Tanjiro bit back a scream as his body, that was launched so fast and so high in the air above the trees, began to spiral acceleratingly towards the ground from the Father Spider Demon. If he didn't do anything to soften the fall, he'll squash against the ground and die!

"Water Breathing, Second Form!" He choked out against the rush of the wind pushing into his face. "Water Wheel!" He exclaimed gripping his sword with both hands tightly and forced his body to roll forward, slashing downwards sharply as water spewed violently from the tip of his sword.

His water wheel bounced along the ground multiple times, the impact of the landing vibrating and reverberating through the water, but there was so much force and momentum the water couldn't absorb it all! He lost his strength, he didn't have enough to keep his water wheel intact and it quickly disappeared, and he struck the ground back first. Nezuko's box pierced behind him and he roughly rolled along the ground until he faceplanted into a nearby tree. The hard trunk of the tree absorbed all that was left of the momentum and his body achingly fell to his knees.

Breathing heavily, and not letting any groans of pain escape his mouth, Tanjiro grasped the tree with shaky hands. He let himself take a few calming breaths to slow his heartrate and to ease himself slowly on his feet.

He didn't think he'd stick the landing—.

"AAH!"

Tanjiro gasped and sharply turned his head hearing the screams of a little girl nearby. They were the screams of pain, fear, and torture. More importantly, he didn't think he'd run into more demons deep inside the forest. He didn't know if there were more family members of Spider Demons, but Kagami and Inosuke are dealing with the father at that moment. Maybe he should get moving…

"I beg of you! Rui, please stop!"

But… he can't stand the thought of someone being tortured either! Even if they were a demon, no one should be feeling any sort of pain inflicted by another.

Carefully, Tanjiro followed the screams and cries of the girl and came upon a small clearing. Standing in the center was the demon boy he encountered earlier, the one that had announced his Spider Family, and the demon girl who lured Inosuke in for the trap with the Father Spider Demon. She knelt on the ground crying into her hands with her shoulders shaking slightly. She wasn't exactly Tanjiro's favorite person, or demon, at the moment but he couldn't help but get slightly furious at the blood dripping from her face through her hands.

The demon boy, who he assumed was Rui, held a perfectly undisturbed spider-web between his two hands tied to his fingers. He looked down at the girl with no remorse, mercy, or regret. Instead, his exposed eye, one that wasn't covered by his spider-like hair, darted to Tanjiro and stared at him as if he were a nuisance.

"What are you looking at?" He asked calmly and quietly but with a low guttural tone that shook Tanjiro's core. "This isn't a play, you know."

The fact he saw Tanjiro creep up to the line edging the clearing unnerved him, but not as much as what he was doing to the poor demon girl crying at his feet begging for mercy. "Wh-What are you doing?" He choked out. "Aren't you two… fighting on the same side?"

"The same side?" Rui repeated him with a slight scoff. "Don't go phrasing it in such an infantile manner. The two of us are family. We're connected by a powerful bond. Regardless of that, this is between me and my sister. If you insist on interfering, I'll carve you up." He spoke so callously and so cold, so calm and so low, and he stretched the spider-web between his fingers threateningly.

He wasn't… kidding about the family but… family don't treat each other that way!

Looking away, holding the fury in his throat, Tanjiro scowled, "You're wrong. Whether you're family or friends, if you have a strong bond, then both are just as precious! That's all that really matters. Calling it childish if you're not related by blood… is not true at all!"

He thought back to his family. His mother making dinner every night, playing with his siblings, and selling coal to make ends meet. He remembered their smiles gazing up at him, admiring him as if he was their hero, and hugged him tightly whenever possible. But they were viciously taken away from him. His little sister, Nezuko, was the only survivor of the needless slaughter but she had been turned into a demon. That said, he loves her more than anything else in the world and he was going to turn her back into a human no matter what. That's what family does! They help each other!

"Not only that, but those who have a strong bond give off the scent of trust!" Tanjiro continued with a growl. "But all I'm picking up from you two is the scent of terror, hatred, and loathing! That's not what you call a bond! It's fake! A forgery!"

Blood is not the only way to gain a family.

Whenever he was around Kagami, she smiled and greeted him with happiness. Every day, every waking minute, he could smell the scent of trust and devotion coming off of her for him. It had been there the moment they met, the moment he and Nezuko helped defeat the demons that attacked her on Mount Sagiri two years ago, and was still just as present to that day, maybe even stronger than back then. He could always count on her to do the right thing, to follow each other's leads, and to make good on the world. He could even smell it off of Zenitsu and Inosuke, even if the latter wouldn't admit it.

He knew what trust, devotion, and loyalty smelled like. He is around it every day with his friends. What he was smelling at that moment was the complete opposite!

Rui's eye widened at Tanjiro's words and… it sent chills down his spine.

A nasty glare and snarl washed over his face. His fanged teeth grinded together and he growled, "Why you little…" but stopped.

Something approached from the forest near Tanjiro and behind Rui. Tanjiro turned his head and saw it was a Demon Slayer. He was alive, well, and not hurt at all! He must've ran when the Demon Slayer puppets began murdering each other. He hadn't approach with caution at all; a smirk spread across his lips with the scent of arrogance coming off of him and the thirst to kill a demon when everyone else had died and failed.

"Well, well, would you look at that! A demon that's a manageable size!" The Demon Slayer chuckled lowly. "Even I can take down a kid demon like this one. This is my chance!"

When he raised his sword, Tanjiro gasped, "Hold on a second! Please—!"

"Don't move in on my prey," The Demon Slayer interrupted him with a scoff. He raised his sword and smirked at Rui's back. "I want to take the safe route up the ladder. And a higher rank means more money in my pockets from on high. My unit's practically been wiped out, but I'll slay myself a decent-sized demon and head down the mountain. Take this!"

Tanjiro stiffened seeing the Demon Slayer rush towards Rui with no forethought! Before he could stop him, or say anything to halt the Demon Slayer in his tracks, Rui whipped out his hand casually behind him, breaking the spider-web between his fingers. In the blink of an eye, the smirking Demon Slayer had lines cut all inside his skin! He had stopped momentarily in his steps, his arms still raised high and his smirk still visible. Then, to Tanjiro's horror, the lines revealed to be slashed marks and the Demon Slayer fell into multiple cubed pieces of flesh and meat!

That Demon Slayer didn't stand a chance! How?!

"Now, then. What did you say?"

Tanjiro turned away from the bloody mess and back to Rui who was staring him down. He quickly raised his black-bladed sword in defense as Rui turned to him, the spider-web once again reappearing in between both hands. He didn't need to smell the air to understand what the demon was feeling, he could see it in his eyes and around his body! There was so much repressed anger and annoyance emitting off of him.

"I said… what did you say to me?" Rui growled in between gritted teeth. His eye widened tremendously, the blood red sclera a haunting image, and his scary, heavy aura was beginning to suffocate Tanjiro.

Rui… had been a threat the entire time. Because of Tanjiro, his bloodlust had been awakened. He knows the anger, fury, and disgust emitting from him will not fade until Tanjiro is dead.

Tanjiro cannot leave until he slices the demon's neck off. He needs to or the demon will go on a rampage.

Kagami, Inosuke, I'm sorry. I'm gonna need you to hang in there a little longer. I'll be there as soon as I defeat this demon! I'll come save you no matter what!

"Answer me," Rui growled once again calmly and callously but like a threatening animal. "What did you mean? I demand to hear it from you. Come now… explain it to me."

Tanjiro cannot lose his nerve! He needs to kill him and hurry back to his friends! Except, Rui needed to know what he has isn't a real family! Tanjiro wanted to make sure it was drilled into his head! "Sure! I'll be happy to! I'll repeat it as many times as you want! What you have isn't a real bond at all! It's a forgery!"

The demon didn't waste any time to flick out a finger towards him! Even though Tanjiro couldn't see anything, except the slight shimmer in the moonlight, he could still smell the hidden anger, fury, and annoyance from Rui. He was attacking Tanjiro; he just knows it! With a wave of his hand, he was able to cut down the other Demon Slayer! He no doubt is going to kill him!

Swiftly jumping to the left, a small groan of pain left Tanjiro's mouth. Something thin and sharp had sliced into the skin of his cheek. Blood gushed out of his wound but it didn't stop him from moving!

Rui flicked two fingers at Tanjiro and he immediately lifted his sword up. He had meant to slice the spider-webs in half, to protect himself from getting sliced into bits, but a small gasp left his mouth. The webs didn't rip or tear at the edge of his blade. Instead, they were actively pushing themselves against the blade and Tanjiro himself! The strength of the threads was sliding him across the ground with every inch he wasted! Acting quickly, he shoved the webs upwards away from him and got back into a defensive stance!

The demon regarded him slightly, bouncing the spider-web between his hands, as Tanjiro held his sword up, breathing heavily. The cuts on his face stung, like getting pricked by a sword, but he didn't let himself get distracted by his small injuries.

"Just so you know," Rui started coolly, "I'm not going to kill you with a single strike. Instead, I'll dissect you piece by piece."

Tanjiro gulped, his breathing getting heavier and heavier, and the weight of his sword suddenly felt heavy in his hands. Even though Rui was speaking in such a soft and quiet manner, his words held so much poison he thought he was going to drown in it.

"However," He added, "If you take back what you said to me just now, I'll make your death mercifully quick."

"I refuse!" Tanjiro immediately responded with a growl. "What I said was the unbridled truth! I won't take it back! Not on your life! The one who's wrong… is you!"

He was facing a demon with formidable strength and a collected personality that hid building wrath and irritation. Even though Rui promised a swift death with his web-like abilities, the same as the Mother Spider Demon he, Kagami, and Inosuke had faced, he wasn't going to back down from this fight! Defending a demon that was conscious of their killing actions, that wasn't Nezuko, didn't feel right or wrong at the same time.

The demon was threatening his "sister" with fear and torture. No one does that to their family, not by blood or by bond! Tanjiro was going to make sure he knew of that no matter what!

Then, Rui stretched his web out so long it hung slightly in the air.

Tanjiro immediately shifted into a different stance, his heart nearly jumping in his throat, at the sudden change. He was then hit with a barrage of attacks; he jumped from tree to tree, from high to low branches, quickly moving as fast as he can to avoid attacks he can barely see with the naked eye. The spider-webs glinted only barely in the moonlight and at the moment it was enough for Tanjiro to know which direction to dodge or jump in.

The trees he took cover behind had been adorned with slash marks, the branches he had been jumping on instantly chopped off in a fluid motion, and more cuts he didn't know he had been inflicted with were spilling blood from his face and hands. He landed on the ground, his sword still raised in front of him, and glared at Rui, sniffing the air.

At first, he had been going off of luck and the glimmering moonlight. But the awful stench that had been plaguing the mountain was fading. He was able to detect the scent of the threads and take on the demon!

Rui had been standing in one spot, flicking his fingers and wrists, no doubt sending threads and spider-webs in his direction, with the same expressionless face but cruel look in his red eyes. Tanjiro knew he was gauging his strength and his resilience, possibly wondering why he hadn't fled into the forest or flinched back in fear.

Tanjiro didn't have the luxury to run or cower. That's because he has two people waiting for him: Kagami and Inosuke!

Sprinting forward and launching himself high in the air, Tanjiro's body thrummed with energy, vigor, and life as he readjusted the grip on his sword. Exhaling deeply with Total Concentration Breathing, he angled his sword and gave himself the strength, courage, and willpower to take down the demon threatening his life and his family that was in the midst of killing his friends!

"Water Breathing, First Form, Water Surface Slash!" He exclaimed slashing his sword sideways at the same time Rui flicked his finger towards him.

Tanjiro pushed his sword harder, gritting his teeth harshly, to tear the thread in half.

He imagined his black-bladed sword ripping the thread in half, the remains softly brushing by his face, and connecting with Rui's neck. The thought of it didn't give him satisfaction but reassurance that no one else, not even a demon, could be tortured by him again. For his head to be removed from the rest of his body, Tanjiro could sleep in peace at the thought of the mountain having one less demon and one less human death.

His mind raced to meet Kagami and Inosuke back with the Twelve Kizuki member. He couldn't believe he was thrown so far away from them and would have to track them back down with their scents.

Tanjiro knows they're strong; with Kagami's rare Dragon Breathing technique and Inosuke's original Beast Breathing creation, he knows they're practically invincible together. Even though the Twelve Kizuki were known to be the strongest demons in all of Japan, he wouldn't doubt the two of them holding their ground against it.

Except, meeting up with them wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

To his absolute horror, the moment his sword touched the thread it… snapped into two pieces. The clinking of steel breaking pierced his ears, the sound of his heartbeat deafening and overwhelming his senses, and a gasp of terror slipped out of his lips. The spider thread moved closer and closer to his face, threatening to slice his skull in half and kill him in a mere instant like the other Demon Slayer.

What was he going to do now?... How was he going to help Kagami and Inosuke?

H-How is he going to save himself?