Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it.
Bromega2477 - Glad to hear it. Another good way (and probably less painful) of concealing Ara from the sun. Thanks for reading.
Guest - I'm happy to hear that. Michael and Ino really have a strange relationship. Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
Djinn - Thanks so much. I was, admittedly, a little worried about the idea with Michael's blood, because I didn't want it to seem like it's some miracle substance that can do and solve anything. Hopefully, I will expand on what it is capable of in future chapters. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
FanSuperAnime - Thanks so much. Yep, Ozaki did survive as well as most of the other slayers; they will all play a much bigger part in Michael's legend in later chapters. Ara is hot and I'm glad that she survived. Yeah… I know about her real form before she became a demon but let's go with your idea for this story. I'll expand on Ara's past a bit more in later chapters. Thanks again for reading and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
FunkoHero15 - Thanks so much!
Spedyalarm - Thank you, I quite agree. Rui would be interesting when reincarnation, but I think he would be better off with his family in the after life. Whether Michael would do either of those things…would be revealed in later chapters. Sun Breathing is essential for Tanjiro's character, so I'll make sure to keep it canon. Thank you so much for your support, I'm really grateful.
wellingtonlucas282- No problem I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
Capetain Harlock - Thanks so much. You're honestly too kind. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
Foxfire573 - Interesante. Realmente no quiero quitarle la pelea a Tanjiro y Nezuko, ya que era bastante importante para ellos. Será un poco más difícil para Michael también porque su espada se rompió, pero veré qué puedo hacer. Gracias por leer.
Carlmike94 - I know what you mean. Hopefully, now that's she under Michael's protection, she'll gain her redemption. Thanks for reading.
Chapter 11: The Spider
Forest, Mount Natagumo
Somewhere, deep in the wild forest of the mountain, a demon stood in a clearing and gazed up at the pale moon that shone down through the leaves.
The demon took form of a young boy with snow white skin with blood red dot pattern over his face; his shoulder length silvery hair was pushed to the front and ended in points like the legs of a spider and his eyes were sinister silver grey. His clothes a white kimono with a spider web pattern over the sleeves and white juban underneath it. He was short and skinny, some might say he looked sickly, but there was an air of cold authority that surrounded him and a deadly look in his eyes which foretold of cruel malice.
He continued to stare up at the moon when he sensed another demon, the same one, Michael had been chasing earlier, run out of the forest behind him.
"I hope you have a good reason for leaving your position, sister," he coldly questioned, making the demon stiffen by his tone.
"M-mother has been killed and so has Brother," she informed, "Father is battling two Slayers as we speak, Rui."
The now named Rui finally tore his gaze away from the moon and looked behind her at his Sister, "Are you sure Mother has been defeated?"
"I saw him chop of her head myself."
Rui narrowed his eyes at her and looked forwards, 'Strange. I can still sense Mother's presence. It's weak, but I can still sense it,' he thought before he looked back at the moon, "How disappointing. It is a mother's job to protect her family…and she failed. Brother's death is unexpected, but I'll get over it. There are plenty of us that can replace them. Now leave and return to your position."
"But Rui…" Sister hesitated slightly, "He's here. Chino Kami is battling Father as we speak. He actually came here like you said he would."
Rui snapped his head back at Sister, an unreadable expression on his face, "Chino Kami…Micheal 'Blood Hair' Timere. How exciting it is to be the first Kizuki to encounter him," he calmly said, "Father will have to not kill him and ensure that most of his blood will not spill. But we can't stay here. The Corps already know our location. We must find another location to keep him before our master can arrive. Go now. Keep track of his progress."
Sister gulped anxiously, "But what if he spots me again. I'm not strong enough-" she cut herself off at Rui's piercing eyes and nodded at him, "I will, Rui. Please trust me, little brother."
"Be sure that you will, older sister," he whispered coldly back.
Elsewhere In The Forest
The Father Spider snarled furiously as he towered over the two slayers; his mandible jaws clicking and spitting and his beady eyes gleaming dangerously. Michael and Inoko were, however, unfazed by his appearance and gripped their weapons tightly in their grasp; Inoko with her jagged swords and Michael with his dagger.
"Inoko," he whispered to her, "My dagger isn't going to kill this thing. I'll distract it and you kill it. Deal?"
"Don't tell me what to do, No Eyes!" she yelled at him, "…But okay! I'm going to kill it way better than you'll ever could!"
"You're so annoying," he grumbled.
With a mighty roar, Father Spider charged and swung his arm at the both of them. Inoko leapt out of the way while Michael dodged under it before he leapt up to his face and jammed the dagger into one of its eyes, making it roar in anger. Father Spider tried to swipe him off, but he resisted the attacks and latched onto him; distracting him for long enough so Inoko could carry out her attack.
She cackled in vicious malice and slid between his legs and used her katanas to cut the tendons at back of his knees; only to growl in annoyance when her blades would not cut through. Father Spider managed to grab onto Michael by the waist and threw him off him, along with the dagger. Michael slammed hard against a tree, causing him to cry out as he fell to the ground. He grimaced as he felt some of ribs snap from the impact, but he picked himself and the dagger up; refusing to give up.
Inoko leapt up and swiped her jagged blades at Father Spider's neck, but hissed in fury when they barely made a dent in his thick neck.
"Shit!" she muttered, "Nothing's working against this guy!"
Father Spider swatted her away as if she was a fly before it turned its beady eyes down at Michael; it raised both of its arms, gave a thunderous bellow and charged towards him. Michael spat and ran into the forest to get him some room to fight, but the demon followed him; smashing and crashing through the trees like they were made of paper. Growing tired of the chase, Father Spider leapt ten feet into the air, raised both arms above its head and hurtled down towards him.
Michael sensed the demon coming down on top of him and growled furiously. He took a deep breath, twisted around and took off his jingasa and held it up with the sharp edge pointed upwards. When the mighty fists fell on him…
SCHLICK!
The jingasa sliced through the left wrist, allowing his giant hand tumble to the ground.
Father Spider roared in anger, but before he could reel back, Michael leapt into his other hand and kept it pinned to the ground.
"INOKO! NOW!"
"DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" Inoko roared, jumping from the trees and cleaving the other wrist right off with both swords.
Father Spider reared its up ugly head back and bellowed a blood curdling roar as both of his hands were left withering on the floor. As the demon stumbled back, Inoko cackled in glee and raised her bloody swords in the air.
"HAHA! TAKE THAT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Inoko laughed while Michael sighed at her antics and wiped the blood of his dagger, "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET! NOW I'M GOING TO MURDER YOUR ASS, YOU UGLY BASTARD!"
Father Spider looked at both of them; his eyes darting from left to right. Then he did something rather unexpected…he ran away.
….
….
….
….
"Huh?" Inoko uttered.
"Strange," Michael muttered.
Inoko gave a cry of fury and sprinted after him, "WHY ARE YOU RUNNING, DAMN IT!"
The other Slayer sighed and followed after her, "This is getting ridiculous."
He eventually found her running about like a headless chicken swinging her blades manically around her as if she was cutting up an invisible enemy; shouting profanities and threats at the Father Spider, who had not emerged from wherever it ran off to. Michael stood still and used his sensed to watch her run randomly about when he sensed something up a tree. He grabbed Inoko by her mask as she on ran by and pointed up at the tree where Father Spider was hiding; holding onto the branch like a cat.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Inoko yelled, "COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"
Michael raised an eyebrow when he noticed something strange. The demon seemed to be vibrating with its maw wide open and its eyes wide. He used his Breathing and noticed that he was hyperventilating, his heart pumping faster and faster to the point that it looked like it was going to burst. He grimaced as he sensed what was going; the demon was doing something.
"Ha! Look, No Eyes. The bastard's shaking like a leaf! We totally got it scared."
"Wait," Michael said as he pulled her back, "Something's wrong with it. It's about to do something."
As soon as he said that, a sickening noise came from the Father Spider as it skin began to melt and peel away. Globs of foul grey skin dripped from its front and spread across its entire body until even its spider-like face fell away and splattered on the ground below. As its skin shedded away, thick black spikes appeared over its arms and back and its dark veins pulsed and bulged with power. Its body seemed to grow taller, stronger, thicker and a deep, rumbling growl emerged from him. It leapt down and the ground shook as it landed on both of its feet; it towered over the both of them, at least fifteen feet now, and snarled down with its new mouth. Its head was now encased by a hardened shell with spikes poking at the top; eighteen red eyes, two rows of sharp teeth and four spiked mandibles on each corner of its lipless maw. They realised their mistake now; it wasn't running away, it was giving itself time to get stronger.
Michael spat in disgust as drool dripped from its maw; he held his dagger in his left hand and his jingasa like a shield in his right.
"So, you got uglier," Michael said with a smirk, "Doesn't mean we can't kill you. Are you ready Inok-" he stopped mid-word when he sensed Inoko turn around and sprint away as fast as she can, surprising him immensely, "Inoko?"
He didn't have time to go after.
Father Spider roared and charged at him with its sharp jaws wide open. Michael turned around, leapt onto a tree to avoid him, pushed his feet off the tree before he raised his jingasa and slammed it down right in the eyes, the force being enough to push through its face and get stuck in it. The demon reeled back and swatted at the jingasa, trying desperately to pull out of its face. While it was distracted, Michael turned around and sprinted after Inoko.
Inoko sprinted as fast as she could through the forest, her breathing was ragged and deep and her skin was drenched in sweat.
"No way," she uttered, "That thing's way too big. We'll die if we go against that thing."
Before she could go any further, something rammed into her back, sending her crashing into a tree face first. She grunted in pain and felt herself being turned around and held against the tree; she released a startled growl as she looked down at Michael who was keeping her pinned by her shoulders.
"Where the hell do you think you're going. We're in the middle of a battle," he snarled at her.
"Are you kidding!? Did you not see the size of that thing!" she yelled back, "One punch form that bastard and we're dead."
"I need you Inoko. You're the only one with weapons that can kill this thing."
"I'm not doing it!" she growled at him, "Let a Hashira come and deal with it!"
"The Hashira are not here! We have to deal with it!"
Inoko reared back her head and slammed it against his forehead. "What are you going to do, huh? Your fucking blind! You stand less of chance then I do!"
Michael ignored the pain of her attack and snarled back, "You think I care about that! Eyes or no eyes, I'm still going to kill this demon and I'll never stop killing them until I stick Muzan's head on a stake! I didn't become a Slayer because he blinded me! I became a Slayer because he made me feel weak and useless and I'm going to kill him and his stupid army for that!" he tossed her to the side, allowing her to fall to the ground and drop her swords with a clatter. Michael reached down and picked one of them up and held it to his side, "I'll put this to good use and take this with me. Run away if you want. But I have a job to do," he muttered darkly, before he turned and ran back to where he left Father Spider.
Leaving Inoko behind on the cold, hard ground.
With Inoko's sword in his hands, Michael crept silently through the forest as he hunted for the Father Spider. He had no idea how something so big can be any good at hiding, but he does live in these woods and therefore has the advantage.
He was still angry at Inoko. He may have not known her for long, but he knew well enough that she doesn't run away from a battle no matter how dangerous it was. However, it seemed that, like everybody else, she too had limits and, although he shouldn't blame her at all, can't help but feel a little disappointment when she abandoned him. Michael made a mental note to somehow make it up to her later…once he figures out how to do that.
Michael continued to slowly walk over the firm ground when he foot brushed up beside something metal. He reached down and used his hands to feel what it was.
He recognised almost immediately. The feel of the cold, steely edge of his jingasa; shattered into hundreds of fragments.
Something was coming towards him. From above!
He leapt out of the way before Father Spider landed on top of him; the sheer force of it shook the ground and left an impact zone that resembled a bomb crater. The demon didn't give him time to rest and he launched himself at him and swung his fist at breakneck speeds. Michael used his senses and ducked in time, making him punch a tree and felling it in one go. He punched again and forced Michael to leap up into the air to avoid it. The Slayer took a deep breath, honed in his senses and swung his sword in mid-air.
"Claws-Purifying Wind!" he proclaimed…
…but it did nothing.
Taken by surprise, Michael was unprepared for when Father Spider swung his fist and hit him square in the stomach, knocking him back a few meters until he collided against a tree and landed on the ground hard. Michael grunted in pain, picked himself up and winced as he felt more of his bones break; he wiped a trail of blood coming from his mouth and snarled at the monster before him.
'Damn it! I can't use my attacking moves with Inoko's sword. The weight and feel of it is completely different to what I'm used to," he used his senses and saw the Father Spider charging towards him, 'I just have to do it the hard way,' he decided before he charged towards him with his blade raised.
He ducked underneath a swing of Father Spider's arm and swiped the sword along his knee, leapt up and cut his shoulder blade and then followed it up by chopping into the back of his neck. They continued to fight like this for a while; Michael would use his speed and ability to stab, cut and hit Father Spider as hard as he can while the demon would try to swat him away. It soon dawned on Michael that this was not going to work; nothing was getting though its tough skin nor doing any sort of damage. If he could use his special attacks then maybe he could get somewhere, but nothing was working.
'I need to focus on the neck,' he thought to himself as he leapt high up into the air above Father Spider, 'I need to stop wasting time and target it with as many hits as possible.'
He avoid another punch from the demon and used his feet to push off it and fall towards its neck; his blade raised high and his muscles tensed and strained as he aimed for the vital spot.
He took the deepest breath he could muster, his lungs felt as if they were on fire, and gave a war-like cry as he swung the sword into right side of his neck…
THUNK! SCHLICK!
He gasped in shock when the jagged sword managed to break through the skin and embed itself into the thick neck; four inches deep into its putrid flesh. He didn't have time celebrate as Father Spider roared in pain, reached out and grabbed both of his arms and tear him away. The force was enough for the sword to shatter from the hilt of the sword, leaving the blade still inside the creature's neck.
'No!' Michael yelled in his head as he heard the sharp snapping of steel before he grunted in pain as Father Spider began to pull his arms apart, attempting to rip them off like he was a toy, 'Damn it! I was so close!' he thought as he felt his arms beings stretched to either side.
He tried his best to fight back, but the demon was far too strong. He heard a loud pop noise and felt pain shoot up his left arm, causing him to cry out. First it was arm dislocating and then it will it be his muscles and then skin until he'll be torn to pieces. It was only a matter of time. His head was cloudy and filled in sheer agony; he had no time to think of a plan or do anything to help.
All had to rely on was his instincts.
And they were telling him to fight back.
Michael opened his mouth wide and inhaled deeply; more deeper then he has ever gone. More and more air entered his lungs to the point that they were going to burst before he exhaled everything until not a single atom of air was left. He did it again; inhaled and the exhaled, in and out, in and out until he felt his muscles bulge and tighten. Becoming more and more powerful by the second.
Once he knew it was time, he used this power to pull back against the giant demon; fighting back and clinging onto what little life he had left. He continued to process; inhale, exhale, pull; over and over again before he finally began to pull the demon's hands forwards, much to its confusion. Father Spider tried to pull back, but Michael fought even harder back until the strain in his arms left and he was actually winning against it. A few seconds struggling later, he heard the sound of his victory, echoing in his ears.
CRACK!
Father Spider roared in pain as his claw-like fingers snapped, releasing Michael from his hold. As soon as he felt his restraints being lifted, Michael acted on primal instinct, jumped forward, wrapped his good arm around his neck and sunk his teeth into three of the eyes and ripped them out of his head. Once again, the demon roared and knocked him away from his face as it clutched it broken hand to its face and stumbled back.
The Slayer fell to the ground hard and rolled onto his stomach. His pushed himself up with his right arm before he spat out the demon's eyes and the blood onto the ground. The foul taste was such a shock that he vomited over to the side.
'Not doing that again,' he thought to himself as he spat some drool and blood out of his mouth, 'That was disgusting!'
He staggered onto his feet and popped his arm back into its socket before he used his senses to detect Father Spider. It seemed that it was still reeling from what happened; but it was quickly regenerating. The blade of Inoko's sword was still stuck in its neck, giving him a sign that he was close to defeating it.
'Just one more push,' he thought as took out his dagger and got into a fighting stance, 'One more push and I can kill this thing.'
He was just about to attack when suddenly-
SLAM!
He was knocked off his feet by somebody.
"NO EYES! YOU BASTARD!" Inoko roared, straddling is chest and pushing the snout of of her hog mask in his face into his nose, "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY YOU FOR THAT!" she bellowed as she before she began punching his face over and over again, "HOW DARE YOU INFECT ME!"
"What- oof! -the hell- ow! -are you- ah! - talking about!?" he reared back his fist and slammed it against the side of her face, "KNOCK THAT OFF!"
Inoko grunted in pain before she pounced on him again and began shaking back and forth by the collar of his uniform, "YOU INFECTED ME! YOU MUST HAVE DONE!"
"Infected you with what!?"
"YOU MADE ME THINK!" she answered, "I NEVER THINK IN A BATTLE! I JUST KILL! THAT'S WHY I RAN AWAY LIKE THAT! THAT'S WHY I CAME BACK TO FIGHT!" she pushed him and got to her feet and and brandished her jagged blade towards the demon, "I guess you did knock some sense in me, No Eyes! From now on, I never going to use my head during a fight! And I'm going to kill every single demon before you can!"
Michael raised an eyebrow at her before a small smile appeared on his face, "And here I was think that you were worried about me."
"SHUT UP! I'LL NEVER DO THAT!" she yelled at him before she swiped the hilt of her sword out of his hand "Now what are you waiting for! Let's kill this piece of shit!"
The other Slayer chuckled and got back onto his feet, "That's more like it."
Inoko stomped towards Father Spider and grunted to catch the much larger demon's attention, "Oi you! You remember me!? You think he's tough then you should see what I can do!" she raised both her swords up above her head proudly, "I'm going to murder you, you-" she stopped when she noticed that one of her swords was broken at the hilt. She blinked at it in utter bewilderment before she turned back to Michael, her eyes wide in rage, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO MY SWORD!?" she bellowed as smoke shot out from her boar head's snout.
"Oh…sorry about that," Michael uncaringly shrugged.
"YOU-"
"Inoko, watch out!" Michael suddenly shouted.
Before she could do anything, however, Father Spider slammed his fist into her side and knocked her towards a nearby tree. Astonishingly, Inoko recovered almost immediately, twisted her body around in mid-air and used the tree to propel herself off towards the demon, her blades gleaming and thirsty for blood…
…well, one of them was at least.
She somersaulted in the air before bringing her sword down at the opening at its neck, where the broken blade of her other sword was still embedded.
'Need to aim for it,' Inoko thought to herself as she focused on the wound, 'Only way we can get past the hard skin.'
She was so close to cutting more of his flesh when Father Spider grabbed her around the shoulders and tossed her away. Michael, not letting her fight all on her own, used what little strength he had and leapt upwards to its face with his dagger brandished above him. However, Father Spider clearly had had enough and had grown used to his actions; before he could reach him, the demon reached out and grabbed him around his head and began to squeeze tightly. He responded by turning his dagger to himself and digging it in between the knuckles of its thumb and twisting as hard as he can. He heard the knuckle tear and his grip loosen slightly but it wasn't enough.
Thankfully, Inoko came to his aid. She leapt up and slashed sideways at the demon's eyes, taking the entire lower row in one strike. Father Spider yell and released Michael in shock, allowing him to drop to his feet and stab at the back of its knee. It roared in pure fury and pain; grabbing Inoko by the torso in mid-air and kicking Michael across the clearing. Father Spider then spun around and slammed Inoko against a tree and kept her pinned to it. She gasped as the air left her longs and chest began to compress in on itself.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" Father Spider roared in her face.
Michael got back to his feet with a pained groan, feeling his broken bones tearing into him from the inside. He suddenly he heard a shout and used his Breathing to sense what was happening. He flinched when he sensed Inoko getting pressed up against a tree and paled when he noticed droplets of blood spray out of the mouth of her mask.
"No!" he cried out in horror.
He was about to help her when she suddenly did something he didn't expect. Inoko, with one complete sword in her hand, raised it and struck Father Spider's neck where the opening was. The blade managed to cut deeper into its flesh, tearing it until the spine was exposed. One final swing would be all it took to completely decapitate it.
"What…are…you…waiting for!" Inoko gasped as she felt her insides collapse on themselves, "KILL IT, NO EYES!"
Michael frowned in determination before he sprinted towards them. Ignoring the pain, the broken bones and internal bleeding; he had to kill this thing before it kills her.
Michael leapt up as high as he could and twisted in the air so he was feet first. He aimed the sole of his shoe on the tip of the sword while Inoko still held onto the hilt and used his weight and her strength to push the sword deeper through the neck. It broke the spine, sliced through the gullet, ripped through the flesh and then…
SCHLICK!
Father Spider gave a choked cry as the sword cut through its thick neck and felt his heavy head topple off his shoulders and land at his feet with a sickening thud. His body stiffed suddenly before his arms dropped to his side, releasing Inoko in the process, and finally his knees gave way and the demon collapsed onto the ground. Michael heard him the familiar sound of a dead demon fall fall and released a weary sigh.
It was dead. They have finally won.
Michael took a few seconds to catch his breath before he stumbled his way towards Inoko. His fellow Slayer was propped up beside the tree she was held against; a trail of blood seeped from beneath her mask and down her chest and she wasn't moving. Panicked by the lack of movement, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently.
"Inoko?" he gasped out, "Inoko tell me if you okay. I can't see you, so you all you need to do is just move," he pressed his ear against her chest. There was a heart beat, but it was weak. He needed to somehow wake her up, "Inoko? Please, wake up!" he begged before his eyebrows raised as he got an idea, "Well, I guess I have to take the fall credit for killing that demon-"
WHACK!
"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" Inoko screamed as she punched him square in the jaw. Another spurt of blood came through her mask and she leaned back against the tree, "We…we did it. We killed it together," she uttered, "Don't you forget it, No Eyes."
Michael chuckled, "Yes…yes, we did," he softly said, "Stay here and I will find someone. Surely, the Hashira would have arrived by now."
Before he could leave, however, she reached out and grabbed his shoulder, "He…he's going after the main one."
He frowned in confusion, "Who is?"
"Amajiro Tangapda."
"…right."
"He…might need back up…go to him….while I'll kill any other demons in the area…" he told him.
"You should probably get some rest," he told her.
"No way!" she proclaimed, "I'm gonna-"
And that was all she said before she fell on her side unconscious. He sighed at her antics; he placed her in a more comfortable position on the ground before draping his coat over her for warmth. He stumbled onto his feet and used his Breathing, despite how much it hurt him. He sensed a few people up further up the mountain; their features too blurry for him to identify. He turned in their direction, took a deep breath before sprinting towards them.
Mountain Peak
He tried his best…but it wasn't enough.
The young Slayer with the scar on his head was on his hands and knees; sweat poured down his face, his lungs felt as if they were on fire, and his muscles and bones ached to the core. But he couldn't give up now; his and his younger sister lives are on the line and all it will take is one final attack from the spider demon: Rui.
Rui was angry. Beyond angry. Absolutely furious.
This Slayer, who came out of nowhere, dared to insult him and his family by telling him that it was fake. This stupid human and his demon sister was telling him that what he has was not real. He never felt so outraged in such a long time.
As the the young man crawled back to where his sister was lying unconscious on the ground, Rui slowly followed him from behind. Dark veins pulsed on his face and his red eyes shone dangerously down at him; he raised his hands before him and sprouted thin spider-like wires from it that connected with each other to form an elaborate web pattern between his open hands.
"I'm going to cut my ties with you guys," he hissed as fangs poked out of his mouth, "without any sense of regret."
'Come on, come on,' the young Slayer encouraged himself as he tried to crawl faster.
"Demon Blood technique," Rui snarled as a cage of razor sharp spider silk appeared all around the Slayer, "Cage of Murdering Eyes."
The cage began to shrink around him. The spider silk was so thin and sharp that it could cut a human in hundreds of pieces in a split second and it was now going to slice him up until he was nothing but a sickening blob of meaty pulp. The Slayer could do nothing but watch his prison close around him and call out for his sister...when suddenly...
SH-TING!
The silk wires were cut and the cage collapsed around him, shocking him and making Rui growl in anger. He looked up and saw a tall, intimidating Slayer with long red hair standing over him; a green dagger in his hand. He recognised almost immediately from the Final was the one who wore the bandages over his eyes; the one who argued with the other Slayer. He didn't think he ever got his name.
Michael, still facing the demon, spoke down to him, "Are you Amajiro Tangapda?" he asked seriously.
"…Huh?" the Slayer uttered in confusion, "No, my name is Tanjiro Kamado," he replied.
The older Slayer sighed, "Of course, Inoko would get his name wrong."
"Inoko…" the now named Tanjiro uttered, "…is she alright? I left her to fight the other demon."
"She's hurt…but alive and she's managed to kill it," Michael told him before he focused on Rui, "You're all alone. You can't hide behind your minions anymore."
Rui's eyes lit up at the sight of him, "They're my family. They're supposed to protect the youngest member," he hissed before he cocked his head to the side, "Chino Kami…you're the one master is looking for," his eyes darted to the blood seeping from his wounds, "What a waste of perfect blood. I would have thought Father would have known better. How disappointing."
Michael growled at him, "I would ask you to send a message to your master telling him to go to hell…but you're not going to make it out of here alive to have the chance."
The demon's eyes turned bloodshot and his hands began to blood red, "You think you're going to kill me? Your seconds away from death."
"He's right!" Tanjiro called out to him, "You need to get out of here and get a Hashira!"
"You're not going to last long if you rely on Hashira, Tanjiro," Michael spat, "If you want to get stronger than you have to take on every single challenge and prove that you're not complete utter waste of space!" he raised his dagger and pointed it at Rui, "If I die then I'm taking you with me."
Rui raised his hands again and glowered, "I'm sure master won't mind if I bring you to him in pieces. It's your blood that he wants. Blood Demon Art…" he stopped suddenly when he noticed something. His eyes narrowed dangerously at him, "I sense Mother on you," he whispered, making Michael flinch and Tanjiro frown in confusion, "You did something to her. Master informed me of your power…but never mentioned something like this. That must mean he must not know," his mouth pulled back into a vicious snarl, "You've grown too powerful. I must kill you before…"
But before he could finish his sentence a blur encased in a turret of rolling blue water sprinted out of the tree line and headed straight for Rui. The demon barley had time to react before the turret hit his neck and passed through it as if he was nothing but air.
Rui's eyes widened in surprise…before his head toppled sideways and fell to the ground.
Michael frowned at the sound; the attack was so smooth and effortless that he wondered if it actually happened. However, once he heard a familiar voice speak to him; he now understood why.
"What did I say about hesitating?" Tomioka questioned as she sheathed her sword back into its scabbard.
"I wasn't hesitating," Michael muttered, "I was actually protecting him until you arrive."
Tanjiro's eyes widened as he saw the Hashira before her, "It's you…you're the same person from two years ago."
Tomioka regarded him with a stern look, "You did well holding your own," she told him, "But now it's time to rest."
Tanjiro nodded tiredly before he crawled over to his sister and held onto her, checking if she was safe. He sighed in relief when he saw her still breathing and otherwise uninjured. Michael used his Breathing to sense who he was protecting; only his eyebrows to raise in surprise when he recognised her; it was the demon with the bamboo piece in her mouth that he ran into outside Tamayo's medical practise.
'What is she doing here!?' he thought in puzzlement, 'And why is he protecting her? Is he not a Slayer?'
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Rui's headless body stumble passed him, seemingly heading towards Tanjiro and his sister. He was concerned at first, but then the body fell to its knees and collapsed right beside them. As Rui's body slowly began to disappear into dust, Tanjiro reached out a hand and placed it on the body's shoulder in a reassuring way as if comforting him in his last seconds of life. It was an unusual thing to witness. Tomioka made his way over to them, stepping on the yukata that Rui was wearing that was left behind as he disappeared.
"Don't feel sorry for a demon," she told him seriously, "It doesn't matter whether or not he had the form of a child. He's an unsightly monster who's lived for tens, hundreds, thousands of years."
Michael would have agreed with her that demons deserved to die, but he would be hypocritical. He saved Ara, stopped himself from killing Kessen and allowed the demon that Tanjiro was protecting to touch him. He didn't really know what to think. Before he could think anymore on it, the young boy's voice caught his attention.
"To dispel the regrets of those killed," he uttered firmly, "and to stop any more victims from appearing…I will wield my blade against the demons. But I will not trample on the pains of being a demon. Nor on those who regret their own actions. Because demons were humans. Because they were humans just like me," he told her, making her raise an eyebrow at his tone, "Now get you're foot off him!"
Tomioka stared down at him coldly while Tanjiro glared back fiercely. She hummed slightly at what he had to say before she stepped off the yukata. Her gaze then left him and settled on the girl that he was holding tightly; her eyes widened in surprise.
"You're…"
Michael and Tomioka snapped their heads up as they heard something. Something quickly speeding towards them. The female Slayer brought out her sword and held out just in time to parry an attack aimed directly at the young girl. Michael heard the fluttering of a coat in the air before another person landed softly beside him.
"My, my. Why are you getting in the way Tomi?" a familiar voice sweetly said, "You said we get can't get along with demons. But what's this all about? If you do this everyone will hate you."
"Oh God, not you," Michael murmured as he recognised the voice of Shinobu standing beside him, her thin sword in her hand.
Shinobu giggled into her hand as she smiled up at him, "Oh, Timere. Long time, no see."
"Not long enough."
"You're in quite the state. You should really be more careful. A person with your condition shouldn't be doing something so dangerous, hmm?"
Michael tutted in annoyance and turned his head away while Shinobu tittered at him.
"I'm not hated."
Everybody turned and looked at Tomioka in confusion. The stoic girl stared at the ground with a small frown, seemingly not finding what she had said out of the ordinary. Shinobu smiled and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry. So you didn't know that you're hated. Pardon for saying too much."
Tomioka's eye twitched at that before she looked towards Michael, "Do you hate me, Michael?"
…
…
…
"…Err…no. Not really," he answered unsurely, not quite sure what was going on, "I guess you are the closest thing to a friend that I have."
Tomioka nodded in understanding before she looked at Shinobu; one corner of her mouth was raised slightly, "See. Michael doesn't hate me."
'Is…is she being smug?' Michael and Tanjiro thought at the same time.
Shinobu gave her a look of pity, "Oh dear, what a creepy face you've got there," she hardly said, making Tomioka flinch in anger. The shorter woman's eyes darted towards Tanjiro and offered a cold dainty smile, "Boy. You're protecting a demon," she told him condescendingly as if he was a child, "It's dangerous so please get off her."
"N-no…well, you're not wrong," he stammered, "…but you see, this is my sister…"
'His sister?' Michael thought in surprise, 'Did he become a Slayer before his sister turned…or is it the other way around.'
Shinobu gave a small gasp as she placed a hand over her mouth, "Well, is that so? What a pity," she said sadly before she raised her sword up to her face, "I'll be sure to kill her with a sweet poison. She won't feel any pain."
Michael moved in front of Tanjiro before he could think, "Wait."
"Hmm?" Shinobu hummed, looking at him slight confusion, "Oh, I see. You want to the honours yourself. I would have preferred a more gentle solution, given the situation, but-"
"No…let's just wait for a moment and think about this," he said cutting her off, "Something doesn't seem right about this."
Shinobu hesitated slightly in surprise before she raised an eyebrow, "Well, this is interesting. Where's this coming from?"
Before he could reply, he heard Tomioka whisper to Tanjiro urging him to run with his sister and get as far as he can. The young boy hesitated slightly before he got to his feet, picked up his sister and sprinted as fast as he could into the forest behind them. Michael frowned unsurely; conflicted about what was happening when he suddenly felt a disturbance in the air as something fast zipped past him. It was so subtle that, if it wasn't for Tomioka catching her before she could pursue them, she wouldn't have notice Shinobu running past him.
"Michael," Tomioka said, holding in the shorter woman under her arm and holding her sword arm in the other, "I can't explain right now. But you need to go after them. Make sure they're safe."
Shinobu tutted in disappointment, "Timere, don't you dare. This is a violation of Slayer conduct. You'll get in trouble if you aid a demon."
Michael remembered Ara and frowned in concern, 'Looks like I'm already in trouble then,' he thought to himself before he used what little strength he had to sprint after the brother and sister, ignoring the annoyed tuts for Shinobu.
He used his Breathing and sensed somebody lying on the ground and recognised the outline of Tanjiro. He knelt down beside him and inspected him the best he could. He was knocked out by a sharp blow to the back of the head; it must have been sudden for they had hardly left by the time he had perused them. His sister was nowhere and Michael thought the worst, but he sensed two people running further into the forest. One of them was the demon and the other was another outline of a Slayer. It took him a while, but he soon recognised her as the quiet girl from the Final Selection; the one with the butterfly.
'Must be working with Shinobu. If that's the case then that's not good,' he thought before he sped off after them.
Michael sprinted through the forest despite the serious injuries he had suffered. He needed to get to the demon before the slayer does.
'Why am I doing this?' he scolded himself as he weaved through the trees swiftly, 'Just because that boy asked me to? Just because Tomioka wanted to save her? No. That can't just be it. That demon could have killed me back in Tokyo…but she didn't. She could have gave into her instincts and become like the other demon scum…but she didn't,' he frowned thoughtfully, 'Could she be saved? Just like with Ara or Kessen? I don't know yet. I will have to judge for myself before she is killed,' sensed the Slayer and the demon up ahead and sprinted faster.
The Slayer was getting close to her target; she admit that she had caught her by surprise by shrinking to the size of a child, but she was still faster and deadlier. Her bright eyes narrowed on the neck of the demon through her thick black hair and her hand firmly gripped on the hilt of her sword; she was about to swing and decapitate she felt a strong breeze blew over her and her and a strong hand grabbed her wrist before she could. Again, she was taken by surprise and leapt away from her captor, snatching her wrist out of his grasp, before she looked at him with an unreadable expression. It was only then that Michael noticed how similar she seemed to Koicho; the serene smile on her lips that never dropped, the butterfly motifs in her clothing and the inquisitive, yet gently gaze; however, while the Hashira had an aura of unpredictability and hidden anger, Michael felt as if she was…empty, as if she void of any sort of thought or emotion. Or rather, didn't seem to know how to process thought or emotion.
"You stopped me," she quietly said, "are you now aware that it is a demon?"
"I am aware, but you are not to hurt this one," he ordered her firmly.
The Slayer blinked at him and tilted her head to the side, "I'm not going to do that. It's my duty to kill this demon."
Michael brandished his dagger and held it to his side, "I can't let you do that."
The Slayer hummed gently as she too readied her blade and prepared for a battle. She was quicker, but he was stronger; she had more battle experience, but he was no push-over; she had a proper weapon, but he was just as skilled with his dagger. The only difference was that he was injured and she was fresh and ready to fight.
But that won't stop him.
They were about to start their fight…when something suddenly latched onto Michael's leg.
Confused, he sensed what had grabbed ahold of him and noticed it was the demon. She had shrunken herself down to the size of a toddler, her clothes being far too big for her and hung off her loosely, and had wrapped her arms around his leg, looking up at him with a small eyes. He frowned in bewilderment and lifted his leg up slightly, taking her with it; he noticed that the other Slayer seemed to be as confused as he was and watched on with curiosity.
"Get off," he demanded.
She shook her head.
"I told you to get off!" he growled at her.
She merely respond by wrapping her legs around him and blinked cutely at him. She pointed at herself and said something that was muffled by the bamboo stick in her mouth.
"Yes, I remember you from Tokyo," he sighed angrily, the small demon seemed happy about that, "It's nice to meet you again. Can you let go of my leg now?"
Once again, she shook her head and pointed at the other Slayer before she tried to conceal herself from her.
"You're hiding behind me so I can protect you?" he asked.
She nodded.
"You do realise I'm also a Slayer, right?"
She nodded.
"I can just kill you right now."
She nodded.
"…But you don't care, do you?"
She shook her head no and patted her hand against his leg as if thanking him. He sighed miserably and shook his leg to get her to let go, but she hung on tight, pressing her small face against his thigh and humming contently. Michael groaned in annoyance and turned his head up to the other Slayer.
"I can still cut her head off if you don't move," she suggested, "I would have to cut your leg off in the process…would you mind?"
"Of course, I do!"
"Message! Message! CAW!" they stopped at the raspy cry of a crow from somewhere in the forest, its voice echoed through the trees even at this distance, "We have a message! Restrain the ones named Tanjiro and Nezuko and bring them to headquarters! The Slayer names Tanjiro has a scar on his head and the demon Nezuko bites down on a bamboo piece! CAW! CAW!"
The crow continued to squawk out its message over and over until everybody heard it. Michael frowned in curiosity and wondered what it could mean.
'They want them both at headquarters? This can't be good for them,' he thought drearily, 'I suppose I must help clean up this mess before I take my leave,' he decided before he felt the pain from his injuries rattle his senses, 'I'll stop and rest for a few days at an inn and then I have to figure out what to do with Ara. Maybe there's an abandoned house I could set her up in temporarily,' he turned his head down to the demon, "So, you're Nezuko, huh?"
She nodded gleefully.
"Can you let go now?"
She shook her definitely, making him growl in annoyance.
"Hmm, I see," the other Slayer said before she sheathed her sword, turned around and walking away; not even questioning the crow's announcement.
She just took orders without a single hesitation.
'Weird girl,' Michael muttered in slight relief, he really wasn't up for another fight in his condition. He turned his head down and saw Nezuko still clinging to his leg like a koala, staring up at him in curiosity, "The sun's going to come up soon. We have to find you shelter," he sighed before he started to half-walk, half-limp his way back up the mountain.
"Oh dear, I hope Kanao hadn't killed her first," Shinobu hummed, placing a dainty hand on her cheek as she placed an unconscious Tanjiro in a recovery position, "It would be quite a shame if she died before the master had a chance to speak to them."
Tomioka glared at her from the corner of her eye before she stared on straight ahead in the direction that Michael, the demon and Kanao ran off to, "As always, your words lack any sort of sympathy. Michael would have caught up with her."
"Ara, ara! You trust in that rookie way too much," she giggled, "It's actually quite creepy."
Tomioka's eye twitched, but she didn't reply. She didn't want to give her a reason to keep on talking to her.
Tomioka and Shinobu heard the sound of footsteps on dry dirt and turned to see the now named Kanae calmly walking out of the trees with a serene expression on her face.
"Oh Kanao," Shinobu chirped, "You didn't kill the demon, did you?"
She shook her head to say no.
"And where is she?" Tomioka questioned seriously.
Kanao turned and pointed behind her; just in time to see an unusual sight. Michael lumbered heavily out of the forest as his injuries starting to wear him down; however, what caught their attention was the fact that the demon that were supposed to capture was sitting in his shoulders like a father would to his young daughter. Nezuko seemed more than happy with the arrangement, playing with his long hair while she enjoyed the view that she rarely got to see.
"I've got her," he sighed miserably, earning a strange look from Tomioka while Shinobu stifled a laugh.
Nezuko looked down and squeaked in concern at the sight of her unconscious brother and attempted to climb down him, but Michael held onto her.
"He's fine," he grumbled, "He needs some rest after his fight…and so should you if you don't want to be burnt to a crisp."
Nezuko hummed in worry as she stared down at Tanjiro, but muffled something with a nod, signifying that she understood.
"You can put her in the box," Tomioka told him, holding up a large wooden box with arm straps on the back, "Sunlight won't go through it."
She put he box on the ground and he allowed Nezuko to climb down him and crawl inside it. Once she was comfortable and secure, he closed the door and locked it tightly before he swung it onto his back and put the straps over his shoulders.
By that time, others began to show up in the forest. At fist there were two who were transferring Tanjiro to a stretcher and three and four more emerged. Michael remembers Yamamoto telling him about them. They were kakushi, men and women wearing black uniform consisting of a gakuran jacket, hakama trousers and, over their head, they wore a dark hood with a paper-like mask in front of their face, completely concealing their identity other than their eyes. They dealt with the clean up afterwards; picking up the injured and the dead, cleaning any traces of demons and other menial jobs that were below the standard of a Slayer. One of them, a young man who seemed to be in his early twenties, attempted to take the box off him, but one menacing snarl from Michael sent him reeling away.
"Oh, are you carrying the demon back to headquarters," Shinobu said with a teasing tone in her voice, "And here I thought you hated them, hmm?"
"Seems like you don't know me as much as you think you do," he replied with a small smirk, "Some of us are much more complex in character."
Shinobu's eyebrow twitched at that, but she managed to maintained her gentle smile nonetheless. Tomioka, on the other hand, gave a small amused smile.
"I'll drop her off at Headquarters and then I'll be on my way. I'm not going to stay for any longer," he told them, but Kocho shook her head.
"Now, that won't do," she told him, "You're severally injured and a complete mess; quite the liability. Once you arrive at headquarters you will stay at my house until you are back to health," she giggled behind her hand, "After all, it'll be a shame if you are killed after coming so far. Isn't that right, Tomi?"
"As much as it pains me, I admit that she's right," Tomioka muttered, "Come with us to headquarters and you can heal. Besides, you will need to wait for your new sword and jingasa."
Michael didn't really like the idea, but he had to admit that they were right. There was little point in going hunting without a new kantana and the promise of a rest did sound appealing.
"Fine," he reluctantly agreed, "Do I have to stay at her house?"
"So mean," Shinobu moaned, "My house has state of the art hospital ward and a rehabilitation centre. All corp members stay there. While the alternative is Tomi's one room and one single tatami mat. So unless you want to share…"
"I…have more stuff then that," the stoic Slayer muttered, "I've…got a table…and tea cups."
Shinobu patted her shoulder, "You see. This is why nobody likes you, Tomi. You're just so creepy."
By the way she glared at her fellow Hashira; Michael thought she was going to murder her on the spot.
He sighed and felt the pocket that Ara was hiding inside, 'I'm sorry. Just hang on a little longer,' he thought as he turned his head over his shoulder at some of the Kakushi, "Hey!" he snapped, making them jump in surprise, "Come with me. There are some Corps members that need help."
One of the kakushi leaned over to the other and whispered, "Does he really think he can boss us around? I mean who is this guy?"
"What was that!?" Michael snarled at him, shooting him a dark look.
The kakushi gulped and shook his head, "N-nothing!"
Foot of the Mount Natagumo
Michael led the kakushi through the mountain forest, picking up Inoko on the way before they headed down towards the edge where the other Corps members were waiting. Ozaki and Murata were looking after the others as they knelt on the grassy ground, but, at the sound of their arrival, looked up to see them; they got up to their feet (with Ozaki having a little difficultly due to her broken arm) and met them with relieved looks.
"Timere…you're back," Murata said as he noted the kakushi who immediately ran to tend to the injured, "It's all over?"
"Yes, it is. The demons are dead."
"You're injured, Timere-sama," Ozaki said in concern, noting the blood that has stained his uniform, "Do you need medical assistance?"
However, he waved his dismissively, "I'm fine. Only a few broken bones and cuts," he reassured her before he smiled darkly, "Don't waste your time with me. I can handle it. It's the others that need help."
'So scary,' Murata thought with a shiver.
'So cool~' Ozaki thought with a sigh.
"How are the other Slayers? Have they recovered?"
Murata nodded, "The two I brought out are fine as well as the one already there. However, one of the two Ozaki brought out…"
He trailed off and looked behind him. Michael sensed one of the kakushi members check one of the Slayers, shook their head before they covered his face with a sheet. Michael sighed sadly while Ozaki stared down at the ground in despair.
"The pain was too much for him…" Ozaki uttered as she held back a sob, "We…we couldn't do-"
Michael rested a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "You both did what you can. You did the right thing and stayed with your comrades. That's good enough, you two. Good work," he told them in softest tone he could muster, "We'll make sure to give him a proper burial later, okay?"
"O-okay," Murata whispered gently.
Ozaki sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes before she hummed in agreement before she reached up and gently placed his hand over his.
"Good. We should get going," Michael said as he walked past them, however he didn't get very far before Murata called out to him.
"Timere," he said, making the Slayer stop, "When we got here…there were ten of us and six managed to make it back…I can't help, but think that if you didn't come then none of us would have survived…so…" he got onto the ground and bowed deeply with his head touching the ground towards him, "Thank you, Timere."
Ozaki bowed as well, although she didn't get on the ground due to her broken arm, "Thank you for saving us, Timere-sama," she thanked as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Michael didn't turn his head back to them, but he gave a small secret smile before it disappeared, "We need to get back to headquarters. The Hashira are having a meeting and I need to be there with this," he said, patting the box on his back, "If you're feeling tired then get on my horse. I'll walk on beside you."
Murata and Ozaki looked up at him and frowned in confusion.
"Horse?" Ozaki said, "what hor- AH! When did that horse get there!?" she yelled at the sudden appearance of Kaze beside them.
"On time as always," Michael murmured as he addressed the rest of the corps members, "Let's get to headquarters before sunrise. Let's get out of this God forsaken place."
That's it for now, I hoped you enjoyed it.
The battle has been won and another arc completed. I wanted to do a battle between Rui and Michael, but it was too important for Tanjiro's character. However, I hoped you enjoyed Michael and Inoko vs Father Spider. Now we're onto the recovery arc and we will see Michael interaction with the other hashira as well as the residents of the Butterfly Mansion. Not only that, but we're going to see the after effects of Michael saving the corps members.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you next time.
Thanks for reading :)