stop himself from falling into a demon's desires, only to fail.
The voices begging him and coercing him had eventually won, and now he was descending on a route similar to that of a typical demon.
Just like every demon, he had gone through the route of consuming human flesh.
He retreated into his own safe space, the orphanage.
Where else could he go?
The orphanage was now abandoned, and after some authorities tried to investigate, causing him to eat more humans, he knew that now there was no turning back.
He wandered across the orphanage and temple, the very one he pretty much grew up in, hoping and wishing he could find a way to truly find redemption for his sorrow and despair. He was full of regret, to make amends for the irreversible darkness he had unleashed.
The demon monk, Kento, became an enigmatic figure of sorrow and remorse.
He was forever searching for just the smallest glimmer of hope to reclaim the humanity he had. He hoped he had enough humanity left in him to heal the wounds he had inflicted on the lives he vowed to protect.
However, even he knew it was too late. There was no more humanity left inside of him, for he had blood on his hands and mouth.
He was, at the end of the day, an unforgivable individual. He would only be redeemed if the children he slaughtered and ate forgave him.
And that was exactly what he had thankfully gotten.
"Hoshinari!" The voice of the young children got Kento's attention, as he immediately panicked, and looked down in shame.
"I-I'm sorry, for what I've done to you all…" Was all Kento could tell the very orphans he had killed. His tears were threatening to leave his eyes, as he once again was trying so hard to look strong for the individuals.
All of them knew, however.
Children were a lot more intelligent than he thought, and it was a reoccurring theme all over the case.
Kentosighed, "I guess I shouldn't have underestimated you…"
"No, you shouldn't have, but at the very least, we can be together again." One of the boys explained with a smile.
Almost immediately, Kento looked very shocked. "No. You all were just children… You don't deserve to go to hell with me…"
"Why not? You were our protector, and you protected us throughout our lives, until the very end." One of the girls explained.
"W-what? H-How?!" Kento asked. "How did I protect you when I was the one who killed and ate you all?" He asked. He was so confused and broken about this.
"Because it wasn't you that killed us… It was the person who took over you… We're just glad we get to see you again…" The other kid explained as they all began to cry out of happiness, having seen their sole caretaker and parent after so long, of watching him as a man-eating demon.
Kento was beyond shock. He had expected all the kids to hate him for eating them all and slaughtering them. He had breached their trust after caring for them for so long, and they all chose to forgive him.
Why?
"Why…?" Kento begged to answer.
"We don't need a reason other than our goodwill to forgive you, and even then, we knew how much you were struggling after than thunderstorm… We found you unconscious outside, and we brought you in… We knew you weren't the same… Not even being able to go outside in the sun…" The kids revealed.
Kent looked down, before he felt the hugs of all the kids around him, crying that they get to see their caretaker regardless.
And before Kento knew it, he was crying too. Crying at the circumstances he was in, for he had still not forgiven himself for the fate he gave these children.
"Let's go, Hoshinari." The orphans all stated.
This caused the caretaker of the family to shake his head. "I won't let you all go to hell with me. You all deserve a second chance at life, with a better parent and caretaker than I ever was."
"But you were the best caretaker we ever had!" All the children yelled at him.
"We have passed by numerous caretakers before you, and you were the best one we had! Why did you think none of us ever left or ran away?!" The kids all yelled as Kento was learning something new about them right now.
To think that they had previous caretakers, was a given and expected, but to think some of them ran away due to being treated poorly, makes his heart break more for the fates the kids suffered.
"But still-"
"No!" The kids all pouted, which caused Kento to smile a bit.
"You all… So spoiled when you want something you want… I guess I cannot stop you… But I'll warn you, hell is a cruel place…" Kento explained.
"Don't worry about us. We have the best caretaker in the world to protect us." As Kento heard the words of his kids all explained how he would protect them, the fact that they all still trusted them despite what he did to them as a demon, it made him sigh.
"I do not deserve these kids…"
"In the shadows of his remorse, Kento desperately tried to reach for humanity's embrace. Unfortunately, it was a one-way ticket for him, for every time he tried to escape the darkness, and the fear of what he could become, the tighter darkness grasped onto his soul. In the end, Kenti was a fallen star, forever condemned to burn in the void of darkness he was plunged into."
Kento's eyes could see the boy, now demonic, eating his body.
All he could do was lie in shock, as the boy, having finished eating the major parts that would be sufficient enough for him, walk towards the head of Kento.
Almost immediately, he closed his eyes out of fear that his head out be eaten.
But instead, the boy gently touched his forehead with his own.
"W-What…?" He asked completely confused.
"A compassionate monk… A proud father figure, who tried so hard to care for the orphaned children brought to him… You are a warrior deserving of a magnitude of respect, Kento." Tanjirou explained with a saddened tone.
He gave the demon a sad smile, as the blood from Kento was dripping out of Tanjirou's mouth.
"May I wish that you are a human in the next life you grasp, and for you gain a life deserving of the love and care you give to those in need." Tanjirou prayed for Kento, ironically the monk.
All Kento could do was tear up, "Thank you, boy…"
Kento cried as Tanjirou's smile turned into a frown of sadness.
"The struggle and the tragedy you faced with trying so hard to remain what you are, to remain of your ideals… In the end, it was all futile, because of the action you feared the most… I pity you, Kento, but that should not disqualify you from punishment, but I respect and appreciate your willingness to remain human and protect those children." Tanjirou added as he watched Kenti's head disintegrate.
"His heart ached to become human again… I could feel it as I ate his skin… But his hands and mouth remained stained with the unforgivable evidence of an irredeemable act, ridding any hope of redemption he sought after, for so long…" Tanjirou once again clasped his hands together, praying and hoping Kento had a nicer fate given to him.
Tanjirou's POV
It terrified him.
As Tanjirou continued to consume the remnants of the fading Kento, he was appalled at everything that was going on.
He could see the struggle that Kento was having.
And then his backstory.
Tanjirou could understand the tragedy of Kento. He has trusted into the role of babysitting, with the help of his mother, and became a monk thanks to his father.
Even if he lived a normal life, Tanjirou realized Kento never had a saying in what he wanted to do with his life. But despite this, he remained happy and content.
Kento was content with the circumstances because he knew that he was living a life not necessarily full of struggles.
And he felt that he shouldn't complain about why he was placed in such a situation. He never once complained about the circumstances that had been placed onto his life, and it was because that was how he learned to cope.
Never to complain, but to adapt to them to the best of his abilities.
Unfortunately, sometimes nature was a testament to what one was predisposed to. Kento was an unfortunate victim of that.
Kento was someone who tried so desperately to cling to his humanity. He was someone whose morals to protect the orphans he cared so deeply for, were strong. He wanted to desperately cling to what was remaining inside of him.
Tanjirou and Nezuko had originally thought that once becoming a demon, the instincts would be the strongest as a new demon.
Tanjirou thought that as they continued to remain a demon, it would get easier to suppress their instincts.
Unfortunately, Kenti's case proved that it was more complicated than that. Kento's case was showing both, how special they are…
"He was just like us…" Tanjirou mumbled, just enough for Nezuko to hear.
A sense of despair and anguish… as despite Kento's best efforts, he couldn't escape their demonic nature.
And once that occurred, the thought of being irredeemable was overwhelming. To think Tanjirou and Nezuko could have been another demon. Just another mindless, human-consuming demon.
Was it all worth it? Was it worth trying to maintain their humanity if, in the end, they would fall to their demonic instincts?
Tanjirou gripped his hand, as he was breathing a bit heavily, as he was afraid. He was afraid that he too would lose control.
Once that was the case, that was done.
Tanjirou and Nezuko now realized how fragile their balance was. They both were demons, and they were seeing the bigger picture of their reality.
They both realized just how easy it was for them to go down a dark route. All this time, they were enjoying the times they would train with humans when they should perhaps try to cherish and appreciate the times…
Tanjirou and Nezuko were very lucky that they had wise mentors or spiritual figures, helping to guide them toward the path of light.
For they were the stars in the multitude of darkness in space. Tanjirou and Nezuko thanked the forces of the world that have allowed them all to maintain their humanity at.
"Even more reason to kill you, Muzan." Tanjirou thought to himself, as he got up, and albeit a bit traumatized by the case that was Kento, it almost made him reflect on his benefit and perhaps lucky circumstances.
"Nezuko and I are lucky…" Tanjirou told himself, "We have managed to defeat what many others wanted…" Tanjirou continued.
Nezuko gave Tanjirou a look of concern before Tanjirou gripped his blade.
"We must focus on protecting everyone… But that was what Kento tried to do… But even then, he was the one who failed to protect them from himself…" Tanjirou sighed. "It shows me that perhaps there is more to the struggles of becoming a demon…"
"In the end, I may be a demon, but I will hold the beliefs of others wanting to preserve their humanity on my own, and Nezuko's… I won't fail to preserve my humanity, for I will be cursing the rest of these demons…" Tanjirou continued to remain troubled, as he and Nezuko continued their journey to complete their mission.
From what Tanjirou and Nezuko both knew the two of them could have easily gone down the same route as Kento.
And regardless of the reasons, whether it was fate or some inherent ability the two had, they had managed to resist for the past months.
Tanjirou and Nezuko both had a lot of reflection as they continued with their journey and mission.
One Month Later
After the mission at Yauru village, Tanjirou and Nezuko continued onwards with their journey.
All the time, they had taken around a day or two to rest in a nearby village. It was somewhat difficult since they could only move during the night, and thus would have to deal with a limited timeframe to either travel or fight demons.
Plus, Nezuko needed sleep to maintain her strength. She had to sleep to regain her energy, so it was usually Tanjirou carrying a sleeping Nezuko, and two nirchirin blades on him.
The more Tanjirou thought about it, the more he realized how bold it was for both Giyu and Urokodaki to accept and leave them to commit to missions on their own.
What would they do if they went rogue?
Tanjirou looked onward, as he noticed a crow was flying around him.
"So that's how… Many of the crows are around me, analyzing my every action Fair enough." Tanjirou thought to himself as he continued.
The only reason Tanjirou was able to move, was because of the meals he got through defeating those demons. He had always taken the chance to consume the demons right after the fatal slash to the neck.
That was beside the bite he gave to Kento, which had, for some reason, stalled the demon's regeneration capability. Tanjirou was unsure of the reason, but it did make finishing off a bit easier.
Plus, Tanjirou felt with every demon he consumed, he felt stronger. While he still was not as strong as other typical demons and was still marginally stronger than humans, it was still an improvement from before.
He had thus concluded that only consuming demon flesh was what allowed him to become stronger, just like Nezuko.
And that was not even considering the question of his demonic form. Even if Nezuko wasn't in her demonic form, she was still stronger than him.
But then again, he wasn't even sure if demons had a form, or that other demons just had a natural form.
Tanjirou didn't understand. All he knew was that he and Nezuko maintained most of their human properties, albeit with some differences.
Nezuko, seemed to be mostly the same, except for some small vine marks across her arms, all the while Tanjirou's faded birthmark was just more jagged on the left side of his forehead. Nonetheless, Tanjirou was extremely weak by demonic standards, although he was getting stronger as he consumed demons.
He sighed in boredom. He didn't necessarily hate traveling, but it was boring. He was the one carrying everything, and he hadn't anticipated demon slaying to be this boring…
Eventually, he managed to find a nice place to rest alongside his sister.
However, usually, his sister would sleep for much longer than him. As a result, he would usually have to let her sleep for quite the time, as he didn't want his sister to consume humans.
After the incident with Kento, Tanjirou had no problem allowing Nezuko to nap for now he knew it was a life and death situation. He didn't want to stress and overstrain his sister.
In the end, even though Tanjirou was able to get stronger with every mission thanks to consuming demons of all forms, he still needed to rest, or even buy some human food to help with it.
Because he still has to deal with his energy.
But regardless of that, both he and Nezuko were able to continue onwards.
This culminated in the fact that they continued to slay the demons that the crows would send them to.
Many demons were in a phase of total euphoria. They showed little care for the humans they've beaten and ruined, until the very end, when they would recollect their human memories.
And all the while, Tanjirou, as he ate the respective demon, he develop the memories of the demon, temporarily, but long enough for him to remember.
It made Tanjirou reflect on everything he knew about the demons serving under Muzan. While he thought they did serve Muzan, many were, unaware of everything that happened. Unaware of the individual who was responsible for their fates.
But thankfully, Tanjirou was an individual who knew his surroundings very well.
And so, when he spotted what appeared to be tracks, his mind was very confused.
He had gone off the actual pavement, only to find such a design on the ground, which seemed to go in two directions. Seeing the crow go in a direction alongside the rail tracks, he decided to follow alongside the track.
In the end, he ended up finding a large building, with what appeared to be a line.
It was still night-time, and so he found himself alone in the area.
But that was when he realized something strange. Some weird object was moving toward toward the building, at such a fast pace…
"That was fast!" Tanjirou exclaimed as he was incredibly shocked to see this.
There was this large… being? Those people were going inside.
"What is that thing?" Tanjirou asked himself as he got closer.
However, as he did, he saw some guards eyeing him warily.
"Hey! Kid! What are you doing with those weapons?!" The guards asked.
This made Tanjirou jump in panic, as he could smell the skepticism.
"Oh, I'm part of an organization," Tanjirou explained, trying to defuse the situation, but that did not help.
"What organization? You better not be like those other kids who told me it's all for slaying demons. Don't bother, demons don't exist!" The officer explained, and immediately, Tanjirou gulped, knowing he couldn't say that.
He had to improvise.
"They're toy katanas, I stayed by late for a play and now I'm walking home," Tanjirou explained briefly.
"Why do you have two, then?" The officer asked/
"Friend of mine forgot him so I'll give it back to him tomorrow when I see him." Tanjirou smoothly added, not wanting to sound too casual, or panicked. He knew he had to be right in the middle for the officer to believe him.
The officer seemed to have, as he sighed. "Very well kid… I'll let you go, but make sure those are away from the eyes of others, we don't need people getting scared." The officer explained. While he did eye Nezuko, he probably assumed it was just a brother carrying his tired sister on his back.
Tanjirou took a sigh of relief, as he carried his sister across, passing by the station after hiding his blades within his haori.
Once that was done, he quickly realized that this moving object could be the key for Tanjirou to make it to the other city.
And so, as he realized it was coming towards him, he quickly ran ahead, using almost all of his strength to try and slow the net speed between him and the train.
He then saw the back of a train that seemed to have nothing but crates and boxes inside.
Tanjirou tossed Nezuko into the train, not caring if she woke up, before tossing his blades inside. Nezuko, who woke up very confused, panicked once she saw Tanjirou and grabbed him to get him on the train.
"Thanks, Nezuko…" Tanjirou sighed, as she looked at him.
"I thought this would be a quicker way for us to travel… Besides, if it's the day, we can stay in these boxes, protected from the sun, and close the door." Tanjirou explained to her sister.
"Hnh!" Nezuko nodded in agreement before she went back to sleep, this time on Tanjirou's shoulder. Tanjirou gave a small smile seeing his sister sleep before he stared up at the moonlight as he listened to the wind blowing as the train ran by.
Tanjirou went scouring around for the map, and he eventually observed the map where this thing was going.
"Alright, so this is where we have to go… It does make me wonder how fast we'll get there…" Tanjirou thought to himself.
Once he saw the sunlight rising, he quickly closed the door of the train, hiding from the smallest of sunlight.
For some instinctive reason, Tanjirou and probably Nezuko can know when it's day out. Perhaps because they both were demons, they had an instinctive sense to let them know when the outside is being shined by sunlight or not.
So Tanjirou waited until he no longer felt the feeling, and when he opened the door, he was met with the moonlight.
"You ready, Nezuko?" Tanjirou asked his sister.
Nezuko nodded.
And with a mighty jump, the two jumped off the train onto some bushes. Even though it hurt a bit, they at least managed to move a large distance in quite a short amount of time.
Tanjirou took a bit of a breath before he noticed the crow on the other side of a tree, watching him.
"Where's the next mission?" Tanjirou asked the crow.
"Caw! Mukojima Village! Head northwest!" The crow exclaimed as the crow began to fly.
Thankfully, it was in a direction on the other side of the railroad, and so they decided that going on foot was the best choice.
"Seems to be northwest of Tokyo. We might be able to go there within a day if we move quickly enough…" Tanjirou mumbled as he was observing the map he had taken from the moving object.
In the end, it took them quite a long time to make it to Mukojima Village.
All the time, Tanjirou and Nezuko continued working across the forest. They unfortunately decided to jump out during a different aelatively isolated area of the landscape.
The reason was so that the two could stay away from other demon slayers, as Tanjirou had noticed quite the amount of demon slayers that were around the buildings near the moving object.
All they saw were trees. That was it. Alongside the occasional opening where they could see the moonlight through the canopy of the trees.
All the time Tanjirou was looking forward, as he was too focused on searching for demons. While he would usually take the time to observe his surroundings, he was too focused on making it toward the village
The reason was that the area was relatively flat, meaning it was highly unlikely for the two to find a place to hide from the sunlight.
But thankfully, it seemed that the village wasn't too far away.
The good news was that they made it to Mukojima Village.
The bad news was that the entire village looked to be roughed up.
Compared to the rather modest Yauru Village, this village was somewhat different.
Mukojima was rather desolate and forlorn. Immediately upon entering, Tanjirou could smell the heavy amount of despair that hung in the air, so thick, as it cast a blanket across the gravel streets.
The dilapidated buildings were faded and cracked, with broken windows boarded up with more wood, as the citizens showed struggles of struggle and decay.
The village was decayed of all its liveliness and vitality, and it was clearly shown.
The outskirts of the village had some somewhat healthy trees but their branches were twisted, mirroring the desolation within. Even the landscape around the village was barren as if even the land itself had given up hope.
A once-flowing river is now the first destination for many within the village, as it supplies them with an easy source of water. The water is a mere trickle from what it used to be as it was perhaps rationed.
The tattered lines of damaged and worn-out clothing dangling from the fences and window sills, as their presence too showed the cadence of worn out and abandoned.
And, how the village was far away from the rest of the country, Tanjirou could only assume how abandoned and left out it was. Left to rot and be forgotten.
The inhabitants living in the tattered homes were all left with gaunt faces, as they showed nothing by solemness as they realized the faded hope for their future.
That was the theme of this village.
The faded hopes that many people had. The inhabitants of the village all seemed to be hopeless in their dreams. Almost like it was a never-ending cycle. They accepted this would be the rest of their lives from now on.
The remaining and few successful ventures were at best just average businesses that would usually struggle to continue due to their isolation from the rest of the landscape.
Many rusted and weather-beaten structures gave Tanjirou the idea that this was not always the case with the village.
Perhaps before and in the past the village was flowering with beauty, but a disaster burnt or wiped out the beauty, causing many to live in poverty.
Almost every aspect of this village left a sense of hopelessness. It was roughed up, and the citizens were resigned to a fate of no escape. The hollow echoes of children laughing were now silenced, replaced by the occasional howl of wind blowing through the eerie landscape.
Even nature forgot about this place, for it was denying the village the smallest glimpse of beauty or recovery.
The village's future appears bleak, almost like time has stopped moving altogether. Even then, there was always a glimmer of hope for them. There was always hope wherever a species was. No matter the circumstances.
Unfortunately, the first thing Tanjirou and Nezuko noticed, was the violence that was common within the village.
Many of the children worked, whilst the adults forced them to work harder.
Alas, Tanjirou knew exactly what this was.
"Slavers… How tragic." Tanjirou thought to himself as he forced himself to move forward.
It wasn't that Tanjirou was apathetic towards the plights of the village, he was thinking of the conditions, and he knew that if he continued to think about it, the more sad he would be.
He had to focus on slaying the demon that was in this village, or else his thoughts would move elsewhere to the depressing mood of the village.
"Demons were once humans… Just like us… And they all inherently wish to retain their humanity… But Muzan strips it away from them… What a coward…" Tanjirou mumbled to himself as he was begun to look around.
As he watched the sad faces of many children, forced to take up the labor work, Tanjirou ironically was sent back to his time of work.
These kids wouldn't be any more than 5 years old, and the oldest were older than Tanjirou.
This meant that they were doing this since they were young.
Tanjirou remembers that when he started to burn and sell charcoal with his father, he was also around five years old. The difference was that he did work with his father.
That was until his father's attitude towards Tanjirou turned sour, and thus Tanjirou was forced to do many things on his own.
All those times, Tanjirou remembers the hardships he's had. It probably wasn't as bad as what they've gone through.
Though once he saw the scarred looks many of the children had, Tanjirou knew all too well what that face was.
It was the face of the abused. The very one he had whenever he feared his father.
When he learned to fear his other, he had that exact face and that same jitter feeling and movements they had.
Suddenly, Tanjirou had a sneaking suspicion that many of the adults were forcing their children to commit these actions.
It made sense, considering the circumstances.
And as Tanjirou continued to walk across the village, he eavesdropped on everyone speaking.
That was when Tanjirou continued to hear stuff that hurt his mind, through his morals.
"My daughter's growing up to be a fine one, I should get a lot of money if I just sell her off." A bystander had stated.
"My son is growing strong, he'll be a good easy manual worker, nice and buff." Another one explained.
"I see. So the boys are taught to be strong so they can be useful… Just like me… Just like what I failed at…" Tanjirou thought to himself, as he remembered what his father would do to him.
While he would not say he lived in a hopeless household, Tanjirou did live in poverty.
The place he and Nezuko grew up was a struggling household, especially so after his father died. He had to take up the manual work that his father had made him do as if he knew this time would happen.
All this time, Tanjirou never once complained and only blamed himself.
But here, who could he blame? The entire village seemed so depressing that nobody could be blamed. Everyone lived a sad life, and there were no winners.
Tanjirou sighed, as it hurt him to see the state of all of them.
The only problem they had was that the sunlight was coming up.
Since many of the children were up, they quickly assumed it was dusk, and they were right.
"Nezuko, we need to find a place to rest for the day," Tanjirou explained, as he tried to get a Nezuko who was mumbled.
As they found a place to sleep, clearly away from the rest of the village, they waited until nighttime.
A simple cave was where the two of them slept.
It hurt Tanjirou to see Nezuko sleep on quite the surface, as he was hoping that Nezuko could at least sleep for quite a bit.
When Nezuko made a noise of pain, Tanjirou immediately went over to calm Nezuko down.
"I'm sorry Nezuko… I'll try to find a nicer place for you to sleep next time…" Tanjirou smiled as he head-patted Nezuko.
Nezuko made a calm sound at that, clearly showing that she liked it.
"Hnf…" Nezuko mumbled, but for some reason, Tanjirou thought he heard something coming from Nezuko.
Something audible, for him to understand…
"Nezuko, can you try and say something?" Tanjirou asked.
"I-… ay… Br…" That was all Tanjirou could hear from Nezuko.
However, what made Tanjirou a bit unsure about it, was that he didn't hear Nezuko say it externally…
Almost like it sounded like it was coming from him internally…
As the night was about to be over, the two called it a day, and when they woke up, they decided to explore the village, for the demon the crow had mentioned.
"Nezuko? Anything you see?" Tanjirou asked.
"…" Nezuko shook her head at that, which made it known that even she couldn't detect the demon.
"Perhaps we should see and ask any villagers about any loss, and most of them seem pretty apathetic…" Tanjirou mumbled, "Almost like they don't care if one of their kids goes missing…"
Tanjirou continued to think, and before he knew it, he realized why perhaps the demon was aiming for this village.
"Maybe that's why the demon chose here… He knew that nobody in this village would care if they lost another one of their family…" Tanjirou sighed. "Is there a common place where they noticed to have lost their children? That's the only thing I can ask…"
"Maybe I could get Nezuko to look around, or myself to smell the sense of a demon…" Tanjirou added.
Nezuko touched Tanjirou on the shoulder, as she then pointed towards a place of a symbol of worship.
"A statue of a worship?" Tanjirou asked as he was pondering, "But it's out in the open, why would there be a demon here?"
Tanjirou pondered as he looked around, "Unless the person knows the place very well… That means that the demon must have originally been living here…" Tanjirou thought.
It was times like these when Tanjirou's deciphering abilities had improved immensely.
He did need to learn them whenever he was around his family, and thus he had to prepare for any scenario. And that was what he did. He just made up every possible scenario in his head and prepared accordingly.
He wasn't the type to jump into anything irrelevant, he needed to think everything carefully.
He was an overthinker, probably because of his father, and his constant thoughts of worthlessness, and the reasons why.
All Tanjirou knew was that as he continued to search for this demon, there was more to this city than he thought.
"This place of worship… What does it stand for?" Tanjirou asked as he tried to read the plaque on it.
"Was the only surviving remnant of a widespread disaster that killed the rest of the village…" Tanjirou read out. "Seems this village did suffer a disaster, but was it a demon that caused the disaster, or the aftermath of the disaster that the demon came…?" Tanjirou asked himself onwards.
Their confusion about the worship was dialing everything.
In the end, all Tanjirou had to do was analyze it more.
But once again, he felt sorry for this village. Perhaps in the future, if he ever gets a lot of finances from the corps, he could send it to the village, with the hope of improving the lives of many.
But he couldn't be so hopeful. The world was a cruel and hopeless place sometimes.
Tanjirou himself knew that very well. He knew of the darkness of the world, and even if he was bright as a star, he was still surrounded by the darkness.
As he continued to look, his smell finally caught something.
"What is that smell?" Tanjirou asked himself, as Nezuko seemed to mumble in agreement. Almost like she could sense something as well.
Both siblings instinctively got their blades out, anticipating the worst, and finally looked around.
Their senses allowed them to spot the incoming danger, and they both dodged out of where they originally were. However, both suffered numerous slashes across their arms.
And once they spotted what tried to attack them, it was the demon they were looking for.
"Hmm?" The demon came out, with a confused expression, even more, when he spotted the masks on the two of his pursuers.
"Something feels strange about you." The demon pointed to Nezuko, "You don't smell good, not like those humans…"
Tanjirou and Nezuko both remained quiet but were also angry at how low he was referring to humans, as mere food.
In response, both demon siblings raised their blades.
"Eh? Guess I'll have to cut you both up, and then notice what's different about you myself. Perhaps you two are just disgusting naturally." The demon commented.
"I could say the same for you, demon. You have a disgusting odor." Tanjirou responded.
"And why is that?" The demon asked before he tried to lung at Nezuko, trying to go off guard.
Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust
Nezuko responded quickly, all the while Tanjirou quickly charged at Miyasaki, eating a chunk of the demon's neck, who had fallen into Tanjirou the moment he dodged Nezuko's attack.
"So, the two of you are demon slayers? Why did you come here? Who in this village cares that I ate an extra mouth to feed?" The demon angrily vented, as he pushed Tanjirou away from him.
Tanjirou's eyes widened at this. Not only because of what he said but also because he was gaining access to this demon's memories. And what he did…
Even as a human…
Was unforgivable.
"Who cares about an extra mouth to feed." Those words…
"Why feed a hopeless, worthless child?" It might as well be the very same thing.
But it was by this demon.
He was in essence, calling the children useless. They weren't useless.
"I'm the only useless person here, for I've let my entire family down. These children aren't worthless because of the environment they live in…" Tanjirou thought, as he stared down at the demon.
"What is your name, you demon?" Tanjirou suddenly asked, his tone losing its grip, and Tanjirou's eyes becoming dead upon the demon's word.
"Miyasaki. Why are you curious?" The demon asked, only for Tanjirou to stare down once again a lack of emotion in his eyes. It was a death stare, and Miyasaki wanted to shit his pants, for Tanjirou looked like an intruder.
This demon had just reminded Tanjirou of how poorly he was treated, how little he was valued, and how little he was cared for. He was never truly loved… And this demon had reminded him. Miyasaki could sense the hidden sentiments behind Tanjirou.
"This boy… He's in a fit of rage, but I don't feel any emotions from him… That red, long, flowing hair… Who is this guy?! Is he a demon? A monster?!" The demon asked before he saw the injuries from both heal, "They both are demons!"
And it was through this one saying from Miyasaki did Tanjirou understand this demon. Coupled with the flesh he got from him; he was disgusted. This was a demon he didn't want to consume.
"You truly are scum, you know that?" Tanjirou suddenly responded. His tone lacks any emotion but is powerful in his tone.
So much so, that it made both Nezuko and Miyasaki flinch in terror.
Even if neither could see the face Tanjirou was making, it was that of a simple stare. Nothing.
"I can tell what you've done the moment I chewed a piece of your body." Tanjirou started.
"I can tell you abused your family to no end. You lived around this village formally… You hurt your children, abused them, and even drowned them. All for your sick pleasure if they went against your simple wishes and demands." Tanjirou boldly told Miyasaki with such a dead tone.
"And I thought my father was bad, calling me useless, beating me, kicking me out of the house, denying me food, and even making me burn my goal for him to burn me with it., Tanjirou added.
He then pointed to Miyasaki. "But you are truly despicable. Not a single hint of remorse for your actions. So selfish you are…"
"You killed two of your sons, abused ten of your children… You forced the boys to work manual labor and sold your daughters to people once they were old enough." Tanjirou reaffirmed to Miyasaki.
"You are sick, demon scum." Tanjirou eyed with no emotion, but behind that held pure anger, pure vengeance. A sense to give this demon a beatdown.
"And who are you to tell me how to live my life? We lived poor! What could we have done?" Miyasaki asked.
"Don't humor me." Tanjirou started. "You could have done physical labor asshole," Tanjirou told him.
Nezuko took was disgusted by this demon. Not only because it hit close to home, but seeing her brother get emotional over this was heartbreaking for her.
"You could have burnt coal, sold it to the village. You could have been a builder, helping people build homes. You could have been a priest, helping people become happy with their significant order." Tanjirou explained, "And what did you do?"
"You took the easy way out., Tanjirou answered for Miyasaki. "You sold your daughters… Tried using the boys for physical labor and when that failed, you killed them by force drowning them."
Tanjirou sighed, "You are a monster."
"Absolute scum you are. You disgust me. You have the worst morals out of any demon I ever knew of, or even as a human, and we've seen demons kill for no reason."
"I can only pray that your fate in the afterlife is as cruel as you made it for your children." Was all Tanjirou said, before he gripped his blade, indicating he was ready for a fight, to beat this demon down.?
A.N / Decided to include a scenario where Tanjirou does not sympathize with a demon, and what this causes. I wanted to make Tanjirou scary, but not overpowered, so there's that. Also, Nezuko will be able to have a form of communication soon, it will just take time.
I understand that the fight scenes may not be the best, but I'm not the best at writing them. I'm much better at articulating character's thoughts and the like But I hope you all enjoy this story. If there are any ideas for a demon you would want me to incorporate, then I may use them, and I'll call you out for the suggestion.
Anyways, see you for chapter 17. We may start to see heat-up for their overall arc, if you don't want me stalling it more, hehe.
Character Profile:
Tanjirou Kamado: Male, 14 years old
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'7" (170cm)
Weight: 140Ibs
Nezuko Kamado: Female, 13 years old
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'2" (157cm)
Weight: 122Ibs
Kento: Male, 32 years old (chronologically, 17 years physically)
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 6'3" (190cm)
Weight: 192Ibs
Abilities:
Tanjirou Kamado:
Demonic Memory Extraction: When consuming the flesh of demons, Tanjirou gains the ability to look into a demon's mind, specifically their stories and their human lives, ironically before the demon can himself. Tanjirou's consumption of demons also can stall the regeneration of the area where Tanjirou bites into.
Hinokami Kagura: Tanjirou decides to use it now, even though Nezuko witnessed it, she didn't say much due to her wanting her brother to be himself, and not to limit himself to let her be the spotlight.
Nezuko Kamado:
Demonic Communication: Whilst in the early stages, it seems that Nezuko can communicate through the mind of Tanjirou. Due to their sibling blood, being related, as Tanjirou's demonic form becomes stronger, he starts to be able to communicate with Nezuko in a way that only makes the two communicate without being heard by bystanders.
Kento:
Haru wa arashi, natsu wa kaji: "Spring is for storms, summer is for fires." Once again, the arrows can switch between flaming and thunder properties.
Heiwa wa kaze no yo ni: "Peace is like the wind." The arrows of Kento's turn to a wind-like property, that is capable of trapping individuals under a large force of wind.
Nanakorobi yaoki: "Fall seven times, stand up eight." Kento strikes out with seven arrows, followed by an ending arrow, meant to act as a two-combo attack to eliminate any of his opponents.