The Dancing Star
Chapter 26
12Thirtypain03
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.
I'm going to preface this with another warning, for this may make some people a bit upset with the story, but we'll see what happens. Please let me know what you think of this development.
With Giyu and Shinobu
As anticipated from what Giyu had anticipated, Shinobu was alone making his entire week even more hectic, considering she was deciding to come over to the Water Estate, at the request of Oyakata-sama.
Giyu was never the type to complain over the master's wishes, but this was one he wanted to question Kagaya badly.
Shinobu was an annoying mosquito towards him, especially since he now had a cap on the number of missions he was to do within a month. It was something he had planned to encourage lower-ranked demon slayers to become more fluent and skillful in their skills.
As a result, Giyu was the first of all the Hashira to finish the capped amount of missions, basically meaning he had the rest of his time to relax.
But that was the problem. Giyu was never the type to relax. He was always the type to focus on what he was gifted. A specific that he didn't even do for himself, but supposedly in the eyes of his best friend, Sabito.
But not just Sabito. All of the other children that Urokodaki lost. Makomo included. Giyu could have easily been another figure added to that growing list.
He thanked Tanjirou and Nezuko earnestly for the favor he had done. At least Giyu could confide that he had some indirect cause for the death of the Hand Demon.
However, once that was over, Giyu had continued onwards. Now, he didn't need to live for the guilt of being unable to slay the hand demon. Now, he had to focus and decide on what Giyu should do now.
What would Sabito do in his place?
What would Sabito be like, as the Water Hashira?
Giyu was not the water pillar, nor the water hashira. He was only doing this on behalf of Sabito. It was his goal, and Giyu didn't deserve it. Not after he had indirectly caused the death of his friend because of his weakness and inability to fight properly.
"If only I was stronger when Urokodaki took me in…" Giyu thought to himself as he continued to eye his estate.
Particularly on the one individual who had single-handedly ruined Giyu's alone time.
Shinobu Kocho.
A very petite woman with black hair and purple tips falling out, she also tied her hair and had a rather unique ponytail with a butterfly pin sticking out.
She was also a renowned medic of the Demon Slayer Corps. Some considered her the leader of the team responsible for getting injured demon slayers for treatment.
However, even her elder sister, Kanae, had spoken volumes about Shinobu's affluent abilities to nurse and heal individuals back to life.
Of course, she didn't do it alone. She had the likes of a load of kakushi and even individuals who also resided in her estate to take care of it.
Whilst it technically was Kanae's, it was coined the Butterfly Estate due to Shinobu's influence despite not being a Hashira. Even then, she was a formidable demon slayer, with her breathing style.
It somewhat made Giyu a bit envious. Even if Shinobu always complained about being weak, she was able to find a way to circumvent it. She was strong enough to adapt, ironically something Giyu couldn't do, even when water breathing emphasized adaptation and endurance.
All this time, Giyu was someone who rarely communicated with others. Not that he wanted to, he just didn't deem himself worthy. He was too entranced by his inferiorities and sacrifices, that he was afraid of making new connections.
He didn't want the pain of losing those he would eventually care for.
But Shinobu was different.
Giyu was supposed to hate Shinobu. He was supposed to hate the very thing Shinobu was.
A doctor.
Giyu hated doctors. And he had a reason. A specific reason was involved in his past. He hated doctors and everything they did. He hated the violation of everything the doctors did to his body.
And because of this, he hated and wanted a way out of being involved in the simple checkups. He didn't want to be involved in the checkups.
Even more than Sanemi, with the wide number of scars he had across his body. Giyu by contrast didn't have much to show. He was perhaps the most averaging looking of all demon slayers and Hashira's.
At first glance, Giyu was relatively normal. But behind it all, was something hidden that hid a dark past. A dark side towards Giyu, all because of neglect and isolation.
One that Giyu was trying his best to hide. Especially when the doctors always wanted to dissect and break him apart to see who he was. Giyu hated speaking to people about what he's gone through.
Every doctor always wanted to break him down, and if he didn't he would be punished for it. And because of this, Giyu didn't want to trust doctors.
It was a stronger individual demanding you to tell them what they wanted to hear, and If you didn't it was all some form of punishment that would be applied.
And so, Giyu saw Shinobu as a doctor, nothing else.
Why else would he not want to tell her what is going on with him? He could never tell a doctor what was wrong with him. What was on his mind?
He just couldn't.
To Giyu's mind, Shinobu was no different than a doctor. She always assumed Giyu hated her, or at least had something against her, and it was true.
All because Shinobu was a doctor.
Giyu hated, Shinobu Kocho.
That was what he would have said if not for the past week.
For some reason, Shinobu chose to come over to Giyu's estate.
Whenever he would ask why, Shinobu would merely explain, "Somebody's got to look over you."
Giyu silently groaned at the fact that Shinobu was coming over to his estate when one, she didn't need to, and two, he didn't want her to.
"I can look over myself you know. I'm an adult you know." Giyu commented.
"Ara, and what does that have to do? I still am inclined to make sure you are at healthy standards." Shinobu explained.
Giyu sighed, as his face turned to one of a bit of annoyance. "You don't need to be here."
"Kicking me out of your estate? This is why nobody likes you, Tomioka." Shinobu teased, with a smirk on her face.
This caused Giyu to flinch somewhat, "Well if you hate me, why are you here? Shouldn't you spend more time with your sister or the others at the butterfly mansion?"
Shinobu pondered, "Well, you see. Kanao is out on a mission. She's been allowed to take over some of Kanae's missions while she recovers. Many of them aren't difficult thankfully. Aoi for some reason, has decided to pick back up a sword. And Kanae is continuously trying to find out more about that masked slayer."
"Masked slayer?" That seemed to have caused some attention to Giyu. He wasn't aware that the others within the demon slayer corps were interested in what Tanjirou did.
From what Giyu thought, Tanjirou didn't necessarily run into any demon slayer that was awake. The only exceptions were some of the lower-ranked demon slayers. Giyu wasn't necessarily sure if the other demon slayers had placed an interest in it all.
However, from what Kagaya stated, he didn't write the names of Tanjirou Kamado and Nezuko Kamado in the official Demon Slayer book. However, he did write them elsewhere, confirming them to be demon slayers.
But the fact that Kanae was developing an interest in the masked slayer was exactly what neither of them wanted from them. Kagaya and Giyu both wanted to keep the demon siblings' presence incredibly private.
Even if the Kocho siblings had connections towards some demon allies, that wasn't to say Shinobu specifically was open about them.
Giyu knew Shinobu could be ruthless to demons, unlike her elder sister.
But even then, Giyu had something to blackmail the Kocho siblings on. So, he wasn't necessarily worried about Kanae finding out.
He would just blackmail them into keeping their mouths quiet in front of the Hashira's.
Even if Kagaya knew, the prospects of the Hashira finding out would be enough of an uproar. Therefore Giyu didn't worry.
"Ara, Tomioka, you really should eat something other than salmon. Even though it has a large amount of protein, you should vary it." Shinobu told to Giyu, who sighed.
"Are you hear to critique my lifestyle?" Giyu asked, "Claiming to worry for my health?"
Shinobu chuckled, "Of course, even I want to see you live a long and healthy life."
"Idiot. We're demon slayers. We lost the right to live such a life the moment we became one." Giyu deadpanned, clearly not wanting to explain this further to Shinobu.
"Ara, but Tomioka, then at least enjoy the variety in life," Shinobu explained, clearly heading towards Giyu's kitchen.
This confused Giyu, "Why are you heading into my kitchen?"
Shinobu however looked around, clearly intrigued and interested in the kitchen Giyu had.
It was a simple design, but a kitchen nonetheless.
"I'm impressed Tomioka. Your kitchen is surprisingly clean for someone like you Tomioka. Albeit a bit basic, but it can use some work." Shinobu commented.
"So are you planning to makeover my kitchen?" Giyu asked, clearly sighing at what was going to ask.
"No, I'm going to make you something different," Shinobu explained.
"Huh?" Giyu's head rose at that. "Make me something different?"
"You should try something else to eat other than salmon daiku all the time," Shinobu explained. "It's best to always eat something varied, rather than the same thing over and over again."
At this, Giyu looked a bit apprehensive. "It's fine, Kocho. You don't have to."
Shinobu however raised a hand, "I think I'll make something. I'm already hungry now, so I might as well. Are you hungry?"
This caused Giyu to look a bit unsure. "I guess, but I can cook my food, why do you want to cook?"
"Do I need a reason?" Shinobu asked, clearly frowning a bit, "I'm hungry, and you need to eat something else. You could suffer some deficiencies in nutrients!"
At this, Giyu might have well been somewhat intrigued and confused by what Shinobu had told him.
Throughout his entire experience, every other doctor would either just force him to say what they wanted to say, and then place him elsewhere for him to be dealt with. He was never really cared for accordingly. Because of the doctors, he was isolated and neglected.
It was because of a doctor where he was sent to another one, that then made him force his thoughts out, or else he was punished.
Every doctor he went to either forced him to do something or to face punishment.
And for a time, Shinobu was no different.
She had always tried to tell Giyu to do what she thought was correct. Giyu thought she was trying to get him to do stuff that would ultimately result in being seen more by other doctors.
Whenever one doctor saw an issue with someone, they always referred them to someone else. Giyu worried if he had done what Shinobu had asked for, she could refer him to another doctor who could perform worse.
However, seeing Shinobu in a different setting, a different light, when she was not necessarily ordering him to do something quote on quote, makes him feel better.
For some strange reason, Shinobu was right here, deciding to cook something for Giyu, on the quota that he must eat something else other than salmon daiku.
Needless to say, this confused Giyu immensely.
"But aren't doctors just supposed to either give you something and be on their way? They tell you what you should do and that was that? Where's the trick? Why is Kocho doing something? Is she showing me how to live?" Giyu asked himself.
It was a sudden change for Giyu, as for the most part, all Giyu saw in doctors were lazy inconsiderate individuals. All they did was tell them what to do before they went onward with their day.
But here, if Shinobu truly was a doctor like the others, why was she coming over to his estate and trying to cook him food?
This wasn't the work of a doctor. Doctors don't do such a thing, at least that was what Giyu thought.
So then why was Shinobu doing all this work to come to Giyu's estate? It's not like Giyu's estate was right next to the Butterfly estate. All this time, Giyu's estate was rather far from the rest of the group. There was no reason for Shinobu to come over.
Sure, Kagaya had decided that Shinobu was allowed to go to Giyu's estate when she wanted to perform a checkup on him.
But that was the thing. Only if Shinobu wanted to.
Then, why did Shinobu always choose to come over to Giyu's estate? Why was she always coming back to Giyu? Was she truly a mosquito? Did Giyu's blood have the specificity of being disgusting to demons, but delicious to mosquitos?
Giyu was very confused. Shinobu had no reason to come over to Giyu's estate, but she did.
And here she was, cooking food. While it may have not been for Giyu directly, the message she was portraying was clear.
She wanted to make something for Giyu to show that something as simple as changing the food you eat could contribute to how one would feel.
This was something Giyu understood. But even then, he was unsure why she was showing him this.
Alas, Shinobu did just that. She decided to continue onwards with her cooking.
"So, what are you cooking, Kocho?" Giyu asked Shinobu, clearly confused and yet intrigued by what she was doing.
Shinobu seemed to be incredibly focused on her cooking before she took the time to stare right back at Giyu.
When this occurred, Giyu's eyes locked towards Shinobu's own. And unlike the times before where he would not care for eye contact, for some reason, this specific eye contact, Giyu found himself entranced in.
He couldn't put the thought down exactly on why he was having this effect now. He had stared into the eyes of Shinobu before.
There wasn't much detail, it was just a purple haze. No pupils, nothing else.
And yet, that was enough to get Giyu to stare back into it.
But it wasn't just Giyu who was doing this, Shinobu too was performing the same act. It was almost like the two were talking through their eyes. It was somewhat intriguing for both of them. For Shinobu, it was ironically the most expressive she'd seen Giyu so far. And for Giyu, he saw the stare of someone who cared.
This was something he didn't even think was possible. The last people who had ever cared for him, were his master, Urokodaki, Sabito, and Makomo. All of them contributed to making Giyu's life a bit better. Even if most of them were gone, their impact was nothing Giyu could ever forget.
And through it all, he was seeing the faces of them in Shinobu's eyes.
"Why is that occurring?" Giyu thought to himself. "Why am I seeing their eyes through Kocho's?" It was something he was unsure about. He didn't even know he could see others in their eyes.
But for some reason, seeing Shinobu's eyes in that tone was giving him a sense of nostalgia. Something he missed very intently.
As for Shinobu, she was seeing more of an interesting bit of Giyu. After all, they do say the eyes are the gateway to understanding someone.
"Tomioka…" Shinobu started.
"Hm? What's wrong Kocho?" Giyu asked, and it was here did Shinobu noticed that Giyu's eyes did move slightly when she spoke.
"So he doesn't ignore me… It's just hard for his eyes to move…" Shinobu deciphered, perhaps gathering something new about Giyu.
"Seems there's a lot more to Tomioka than I previously thought…" Shinobu thought, as she once again found herself intrigued by the alone enigma that was Giyu.
However, before they could continue, the smell of the overcooked food quickly began to engulf Shinobu and Giyu's noses, and before they could continue their conversion.
As the two quickly got the food out, Giyu quickly realized what Shinobu had been cooking this entire time.
"Is this Ginger tsukudani?" Giyu asked after a bit of silence, as he could have sworn Shinobu's favorite food, was indeed ginger tsukudani.
"Um, yes," Shinobu confirmed as she looked on a bit concerned with the result.
It was here, however, did Giyu realized something. "Kocho, you know I can cook."
"I know!" Shinobu exclaimed in such a pouty tone it reminiscence more of a child wanting to be independent.
Giyu wanted to chuckle at Shinobu's somewhat childish antics, but he decided to wait just a bit, as he observed Shinobu's panicked and short figure running across his kitchen. It was somewhat of a unique experience, and it reminded Giyu of the time Makomo and Sabito would argue.
It was times like those when Giyu would watch as Sabito and Makomo were acting like each other. It made Giyu feel nostalgic again.
"Why am I feeling this again? Why am I feeling this way with Kocho out of all people?" Giyu asked himself before he realized he was losing concentration yet again.
"Hey Kocho?" Giyu suddenly asked out, the act itself catching Shinobu off guard, She immediately looked up to face Giyu.
"Yes, Tomioka?" Shinobu responded to the sudden voice of Giyu calling out to her. She had currently brought out the ginger tsukudani. "Don't worry about the food, even if it's a bit overcooked, it's still edible. Probably will taste good as well." Shinobu explained with a smile.
"So she did cook her favorite food, in a way to show me that how I eat is not perfect… But wouldn't she always choose to eat this if she had the chance?" Giyu asked herself.
But that did very little for Giyu to ask the main question that came from Giyu's mind.
"Is this the only dish you can make?" Giyu suddenly asked Shinobu once she was paying attention to him, after placing the ginger tsukudani on a nearby table.
"…" Shinobu remained silent, unable to truly reveal the truth.
However, the silence Shinobu was giving him was enough to reveal to Giyu what the answer was.
Shinobu was only able to make ginger tsukudani.
"So that's a yes, understood." Giyu quickly assumed, and Shinobu's face began to fluster.
"Hey! Kanae was always the one cooking for me! I was young! Okay?!" Shinobu tried to justify her reasoning.
"No, that's fair enough. I can only make salmon daiku." Giyu scratched his head in embarrassment, something Shinobu noticed.
"Ara, is Tomioka embarrassed?" Shinobu asked, trying to tease Giyu.
"Are you just trying to distract from the fact that you can only cook your favorite dish neither?" Giyu fired back. Of course, Shinobu knew she couldn't defend herself there. For all she knew, Giyu being an independent person should've been able to cook.
But of course, Shinobu was a bad case. Neither of them had the right to embarrass each other because they were the same in that aspect.
"Yes." Shinobu bluntly admitted, and Giyu sighed.
"Well, at least you cooked for me, so I'll take the food with gratitude." Giyu quickly spoke, as he clasped his hands in prayer, thanking for the food before he ate.
However, before he ate his food, he quickly got up and got a chair for Shinobu.
"Ara, did you forget to get a chair for your guest?" Shinobu asked, clearly a bit annoyed that she was forgotten by Giyu.
"My apologies." Giyu apologized to Shinobu, as he gently placed a chair on his table. "Not used to be eating with anyone else."
"Of course, you are always alone," Shinobu emphasized, with a smile and a tick on her forehead. Regardless, she ate her favorite food in relative silence.
Surprisingly, the actual meal consuming was not as embarrassing or awkward as Shinobu thought. Giyu was surprisingly formal in his consuming manner, and even Shinobu couldn't find anything to tease him about.
"Ara, Tomioka, you are such a mature eater," Shinobu commented.
"Is that so?" Giyu asked, "Do you see a lot of improper eaters?"
"Many injured demon slayers are usually erratic in their eating. They should learn to chew more because you get more nutrients and proteins…"
Giyu nodded, "I see."
Shinobu sighed. Before the two of them knew it, they were enjoying the small time they were showing, even if Giyu was not aware that he was complaining, Shinobu was rather smiling at the small time.
Sometimes, you didn't need to specifically communicate and talk with others through speaking. There were some times when you could just enjoy your time in the presence of others, and surprisingly, when Shinobu wasn't giving Giyu an attitude, it was rather calm.
And so, as the two consumed their respective meals, with Shinobu being the tone to cook for Giyu, he found himself confused in his thoughts.
"No doctor as ever done something this kind to me… Why are you so different, Kocho?" Giyu asked himself in his mind, contemplating if he should ever trust the beings of doctors and the like.
But here was a supposed doctor, who was listening to him, albeit a bit, and was trying to care for him. Sure, it was a bit, but considering he never once had someone care for him in a way reminiscent of his friends and family.
It was unusual for someone like Giyu, but he did admit he was seeing Shinobu in a different light. She was still an annoying mosquito, but Giyu guessed he couldn't see Shinobu in the light of the individuals responsible for his darkest times.
As for someone like Shinobu, she was enjoying the presence of Giyu, even if she didn't admit it. If she admitted she was fine with hanging out with someone like Giyu, Kanae would not let Shinobu let go of this.
Therefore, she would have to maintain this strictly to make sure Giyu was taking care of himself. All the while Giyu was confused about Shinobu, for she was challenging the notions he had about doctors.
Tanjirou and Nezuko
Blood Demon Art: Drumming
Kyogai quickly slapped the Tsuzumi drum on his right shoulder. Tanjirou immediately felt the room switching to the right. Tanjirou could only crouch down and properly land his footing before he could lose his balance.
"That's annoying. The actual room moving corresponds with the sound in which the sound travels… That means I have such little time to react, besides the movement of his arms and shoulders." Tanjirou quickly assumed and observed as he noticed Kyogai's movement corresponding to the room it was switching to.
Tanjirou quickly got back, before he quickly realized Kyogai was preparing to strike another part of his drums.
Kyogai immediately struck the drum on his navel, and Tanjirou's eyebrows raised intently at that.
The main reason for that, was because none of the rooms were changing as he had anticipated.
"What did that drum do?" Tanjirou asked, clearly not knowing.
It was the reflex training he did with Urokodaki that ultimately saved him, for he felt the hairs on his skin stand up as if something was coming. He instinctively dodged back as he saw three claw marks slashing across the room. The indent of the marks was apparent on the floor of the room.
Tanjirou sighed in relief at the narrow dodge he committed to.
The only problem was that Kyogai was now in a different angle for Tanjirou, as the room switching was making it a bit difficult for Tanjirou to gather his vision properly.
"It's alright Tanjirou, just slow down your breathing. Try to keep it the same as before, when training." Tanjirou told himself, as he made his first move.
He didn't want to over-concentrate on his breathing if it meant he could risk not breathing in a couple of strikes.
Total Concentration – Hinokami Kagura, Thirteenth Form: Celestial Sunspot Strike
Managing to breathe properly how he wanted to, Tanjirou felt his arms and hands being able to move a lot quicker toward his topic.
His blood and air were flowing through with more ease, with almost no resistance whatsoever. He carefully made his way towards Kyogai, who naturally swung his drum on his left shoulder, and then his right shoulder, to get Tanjirou to fall on the flipped rooms.
However, Tanjirou merely jumped, placing his hands and bouncing off of the temporary walls. Almost like he had quickly adapted to the demon art.
But in reality, the easy flexibility of his muscles made it incredibly easy for Tanjirou to maneuver unlike before.
Just as Tanjirou was nearing Kyogai's broad left shoulder, the large demon growled before trying to quickly slash Tanjirou right there.
However, Tanjirou began to violently spin his body, which was much faster and more violent than before. This managed to block the clawed strikes and slashes that would've struck Tanjirou's body.
With the strike successfully blocked, Tanjirou's spinning body slowed down as it became more graceful as he carefully focused his blade to strike near Kyogai's neck.
And it would have struck its place if not for a last-minute drumming from Kyogai, who tilted the room just enough for Tanjirou's blade to instead leave a large gash on his neck.
This surprised Kyogai, who merely eyed Tanjirou.
"This kid… I didn't even see what he did and he almost killed me right there… This kid…" Kyogai stared directly at Tanjirou, as his vision on the boy was changing. "This kid is a lot more threatening than I had anticipated…"
With that, Kyogai grunted as he felt his neck wound heal, and Tanjirou a bit away.
However, Kyogai noticed the boy was not striking him yet. He was recuperating.
"There he is!" Kyogai exclaimed as he swung his claws first on his left shoulder, and then to his navel. In reaction, the room turned to the left, whilst three slashes quickly made themselves towards Tanjirou.
Tanjirou realized what had happened, but unfortunately, he was having a bit of an issue.
"Crap… This breathing constant is still a struggle… At least I'm managing to keep it going, but it's ironically making me slow down on how much I can attack…" Tanjirou thought to himself. "Once again, while I'm managing to maintain the breathing constant, and not break it, it's still taking its toll on my body… Maintaining it while fighting is more difficult than just maintaining it."
With that Tanjirou quickly dodged and quickly regained footing, but not before he felt the claws coming for him.
"That's not good…" Tanjirou quickly thought as he knew he had to act somehow. Luckily, he had a form that could help him mitigate and avoid the slashes.
Hinokami Kagura, Eleventh Form: Fake Rainbow
As the claws slashed through Tanjirou, it almost looked like they would strike him.
"Got you!" Kyogai exclaimed. In his eyes, he had struck Tanjirou with his claws. But for Tanjirou, coupled with the added benefits of maintaining the constant now, he was able to quickly twist his body and rotate it, extending his body past what it deems limitations.
Whereas for Kyogai, all he could see were afterimages that stealthily dodged his claws with such a small distance between the claws.
"What?!" Kyogai exclaimed as he realized that Tanjirou had made him drop his ground.
However, for the former lower moon, some good came out of this that he could see. Especially since Tanjirou wasn't necessarily following up on the attack.
It was clear to Kyogai what Tanjirou was.
"I see, so he can't attack more than once or twice. I'll have to keep up the pressure when he's in that position, then!" Kyogai exclaimed as he felt he found a loophole in how Tanjirou was fighting.
Tanjirou gritted his teeth. He desperately wanted to master this constant breathing, the advanced technique so that it could help him, but he just couldn't, with the missions he was receiving.
As he realized the demon was starting to get more aggressive, playing with his drums more and more until Tanjirou was always moving, Tanjirou was doing his best to maintain the constant.
It was fatiguing his body because he would usually increase, hasten, and shorten his breathing like any normal human would when they felt like they were exercising. Tanjirou was yet again fighting against his body.
"Damnit, damnit, damnit!" Tanjirou exclaimed, "I'm still so incapable of fighting these demons! I can't even do it without Nezuko's help!" Tanjirou gritted his teeth as he glared down at Kyogai.
The very demon who denied being wrong for his desire to get back to becoming a lower moon.
"So selfish… Be grateful for the talents you have! At least you aren't useless like I am!" Tanjirou exclaimed, as he held his blade tightly, and stopped briefly. Tanjirou's eyes then widened.
"Wait, the talents you have… That's it!" Tanjirou exclaimed in his mind. For all this time, he was desperately trying his best to retain his balance, not losing it while Kyogai was trying to claw him at the same time.
He was struggling, but now thinking back, and although not welcomed in Tanjirou's mind, his father's words came back to this time encourage him to do what he was blessed with.
"Remember Tanjirou, remember to breathe like Hinokami… If you can breathe like Hinokami, you can utilize the movements of his dance to truly bless the family." The voice of Tanjurou echoed in Tanjirou's mind as he acted.
Hinokami Kagura, Thirteen Form: Solar Flare Dance and Storm
Tanjirou started to use the momentum from the rooms changing, to instead dance as elegantly as he could. The movement and coordination in his footwork and movements were as sturdy as they were tranquil, as he suddenly lost the tense feeling he had, and started to almost dance as he dodged the drums of the moving rooms, and the rums of the slashes, which began to accumulate inside the room.
Kyogai seemed to notice this and quickly realized he would have to amp up the pressure on Tanjirou even more. But that was not affecting Tanjirou whatsoever, as he was building up the air in his body as he danced to properly regain his balance on the overall rotating rooms.
And before Kyogai knew it, Tanjirou blurred towards him.
"Shit!" Kyogai exclaimed as he quickly was forced to drum erratically.
He drummed first on his left shoulder, and then his left leg.
This caused the room to rotate to the left, and then backward, causing Tanjirou's dash to be slower relative to Kyogai's direction.
This gave him just enough time to rotate the room one more time, this time to his back. As a result, just before Tanjirou could strike Kyogai, his blade inches from striking Kyogai's neck, both he and Tanjirou quickly were teleported to a new room.
Tanjirou looked around very confused, as his entire momentum was abruptly stopped, meaning Tanjirou's strike had failed.
He sighed, as he was taking a bit of time to properly fix his breathing to adapt properly to the advanced breathing technique.
All this time he was trying to dodge the strikes coming from Kyogai.
Tanjirou crouched down, he placed quite the strength on his legs, as he kept his legs down. Because Kyogai was drumming faster, Tanjirou didn't need to jump to maintain his stance, but instead
"Brother, where are you?" Nezuko's voice suddenly echoed in Tanjirou's mind.
"The demon teleported me and him inside a new room. I was so close to striking his neck…" Tanjirou explained.
"Damn, I'll have to keep looking!" Nezuko exclaimed.
"If you are going to try and find me, I'm going to do my best to dodge the strikes from the demon. Because if I get too close, he teleports us elsewhere." Tanjirou warned Nezuko.
"Got it. Be safe, brother." Nezuko warned her brother as Tanjirou himself stared down Kyogai.
Even if Kyogai was glaring at Tanjirou, he was a bit fearful of the boy, especially considering how quick and formidable the boy was showing himself to be.
He had to be careful of Tanjirou.
Tanjirou meanwhile, tried to level in his actions.
Should he try and kill Kyogai as quickly as he could, or wait until Nezuko joins?
Tanjirou sighed, but a new question came on. "What if he can choose who he teleports with?"
"Huh?"
"What if he realizes the two of us are against him, he could teleport us alone, and one of us could be stuck in the same room as him," Tanjirou explained, worrying about the prospect of that supposed scenario.
"That is problematic…" Nezuko thought to herself. "Perhaps get him to a place where he has to continuously teleport you both in a room until perhaps he teleports you both in a room with me?"
"But then how would we be able to maintain our connections if he could just teleport us away?" Tanjirou worried.
"I don't know, we'll both have to find out," Nezuko explained.
It wasn't anything neither of them wanted, but the plan was there, and they both would act accordingly.
Tanjirou eyed Kyogai once again with the idea of forcing Kyogai to then switch and teleport each other into rooms.
However, the burgundy-haired boy knew what to do. He would try and force Kyogai to have to teleport him and Tanjirou into a separate room, with the intention of either getting them stuck in a room with Nezuko, or, in the worst-case scenario, it would become a game of cat and mouse.
Tanjirou sighed, his breathing stable, as he got in a stance.
He prepped himself for what he was about to do.
"Nezuko, be prepared for the worst," Tanjirou warned his sister before he acted.
Hinokami Kagura, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky
As Tanjirou eyed Kyogai with intent, he quickly maneuvered himself, avoiding the debris of the room, twirling his body, and releasing a circular slash.
Kyogai continued maneuvering his hands all over his body where his drums were. Once this occurred, the rooms immediately began to move around. However, there was still a pause in the rooms for Tanjirou, and he utilized those pauses to regain his footing and breathing before he got close.
Kyogai growled and played the drum on his back.
"That's the cue!" Tanjirou exclaimed as he quickly realized the room would be switched. As expected, the room switched drastically, and Tanjirou had to quickly assume and find the surroundings he was in.
"I'm in a new room, Nezuko," Tanjirou informed his sister as he prepped accordingly.
"Just because you can do this, that doesn't mean you can do anything." Tanjirou told Kyogai. "You can run, but you can't escape the blood I will shed from you."
Tanjirou spoke to Kyogai, as he stabilized his breathing.
"Don't try and anger me!" Kyogai exclaimed in anger as he was sick of Tanjirou.
"Well then let me slice your neck, for then you will pay for the sins you've committed." Tanjirou explained, "Unless you can tell me anything about Kibutsuji Muzan."
"And why in your right mind would you want to know about him?!" Kyogai asked, clearly his eyes narrowed.
"It's simple. Even if you were wronged by him, why would still try and claw your way back to him?" Tanjirou asked, clearly intrigued, but also wanting to know the morals and goals of the demon more.
"Don't you question me! Our master and progenitor is deemed the very individual we all strive to be! We must consume more and more humans to eventually gain his attention! Only then will we be recognized for our skills and talent!" Kyogai exclaimed, clearly passionate about the whole ordeal.
"So you all are his lap dogs, nice to know," Tanjirou responded, clearly not impressed. "But to want to do this without showing regret for the lives you've taken, this is something I cannot forgive. You cannot be so selfish in your goals that you kill innocent lives with their own goals and values." Tanjirou exclaimed as he looked at Kyogai with a bit of disgust.
"Don't you criticize me!" Kyogai exclaimed, "Just die!"
Blood Demon Art: Rapid Drumming
Tanjiru's eyes widened in shock as Kyogai began to, with almost superhuman speeds, play his drumming, immediately causing the room to roll around erratically, as Tanjirou was now forced to keep his body moving to avoid falling into the debris of the room content.
"Damnit, he can do this much faster than I anticipated…" Tanjirou thought to himself. It also seemed that Kyogai was also hitting the drums on his legs and back, causing Tanjirou and Kyogai to switch rooms.
Just before Tanjirou could adjust to a room, he and Kyogai were teleported to a new one, and Tanjirou would have to go anew. As Tanjirou realized exactly what Kyogai was doing exactly what Tanjirou wanted.
However, it was Kyogai's drumming on the navel did Tanjirou had to worry about. This was because right as Tanjirou tried to dodge the anticipated three-clawed slash, Tanjirou didn't anticipate the claw marks would increase to five.
Needless to say, Tanjirou felt his torso gush out blood as he had not anticipated the other claw marks. The slash went from his left shoulder down to his right lower ribcage, and Tanjirou coughed out a bit of blood from the injury.
He hissed in pain, feeling his blood spill out. "Damnit, he has five fingers, how else could he have done that? How much of an idiot am I?" Tanjirou growled.
Still, despite the injury, he got up, feeling the deepest part of the injury close up first.
"That was a cheap move… Although I should have anticipated that, silly me…" Tanjirou said at last, as he then felt his chest, feeling the blood that spilled out go to his arm. "Let's dance, you former lower moon. No wonder he had an interest in you."
Hinokami Kagura, Twelfth form: Flame Dance
Tanjirou quickly started to move alongside the rapid movements of the room, which included the entirety of a room, where they would show up in a new room altogether. Even if they were placed in a new room, Tanjirou tried to keep and start up the momentum.
Tanjirou felt another five-claw slash coming out, which Tanjirou slashed apart with his downward strike before he ran with all his might towards Kyogai.
The room moved right, and Tanjirou quickly jumped onto the right just before it became the floor. He then backed up once the move roomed backward. He did that for the next couple of strikes when Kyogai pounded on his drums.
Tanjirou managed to eventually close the distance to Kyogai but eventually performed the horizontal portion of his form. Kyogai's eyes widened, as he tried to increase the speed of his drumming.
The room changed entirely, and Tanjirou felt his body tumble as his blade struck a plant in a new room.
"Damnit!" Tanjirou growled in anger before he turned to face Kyogai. He couldn't necessarily get close else the demon just had a get-out-of-jail-free card pretty much.
For the time being, Tanjirou stalled, turning around but not seeing Nezuko.
"How far are you?" Tanjirou asked Nezuko, trying to see from their voices if they were any closer.
"Seems we're closer," Nezuko responded, as Tanjirou seemed to have understood something.
"I see, but the actual rooms we're teleported in don't seem to be random," Tanjirou explained to Nezuko as if he merely was trying to observe.
"How so?" Nezuko asked.
"It seems that if the rooms are rotating, then perhaps the teleportation pattern is also rotated?" Tanjirou thought.
"That would make sense, but are you entirely sure?" Nezuko asked.
"No." Tanjirou confirmed, "But just continue to be prepared," Tanjirou added as he warned his sister.
"Understood, brother," Nezuko confirmed her involvement, as Tanjirou acted now.
Hinokami Kagura, Fourth Form: Raging Sun
Tanjirou continued to slash towards Kyogai, maneuvering around the rooms, but once again, the rapid drumming Kyogai was performing made it more difficult to safely maneuver across the rooms.
But at least they were changing rooms.
The hope was that if Nezuko got caught up in the room they were teleported in, then she would be teleported and stuck in the same room as Kyogai and Tanjirou.
That way, it would be a 2v1 in their favor.
Thankfully, seems that Kyogai was unaware of Nezuko in the other rooms. Either that, or he had mistaken Nezuko for any other demon.
Tanjirou quickly released two horizontal slashes consecutively to block some other claw slashes from Kyogai, before he teleported the two in a new room.
It took a bit, but eventually, Kyogai managed to teleport himself and Tanjirou into a room Nezuko was in.
"Now Nezuko!" Tanjirou yelled out, as Nezuko quickly nodded.
"Got it!" Nezuko exclaimed as her figure quickly appeared to strike Kyogai.
Water Breathing, First Form, Modified: Serene Waves
Before Kyogai realized, his eyes widened as he realized another individual was in the room, seemingly wanting to eliminate him.
Nezuko was coming right towards Kyogai, who had to maneuver the room behind to make sure Nezuko's momentum was slowed down before it could strike Kyogai. Nezuko managed to slash Kyogai in his torso. A small slash, but one regardless.
"Damnit! Why is there another demon slayer?!" Kyogai exclaimed in shock.
"Shocked, huh? This is why I wanted you to continuously change rooms. It was only a matter of time before you placed us in a room with my sister." Tanjirou explained as he seemed content with his plan.
"Don't think you have a chance to eliminate me even if there were two of you!" Kyogai yelled out as he continued to play his drums rapidly.
Thankfully, Nezuko seemed to have easily adapted to this, due to what Tanjirou had told her.
Nezuko then noticed a bit of blood soaking out of Tanjirou.
"Brother, you are bleeding!" Nezuko told her brother.
"I know, I got surprised by a claw slash attack he could do, so be careful about that." Tanjirou once again warned Nezuko, "And don't worry, it'll heal."
Nezuko nodded, as both she and Tanjirou then made their offensive toward Kyogai.
Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance
Tanjirou decided to quickly switch towards water breathing, mainly because he found the elegant and fluid movements of water breathing to better reflect the environment of constantly switching rooms.
"Even if the Hinokami Kagura is pretty good with adaptation, it's only generalized to other specialties. The Hinokami Kagura can perform a lot of functions, without many weaknesses other than the energy and strain it takes to use it. Even as a child, I remember the amount of pain and fatigue I would face when trying to learn the dance… And even as a demon, that doesn't exclude me from the fatigue after prolonged use…"
"However, water breathing is perfectly designed for endurance and adaptability, flowing the motions smoothly… Perhaps I should incorporate that into the Hinokami Kagura somehow, but for now, using water breathing in a constantly changing environment like this should be beneficial for me." Tanjirou monologued as he elegantly flowed through the motions of the room, using the movements of the form to block and dodge the claw slashes properly and skillfully.
Just when he was about to reach Kyogai, the demon played his back drum, catching them in a new room. But Tanjioru started up the momentum yet again and struck Kyogai in the left leg.
The first major strike, Tanjirou quickly backed away, being grazed by a claw slash to his hip due to the almost point-blank range he was in.
Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent
Nezuko wasn't the one to just watch, for she was also making her move towards Kyogai. While Tanjirou was able to make Kyogai switch rooms until they were together, he wasn't able to land many strikes besides a slash to the demon's chest.
However, he was now able to utilize and go on the offense to commit some damage. Nezuko too was more adapted to water breathing, and thus was easily able to dodge the strikes from Kyogai. Though the room rotations were getting to her, she was eventually able to jump over Kyogai's figure with the room.
She then managed to cut through Kyogai's head, but only a horizontal slash just above his eyes.
"Damnit! I couldn't cut through!" Nezuko exclaimed.
To Nezuko's shock, Kyogai used his free arm to grab Nezuko tightly, as if he was using his pure strength to try and crush Nezuko's arm.
Tanjirou saw red at this, and immediately, hiked up his breathing, in the process accidentally heating his body through heating the air he was breathing in, before he dashed forward faster than he had ever done so far.
Hinokami Kagura, Sixth Form: Solar Heat Haze
Tanjirou rushed forward again, and with a strike, seemed to successfully trick Kyogai. Mainly with the true extent of the actual length of the sword.
Kyogai seemed to have tried to lean back, thinking the blade didn't strike him, when in reality it did, his right arm was severed, and Nezuko was freed.
"Shit!" Kyogai exclaimed before he realized he couldn't drum fast if one of his arms was cut off. He quickly struck the drum on his back, as he quickly regenerated his right arm, seemingly emphasizing his regeneration to his arms over his legs, for his left leg was still missing.
Tanjirou sighed, as he coughed a bit, the heated air catching up to him, as he didn't expect nor anticipate the feeling. Regardless, he continued.
Nezuko too was now free and immediately trying to assault Kyogai, who at this point was sick of the two.
As Kyogai continued to strike his drums with renewed purpose, Tanjirou and Nezuko were both left to the defensive, as they both were forced to dodge the strikes of Kyogai. The specific claw slashes that struck both Tanjirou and Nezuko did at most graze damage, as they mostly performed breathing techniques and forms to counter the claw slashes.
Though both of them could feel that Kyogai was placing much more strength on his strikes, both Tanjirou and Nezuko were forced to stall a bit whenever the strikes landed on them.
It got to the point that Tanjirou suffered from being thrown on the wall, and then rolling across as the rooms rotated.
Thankfully, Nezuko's demonic strength was able to counterattack Kyogai's own.
Nezuko was the first to get through Kyogai's newfound strength as her eyes focused on Kyoagi.
Water Breathing, Eight Form: Waterfall Basin
Before Kyogai could turn the room to the right, Nezuko jumped up and struck down the demon, which managed to hit the drums on his navel. As expected, the drums were able to explode upon the strike, meaning they wouldn't be used until Kyogai regenerated them.
The added benefit was that Nezuko had freed Tanjirou from the numerous claw slashes that were building up on him. They eventually dissipated, although Tanjirou was cut up across his extremities and a new one to his collarbone, just below his neck. Regardless, that one was mostly healed, with just a red line spreading across the injured site.
Tanjirou quickly got back up, and too continued to advance onto Kyogai.
Without the ability to directly harm them, they both had a much easier time getting through his defenses, as an extra layer of defense for Kyogai was removed.
Water Breathing, Fifth and Sixth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought and Whirlpool
Nezuko elegantly forced her way towards Kyogai, before she quickly spun her body to whip around a charging whirlpool. It almost seemed like a waterspout heading towards Kyogai.
Even with Kyogai trying to rotate the room, the waterspout that was Nezuko approached Kyogai. Kyogai then realized he would have to directly attack Nezuko. He quickly eyed the pattern of the strikes Nezuko was performing, and to Nezuko's shock, Kyogai ducked his body low and launched an upward fist right into the stomach of Nezuko.
Nezuko's momentum stopped, as Kyogai launched another one right at her face, causing blood to spill out. The momentum also caused Nezuko to be launched back.
Tanjirou was not happy with that, as he was right next to Kyogai willing to give the next strike.
Hinokami Kagura, Eight Form: Sunflower Thrust
Tanjiro quickly stabbed Kyogai right in the stomach, roughly the same place where Kyogai punched Nezuko.
"That's for punching my sister you asshole." Tanjirou, with venom, told Kyogai as if a warning to the demon.
Kyogai, for his part, didn't care.
"These two have struck my stomach, and my leg and arm… I must use the technique I've been perfecting for a while…" Kyogai thought as he felt the piercing and burning blade directly in his stomach.
Blood Demon Art: Sound Amplification
Before both Tanjirou and Nezuko knew it, Kyogai slammed his fist on his drums with such force, that an incredibly loud noise echoed into the air, engulfing the ears of both Tanjirou and Nezuko.
The entire radius was blasted with the shockwave of the noise.
"KF!" Tanjirou's body violently reacted to the incredibly loud sound, as he felt his ears being burnt by the noise.
Nezuko, not too far away, also was impacted. Both of the demons crouched over by the sudden noise and pain that was assaulting their heads.
"Ha! It worked beautifully!" Kyogai exclaimed with glee. "This is the true power of a lower moon!" Kyogai yelled once again, this time seemingly content with his newfound strength he had been practicing.
Tanjirou shook his head, trying to rid the headache he was feeling. His hearing wasn't shot, and even if it was, it could regenerate. The same thing would happen to Nezuko.
Both Tanjirou and Nezuko knew they had to try something different. They had tried to once again strike Kyogai, but him now hurting their ears with the trivial matter of hearing made it incredibly difficult for them to focus.
After a couple of tries, which resulted in both of their hearings getting shot, as it was progressively getting damaged by Kyogai's blood demon art, they knew they had to try something different.
If both of them were human, the damage could have been permanent, unless the blood demon art was reversible.
Tanjirou was suffering neck and extremity wounds, whilst Nezuko had a large gash to her thigh. Regardless, their largest injuries were to their ears.
"Brother, we need to do something else," Nezuko explained.
"I agree. Both of our ears are damaged now." Tanjirou added.
"Do you have a different plan to what we can do against him? There's no way to dodge the hearing damage." Nezuko pointed out, somewhat complaining about this.
"Well then, we need to stop him from striking his drums. We'll have to cut apart his arms simultaneously." Tanjirou confirmed as he got the idea.
"But couldn't he just regenerate them?" Nezuko asked.
"Of course, but if we put the pressure on his arms before he can strike, then we can stop the blood demon art. After which he aims for the drums so that they also have to regenerate." Tanjirou explained.
"So you think if we both cut apart his arms and his drums, we could stop his blood demon art altogether?" Nezuko asked.
"Yes," Tanjirou confirmed.
"Well let's get started." Nezuko explained, "The sooner we can escape this." Nezuko added.
Eventually, the two continued their offensive.
"It's time for a new form!" Nezuko yelled out in her mind as Tanjirou focused on slicing apart his arms.
Water Breathing, Fourth Form, Modified: Flashing Tsunami Dance
Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow
Tanjirou was the first to strike, using the benefits of the form to quickly close the distance before Kyogai could put in any strength to slam his drums. With a proper strike, Tanjirou came from Kyogai's right side, effectively slicing his right arm apart from his elbow.
While that was going on, Nezuko was trying out a new form she was wanting to try. At first glance, it seems unexpected and out of the blue, but that was how Nezuko sometimes worked, especially with adapting to the circumstances. Right now, she needed to do something that would effectively and quickly eliminate specific areas of a demon's body.
Nezuko was near Kyogai's front as she bombarded the large demon with a multitude of strikes, all slashes as she twirled her blade across, intending to strike each of the drums so that Kyogai would be helpless in that his blood demon art would no longer work.
Almost like she was back dodging and blocking incoming projectiles, it was like she was slashing the specific parts while remaining still.
As Nezuko continued to strike across, she noticed Kyogai trying to use his remaining left hand to strike his back.
"The back!" Nezuko yelled out as she knew what was going on.
Hinokami Kagura, Eight Form: Sunflower Thrust
If it wasn't for Tanjirou who quickly stabbed Kyogai from behind, his blade protruding out of Kyogai's body through his stomach. Not to mention the branches of Tanjirou's blade added more damage.
Kyogai gasped as he coughed out blood.
Nezuko then used the last of her strikes to slash Kyogai's left arm entirely off, efficiently ending all of Kyogai's attempts at a blood demon art.
However, Kyogai seemed to have quickly regenerated his right arm, but Tanjirou quickly took care of that, biting deeply into Kyogai's right arm. This caused him to howl in pain.
"Nezuko! Now!" Tanjirou yelled, and Nezuko acted accordingly.
Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow
With the last of his defense gone, Nezuko had a free opening to cut Kyogai's neck off, which she did. A mighty slash directly to the neck of Kyogai, and that was it.
Kyogai was defeated, and doomed to perish like many other demons.
"Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT! All I wanted was to regain my place back with the lower moons! I want to be recognized for my talents!" Kyogai exclaimed, clearly distraught with everything.
Tanjirou and Nezuko sighed, as the boy sibling ate the remaining of Kyogai's arm, Although he still felt the air inside of him to be heating up, he was content.
"How…" Kyogai mumbled. "How did you beat me so easily… Was I really this weak…?" Kyogai mumbled.
Tanjirou quickly made his way over to the fallen demon, his hearing healing nicely, to at least hear him properly.
"Regardless of whether you think you're weak or not, that doesn't change the fact that you are indeed talented and skilled… I could tell from your rapid drumming you had an adept skill for it…" Tanjirou explained as he sat down against the wall.
This surprised Kyogai, as his memories came back to him.
A failed drummer of a band. That was what Kyogai was. His human, real name was Seno Madoka…
He was a boy who was homeless, with no family, not anymore.
He didn't know what happened, but he did learn that his normal and stable family household was killed. Murdered. His stable, normal family. He should have lived a normal life.
One he yearned for. But that was not bound to be the fate for Seno. Not in this world.
He wasn't even sure who was responsible for the killing, for the suspects were never caught. The only reason Seno survived was because he had broken the curfew to hang out with a girl. Seno turned from a player to a homeless individual, who was left with nothing but two drums.
Before Seno knew it, he began to play the drums, as if his life depended on it.
Because it did. His life depended on it. If he didn't do this, he could starve and go a day without eating.
Whereas others were able to take sick days off and still have something to eat, Seno would sometimes spend entire days without eating. Almost starved. But through it all, he played with the little stuff he had. He made instrumentals and specifically played the drums, with the hope that people would like his talent, and give him some form of sanctity.
He was unwanted, unloved, and alone. When Seno returned home, he noticed authorities were there, so he couldn't even go in.
The next time Seno saw the home, it was demolished, because of the attack. For some reason, because Seno was out, nobody believed that he was the only remaining family of the murdered. He was the only alive one, and yet, he was split apart from them in society and life. What was he supposed to do?
Not only did he have society to blame, but he also had the very concept of life, for taking him away from the positives he had in life.
It was all gone. Seno was alone, on the streets, forced to play drums to make a living. He would move his skinny hands to the best of his ability, at times, his arms felt like falling off just because of how much he would play and practice.
Seno just couldn't afford to miss a day. Even when it snowed, he still played. He still went out in the streets with a blanket and some small clothing and did his best to play the drums.
Of course, this would make some people, and eventually, he got some money.
But as soon as that happened, other people robbed him.
He was only a scrawny child back then, and having a stockpile of money that was accumulating made him a vulnerable target.
And to top it off, the authorities didn't care for him. He was just a homeless kid. Who would care for the homeless? Nobody did. Kyogai learned that the hard way.
He started to hate everyone in his town. He didn't want to be there, but he couldn't go. He was not out of the excess money he had saved from all his hard work. The very individuals, the very homeless people he got close to took advantage of him.
Only leaving him his drums. That meant they only saw him as a cash grab for themselves.
A furious Seno was done with it. He had to leave regardless. This town wasn't suitable for him. Nobody recognized the hard work he did. He wanted to at least be acknowledged for his work.
And eventually, when he befriended like-minded people who loved to play instruments like Seno, he got along with them. To make it even better, he was given a nice play to stay with one of them.
Just as Seno's life seemed to have gotten better, it was once again taken from him.
The group of friends he had, whilst nice to him, after three years of stability, eventually found a better drummer, and kicked him out just like that.
Because of the years he spent on the street, he was rather malnourished. Rather small and unhealthy because of the deficiencies he's faced.
His life was once again falling behind, and this time, because his talents were not recognized. He was once again, seen as nothing more than a pawn.
He was his being, his person, and yet nobody saw him as that. He spent his time in the street, getting hurt, played, and manipulated by everyone.
He was already on the edge of society, so nobody cared what happened to him anymore.
So, when a tall man who saw Seno playing the drums liked what he was doing, his intrigue for Seno grew when the then-young adult showed no remorse when the slender, curly black-haired individual just so causally killed a human in front of his eyes, his intrigue from Seno grew.
"Say, boy, how come you are out here?" The man asked.
"Society. Homeless." That was all Seno explained. The man seemed to get his message and decided to act upon it.
"Say, your drumming is very talented." The man commented.
That was enough to get Seno's attention as if he was shocked someone had praised him.
"Thank you… Who are you? I've never seen you before." Seno asked.
"Just a bystander from another village passing by. Was just intrigued by the sounds that were your drumming."
Seno nodded, "Once again, I thank you for your compliment.
"I can make your drumming more known you know." The man explained.
This immediately made Seno pipe up as if he was willing to take the chance just like that.
"Of course, after all, I could see you becoming very strong with this talent of yours." The individual in question explained.
"T-Thank you! W-What do I need to do then?" Seno asked.
However, before Seno could even realize it, the man had stabbed him in the neck with his unusually pointing nails.
Seno's eyes widened as he saw the red pupil eyes of the man. "It's simple. Become a demon, consume the humans in this village, and then we'll see if I can make you a place as a special one of my creations."
Seno's eyes shut as that was the last thing he heard.
When Seno woke up, he was no longer Seno. Ironically, he had become much taller and broader, as if he held no indications of the street life he lived, nor the amount of times he had gone face to face with starvation.
And before he knew it, Seno was now Kyogai, a lower Moon Six, at least he was, until someone else came to the field, and took his spot.
The last thing Kyogai knew, he was in this mansion, desperate for any marechi to become stronger. He just wanted to be known, and for his talents to be appreciated.
Kyogai's eyes widened. This boy, even if Kyogai was infuriated by his overall presence and stubbornness, just complimented his blood demon art.
And something as simple as that was enough for him to unlock his human memories.
"I was just a kid… Just a kid who wanted to find purpose… I thought I found it through drumming, and so I tried so hard to get it known… But every time I went up, instead I was pushed back down…" Kyogai thought as he was disintegrating slowly. He saw the boy, Tanjirou consuming the rest of his right arm before he dug into the other arm of him.
"I sense immense sadness from you, Kyogai… I'm pretty sure your talents would have gotten you far if you had kept trying…" Tanjirou explained, with no hatred in his tone.
Nezuko looked at him as well, giving the same tone even if she wasn't speaking.
Tanjirou could smell the regret in the demon. In the end, it was futile, and try as he might, he failed to reform into a new lower moon.
He was defeated by a boy and girl, who successfully prevented him from consuming the marechi. He knew the risks of what he did going after a marechi, he didn't blame the boy or girl for killing him.
"Even if you found use in your drumming as a blood demon art, it shows the true talent you had in drumming. It was incredible." Tanjirou emphasized yet again, almost repeating it.
Kyogai's eyes widened as he once again heard the boy.
"Did… Did you say that my blood demon art was incredible?" Kyogai asked, as despite his dying body, he felt tears coming out of his eyes.
"Yes." Tanjirou looked down, incredibly sad that it had come to this, "Alas, you used it for harm, and for that, I cannot forgive or make your death any more peaceful. I'm sorry."
"It's fine… I deserve it…" Kyogai told the two, clearly showing regret for his actions.
As Tanjirou quickly finished the other arm of Kyogai, he felt his strength coming back to him. Alas, a bit more sleep and he would be back to full strength.
"Can you tell us anything about Muzan before you die?" Tanjirou asked, as Kyogai's eyes widened, "Aren't you mad at him for denying you a place in the twelve kizuki?"
"Of course, but I cannot due to the curse," Kyogai explained.
"What curse?" Tanjirou asked, not knowing nor remembering about that.
"If a demon says his name, our body explodes and dies." Nezuko's eyes widened at that moment, before she chuckled, thinking he was lying.
However, he wasn't. Nezuko sensed he wasn't.
"I see, thank you, Kyogai. And remember, your talents are incredible. If you had a different life, you could have had more prosperity." Tanjirou spoke.
And with that, as Kyogai's consciousness and body dissipated, he heard the words of the boy speak. "I hope and pray you are a human, and have a better life in the next one," Tanjirou spoke.
But at least, Kyogai went out with a smile, satisfied, "Someone recognized my talents, somebody appreciated my music… Thank you…"
As Tanjirou and Nezuko eventually left the mansion, they sighed in relief that it was night. However, by this time, Nezuko was getting tired, and so she fell asleep, with Tanjirou having to carry her.
"I knew carrying this wooden crate was a good idea," Tanjirou commented as he placed Nezuko's sleeping figure inside. She had shrunk making it easier to carry.
Tanjirou didn't see the siblings anywhere but did see the semblance of a dug grave.
"So the siblings left and hopefully found safety, and buried the body, I'm glad." Tanjirou gave a small sigh of relief before he went out. At least the limbs of Kyogai had given him a lot of energy, since the demon was very muscular, so lots of energy for Tanjirou.
However, the satisfied mood Tanjirou had quickly changed when his crow came down frantically.
"Caw! Head back to Uorkodaki's House! Reports of a strong demon attacking Urpkodaki! Giyu Tomioka, Tanjirou Kamado, and Nezuko Kamado are to head back immediately! This is an emergency!" The crow yelled out, clearly even he was frantic.
Tanjirou's eyes widened before he immediately began to run as fast as he could.
"Shit! Please be alright, Urokodaki!" Tanjirou yelled out in his mind, ignoring the weight. He had to get to Urokodaki's house now.
And with his desperation, he quickly transformed into his demonic form, as he felt something gnawing at him too. He accepted it due to his desperation and accepted the demon inside of him. This allowed him to move much faster, albeit using a bit of his demonic strength.
He was glad he wasn't running into any demon slayers until he ran into Giyu.
Giyu tensed as he pointed his sword at Tanjirou.
"Wait! It's me! Tanjirou Kamado!" Tanjirou yelled, as he sighed, and transformed back into a human form, clearly exhausted.
"Sorry, your demon form made it very clear you were a demon." Giyu apologized, as even he too looked panicked and stressed.
"Don't worry, we have to get to Urokodaki's now!" Tanjirou frantically explained as he and Giyu began to run up the hill.
Unfortunately, running up the hill, Tanjirou began to smell something he didn't want to.
Blood.
"This isn't good…" Tanjirou told himself. Giyu seemed to realize Tanjirou was smelling something.
"What do you smell?" Giyu asked.
"Blood! Let's go Giyu!" Tanjirou continued to run, and despite this, Giyu was faster than him.
"Right! He's using total concentration breathing constantly! I must push my limits, even if my body is tired from using it to get there! Just a bit more!" Tanjirou exclaimed in his head, "Please be alive, Urokodaki!"
Thankfully, Tanjirou managed to catch up to Giyu, and the smell of blood became stronger.
Tanjirou began to have bad memories, as the last time he returned to a house, and smelled blood. He was hoping, that what he was thinking, was not true.
Unfortunately, it was…
Giyu's lack of movement when he opened the door, and the overall condition of the house, said it all.
"G-Giyu…?" Tanjirou asked meekly, as he was terrified to look. Unfortunately, seeing their reaction to Giyu, Tanjirou knew what happened. Taking in a deep breath, preparing himself, he investigated the house, that was badly damaged.
But he expected what was in front of him due to the vast amount of blood.
And it was the broken body of Urokodaki. The area around his left eye was completely removed. His left arm was severed, multiple large gashes on his upper torso, right leg was twisted in an angle impossible, as his mask was torn apart, yet his face was unrecognizable.
Tanjirou could smell the angst, anger, rage, and everything in Giyu.
Tanjirou himself was shocked beyond words. He couldn't even begin to express his thoughts. It was completely blank, as he was terrified of what he saw.
All because of demons… Sakonji Urokodaki… was dead.
Despite being a former demon slayer, despite being Tanjirou, Giyy, and Nezuko's teacher, he too, met the same fate as the Kamado Family.
He too, met the same fate as Giyu's sister. He too, met the same fate as Giyu's only friends.
And it was all because of demons…
Tanjirou was shocked.
Giyu was devastated.
Nezuko… was sleeping.
A.N / Well… That ending was somewhat hard to write, because one, I want to make the suspense perfect, unexpected, and out there, yet enough to catch the reader's attention before they have an idea. For those wondering what's the point of Urokodaki's death, we will figure it out soon. One thing to mention was that Tanjirou and Nezuko encountered Kyogai sooner, this was intentional. But regardless, we will start to see a different part of Giyu, Tanjirou, and Nezuko in this story now. As for the demon that killed Urokodaki, the next chapter will have pretty obvious hints. It's a uppermoon, as they are designed to be able to kill a Hashira when a Lower Moon cannot.
The overall mission arcs are rather mixed up a bit to fit the significance of everything. For example, the Kamados are meant to meet Tamayo and Yushiro before going into the mansion and meeting Zenitsu and Inosuke, but again, the Kamados technically got there sooner. As you've seen, Inosuke and Zenitsu had unintentionally met thanks to both Tanjirou and Nezuko. As for them finding the mansion, they'll find it quite after this chapter.
Character Profile:
Giyu Tomioka: Male, 18 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 5'10" (178cm)
Weight: 155Ibs
Sakonji Urokodaki: Male, unknown age
Status: Dead, Human
COD: Murdered by an Upper Moon Demon
Height: 5'8" (172cm)
Weight: 140Ibs
Shoichi, Teruko, and Kiyoshi Male, children.
Status: Alive, Human
Kyogai: Male, 50 years old (chronologically), 30 years physically.
Status: Dead, Demon
Height: 6'5" (195cm)
Weight: 215Ibs
Abilities:
Tanjirou Kamado:
Demonic Consumption: Albeit very brief, we have started to see a strange phenomenon where the air Tanjirou breathed in temporarily was heated. The increase in kinetic energy produced by the rising temperature of the environment allows Tanjirou to move his body faster, but it may also be the product of his demonic consumption through the numerous meals he's had so far.
Nezuko Kamado:
Water Breathing, Fourth Form, Modified: Flashing Tsunami Dance: A variation of the fourth form, made up by Nezuko Kamado, the move is more of a moving form that causes the user to unleash a barrage of strikes, mainly downward, to represent the power of a tsunami crashing on a shore, all the while moving, with the intention on overwhelming the opponent. The move is most effective for striking down precise areas of a demon's body's body but is not great for decapitation.
Kyogai:
Blood Demon Art: Rapid Drumming: This is a much faster version of the original technique, where Kyogai focuses on drumming as fast as he can. The added benefits of this move are the rapid speed of the rotations of the room, and that the clawed slashes now range from five slashes, instead of three.
Blood Demon Art: Sound Amplification: With a large input of strength, Kyogai slams his fist onto his drums, causing a large soundwave shockwave to echo throughout the area. This can cause potential temporary or permanent hearing loss for any individual too close to Kyogai. The power and amplification of the sound are reduced the further away his targets are. Kyogai is immune to all of his blood demon arts.
