It was a weird feeling knowing one of the Twelve Kizuki, one of the strongest demons in the entire world under the command of Muzan Kibutsuji, was somewhere in the forest they were standing and fighting in. The blood they needed to create a cure, a medicine, for Nezuko to turn back into a human was right there within their grasp! The cure could be completed sooner if they were to hunt and kill the demon. But to kill a member when she barely survived a former one was sending chills down her spine.
They'll get there when they get there! For now, she was worried about Inosuke!
Kagami gasped and turned around, back towards the direction she and Tanjiro had been thrown in. "Inosuke is still back there!" She exclaimed running back into the forest.
Tanjiro quickly followed behind her and they both found him right where he threw them. Blood dripped down his arms and hands, but he stood there with his back straight and fists on his waist. His chest was puffed out and his shoulders back, holding himself high with pride as if he just conquered a fierce animal, and casually asked, "So, did you take out that monster?"
"Hey, are you okay? You're bleeding," Tanjiro immediately asked seeing the wounds on Inosuke's body.
Inosuke only growled back, "I asked you whether you defeated that thing or not!"
"Uh, yeah I did," Tanjiro hastily answered and continued, "Enough about that! Your wounds—!"
Inosuke immediately put a finger in Tanjiro's face, a large muscle spasm appearing on his boar mask, and a look of anger washed over as well, growling, "Don't go showering me with your mushy sensitivity and kindness! I don't need it, you got that? After all, anything you can do, I can do, too! Before you know it, my h-head will be harder than yours! Not to mention… N-Not to mention… I—" His voice slowly trailed off and shook just slightly.
Even though he held himself up high and strong, with a fist over his heart and the other on his waist, Kagami could see Inosuke's body trembling and shaking under the bloody gashes that adorned his body. She wished he didn't push himself so hard to be seen manly and so strong even when he was suffering.
It was the mountain. It was hurting her comrades and her friends.
The demon that had been controlling their bodies like puppets through threads made of webs had an aura of terror, fear, and suffering. She was so fearful and suffering so much she yearned for death when she saw Kagami and Tanjiro.
Was it the member of the Twelve Kizuki? Is it the one poisoning the mountain? Is it part of the "family" the demon boy was talking about? What is that family doing on the mountain? Were they transformed into demons, or were they already demons gathering together to form a make-believe home?
She didn't think demons gathered together to create such a bond. No, they couldn't. Miss Tamayo and Yushiro spoke that demons couldn't band together even if they wanted to. It was voodoo to even think of it because Muzan Kibutsuji, the King of Demons, had basically outlawed it. He was such a coward that he feared demons banding together and overthrowing him. He feared Miss Tamayo and it looked like he feared them. There has to be a reason why he attacked Tanjiro's family!
Kagami wrapped bandages around his arms, fighting the wrestling and annoyed Inosuke as she did.
"Stay still!" She huffed.
"Cut it out! I don't need that! I'm totally fine!" He exclaimed moving and twisting his arm free from her grasp. The bandage unraveled and Kagami looked at him in complete frustration but left it alone.
They walked the forest paths until they came across a riverbed. Kagami and Tanjiro took the lead of the group with both of them sensing and smelling out the enemy. Finding the Twelve Kizuki member proved to be a bit more difficult than anticipated, and it was weird there was no other demons around other than the demon Spider Family members they encountered. Was the whole forest just that one family, or were there more? Unless the Twelve Kizuki member killed them, or is warding them off.
BOOM!
Kagami and Tanjiro turned slightly at the sound of a large explosion going off in the far distance behind them. It sounded muffled, and eerily familiar to a lightning bolt striking the ground.
"Did a lightning bolt just strike?" Tanjiro asked them.
Inosuke didn't bother to turn around or acknowledge the weird sound. He just kept walking pass them, his body straightened and his wounds still exposed, and scoffed, "How should I know?"
"Well, I don't see any thunderclouds or sense their aura," Kagami spoke with the shrug of her shoulders.
"I don't smell any either, but the acrid odor in the air is so strong that I can't tell," Tanjiro explained but Kagami merely shrugged her shoulders again, telling him they shouldn't worry about it if it's far away and in the direction they weren't heading in. Then, they turned their heads seeing Inosuke struggling to cross the rapid river. "I think I'm going to take that path instead," Tanjiro mumbled pointing towards the path in front of him.
Inosuke, who had one foot on land and the other stretched onto a river boulder in front of him, turned to Tanjiro with a huff. "Why are you telling me? Do whatever you want!"
"So, are you heading back down?"
Jumping back on mainland, Inosuke looked at Tanjiro, confused and as if he was crazy. "Back down?"
"Down the mountain, I mean," Tanjiro corrected himself.
"Why the hell would I do that?! Just beat it!" Inosuke growled suddenly angry at him.
"But your wounds—!"
A muscle spasmed on Inosuke's mask and his hands clenched into fists. Kagami internally groaned and clapped her hands over her ears, preparing herself for Inosuke to blow up at Tanjiro. "What are you talking about?! I'm not hurt at all!"
Kagami and Tanjiro eyed each other and their shoulders slumped forward in exhaustion.
Inosuke, the proud and prideful boar-headed freak, did not want to listen to either of their pleas. He didn't seem to notice, or simply didn't seem to care, about the gashes lining his upper body. It happened minutes ago and at the time he seemed to be in a lot of pain. He still looked like he was, but he was trying to hide it from them. Blood dripped down his arms and to the ground in tiny drops but no one would blame him for saying he was in pain.
She thinks he rather die than admit he was hurt by the wounds inflicted from that headless demon.
"Inosuke, you're clearly hurt. Anyone from a mile away could see it. Maybe we would stop talking and complaining about it if you'd just let me bandage it!" Kagami scowled once again trying to wrap the wound on his arm, but he wouldn't stop fighting it!
He waved his arms away from her, scoffing, "I told you I don't need it dammit—huh?!"
They all turned at the sound of footsteps heading in their direction from directly nearby! Across the river stood a girl with pasty white skin, teal eyeshadow coating her eyelids, and red dots decorating her face. She was wearing a white robe with her white hair divided into two low ponytails hanging over her shoulders. She looked just like that demon mother and demon boy from earlier! She must be a member of their family! Is she there to finish the other Mother Spider Demon's job and kill them?
"A demon!" Tanjiro gasped, his hands shaking slightly at his side.
Kagami couldn't understand how the demon was able to get so close to them! With her aura reading abilities and Tanjiro's keen sense of smell, she shouldn't have been able to approach them within a few miles' radius!
It's the damn disgusting stench in the air! The stench that is hanging over the mountain was blocking both her and Tanjiro's sensing abilities! They didn't even notice at all! Any demon could approach them while they're distracted and immediately have the upper hand! If they hadn't heard the demon's footsteps, they probably would be fighting for their lives right then.
"AHHH!" Inosuke suddenly roared in the air. "Listen up, you damn demon! I'm going to tear you to shreds!"
The demon's eyes widened in horror and she immediately began to flee back into the forest.
"Come back here, dammit!" Inosuke screamed crossing the river at immense speed to chase after the demon girl.
The demon girl kept looking over her shoulder multiple times and the spacing between her feet was small and tiny. Anyone who was running away from an attacker, from death essentially, would've been taking long, big strides and wouldn't look back as much. Their focus would be completely on the path in front of them, concentrating on running away and surviving! This demon girl walked right up to the other side of the river without worrying about the sound of her feet crunching on the grass. It seemed as if she was trying to get their attention and chase her!
"Inosuke, no!" Kagami gasped seeing the demon girl stop at the edge of the forest and turn around with a glare on her face.
"Now, Father!" The demon girl commanded in the air.
Inosuke was about to reach the other side of the river, huffing, "Who are you calling, "Father"?!" but stopped immediately in his tracks.
A large shadow loomed over him from above and they all gasped. High above in the sky and currently falling down towards Inosuke was a large demon that Kagami had never seen before! It was the largest being she had ever seen! It was dark brown with the same red, dot-like design extending from its shoulders reaching down to its bulging arms. Just like the other family members they've encountered, this demon had long, pale white hair that extended past its shoulders, but its face resembled that of a giant spider! There were spider pincers in its cheeks and nine eyeballs adorning its face, with all nine aiming directly at them!
Inosuke quickly jumped backwards and narrowly missed being squashed! All three of them watched, petrified, as the Father Spider Demon towered completely over them and more!
Raising its ginormous fist in the air once again, the Father roared, "Don't you come near my family!" and brought it down on Inosuke, who, once again, narrowly missed becoming a crater into the ground! "Stay away from us!"
Grunts left Kagami and Tanjiro's mouths feeling the impact of the demon's punch vibrate the earth underneath them, spraying water from the river up and all around them. The demon quickly shifted upwards and threw its punch at Inosuke, who was still falling and collecting himself from the earlier punch! It was so fast Inosuke couldn't move away in time! The demon was going to kill him!
"Water Breathing, Second Form! Water Wheel!" Tanjiro immediately exclaimed jumping in the air and spinning forward, a long stride of water gushing from the end of his sword and down on the arm of the demon!
The fierce speed and pressure of any water technique of Tanjiro's was always enough to slice any limb or head of any demon. Kagami had witnessed it firsthand back in Final Selection and was mesmerized how something so cold, so liquidy, something that doesn't have a shape of its own but forms to compensate another, could slice any solid or liquid completely in half. He had never failed to bring down a demon and she knew today wasn't the day he would.
Except… when the water disappeared, it revealed Tanjiro's sword stuck pressing into the demon's limb. It wasn't even halfway inside its arm! Why… wasn't his sword cutting through?! And the demon didn't look fazed at all!
Instead, it looked extremely angry!
The demon raised its other fist and skyrocketed it towards Tanjiro!
Kagami gasped, immediately lit her sword aflame, and dashed forward! She moved so fast the world went by her eyes in a huge blur, but she could still feel what was going on! She jumped up high and brought her sword down as hard and as fast as she could! Her sword clashed against something so hard, rough, and tough, she felt the vibration of her sword in her arms! Her hands shook, her muscles ached, and she felt she was going to lose her grip! She felt like she was hitting that large boulder back at Mr. Urokodaki's!
When her vision cleared up, she realized her sword was hardly cutting into the demon's arm! The flame, the dragon embedded in her red blade, was extinguishing with every second her sword was in its dead flesh! How—How could that happen?!
With a loud, vicious roar, the demon whipped its arms out so violently, the wind and force shoved all of them back many feet away!
Kagami twisted in the air and landed on a nearby river rock, sweat beading down her forehead and her chest heaving in and out of deep breaths. What the heck is that thing? None of Tanjiro or Inosuke's forms worked on it, and she doubts her own would work as well! She's never seen the flame of her sword die because of a demon! It was all very strange, and it was starting to scare her!
"I'll say it again so you'd understand!" The demon growled setting its eyes on her. "Stay away from my family!"
The demon charged and slammed its fist down on her! She quickly jumped backwards and landed on the other side of the river, her shaking blade raised in the air towards it. The demon growled loudly, its pincers shaking with every grumble, grunt, and scream it bellowed out, and shifted all nine eyes back on her. Then, it began to charge—!
"Hey, ugly! Eyes over here!" Inosuke suddenly screamed from behind the demon.
He jumped up high and was about to bring his blades down on the demon's neck when it squatted him away like a pesty mosquito! His body was sent flying through the air, tumbling through the river, and landing uncomfortable on his stomach face-down in the water. Kagami gasped in horror wondering if he was okay! It didn't look like it took any strength for the demon to smack Inosuke away! It used its brute force in its favor!
But he still stood up! Jumping out of the water, his swords still clenched tightly in his grip, Inosuke stared the demon down, but Kagami noticed something was wrong.
Inosuke usually stood proud with his back straightened and fists on his hips whenever and wherever he can. He was so much of a show off that the minutes leading up to the fight against the Father Spider Demon was nothing like the Inosuke she knew. His body was beginning to shake from the gashes, his fists had softened slightly, and he looked worse for wear. He clearly had lost too much blood earlier from his fight against the Demon Slayer puppets and he looked exhausted! He was not at his full power, not with breathing so heavy and erratic.
The demon then began to chase Inosuke down the river!
Kagami and Tanjiro immediately began to follow them. She held her sword tightly in her grip, trying to still the shakiness that was there, and gulped down the lump in her throat. Her friend is not in top shape, and she must help him!
"Dragon Breathing, Third Form, Beating Wing!" She screamed into the air and slashed downwards at the ground.
A large gust of wind, a powerful force she nearly forgotten about, erupted from her sword and bounced off the ground towards her. She was sent her skyrocketing through the air and towards the demon chasing Inosuke. From up above, she saw Tanjiro use his second form and sent a wheel of water towards a large tree in his path. The large tree was neatly sliced at the bottom of its trunk and was sent toppling towards the ground.
Kagami realized what Tanjiro was doing and immediately flew downwards.
As the tree began to tumble towards the ground, and closer to Inosuke and the demon, she tackled Inosuke as hard as she could, their bodies flying, rolling, and sloshing together in the water violently, and felt the earth shake underneath them.
Kagami picked up her head from the water, spewing what felt like a gallon of liquid out of her lungs, and saw the demon nowhere in sight. Pushing her soaking black hair out of her eyes, she, instead, only saw the tree Tanjiro had swiftly cut in the river where she had tackled Inosuke out of the way. There was a huge rise of bubbles popping and forming violently right next to the tree. She imagined the demon was moving and panicking to breathe anything that wasn't water.
More importantly, it was stuck! They need to cut its head off before it's too late!
Tanjiro, standing on the trunk of the severed tree, tightened his grip on his sword. He breathed in a breath so deep Kagami swore she saw his body glowing! A different aura surrounded him and he was concentrating entirely on severing the demon's neck! His face was set with determination, his body standing perfectly still, and the sword in his hands wasn't shaking with fear.
"I can tell he's about to do something totally incredible!" Inosuke gasped from beside her in the water.
He dashed forward off the trunk and into the water. He brought his sword up and jumped high in the air, projecting his body forward in a wheel, slashing down—!
"Tanjiro, watch out!" Kagami shrieked with a hand flying to her mouth in terror.
The demon, who they had thought to be incapacitated, was suddenly rising in the air! It gripped its wooden trap with large hands over its shoulders, growling and roaring angrily in the sky so loudly and powerfully it rattled their ribcages!
Tanjiro was forced to slash down on the wooden tree instead and was stuck! The demon, with a loud scream, swiped the wooden log through the air with so much force he was sent flying through the sky above the trees!
"Kentaro!" Inosuke screamed.
"Tanjiro, no!" Kagami gasped out.
With every passing second, his body was getting smaller and smaller, but they could hear his voice loud and clear, "Kagami, Inosuke! Hold on until I can make it back! That's one of the Twelve Kizuki! So, you can't die! You hear me?! Promise me that you won't die!" Then, his body disappeared far in the distance of the forest.
A whimper flew out of Kagami's mouth and her eyes landed shakily on the looming demon. "A m-member of the T-Twelve Kizuki?" She stuttered softly.
Inosuke shook beside her and his head angled slightly to look at the demon that growled angrily down at them.
The demon's aura was nothing like Kyogai's back at his mansion! He was a former Twelve Kizuki and yet this Father Spider Demon's presence was nothing like his. She wouldn't have guessed this demon was a member by the aura alone, but his brute strength and force was enough to change her mind! It was so powerful and so big she didn't think they'd stood a chance.
But Tanjiro is counting on them! All they need to do is survive!
Zenitsu was breathing as deep and as much as he could.
Except, it was starting to hurt a lot and the pressure on his chest was so heavy it was getting really hard to breathe. He didn't have any feeling in his arms and legs anymore. He guessed… the poison was finally going to take him.
He was in a dark, creepy forest surrounded by humanoid-head spiders but… it was strangely peaceful. There was no sound except for the night bugs chirping in the wind, he was all alone stuck on the roof of a floating shack, and the moonlight of the full moon looming above him in the sky was shining brightly on his dying body. He just wished he found Nezuko and saved her.
He just wished… she was there with him in his final moments…
Don't give up! You hear me?! Don't give up!
The voice of Gramps Kuwajima pierced his head and his usual words of never giving up pierced his mind.
"Don't… give up," Zenitsu breathlessly spoke in the air.
He… He won't give up. No matter how much it hurt to breathe, to stay awake, and not fall into a deep permanent slumber, he won't give up. His gramps would… kick and spit at his grave if he found out he gave up without continuing on to his dying breathe. Nezuko… would be so sad to see and hear he wouldn't go back to her. He… must survive.
Then, something appeared in his vision.
He thought it was a bird at first flying across the moon as a dark silhouette, but it was too big. It was something larger and more human. It looked to be humanoid figure floating high above in the sky looking down on him, their wings glowing white in the moonlight were extending massively from their back, opening and closing to a beat to keep them afloat in the air, and their long platinum hair flew softly in the wind. The figure softly and delicately pushed out their hand towards him.
Zenitsu thought they wanted him to reach for their hand but, instead, a white beam shot out of his chest and into the dark sky above him.
He felt momentarily lighter, the aching and soreness in his chest had subsided for just a moment, but it allowed him to take a large deep breath. He felt so much lighter but still felt heavy and the dread of death still coursed through his entire body. Whatever happened was only temporary but the humanoid figure with wings was still watching over him.
What… What is that? Is that… an angel? An angel coming to… rescue him?
As if reading his thoughts, and wanting to contradict them, the angel flew away from him the moment he believed he thought he was being rescued. The white beam from his chest disappeared and the angel didn't arrive to his rescue.
But… small butterflies shining with the colors of blue and purple flew in his vision. They disappeared silently in tiny droplets of glitter, but one butterfly didn't. Instead, the butterfly transformed into a human woman floating gracefully down towards him. Her white butterfly patterned haori colored with pink and turquoise colors on the trim was in the shape of a butterfly, her large purple eyes shining down on him, and she landed delicately on the shack on the tiptoes of her shoes.
Who was she? And… was she wearing a Demon Slayer Corps uniform?
Was she… a Hashira? Is she going to… s-save him?
…A Hashira…
Kagami's chest, legs, and lungs burned with every breath she forced herself to inhale. She and Inosuke had ran from the Father Spider Demon and into the forest where it chased them deep into the darkness. They were no match for its brute strength, force, and anger. Nothing they had done prior to fleeing affected the demon, so their only chance of survival was running away!
She pressed herself tightly against a tree, a hand pressed against her chest to stifle her exploding lungs, and tried to calm herself down. Her breathing was so heavy and so loud she thought she'd out herself!
Think! Think! What are we going to do?! Tanjiro is counting on us!
Turning her head, she saw Inosuke breathing heavily against his own tree, his body shaking, and the swords in his grip beginning to falter. There was nothing for them to do! It was all about surviving!
She peeked her head out just slightly to see what the demon was doing. It was still looking for them around a large hill, whipping its head back and forth, all nine eyes scanning the area, when they suddenly trained on something on the ground. Something bright and crimson red had trailed along the forest floor and towards where Kagami and Inosuke were hiding! Gasping silently, she realized it was Inosuke's blood! And it was leading straight to his tree!
Waving her hand in the air, Kagami tried to get his attention, whispering, "Inosuke, your blood!"
"I know, dammit!" He growled quietly in his state of panic. Slamming his hand against his tree, he added, "Cowering behind a tree like a woodland animal… How pathetic is that?! I gotta find a way to turn things around. How do you cut through something that a sword can't slice? What should I do? What can I do? Think! Think! Think—!"
"Inosuke, watch out!" Kagami shrieked.
When Inosuke was pummeling his head with his fists, clearly beaten up about the fact they were running instead of fighting, the demon had crept up behind his tree and brought both of its fists down! Kagami and Inosuke immediately jumped away as his tree was completely decimated! Tiny, sharp debris in the shape of splinters began to fall to the ground and prick their skin, but it didn't bother them nearly as much as the demon staring down at them.
"Running away it is!" Kagami choked out and began to follow behind Inosuke, running away!
Both of them were breathing harder and harder, their lungs choking on the extremely quick intake of air, as they ran as fast as they possibly could! They jumped over rocks, slid under low branches, and made a beeline for anywhere that was away from the demon! No matter how much their legs ached, no matter how much she wanted to stop and take just one deep breath of air to still her erratically beating heart, she needed to keep running—!
Suddenly, Inosuke abruptly halted in his step.
Kagami immediately slid to a stop and turned around to look at him as if he was crazy. "Inosuke, we need to keep moving!"
"Running away?! Surviving until he gets back?! Why the hell am I thinking like that?!" Inosuke suddenly screamed in the air. Kagami made sputtering noises at him, waving her arms in absolute confusion at his reaction that came out of nowhere. His hands tightened around his swords so hard his knuckles turned white. His muscles flexed big and he turned around running back towards the demon! "I don't have time for this, dammit!"
"Inosuke, what—?!" Kagami gasped pushing a hand out to stop him but he had already jumped in the air, slashing down on the demon's arm!
Confused, scared to oblivion, and frustrated, Kagami watched as Inosuke continued to fight the demon. It was stupid of him! Nothing could defeat it! They couldn't even chop off its arm, and Tanjiro was the strongest out of all of them! So why… why is Inosuke still fighting?!
With his right sword stuck in the demon's lifted arm, Inosuke brought his left sword down on it over and over again, like a hammer slamming down on nails! "Looks like I got infected by Tontaro's germs! I can't let my guard down again!" Inosuke began to spit down at himself. "Using my head? That's not my style! AAARGH!"
With a loud roar, and one final slam, Inosuke's sword was finally pushed down through the demon's arm and swiftly chopped it off!
"Y-You did it!" Kagami gasped out in amazement.
As the large arm sloshed to the ground, Inosuke turned to her, growling, "See? It was that simple! If you can't slash something with one move, then all you gotta do is pound it with another sword! And just my luck! I have two swords! AHAHAHA! I'm the almighty! Now, are you just going to sit there and cry like a baby, or are you going to join me and bring this piece of shit down?! Huh, Kirigami?!"
"My name's Kagami!" She instinctively screamed at him with a huff.
He may not be able to remember her name, or just doesn't care enough to say it correctly, but he does know brute strength. He wasn't playing the survival card anymore, all he cared about was fighting to his last breath. He wouldn't let it go that far, he wants to win no matter what and Kagami needs to help him!
She stilled the shakiness in her hands and gripped her sword tightly. "You've chopped off one arm, let's get rid of the other!" She screamed feeling a boost of confidence soar through her.
But then the demon turned around and began to run away from them!
Both of them froze in their spots. Bewilderment and surprise coursed through their veins seeing the giant demon flee right before their eyes! What the… It's running away because Inosuke chopped off its arm! Can't it regenerate it? It could still easily kick their asses!
"Are you running away from me?!" Inosuke screamed in the air chasing after it. "Hey, you! Come back here, dammit!"
Kagami quickly chased after Inosuke, both of them running through the dark forest pursuing after the Father Spider Demon that had previously forced them into retreat. At the rate everything had been going, the demon running away, even though it was stronger and faster, made no sense at all! Sure, Inosuke had managed to slice off its arm after pounding his sword through with the other but they still had no way of killing it.
They had been following the sight of the demon running through the forest. It was ginormous and she thought it was impossible to lose sight of it with its large height. Then, the demon managed to outrun them. The high branches of the trees obscured the top half of its body and they were forced to listen to its pounding footsteps that echoed and reverberated off the wood.
But even the footsteps could no longer be heard by their ears. They tried to focus their attention on the giant footprints it produced in the dirt, but it became more and more obscured they couldn't tell if it was the demon's or another large animal.
Kagami and Inosuke kept running even when they couldn't see or hear the demon anymore. Terror flew through her body and her confidence was beginning to wane.
"Where did the demon go?" She gasped out loud stopping in her tracks.
"How the hell am I supposed to—AH!" Inosuke had begun to yell at her when he suddenly collapsed on one knee.
Kagami gasped again and raced to his side! She slid towards him on her knees and grasped his arm softly. "Inosuke, are you okay?" She asked worriedly seeing his wounds had opened up again. They were beginning to bleed once more and were becoming more swollen by the minute!
"It's just a scratch! It doesn't hurt at all!" He scowled at her between gritted teeth. She could clearly hear the pain in his voice, the scratchiness in his throat, and the grunting and groaning of him trying to stand back up on his feet. "What doesn't hurt doesn't hurt!" He growled into the air, shaking her off of him, and standing back up, the grip on his swords knuckle-white.
Before she could speak, he huffed, "I've had enough of this! Time to sniff him out for good."
He brought his swords together close to his head and began to make incoherent noises she could imagine from concentration. She could see his eyes closed to focus, his hands holding his swords shaking, and his world broadening from using his beast form. From what she remembered, he invented his breathing style and technique. She waited patiently for him to finish, her eyes darting around in the darkness to make sure they weren't being ambushed, and watched him as he gasped.
His head darted upwards, screaming, "So, there you are!"
Kagami looked up and absolute disbelief overwhelmed her senses. She thought the demon would be waiting in the darkness, hiding and bidding its time, and ambush them to kill them! Instead… they found it cowering up in the tree whimpering and trembling viciously. It held onto its branch with all of its strength.
At that point, she didn't know whether it climbed to get away from them and was scared of them, or it climbed up there to ambush them but didn't know how to get back down.
"You dumb great buffoon! How high did you climb?!" Inosuke screamed at him. "You bastard… You're gonna try and force me to use my head again, huh?! In your dreams!"
The longer Kagami watched the demon, the less she was sure it was scared of the height it was at or of them. She was still confused at the thought of it running away from them when it had the clear advantage. None of their abilities or powers worked on it, only sheer will and force of Inosuke somehow was able to manage it. Even then, it took almost all he had. So… why would the demon be cowering up there? Were all the shakes stemmed from fear… or something else?
Inosuke raised his arms proud, laughing loudly, "Oh, I get it! He's trembling with fear and dread at the sight of me, huh? HAHAHA! Well, it's a bit too late for that!"
Kagami sidled up to him, speaking, "I don't think it's afraid of you, Inosuke! It's—!"
Both of them gasped and shook in their shoes seeing the demon roar loudly in the air. It was so powerful it rattled their ribcages and the wind surged wildly around them, but that's not what scared them. The skin of its body began to melt off its body! Like a cocoon!
"What the hell?!" Inosuke screeched.
The brown skin melted off revealing green skin underneath with blade-like protrusions sticking out of both its arms and legs. The silver hair that flowed down its shoulders was melted off, its teeth was sharper, its mandibles more pronounced, and five spikes grew from its head going upwards! The number of its eyes doubled from 9 to 18, and it shifted all of them onto the two of them! At the sight of them, its body grew larger and stronger!
"I-Is it molting?!" Inosuke screeched once again in fear.
Kagami took multiple steps backwards, breathing heavily, and watched as the demon jumped from the branch all the way down to the ground. The earth vibrated violently beneath their feet but it was nothing compared to the growling, the saliva dripping down from its mouth, and the mixture of anger and hunger in all of its eyes!
Even Inosuke was beginning to tremble in fear! He gulped loudly, the eyes of his boar mask widening at the new massive height of the demon, and his arms shook in the air!
The Twelve Kizuki member was a force to be reckoned with! It must've activated its Blood Demon Art up in the tree while waiting for them to come by and search for it! It pretended to be scared to throw them off enough for his power to activate. Not only did it grow in size but in power as well! She could feel the force, pressure, and aura from the demon suffocating her! It was all too much for either of them! They know if the demon was to strike them, it would be over for them instantly!
The demon slowly lifted a finger and aimed it at Kagami. Her body stiffened in terror and she gulped down a large lump hearing it growl, "I will kill you first, marechi."
She had hoped… for one battle her blood wouldn't be used as a victorious reward if she were to die. From the fight of the Swamp Demon, to the Temari and Arrow Demon, to Kyogai, and now to the Father Spider Demon, all of them wanted nothing more than to kill her just to drink her blood. A rare blood type that is a delicacy to all demons alike. Miss Tamayo was right… no matter where she went or where she would go, demons who want to grow in power and taste her blood will always be around to remind her she will never live a normal life.
Not that she was going to have one begin with. Her father died in her arms from a sickness she wished she had caught sooner, her mother died when she was only a baby, and she was forced to become a Demon Slayer to survive. No, she wanted to make him proud, but fighting that demon at the cost of her life, would that make him proud? Would he have wanted to do that when her own mother was a Demon Slayer as well? Was that the life he wanted her to have?
"It's hopeless… I can't win…" Inosuke suddenly mumbled from beside her.
Trapped in her thoughts, Kagami didn't realize Inosuke had stopped moving and stood frozen in his spot. He had dropped his raised arms and stared at the demon as if it was delivering his death to him.
"Inosuke?" Kagami choked out to him eyes wavering and beginning to burn at the sight of him giving up.
Even though the demon was growling down at them, ready to strike them down, she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed herself into him tightly, her body shivering with distress, and let the tears fall down her cheeks. He didn't react to her sudden embrace; no flinch, wince, or any kind of movement was produced from him. Not even the slight stiffen of his body. Her heart ached, her body burned with dread, the flame of her sword grew dimmer and dimmer, but she didn't let go of him.
A small sob fell from her mouth at the lack of response and she cried, "Inosuke, please don't say that! Don't you give up on me! Not you!" The longer she held him, the steadier her heart became slowly. She tried not to focus on the demon behind them but onto the person she was holding in her arms. "I know you're always trying to be seen as proud, strong, and the best of the best, but it's okay to feel weak, sad, or depressed at times. Our judgement of you will never change. You're one of the strongest Demon Slayers we know, and we will never judge you for feeling anything other than strength."
When she felt the slightest shift of the ground under her, Kagami's grip on Inosuke tightened immensely and she moved them away as fast as she could! They rolled against the ground, stopping a few feet away, and narrowly missed being punched! This punch was different from the others, it was faster and she felt the forceful wind from many feet away! From where they had just been standing a crater the size of a large boulder had been pounded into the ground.
Quickly getting on her knees, Kagami placed her hands against Inosuke's shoulders, practically pinning him to the ground, crying, "Do not say you can't win! You're Inosuke Hashibira, the strongest Demon Slayer known to man, and I need your help to defeat the Twelve Kizuki member! You probably don't remember but, back during Final Selection, I screamed I didn't want to ever be rescued by the likes of you. I still don't, I'm not some sort of damsel, but I know when I need help in a battle! Please, don't leave my side now! Tanjiro needs you!... I need you right now! So, snap out of it!"
He suddenly pushed her hands off of his shoulders and jumped to his feet in under a second. She watched from the ground, curious and hopeful, as the grip on his swords tightened, his muscles flexing, and his swords poised to attack the demon.
"I won't lose…" He growled to himself staring down the demon, "No way! I'm Inosuke Hashibira of the Demon Slayer Corps! Give me the worst you've got, dirtbag!"
Instantly, faster than the blink of an eye, the demon kicked out its leg and slammed it into Inosuke! A horrified gasp left Kagami's mouth watching his body ricochet into multiple trees before dropping to the ground at the base of one.
"INOSUKE!" She shrieked so loudly and so harshly it hurt her throat.
Anger and fury flowed through her body at the sight of his crumpled body. Her sword lit brighter than ever, the dragon embedded in her blade dancing and moving along with the rhythm, as flames danced along her arms and she turned towards the demon with a nasty snarl. "You bastard! I will make you pay for that!" She screamed like a banshee dashing forward in her madness. "Dragon Breathing, Eighth Form, Flashing St—!"
"Salami, watch out!"
Blinded by rage, Kagami hadn't seen the demon hand moving towards at the speed of a lightning bolt. Her eyes widened at the large hand and knew it was too late for her to stop. She had too much momentum to stop short and turn or jump away. She just… hoped death wouldn't be too painful.
Strong arms wrapped themselves around her body, a small gasp escaping her mouth at the touch, and was suddenly pushed aside. Her back slammed into a tree, the breath being painfully knocked out of her body, but quickly glanced upwards. It was Inosuke! She didn't know when or how he was able to dash across the ground and grab her in a split second, but he saved her life!
She watched, mesmerized, as Inosuke avoided a punch and jumped high above the demon. He flipped forward, the front of his body facing the demon, and crossed his swords together!
"Beast Breathing, Fang Three, Devour!" She heard him scream and whipped his swords out across the back of the demon's neck.
Kagami's relieved smile at the prospect of the fight finally over turned into one of complete horror. Inosuke's swords… snapped in half at the slight touch of the demon's neck! What the… What the hell?! She could see even Inosuke was confused and in utter disbelief of what happened.
He couldn't concentrate or focus anymore. The demon took advantage of it and punched him away so hard he slammed into a tree across from hers. His body fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, his swords still clenched in his bloody fists, and he was gasping for air! Trembling and shivering, he was trying to stand but he couldn't!
She wanted to do the same. She wanted, no, needed, to stand up and run to his side. The demon was about to kill him if she doesn't protect him! They promised Tanjiro they would survive! They have to! They must!
But she couldn't. The wind was knocked entirely out of her and the thought of moving sent her stomach spiraling into a bottomless pit.
Focus on your breathing... Focus with everything you got! Don't forget your promise to Tanjiro! Don't forget your promise to your father! I must survive! We must survive! Dying in a dark forest to a member of the Twelve Kizuki with no one but one friend is a sad way to die. Father would be saddened to see me again so soon after his own passing… I must win!
Kagami forced herself to inhale deeply and exhale just as deep. It hurt her so much she wanted to cry out and gasp for shallow breaths, but she didn't. She kept going, kept breathing, and clasped her fallen sword beside her. With every deep breath she took, her body felt lighter and her sword burned brighter. She's… going to save Inosuke and keep the promises to her father and Tanjiro! She will live, not for the sake of living, but for the sake of her own life!