Moving away from the bustling Yoshiwara Entertainment District, the bright colors dimming to darkness, the noisy chatter of civilians going to and from buildings full of beautiful courtesans designed to fulfill their every needs, Uzui moved with speed, grace and silence over rooftops. His objective location was Kirimise, the lowest class brothel where Hinatsuru, his wife, was forced to retire in order to get away from the demon living in the Kyogoku House.
He carefully inspected the barren location deprived of color, chatter, and life. It was completely silent, save for the clinking of his flashy jewelry. Looking and stepping around corners, moving with care, he darted past a building but immediately stopped. He heard the smallest of breaths coming from inside.
Peering his head through the shattered window, his eyes widened tremendously, wavering, at what he saw inside.
Legs, arms, chest, and face bounded tightly by a pink, purple-flower patterned obi sash, held painfully in place in the middle of the room, was Hinatsuru.
"Hinatsuru," He quietly gasped out her name in horror.
She still dressed as a courtesan. Her kimono hung loosely on her deathly pale body, her hair out of place with large strands falling loosely, stringy, down her face and body, and nervous sweat creased her forehead and exposed chest. She looked to be in awful pain-and it made Uzui's anger flare. More importantly, his concern for her health, and the rest of his wives', made him want to act even faster.
The belt didn't put up much of a fight. Not that it could.
Whipping out a dozen kunais from his person, he slashed it off from Hinatsuru's body, mindful of her limbs, and pinned it to the wall. Where the kunais pierced leaked blood as if it were a living being. Large trails of it cascaded down its cracked surface. It twitched and writhed in resistance but it was no use. It was tightly held in place and can't go back to its original owner no matter how much it wanted to. Not with lethal poison leaking into it at that moment. But Uzui didn't care about it. Not then.
Tenderly, he cradled Hinatsuru's body against his. Kneeling on the ground, having her body stretched across his lap, with her head resting against the crook of his arm, he pulled out a small tablet from within his pocket.
She barely had the strength to open her eyes, and they wavered tremendously, unfocused, on his face. If she didn't know who he was, she didn't have the strength to fight him. Though, the way her exhausted eyes sparkled told him she knew who handled her. He felt the stress that weighed heavily on her shoulders lift at the mere sight of him.
He gently guided her mouth open and slipped the tablet on her tongue. She swallowed it without any resistance.
As a former shinobi with poison-tipped kunais, an antidote was always carried on his person for situations such as that. The master of Kyogoku's house said she had gotten sick, and it told him everything he needed to know as to how she escaped.
She fell back weakly against his body. "Please forgive me. I was only trying to..." She had started to speak, her voice feeble and full of air, but Uzui wouldn't have it.
"Never mind that. Just rest," He said calmly, firmly, but full of care as he kindly stared down at her.
When he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer, Hinatsuru still couldn't move a single muscle. She laid limp in his grasp and all she could do was stare up at him. "By the time I realized Oiran Warabihime was a demon, she was already suspicious of me," She started to explain herself once more, despite his request to stay silent. "I drank some poison and tried to slip out of the House. I didn't know the belt she gave me was being used to spy on me and kill me. She always knew exactly what I was doing, so I was unable to contact you."
Uzui listened intently without interrupting her.
"Lord Tengen, please leave this place and don't trouble yourself with me," She softly pleaded him with shaking eyes. "You heard that sound just now. I know you did. That demon is on a rampage."
He indeed hear a sound.
It sounded as if an explosion went off across the district, and he knew a battle had commenced while he was searching for his wife. It, no doubt, was fighting one of the three he thought he told to leave the district.
This was bigger than him. Than all of them, and Hinatsuru knew it. He knew it too. If he were to stay there and overlook her health, the city, its people, and whoever was fighting the demon, would perish. It was his job to protect every life and slaughter any demons that threaten peace. He can't linger any more than he already has.
"Can you promise me that you'll be okay?" He asked her in the same calm and caring tone.
Hinatsuru weakly nodded her head. "I promise." She closed her eyes and the lining of her lashes began to sparkle with tears. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't be more helpful to you."
Her body trembled in his grasp. He disliked seeing her so hard on herself. It was out of her power.
He hugged her delicately, cradling her head to his chest, pressing his cheek softly against her forehead. He felt her soft black hair tickle his chin. "You've done everything that you possibly could," He reassured her lowly, calmly, and kindly. He felt her melt in his embrace and release a small sigh. "Once the antidote kicks in, leave Yoshiwara. Understood?" He requested of her but it sounded more like a plead in itself. He couldn't stand to see his wife get hurt again on his behalf.
She hesitated.
After a moment, and another, she finally breathed out, "Yes."
After he gently placed her hand on the ground, rubbing the back of his hand against her cheek, he quickly took off back towards Yoshiwara. His feet softly padded against the rooftops, his eyes watching the bright orange and red colors of the red light district brimming the horizon. The battle already started-and without him. He didn't know where it was, but that wasn't going to be a problem.
The moment he focused on his hearing, searching for any sounds concerning a battle or a demon, a crackle penetrated his skull.
There! He gasped and didn't hesitate to follow.
In just under 5 jumps, the size equaling a building's length each, he landed in a secluded area of Yoshiwara. He looked up and down the empty trail, then his eyes fell to the dirt path.
It's here, underground.
He immediately fell to his hands and knees. He pressed his ear against the dirt and heard insistent, frantic clamoring and clanging. The sound of someone fighting. The echoes were loud coming up to him but many were trailing off quietly, as if there were different tunnels and paths leading to and away from the battle. Following and investigating each one would take too much time. If he focuses on the reverberations... then he can locate them, and the main path!
He swiftly grabbed the hilts of his gigantic dual Nichirin cleavers at his back and gave one large twist. The white cloth shielding them immediately ripped off in one singular motion. The blades were a sparkling amber and each held a notch at the sharp ends, held together at the hilt by a metal chain. Engraved in a stunning gold was the phrase Destroyer of Demons.
"Sound Breathing. First Form..." He said out loud repositioning his grip on the hilts and held his blades up high, "ROAR!"
Then, he brought them down.
BOOM!
The sound of an explosion erupted in the far distance. The ground rumbled underneath Tanjiro's feet but he paid no attention to it. He kept his sword arched high above his head, his stance widening, with his glare still settled on the Upper Rank Demon in front of him.
The demon looked greatly annoyed and frustrated at the new sounds beginning to rack through the air. "That infernal racket is giving me a headache. What is all that noise? What is it you're up to? It sounds like it's coming from the Ogimoto House. That damn Hinatsuru," She growled looking in the direction of the explosion. With her thin, black eyebrows arched upwards, her lime green, kanji inscribed, eyes fell on him. "Exactly how many of you are there? Five perhaps?" She asked placing a hand on her hip.
"Who knows?" Tanjiro only retorted.
She smirked. "Well, then, if you were to tell me the truth, I might be willing to spare your worthless life." She lifted up a black nail finger and pointed at him. "We only clashed for maybe an instant at most, but look at your sword. It's already chipped."
Tanjiro allowed a small gasp to fall from his lips.
He brought his sword back down and ran his eyes along the blade. His eyes wavered seeing the edge jagged, every few millimeters was a small chip indentation, and not sleek like it was supposed to be. His blade-It's damaged!
"The swordsmith who made it must have been a real amateur," The demon cackled.
Tanjiro immediately screamed, "You're wrong!"
Holding his blade back in front of him, thinking back on how hard Haganezuka works to forge his swords, he seethed, "The person who forged this is amazing, and he's a brilliant swordsmith!"
"Oh, really? How did it get chipped then, you moron?" She scoffed no longer amused.
BOOM!
Another explosion erupted accompanied with the vibration of the earth.
The demon scowled in its direction, "Over there now too? Such an obnoxious racket." Her veins popped aggressively out of her head, her lethal glare full of poison-tipped knives stared deeply into Tanjiro, and she growled menacingly low, "I'm growing tired of it, so I'm going to put an end to you now."
Tanjiro cursed his shaking hands.
The blade being chipped wasn't Haganezuka's fault. The blade suffers when its wielder is inadequate. The fault lies within him. Despite training his hardest, he still... can't handle the Water Breathing Technique yet.
The truth is... my body's just not suited for it. If I keep using Water Breathing, I'll never be like Mr. Urokodaki or Mr. Tomioka! For me, using Hinokami Kagura to strike my enemies has always been more effective. The power, the energy I feel thrumming inside my blood when Kagami and I merge into one being, into one deadly Technique I do not have words to describe, feels right. I feel more in tune with it. And yet, because of its sheer force, I couldn't unleash multiple strikes...
He watched the demon's obi sash belt grow increasingly closer and closer with every passing second he was trapped in his own head. The way they wiggled and writhed in the air sent chills down his spine but he forced the shaking of his hands to still!
But it's different now! I should be able to do it!
No, I can do it! That is what I've been training for! Don't go down in defeat! Burn! Burn! BURN!
SET YOUR HEART ABLAZE!
Newfound confidence, courage, and energy burned inside his body, coursing throughout like a roaring fire, at the image of Mr. Rengoku smiling down at him.
His eyes widened tremendously, every senses of his popping open, allowing him to feel, touch, smell, and even taste the battlefield, and his hands gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. He arched it high above him and screamed. He will be like Mr. Rengoku; brave, strong, and unyielding no matter what! The moment the four sashes darted for him at what seemed to be an impossible speed, he switched and steadied his breathing.
Hinokami Kagura, Raging Sun!
His blade spilled deep red flames that burned brighter than the sun. He slashed at the incoming sashes horizontally once, then twice. Two perfect crescents burned into the air immediately slicing off the ends of the striking sashes. Like before, large trails of blood leaked out of the cut off ends of the belt like a wound. As if it were part of the demon's body itself.
Her eyes widened when all four sashes were cut off with ease by the sudden new Technique she wasn't expecting.
Tanjiro used it to his advantage and surged forward!
He sharpened his breathing to a point finer than a blade's tip. He exhaled to the sound of high-pitch squeaking. Flame spewed out of the corners of his mouth trailing after him like petals of a raging rose. The demon looked more confused and suspicious at that. He performed high-speed sharp twists and rotations he know the demon didn't catch. Her eyes trained fixatedly on his body seemingly just racing forward. Her sashes immediately curled around her again menacingly. Too late, he was already in front of her slashing his blade.
Flame Dance!
An arch of bright flame slashed downwards at the demon but she managed to dodge it! Her eyes glared down at him with boredom, as if his attack was underwhelming. It's all right, because she doesn't know it's a two-hit strike!
"So typical!" She spat lashing out a sash and watching it go straight through Tanjiro's neck.
She smirked seeing him decapitated... but no blood spilled out.
Then, his body disappeared into thin air.
The demon gasped in horror and confusion. She glanced around frantically. Her eyes scoured the ground and sky looking where he might've gone. She was trying to figure out how he simply disappeared. What she didn't realize, he was never there in front of her for more than a second.
Hinokami Kagura, Fake Rainbow.
The powerful, high-speed twist and rotations he performed earlier was part of Fake Rainbow. As he was preparing himself to perform Flame Dance, he created realistic afterimages of himself to fool the demon into believing he would jump right in front of her with no strategy. And it worked perfectly too! She didn't see him use the momentum and force of his built up speed to jump high over her head!
Something wrapped around her neck shined in the moonlight.
There it is, the Opening Thread!
She noticed it the same moment he did. With no time to waste, bringing his blade up high, he screamed, "Hinokami Kagura! Fire Wheel!" slashing downwards in a circular motion to cut her head off.
The demon turned her head and stared at him with wide eyes, the tip of his blade nearly meeting those lime green irises, but her face quickly fell. Once again, she was overcome with boredom as she stared at the blade covered in flames in disgust. "Far too slow. You're making me yawn," She monotonely huffed with the roll of her eyes.
Then, the Opening Thread snapped in half.
Horror coursed through Tanjiro's veins but he couldn't dwell on it.
She immediately lashed out a sash. It smacked into him so hard he felt his breath get knocked out of him sending him flying multiple feet away. He winced at the pain but saw the ground coming so close to him in a matter of seconds! The defensive falling technique, he needs to use it! Twisting on his back, he let his body bounce strategically off the hard ground, vital bones, organs, and sword avoiding each harsh bump as finally he rolled to a stop.
Caked in a cloud of dust and dirt, Tanjiro... couldn't breathe!
His chest caved in under him, his lungs burned as if coated in lava, and his insides were turning over and over in his body! The blood in his head pounded insistently against his skull! The air, the desperate breath he needed to take in, was so agonizing he thought he was going to suffocate! Frantic gasps, and shallow breaths, were the only thing he could painfully manage at the moment. His muscles wouldn't even allow him to move to grasp his swords.
He knew the pain, the feeling, all too well. It was the drawback of using Hinokami Kagura. All the built up fatigue is causing his muscles to cramp.
"Still alive over there?" He heard the playful sneer of the demon all the way down the path.
The moment his eyes landed on her figure, she hunched down and jumped forward with a large twist! The sashes of her belt followed after her and swirled around and under her like a tornado, with her in the eye of its storm. The fabric cut deep into the hard ground creating cracks and concaves. She moved toward him-and fast! He needed to get out of her path before he's slice up into bits!
Recovery Breathing!
Taking a large, deep inhale, he grasped the hilt of his sword and jumped high in the air! The sashes made to cut off his head clashed with his blade in a large display of fireworks. He never took his eyes off the demon, not once, even as he spun in the air and landed on his feet. As soon as they touched the ground, he kicked off into a charge!
The sashes attacked him one after the other persistently. He deflected each one, only able to push them to the side before hurrying to deflect another attack. Once again, the fabric that should be easy to cut like butter clashed against his blade, creating bright red sparks and letting them dance across the ground. The muscles in his arms, legs, and everywhere were still sore recovering from using Hinokami Kagura. The obi sash was no different than a powerful blade. Even if he does glimpse an Opening Thread, it vanishes instantly!
My attacks are too slow! Wait, my body temperature! If I'm gonna win, I need to raise my body temperature!
He remembered a conversation with Kiyo back at the Butterfly Mansion. She had been worried sick his fever hadn't been going down and she wanted to tell Lady Shinobu, but Tanjiro stopped her. More like begged her not to tell her just yet at the time. When sick with a fever, Tanjiro can unleash more Hinokami Kagura strikes and use it a lot longer. He wanted to become more powerful and better so no one else would die. After a while, Kiyo finally relented.
Tanjiro grunted and pushed off an attacking sash, the force sliding him multiple feet away from the demon.
His breathing heavied and he felt sweat cling to his skin. His body was beginning to grow warmer and warmer. His core felt as if he just drank a hot cup of freshly brewed tea. That means it's working. He can feel his body temperature rising. He can do it! He can take on an Upper Rank Demon! Hinokami Kagura's effective against her, but it's not enough to just be effective. If he wants to win, he'll have to use every ounce of his power, and he has to win!
To protect the innocent... to protect my friends!
Memories of finding his family slaughter, Nezuko turning into a mindless demon, learning the truth of Sabito, Makomo, and the other children who had died during Final Selection, the young girls abducted and killed by the Swamp Demon, and Mr. Rengoku filled his head. He thought back to everyone hurt and affected by the demons' bloodlust; Mr. Urokodaki, Mr. Tomioka, Senjuro and his father, Lady Shinobu, Miss Tenshi, Kiyo, Sumi, Naho, Fuji, Aoi, Kiyoshi, Teruko, Shoichi, and so many more.
Never again will I allow chaos like that to unfold. Never again will I let anyone suffer the way that we did. No one should have to bear that kind of grief!
Tanjiro's glare hardened on the demon and exhaled. More powerful flames burned at the corner of his lips.
Then he surged forward once again!
"He he! The way you sweat like a pig is truly repulsive!" The demon giggled maliciously bringing her sashes around her aggressively once again.
Glare met smirk, and Tanjiro screamed out loud to bring his blade down on the demon, to finally rid the world of an Upper Rank Demon once and for all!