DUM! DUM!
Kagami was prepared for the Tsuzumi Demon to strike his tsuzumi. He slammed his hand over the right one twice and twisted the room around in a complete 180. Her body was forced high into the air, twisting and turning with the room, but she quickly corrected herself and landed roughly on her feet. She ignored the pain and fought back the yelps coming up her throat.
Instead, she growled more when the demon stepped into the room.
He didn't fall upside down with her. His feet were stuck to the ceiling like a spider and it was as if he wasn't affected by the shift of the room. Even his hair wasn't hanging upside down! It was as if the room only twisted for her and no one else. It didn't matter, she must watch where his hand falls and cut off his head once and for all!
A sharp wind suddenly flew through and touched Kagami's neck from in front of her!
DUM!
Kagami immediately ducked her head and watched as tiny strands of her black hair fall slowly to the ground. She managed to keep her head but a sudden wrong or hesitated move could make her lose it. She must concentrate and cut off the demon's head! Charging ahead like an idiot would only cause the room to shift faster and activate his claw attack. Staying in one place is a better option but she is still susceptible to the attack. No matter where she went, or did, the demon could decapitate her and eat her to gain power. She needs to think, strategize, and do what she can to stay alive.
DUM! DUM!
The room twisted right then left.
Kagami rolled on the ground when she felt the room spin and landed on her feet. When the room suddenly shifted left, she spun and rolled in the air, keeping her balance and landing perfectly. Or, as perfect as she could with her cracked bones.
DUM! DUM! DUM DUM DUM!
She gasped when the room twisted left, right, backwards, forward, upside down, right side up, and more!
Every single time she landed on her feet, she could hear the dum of the tsuzumi's piercing through the air. Her body was screaming in agony, the muscles in her legs burning, the aching pain of her arm holding her sword, and the ribs in her chest crying out every time she twisted her body around and around to make sure she landed safely. Even then, her head and mind were spinning wildly with every shift the room made.
The room twisted forward and she began to free fall in the air!
No! Not freefall. She was falling straight towards the demon!
Screaming, she lit her sword aflame and sent herself barreling towards the demon but gasped when the demon's hand quickly moved to the center tsuzumi. The piercing sharp wind blew into her face and it took everything she had to twist away, even if the pain was killing her inside!
DUM!
She gasped when the claw marks scratched through the area she had been falling through.
The room shifted and she landed harshly on the ground, the room hanging diagonally upside down, but her resolve and determination were falling fast.
Her body was in complete agony, and even though Miss Tamayo did the best she could to heal her wounds in such a short amount of time, it wasn't enough! She doesn't know if she could defeat the demon. She wants to, she desperately wants to for Teruko, Kiyoshi, and their brother. She wants to see them live and embrace life! Her mind and heart were yelling at her to continue fighting but her body wants to refuse so bad!
She must do it! She must defeat that demon, not only for herself, but for them!
DUM!
Twisting and jumping around, her body moving for her, Kagami looked down and saw claw marks stretching across the room again.
Those claw marks, and the thought of them striking any part of her body, was sending paralyzing fear into her core. The thought of moving in closer towards the demon with his hand hovering over the center tsuzumi was too much! She wants to defeat him but she wasn't at full strength. Without the proper power she needs, she could stumble or fall from the pain, and that would spell doom for her.
Her eyes began to burn at the prospect of death and dying all alone without proving anything. She was a worthy warrior, worthy enough of becoming a Demon Slayer, but she hadn't done anything much yet! She may have defeated a couple of powerful demons, but she thought she would go on living longer!
I'll get sliced into bits!
Kagami smacked herself in the head, hard. She needed to snap out of it! Thinking like that will definitely mean her end! She couldn't help it! She can't die yet! She has so much to live for!
Father, Tanjiro, someone help me!
The image of Mr. Urokodaki suddenly entered her head.
He was speaking words but she couldn't understand what he was saying. She needed to concentrate on him, but fear at what the demon could do while she was mentally away was a driving force in her not listening. But she must! She knows she must! It could be the solution and the wedge between life or death! She needs to rely on her instincts.
Taking a deep breath, Kagami closed her eyes and focused on him.
"Consider the characteristics of flame," He started to speak. "Known as the fire triangle, the characteristics are oxygen, heat, and fuel. You must maintain enough oxygen for combustion, enough heat to raise it to ignition, and enough fuel to create the reaction of flame. Take any of those away and the flame will not ignite or will be extinguished. Flame is pure energy and known as the creation and giver of life. Much like Dragon Breathing, it has been thought that dragons are descendants of the great fire through flame. Although it has been passed down as a legend, you, Kagami, must call upon your ancestral dragon blood. Call upon the pure energy residing within you and claim your power."
Kagami opened her eyes and released her deep breath.
Her shattered nerves slowly steeled themselves, the tears in her eyes fell away to reveal dry eyes, her hands held her sword firmly in her grip, and she ducked low in a fighting stance. When her bones were broken, so was her spirit. But the fear that was paralyzing her and poisoning her mind fell away into nothing.
Now, she is determined, concentrated, and ready to fight.
She will claim her ancestral dragon blood inside of her. She will fight and protect everyone who was trapped within the house by defeating the Tsuzumi Demon.
DUM!
Kagami fell to the ground as the room righted itself but she wasn't unnerved. Not anymore!
Standing up, fighting back the pain striking through her body like a lightning bolt, she held up her flaming sword, and spat at the demon, "I've held out this long! I have what it takes to defeat you! Whether it's today or tomorrow, even if I'm broken, I can assure you that I will never give up! You will die by my blade!"
Feeling slightly braver, and better than when he first entered the mansion, Zenitsu and Shoichi ran through the building hoping to find Tanjiro, Kagami, or Shoichi's lost siblings. They ran for what felt like hours, hoping to find anyone, but all they ran into were scattered remains of children on the floors of the hall or rooms.
Tanjiro, Kagami, where are you?
He could still hear the creepy sound of the tsuzumi beating and drumming through the mansion. Even though he was nowhere near it, he could still hear the muffled sound vibrate and ring through the building. Zenitsu just hopes they're okay.
He definitely hopes he and Shoichi are okay. The walls and rooms they passed by multiple times looked familiar! He hoped he wasn't going crazy again but it was true! He recognized the pots laying by the side, the flickering red lights in the lanterns of the room on their right, and the same flies buzzing in the corner of the 2nd left corner!
"Zenitsu, is it just me, or are we going round and round in circles?" Shoichi asked speaking up in between bated breaths from running for so long.
He immediately stopped in his steps, nervous sweat beading down his fore-head, exclaiming, "I knew it! I was getting the exact same feeling!" Turning to Shoichi, feeling pride and relief in his chest, he added, "That's my boy! I knew I could count on you!" Stopping in one of the darkened doors, Zenitsu turned to Shoichi, asking, "Can you check to see if the room is clear?"
Shoichi gave him an annoyed stern look.
"Hey! What's with that look?!" Zenitsu screamed at him. When Shoichi didn't answer, just continued staring at him with those eyes, he screamed, "Fine! I'll do it myself!"
Shaking to the core, he slid the doors opened slightly, enough for one eye to peek through. Whimpers flew out of his mouth but the shaking of his body stopped slightly when he saw nothing lurking within. They were safe! Oh, thank goodness! No more demons!
"There's no demons! Let's go this way," Zenitsu spoke grabbing Shoichi's hand.
They carefully began to jog through the room—
DUM!
Zenitsu gasped when his feet suddenly weren't touching the ground anymore. He glanced down and found the room turned forward! He was staring straight into the ceiling and when he looked down towards his feet, the doors he was about to walk through were underneath him!
What the hell?! The room changed?!
Zenitsu and Shoichi began to scream and scream as their bodies began to burst through the paper doors. They were free falling down through the air, their bodies colliding then breaking apart, as their world kept moving. He began to brace himself for a wooden wall to appear from underneath the paper doors when he was suddenly blinded by a bright light.
S-Sunlight?
DUM! DUM!
Kagami didn't have time to think as much anymore.
She groaned when her body slammed into the floor and began to roll sideways, then falling upwards with every single beat the tsuzumi made. Pain she was beginning to become too familiar with, and worse, continued to strike through every bone and limb in her body. Her tongue bled from keeping back her cries of agony and her mind shook at the possibility of never feeling anything else but that pain for the rest of her life.
Concentrate!
Complaining won't do her any good. She must finish what she started! She's never stopped doing something even when it got hard. Her father taught her that much. Even though she'd throw a tantrum, throwing her shinai on the ground and running away, she would always go back to it and finished what she had started. She was never one to give up!
DUM! DUM!
The room shifted upside down and she landed on her back with a sickening crack.
My back!
DUM!
Sharp piercing wind flew by the side of her head and she knew exactly what she needed to do. Kagami bit down on her tongue further, suppressing her screams of anguish, and jumped to her feet. She immediately rolled to the side and watched as the claw marks gouged out where she had been laying only moments ago. This demon is not giving her time to recuperate. It was a smart strategy, and one Kagami needs to think around.
If only she was allowed to.
All she could hear in her head was the drumming of the tsuzumi. The room was shifting right, left, forward, backwards, and in more directions Kagami didn't know was even possible! The room was never given the opportunity to shift completely in any direction, it would be stopped halfway or barely even moved before it was forced into a different direction. Her body was flying and bouncing around like a discarded ragdoll!
When the room shifted backwards, she quickly held onto a light fixture to keep herself from fall down into a dark abyss beneath her.
Think! Think! What can I do to stop him?!
DUM!
Kagami gasped at the long claws reaching and racing towards her. Can she do something about it? Can she?!
She ultimately let go and fell through the air but narrowly missing that deadly attack. Just when she barely grabbed onto the sides of the door, the demon shifted the room again causing her to faceplant into the ground. When she heard the beat of the tsuzumi again, she quickly jumped away. Her eyes landed on the demon and she stopped in her step.
"Hey, you!" She screamed at him. "What's your name?"
The demon looked taken back, genuinely curious and suspicious. "Kyogai!" He answered.
"Kyogai, why don't you just give up already?! I'm not handing over myself or that child to you! We're not going to be eaten by the likes of you! I'm not giving up, so you might as well because it's futile!" Kagami screamed.
The Tsuzumi Demon looked like he had froze for a moment hearing her words but the nastiest snarl spread across his face. He looked at her, angry to the core, screaming, "I will consume every marechi in the land and reclaim my rightful place among the Twelve Kizuki!"
He picked up his head and along his right eye was a giant X over the words LOWER RANK 6.
Twelve Kizuki? Oh, shit!
Kagami gasped, almost losing her nerve, but gulped.
She can do this! This was what she trained for!
For Tanjiro! For Nezuko! For Teruko and her brothers! I will not fail!
Furiously, and faster than before, the Tsuzumi Demon began to pound on the left, right, and center tsuzumi's of his body. Cold angry sweat beaded down his forehead, large growls spilling from his wicked sharp teeth, and his eyes red as blood began to fade in and out of subconsciousness. If she had hit a nerve, she hit a really big one! From how much the room spun, Kagami's body was practically hovering in mid-air! Her body twisted and turned with the movements of the room, narrowly avoiding a shredded claw attack. Large strands of her black hair fell to the ground after she jumped to the side from another claw attack but was forced to roll forwards to keep herself from getting hit again!
He suddenly stopped, grinding his sharp teeth together.
Kagami landed on her feet, sword raised above her head, ready to fight.
"Damn insects! Damn vermin!" He began to scream to himself out loud. "All this just for a damn marechi! I will kill you, devour you, and become stronger! I am going to reclaim my place and finally be recognized!" He suddenly threw out his arms and yelled, "Rapid Drumming!"
Rapid what?!
Kagami screamed as the Tsuzumi Demon started to pound his drum a million kilometers per second. He spun the room in complete 360-degree angles, suspending her body in mid-air! Her body rolled and rolled forward with the rotation of the room, her arms flailing outwards, and her feet kicking to find some ground.
When she finally landed, she was forced to jump backwards from another shred attack. Her eyes widened when she saw five claw marks instead of the usual three! Her body began to fall towards the ground where a pile of papers littered. Moving fast, she placed her foot down in between the pieces of paper, jumping back multiple times into a safe area, taking care to not step or crinkle any of the pages before getting ready in a stance.
As the demon hesitated, watching her avoid the pages with confusion and sadness, Kagami had found the perfect way to move around him.
When she was jumping away from the pages, her breaths were shallow and quick, and she only used the platform of her foot instead of placing the entirety of it down. Her wounds were aggravated but not nearly as much as before, and it didn't hurt to breathe as much as it did. Now, with that shallow breathing, she can disperse the energy throughout her body. She used it to compensate for the cracked bones in her legs and her broken arm. She won't be using as much energy and force to defeat the demon, but it'll be enough.
Kagami jumped around and flexed her arm muscle. To much of her relief, the pain was actually bearable. Now, she definitely knows she can do this. She's ready for anything.
When the demon began to rapidly press the center tsuzumi, her head pounding with the dum, she didn't cower or shrink back in fear. She listened, watched, and waited for the claw attacks to go after her. She just needed to make her dodges faster and bigger. She must concentrate with every fiber of her being!
As soon as she felt the sharp wind pierce by the top of her head, she immediately ducked. The air in front of her was distorted and disturbed but nothing more.
Left! Right! From behind!
Every single claw attack meant to decapitate her head, or sever her limbs apart, failed. With every move she perfectly dodged, her momentum, energy, and force grew, along with her determination, concentration, and courage. With her heart steeled, her soul strengthened, and her mind set, she was ready to defeat him.
Adjusting her legs, Kagami raised her sword and took in a large deep breath.
Total Concentration, Dragon Breathing.
She kicked off towards the demon lightning speed. Instead of charging straight at him, she circled the entire room, running from the floor, to the wall, then up the ceiling, back to the wall, and to the floor. She repeated it over, over, and over again in a blaze of fire. Her feet lit aflame and burned brighter with every step she took, her black hair ignited, and her arms a roaring flame. Her sword burned brighter and brighter, the dragon embedded on the blade so bright it nearly blinded her!
"Kyogai!" She screamed. "It's time to say goodbye!"
Tenth Form, Flight of the Sun!
Screaming, she charged right into his face, leaving a large trail of flame, and brought her sword down across his neck.
She watched as her sword of flames easily swipe through the demon's neck and separate it from his body. As his head fell to the ground, she saw herself in his eyes. His widened eyes were full of misery, sadness, and anger. As his body toppled to the ground, his head rolling to a stop, Kagami landed on her feet and fell to her knees.
Kagami produced a noise that was a mixture of pain, agony, screaming, wailing, and choking. She inhaled a deep breath by accident! It hurt her so much she couldn't possibly breathe correctly at that moment! Clutching her chest, trying to subside the agonizing pain in her body, her eyes fell downwards on the pieces of paper she had been so careful to not step on. Picking one up carefully in her hand, her eyes skimmed it… and she straightened.
The paper was part of a story, a story of a boy trying to find himself through the recognition of the people he admired.
Kagami picked up the rest of the papers, her eyes skimming every page, her heart beating faster than the last, as the story progressed. The writing was amazing, beautiful, and she could tell it had so much heart. The writer of the story must've loved it so much they took great deal of care to make sure none of the pages would be tattered. Although the writing was almost incomprehensible from years of neglect, she just knew the author was talented.
Kyogai… he was confused when I didn't step on the pages. Is he the author?
Kagami turned her head and saw the demon's head crying on the ground. Slowly, carefully, she crawled up to the demon.
He stared up at her, scornfully, but she gently placed his story down on her lap. His eyes widened at how gently she handled his story, neatly placing it down and making sure it wouldn't crinkle or fold in any way.
"This is something Tanjiro would've done. So, don't think I'm doing it by choice," Kagami spat out roughly but dropped her shoulders. She let out a deep sigh and looked into the demon's tear-filled eyes, her heart sinking into her stomach just staring at him and thinking of what his backstory could be that lead him into doing such terrible acts. That lead him into becoming a demon. "Actually, I kind of am. Even though I cannot forgive you for killing so many children and people, I have to say that your writing… is truly incredible."
A gasp spilled out of the demon's mouth.
Kagami lifted the pages up and spoke, "I loved how the boy continued to pursue his dream, his passion, and never gave up. He didn't have anything, he only had his trusted tsuzumi at his side, but it didn't stop him from doing what he loved. It was truly enjoyable to read. I only wished he would've learned not to rely on the recognition of others for how special he is. My only wish was for the boy to love himself and rely that he knows he is special."
Looking down at the demon, at Kyogai, she mumbled, "Kyogai, if only you continued pursuing your dream."
His head began to disintegrate and she immediately gasped.
"I almost forgot Miss Tamayo's blood sample," She spoke reaching into her haori.
She grabbed a knife vial contraption Yushiro had built for that occasion from within and flicked it towards Kyogai's disintegrating body. It immediately began to fill the vial up with blood, and the blood within wasn't disintegrating with the rest of the demon! That really proved Yushiro is extremely talented, creative, and crafty.
"Meow!"
Kagami gasped and turned when she thought she heard a cat. Which she did, in fact!
Standing there, watching her with bright hazel eyes, was a calico cat. Strapped to his back was a brown leather bag and attached to his collar was one of Yushiro's Blood Demon Art blindfolds.
"Oh! You're delivering this to Miss Tamayo," She spoke grabbing the vial and opening the brown leather bag. Inside was a tinier blue string bag. Kagami safely tucked the vial inside, tightened the strings, and closed the leather bag. Petting and scratching the cat's head affectionately, she giggled, "Okay, you're all set now. Take care, kitty!"
The cat took off with a meow and disappeared from sight.
To see Yushiro's spell in action was quite amazing. He stated the cat would appear with a meow and disappear with a second meow. She just hoped it didn't have too much trouble following her around in that mansion.
"Teruko! Kiyoshi!" Kagami suddenly gasped.
I promised I'd find you.
Before Kagami stood on her feet, she turned back to the demon, whose head was already half disintegrated. Placing a gentle hand on his hair, feeling him slightly tense up at her touch, she spoke, "Rest in peace. In your next life, I hope you pursue your dream of writing. I know in my next life I'll be buying every single one of your books. Don't give up."
Kagami stood on her feet and ran away from the demon, following the auras and wind of the two kids she promised to find.
I'll find you! Just hang on!