Muichiro didn't feel anything most of the time. His emotions were numb. Pushed deep down inside his core where even the biggest of inconveniences didn't disturb him even once. It was evident through the altercation with Kamado and Yamato. He couldn't understand why they were so bothered with his methods of obtaining the key to activate Yoriichi Type Zero and Ayane Type Zero. It was just for training, so why did they react badly to it?
He had no conscious of his actions. Took no care in listening to their feelings and outright rebuking their opinions. It was simply wasting his time. He had no choice but to knock them out. He didn't do it to be mean or hostile. He simply didn't care enough to care. Though, feelings had always been a nuisance to him. It would've kept him from doing his duty as a Hashira.
So why is he wasting his time saving two unseasoned and untrained swordsmiths in the middle of the forest when he could be heading to the village?
When he had been blown away by the Upper Rank demon inside the villa, immense power that sent him all the way across and into the forest where he watched Kamado, Yamato, and the demon sister fight to hold on for their lives, his first and immediate thought was to make haste to the village. He knew no fear, no hurry, and no anger. Just to save the village chief, exceptional swordsmiths, and the rest that he had deemed worthy of his time. Then he noticed the small boy. The one he fought and slapped to obtain the mechanical dolls' key.
Muichiro didn't care for his name and just knew him as a useless swordsmith. He cried about not being able to fix the mechanical dolls if they would break. That made him unworthy of his time. No true swordsmith would cry. They would work until it is fixed no matter the cost. So when he saw him fighting for his life against a mutated koi demon and was about to be eaten he kept running and nearly past them. The cry of a small girl begging for his life pierced his head, and the thoughts of Kamado's words hit him.
"Why do you care so much about other people? Isn't there something that you need to do for yourself?" He had asked Kamado after the boy volunteered to help find Watanabe, Muichiro's new swordsmith.
Kamado merely smiled at him, eyes glistening with purity and kindness, and spoke, "Whatever you do for others comes around to help you, as well, in the end." He did that weird head tilt and closed his eyes in delight, his hanafuda earrings clinking as he did.
Muichiro released a gasp. Such genuine affection and warmth emitted from the boy. His core flared with life. His eyes had widened and he suddenly found himself surging for the boy clutched in the demon's hand.
With the single slash of his sword, the spray of blood filling his vision with crimson red, the boy fell on the ground with a harsh thump. The girl came out of hiding and knelt by his side. Muichiro appeared a second later. Sword arched behind him, feet spread wide apart, he hunched close to the ground and let the determination flow through his veins. He glared at the demon.
"Run," He calmly yet firmly commanded of the children. "You're getting in the way, so just run."
The hand of the koi fish he severed regenerated quickly. Its healing capabilities were that of a demon's. Interesting. It quickly scampered back on to its feet with a screeching roar, razor-sharp fangs glinting in the moonlight. It charged and reached forward with outstretched claws. He tightened the grip on his sword and slid right underneath toward the other side. Swerving around, he swiftly brought his blade down severing its head from the rest of its body.
He whipped the blood off his sword with the quick flick of his arm but the two pieces continued to move long after separation. Its headless body shook and swayed, off balanced, yet the exposed flesh started to bubble and boil rapidly. Emerging from within its meat was another head. It was intriguing to the Hashira. He slashed off what he thought was the head, but rather than disintegrate, its body was regenerating. That means there's a different way of killing those creatures. It had to be the vase atop its body.
Muichiro didn't waste time to wait for the koi to finish regenerating. Jumping high, he ran his sword through the porcelain vase slicing it completely in half. Immediately, the koi fish released a guttural scream before collapsing to the ground. There it finally started to disintegrate. It wiggled and writhe, stretching outwards still to grasp at him, its tongue flopping outside of its mouth, but went still after a few moments.
He watched it completely turn into nothing mulling the battle over in his head. It was a strange demon. It used to be a normal koi fish, but it was getting its power from the vase. So, it was definitely a product of Blood Demon Art.
Muichiro turned at the sound of running footsteps. He gasped silently at two pairs of bodies suddenly clinging and sobbing into his person. His widened eyes stared down at the boy and girl desperately and shamelessly hugging and squeezing his body. Tears ran down from their masks, arms wrapped tightly around his neck, their wails hurting his ears.
"Thank you, Mr. Hashira!" The girl cried bringing herself even closer.
"I thought I was a goner! I thought I was dead! I was so scared!" The boy continued crying running his hands up and down Muichiro's head. "I shouldn't have called you "seaweed head"! I'm so sorry!"
Muichiro blinked. "You called me "seaweed head"?
The boy gave a startled choke. The girl gave a sheepish chuckle. Yet they jumped off his person and continued sobbing within in each other's arms. "Sorry! I didn't like you!" The boy sobbed into the girl's shoulder who couldn't stop hiccuping her cries.
Muichiro gave a small sigh. It was a pitiful sight, one he didn't want to bother himself with any longer. "I don't have time for this. I'm leaving now, so do whatever you want." With that, he started to turn and leave back toward the village prepared to go after the village chief once again.
"Wait! They attacked Mrs. Watanabe and Mr. Kanamori, too!" The girl quickly called after him. "When we went to help them out, that monster attacked us!" He continued to ignore them. They raced in front and created a human shield to prevent him from going any further. "Mrs. Watanabe is in bad condition! She was working on two weapons at the same time! She's exhausted! Mr. Haganezuka's been working non stop without sleep to restore a sword... so if he stops for even a second, that will be the end of it! Please...!"
"Please...!"
They immediately dropped to their hands and knees, bowing deep and low to him, pleading, "Please save him!"
Muichiro kept staring down at him with large curious eyes. His mouth was slightly open taking in the passionate plea coming from those two kids.
"Please!" They pleaded harder deep into his silence.
Muichiro almost felt sorry for those hopeful tears falling for him. He was duty-bound to save the village chief no matter his feelings on the subject. He believed the strong and worthy should be saved first, not for a swordsmith who kept losing clients because of his temper. What did it matter if he was restoring a sword? It was his choice to stay behind and work even during the crisis. It shouldn't be placed on him find a singular man. "No... I..." He started to reject... but stopped.
The angelic face of his Master swirled into his vision in a glow of white taking over the dark forest. His face was half-purple, half-rotting, eyelashes bright white and eyes a milky color, but a serene smile was always seen stretching his lips. Even so at Muichiro. "You'll be able to find yourself again for sure... Muichiro."
He gasped at the loving tone in his voice. Grasped at his head at the affection and warmth flowing through his veins. Though, that was not what shook him the most at all. A vision, no, a memory, one he thought was lost forever penetrated his mind. He saw himself laying in bed covered head to toe in bloody bandages. It was in a bedroom at the Master's mansion. Looking over him was his Master and his wife, Amane. He had not known the strange ill man watching over him. All he knew was pain.
"I know you must be confused, but for now, just focus on living, nothing more. As long as you're alive, things will work out. You'll regain your lost memories without fail. There's nothing to worry about," His Master spoke to him with the same gentle and soft tone he had come to know. "Just don't let your chance slip away. It will start out as something insignificant... and then it will clear away... the mist in your head."
His memories... Were they really coming back? How could that be? Something insignificant... Could it have been Kamado's doing? The purity in those red irises made him gasp one more time.
Muichiro swiftly pulled the boy and girl over his shoulders and surged through the forest once again, hellbent on finding and protecting Mr. Haganezuka.
"Whoa! Hold up! Slow down, will you?! Just a tiny bit slower!" The bouncing boy cried, his flailing arms hitting the back of his head.
The girl clung tightly to Muichiro's hair, squealing, "AAAHHH! I think I'm falling! I'm falling! Help!"
"You're not falling. And don't talk, or you'll bite your tongue," He advised them without concern or worry. They screamed at the thought but kept their mouths shut nonetheless.
Muichiro moved with purpose and determination, but his heart gave a slight squeeze at the choice he made in the spur of the moment. He wondered if it was the right thing to do. If he were to go after Mr. Haganezuka, it was going to keep him from protecting the entire village. If he was a lesser swordsman, that would've been the case. But he is a Demon Slayer recognized by the Master. His swordsmith, Watanabe, has his sword. He can do both. He is the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito.
Tanjiro flew further and further away from the screams and desperate cries of Kagami and Nezuko. Yet he unleashed his own seeing Genya stabbed in the stomach by the Sorrow Demon protecting his friend, begging them to save him no matter what. His mission right then and there was to get back to them as soon as possible!
He whipped out his blade and slashed off the talons keeping him tethered to the Joy Demon. He fell out of the sky painfully tumbling down and through branches of trees he tried to catch hold of and fell roughly on his stomach. The breath was taken out of him, forcing his chest to cave in painfully with every wheeze he inhaled. He turned his head at the sound of a throaty inhale. The talons were still attached to his leg digging into his flesh, but at the stump was the Joy Demon's head. In its mouth was the yellow swirl of sound waves ready to stun him and knock him unconscious.
It glowed brighter and brighter with every passing second. Tanjiro's face twitched with fear at the blinding light ready to penetrate him, but he ground his teeth. Just as the Joy Demon was about to release its burst, Tanjiro whipped his sword through its head, severing top and bottom into halves. It stopped the attack... but he realized his big mistake the moment he did it.
Crap! I sliced it in half! What should I do? I'm creating more of them! He thought, horrified, at the two newly generated disgusting bug-eyed creatures. It opened its tiny mouths, yellow swirls of sound waves generating within, revealing the 'joy' kanji inscribed on their tongues. The same name?
Tanjiro braced himself and screamed against the pairs of high-pitched sound waves rattling his bones. The vibration surged throughout his entire body, from his head to his fingers back to his brain. Blood squirted from his ears and nose, dripping down and away from him with the powerful force, but was able to stay conscious till the duration wore off. He smiled victoriously at himself, almost maniacal, at the pair of Joy Demons at his feet.
I get it now! That's how it works! Their attack power's weaker! It probably can't split off into the stronger clones indefinitely. Those characters inside its mouth that I got a glimpse of. Emotions; Anger, Sorrow, Joy, and Pleasure. Those four are the most powerful versions, right? If they divide any further... they get weaker!
At the first demon regenerating sound waves, he stabbed his sword into its mouth and pulled it free from his leg. At the other coming up from behind, he immediately swerved around and jammed his sword into its head. A powerful gust of wind flew by and ruffled his hair. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the Joy Demon making its way back to him! A wide sadistic smile stretched its lips and it opened its mouth once again revealing the yellow sun-blinding swirl of sound waves. Just as the blast surged for him, he immediately rolled out of the way!
He landed on his knees but quickly jumped on his feet. I have to defeat it! Even just one of them! I need to get back to Kagami, Nezuko, and Genya! A gasp choked out of him. The tiny Joy Demons disappeared from his blade! It only meant one thing to him; the demons wouldn't be able to split any further from those versions.
The Joy Demon did a quick turn around back toward him. Tanjiro immediately arched his blade high, ready to strike, but the demon was faster. Hot searing pain burned into his shoulder. A splatter of blood sprayed against the ground. He coughed against the bile rising in his throat but swallowed it down. He still held his blade high preparing for another attack.
"How do you like my talons? How swift, how sharp they are? They're strong enough to even smash diamonds!" The Joy Demon cackled proudly, sadistically.
Attack after attack, the Joy Demon pounced, smacked, and scratched at him. His body slammed into the trunk of a nearby tree. He shakily stood to his feet. "Go on, tremble! Make that joyful bloodspray gush out even more!" The demon continued to laugh as its talons swift and merciless sliced into his arm and leg next. Into his chest another time. Yet he stayed tall. He stayed strong. His determination landed on the demon diving for another attack. Tanjiro flexed his wrist just as the demon sliced into his shoulder.
Tanjiro collapsed to his knees, a hand pressing hard into the bleeding wounds, and glanced over his shoulder into the sky. He let a smirk play on his lips. The Joy Demon released a confused grunt at that. "You, too!" He sneered.
Not a moment later did its face split in two vertical halves.
A horrified and agonizing screamed spewed from its mouth. It grasped its head and pushed its two halves back together. Just as they snapped back in place, Tanjiro charged and jumped high! The Joy Demon sensed his presence and desperately opened its mouth to generate another wave. He slashed his sword outward and severed his head from its mouth! The Joy Demon fell out of the sky and landed in a curled up ball.
Tanjiro knew it would work! The wings, the talons, the attacks, while they differed from Ayane Type Zero, the ferocity and techniques were nearly the same. He wasn't letting himself get beaten and slashed. He was trying to learn the demon's movements and adapt to it! Facing off and training against her mechanical doll, fighting against the avian physiology, gave him the edge he needed to best this battle! He stormed forward, pushing his blade high in the sky behind him, and slashed down!
He missed. The demon regenerated its head and soared into the air before the blade could make contact. It looked to have felt fear for the first time seeing his blade so close to its head but the sadistic smile returned. "Now you've gone and done it!" It chuckled and attacked again in a steep dive.
Tanjiro barely deflected it. At the clashing of talons against steel, his sword vibrated and left a numbness in his fingers. The demon was becoming more ferocious by the second. Any longer and the battle won't be in his favor anymore! I want to get back to Kagami, Nezuko, and Genya right away! What am I going to do? The contract, it must be hurting Kagami right now because I'm in danger and she cannot be here to help me! Just like in the Entertainment District, she rushed to my aid because it was calling her to me. When I was almost dying from the poison, she, too, was dying by my side. I have to end this fight quickly and get back to her!
Kagami screamed angrily and painfully at the claws digging into her shoulders. She desperately shoved and kept shoving her hand into the face of the demon peering its head down at her. Her back was pressed harder and harder into the floorboards beneath her. Her legs trapped underneath those of the demon. Her sword had been scattered a couple feet away from her. The demon stared down at her distastefully, orange eyes blazing with revulsion, and released a snarl. The kanji for 'disgust' was inscribed on its tongue.
How had she not seen it? She didn't know where it appeared from. Slicing Upper 4's head produced Sekido and Karaku, and the Sorrow and Joy Demon were a product of their decapitation. Did this Disgust Demon appear when either one of them was decapitated? It had to have hid and knew to strike at the perfect moment when Kagami was at her weakest. That was when Genya launched himself in front of her and took the full force of the Sorrow Demon's yari in his abdomen.
If she had paid attention, he wouldn't be kneeling in the pool of his own blood with it still inside of him. If she concentrated harder, she wouldn't find herself pinned to the ground with the Disgust Demon atop of her. Nezuko wouldn't be wrestling with Karaku over its Uchiwa to keep it from blowing them all away, saliva dripping from her mouth and growls emanating harshly from behind her muzzle. The demon laughed gleefully in her face keeping her other hand from scratching its eyes out.
"Aha! Keep trying, little girl! You're almost there!" It taunted with a cackle. "Come on, what's the matter?"
Sekido sent a snarl its way. "Would you hurry up and dismember her? I'm getting more and more annoyed!"
"Keep your hands to yourself! This girl's mine! You and Aizetsu can get lost!" Karaku laughed still not moving to do anything with Nezuko.
The demon above Kagami released a disgust tch. "Filth. Dirt. Muck. All of you are covered in it. I don't care how delicious your blood smells. How dare you make me get on my knees and touch your revolting human skin with my bare hands?!" Its claws tightened their grip on her and she released a tormenting shrill.
The Sorrow Demon, the one that must be Aizetsu, turned sadly to Karaku and Nezuko. "Karaku... I will finish off that girl," It said and moved to remove his weapon from Genya's body.
"You bastards! I won't let you touch her! Don't you hurt Nezuko!" Kagami bellowed other hand stretching further and further for her sword. She tried shoving her knee into the chest of the Disgust Demon, kicking harder and harder with every growl she produced but it didn't budge at all.
Aizetsu pulled its weapon to dislodge it from Genya's body but found it strangely stuck. It tugged and tugged to no avail. Suddenly, to Kagami's relieved surprise, he lifted his head from his chest. Two thick lines of blood spilled from bother corners of his mouth but it was twisted into a menacing knowing smile. A strained look of concentration and smugness crossed his paled haggard features. "I'm the one you're gonna fight!" He screamed and lifted his shotgun. Aizetsu's head was immediately blown off into fleshy bits drawing the attention of the other demons.
Sekido growled, low and hateful, "Why are you getting blasted like that, Aizetsu? So infuriating! You're a fool!"
Even without its head, Aizetsu still continued to pull its weapon free. A tortuous look took hold of Genya's smile. His teeth ground harshly with every forceful tug. Then it was whipped out of him. Blood spurted out from his wound, choked out of his throat, and left him in a suffering daze.
"Genya!" Kagami screamed.
Aizetsu's head was instantly regenerated once its weapon was freed. It cast a sorrowful look down at the bloody, incapacitated body that was Genya Shinazugawa. "How sad it is to not be able to die instantly," It mourned.
Genya's head hung low to his chest. Kagami gasped, a cry rising up from the depths of her chest, at the steady stream of crimson red flowing freely out of his mouth. His hand, the grip on his shotgun, went limp. His fingers were still enclosed but not enough to signal life still emanated from him. One last bloody cough shuddered out of him.
A hoarsed yell forced out of her throat. Her throat burned. Her heart ached. No matter how much she kicked, no matter how much she desperately tried to reach him, reach for him with everything she had, she couldn't. She failed. She failed him, and failed that promise. She could still feel the interlocking of their hands. She yearned for the kiss they could've shared. How could she fail him?
"I went for his vital spot so he could die right away, but I guess he couldn't die with my spear still lodged in his body. But now, at last, he can die," Aizetsu sighed woefully.
If Kagami had cried any louder, she wouldn't have heard the low, deep, rising chant coming from Genya. All attention turned to him. Her eyes widened at the sight of his hand pressing into the wound in his abdomen. "Shaekoku Gijugikkodokuon... Yodaibikushu," He started to chant through rough breaths and choked up throat.
"The Amida Sutra?" Kagami gasped staring at his unmoving but concentrated figure. She had no idea he was a devout follower of Buddhism.
"Can't you see he's still alive?! Split his head into two, Aizetsu!" Sekido demanded.
An inhumane growl left her mouth.
Aizetsu turned its teary eyes on Genya. "I was just about to do that, so stop yelling at me. You're making me sad," It wept and raised its yari high. At Kagami's scream for him to move, the yari stabbed downwards fast... and into the floorboards and bloody puddle. Appearing out of nowhere just behind it, sword raised across his body, was Genya!
"I'll slice your head off as many times as it takes until you're dead! You scumbag!" Genya bellowed and swung his sword!
In that instant, his body was engulfed in bright white voltage. Even in mid-air, his body was electrified and crackling with lightning over and over again. He seized up, frozen in place, and screamed against the painful current running through him. Even incapacitated, he mustered enough strength to pull the trigger of his shotgun and let a bullet fly straight into that of Sekido! Its arm was blown straight off!
"I'm coming, Genya!" Kagami screamed seeing Aizetsu lash out with its yari.
With a feral roar, she lunged for her sword, ignoring the tearing of her shirt and flesh, the iron-smelling stickiness making itself at home along her back and side, and slashed upwards with as much strength as she could muster. Her blade sliced the Disgust Demon's face in vertical halves, its tongue and face splitting wide open, a silvery liquid spilling forth. Kagami stared horrified at the nonexistent red she was used to but used her arm to shield her face from the unknown substance, and dashed out from underneath her captor. She leaped for Genya with her sword raised.
Kagami groaned against the powerful force of the yari connecting with her blade. Her vision was blinded by the yellow sparks of steel meeting steel. Numbness spread from her fingers to her arms. Her back collided into Genya and their bodies went crashing into the other room. She was quick to get on her feet, crouching low to defend his sprawled body.
"Aha! Hey, what's this? Those two brats look more fun!" Karaku laughed staring at them through the open hole they made. It peered its face close to Nezuko's and released a chilling seethe. "I'm done with you, little girl!" It kicked out its foot and shoved it straight through Nezuko's body.
A terrified gasp choked out of Kagami. "NEZUKO!" She shrieked painfully at her twitchy and limp body, eyes wide in agony.
Karaku turned its malicious smile on Sekido. "After I've ripped this girl's limbs off, you impale her with your staff, then if you keep blasting her with lightning, she'll be immobilized, huh?"
"That was my plan from the start!"
A cry fell from Nezuko at her arm breaking underneath Karaku's grip, but she lifted her head, eyes alive with fury. She kicked out her leg with a powerful force shattering its lower jaw into thousands of pieces. She ripped her arm free from its grasp, flesh shredding and blood dripping, without any hesitation. The demon's head snapped back into place and was immediately drenched with her blood. Not a moment later her blood blazed to life with a brilliant neon pink engulfing its entire body in her wrathful flames. Keeping a firm grip on its arm, she twisted her body a full 360 in the air and snapped its twisted limb off.
"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Sekido screamed seeing the Uchiwa now in her grasp.
Nezuko brought down the Uchiwa with a heavy force and sent Karaku scattering in the wind. It screamed profanities as it went, flying far and wide into the forest beyond, and turned to do the same to Sekido. But it smacked her arm away with the butt of its khakkhara and stabbed it straight into her neck. It was then jammed into the ground, pinning her place, and activated its power. She became nothing more than a lightning rod.
"No! Let her go, you bastards!" Kagami screamed launching forward with her sword raised, eyes blinded to only the demon electrifying her body with merciless waves of never ending torture.
But she was forced to retreat. Aizetsu made a move for the unconscious Genya. Her heart was suddenly torn into two places. She didn't know who to go for; her sister or her friend. What would Tanjiro do? He would've saved them both if he could! He always found a way! But he wasn't there! Even with the contract whispering his name constantly in her head, reminding her of her impending doom if he were to succumb to death, she couldn't focus on him. She needed to focus on herself! She had to choose, quickly!
Kagami screamed and slammed a foot down on the ground. She twisted her body around and made for Aizetsu's neck. I'm sorry, Nezuko, please forgive me, but you're a demon. You can regenerate. Genya can't. He's human! I need to help him! She rose her blade high and slashed downwards-!
A scream spilled out of her. Another. And another. She fell to the ground curled in a ball. She gazed down at her arms, legs, and hands. Her clothes looked to have been shredded apart. Her skin beneath exposed holes were blistering, bubbling at the surface, and started to get eaten away leaving nothing but blackness in its wake. It was the most terrifying and agonizing pain she's ever experienced in her life! It was as if her flesh was being burned from the inside out, eating away at her skin and the bones underneath. How?! Why?!
"Annoying. Disgusting. Infuriating. All of you human vermin should die already! Why were you allowed to live in this world if all you do is make it insufferable to survive in?!" The Disgust Demon screamed lifting both arms to reveal the silvery substance swirling around its limb. It was leaking from long jagged lines running along its limb in awkward angles. "I'll cleanse you myself if I have to!"
Aizetsu turned to it with a sad look. "Ken'o, we should put them out with as little pain as possible."
"Filth don't deserve a painless death. Look what that thing did to me," The Disgust Demon, Ken'o, said pointing at its face. At the area where Kagami had injured it.
"I don't see anything. It healed already."
"I don't care if it healed! That vermin needs to pay!" Its eyes met that of Kagami's. "Once I'm finished with her, I will down every last drop of her Marechi blood until there's nothing left. I deserve every morsel! I won't let Miryoku, that smug creep, to have a single taste! I won't allow it!"
Kagami struggled to lift her arms without a whimper. Her hands, fingers spotted with black dripping from the open wounds, shook holding her sword. She took a whiff and recoiled. Her sense of smell may not be as strong as Tanjiro's but she'd know poison from anywhere. Acid, more like. It was bitter and metallic mixed with the smell of her burned and cooked meat. The demon's blood was acid. She must've gotten some on her with her hasty decision to save Genya. She forced the bile rising from her throat to settle. Getting sick would not get her anywhere. She must continue fighting. But who was Miryoku?
"Kaizedaiarakan shushochishiki chorosharihotsu... Makamokukenren Makakasennen..." Genya suddenly continued to chant slowly rising to his knees.
Kagami stared almost in fear at him. How he was able to speak, let alone move, after suffering from wounds that should've been fatal... If she hadn't known him, she would've said Genya was a demon in disguise. No mere human could survive such attacks. Not even Mr. Rengoku survived the fatal punch in the stomach.
"How are you still alive? Who the hell are you anyway?" Aizetsu gasped staring at his mumbling form.
Feral laughter spewed from Genya. "You really wanna know?" He chuckled. "My name is Genya Shinazugawa! Make sure you don't forget it!" He used his shotgun as a crutch and rose himself back on his feet. He held his sword out across from him and steadied his shotgun atop its blade. He lifted his head and cracked his infamous menacing smile. "That's the name of the man who's going to kill you!"
Kagami took deep breaths in, dulled the pain in her body to nothing inside her core, and jumped to her feet. She arched her blade in front of her. All tears, all sadness, and all hopelessness was gone. It was replaced with wild determination, an instinct to protect her loved ones, and her soul... her soul howled to fight. She aimed her blade. "I won't let any of you filthy demons go near my blood. If I have to, I'd rather be consumed by acid until there's nothing left for you to feast!"
"Kagami! Nezuko! Genya!"
The sound of Tanjiro's voice nearly broke her concentration. He's finally returned... but she must not waste her breath with him, not when she barely had any left. The rampage of crackling lightning that ensued outside the remaining doors, outside of the hole covered by Aizetsu and Ken'o, ceased a minute later. The weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders knowing Tanjiro freed Nezuko from Sekido's grasp. Now, she could do whatever she wanted.
Kagami and Genya stood side-by-side, eyes glaring and smiles wide at the pair of demons staring ruthlessly down at them. Rejuvenation filled her core. To feel him beside her, to see his chest rising and falling, to see the grip on his weapons never faltering brought relief to her. Her blade lit aflame once again, brighter than before, forcing the darkness to recoil at its heat, at the readjustment of her hands. She sent a smirk towards his way. "You're not dying on me yet, are you, Genya?"
"Pfft," He laughed against the pain, his smile growing wider. "As if I could lose against a couple of weaklings." He spat out some blood. "Don't get in my way, Kagami."
She smirked wider at that. "Wouldn't dream of it. I still remember our promise."
Bells were tolling. Screeches of monsters echoed through the air. Rampaging footsteps vibrated the earth. The darkness, the shadows, were reciprocating the screams of people, of humans, mixed with terror and desperation. They were calling to her, urging her to move as fast as possible. Death was lingering and more were to come.
"The village is in danger! The village is in danger! We must rush to its aid as soon as possible!"
Mitsuri raced through the forest, that sweet smile of hers still stretching those pink glossy lips, at the warning of her crow flying just above her head, black feathers shining against the moonlight. "I've got to hurry! I've got to hurry! The villagers are all in danger!" She gasped keeping a secured hand on the sheathe of her sword. She released a small giggle. "It's a good thing we were stationed so close to the swordsmiths' village, right, Kurai?"
Kurai manifested from the shadows stretching across and through all trees in her path. The world seemed to bent inward as she rose from the ground, the world darkening ever so slightly, until she opened her eyes. She once again took human form and easily kept pace with the Hashira beside her.
"Hurry! The village is close to destruction!" Her crow cawed from above.
She reached up and pulled the black cloth down from her mouth. A wide smile was revealed. Pleasure coursed through her veins igniting her blood on fire. A giggle so full of glee and tortuous fun spilled from her lips. "Finally, some action around here!" She howled into the night. Her eyes fixed themselves back on the forest path. She quirked an eyebrow at a very enticing thought. "What fun, what fun indeed! We're going against an Upper Rank demon, I can feel it! I can't wait to shove it in Tomioka's face! I can just imagine the stupid look!"
Mitsuri giggled at her enthusiasm. Determination filled her eyes. "All right! Let's give it our all!"