It was a few endless minutes later that an agonised scream rang out through the train. Flesh hands shot out of everything and grabbed each passenger's neck. Gyutaro and Ume raced up and down the train car as fast as they could, slicing away each of the hands. The Demon seemed too busy failing to regenerate to fight back. Gyutaro had one moment of relief where it seemed like it was over, before the train lurched and flew off the tracks, crashing full force into the ground. Gyutaro and Ume tried to keep hold of as many people as they could, but the green-haired young man was sure there would be some casualties.

Suddenly two blurs shot up and down the train, shattering all the windows, so that the passengers fell out onto the ground relatively unharmed. "Ume!" Gyutaro cried out, as his younger Sister fell out of a window, while he was still in the crashing train. He clutched onto a seat as the train rolled, trying not to flung around too much. When it finally came to a stop, the oldest Kamado fell onto the wall of the train with a groan of pain, while gasping for breath. He'd never fought for that long before, and was still trying to get Total-Concentration Constant down. Now his lungs felt about ready to burst.

After the shock wore off, the green-haired young man keenly felt all of his injuries. His whole body felt like one big bruise. Gyutaro groaned in agony, but was more worried about his younger Siblings than his aches and pains. So with effort, he forced himself up and stumbled out of the train. He squinted through the darkness, looking around, "Ume! Hanako! Nezuko! Tanjiro!" he called. "Here! Hanako is here!" Mitsuri suddenly cried, running over with an unconscious Hanako. Before the young man could speak, the Hashira quickly reassured him, "I had her on my back the whole time. Unfortunately, she took a bit of a bump to the head when we fell out of the train, but that's all.

I've already checked her over. She's fine Gyutaro" the pink and green-haired woman explained. Gyutaro sighed in relief, taking his youngest Sister into his arms and cradling her like he used to when she was younger. "Thank you Ma'am. Really. Our other Siblings will be glad to know she's alright" he replied.

Mitsuri nodded, "please excuse me, Kyojuro wants me to help with the relief efforts until the Kakushi get here" she said, before she headed off. 'Should I look for Ume and Nezuko next or try to find Tanjiro? Tanjiro first. After all, he was somewhere on the outside of the train when it crashed, looking for that Bastard Demon's head, he would have been thrown further than we were.' Gyutaro thought. For a moment, the horrible nightmare the Demon, that he'd noticed was Upper One, had put him into flashed into his mind.

Ume, burned so badly he could hardly tell it was her, dying in the bottom of a ditch. He had known it was her instinctively, though weather it was Ume at 6-years-old, or her at her current age, he couldn't tell. All he knew was that the sight had sparked a fury in him that he'd never felt before. It was different from the numb horror he'd felt when he'd found their Mother dead in their house and Ume and Nezuko so badly injured. He didn't know why. Did it mean that he didn't love his Mom and Nezuko as much as he loved Ume? No, he'd just spent more time with her than with the other's. Really, he had. 19 years with Ume as opposed to the 10 years he'd spent with the rest of their family. Of course his first little Sister was slightly dearer to him.

Gyutaro swore once again to always protect his Siblings, no matter what. He stroked Hanako's hair gently, until her eyes fluttered open, "Big Brother?" she muttered, looking up at him. Gyutaro nodded and smiled at the 12-year-old, "yeah, it's me. How are you feeling? Miss Kanroji told me you got a nasty bump on the head earlier" he replied gently. Hanako groaned and moved her hand up to her head, "yeah, I can feel that. Oh-" she moaned, rubbing her head and groaning in pain. "What happened?" she asked. "Tanjiro killed the Demon. And it made the train crash" Gyutaro explained. "Great. Urgh. Gyutaro? Can you ask Miss Shinobu to sedate me from now on? I don't really want to have anymore dreams, for, well- ever" Hanako asked.

The Oldest Kamado chuckled slightly, "I don't think she can do that, as a Doctor" he replied. "Anyway, let's go find Tanjiro, okay?" Gyutaro asked. "Yeah. And, I think I can walk on my own now. I'm not dizzy or anything. My head is just sore" the 12-year-old girl replied. So the two headed off to find their Brother.

Ư*Ğ.Ķ

They found him laying on the ground a way's away. He must have been thrown off of the train after he killed the Demon possessing it. Kyojuro was already there as well, talking to their Brother. "Big Brother! Tanjiro!" Hanako cried, as the two Siblings ran over to him. "Tanjiro! Are you alright?!" Gyutaro cried. He wondered where Ume and Nezuko were. While he was worried, he knew Ume could take care of herself. She would make sure that she and Nezuko were safe before the sun rose. Right now, his younger Brother's state was more concerning. Kyojuro had been bending over the teen, and talking to him, but when the Siblings called out, the Flame Hashira stood up and looked over at them, "ah! Gyutaro! Young Hanako! Glad to see you're both alright!" Kyojuro called. Tanjiro looked up at then with a smile, concentrating on his breathing.

"My Tsuguko is mostly unharmed! He is injured in the gut, but his Total-Concentration Constant is helping with that!" the Hashira replied confidently. Gyutaro sighed, as Hanako hugged her big Brother- carefully of course. "Hanako, Gyutaro. I'm so glad you're alright" Tanjiro said softly, unable to move. "Where are- Ume and Nezuko?" he asked. "They'd be hiding somewhere safe. You're the one who's hurt" Hanako sobbed. "There are many injured, but no casualties! You can rest easy Tanjiro" Kyojuro assured. "That's- good" the 15-year-old replied. Gyutaro looked around, "I'm going to go look for Ume and Nezuko, make sure they're in their boxes. Can you take care of him for me Hanako?" he asked.

The little girl nodded seriously, "yes!" she replied. The green-haired Kamado nodded gratefully, turning to leave, "alright, I'll be back-" he began, only for a massive Demonic aura to explode out of nowhere, making Gyutaro spin around with his hand on his Sickle and Tanjiro's breathing to stutter. "What is it?! What's wrong?!" Hanako cried, alarmed at their reactions. Kyojuro immediately turned to the source of the presence, holding his arm out in front of the Kamado's, "stay there!" he ordered. The dust then cleared to reveal a figure standing a distance away. Tanjiro leaned his head back to see better. His eyes widened, "that's- Upper Rank 3!" he breathed. Gyutaro gasped. An Upper Rank Demon. The most powerful they'd seen yet!

The Demon propelled itself forwards, aiming a little to the right of the Hashira- he was going for Tanjiro! Before any of them could move, Hanako covered Tanjiro's head with her body. "Hanako, no!" Both her Older Brother's screamed in horror. Before either could do anything, the Demon stopped, allowing Kyojuro to slice his arm off.

The Upper Rank back-flipped away, before crouching down. His eyes were trained on Hanako. The little girl was trembling, but stood to her feet and glared at the Demon, "d-don't you dare h-hurt my big Brother!" she screamed, voice trembling. The Demon stood up, and for some reason his expression turned- amused and fond? "Sorry about that. I don't really have much interest in your Brother anyway kid. Tell you what, if you let me fight that Hashira there, I won't hurt your Brother" he said, pointing at Kyojuro. "Or anyone else?" Hanako asked. Everyone stared at the exchange in shock. How was this 12-year-old girl negotiating with an Upper Moon?

"Or anyone else. I'm not interested in them anyway. I only want to fight the Hashira" the Demon said, eyes gaining a predatory glint as he looked over the man. "You have to promise not to kill Mr Rengoku in the fight. He's Tanjiro's Teacher" the little girl added firmly. "Okay, sure. I promise on my honour as a Martial Artist. After all, it wouldn't be any fun if I killed him now" the Demon agreed easily. Hanako nodded and stepped back to Tanjiro's side, "okay" she agreed. "Good. This'll be fun" the Upper Rank Demon purred. His gaze slid over to the Flame Hashira, "I can tell that you're strong. You're a Hashira, right? You're power is obvious just by looking at you. Your fighting Spirit has been tempered like quality steel. Tell me your name Demon Slayer?" he asked.

"I am the Flame Hashira. Kyojuro Rengoku!" Kyojuro replied. "And my name is Akaza," the now named Akaza replied. "Kyojuro. Let me tell you why, despite being a Hashira, your strength is not enough to defeat me. Because you're merely human. No matter how hard you fight, your strength will never be a match for mine. I did promise not to kill you in this fight, but, as a human, you will still die one day. All the amazing strength that I can feel flowing from your body will dissipate, and you'll become weak and die. Become a Demon Kyojuro. Doing so would allow you to better yourself for another hundred, even two hundred years." He held out his hand. "No thanks" the Rengoku replied firmly.

"But that would be such a waste! Dying before you reach your peak. Are you sure you won't become a Demon?" Akaza asked again. "Life is precious only because it is not eternal. The fragility and fleeting nature of human mortality is what makes life so beautiful. No matter what twisted reasons you give, I will not become a Demon!" Kyojuro said firmly. Akaza's eyes narrowed, a massive glowing image appearing below his feet, "if that's the case, I suppose I'll just have to show it to you then" he said with an eager smile. "Blood Demon Art: Destructive Death, Compass Needle!" he called. Then he shot towards Kyojuro and the two began to trade blows with fists and sword. The three Kamado's present stared in shock and horror. They couldn't even see the two's movements.

There were a few minutes of non-stop blurs, which were the two combatants. Then Misturi ran passed and leapt into the fight- literally. She jumped high in the sky, and brought her leg down. Kyojuro noticed and disengaged from the battle just seconds before his former Student slammed her leg into the Upper Rank's arms, which he used to block. A plume of dirt exploded from the battle ground. When it cleared, it showed Akaza shaking out his shattered, but healing arms. His eyes showed intrigue as he stared at the furious woman in front of him. Behind her, Kyojuro was struggling to catch his breath, one eye completely crushed and bloody "broken ribs too" he coughed, focusing his energy on reinforcing his broken ribs.

Mitsuri looked furious, "how dare you hurt my Teacher like this!" she growled. But instead of looking scared, Akaza looked thrilled, "I usually don't fight woman, but I've never met a woman as strong as you! Tell me your name please!" he asked, much more polite than with Kyojuro. Mitsuri narrowed her eyes at him, holding her whip-like sword out, "why should I tell the Demon who hurt my Teacher anything?!" she snapped. "M-Mitsuri. He's strong. Be careful" Kyojuro said softly, but thanks to his enhanced senses Akaza heard him. "Mitsuri huh? Nice to meet you, I'm Akaza. Your strength is incredible! If you became a Demon, you'd be unstoppable!" he said with a wide grin on his face. "No. I have Siblings I have to take care of. Neither of us is going to become a Demon, so you can drop it" Mitsuri replied coldly.

Kyojuro stood up, "I don't want to fight you. I don't fight women-!" Akaza began, only for the Love Hashira to shoot towards him, whip-sword slicing off his limbs several times, as Kyojuro's breathing stabilized and he joined his former Student in the fight, the injured Hashira fitting in and around Mitsuri's attacks, supporting her this time. "You're both incredible! I don't want to kill you! You should just agree to become Demons!" Akaza cried. An hour passed this way, dawn steadily approaching. Gyutaro tried to watch the battle, but all of them were moving too fast to see with his eyes. Tanjiro had climbed to his knees with Hanako's help. Finally, the Upper Rank stepped back, Dawn being too close to risk anymore time here.

"So I can't convince you tonight, but there's always next time. I'll be taking my leave now Kyojuro, Mitsuri. But we will meet again" he gave them a sharp-toothed grin, before disappearing. Kyojuro collapsed to his knees, Mitsuri immediately moving to catch him as the less injured of the two. "Master!" Both Tanjiro and Mitsuri cried at the same time. "Urgh, I have several- b-broken ribs, and- *cough, cough* I think my eye is gone" Kyojuro said, as the three Kamado's joined the two Hashira. "Master, are you going to be alright?! I can smell how much pain you're in!" Tanjiro cried, horrified. "Ah! I'll, be okay. I just need time to- h-heal. Careful Mitsuri, one wrong move and you'll crush me" Kyojuro replied. "You're going to be okay. I'm sure the Kakushi are close" the pink and green-haired woman said assuring.

Then the sun started to rise. "If you're both alright for the moment, we need to go check on Ume and Nezuko. Come on Hanako, Tanjiro" Gyutaro said, leading his Siblings away from the resting Hashira. "Of course. There's actually something I wanted to tell you about your Sister's," Kyojuro began. The three Kamado's stopped and turned to face him. Kyojuro forced a smile, despite how much pain he was in. His one remaining eye was firm and bright with sincerity, "I watched those two risk injury and their own bodies to protect the humans on that train. Anyone who does that, regardless of what is said to the contrary, is a true member of the Demon Slayer Corp. I believe in both of your Sister's, and I will *groan* ensure this opinion is heard when I give my report to the Master and other Hashira."

Tanjiro and Hanako were openly crying at this. He turned to look at Tanjiro, "Tanjiro, be sure to be careful of how much you strain yourself with that wound. And keep up your Total-Concentration Constant. It will open many doors for you" Kyojuro said. "I will Sir!" Tanjiro replied, wiping his eyes. Then the three of them went off to look for their Sister's and Tanjiro's two friends.

The sun glinted on the horizon as it shone over the wrecked train, and the Demons and Slayers that had given everything to protect it's passengers.

To Be Continued