Tanjuro and Kie glared up at the Demon boy above them. One of his eyes was covered, so Tanjuro assumed it was to hide his 12 Kizuki rank. Though he didn't know why he would do that. "So, you are the ones who have been killing my family members" Rui said casually. Giyu and Shinobu prepared to fight behind them. 'He might sound casual, but the aura this Demon gives off shows just how powerful he is. And how angry' Tanjuro thought, veins bulging on his face as he flared his own Demonic aura in defiance.
Rui's visible eye widened slightly, before he recomposed himself. "So, you are Lower 5? Tell me, do you enjoy tormenting the ones you call 'family'?" Tanjuro asked, barely managing to keep himself composed with his Selfless State. "Not that it's any of your business, but if they can't fulfil the roles I gave them, then they're of no use to me. I can easily replace them with other Demons. In a family, the parents protect their oldest children, and the oldest, protect the younger ones. This is carried out, no matter what. Even at the cost of their lives. The way I see it, if you don't understand your own role in life, there's no point in living it to begin with" Rui said.
Tanjuro clenched his fists. This Demon was a child with a twisted up understanding of what a family was supposed to be. And his ideas were cemented instead of being refuted and the having the truth explained. "You're wrong. A family isn't determined by blood relations, but by love. If you love each other, you want to protect each other, because doing otherwise would kill you inside. I love my Wife and all of my children. And that's why I protect them. Not because it's my role. But because doing any less would destroy me. You can't make people be your family, because you can't make them love you. Love isn't a bond that you can forge!
And you especially can't do that through fear and suffering like you've been doing." Tanjuro explained, getting ready to fight. Kie also did by his side. "So then, we don't agree. You've taken one of my family members, so I'll take one of yours" Rui said. He suddenly pulled his arm back and Kie was ripped from his side with a surprised shriek. "KIE!" Tanjuro cried. Rui tangled his Wife with his threads and hung her up in the trees, "now she is my Mother. Your role now is to relinquish her to me and disappear" Rui said. Tanjuro snarled, "let her go!" he yelled furiously as his flames roared to life around him.
"A fire Blood Demon Art. Would be useful against me if you could catch me" Rui said boardy, pulling up his hand, as multiple threads rose up from the ground under Tanjuro. They attempted to slice the three of them to pieces, but the Kamado Demon sliced each one apart with his flaming sword. Giyu and Shinobu, who had until now, been watching the Lower 5's moves very carefully, leapt out of the way of the threads. "Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!" Giyu said as he took out the web of threads as well.
Shinobu leapt into the water, seeing the threads stop attacking her. Tanjuro, seeing that his allies were able to handle themselves at the moment, leapt for Rui. He ignored the threads slicing at his body, as his wounds healed faster than the other Demon could cut him.
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In the air, Kie thrashed and snarled furiously as she tried to escape the threads cutting into her. But they were too tight. She saw her Husband move to cut the enemy Demon's head off, before a huge web hit him and sliced him into multiple pieces. Kie screamed through her gag. She began thrashing harder than ever, furious at what was done to Tanjuro. Rui looked up at her, "you're too noisy" he said, clenching his fist. One of the threads that was wrapped multiple times around her leg tightened, slicing into it in three places.
Kie screamed in agony, as her leg was ripped apart. Tanjuro pulled himself back together with his blood faster than during the battle against Susamaru and Yahaba, growling with pure fury. "Don't you dare hurt my Wife!" he screamed, grabbing his Sword and leaping at Rui. Kie felt herself falling asleep due to how injured she was. She needed to sleep to heal, she knew that. But she had to help Tanjuro! She had to-! She fell unconscious in the webs.
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Tanjuro and the two Hashira sliced apart the webs. "Tomioka. Is there a reason we are holding back and not killing the Lower Rank Demon with ease?" Shinobu asked. Giyu glanced back at Tanjuro, who was getting ready to do a move he had never seen before, "Tanjuro is strong too. I believe that he deserves this one" he replied. Tanjuro drew a deep breath, "Hinokami Kagura: Dance!" he cried, running forwards with hiss blade on fire. He ran faster than he had against anyone except Upper 3, not caring about the cuts he was getting from the threads.
The Kamado Demon, sliced each thread apart with such force and speed, that he practically ripped through them. "You don't think these threads are at maximum strength do you?" Rui asked, his hands and the threads turning red. He sent a huge wall of threads at Tanjuro, who snarled, "I don't care if you slice me apart a hundred times! I will save my Wife!" he yelled.
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Kie was unconscious still in the webs. As she hung there, she heard a voice in her mind. "Kie. Kie, dear, please wake up!" the voice pleaded. She blinked her eyes open, to find herself in a black void. 'Where am I?' she thought. Suddenly she saw a woman in front of her. She had long black hair tied back with a white ribbon. Her eyes were black ass well, and she wore a yellow Kimono with a dark green geometric design and pink flowers patterned in between the green rectangles. "Who are you?" she asked. "My name is Uta Tsugikuni. Tanjuro is my Husband yoriichi's Successor.
He is strong, but because of his worry for you, he will lose this fight, be captured and brought to Muzan Kibutsuji to be destroyed" Uta explained. "No! That can't happen! Please, there has to be something I can do!" Kie cried, feeling utterly helpless. "There is. But you must wake up. Wake up now, and save Tanjuro!' Uta cried. Kie's eyes suddenly snapped open, her pupil slitted with anger. She saw Rui about to slice Tanjuro apart and snarled. She reached out to him, 'Blood Demon Art: Moonlight Manipulation!' she thought. The deadly sharp webs hit a silvery barrier right in front of Tanjuro.
Rui gaped, "what? What is this? Why won't my threads go through?!" he demanded to know. Tanjuro gaped, "Kie!" he breathed, before leaping over the Moonlight shield. "Hinokami Kagura, Setting Sun Transformation!" Tanjuro cried, leaping over the shield and the stunned Rui, he performed a horizontal slash with his burning blade. His Sword sliced right through Rui's neck, much to his shock. 'What?! how?! This shouldn't be possible! How could he have decapitated me with only a single slash?!' Rui thought, as his head fell to the ground. Tanjuro looked up at his Wife, before leaping up to cut her free and grab hold of her.
"Thank you love, you were a big help" Tanjuro said as they fell. Kie hummed sleepily in his arms, shrinking down to her toddler size. She was asleep before he touched the ground, now the size of their Son Rokuta. Giyu and Shinobu walked up to them as he did, sheathing their swords now that the fight was over. "I didn't know Demon's could shape-shift like that!" the black and purple-haired girl said in interest, as Tanjuro pulled the box from his back and placed his sleeping Wife inside it, "well she can. I don't know about myself, since I've never tried or had to shrink.
I know I can take on my human appearance though" he explained, as he replaced the box on his back and stood up. "Well now, I believe that he was the last Demon on this mountain. And you did promise to stand trial once this Mission was over Mr Kamado" Shinobu said sweetly. Tanjuro gained a serious look on his face and nodded, "I did, yes. But first, we need to pick up some people" he replied.