Gyutaro, Tanjiro, Nezuko and Genya ran through the forest, following Tanjiro's sense of smell as the Hashira fought the Hatred Demon behind them, buying them time to get the main body. "Tanjiro! Where's the thing holding the main body? Can you smell it?!" Genya asked. "I can!" Tanjiro replied, closing his eyes to smell the Upper Four's main body. "Found it! This way!" the teen called. Gyutaro trusted his younger Brother, but he focused on his premonitions. 'I have to make sure I know when the slightest thing could go wrong! I will protect my family!' he thought.
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Back with the three Hashira, Gyomei smashed and sliced apart each of the dragons, heartrate increasing as the dragons got faster. 'Increase your body temperature,', 'I need to increase my heartrate to get even stronger!', 'repetitive actions!' Kyojuro, Mitsuri and Gyomei thought in unison. Unbeknownst to them, each of them gained a mark on their bodies, Kyojuro gained a flame pattern similar to Tanjiro's on his forehead, Mitsuri gained a mark on her neck and Gyomei's were on his forearms. The three became even faster, dodging attacks, slicing dragons and making The Upper Four Demon snarl.
He had to kill these three so he could take care of those going after his main body.
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The junior Demon Slayers ran after the tree, and Tanjiro finally spotted it. "That's it! The main body is inside that tree thing!" he cried. "Get it!" Gyutaro yelled, as both he and Genya launched attacks at it. Both Genya's broken sword and Gyutaro's weight bounced off the tree ball with a clanging sound.
"What?! Are you serious?! What is this thing made of?! It's as hard as metal?!" the green-haired 27-year-old demanded. But the tree didn't seem to like that, and lunged into the sky. "Grab it!" Tanjiro cried, as it tried to slam into them. The group of four clung to the tree, refusing to be shaken off, no matter how hard it thrashed or slammed itself against the ground. "Damn you!" Genya snarled, before he bit into the tree and began to eat it. "Holy- his teeth are so strong! Well, he does have a Demon's strength right now!" Gyutaro muttered as he stabbed his Sickle into the tree to help him hold on.
Genya kept eating, feeling demonic power and strength flowing into his body. The bite of Aizetsu he'd gotten before had nearly worn off, but now his strength was renewed. Finally, he managed to bite through enough of the wood that the ball part with Hantengu in it went flying from the force of it's own thrashes. Damn Genya! That was awesome work!" Gyutaro said with a grin. "Get it!" he cried, after they'd landed back on the ground. Suddenly thin whip-like branches emerged from the ball and attacked them. Nezuko snarled through her gag and splattered the ball with her blood. It burst into hot pink flames, burning off the whips.
"Go Tanjiro!" Gyutaro cried. Nezuko once again slashed her hand over her Older Brother's sword. It burst into flames, glowing red hot. "Hinokami Kagura: Flame Dance!" Tanjiro exclaimed, slicing apart the brittle branches. As the flames faded, both Nezuko and Genya grabbed the wood ball and pulled it apart. "Do it!" Gyutaro said. Tanjiro raised his blade for the kill, but they all froze as they saw that the ball was empty. "Fuck! It got away again?!" Gyutaro yelled, infuriated with the trouble the Demon was putting them through. "It can't have gotten that far. Find it!" Tanjiro said, looking around. Suddenly, Gyutaro heard a small noise behind them, and turned to see the tiny Demon trying to sneak away again.
Gyutaro felt his anger boiling over, but it seemed like Tanjiro had reached his limit too, "you bastard! Don't run away from your responsibilities! Repent for every sin you've committed! Every evil deed! I'm going to make you pay for everything you've ever done! I won't let you get away!" he screamed, running after the Upper Rank in a fury. Suddenly the Demon tripped. Just before Tanjiro could reach him, Hantengu got up and ran again. Gyutaro growled, "we have to hurry!" he called, everyone except Genya beginning to run again. "You piece of crap!" the pseudo-Demon cried in a rage. He went to a tree and ripped the whole thing up out of the ground. "Enough is enough! You son of a bitch!" Genya screamed, tossing it at Hantengu with insane strength.
The Demon managed to dodge the tree, but Nezuko leapt up and aimed a kick at the tiny Demon.
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Ume was running through the trees, intent to reach her Siblings to help them with the other Demon. "Wait!" a familiar voice cried from behind her. She turned to see Muichiro struggling after her, panting. "What are you doing?! You're not well!" Ume called back to him, as she turned around. Muichiro panted as he came to a stop. He was still panting and trembling, the strain on his body visible, "Tanjiro needs this!" the 13-year-old said, holding up the unfinished sword. Now that she had stopped, the Demon woman heard Haganezuka yelling as he followed them.
"Please, my Brother is unconscious back there, but Tanjiro is our friend. I can't let anything happen to him!" Muichiro begged, trembling. Ume stared at the boy for a moment, before shrinking a bit, "get on my back" the white and green-haired Demon ordered. The Mist Hashira did so, and Ume shot off through the trees just as the Swordsmith reached them, "that sword's not finished! Give it back!" Haganezuka yelled furiously.
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As Nezuko jumped after Hantengu, more trees fell around him. She slammed into the ground, cracking the rocks and digging a hole into the dirt with her leg. The Demon dodged the kick, but Nezuko swiped at him with her claws, letting out an angry noise as she missed both times. Nezuko jumped back out of the hole with ease, continuing to run after him. "He runs so fast! What's his deal?!" Genya cried angrily. The Demon sped up, "damn it! Did he really have so much energy left in reserve?!" Genya bemoaned. 'We can't keep going like this! Tanjiro and I are going to reach our limits soon!' Gyutaro thought in despair. He looked at the slowly lightening sky.
'The sun will be coming up soon! We have to kill this Bastard, otherwise he'll get away!' he thought, increasing his Stone-Breathing to try and speed up, but felt as though a knife twisted in his lungs, 'fuck! My body is reaching it's limit!' the green-haired Kamado stumbled as his breathing was disrupted.
'Don't give up! Stone-Breathing is all about being as firm and solid as stone. Never letting anything, including your body's limits stop you from fighting! Keep up your breathing for as long as it takes! Don't falter! No matter what!' Gyutaro sucked in a deep breath, speeding up again. As he ran, suddenly Tanjiro shot ahead of them like a blast of lightning. The burgundy-haired teen once again connected his blade with Hantengu's neck, Nezuko's flames engulfing it. Suddenly the Demon grew huge, Gyutaro, Nezuko and Genya gasping in horror as it did. "Not at all?!" he yelled, grabbing Tanjiro's head with both hands.
"Don't you dare bully the weak!" the Demon shrieked, trying to crush Tanjiro's head. "Tanjiro!" Gyutaro yelled. Suddenly Genya and Nezuko sped up, and the psudo-Demon reached them first. "Your so-called 'reasons', are all total crap! You stupid bastard!" he yelled, trying to pry the hands off of Tanjiro. Hantengu tried to use Urogi's attack, but Gyutaro swung the weighted end of his chained Scythe over his head, "fuck you!" he screamed, throwing the weight with as much strength as he could muster. It slammed into the Demon's forehead and forced his head up, the sonic attack blasting into the trees and sky.
Then Nezuko emerged from the trees, splattering him with her blood, setting the Upper Four on fire. Just then Genya managed to rip his arms off. He stepped backwards, the Demonic flames burning him as well. "Genya!" Gyutaro called as he stopped next to the younger teen. Tanjiro cried out in effort as he began to cut through Hantengu's neck. The Demon ran backwards, trying to dislodge the sword. Gyutaro felt a premonition blare through his head, as he realised that the only thing that would be a problem with them heading that way was if they were head to a cliff. "Tanjiro!" he cried, running towards his younger Brother and grabbing onto him, trying to keep them form dragging them off the edge.
But even like this, Upper Four was too strong and dragged all three of them over the edge. Nezuko ran to help them, grabbing onto Gyuaro's leg as they went, falling off the cliff as well. Gyutaro hit a ledge of the cliff wall, losing his grip on Tanjiro, as his younger Brother crashed in a tree and Nezuko slammed into the ground.
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Gyutaro came to, shaking the pain from his head, and looked down to the ground, seeing Nezuko unconscious at the bottom of the cliff. He looked down to the ground, where the Demon, still missing his arms was staggering away. Then he looked around as he pulled himself up on his hands and knees. Tanjiro was stuck in a tree, thankfully not impaled by any branches. He began to climb down the cliff, feeling his hands start to bleed as he cut them on the sharp rocks. 'Damn it! You are not getting away!' he thought. "Come back here" Tanjiro rasped. Gyutaro tried to focus on getting down the cliff safely. As time-crucial as this was, he knew that if he injured himself, this would only get harder. "I'll chase you down even if you flee to the depths of hell. And- I will cut off your head!" Tanjiro swore.
Gyutaro carefully climbed down the cliff as Tanjiro tried to get out of the tree. 'We have to hurry! Quickly!' he thought. He glanced over at the Demon, who he saw was heading to some rocks. Tanjiro fell to the ground, and forced himself up, moving to check on their little Sister. One he saw she was only unconscious, Tanjiro shot off again. Gyutaro followed after him. "Tanjiro!" Muichro's voice cried. The 15-year-old stopped, and looked around, "Tanjiro!" suddenly a sword spun down from the cliff, landing in the ground right in front of Tanjiro. "Use it!" Muichiro called. Gyutaro looked up to see Muichiro gasping for air with Ume poking her head out if the bushes.
"Use it!" the Mist Hashira cried. Suddenly someone grabbed him by the neck, with a Swordsmith trying to hold the man back, "don't you dare! It's only sharpened up to the first stage! Don't you dare use it!" the unknown man yelled. "It's almost daybreak! He's going to get away!" Tanjiro grabbed the sword and took a stance. "Go! I'm right behind you!" Gyutaro said. Tanjiro shot forwards in a blaze of flame. With a furious scream, he sliced Hantengu's head off.
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Gyutaro caught up to his Brother as the sun began to rise. He gasped in horror, "Nezuko, Ume!" he cried, turning to look up at the cliff. Ume quickly hid in the shade of the trees, but Nezuko- Nezuko was just coming to. Both Kamado Brothers hurried over to their younger Demon Sister. Tanjiro tried to scream, but couldn't speak. Nezuko looked up at them, and cried out, running towards her Brother's. "No Nezuko! Run away! You have to hide!" Gyutaro called. She reached them, frantically gesturing at something behind them, even as Tanjiro tried to force her to run away. "HHHMMMMM!" She cried through her gag.
Tanjiro turned- and gasped in shock. The Demon's headless body was chasing after some swordsmiths! "Shit! We have to hurry!" Gyutaro cried. The three of them hurried after the body, as the sun rose. Nezuko's agonized scream caught both Brother's attention. "FUCK!" Gyutaro swore, as he watched his little Sister scream in agony as her skin began to burn. Ripping off his Haori, Gyutaro rushed to cover Nezuko with it, "shrink down! Hurry!" he cried. Nezuko hurriedly turned into her toddler form, her sobs of pain not stopping as she gasped ragendly for breath through her nose.
Gyutaro looked up at his younger Brother, "I've got her Tanjiro, go!" he yelled. The burgundy-haired teen nodded in determination and turned to go after the Demon. Gyutaro was left with the burned Nezuko, who was still crying in pain. He made sure she was wrapped up as much as possible, "you're okay Nezuko, big Brother's got you. I promise, you're going to be okay" he couldn't help but let a few tears fall as he desperately clutched the 12-year-old in his arms. Gyutaro glanced up at where Tanjiro was chasing the Demon's flesh shield and it's main body. He saw the exact moment when his little Brother cut through both of them. Maybe not perfectly, but he was sure Tanjiro had done it. His bad feeling was fading, and Gyutaro let out a sigh of relief. Wait, if Nezuko was burning to death, why would his bad premonitions stop?
He looked down, and saw his Sister healing before his very eyes. They widened in shock. 'There's no such thing as miracle's, only luck. That's what I've always believed. We were lucky that Father came and saved Ume and I. We were lucky that so many of us were out of the house the night that Muzan attacked. We were lucky that Ume and Nezuko recognised us, and don't eat humans. There's no such thing as miracle's. Right?' Gyutaro thought, tears in his eyes, as he watched Nezuko standing up, out from under his Haori. She started to walk towards Tanjiro's sobbing form. "This must be- a miracle" he said, as he wiped his eyes, but more tears kept coming. He ran over to Tanjiro, calling out to him as he did, "TANJIRO! TANJIRO, LOOK!" He cried joyously.
Tanjiro slowly sat up and turned to look behind him, only to gasp in shock. Nezuko smiled, "m-m-morning" she stuttered. The Swordsmiths his younger Brother had saved helped Tanjiro to his feet and they made their way over to the other two Kamado's. "N-Nezuko. Thank God. You're alive!" he whimpered once he'd reached Gyutaro and Nezuko. "Th-thank God. Are-are alive" Nezuko repeated.
Tears welled up in the younger boy's eyes, and Tanjiro threw his arms around Nezuko, sobbing in relief that his little Sister had survived. Gyutaro burst into sobbing as well, and wrapped his arms around both of his younger Siblings. Mitsuri, Kyojuro and Gyomei arrived just in time to see this, Kyojuro and Mitsuri both showing relief and joy at this miracle. Kyojuro turned when he sensed another Demonic presence, only to sigh at seeing that it was only Ume, crouched in a bush, and peeking down at the sight below. She was crying too. Muichiro was slumped next to her, with two Swordsmiths beside them. He, Gyomei and Mitsuri go over to the Tokito twins, "are you both alright? You don't look good Muichiro" Mitsuri asked.
"He's not! He was poisoned and nearly drowned, and he still insisted on running all this way to give Tanjiro his sword early. It wasn't even finished yet. But I'd say it was a good thing he did" Kotetsu replied. Mitsuri looks down to the bushes, upon hearing sobbing. Ume is crouched in the bush, crying. "Thank God. Nezuko" she whimpered. Mitsuri smiled softly, thinking of her own younger Siblings, before removing her Haori. She wrapped it around the surprised Demon woman, and then picked her up. "let's go make sure your Siblings are alright, okay Ume?" Mitsuri asked with a smile. Then she jumped down the cliff. At the bottom, she ran over to the other Kamado's.
"Hey you guys!" she called happily. As Gyutaro, Tanjiro and Nezuko turn to face her, she barrels into them. Everyone's body's block the sunlight enough for Ume to give her little Sister a relieved hug, "oh thank God Nezuko. I'm so glad!" she sobbed. "So glad, thank God" Nezuko repeated. Everyone then began to head back to the Village, before Tanjiro collapsed, to Nezuko's worried noise. "It's okay Nezuko. He's just exhausted. Now it's your turn to carry him on your back" Gyutaro said calmly. The younger Demon nodded in understanding and picked Tanjiro up, easily carrying him back to the Village.