Tanjuro stared at the girl, watching for any movement. He'd felt the burn of the poison entering his body, but aside from a feeling slightly feverish and nauseous, it wasn't affecting him. Tanjuro pulled the strangely-shaped blade out of his shoulder, as the woman smiled at him. But there was something wrong with the smile. "Oh my! Your Wife you say? It's remarkable that you've managed to hold onto your humanity so much that you recognise her that way. Maybe you could be my friend!" the girl said with a bright smile. The Spider Demon that Kie had been fighting tried to lunge at the human Demon Slayer, but, as quick as a flash, she had pierced him through the abdomen with her stinger-like sword.
"Hah! Do you really think that's enough to kill me?! You're stupider than that Demon woman!" the Older Brother cackled. Suddenly he coughed and blood came out of his mouth. "Wh-what the- ah!" the Spider Demon choked on another mouthful of blood, as his veins became pronounced all over his body, each of them showing a sicky purple colour. Blood poured out of the wound in his abdomen, which hadn't healed, as he writhed in pain, his legs twitching like an actual dying spider. Within moments he was dead. "So, my poison is working after all!" the girl Demon Slayer said cheerfully, before she looked at Tanjuro in confusion, "so I don't know how you're not dead like that Demon?" she said.
Tanjuro prepared to fight. Even though he didn't want to, with his Wife's life on the line, he had no other choice. He could tell that the girl's attacks had something to do with Wisteria, and that's why that Demon had died. Thankfully, he was pretty much immune to it's effects. But Kie wasn't. If this girl insisted on tying to kill his Wife, he would do whatever it took to protect her. Including being a meat shield for doses of poison, that would no doubt be lethal to Kie. Before anyone could do anything, Giyu arrived. "Stop Kocho. The Master accepted Tanjuro as a Demon Slayer. He is not an enemy" he said as he walked towards them.
Shinobu smiled, "oh really? And he didn't bother to tell the rest of us? That seems very convenient, don't you agree? How can I be sure you aren't just trying to stop me? After all, if you're lying, that means you've really broken the Corps rules, and should be punished. So tell me. Do you have any proof of what you're saying Tomioka?" she asked, still with that sweet tone and smile. Tanjuro took a deep breath to calm himself down, and stepped forwards, "my name is Tanjuro Kamado. My Wife's name is Kie. While, yes, we are Demons, neither of us has ever eaten a human since we were turned a year ago. We've also been living around humans a lot, and haven't harmed them. We never would. All we want is to become human again, and protect our children.
That's all. Believe us or don't, it's the truth. Besides, we have more important things to worry about here. There are still two Demons on this mountain that do eat humans. I was sent here to take care of them, and I intend to finish that Mission. So? Will you work with us?" Tanjuro asked. Shinobu frowned, looking at the two Demons. She couldn't sense any kind of deception coming from this man. And the woman Demon seemed to be calm and not interesting in attacking her now either. In fact she was holding hands with her 'Husband'. It was strange.
Her curiosity had been well and truly peaked. Plus the Demon was right. There were still two more Demons that were actively attacking and killing their people. The veins in her temple and jaw worked, before she sighed deeply, and sheathed her sword, "alright. I'll believe you for now. But after this Mission is finished, you and your Wife, as well as anyone else who knew about you among the Corps will have to be put on trial" Shinobu acquiesced. Tanjuro sighed and smiled at the girl, "thank you for believing in me Ma'am. I appreciate it" he replied.
He turned away from her to look at his Wife. He looked her over, before cupping her cheeks gently, "are you alright Dear? You're not hurt, are you Kie?" he asked softly. "Hmmm" she hummed, cuddling against Tanjuro's hand as she held it with both of her own. Tanjuro smiled in relief, "thank God. I'm so glad that you're okay" he sighed, kissing his Wife's forehead, before leaning his own against hers. Shinobu and Giyu watched them uncomfortably as the two Demons separated, and turned back to look at them, still holding hands, "we should get going now" Tanjuro said, a serious look on his face.
"Right" Giyu agreed, while Shinobu smiled. The four of them leapt away into the trees, to find the second strongest Demonic signature.
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Shinobu stared at the two Demons ahead of them. Despite what was said, she didn't trust them. She wouldn't until she was given definitive proof that they were not threat to humans. That they were no threat to her Sisters. She couldn't. Meanwhile, Tanjuro was wondering if he should tell Giyu about the two Demons he'd created. They were far enough away that the other two Demon Slayers couldn't detect them, but they weren't out of Tanjuro's range. He could sense Yukito and Sayuri at the bottom of the mountain right now, so they were safe.
Even if he didn't tell them about his Demons now, if he were put on trial, surly he would have to tell them then, right? Would it be more dangerous for both of them if they were revealed now or later? Tanjuro wasn't sure. He just wanted to protect everyone that he cared about, including his Demons. Suddenly, a powerful Demonic presence appeared on his senses like an alarm. He paused just as they were about to cross a river. "Stop!" he called. The two humans instantly turned their attention to him, while Kie began to growl, her veins protruding.
"There's a powerful Demonic presence nearby. Not as strong as the one from the 12 Kizuki though. It's probably the second strongest Demon on this mountain" Tanjuro explained, drawing his Sword, as he looked around. Everyone prepared for a fight, the rustling of the leaves in the wind the only sounds that could be heard. At first. Suddenly a loud and vicious snarl could be heard above them. Tanjuro's head snapped up just in time to see a huge, muscled Demon descending upon them. "MOVE!" He cried, as everyone leapt out of the way. The Demon impacted the ground, landing in the river with a huge splash of water.
His fist slammed into the ground of the riverbank, sending chunks of earth and mud exploding outwards from the force of the blow. "Don't come near my family! Stay away from them!" he snarled, long, white hair moving aside to reveal that his head was like that of a spider's, with multiple eyes and pincers as well. Tanjuro felt a growl build in his throat, his grip tightening on his sword handle. He remembered what Sayuri had told him, the 4-year-old Demon girl trembling in terror as she spoke: "He hurts us if we don't act like his family, or he has his Father do it" she had said. 'This must be the Lower 5's 'Father'. The one who would always hurt that poor little girl' he thought.
Tanjuro's eyes narrowed into slits. He was angry. Even if Lower 5 had made him do it, this Demon was the one who had terrorized and hurt Sayuri most of the time. She was a child! This Demon was the face of terror for his young Demon. And he would make sure he could never hurt her again!
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Yukito sat with Sayuri dozing in his arms at the edge of the forest. He wondered how Lord Tanjuro was doing in there. Surely he was fine. the Demons he could sense on that mountain were nowhere near their creators level. He looked down at the young Demon girl as she shifted in his arms. The 4-year-old was wrapped up in her former Kimono. The white fabric with spider web patturns was far too big for her to wear. But she seemed to enjoy having it wrapped around her like this. Sayuri snuggled further into the fabric and let out a sigh, "when is Mr Kamado coming back?" she asked in a muffled voice.
"I don't know. But I'm sure he's fine Sayuri. He'll be back soon" Yukito replied, wrapping the Kimono a bit more comfortably around the young child. "Okay" the black-haired Demon girl said with a sigh, once again falling into a comfortable doze. She felt safe and comfortable and protected. And despite her mind trying to tell her that this might not be real, might just be a cruel trick of her wishes, she couldn't remember feeling like this in so long. So Sayuri got comfortable again, the Kimono hiding everything except her eyes. Yukito couldn't help but look up at the mountain and the forest on it with slight worry, 'please come back soon Lord Tanjuro' he thought.
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"He's strong. So he must have been given the most blood from Rui out of all of them" Tanjuro said. He ignited his sword as he prepared to fight, "is everyone ready?" he asked, as he could see Giyu and Shinobu prepare their Swords to fight in his peripheral vision. 'Alright. I will kill him. For Sayuri's sake. Once he and Rui are dead, no one will ever hurt her again!' Tanjuro thought determinedly. "Don't come near my family! Stay away from them!" the Father Demon snarled, running towards them to attack. Shinobu shot towards him, slashing at the Father Spider Demon with her stinger. But this just seemed to make him angry, and he moved to swat her away with his massive arm, the blow heading right for her head. The teenager tried to leap away, but her foot slipped on a rock in the river.
"Shinobu!" Giyu cried. Kie suddenly leapt in the way, kicking the girl out of the way, and taking the hit to her chest. There was the sound of breaking bones, as Kie's ribs cracked easily, then she was knocked away into the water. "KIE!" Tanjuro cried in horror, glaring at the Demon who would dare hurt his Wife. His Demonic features got more pronounced and his eyes glowed bright red in the darkness, "I swear I'll make you pay for that!" he growled. The Father Demon snarled back, raising a fist as he ran at them. Shinobu slashed at him with her sword again, but the blade didn't even pierce his skin. Tanjuro took the attack that would have shattered every bone in the young girl's body.
As they landed in the river, he quickly pulled her head above the water. "Are you okay?" Tanjuro asked worriedly. Kie suddenly leapt at the Spider Demon, slashing at him with her claws. "Kie! Be careful!" Tanjuro cried. Suddenly the moonlight shining into the area intensified, so bright it was blinding. When everyone could see again, they were shocked to see chains wrapped around the Demon. The Father Spider thrashed and tried to break them, but was unable to. The wispy, silvery chains seemed unbreakable, wrapping tightly around his limbs. "HMMM!" Kie cried. Tanjuro's eyes widened, was this his Wife's Blood Demon Art?!
Giyu shot forwards at that moment, "Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide" he said, slashing the Demon apart so fast that it took a moment for the wounds to catch up. Then he burst, beginning to disintegrate. Tanjuro ran over to his Wife and wrapped his arms around her, "I'm so glad that you're okay!" he said in a hushed yet frantic tone. His Wife wrapped her arms around him as well, as the two Demons relaxed from the battle. Tanjuro stroked Kie's hair as the relief crashed into him. "Thank God" he sighed.
Finally Tanjuro pulled away from her, and turned towards Giyu and Shinobu, "thank you very much for your help," he said gratefully. Shinobu looked suspiciously at Kie, "so, your Wife has a Blood Demon Art. And a fairly powerful one at that. You told us that you've never eaten any humans" she pointed out. "We haven't. I was able to use my Blood Demon Art on the day I became a Demon, and I had never eaten anyone" Tanjuro replied. There was a moment of tense silence, before the most powerful presence yet crashed over them. They all tensed up, and looked around.
"Above!" Tanjuro exclaimed, as they looked above them. There, a boy Demon stood on criss-crossing threads. He looked similar to all the other Demons, with the same colour scheme and his spider-like hair covering one of his eyes. Tanjuro had been keeping track of the number of Demons they had killed. According to Sayuri, there was only one Demon left that this could be. Rui. Lower Rank 5. He snarled furiously at the other Demon, angry at everything he had done to his so-called family.