The Dancing Star

Chapter 25

WARNING: This story is rated M for mature-rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering make you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into a demon/human, or more will be labeled in the chapter of occurrence. If a character has died in a chapter, that chapter will give a cause of death to that character.


Shinobu, Kanae, and Giyu


It took quite a time for them to get Giyu back in bed, having been sedated by Shinobu after quite the episode.

This surprised many who witnessed the entire ordeal.

Giyu was never the type to lash out like that, so to see him showing that drastic of a change to himself was noteworthy.

Even if he didn't speak much, the little he did was in a tone that was foreign to him.

"He had a panic attack," Shinobu explained, trying to remain as calm as she could. However, Kanae knew Shinobu was wearing a professional mask. Her clear caretaker and doctor side of her coming out immediately to get Giyu down on a bed before he could harm himself or others.

"Do you know why?" Kanae asked.

"Seemed to have been caused by an extra check-up I was going to do from him," Shinobu explained.

"What checkup?" Kanae asked. "What did you do exactly?"

"I was going to take some blood to make sure there wasn't any poison in it. It's something I've done before, however, this time, he lashed out." Shinobu explained.

Kanae hummed at that. "That is quite concerning… Has he shown signs of discomfort before?"

"All the time." Shinobu explained, "Of the rest of the inhabitants and Hashira's I must check, Tomioka is the most annoying of the bunch. He's like a little kid who doesn't want to be looked over."

"But what underlying reasons could this be? He's not afraid of needles, so then what?" Kanae asked.

"Alas, I couldn't tell you. I was told by Oyakata-sama that Tomioka didn't want to always be checked over whenever he went by missions." Shinobu explained, "But that he was forcing him to."

"So you have to see Tomioka more than the other Hashira's because of Oyataka-sama's request?"

"Exactly," Shinobu explained.

"But why?" Kanae asked.

Shinobu sighed, "That beats me, but usually during these cases, I could tell he was worried for Tomioka."

"Worried for him?" Kanae asked.

"Yes, even Himejima had gotten involved, expressing his concern for him and his wellbeing… They think there's something wrong with him. So they want me to make sure everything is alright with him." Shinobu explained.

"I see. Why wasn't the rest of the Pillars told?" Kanae asked back, clearly intrigued by the conversation being told.

"It's simple, regardless of the supposed issues he's going through, Tomioka is seen as a very capable Hashira, that Oyakata-sama wants to keep. Perhaps he thinks Iguro and Shinazugawa might use this as an excuse to get rid of Tomioka since I know the three are not stable in their attitudes towards one another."

Kanae sighed, "I've always tried to tell them to be nicer to Tomioka, but apparently it's always resorting to yelling and even altercations between them. Oyakata-sama tried to get Shinazugawa and Tomioka together for a mission, but their infighting caused the demon to escape."

"Not just that, they both had marks that resembled that of nichirin blades." Shinobu sighed, "I had to care for the both of them."

"Wait, what?!" This surprised Kanae, for she was unaware of that. "They fought each other during the mission?!"

Shinobu's eyes widened, before she silently cursed, "I wasn't supposed to tell you that…"

"No! What? They chose to fight each other over the demon?" Kanae reiterated, to which Shinobu sighed, before nodding.

"Why did you keep that private?"

"Oyakata-sama's orders." Shinobu bluntly answered, and Kanae sighed.

"Seems we have a lot of secretive stuff going on that we're not aware of…" Kanae mumbled.

"How so?" Shinobu raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed as if she was getting suspicious.

"Do you know the mysterious slayer who had engaged in the upper moon?" Kanae asked, "The one who saved my life?"

"Yes, although the demon slayer was stupid enough to charge at a strong demon, his skills were capable." Shinobu sighed.

"That's the thing, first, there's two of them." Kanae raised her second finger, "And, Oyakata-sama has labeled them as diseased."

"Diseased?" Shinobu's eyes widened at that, "That's impossible. The kakushi and I were recovering the dead and remaining bodies of the Final Selection, and not one matched the description of the masked individuals." Shinobu explained, which contradicted what Kagaya had spoken.

"That's what I was thinking. The fire was taken care of, and there were no more demons after the sun rose. From the time he fought the upper moon to the morning, there was zero chance he was killed by a stray demon, nor did he die from the upper moon's blood demon art because his body was not recovered." Kanae answered, as if the two sisters were on the same wavelength.

"This is certainly suspicious," Shinobu mumbled as if she was pondering.

Kanae smiled. Her sister was truly amongst the smartest within the group and the Pillars. Even if she wasn't a Hashira, and even with all of her shortcomings, Shinobu was a truly intelligent woman.

"But moving onto Tomioka, is he alright?" Kanae asked.

Shinobu sighed, "He's fine, like I said I've calmed him down, but I'm going to wait for him to wake up before we ask questions."

Kanae nodded, "Alright sister, I just wanted to inform you of the status of the masked slayers. I don't think they're dead."

"Understood, I need to make sure Tomioka is fine…" Shinobu sighed, as she was looking back into Tomioka's room.

"Aww, is sister worried for him?" Kanae smirked, as she teased her little sister.

As expected, Shinobu's face turned red, and a tick mark appeared on her forehead, as she was trying her best to deny what her elder sister was teasing her about.

"No! Like hell I would like him! He doesn't even have any friends!" Shinobu exclaimed, clearly not liking what her sister was doing.

Kanae chuckled. She knew very well how her younger sister acted towards others. and could tell that she interacted differently with Giyu than the others.

She liked to tease the usually stoic swordsmen, who rarely batted an eye at her. This would then cause her to get upset and angry at him before she would start to insult him.

Kanae knew that Shinobu said that Giyu didn't have any friends as a way to get closer to him.

It might seem counterintuitive, but perhaps she thought if Giyu realized what she was saying was true, he would perhaps eye her up and try and befriend her and get closer to her.

Unfortunately, Giyu was a stubbornly restrictive individual who did not like going out of his comfort zone.

So, Shinobu would always try and violate the comfort zone to take Giyu out.

It was a natural way to get people to be comfortable with themselves, however, Giyu was a different case.

"Well then, I'll let you go and have fun with him, but don't do anything weird while I'm gone!" Kanae smirked, earning another glare from her sister before she walked off.

Not before Shinobu spoke, "Don't think you are discharged yet. Go back to your room."

Kanae chuckled, "Oh sister, I can't tell if you want to spend more time with me, or Tomioka."

This once again caused Shinobu to yell out of embarrassment, unexpectedly waking up Giyu.

"Of course, you would be the one to wake me up…" Giyu mumbled as he held a hand to his head. "What happened."

Shinobu sighed, "You had a panic attack during our usual checkup."

"I see…" Giyu mumbled, as his body was not up, as he was up, but not out from the bed.

Shinobu sighed before she motioned for Kanae to go back to her room. She would have to have a large discussion with Giyu, for the recent events that happened to him were enough to get Shinobu to notice, that perhaps Oyakata-sama was right.

Maybe there was something wrong with Giyu. Something so unobservable they could only be seen through his actions and how he expresses himself outwards.

It made sense, for Shinobu couldn't tell what Giyu was thinking, whether it was about himself, or others.

Shinobu probably had to find a way to see if she could get Giyu to express something. Unfortunately, Giyu was a notoriously difficult person to get stuff out of. As previously mentioned, he was like a philosophy book. You would have to read a large swat of the book to get the message.

Kanae merely chuckled at her sister's antics before she finally left.

As Shinobu continued, she unfortunately was not getting anything. She was unable to get information out of Giyu and thus gave up.

Perhaps this was who Giyu was, and he had just had a brief episode of something that unexpectedly scared him.

After all, Shinobu acted like this whenever there was a furry creature near her. Giyu was probably just scared of something inside the medical room. After all, it was something she had witnessed a lot from other demon slayers.

Giyu was the majority this time and not the exception.

Giyu hissed in pain as Shinobu continued to wipe the wounds he had sustained from his previous missions. He continued to remain quiet, as he was beginning to think of a particularly traumatic backstory.

Something he didn't want to remember. He could have sworn he escaped that terrible place, but here he was.

He was back in a place that had always been critiquing him. Always analyzed him as if he was a subject.

He didn't want to be back there, again. He wanted to be free.

But oh, how it was so difficult.

He wanted to be out slaying demons. It was something he had found purpose for.

When he was at his lowest, it was the demon slayer corps who believed him and gave him a purpose. Especially when others had framed him for the tragedies that had occurred in his life.

Many people would downplay his past, saying he had brought it onto himself, but he was only a child, and why else would they blame him for it?

For that, the demon slayer corps gave him a purpose. They believed him, and took him in. but even then, the unfortunate tragedies he had sustained throughout the ordeal made him stronger.

At least, it made him into who he was.

As Giyu remained still and quiet, whilst Shinobu looked over him, checking his blood pressure, temperature, and cognitive abilities, she eventually sighed, before letting him off the hook there.

Although she expressed a relative concern for the scars and lack of care he was giving to his body, she ultimately realized she couldn't do much.

After all, Shinobu had continuously tried and tell Giyu about what he was doing, only for him to deny it. This was something they would continue to do, but alas, Shinobu couldn't do much about it, other than hope Giyu took care of himself.

Kanae had told Shinobu that perhaps she could try and go over to the water estate.

Of course, Shinobu was against it, especially after Kanae teased her little sister for being alone with Giyu in his mansion, causing a deep blush to go all over Shinobu's face. Needless to say, this was all the ammo she needed and she continued to bombard Shinobu with some interesting conversations.

"Alright! Fine! I'll go check up on him in his estate!" Shinobu yelled, clearly not wanting to, but alas, as her job was to make sure everyone was in proper conditions, she would have to do this.

"Only if Oyakata-sama is that concerned with him…"

"That's all I need, sister. That is all I need." Kanae smirked, clearly more when she saw the flustered version of Shinobu.

"I will ask Oyakata-sama about the idea, and if he approves, only then I will do so." Shinobu reiterated, clearly indicating she was not going to enjoy this.

But Kanae knew her sister, and thus could only sarcastically smirk, giving a small 'sure,' just to rile up Shinobu just a bit more.

All this time, Giyu had managed to get out whilst the two sisters were out. Even though Shinobu wanted to do more, Giyu had completed a general one. He didn't want to stay for the extra, he was fine with the usual routine.

After all, he was uncomfortable with being around doctors. He had a bad history when it came to doctors and the like. Shinobu was no exception. Even if Giyu was the type to rarely hold a grudge against individuals, he would go as far as to say that he feared Shinobu, sometimes, for the practices she did.

But Giyu knew he shouldn't hold Shinobu responsible for what he went through. He couldn't. But it would take an incredibly long time for Giyu to get comfortable being around the Butterfly Estate as a whole.

All Giyu wanted to do, was focus on himself, and his missions.

After all, the Demon Slayer Corps was the only place in the world where he would be accepted.

Unfortunately, he couldn't go far. When he made it back to his estate, the sounds of knocking immediately stopped his thoughts from racing.

He sighed, as judging from the sounds of the knocking, Giyu knew who it was.

It was the very individual he was trying to get away from.

Shinobu was like a mosquito.

Always finds her way to annoy and focus her attention on Giyu. It was something he was tired of. There were days when Giyu just wanted to be left alone from everyone.

And most of the time, he was able to get out of it due to him being out on missions. However, because of the recent episode he had in the middle of the estate, he didn't want to be out.

He had made it back to his estate to chill, only for Shinobu to follow him, knocking on his door and trying to annoy him and ruin his time once again.

Giyu sighed as he was highly debating either leaving the girl outside or allowing her to go in.

However, he ultimately allowed Shinobu to come into his estate, for the fact that his sister would not condone the actions he would've done. The result was that he would have to endure what Shinobu would tell him.

He wanted to write in the journal Tanjirou had bought for him.

"Ara ara, Tomioka, you need to show proper etiquette when you are being looked over." Shinobu teased Giyu, as he looked away.

"I'm scheduled to go on a separate mission soon." Giyu lied, clearly wanting to find any way out of this.

"I know that is a lie, for Oyakata-sama has informed me that you were cleared of any missions for the week," Shinobu explained.

"What?" Giyu questioned what she said, for even he was unaware of it.

"I asked him before you came back about your missions, and he said you were finishing up your missions for the week. Apparently, you've been getting ahead of them, so he wants you to take a break, alongside a checkup." Shinobu explained.

"But why? I was healthy, right?" Giyu asked back.

"I guess, but there are some concerning trends." Shinobu started, "And considering your apathy to following my advice and coming over, I may ask him in the future to do your checkups at your estate."

Shinobu picked up a small facial expression of panic, before Giyu responded, "Why… Why are you so keen on seeing me."

"Hey, I don't care for you. You have no friends after all. But Oyakata-sama told me since you are performing large swats of missions on a short time interval, to make sure I always check you as much as I can before you go to a new mission."

Giyu sighed, "Fine. If it'll make you stop bothering me, then sure."

"Aww, why? You don't want me bothering you? You know, you could use a bit more friends and livelihood in this estate. Being lonely in such a large building is rather counterintuitive, don't you think?" Shinobu asked. "And the design…"

"Are you done?" Giyu deadpanned.

"No." Shinobu chuckled.

"Of course…" Giyu mumbled. With that, he went upstairs.

Shinobu noticed this and asked, "Where are you going?"

"To my room. Do not come in." Giyu bluntly told Shinobu, and she sighed.

"You need to be more open, Tomioka~," Shinobu responded. However, that did very little to stop Giyu from going to his room.

The sound of a door shut echoed, as it indicated Giyu had indeed gone in his room.

As for what Giyu was going inside the room for, he had picked up the very book Tanjirou had gotten for him.

A journal.

To be truthful, Giyu was questioning the point of one. Or even a diary of some sort.

He found it strange that one would write their feelings and thoughts about the gist of their day.

However, the more Giyu wrote, the more he began to understand why some people did it. Was it therapeutic?

Yeah.

Did Giyu have to see other people and tell them his feelings?

No.

For Giyu, writing his thoughts on a piece of paper was much easier than telling others, who could offer feedback, especially if the input was demoralizing.

Giyu was far from a stoic individual. He hid his thoughts trying to display calamity, when he was in truth, the most broken and racing of them all. His mind was always racing.

But with the help of the journal, at least he could place his thoughts somewhere, open them up later, and continue.

That was the beauty of the diary Giyu had received.

"I should thank Tanjirou for this. He must have had a good intuition to know my mind's been racing." Giyu thought to himself, as he continued onwards.

As so, despite Shinobu calling him down in a passive-aggressive tone, in his estate, Giyu was writing a lot of stuff down for today, especially considering the racing of his thoughts inside the butterfly estate.

And that was the plan for the next couple of days and weeks. Whilst Shinobu was allowed to give Giyu his checkups at his estate by Oyakata-sama, he was also capped at a specific mission count for the week.

That meant that Giyu was unable to go through nonstop weeks of staying away and out for missions. He now had to face many of the Hashira's, or stay in his estate and be bombarded by Shinobu's comments at least for a day or two.

Giyu sometimes wished he was able to take up more missions, but the new rule, Oyakata-sama said, was the improve and encourage some of the lower ranks to take the risk to slay harder demons.

Kagaya hoped that doing this could be a benefit to help the Hashira's, not putting too much strain on them, and encourage and strengthen the qualities of the lower-ranked demon slayers.

And to further help and combat the seemingly lowering quality of the newer demon slayers that were joining the ranks, Kagaya would make sure they would be teamed up to better handle and learn from their fights.

After all, there were only nine Hashiras and a handful of high-ranking demon slayers.

And this was an organization that was not government-recognized nor funded, meaning it was something they ran on their own. You would think that the concept of demons would get the attention of many, but surprisingly it didn't.

The most prevalent rank within the demon slayer corps was actually Kanoto, or the third lowest rank the demon slayer corps would give.

Whilst many would assume it would be the lowest ranks, such as Mizunoto or Mizunoe, many of those demon slayers would get killed by any regular demon that they may find, especially if those had a blood demon art.

Kanoto was essentially the place where many demon slayers, on their own, could comfortably handle many low and weak demons.

Even Aoi, who had thrown down the sword, seemingly until now, was a Mizunoto rank.

The next large hurdle would be the Hinoe to Kinoe rank, as these are the ranks where the demon slayers, on their own could handle relatively stronger demons or those with a strong blood demon art.

As a result, it would take demon slayers time to climb up the ranks, which eventually culminated in slaying a large number of demons, including a potential twelve kizuki as a Kinoe.

Yes, it was very strict, but it was something that was changed in recent times to help deal with the diminishing quality of demon slayers.

Regardless, Kagaya, whilst careful for his children's safety, also acknowledges the children would need experience if they were to become stronger. As a result, it was what he did. Although the number would drop to deal with the high rise of standards, he felt in the longer term, it would make more formidable demon slayers.

As Giyu took in the fact that he was no longer being allowed to on as many missions as he was used to, he sighed, and looked around his estate, trying to figure out what to do now.

He certainly was not going to entertain Shinobu, who was downstairs as he finished his writing of his diary for the day. He was limited in the page limit of what he could write.

As he finished, he decided to focus on getting Shinobu out of his estate before he would be forced to swat her away like the mosquito she was.

Although Shinobu was a persistent mosquito, and so Giyu was having some difficulty getting her out of his estate.

Nonetheless, she and him were talking for a bit, which surprised even Giyu.

"So, what exactly is the point of this?" Shinobu asked as she pointed toward a picture of what appeared to be a waterfall.

"That's the place where I used to train," Giyu explained. "Our teacher would make us swim against a river, and sometimes even drop us in the waterfall. If I hadn't belly-flopped, I would've had an easier time."

Shinobu looked somewhat shocked at the casual tone Giyu explained something rather extensive.

"That's rather…" Shinobu mumbled, clearly not knowing what to say. "Brutal for no reason." She eventually found her words.

"It was, how it was. That was how we originally developed the strength to become demon slayers." Giyu explained.

Shinobu looked over at Giyu, with a bit of a weird expression, since he wasn't seeming to be as easygoing as he showed himself outside.

"Tomioka sounds very happy about talking about this… Almost like he's remembering the good times from the images of the frame he has…" Shinobu thought, "However, judging by the pessimistic tone he has, I can only assume he lost the precious things he holds…"

While this was something Shinobu probably could guess.

After all, Giyu was a demon slayer, and almost every demon slayer had a tragic reason to become one.

The only exception that was different from the rest was Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira, however, even then she had her struggles with the tragedies.

All in all, Shinobu seemed to have forgotten that Giyu was probably no different. No human who had no losses or tragedies would in their right mind want to become a demon slayer.

As this occurred, Shinobu noticed a smaller picture on Giyu's countertop. It was highly preserved regardless, and it seemed to be of four individuals.

Shinobu calmly picked it up, and quickly asked, "What about this?"

This seemed to have resonated with Giyu, for he remained quiet, although with a somewhat somber tone.

This immediately made Shinobu realize that something had happened.

While her curiosity was wanting her to ask Giyu, she decided it was probably not in her best interests to even ask him.

Especially since it seemed like a sensitive topic for Giyu, judging from his expression.

"They were my best friends." Giyu explained bluntly, "They also trained to become demon slayers. If anything, I was the last one of the bunch to train and become a demon slayer."

"Is that so?" Shinobu asked. "Must've been a nice experience, huh?"

"It was…" Giyu sighed, as he gently took the frame from Shinobu's hand, placing it back safely in his countertop.

All this time, she had noticed the rather calm, and yet easy tone Giyu had.

"How are they doing?" She hesitantly asked, not knowing if that was the right thing to say.

However, seeing the expression on Giyu's usually stoic face was all she needed to see.

"Nevermind. It's not in my place to ask this." Shinobu quickly mumbled.

"Thank you."

A simple thank you.

From Giyu.

It was probably the first time he openly thanked her, besides the few times he had to thank her for checking up on him medically.

But even then, Shinobu could tell Giyu had been saying thank you in a rather forced tone.

This was the only time he openly said thank you with a rather easy tone.

Ironically, it was that specific statement that made Shinobu realize that Giyu had truly meant it when he said thank you to Shinobu, from all the times she would nurse him.

"This is strange, why does Giyu not thank me for nursing him back to health?" Shinobu thought to herself, clearly questioning what was Giyu thinking.

"But then again, thinking back to the most recent experience, he did suffer a panic attack…" Shinobu thought.

She was no longer trying to tease Giyu, but rather decipher him. He was perhaps the most confusing of all the Hashiras she knew. And this was all because she was unable to understand him. Even though Giyu was amongst the most normal-looking of the Hashira, it was certain that he had a lot more to hide than everyone else.

Regardless, the fact Giyu rarely smiled or never did. The little "smile," he would get would merely have him containing a neutral expression. Never once did his mouth ever curve upwards.

This ironically was shared with the masked, serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro. Neither of them rarely, if not ever smiled.

However, Shinobu could tell that Obanai would smile whenever around the Love Hashira, Mitsuri. It was perhaps a bit of romance that was brewing between the two, something Shinobu secretly envied, but she digressed.

She never saw Giyu smile for anything. Nothing truly.

And this made her more intrigued by him.

Not to mention that her elder sister kept teasing her about this intrigue she had about Giyu.

Just because Oyakata-sama wanted her to check over Giyu more, that didn't mean anything. If anything, she hated looking after Giyu, because he was always the most apprehensive of the bunch, and this was tied with Obanai when it came to his face. At least here, Obanai had no problem when it came to showing other parts of his body.

Giyu was none of the above. He wanted no sense of exposure.

"Well, I just want to make sure that Oyakata-sama has allowed me to enter your estate to give you your check-up here since you seem very adamant about getting back to your missions," Shinobu explained.

This only made Giyu sigh, for his supposed two extra days of relaxation would be ruined because of Shinobu.

This made him rather annoyed, but he couldn't go against what the master said.

It was master's orders. The least he could do was to tolerate everything. The last thing he wanted to do was to make Shinobu angry, to then complain to the master.

And so, Giyu tolerated.

"Seems like you did have friends after all, though," Shinobu smirked. "I thought for the longest time you had no friends."

Giyu merely eyed away, "I do have friends, and I am liked."

"Sure." Shinobu smirked, "Name someone who has a positive opinion of you, who isn't someone who likes everyone."

"You," Giyu answered back.

"No, I hate you." Shinobu countered back.

"Then why are you here in my estate with me?" Giyu countered back to Shinobu's counter.

At this, Shinobu couldn't say anything else. "You make a fair point, I guess I'll go."

"Alright, see you, Kocho." Was all Giyu responded.

"Damn, nothing else? Guess I'll take what I can get. But at least I saw some semblance of a different side to you." Shinobu thought to herself as she eventually left.

As she left, she knew this was going to become the new norm.

How she felt about it, she wasn't sure.

And so, while Giyu pondered the changes coming to his life because of Shinobu, the two butterfly sisters, specifically Kanae found her interest falling on the two individuals of the Final Selection.


With Tanjirou and Nezuko (One Week Later)


After roughly two weeks of going across and finding other demons for the missions they would find, both Tanjirou and Nezuko continued to find, and fight demons, slaying them down in the end.

Throughout the weeks, Nezuko continued to alter her water breathing in ways that made her a fast learner of the breathing style. With the amount she was taught, she was phenomenal. Even if she was a demon that was rather advantageous because she didn't suffer from fatigue, she was strong in her breathing style.

She was better at water breathing than her brother, but this was also counting the experience she had after finding her affinity with her father all those years ago. All this time, contributed to Nezuko being a very adaptable individual in combat.

Not to mention her demonic attributes help immensely.

As for Tanjirou, he was seemingly having a bit of trouble progressing through the missions.

However, the reason for that, was because Tanjirou was trying to practice and master his concentration breathing constantly.

Not that it was something he was struggling to do. He was able to do it very well. However, the context was something important that Tanjirou had to fill in. Specifically, how his body was when he was in a fight, versus in a dance, trance, sleeping, or at rest.

In short, Tanjirou had to adapt himself to the breathing constant for fights.

Unfortunately, the main way for him to do that was to get in fights and to practice the breathing pattern he had usually had.

It was almost like taking a run while keeping your breathing the same as if you were walking. It was very difficult because there would eventually be a point where you would hasten your breathing. After all, you would get out of breath.

That was the case for Tanjirou. It was hard for him to retain the breathing when his entire body was on overdrive trying to fight a demon. The only way he could be able to master it properly, was to get stronger, which unfortunately was not easy for the boy, for he was still a demon who either needed to rest or eat demon flesh. The former was not possible due to him always having to move a sleeping Nezuko, to their next mission.

That was somewhat the gist of their lives for the month. They would take a mission, and immediately try to complete it before they moved on to the next one right after. They would only rest if the daytime was near, for obvious reasons. However, both Tanjirou and Nezuko could easily catch a train to hasten their progress.

It was so effective that it saved the two of them around ten total days of traveling and stopping to rest out of fear of being exposed to the sun.

Nonetheless, it made it easier for the two to head towards a mission, and to finish it sooner.

The swamp demon was their first official mission, and while they were upset to save the girl, specifically Tanjirou, he was told that he would see a lot of death as he fought.

It was a sad, but natural part of their missions.

Tanjirou yawned, for the stress, guilt, and hunger he had all cumulated to his current state.

Ever since the fight with the swamp demon, he was exhausted, not to mention he was still trying to focus on his total concentration breathing constantly. Once again, he was able to do it just fine when his body was still, calm, and relaxed.

However, he still needed to practice retaining it when his body was in a fight. It was almost involuntary to hasten one's breathing when they were in a vigorous state. To change it was merely similar, not make a reflection occur.

And so, Tanjirou did get some help from Nezuko in the form of practice and training. They would simply spar, to help Tanjirou get closer to achieving the advanced breathing technique.

Once that was there, Tanjirou was a somewhat intriguing case when it came to improving. He was improving, albeit a bit slower. In a sense, he was trading a bit of short-term pain for long-term gain. In the meantime, Tanjirou didn't have the extra physical capabilities of a demon. He did to a limited extent, but it was nothing compared to Nezuko.

He did have regeneration, but it was rather slow, and thus he couldn't do much if he was in that situation. While Tanjirou didn't have this, he was able to circumvent this by using his demon form, but it did ruin the risk of him losing his cover, for his human form was very strong and potent.

But that was nothing compared to him consuming the demons. For every mission Tanjirou got alongside his sister, Tanjirou got strong as he consumed to demons he came across. While he was barely stronger than an average demon, he was now able to handle some of the stronger ones. He still needed to do more to be able to overpower the strongest possible demons.

At least he could match some of the weaker demons, which was a plus for Tanjirou, as he continued to get stronger by eating demon flesh, which certainly helped him.

Going back to the swamp demon, despite being unable to save Satoko, they prevented more girls from suffering the same fate, which mattered more.

They first had to slay the demons, and then help those that were available.

While Tanjirou was able to get some snacks and rest for the journey ahead of them, it was only fulfilling for his needs. If consuming food and sleeping increased his stamina and helped him against wanting to eat human flesh, only eating demon flesh was the equivalent of marechi for a demon.

Regardless, Tanjirou looked down at a critically injured demon. Nezuko had been able to brutally beat down the demon after it was exhausted by Tanjirou. Once that was finished, he looked down at the demon with pity.

"You poor demon." Was all Tanjirou mumbled to the demon, who was now begging for his life? "I cannot give you more life, for the actions you've committed. Especially since you showed no remorse whilst committing those acts." Tanjirou finished, and with a mighty swipe of his blade, he sliced the neck of the demon.

"How many demons have we encountered in the past weeks, Nezuko?" Tanjirou asked.

"Around 12. We both have slayed around six demons each since officially becoming demon slayers." Nezuko explained.

"How does the ranking of the demon slayers work, again?" Tanjirou asked once he got the answer.

"From what I remembered, every rank has a requirement of demons and missions one has to complete," Nezuko explained. "Perhaps ask the crow?"

"Oh, right, I should." Tanjirou scratched his head in slight embarrassment.

"Hey, Tennoji?" Tanjirou asked his crow, whose full name is Matsuemon Tennoji.

"Caw! What is it, Tanjirou Kamado and Nezuko Kamado?" Matsuemon asked. Matsuemon was a crow that had quite the ego, but other than that, he was open to speaking his mind.

He had no filter.

Regardless, Matsuemon began to explain.

"Caw! The demon slayer corps is split into twelve total ranks!" Matsuemon explained.

"Twelve?!" Nezuko exclaimed, clearly surprised by the amount of ranks needed.

"Caw! The lowest rank is Mizunoto. The only way to properly gain this rank is to complete the Final Selection which the two of you, from what I remember, have been excluded for your respective conditions!" Matsuemon revealed.

"How do you get to higher ranks?" Tanjirou asked his crow.

"Caw! You must slay demons and complete missions to gain higher ranks. To achieve Mizunoe, you must at least slay a total of twenty demons! There are no requirements as to what strength the demon may be." Tanjirou's crow explained as the two nodded.

"Furthermore, to achieve rank Kanoto, you must slay around 10 demons with blood demon arts!" Tanjirou's crow explained.

"So I'm assuming the higher quality of demons we slay gets higher?" Tanjirou asked.

"Caw! Indeed! Continue to slay demons, that will usually get harder, and you will eventually be a Kinoe! Once that happens, you will need to slay twelve kizuki and have slain 50 demons!"

"50 demons?!" Tanjirou exclaimed. "Isn't that too much?"

"Indeed! Used to be less! But made more extensive to encourage higher quality demon slayers!" The crow explained.

"Fair enough." Was all the two of them thought before they continued onwards.

It was rather intriguing, for although they were demons, and couldn't be out in the sun, they were able to run for as long as they could. Not to mention the techniques they have adopted could have easily circumvented this.

This all culminated until they reached what appeared to be a large mansion.

"Looks like we've made it sooner than anticipated, brother," Nezuko commented, as Tanjirou nodded. However, as she watched her brother look down, she knew Tanjirou was pondering something that was suffocating his mind.

"Are you alright, brother?" Nezuko asked. "You know you can tell me what is on your mind."

Tanjirou sighed, "For the most part, I think I'm fine,.."

"You are lying brother," Nezuko answered and retorted back.

"I'll tell you in a bit… I'm still trying to figure it out. Anyways, now that we are here, what do we do?"

Nezuko looked onwards, "Seems we enter the building and slay the demon the crow wants us to do. Regardless, I hope you figure it out quicker than you think. Just like how you got here quicker than we thought."

"I know… Sometimes I just feel like everything is going way faster than we think. Almost like we're going through time…" Tanjirou explained to Nezuko.

"I can see where you are getting at, however, even as we get stronger, we still feel like humans, even demons," Nezuko commented.

"Indeed." Tanjirou contemplated as the two began to enter the building. Perhaps the two of them needed to enter the building since it was becoming day soon, they knew that by remaining inside of the building with demons, they could be in for some serious problems.

The other was the risk of other demon slayers showing up. The risk was there, and it could be a problem.

"How will be sure no demon slayers will come here?" Tanjirou asked.

"Caw! No crow is designed to assign missions with the two of you!" Tanjirou's crow explained.

"Well, there's our answer," Tanjirou commented before they entered. The two entered the building an hour before the sun rose. This gives them around a large swat of hours to make sure the area is cleared of demons.

Before they could enter and properly assemble themselves safely in the mansion, they both began to notice something.

"Do you sense that, Nezuko?" Tanjirou asked, his face contorted a bit as if he was trying to get an idea of what he was smelling.

Whatever was smelling for Tanjirou and Nezuko, it smelt incredibly good.

Almost euphoric. As if they were being presented with a very tasty meal. It was entrancing, almost, and Tanjirou wanted to desperately head towards it wherever it was.

"Brother?" Nezuko suddenly asked, snapping Tanjirou out of it, "What is that smell?"

"I don't know…" Tanjirou mumbled. "I for a second thought it may have been a tasty demon, but since you are sensing it, it's made me digress on that," Tanjirou explained and answered for Nezuko, clearly just as confused as she was.

While Nezuko was able to somewhat mitigate the effects, that couldn't be said for Tanjirou. Once again, it was all because of his sense of smell. He was able to smell whatever it was from a mile away, and he almost unconsciously began to run towards the source of the smell.

He didn't even realize he was drooling until his sister pointed it out.

"Brother, are you alright? What's going on?" Nezuko asked as Tanjirou's salivation and drooling had suddenly come to a halt. The sound of Nezuko had managed to snap Tanjirou out of his unconscious and involuntarily, innate feelings and desires.

When he placed his hand around his mouth, he knew now he had been salivating.

"I… the smell…" Tanjirou struggled to speak, as he was trying his best to maintain his focus. However, with the smell in the air, it was difficult.

"Must… desensitize myself to it…" Tanjirou told himself, as he was clenching his fists tightly, to do anything to distract him from whatever he was sensing.

"What is going on…?" Tanjirou mumbled yet again, as Nezuko too had some drool coming off her face, but not as much as Tanjirou.

"Caw! That would be the result of marechi blood!" The crow for the both of them flew onto Tanjirou's shoulder.

"M-Marechi, what is that?" Tanjirou asked as he was wiping his face from the drool he was showing.

"Caw! Marech is a rare blood type that humans can have! They are deemed very valuable to demons because they are very nutritious! For you, Tanjirou, your advanced sense of smell is making it more difficult for you to withstand the marechi's entrancing scent!" His crow revealed

Immediately, Tanjirou's eyes narrowed as he had the idea now.

The source of this smell was a human, and Tanjirou's demonic urges were coming to light.

Nezuko too was struggling, but she was able to maintain her innate desires better because, Tanjirou made sure she slept enough so that she was in peak condition, plus she did not have the same strong sense of smell as Tanjirou did.

Not only did Tanjirou have an advanced sense of smell, but he also suffered from feeling rather unfulfilled. He could only go for snacks and small meals, and consuming demon flesh was far between to sustain Tanjirou.

The result was Tanjirou was hungrier than Nezuko.

Instinctively, Tanjirou held one of his hands tightly onto Nezuko's to act as a place where he could lash out his feelings. He gripped Nezuko's hand incredibly tight in an attempt to block out the feeling he was having.

Nezuko could see the change in Tanjirou. Nezuko was holding Tanjirou tightly, taking off his mask to prevent any more drool from messing up his mask. It was here with Nezuko's very own eyes, that the demon form of Tanjiro was out once again.

His nails had grown to pitch black, his teeth were showing their fangs, not to mention the birthmark on Tanjirou's face.

Before the attack, at least as a human, Tanjirou's birthmark resembled that of a burn scar on the left side of his forehead. When Tanjirou was turned into a demon, the burn scar became a rigid red scar that went just above his left eyebrow.

Now, in his demonic form, he had a rigid red scar forming from his left forehead down to the bridge of his nose. He also had some smaller ones on the right side of his face, including his right forehead, and right neck and jaw, which was almost connecting to the bridge of his nose.

Nezuko continued to hold onto her brother in the event he did lash out. She felt confident in her brother, and she could tell that he was indeed holding his innate decisions in, but she still had to just be safe.

"Perhaps I should find something that'll block his nose…?" Nezuko asked herself before she eventually decided there was no point.

This was a first-time experience for the two of them, and so their innate feelings about this would be the strongest.

Of course, just like a reflex, you can resist and better handle it with repeated and longer exposure.

And thankfully for the two of them, they did feel their desires lowering bit by bit.

Nezuko wanted to jump when she heard the sounds of a growl coming from Tanjirou. It sounded so unlike him, but she knew her brother was still there.

She too felt herself losing it, but once again, both the assistance and worry of her brother were what was making her feel a bit at ease, despite the presence of a marechi near them.

Before Nezuko knew it, Tanjirou took out his shichishito and bit his teeth into it. Neither he nor the blade were damaged, as Tanjirou was using this as some sort of temporary muffle.

Eventually though, and thankfully, Tanjirou's demonic form was beginning to revert to his human form. The marks were fading back to the original left side of the forehead, his nails retracted, and so did his teeth. His plum red eyes became a bit pinker and the black slit pupils reverted to a pure black circle haze.

Tanjirou sighed in relief.

"You alright, brother?" Nezuko asked.

Tanjirou nodded, albeit with a bit of difficulty, to talk. "Yeah… That was hard…"

"You can say that again, Should we try and rescue the marechi human?" Nezuko asked, "If we struggled this much to hold our desires, imagine how quick other demons could go."

"Shit… You're right Nezuko, we should go." Tanjirou mumbled. Quickly drying his mask to the best of his abilities, he properly placed the mask back onto his face.

And so, the two made their way over towards the source of the smell. Even if they were somewhat afraid to, due to their uncertainty of losing control, he ultimately knew that they were safer than any other demon the marechi would run into.

Tanjirou continued to smell, but it once again had the impact of making Tanjirou's innate and demonic desires stronger.

"Brother?" Nezuko asked once again, catching him before he accidentally was out of her wingspan.

"Sorry Nezuko…" Tanjirou sighed.

"If you are having problems going through this mansion, you can stay over there and keep the area safe from other demons who may try to enter." Nezuko proposed, but Tanjirou shook his head.

"No! I can manage! It's just my smell, I was able to smell the individual's blood from so far away." Tanjirou reiterated, "I can do this."

Nezuko sighed, but then spoke about her hesitation, "I think you should stay back brother, I don't know what to do if you lose control again like that."

This seemed to have upset Tanjirou, as he once again fell back to his worst thoughts.

"What? Are you saying I can't do this with you?" Tanjirou suddenly asked, taking what Nezuko was saying off.

"What? No! It's just I worry that you might do something you may regret." Nezuko tried to soothe Tanjirou.

But the boy seemed very pissed about what Nezuko had said. "You think I can't do this?" Tanjirou asked.

"No! You can!" Nezuko exclaimed back. She worried for Tanjirou now, considering this was something she had seen before. While she and Tanjirou arguing was somewhat rare, they were very low points. And now, this was their first time after becoming demons.

"Well, then I'm going with you." Tanjirou bluntly confirmed to Nezuko, in a tone that gave no real room for other reconsiderations. And once again, this went back to the entire ordeal of their family environment.

Regardless, Nezuko knew she just wanted to be involved. If Tanjirou was ever denied anything and told he shouldn't do anything, he would take it the wrong way.

And could you blame him? He was purposely ostracized by his family, even when he did everything he could. Even when he tried, he never got acknowledgment or praise. It was just neutral expressions as if kids his age were supposed to take on the work he took on.

They thought it was a matter of expectedness, and not out of kindness.

And even then, throughout the entire poor treatment Tanjirou received, he would have nightmares. Not just because of the treatment he received, but also because of the failure he felt. What usually went through his mind, was that because their family was in such a poor condition, it meant that Tanjirou didn't do what he was expected to do correctly. He failed as a charcoal burner.

He failed to do everything in the eyes of his parents and siblings. Only Nezuko tried to at least thank him and acknowledged that Tanjirou had working abnormally harder than any kid his age would do. Tanjirou was just a kid, and now, he was trying to find his place in the world.

But through it all, he was also a kid who wanted purpose. He wanted to take every opportunity and every chance at something new possible so that he could ultimately find something he would be gifted at.

For Nezuko realized, that Tanjirou never set goals for himself, or had any self-value. Tanjirou thought he was an inferior individual through it all. Nezuko knew this better than anyone. However, she couldn't find someone to help break the cycle Tanjirou was in.

Tanjirou let others determine who he was, especially within the family. He never did things because he wanted to. He felt very little self-worth that he didn't have the right to do things for his being.

The only reason he was doing what he was doing, was because of Nezuko. It was to cure Nezuko. If only Tanjirou had lived throughout the ordeal, Nezuko could have guessed that Tanjirou would have given up.

But regardless, Nezuko knew that this was an example of Tanjirou's behavior and internalizing occurring. He wanted to do this to see if he could succeed or fail. He was desperately trying to find something to feel good about himself, but in his mind, the world would always find a way to blame him.

It was a tragic cycle, that Nezuko tried to break, but alas she couldn't.

"Alright, you can come Tanjirou. I never said you couldn't. I was recommending you something. If you want to come, then of course I wouldn't mind my brother joining me." Nezuko explained, clearly managing to calm Tanjirou down.

"However, we need to take hold of ourselves and not have this happen again," Nezuko warned the two.

"You're right, I need to be more careful. I will." Tanjirou confirmed to Nezuko, and that was all she needed to hear from her brother. Because she believed in her brother's words.

She always did, for her brother meant great intentions in his words and actions, even if they sometimes came out as hurtful.

As the two made their way deeper into the mansion, they discovered something.

Children.

They appeared out of nowhere, causing Tanjirou to turn his head, as the smell of individuals came and assaulted his nose.

"What's going on?" Tanjirou asked, freaking out before he noticed the children. "What are you all in here for?"

"We're looking for our older brother!" One of them explained.

"Why in here? Don't you know what lurks in here?" Tanjirou responded, scolding them like they were his little siblings.

"A monster!" They all exclaimed, "We know! Because they took our older brother when we were just walking out at night…"

"Describe your brother to us," Tanjirou asked.

"Orange kimono-" The siblings began to explain before they noticed something.

Nezuko quickly grabbed the siblings, whilst Tanjirou grabbed the projectile that was thrown towards them.

And Tanjirou let out a cry of shock and horror, as he realized the thrown projectile was a dead body of a demon slayer.

"Brother, you alright?" Nezuko asked her brother.

"Yeah… wait, this guy doesn't have the orange kimono…" Tanjirou mumbled. He then checked over the haori of the demon slayer, and his eyes widened.

"Rank Kanoe…" Tanjirou mumbled in his head.

"But aren't we too low for a rank like this?" Nezuko asked.

"Most definitely," Tanjirou confirmed. The two seemed to have gotten somewhat frozen at the entire ordeal, but eventually, after a minute, Tanjirou acted.

"You two." Tanjirou pointed towards the siblings, "Can you give the person here a proper burial? Nezuko and I need to solve and stop this demon from hurting your brother, alright?" Tanjirou asked the siblings. Tanjirou didn't want to give the children the responsibility of this, but seeing as it was daytime outside, neither of the demon siblings could afford to go out.

The siblings nodded, as they took the dead demon slayer out of the mansion to bury the individual who died.

With them being shown a literal dead demon slayer, Tanjirou and Nezuko both stared forward, determined to stop this demon from killing more people. They needed to save the individual the demon had now.

As they continued to carefully explore, they at least had the certainty and comfort that the children would be safe outside in the day. Despite Tanjirou and Nezuko being trapped in the mansion, this gave them an entire day to properly eliminate the threat that was posed inside the mansion.

And what happened to both of the demon siblings' surprise, as the room began to move on its own. They felt their bodies being moved around.

"The room around us changed…" Tanjirou mumbled as he began to explore around.

"Nezuko?!" Tanjirou yelled as he heard a faint noise from the other side of the wall from Nezuko.

This was concerning for both of them. They were now effectively alone.

"Nezuko? Are you alright on the other side?" Tanjirou asked, concerned for his sister.

"Yes, I'm fine… At least the kids are alright outside." Nezuko told her brother about their mental connections.

"I guess the two of us will have to explore around…" Tanjirou told each other.

"We still need to find the elder brother of the children." Tanjirou then warned Nezuko, "So anyone with an orange kimono is crucial."

"Understood." Nezuko reaffirmed, as the two made their way down.

However, the two heard a loud bong sound, which caused the room to move yet again. Tanjirou and Nezuko both tried to keep their balance, as this was somewhat to varying degrees of success.

For both of them, the room changed yet again.

"Right after a bong…" Nezuko mumbled as if she was trying to understand everything that was going on.

As Tanjirou explored the room he was in, he quickly realized that the room was a hallway, whilst Nezuko was stuck in a bedroom.

Nezuko had to do everything in her power not to go on one of the beds and sleep right then and there.

But thankfully, the room changed yet again.

"Brother, could this be the use of a blood demon art?" Nezuko asked.

"It has to be, I've never seen this happen before." Tanjirou deadpanned as he confirmed the thoughts and suspicions.

At least the two of them were getting used to it.

However, as Tanjirou continued with his walk, he eventually began to smell blood yet again.

This was a stench he was more familiar with. The smell of a demon.

And around this time, Nezuko seemed to have found something intriguing as well.

"Brother, I found Teruko," Nezuko told her brother.

"Who's Teruko?" Tanjirou asked, as his eyebrow raised for the sudden question he had.

"The older brother the siblings were looking for," Nezuko explained, and Tanjirou sighed in relief.

"Oh, that's great. If you want, find your way back to the exterior of the mansion, and get him out to meet back with his siblings." Tanjirou explained.

"What about you?" Nezuko asked as she started to worry for her brother's wellbeing.

"Don't worry for me." Tanjirou bluntly responded, "It's not like I'll find the demon soon with this blood demon art."

"True, you make a fair point," Nezuko commented before she decided to go through with her plan.

Once Tanjirou continued to make his way deeper into the mansion, Nezuko briefly made her way out.

"So, who are you?" Teruko asked, clearly wanting to know who this individual was.

However, Nezuko was unable to speak directly to others herself. She needed Tanjirou to be here, which he wasn't.

As a result, the entire interaction between Nezuko and Teruko was one awkward sentence of Teruko trying to ask Nezuko a simple question, but Nezuko was unable to answer it due to her inability to talk to others externally.

It was somewhat frustrating, but Nezuko found a way to make it work. She chose to write down what she was saying, hoping the children knew how to read.

Thankfully it seemed Teruko knew.

"But you are a demon, why are you saving me?" Teruko asked.

Nezuko wrote that she was a demon slayer, and thus her mission and goal was to save humans and slay demons who harmed them.

That was enough to get Teruko out of the suspicious Nezuko tone he had. Nezuko did confirm she was a demon with this statement, but she also confirmed she was a demon slayer who would take care of the demons inside the mansion.

"Oh, I see…" Teruko mumbled, "Are my siblings alright?"

Nezuko wrote that his siblings were outside of the mansion during the day, and thus they would be alive. In addition, she asked how Teruko survived if he was a marechi.

"Honestly, because many demons were fighting and arguing over who got to eat me. I ran away whilst the demons fought each other." Teruko explained,

"That makes sense. I'm guessing the demon that manipulates the room is probably the strongest since it interferes with the entire mansion." Nezuko thought to herself.

And so, whilst her priority was to make sure Teruko was safe and out of the mansion, she did know she would have to rush back in for Tanjirou, hoping her brother would be fine against the demons inside.

Regardless, Nezuko was still fighting her innate instincts, since the boy next to her was indeed the marechi the demons fought over. She was making sure she wouldn't drool, but every second that crossed inched her ever closer to the action.

She did her best, including trying to focus on the walls of the room, or biting her tongue with her teeth, anything that would help distract her from the marechi that was right next to her.

Nezuko did realize that the boy in question was bleeding on his arm.

"So that's why his smell is so prevalent… He's been bleeding this entire time!" Nezuko exclaimed as she decided to stop for a bit.

This confused Teruko, who eyed her, "What are you doing? I thought we were going out?"

Nezuko nodded before she brought a small bandage and wiped it. Teruko looked a bit confused before he realized the cut on his arm.

"Oh, right… Guess I didn't get out entirely unharmed…"

Nezuko nodded, giving a tone that it was all fine and that he had no control over it. Nezuko carefully wiped the blood off before placing some coverings on the area to tightly seal the cut.

Almost immediately, Nezuko felt the relief as the marechi blood was much less consuming. She could still sense the marechi blood, but it was so little that it didn't cause her to lose control,

Eventually, she managed to find the place she was looking for. It progressively got easier since the blood demon art didn't make them switch rooms as much as before. Now, they made it to the entrance, with Nezuko recognizing it as the place she and her brother told the others to leave.

It was day, meaning the siblings were safe.

Nezuko informed Teruko to go out, and he did as he was told. Nezuko immediately shielded herself from the sun's rays as the door opened, but thankfully, the door closed back, and Nezuko could hear the gratified and relieved sounds of the children, hugging their elder brother.

"Kiyoashi!" "Teruko!" Nezuko knew very well the siblings were ecstatic to see them, and Nezuko decided to head back in to give the siblings their own time, and to find her one.

"Brother, I got Teruko back, are you alright?" Nezuko asked Tanjirou.

"I'm not so sure, I'm stuck in the rooms, and I can sense that I'm very close to the demon. I might be engaging with him soon." Tanjirou warned.

"Alright, I'll try and make my way there," Nezuko responded, as she immediately ran deeper into the mansion.

"Brother, can you hear me?" Nezuko asked as she continued to make her way into the building. She had purposely gone deeper into the building with the hope that Tanjirou's voice continued to get louder and louder, and more coherent.

"Yeah, I can, judging by how much better I am hearing you, I'm assuming you are close?" Tanjirou asked. Judging by the somewhat hasty tone of his voice, Nezuko assumed Tanjirou was engaging with a demon.

"Indeed," Nezuko confirmed as she unsheathed her blade, in preparation for any demons that they will inevitably encounter.

"I'm busy fighting the demon who's responsible for maneuvering the rooms. I don't know how I've encountered him, but I have. The demon goes by the name of Kyogai, and more apparently, he was a former lower moon who served under Muzan." Tanjirou informed his sister.

"That's great! We're one step closer, brother!" Nezuko exclaimed in glee, as she was more committed towards finding the demon that was now a target.

"Are the siblings safe?" Tanjirou asked.

"Yes, they are outside during the day. I would assume they are heading back towards their home." Nezuko answered Tanjirou.

As Nezuko continued to make her way towards the scene of the crime, Tanjirou eyed Kyogai with a specific stare. Considering this was a demon who had connections to the very individual whom Tanjirou wanted to confront, whatever this demon held was crucial.

Kyogai growled, "You are just a bug! Do you know what you've just gotten rid of?!"

Tanjirou nodded, "Yes, I do. My sister and I saved a marechi from the likes of you and the other demons in this mansion."

"Exactly!" Kyogai exclaimed in anger. "This is a being I desperately need!"

Tanjirou tilted her head, "And why do you desperately need the marechi?"

"So I can gain my rightful place back alongside the most powerful of all demons! I could be back with the demon progenitor!" Kyogai explained his tone very loud, almost echoing inside the room. "And then he booted me out because I was weak!"

"It's exactly what I knew. He was a demon who saw exactly what Muzan was like!" Tanjirou's eyes widened.

Before Tanjirou knew it, there was a voice in his mind, gnawing at him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was the equivalent of seeing red. Even his nose could smell nothing but disgust, clearly from the association Kyogai had with Muzan.

"So what?" Tanjirou asked, as if it was the most unnecessary thing in the world, "You won't be in the same place forever, you know. Why take pride in serving under someone?"

This seemed to anger Kyogai, who fumed. "My entire life was to become stronger! To let my talent, me known!"

But Tanjirou was the last individual to tell this too. He knew very well what was happening, and if he had to lay down the harsh realities of the world, then he would.

Tanjirou scoffed, "Well too bad. Just accept the fact that sometimes the hard work you give to your work will never be acknowledged." Tanjirou said it with such bitterness, that it almost felt out of character for him.

"Well, I won't accept that if there is something I can do about it! If I get that marechi, I can become stronger and take my place back!" Kyogai exclaimed, his anger strengthening and his voice now turning to a thundering roar.

Tanjirou scoffed at this, "Don't you even see the actions you are doing? The lives you are willing to take just for your selfish desires?"

"I don't care," Kyogai mumbled as he readied his drums.

"Well, you should," Tanjirou explained. "For the more humans you kill, the more you will be sought after. The way you are seeking out your talent is unsustainable." Tanjirou added.

"Is that so?" Kyogai asked, "You think my talent is unsustainable? How dare you scorn my talent."

"I never once scorned your talent, but rather the way you show it. It's disgusting. Absolute filth." Tanjirou explained. "You could have shown your talents in many different ways that didn't involve killing people. Yet here you are, talking down on everyone else for your selfish desires of a goal. Don't you think other people too have goals?" Tanjirou asked back.

This seemed to anger Kyogai, who was finished talking with Tanjirou. He raised a hand to his drums, and Tanjirou simultaneously clenched down, his schichishito out as he prepared for the next move the former lower moon would make.

As for Nezuko, she was beginning to feel the rooms rotate erratically, making it harder for her to make it toward her brother.

But that wasn't going to stop her.

They were going to stop this demon.

Blood Demon Art: Drumming

As Tanjirou felt the room around him beginning to twirl around erratically, he crouched down and protected his body from any debris, before he quickly maneuvered, his blade closing onto Kyogai, who growled.

He dodged a bit, as Tanjirou's blade struck too low.

But that did not intimidate nor stop him from giving Kyogai a serious stare that focused on Kyogai's figure.

All the while, Tanjirou was placing extra emphasis on maintaining his total concentration breathing constant, as it was noticeably slowing him down, for he wanted to protect the pattern before he acted out without thinking.


A.N / Phew, chapter 25 is out. We're going to go straight to the mansion with Kyogai. It is important to mention that I've changed the story for a bit, for this to go relatively smoothly. Especially for the plan I have for the next chapter. The next chapter kind of leads to a more divergent path in that I will have to consider many more characters POVs, so keep that in mind. Another thing I changed was the requirements to become a Hashira and higher rank, not to mention that because both Tanjirou and Nezuko are demons, they will have an advantage, and so obviously will be looked over a bit harder.

Also in the story, Kanae's interest in the masked slayers! You all can probably guess the significance of this, for it will become a bit more intensive in the future. Got a nice fight scene that will occur next chapter, and a bit more of a look at the hideout, what Kanae is doing, as well as Giyu.

Finally, one last thing to mention, is that the interaction with Kanae, Giyu, and the like, that POV occurred a week after Final Selection, whereas Tanjirou and Nezuko's POV happened a week after the other POV. And another final thing to mention is that Zenitsu, Genya, Kanao, Inosuke, and Aoi have already met. I'll probably include a bit of the next chapter because why not, but in the end, the next chapter will have a lot of stuff going on.


Kyogai: Male, 50 years old (chronologically), 30 years physically.

Status: Alive, Demon

Height: 6'5" (195cm)

Weight: 215Ibs


Abilities:


Kyogai:

Blood Demon Art – Drumming: Containing 6 drums on different parts of his body, Kyogai can manipulate his surroundings, in particular, the entire room of a mansion to his own doing. This can disorientate his opponents, whilst also allowing him to cut through his opponents with a slash-like pattern.