The Dancing Star
Chapter 30
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.
Muzan's POV
Within the depths of what appeared to be a large number of staircases and rooms, a skinny demon panted, clearly a bit confused and traumatized by what he witnessed.
Of course, the area he resided in was beyond safe now. There was no way any threat would find him here and try to strike him down. Especially when he had his subordinates within the area, it was almost impossible.
And so, he felt his body calming down from the sudden stress he was feeling, almost shocking, and something he hadn't felt in a long time.
Pure, unadulterated fear. But most of all, he was confused as well.
He had done his best to make sure he had not hyperventilated, and once he did, his rationality and thinking kicked in.
He was now reflecting on everything that happened, so that one, he could see what he could do, and two, try and figure out how and why those two were pursuing him all hostile like that.
For starters, the girl whom he had purposely turned to a demon, was alive, and not on his side. Somehow, the girl of that family had managed to reverse the control Muzan had on her. She was now her own, and with a sword, meaning, she was with those demon slayers.
A traitor. That was it.
That demon, the very one from the very family he had spared under generous conditions, had defied what Muzan wanted.
She was a traitor, on the likes of only another demon. In all of his time, he had only had one single demon betray him and get away with it. Any other demon that tried spontaneously combusted, but this was another demon who had done the almost impossible.
But then there was the boy.
How in the hell was he still alive? And a demon?! Muzan had felt the flames of that breathing style almost hit him, sending him back to a terrible nostalgic past of humility.
And it was something he did not want to get hit by. Even if he couldn't see it, he felt the flaming aura and power it held.
He could have sworn he killed that boy, slowly ripping his limbs out one by one. He even made sure it was everything how he envisioned it. He even stabbed the eye and punctured many stabs into his body.
His body was wrecked and beaten down beyond what a normal human could even handle. And yet, that boy was still walking around, a demon, no longer having to worry about the pain of what he caused to that boy.
But the better question is, why was that demon boy so threatening? How was he suddenly a formidable slayer?
And that demon girl, the very girl he thought would have gone under his rule, she had done the unexpected and stayed away from him.
Not only that but with the boy surviving, he had another worry to deal with. His father had told him that the boy was incredibly useless. There was no breathing style he could've done.
And yet, that boy was using the very breathing style and technique he was looking for.
His father lied to him and played him this entire time. How the father had purposely manipulated the demon king was beyond embarrassing for Muzan, but now he had to decide what to do.
The boy he had ruthlessly slaughtered, and somehow, he managed to survive and become a demon. And worst of all, a traitor.
How? How did the world give him such a bad outcome?
The girl was also able to learn a breathing technique. Not surprising since he was informed about that. Muzan knew that the girl, Nezuko, was not threatening even then, but even then, a demon being a demon slayer should be threatening regardless, especially if she was a traitor. A demon traitor was naturally something serious for Muzan.
The boy, by contrast, was incredibly threatening. The very boy the father had downplayed for so long, saying how he was unable to learn any breathing form that he gave him.
The very boy who no doubt suffered the most from Muzan's control over his family. The one who had the most reason to hate Muzan… The one Muzan hated the most because it reminded him of that monster…
The very boy… Also seemed to know that very same breathing style. The one he was looking for. While he would be very ecstatic to know that a demon had that very breathing style, it, unfortunately, did not mean that he had a demon that was immune to the sun.
Not yet… With almost everything, it took time. Tanjirou and Nezuko had the potential, and were promising, but could tell that they were still very demon-like, very weak, and unable to withstand the sun.
He sighed in frustration.
Despite all of this, that boy still annoyed him. He still despised that boy… and even then, the boy was learning to become just like him. The same breathing style, the longer red hair, the hanufuda earrings, everything.
Was that worth the potential?
Muzan didn't know. But even then, he gave the family a generous term to give him a result, and they failed. He was not going to give more time.
Resisting his control, breaking free from their curse, and even having so many properties relating to that monster, Muzan didn't want to risk accidentally creating a demon that could overpower him.
He and Michikatsu, now Kokushibo, had done everything in their power to remove everything regarding that man. But that boy and his sister, not only survived the attack, turning into a demon in the process, but they seemed to have the characteristics of that man.
Tanjirou knew sun breathing… He knew that very damned breathing and had managed to strike a brain of his, whilst the demon girl struck him as well. Muzan was injured the most he had ever been in so long, because of traitor demons getting the sneak onto him.
The boy terrified Muzan, but he also annoyed him. He had to remove those siblings as soon as he could.
That boy, however, was at the peak of his issues. While the boy and girl were thankfully still weak and had their issues, the potential for the both of them to be on the level of that man alone terrified Muzan, and thus he needed to remove those two as soon as possible,
And so, he decided to call on a couple of demons. After all, the demon traitors shouldn't be that much of a threat for some of his stronger demons to kill, right?
But just to be safe, perhaps he should send one of his most trusted and strongest demons he had at his arsenal. But he wasn't willing to send someone highly valued.
No, perhaps one of the Lower Moons could work.
As Muzan called for some demons, he was met with three demons.
One was a boy with yellow and black attire, with eyes on his hands. His buzz-cut hair stood out, as he stood with an average build and a normal height.
The other was a female, with orange and black attire. She had black to orange hair, with cat-like slits. By contrast, she was rather tall for a female of her height, and she was also playing with a temari.
The final demon, however, was noticeably stronger than the two other demons. Unlike many, his face had some thick lines of dark green under both his eyes and running to his nose. He also had four dots of the same color across his face. His eyes were rather blue, and yet his hair was orange and black.
This demon always held a somewhat anxious face on him, as if he was anxious about what Muzan wanted.
"W-What do you want, your majesty?" The individual asked. Upon further notice, one could see the mark on his eyes, that read, Lower Moon Six.
"Kill the demon slayer boy with hanufuda earrings and long red hair. Alongside this is a girl with long hair, and a pink and brown kimono. She should always be alongside her brother. Kill both of these demons, and you will receive a generous amount of my blood." Was all Muzan told the two demons, as he walked off, not caring, but also worrying if they wanted to fit to properly defeat the monster lookalike.
"You all are my twelfth kizuki, and I entrust the three of you to this job. Kamanue, you will act as a second base layer in the case these two are struggling or incapable of eliminating the threat, got it?" Muzan asked Lower Moon Six, who nodded frantically.
"G-Got it!" Kamanue bowed down, and Muzan nodded.
"Good, remember what is at stake." Muzan warned the three, "You all better make me proud."
Susamaru grinned, "As a member of the twelve kizuki, I'll make you proud, master!"
At this, Muzan smirked, "We'll see." He merely walked away. He knew that Susamaru wasn't even close to being a member of the twelve kizuki. But then again, she was only a child when she became a demon, and so watching her grow at least mentally, Muzan was able to manipulate Susamaru into thinking she was destined for greatness.
Little did she know the real application of the world was something of a façade.
As the three demons left, Muzan smiled, "Yes, that boy is nothing of a threat, at least, not yet."
And so, Muzan decided to tell Kokushibo about the prospects of his brother's descendants coming back to fight them.
For even Muzan knew Kokushibo would have a personal vendetta against this boy. In short, Kokushibo was Muzan's last-ditch effort in case that boy became too powerful somehow.
For Muzan already had a lot going, he ultimately made the decision, that keeping the two demon siblings alive, was just not worth the reward he could have gained.
At least, the boy wasn't. Perhaps if the boy died, then the girl would come to his side with nothing left to do.
With Tanjirou and Nezuko
As Tanjirou and Nezuko made their way inside a building, which they quickly realized was something they weren't even aware was there, they could only look on in awe.
The demon woman for her part, raised her hand, and the boy also pulled out a paper talisman.
Blood Demon Art: Blindfold
Blood Demon Art: Scent of Illusionary Blood, Visual Dream
Before the two demon siblings knew it, a large building manifested itself, causing both Tanjirou and Nezuko to be shocked at how such a large object was hidden, all because of a demon's blood demon art.
With the unique ability to hide anything of importance, it was no wonder these two were able to live in such a large place without any form of suspicion.
"Are you two, Tamayo and Yushiro?" Tanjirou asked, but neither of them answered.
The two of them didn't say anything. It was somewhat awkward, but the two demons had motioned Tanjirou and Nezuko to enter inside the building.
And so, they did. Albeit, very cautiously, and it made sense.
All four of them were skeptical of each other, especially since it was Kagaya who had informed the two of them to be able to meet each other.
It would be of worth, since the four of them were deemed traitors by Muzan, and chose to ally themselves with the demon slayer corps.
"Yes, my name is Tamayo, and this is my assistant, Yushiro." Tamayo greeted herself as she bowed.
Yushiro for his part had an angered tone before he sighed. "Yushiro." It was straightforward, but a simple greeting.
"My name is Tanjirou Kamado, and this is my little sister, Nezuko Kamado." Tanjirou introduced the two of them.
"That's your sister? She looks like a hag." Yushiro commented under his breath, causing both Tanjirou and Nezuko to get angered.
"What did you call my sister?" Tanjirou asked silently, with a hint of anger inside of the tone.
"You heard me." Yushiro clapped back, staring down at Tanjirou.
"Yushiro! Stop trying to already pick a fight with our guests!" Tamayo exclaimed in disapproval of her assistant.
"Yes Lady Tamayo…" Yushiro's voice immediately went down to become softer as he sat down in defeat.
"I've heard from the master that we should expect two demons who were fighting demons here?" Tamayo asked, "And you both met the criteria. Plus, I can tell from the both of you, that you are different than many other demons." Tamayo explained.
"Yeah, we encountered Muzan…" Tanjirou explained.
This caused Tamayo to nod, "Makes sense, you were turned into a demon after all. You would know."
"Wait, I mean-" Tanjirou didn't get to finish.
"So when did you two become demons?" Tamayo asked with intrigue, and Tanjirou sighed.
"Just over two years, I think?" Tanjirou thought as he spoke to Tamayo.
"So, you both have managed to escape your desires and have not eaten any humans?" Tamayo asked, her shock present and apparent on her face.
"Yes." Tanjirou confirmed, "We were found by a demon slayer, and he was impressed with us that his master and he taught us how to fight. Unfortunately, our master had been murdered pretty recently." Tanjirou looked down, clearly not forgetting Urokodaki.
Tamayo looked down in sympathy, "I'm sorry to hear about that. But the fact that the two of you have never eaten any humans within two years of becoming demons, you both are truly remarkable and miracles.
It took a bit of time, but after properly introducing themselves to Tamayo, and ignoring the passive-aggressive insults of Yushiro, they had found the demon allies they were looking for.
"I had heard about the passing of your mentor, Urokodaki from Oyakata-sama himself. May I wish him a peaceful life next time, and that he rests east." Tamayo gave a salute to the fallen Hashura.
"It was unexpected, and to think that it occurred in the same way for us… The only difference is that we became demons…" Tanjirou sighed, "It only makes us realize how lucky we were to survive how we were."
"Indeed… But one could argue that being a demon is a worse fate than death…" Tamayo commented before she sighed. "Let's head back to our residency."
The four individuals made their way to the main room, clearly ready to talk more about everything.
Whilst Tamayo was sweet, the other demon companion… Not so much…
Yushiro, or whatever his name was, had immediately insulted Nezuko, which immediately garnished a headbutt from Tanjirou, and so the two got off to a bad start. To say Nezuko was confused was an understatement.
She knew Tanjirou was overprotective of her, and did not take to people insulting her or his family, but seeing Tanjirou act that aggressively to this day, was somewhat rare.
"So you both can say his name, without suffering from the curse?" Tamayo asked, clearly impressed.
"What curse?" Tanjirou asked, and Nezuko tilted her head too.
"What's wrong with your sister?" Yushiro asked, clearly not intrigued by the extra guests.
"Oh right… She can't speak with her mouth, but I can understand her through our minds." Tanjirou explained, pointing to his head.
"Is that so?" Tamayo asked, clearly interested. "Very unique."
"But what about the curse you were talking about?" Tanjirou asked.
"The one where demons would explode if he said Muzan's name," Tamayo confirmed.
"Wait, that curse?!" Tanjirou asked, confused, "I thought that was a bunch of made-up overdramatic excuses the demon made up."
"Wow…" Tanjirou said afterward, as both he and Nezuko were very surprised. They had unintentionally shown to many demons that they had broken the curse of Muzan for quite some time.
"I did say his full name out of rage…" Tanjirou scratched his head, "So I guess that means I broke his curse?"
"You most certainly did. Considering how you two are acting, it wouldn't be a surprise." Tamayo insisted. "And the two of you have managed to do it after just over two years… How impressive…"
"So, what about you?" Tanjirou asked.
"Well, I take small blood donations from other humans. Of course, it's a healthy amount that doesn't harm the human, and Yushiro can withstand even less." Tamayo explained.
The two sighed, knowing it was a sad reality, but at least a compromise that would have worked regardless. As long as they weren't causing harm, then it was fine.
"What about the two of you?" Tamayo asked.
"Well, Nezuko here just needs to sleep." Tanjirou scratched his head, "As for me, I can eat anything else, and sleep."
"What do you mean, eat anything else?" Tamayo asked.
"Well, I've been able to eat some human foods like fruits and vegetables, and even some cooked meat." Tanjirou explained, "But the most nutritious I had was demon flesh."
"Wait, you eat demons?!" Yushiro asked, clearly surprised by what he was hearing.
"Yes." Tanjirou nodded as if it wasn't that surprising for the two. However, Yushiro immediately got in front of Tamayo trying to protect her.
"Lady Tamayo! See! This demon boy came here to eat us!" Yushiro exclaimed, trying to get and persuade Tamayo to not accept these guests anymore.
"Yushiro!" Tamayo in disbelief shook her head in disapproval at him. "Would Kagaya and I both be allowing these demon allies in our house if they would have eaten us?"
"N-No…" Yushiro's voice mellowed out incredibly quickly.
"cough cough, simp, cough," Tanjirou mumbled, causing tick anger marks to appear on Yushiro's face.
"You want to fight?!" Yushiro asked his anger once again piping up.
Nezuko too turned to her brother, clearly not content with the stunt he just played.
"What? He deserves it." Tanjirou explained.
"Doesn't mean you should do it, brother," Nezuko informed her brother, who looked down.
"But he insulted you." Tanjirou tried to justify his actions.
"Then why don't you act like this when you are insulted? I can stand up for myself, don't worry brother." Nezuko answered back for Tanjirou, who remained silent at that.
"This is getting nowhere, are we going to discuss what is at stake or are we going to continue arguing?" Tamayo asked suddenly with an authoritarian tone, it scared both Tanjirou and Yushiro to the point they both remained quiet, an air of discomfort filling the room that only Nezuko wasn't sure of.
"Anyways, regarding the curse of Muzan, it is the truth." Tamayo continued after a bit. "A truth."
"I mean, we did use to think demons were myths until we were told of them, and now…" Tanjirou motioned to the two of their states, clearly knowing now since they both were demons.
"So if we can say Muzan's name, then does that mean we're immune to this curse?" Tanjirou confirmed, to which Tamayo nodded.
"Exactly. For if you had said his name and were not immune to the curse, it would've acted like a kill command for all of his demonic cells to explode." Tamayo explained, "For those who can say his name has become different enough to have their demonic cells. In essence, Kibutsuji calls them traitors." Tamayo added, informing Tanjirou and Nezuko more about the curse and the information about Muzan.
"Wow…" Tanjirou mumbled.
"So I can only assume that Kibutsuji was the one to kill your family, and to turn you both into demons?" Tamayo theorized.
"Well actually, that's where things get confusing…" Tanjirou started.
"How so?" Tamayo asked.
"He only intended on making Nezuko into a demon… I was turned accidentally." Tanjirou explained.
Tamayo raised an eyebrow at that, "How do you accidentally get turned into a demon?" She asked, not believing it.
"Well, I used to believe that killing a demon meant decapitation, so I bit into his neck as a human trying to decapitate him… Turns out you need a nichirin blade, and that I got some of his blood in my mouth…" Tanjirou scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Is that so?" Tamayo asked as she thought. It did make sense as to why Tanjirou was a demon.
"Besides, Kibutsuji was very surprised when Nezuko and I encountered him directly… He didn't mean to turn me into a demon…" Tanjirou added.
This made sense to Tamayo. "Well, I don't know whether to call you lucky or not. Whether you were blessed with another chance at life, or cursed for being a demon."
"Yeah, the only problem is the daytime, but besides that, that's it," Tanjirou explained before his mind realized something. "Also, apparently he knows my family."
"How come?" Tamayo asked.
"I don't know, he just went on a tangent about how he forced my family to hate me and to abuse me and the likes… It didn't make any sense… All I remembered from him was the smell… The smell I used to…" Tanjirou's eyes widened, as his head immediately began to hurt.
He gripped his head tightly, before shaking it violently. It took around a couple of agonizing minutes for Tanjirou to regain his standing.
Tamayo and Nezuko looked at Tanjirou in concern, and even Yushiro looked confused.
"What is wrong with you, brat?" Yushiro asked, clearly confused, his aggression replaced.
"He's trying to remember something, Yushiro," Tamayo explained, holding Tanjirou by the shoulder. "Do you remember anything before the attack?"
"Yes, I remember my family hating me," Tanjirou explained.
"Brother…" Nezuko tried to reason and not get him to vent, as she seemed to have thought of something else.
"Sorry…" Tanjirou breathed in before sighing, "I just didn't have a good relationship with them, that's all…"
Tamayo looked at Tanjirou and Nezuko, a large amount of pity in her eyes as she felt bad. "How tragic… That must've been so difficult… But I was referring to Kibutsuji himself."
"Not really." Tanjirou scratched his head, "The only thing I remember was him attacking my family and myself. That's it. All I know is that from himself, he knew my family beforehand."
"That is strange. Why would Muzan keep your family alive?" Tamayo asked. "No offense, but whenever he had some vital information about something or someone, he would always either eliminate them or turn them into a demon."
"I see… But if he knew us previously, why can't I remember him?" Tanjirou asked.
"The answer is simple. Muzan is a coward." Tamayo started, a hint of poison laced in her voice, "Whenever he infects and turns a human into a demon, anything prior about him is erased from the memories. Otherwise, no one in their right mind would serve him. So, to get that, he turns them all into demons and erases their memories of ever knowing him beforehand." Tamayo explained.
"That's what he did to me," Tamayo added, a bit saddened.
"What happened to you when he turned you…?" Tanjirou asked, a bit nervous to ask.
"I killed my entire family… And served him for years to come… That is until I was sparred by a demon slayer, who cut Muzan to the ground… He gave me a purpose to live, and to betray and switch sides." Tamayo explained.
"I understand… When Nezuko and I turned to demons, we were so close to consuming our dead family's bodies… Even through it all, I couldn't bring myself to… I hated them, and yet I didn't…" Tanjirou explained, his face clearly remembering that exact, decisive moment.
"That is remarkable… I wished I hadn't eaten my family when I was newly turned…" Tamayo looked down, a look of regret and sadness on her face.
"I'- KF!" Tanjirou's neck was grabbed by Yushiro who eyed him with daggers in his eyes.
"I outta kill you for making Lady Tamayo angry!" He yelled right in Tanjirou's face. Tanjirou was not taking that lightly and headbutted Yushiro.
"Ow! What the he-" Yushiro didn't get the time, before Tanjirou pushed him onto the ground, eyeing him dangerously.
"I can take your little aggressive insults, but you threatening my life is something I won't take lightly," Tanjirou told Yushiro before he let go of him.
"Yushiro, Tanjirou, you both need to stop fighting." Tamayo told the two, wiping her face of tears, "And it's alright for the both of you. Sometimes I think about them to this day, so it's all normal…"
"I'm sorry, Kamado." Yushiro apologized to Tanjirou, who remained quiet, focusing on Tamayo.
"Tamayo, is there any way to turn back to a human?" Tanjirou asked, shocking both Tamayo and Yushiro.
"Is that why you are here?" Tamayo asked. "Fighting demons?"
"Yes." Tanjirou nodded. "I want to turn my sister Nezuko back to a demon… That's my purpose here in life."
"I think that's a fine goal, Tanjirou and Neuzko," Tamayo said, at last, eyeing Yushiro's scowl. They all knew at this point that Yushiro was overprotective of Tamayo. And it made sense, having demons talking to her easily put Tamayo in danger.
"It's so impressive… Two demons going this far into holding their instincts… You snapped out of your demonic instincts when you woke up?"
Tanjirou nodded, and Tamayo was shocked, and in disbelief.
"What about Nezuko?" She asked after a bit.
"That's a different story… I think…" Tanjirou explained, "I had to snap her out of her thoughts, and even then, she couldn't make any noise… That wasn't until she fell asleep for around four months…"
"Perhaps that was Nezuko's way of compensating for no blood from humans?" Tamayo theorized to which Tanjirou nodded.
"It's most likely that, but when she woke up, she was able to make noises, and acted more human-like. A couple of months later, and she can now communicate with me through her mind."
"This certainly is very interesting…" Tamayo pondered before she asked something. "If this is the case, may we get a sample of your blood?"
"Huh?" Both Tanjirou and Nezuko tilted their head in confusion.
"You idiots! Do you want to become humans or not?!" Yushiro angrily spoke to the two siblings. Tanjirou immediately turned to face Yushiro.
"Sorry, I'm not talking to Tamayo's lapdog," Tanjirou responded to Yushiro before he focused his attention on Tamayo, ignoring the angered look Yushiro was giving him,
"Yushiro, be nice to our guests." Tamayo once again told Yushiro for the millionth time, causing him to nod. Tanjirou gave a small smirk, knowing what he said only bolstered Yushiro's anger.
"Anyways, we could extract your blood to get a better understanding of what makes you both different amongst newly turned demons. Since you both are young in being different, your blood cells may be different, or similar to that of Muzan's demon cells." Tamayo explained, "Unfortunately, there is no way to convert a demon to a human, but nothing is impossible, and so I'm in the process of trying."
"I see… That works." Tanjirou nodded. He was a bit upset they couldn't be turned into humans yet, but this was better than nothing.
"I will need you both to perform me some favours though if you want to become human again." Tamayo then added, causing Tanjirou to look at Tamayo with a serious face.
"I'll need the blood of the twelve kizuki, you know who those are, right?" Tamayo asked the two.
"Yes, they are demons closest tied to Muzan," Tanjirou confirmed his knowledge.
"I see, then that makes everything easier… Alas, it is a dangerous encounter. Especially by demons wanting to become humans, you'll easily be labeled a traitor. Also, I cannot provide any information on the whereabouts of where these demons are, so you two will have to find them."
"Usually, if Muzan finds a traitor, he eliminates them, treating them as almost a threat of a demon slayer Hashira," Tamayo explained.
"I see…" Tanjirou sighed, "Doesn't that mean he might be trying to kill us now?"
Tamayo remained quiet, as the thought suddenly came to her. "That's true…"
Even Yushiro looked a bit alarmed, "That's not good."
Tanjirou and Nezuko both gulped in anticipation. "So we might get attacked?"
"Yes, and it's all because you two chose to step on our place of solitude!" Yushiro angrily exclaimed, blaming Tanjirou and Nezuko for their sudden worries.
"Hey! You were the one welcoming us inside!" Tanjirou clapped back as the two butted heads, eyeing each other with disdain, while both Nezuko and Tamayo chuckled nervously.
"Boys, am I right?"
Unfortunately, before they could continue their conversations, they immediately felt something.
Tanjirou smelled something heading towards him, while Nezuko's infrared vision detected something unusual.
"Duck!" Tanjirou wasn't sure who said that, but all they knew was a temari ball was heading towards their faces.
The entire mansion shook, from the basement to the roof as all four of the occupants ducked down.
"Hahahaha! You were right Yahaba! The building appeared like there was nothing there before!" A girl exclaimed.
"Yes, Susamaru, now let's get these orders down before he loses our part of the deal," Yahaba explained as the two approached the building.
While they were conversing, Tanjirou and Nezuko immediately went out. "Tamayo, take your lapdog and get into cover. We'll handle them." Tanjirou explained,
"We both are demons, we can handle ourselves, but thanks for your concern," Tamayo explained as she was holding Yushiro back from snapping Tanjirou's neck.
"And would you look at that, out comes the two wanted demons, dead, by our lord?" Susamaru asked, Yahaba, who nodded.
Tanjirou quickly eyed the bunch, and Nezuko too observed them, clearly knowing they were stronger.
"Seems they can use blood demon arts… This will be difficult…" Tanjirou and Nezuko concluded as they told each other telepathically.
"We'll have to properly distribute them and attack them evenly…" Nezuko added.
"Oh Susamaru, you do such childish things sometimes, but please for this once, make sure you take this seriously," Yahaba exclaimed in exasperation.
"Of course!" Susamaru exclaimed in glee before she eyed the two.
Blood Demon Art: Hiasobi Temari
Blood Demon Art: Koketsu Arrow
Immediately, both Tanjirou and Nezuko began to dodge, but to their shock, the simple Temari changed course and flew toward the two. The ball maneuvered itself to strike Tanjirou's head.
It grazed Tanjirou's right side of his face, causing parts of his mask to be cut off, falling to expose his face to the two.
"Ahh look at that! The Hanufuda earrings!" Susamaru exclaimed, "Now master will be very happy!"
Another ball approached him, and he acted as quickly as he could.
Hinokami Kagura, Eight Form: Sunflower Thrust
Tanjirou quickly stabbed the ball in front of him, but to his shock, the ball continued to push forward with enough force, it caused Tanjirou to be pushed back brutally into the walls of the building.
Tanjirou groaned in pain as he felt his spine taking the hit. He would have to wait a bit for it to regenerate.
Nezuko in the meantime, eyed what she could, and was able to detect something.
"Brother, the ball is being powered by a third force that allows it to keep its momentum," Nezuko informed her brother, as she did her best to strike and slash the other Temari Balls heading toward both Yushiro and Tamayo.
"Is that so…?" Tanjirou asked, as he coughed out some blood, his face still bleeding at least he was able to move.
"I can't tell exactly what it is, but it's something keeping the ball moving very fast." Nezuko reiterated.
Tanjirou quickly got up, as he saw a ball threatening to knock Nezuko's head off, but she skillfully ducked at the last minute and struck the opposite side of the ball that was on her body.
Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance
To Tanjirou's surprise, the Temari ball that had hurled itself toward Nezuko lost all its momentum and dropped harmlessly onto the ground.
"What?" Tanjirou asked, clearly confused by how Nezuko did that.
He eyed another Temari Ball heading towards Nezuko, and he acted.
Hinokami Kagura, First Form: Dance
Tanjirou tried to strike the Temari ball down to the ground, only for it to cause him tremendous pain once again as he held the ball down.
In the end, it was futile, and the ball powered and struck his side, causing a gash to his right side. He coughed up, holding his side in pain.
"What is this…?" Tanjirou asked before he felt something hurling towards his face.
He couldn't see it, but he smelt something.
Hinokami Kagura, Third Form: Raging Sun
Instinctively, did his best to deflect them with his form, as another Temari Ball was thrown towards Tanjirou. Unfortunately, while the ball fell harmlessly, the invisible feeling Tanjirou felt struck his sword arm, causing his right hand to be gashed with blood.
Tanjirou gritted in pain, as he backed up.
Nezuko was having an easier time deflecting them.
Until another Temari Ball that Tanjirou deflected struck Nezuko's leg, snapping it in half, and causing Nezuko's right leg to be decapitated.
She exclaimed a look of shock before she fell, which gave another Temari ball enough time to directly hit Nezuko in the face, if not for her falling, and instead it hit the building behind.
"Nezuko!" Tanjirou yelled out in anguish as he looked very worried for his sister.
But before he could get to his sister, he felt another Temari ball head towards him. His eyes widened in shock, as he had no time to react, and before he knew it, the ball struck his arm, decapitating his left arm, leaving his badly damaged right arm remaining.
Tanjirou coughed out blood, as his face was slowly healing.
"Seems these demon threats were not as much as the lord had anticipated, am I right?" Susamaru grinned.
"They're demons, Susamaru, we better be careful," Yahaba explained, clearly eyeing the two.
Blood Demon Art: Koketsu Arrow
The eye on Yahaba's hands blinked, and that was when Tanjirou smelt the disgusting, moving, invisible object.
"So that's where it's coming from!" Tanjirou thought, thinking back to the Temari balls Susamaru would throw.
"There is no way that a ball can move as erratically as it did. Nezuko made the point that something was maneuvering it and to maintain its momentum… Now I think I know…" Tanjirou thought to himself, also making sure Nezuko heard. "It's from that demon. He's throwing something invisible that powers the Temari Balls."
"That's what I've noticed. My infrared vision is saying they look like invisible red arrows. Can you not see them?" Nezuko asked, clearly concerned.
"No, but I can smell them, but not when they are being masked by the temari balls of the other demon," Tanjirou explained, clearly getting up, as his body healed nicely, except his left arm now up to his elbow.
It didn't matter, he could regenerate, and so could Nezuko, who held his limb close to her body, allowing it to reattach itself to the rest of her body.
"Alright, I'll have to focus on the weird-eyes demon," Tanjirou explained.
"Oi! You brat! Can you see the arrows?!" Yushiro asked.
"No, but I can smell them!" Tanjirou yelled back, "Unless you have a solution, make yourself useful!"
Blood Demon Art: Blindfold
Yushiro got angry at that and threw his talisman which landed on Tanjirou's forehead.
"Take it, you ungrateful bastard!" Yushiro yelled, and as soon as that occurred, Tanjirou could see the red arrows that were combined with the Temari balls.
"Thank you, Yushiro," Tanjirou yelled as he eyed Yahaba.
And so, with that, Tanjirou was now able to properly focus on the demons in front of him.
The main problem was separating both Yahaba and Susamaru, for combined they made for some formidable opponents.
Both Tanjirou and Nezuko were dodging the combined Temari balls to the best of their abilities, but the sheer amount being produced was too much.
They would need a third party.
And that third party came in the form of Yushiro.
Almost manifesting himself back right next to Yahaba, his eyes turned just enough to notice Yushiro hurling a right hook right to his face.
Yahaba still had an arrow fire out in misdirection, but the arrow was good enough to be worth it, as he redirected it back to the two demons. His face turned to the side at Yushiro's punch, before he kicked him into Susamaru, causing the two to tumble.
This briefly stalled them, allowing Tanjirou and Nezuko to breathe and get back into the status quo.
As they managed to get back, the two immediately attacked the two demons, with their new knowledge and understanding of their blood demon arts.
Tanjirou and Nezuko both breathed in properly, as the air around them changed.
Total Concentration – Hinokami Kagura, Eleventh Form: Fake Rainbow
Total Concentration – Water Breathing, Second Form, Modified: Lateral Water Wheel
Whilst Tanjirou focused on Yahaba, he twisted his body enough to avoid any arrows coming towards him, skillfully using the form to dodge the strikes.
Any that encountered Nezuko was washed away by her strike, as she spun horizontally.
The two worked in tangent, as Yahaba and Susamaru were forced to remain together, and to constantly move to avoid Yushiro from sneaking up on them.
This made for quite the status quo. Tanjirou and Yushiro had to go on the offensive since Nezuko's water breathing had very little. Regardless, she made it all work.
"Don't think this is our full power!" Yahaba yelled out, as both he and Susamaru increased the pace, Susamaru now having six arms and using four of the six to throw Temari balls out, which caused even more to come out, forcing the three demons to all dodge and remain on the defensive.
Nezuko spotted the blind spot in their formation and knew she had to make up for that, else Tanjirou and Yushiro would be struck.
As Tanjirou continued to slice down, focusing on closing the distance, he noted both of them still moving together.
"Damnit, we need a way to split them apart!" Tanjirou yelled as he hoped Yushiro had a plan.
Yushiro manifested himself from behind, kicking Yahaba from behind. Tanjirou took this opportunity to try and get a slice down.
Hinokami Kagura, Seventh Form: Beneficient Radiance
Tanjirou immediately spiraled himself, before jumping over an arrow, slashing towards Susamaru. Her eyes widened as Tanjirou sliced down with enough force to cut down two of her arms.
He landed, before continuing.
Hinokami Kagura, Fourth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun
Realizing he was in a difficult situation with Yahaba's arrows, he quickly twirled his body in a spiraling motion at least preventing the arrows in front of him from striking him down.
Behind, Yahaba was dealing with Yushiro's martial arts as he tried to split apart Yahaba away from Susamaru.
However, Yahaba smirked. Despite Susamaru crying in pain from Tanjirou's strike, he smirked.
"Why are you smirking? This meanie cut my arms off!" Susamaru exclaimed in a whining tone that reminded Tanjirou very much of a kid.
"Because we'll get them now!" Yahaba smirked, as both of the eyes on his hand blinked, and it was only then that Tanjirou and Yushiro realized the situation they were in.
Yahaba had been spiraling arrows from above to rain down on Tanjirou and Yushiro.
Almost like it was about to rain down in a spiraling motion, Tanjirou and Yushiro quickly got trapped by the outermost part of the whirlwind of arrows, blocking their way out.
The two immediately panicked, realizing the gravity of their situation.
Water Breathing, Sixth Form, Modified: Whirlpool, Flow
Until Nezuko immediately rushed in and twirling, and creating her whirlpool of strikes, was able to at least redirect many of the arrows away from them, allowing them to strike and continue.
"Thank you Nezuko!" Tanjirou thanked as he eyed Yahaba. The demon for his part looked alarmed seeing as his trap was foiled.
Susamaru however wasn't one to admit defeat. "You should be glad you've lasted this long against a twelfth kizuki!" She smirked, as this immediately made Tanjirou and Nezuko shocked.
However, Tanjirou immediately eyed something, and he laughed. "You can't be. Even if you are formidable, you don't have the same smell as the other ones I've encountered."
He then pointed to her eye, "Plus, you don't have a number in your eye."
This seemed to have caused something inside Susamaru to snap, "How dare you question my spot as a twelfth kizuki!" She yelled, angered, as she eventually emboldened her hands, and with as much force as she could out of spite for Tanjirou, began to launch as many Temari balls as she could.
If the last time was bad enough, then this was beyond speeds they could even react to.
"Shit!" Tanjirou exclaimed. Yahaba noticed this and took advantage, leaving the remaining arrows he had placed focus on the Temari to cause further struggle to Tanjirou and Nezuko.
Tanjirou did his best to block as much as he could, but Nezuko's mind quickly went to an idea.
She immediately got in front of her brother and remained still.
Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm
Almost naked to the eye, Nezuko did her best to properly slice apart as many of the Temari as she could.
It did make sense. There was a large amount of strikes coming towards them, meaning this was the perfect time to do so.
Hinokami Kagura, Third Form: Raging Sun
Tanjirou didn't have as amazing a defensive capability as Nezuko's water breathing, nor did he even know the eleventh form that Nezuko was doing.
Regardless, they were both able to diffuse many Temari's from an angered Susamaru.
However, what Nezuko and Tanjirou failed to realize in the moment, were the koketsu arrows that Yahaba had within the Temari's. Some contained, while others didn't, which led to a bit of uncertainty for both of them.
They had to perform differently for each one, and so it was a guessing game for each Temari they cut down.
And unfortunately, they couldn't dodge all.
Tanjirou grunted as he felt himself being hit and struck by some of the arrows. In particular, his torso was getting hit by some of them, slicing and cutting through his body before yanking itself out, causing blood to spew out of the numerous holes that Tanjirou now had.
However, it was the arrow that struck Nezuko right in the neck that got Tanjirou's attention. Nezuko made a noise a gargled in surprise before her head fell off her body.
"Nezuko!" Tanjirou yelled in anguish, ignoring the wounds he had after seeing the one that had split his sister's body into two.
Even Yushiro wasn't left unscathed. The right side of his body was bombarded with Temari's, whilst the right side of his face was missing.
He watched his sister's head fall to the ground, the rest of her body afterward falling, limp.
"Nezuko!" Tanjirou pleaded, shocked, "Please!" He tried, begging Nezuko to come back to life.
"Please… Can you hear me…?" Tanjirou asked, begging internally, as the tears in his eyes began to form. His sister was motionless, even her head was not moving.
Tanjirou's eyes dilated, as the memories of the dead body of Urokodaki came back to him. The dead body of his family coming back to him.
"Is this bound to repeat, again…?" Tanjirou asked himself, as he feared to open his eyes. He didn't want to hear the hurtful words of his family blaming him for being weak and letting Nezuko die again.
He feared hearing this. He feared he was going to be left alone. He feared he would live a life of isolation. He feared it all.
His mind went into the dark as Yahaba and Susamaru grinned.
"This is what happens when you try and question our position and our capabilities!" Susamaru exclaimed in glee, "Now we'll take her head to the master and then we'll get a promotion!"
This darkened Tanjirou's eyes as it hit him.
"Do they find pleasure in killing others? Just to satisfy Kibutsuji? How far gone are they?" Tanjirou thought as he glared at the two. His mask was no longer on him, it was the first part of him to be torn off.
Nezuko's mask was gone after she was struck in the neck by Yahaba's arrow.
"Oi, you pitiful demons," Tanjirou growled, his head down as he hid the anger he had in him.
"Oh right, we have to take your head as well." Yahaba smiled, "Thanks for reminding me."
As Tanjirou felt in his place, in his dark corner, his dark room, he felt the calmness and blue skies of his mind slowly turning.
"So, you've decided to call me back?" Tanjirou looked up to see the demonic version of him speaking back to him.
Behind the figure of his demonic self, he saw the flaming tornadoes, and the sheer chaos that he held.
He needed that power right now to make the lives of those two demons painful and miserable.
"Yes, I need your power now." Tanjirou bluntly told, with a passion for bloodshed. It was clear that any harm to his sister, or even a deathly blow would bring out the worst in Tanjirou.
"Hmm, I'm glad you've called for me. Now it's time for the real fun to begin." His demonic version gave him a maniacal smirk as Tanjirou's vision went black.
Whilst this was happening, Tanjirou's frozen body to the eyes of Susamaru, Yahaba, and Yushiro all eyed him, as his body was slowly converting.
Now, the jagged scar on Tanjirou's face went down further with new ones showing up, and his eyes now showed a more blood-red slit to them.
Not to mention that it seemed that Tanjirou had gotten taller from his demonic transformation.
"You two." Tanjirou pointed to Yahaba and Susamaru, "Killed, and hurt my sister… Expect no mercy from me." Tanjirou mumbled as he growled in such anger that it genuinely scared them.
The heavy breathing Tanjirou was giving was making his body heat up, as he then charged towards the two demons.
He didn't care anymore. He had lost anything that made him rational. He was going to kill them if necessary.
He growled with anger and intent to kill that even Yushiro was somewhat scared of him.
"I didn't know this kid could be a terrifying demon!" Yushiro thought before he turned to the now moving body of Nezuko, "Of course, only a nichirin blade can kill through decapitation, that brat must've not realized that!" Yushiro thought as he immediately went to place Nezuko's head back on her body, allowing it to reattach.
All the time, Yahaba and Susamaru immediately focused their attention on Tanjirou, thinking they were the only remaining threat remaining.
For Tanjirou, the two demons had crossed a line when harming his sister.
"Unacceptable!" Tanjirou yelled in his mind before, he lunged at them.
Yahaba and Susamaru immediately launched their Temari and arrows towards Tanjirou, but he didn't feel threatened in the slightest. Now, he was able to see them. The talisman was knocked off his forehead, and yet he was still able to see them.
Perhaps in his demonic form, he could see them.
That didn't matter. He would scourge these demons if he needed to.
When an arrow got incredibly close to Tanjirou, he quickly grabbed it, ignoring how it was pushing him back, and bit into the arrow and Temari.
"What?!" Yahaba noticed this, and Susamaru's eyes widened at this.
To their shock, Tanjirou had just eaten their Temari and Koketsu arrows.
"Did this brat just eat their blood demon art?!" Yushiro asked himself in curiosity.
And just as he anticipated, this made Tanjirou even stronger, as he felt more capable.
"I'll need more of their blood demon art…" Tanjirou thought to himself, as that was exactly what happened.
It seemed like the first time it happened, they didn't believe it, so they continued throwing more toward Tanjirou, causing him to get stronger and stronger, with every arrow and Temari he ate.
Until the next one that struck him, he instead launched his head forward, knocking the Temari away and towards Susamaru.
Her eyes widened before she tried punching it back.
However, it didn't work, and her arm was shattered by her weapon.
"What the" Yahaba didn't have the time, as he had to focus on Tanjirou. But another figure came and utilized this moment of surprise.
Yushiro once again manifested himself back, and launched a mighty kick to Yahaba's abdomen, causing him to bend down from the strike.
This gave Yushiro the opening to kick Yahaba off to a tree, his figure hitting it as Susamaru looked alarmed.
"Yahaba!" Susamaru yelled in worry, trying to get closer to Yahaba. Yushiro tried to intercept Susamaru's attempts, but the six arms versus two arms was just too much for Yushiro, and he felt himself being pushed back.
Tanjirou eyed this interaction and knew he needed to do something to separate them.
He thought back to his anger, his justification, and his purpose. He knew he had to do something. But as a demon, his sword was rather useless. He couldn't perform any breathing forms when he was a demon.
But perhaps he should be thinking like a demon now.
"That's it!" Tanjirou grinned. He remembered now. "I must use everything at my disposal, especially as a demon!"
And when he thought more, he felt himself getting hotter. He felt his blood being controlled by himself, and it felt right.
As he opened his arms, he felt something manifesting in his arms. Once again, his blood felt hot, as if it breaking the temperature barrier, but it didn't hurt.
It emboldened him and made him feel stronger.
"Come on! Do something!" Tanjirou yelled in his mind before something white showed up in his arm.
Blood Demon Art: Starfall (Hoshifuru Meukarmashi)
Almost like an arrow, a white beam of light shot out of Tanjirou's palm, as it seemingly made its way toward Yahaba and Susamaru, and the two demons looked on in panic at what it could do.
However, Tanjirou instead closed his palm abruptly, and almost immediately, the white beam of light exploded in flames, causing a bright light to blind almost everyone on the field. Tanjirou however, wasn't affected by the blinding light, and thus he used the time to charge towards Yahaba and Susamaru, kicking Susamaru away from Yahaba.
"Yushiro! Take care of Susamaru! Hold her back, I'll focus on Yahaba." Tanjirou growled as the light began to fade, bringing everyone back to their vision senses.
"I wasn't aware you could use a blood demon art," Yahaba growled.
"Well be surprised, I'll be killing you with them, thanks to you of course," Tanjirou smirked. "This is for hurting my sister, you brat."
With that, Tanjirou immediately charged Yahaba, who activated his own hands. He swung his blade to snap apart some of the arrows before he bit on one and twirled his body. Of course, the arrow still maneuvered him away, as he bit down.
He needed as much strength as possible to be able to defeat Yahaba.
Tanjirou eyed Yahaba, who stared down at Tanjirou.
"Crap, I should maybe convert back to my human form… But after I use this blood demon art!" Tanjirou thought as he immediately charged to Yahaba. Even if he couldn't use breathing forms as a demon, he could at least swing it to slice apart their neck.
As Tanjirou eyed Yahaba, he continued dodging the arrows he blinked, but it was quite the struggle.
"There!" Tanjirou's eyes widened as he noted the large amount of arrows that spiraled between him and Yahaba.
"Think of something! Come on!" Tanjirou gritted before something came up. His clenched fist acted, and he felt his blood calling to his pleas, as a white ball manifested itself inside.
Blood Demon Art: Stellar Orbit
Without knowing what to do, Tanjirou threw his white ball forward, which began to spin rapidly. All the arrows that were moving rapidly immediately began to rotate around the moving white ball that Tanjirou let out.
The arrows orbited around the white ball before it all exploded, and all of it disintegrated, not harming anything.
Tanjirou didn't have much time to think about it, as he focused on Yahaba's now exposed front.
Converting himself back to a human, he felt his strength deteriorate slightly, but he was still in a fighting spirit.
He wasn't giving up.
"If you give up now, I'll give you a painless death!" Tanjirou yelled as he twirled his body appropriately as Yahaba once again flexed out some arrows.
This time, a set of three, he could smell. One straight in the middle, and two curving out. Tanjirou anticipated this would meet up at his figure to launch a three-pronged attack.
Tanjirou gripped his blade and acted accordingly.
Hinokami Kagura, Fifth Form: Setting Sun Transformation
As he charged, the first arrow in the middle approached him first. He quickly jumped, and with a backflip, sliced the arrow apart.
The next two arrows came, and he knew exactly what to do.
Hinokami Kagura, Third Form: Raging Sun
Quickly launching out to strike to his side, both of the arrows were disintegrated upon being struck by Tanjirou's blade.
Tanjirou turned to his side only to see another set of arrows coming towards him. A set of two this time, that seemed to be curved up. Tanjirou assumed that these arrows were meant to lift him into the air.
"That wouldn't be good…" Tanjirou thought as he crouched down as low as he could.
Once the arrows came to him, his nose flared, and he acted.
Hinokami Kagura, Twelfth Form: Flame Dance
Tanjirou immediately swung horizontally, striking both arrows before he launched himself forward, slicing down any other arrows that could have been hiding behind this.
Thankfully, Yahaba didn't have enough time. Now, he had to escape and maneuver as Tanjirou got closer. If Tanjirou closed the distance, it was over for him.
As Yahaba moved across, jumping back to the trees, Tanjirou growled.
"Don't think that that'll help you! You are only delaying the inevitable!" Tanjirou yelled with anger in his voice. He was unaware of the fight Yushiro and Nezuko were having with Susamaru.
Tanjirou jumped onto the tree, slicing down an arrow Yahaba tried to sneak into. Another set grazed his cheek, but he moved and twirled to avoid the arrow from coming back.
Tanjirou jumped more throughout the trees, catching Yahaba within the trees, but alas he now focusing on running away.
This pissed off Tanjirou who knew he had to catch him off guard, which was what he was going to do.
Yahaba did try and throw some arrows, from all the possible places of the trees, immediately giving Tanjirou the idea that he had set this up for this particular reason.
But what Tanjirou didn't know were the numerous arrow waves he had.
The first set immediately struck the ground with such force that it caused some debris to be piled up high into the ground, blocking Tanjirou's vision.
"Damnit! I have to smell the remaining arrows!" Tanjirou exclaimed, his quick thinking to the best of his abilities.
He quickly blocked any arrows he felt getting close to him, but unfortunately, by the fourth wave, he felt his body being picked up by the arrows.
"Shit! I have to maneuver out!" Tanjirou thought as he felt the arrow embedded itself inside his abdomen. "That one's going to leave a mark… Or maybe not…" Tanjirou thought as he prepared for the amount of pain he would feel.
Hinokami Kagura, Eleventh Form: Fake Rainbow
Tanjirou began to twist his body, which once again hurt because of the arrow that was in his abdomen. He grunted as he panted, having dodged a much worse fate.
"I'm impressed, you managed to avoid that, let me repay you with more!" Yahaba gleefully exclaimed as the same thing occurred.
But this time, Tanjirou knew better.
"Didn't someone tell this demon not to ever repeat the same thing?" Tanjirou asked himself, as he was beginning to this time counter the waves of arrows. He twirled his blade to safely slash every arrow that tried to strike Tanjirou's figure,
Unfortunately, Tanjirou forgot to take the arrow into his abdomen, and he didn't realize until the arrow punctured itself out of Tanjirou's abdomen, causing more damage to his body.
Tanjirou coughed as he felt his breathing get messed up. The messed-up breathing stopped his progress briefly before he glared at Yahaba.
"Don't think for a second this will change the tide!" Tanjirou yelled, despite the damage to his abdomen, he was still moving.
He was still able to. Quickly, he gripped his blade.
It was time to finish it off. He couldn't let this continue.
Tanjirou eyed Yahaba in the trees, eyeing him. He breathed in rather tightly, ignoring the pain in his abdomen, as he prepared for the large amount of arrows heading towards him.
"I need to commit a defensive form of the Hinokami Kagura, but this might hurt…"
The other altered forms he would do were merely angled differently. But this one would hurt more than the others.
Hinokami Kagura, Fifth Form: Setting Sun Formation
Instead of trying to decapitate Yahaba, he swung his sword horizontally to deflect many of the arrows.
This would hurt simply because of the extended slash that he would've done. As he stopped, he felt another arrow plunge into his chest, causing him to cough out blood yet again.
In the end, he was fine, even if it was from a difficult standpoint. However, even then, he found something that could help him. Something that he spotted now.
"I see it now, the opening thread." Tanjirou saw as he focused his attention on the thread.
Alas, his nose was leading him towards the perfect strike.
This time, Tanjirou swung his blade accordingly, and Yahaba knew he was now in trouble. He didn't have any more arrow traps, and thus he needed to get out. He tried to initiate as many arrows as he possibly could.
Yahaba thought that it was time to skewer this demon whole.
Tanjirou charged, but the arrows were too much, and he found himself being pushed onto a fence.
"Ha!" Yahaba exclaimed, "Master will be content once I finally get rid of you!" Yahava smirked, "You are weaker than I thought."
Tanjirou grumbled he needed to be stronger, but he just wasn't there yet. He needed to access his demonic traits yet again.
"Your strength is granted." Tanjirou didn't need to be asked twice before he felt his demonic appearance come yet again. Before he knew it, he chewed through the arrows pinning him to the ground, getting stronger with every bite he took,
Before Yahaba knew it, Tanjirou opened his palm yet again.
Blood Demon Art: Stellar Orbit
Once again, Tanjirou unleashed a white ball that caused the arrows of Yahaba to orbit it, causing the arrows to be lost out of control of Yahaba, before going away from them.
Tanjirou quickly reverted to his human form.
"Now!" Tanjirou gasped, as he immediately spotted the perfect strike.
As he properly struck off the arrows this, time, knowing the exact place to strike from, he eventually acted.
Hinokami Kagura, First Form: Dance
One arrow down, another struck by another strike to the side.
Another set of arrows was quickly thrown down toward him, and Tanjirou, who was on the ground, quickly acted.
Hinokami Kagura, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky
Jumping up and performing a full circular strike which successfully deflected all of the arrows coming towards him. Some of the arrows that were deflected made their way back to Yahaba, who was forced to dodge.
Yahaba began to look somewhat unsure at what to do, as he looked across, deciding to make a run for it.
But Tanjirou was not letting this happen, as he knew this was the time to close the distance.
"This is it for you, you scoundrel!" Tanjirou yelled as he was very close to the distance.
"Shit! No!" Yahaba yelled as he pulled out a large swat of arrows from all angles across his body.
Tanjirou eyed that, and quickly acted.
Hinokami Kagura, Eleventh Form: Fake Rainbow
Yahaba looked very confused.
"Where did he go?!" He asked as Tanjirou twisted himself to Yahaba's right side, without notice.
Tanjirou manifested himself to the side of Yahaba.
"This is for hurting my sister, you ass," Tanjirou said as he gripped his blade yet again. The thread is apparent in Tanjirou's perception.
Hinokami Kagura, Ninth Form: Fire Wheel
Having already been in the air, he spun his body, and with the momentum from his twisting body, he successfully cut the neck of Yahaba.
Yahaba looked on in shock at the sudden sound of his flesh slicing, and his head flying off from his body.
However, as Yahaba eyed Tanjirou with hatred, he let out a loud burst of arrows that struck Tanjirou all across his body.
Tanjirou was too close to the body to be able to dodge it, and as he was being tossed around like a rag doll by the arrows, Yahaba's memories began to shroud him.
The story of Yahaba was one of tragedy and utilization.
Unlike many, he was just a child, around 12 years old when he was turned into a demon.
A simple twelve-year-old, that was always discriminated by his mother. All because he was able to solve stuff at a faster rate than many other kids his age.
Because of that, he was expected to have a more difficult life.
And it was all because of his mother's toxic personality, and her selfishness.
Yahaba was born into a rather rich family. Influential too. His mother was particularly a lawyer and a high-paying one at that. It was strange, for the place he lived at the time was incredibly open for anything, which included allowing women to get jobs.
As a result, Yahaba's mother was the main input of salary, especially since his father had passed when he was young. A tragic murder that resulted in a large sum of money already being placed down onto Yahaba.
When Yahaba was to be an adult, he would have a large sum to assist in whatever endeavors he was to get into.
However, Yahaba's mother had a different plan. She instead took the grants from Yahaba and used it instead for her benefit. Instead, Yahaba's mother had managed to trick the employers that he was in debt because the money that never reached, had instead been meant for her, herself.
So, not only did she get the 3 million yen from her husband's murder, but she had also placed her son in 3 million yen debt, which he would have to start paying off when he was able to work.
However, once again, Yahaba was placed in a losing circle by the very individual who placed him there in the first place.
Instead, Yahaba's mother gave him a sideliner role for her major one as a lawyer, as she would fight for the defense of countless individuals.
But Yahaba was oddly intelligent for a kid. Not even intelligent, but more psychopathic. He understood people extraordinarily well.
All this time, he was able to prepare the room for many individuals. Many times, he would read the information, observe the individual, and then give his mother the information she needed.
The information needed to eventually find the client guilty or not.
Unfortunately, it was always his mother who got the praise. He never once got it. And unfortunately, he never got the chance to say anything for his defense, because he was in debt for his mother.
Once again, it was because his mother had immediately placed it on him, through her deceitful acts. It pissed him off, but it was never something he could have a saying in this.
All because of a legal binding.
Regardless, even with that, he was still seen as the child of his mother, who was undeniably a manipulative woman. It was the very individual that made him who he was.
All this time, he was living a life of lies. And it was all because of his mother.
His mother had always made it about her, and the worst part was that it went on for so long before he realized the predicament he was in.
Angered, his mother once again threatened him with retribution if he ever tried to rebel against her.
The result? He couldn't do anything. He felt trapped.
And so, all he could do was, without any form of objection, follow his mother without any form of benefits. All of it was just based on the fact that he was deemed just a child, and so he couldn't do anything for himself.
That all changed when he met a man.
Someone while he went out with a form of anger. He left the house abruptly, not wanting to continue this.
"You seem to have a lot of anger for a kid your age." The stranger explained.
"You can say that a lot…" Yahaba mumbled, clearly with such a tone that for the strange man, it worked very well.
"Why do you have so much anger on you?" The man asked, clearly with a tone of malicious intent. Yahaba could tell very well considering the tone of the man in front of him.
"You have ill intentions on me, huh?" Yahaba asked, not wanting to sugarcoat it whatsoever.
The man for his part smirked. "You seem to be able to read minds and the thoughts of people very well, huh?"
"It's what I've been forced to do." Yahaba explained, "My damned mother uses me for his advantage, and what does she do in return? Require me to be 3 million yen in debt."
"Is that so?" The individual scratched his chin, "How tragic."
"Exactly, like I'm only twelve years old, how do you expect me to deliver such an amount already?" Yahaba complained.
The man chuckled, "You children never fail to amuse me.
"What?" Yahaba asked, "Are you laughing at my suffering?"
"No." The man chuckled, "Just seeing how much potential you have is all. Too bad you seem to have to waste it on someone selfish, am I right?"
"Exactly! My mother is a no good for nothing selfish bastard…" Yahaba mumbled.
"Do you wish your mother was gone?" The man asked, causing Yahaba to turn his head to face the man.
"Of course! That way, I would finally get what I deserved! I wouldn't be in debt as soon as I become an adult, and I wouldn't have to do all the tedious work for my mother." Yahaba mumbled.
"I see. What if I offer you a proposal?" The man asked, with a smirk.
Yahaba knew this man did not mean well. He could tell he was somehow even worse than his mother. However, he was his person.
He was someone who wanted some sort of excitement in his life, something his mother denied him throughout his entire life.
And so, what was he to do?
He chose to accept the man's offer.
And with that, the next time he woke up, he immediately sought to get revenge on the very individual who made his life a living hell.
He didn't care about the consequences. All he cared about was being free.
And under that man, now he was truly free.
He would thank the man for the excitement of his life returning, for he was no longer being used as a tool. He was treated as a child now, instead of a tool for selfish benefit, he was someone who could enjoy what he did.
Sure, he was still under the control of someone, but at least he benefitted for once.
This time, he was finally the one able to ultimately define the decisions that came into his life. He had control of his life yet again.
And that was all he cared for.
In the end, however, his wanting to be free from the crutches of work and labor from a selfish parent was wrong, for he was destined to be punished for all the harm he had caused in his life.
And just like every kid, he began to cry, begging to not suffer the consequences of the actions he committed.
"Please!" Yahaba begged as he felt himself being pushed closer to the flames of hell, the doorstep before his life was to be as terrible as possible for the rest of his life.
"I don't want to go! Give me another chance!" He continued to beg. Alas, it didn't mean anything.
But on the bright side, he saw the figure of a male he recognized, even after years of not seeing him.
"F-Father…?" Yahaba's eyes couldn't believe it.
"It is, my boy… I'm so sorry to have left you behind…" His father smiled sadly, clearly feeling guilty for what he had left his son for.
"W-Where's mother?" Yahaba asked.
His father sighed, "She didn't bother waiting for you."
At this, Yahaba sobbed. He cried in his father's arms.
For he was, at the end of the day, just a kid.
As Tanjirou eventually felt the arrows die down, his entire body hurt, and was bleeding from countless openings and holes from the arrows.
He struggled to get up, but his regeneration was at least taking care of the most severe wounds, meaning besides some pain, he would be able to move.
As he made his way over, almost falling a couple of times, using his sword to help balance himself, he spotted something, that surprised him.
"Stop restraining me!" Susamaru exclaimed as she was struggling to escape.
But what was she trying to escape from?
It was the fully functional body of his sister, Nezuko, who was holding and grabbing Susamaru by her arms, preventing her from throwing her Temari balls.
The ones she managed to throw, were of so little power that they just fell within a few meters away from each other.
Yushiro, for his part eyed Tanjirou. "I reconnected your sister's head to her body. Did you forget decapitation only works if it's a niche in the blade, you brat?"
Tanjirou didn't care for the insulting name Yushiro gave him.
He was just beyond happy that Nezuko was right.
"Thank god…" He sighed, dropping to the ground at least to regain some energy before he prepared for the next stage of whatever was to happen.
A.N / The fabled chapter 30, we've made it this far, and I'm so happy. As you all can see, we're finally bet Tamayo and Yushiro, and with this, we will discover a bit more about Tanjirou and Nezuko.
We are seeing Tanjirou use his demonic form a lot more since only under that form can he now use his blood demon art, at least in a fighting way. As a human, he's only able to consume the body and blood demon arts of a demon, as seen this time in the chapter. He did that as a demon, but he can do it, albeit with a bit more difficulty in his human form. Regardless, Tanjirou's blood demon art will be explained a bit more next chapter. As seen as well, the reason Tanjirou and Nezuko cannot remember anything about Muzan is to put it simply, him being a coward to hide the truth from demons. After all, everything Muzan does is based on his paranoia.
One thing I will mention about the two is that there will be more modified versions of their respective forms, as well as respective forms of other breathing techniques and styles, just because I want them to be more varied than how they already are. Don't worry, I will explain everything. Finally, the topic of Yahaba, what do you think of his backstory? We've seen Muzan, and now, Yahaba and Susamaru are already defeated by them, how fast they've come.
Anyway, chapter 31 will be fun to write, so I hope you enjoy it. See you all later.
Character Profile:
Tanjirou Kamado: Male, 14 years old
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'5" (165cm)
Weight: 140Ibs
Yahaba: Male, 12 years old (Chronologically)
Status: Dead, Demon
Height: 5'5" (165cm)
Weight: 130Ibs
Susamaru: Female, 13 years old (Chronologically)
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'6" (168cm)
Weight: 128Ibs
Kibutsuji Muzan: Male, ~1000 years old
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'11" (180cm)
Weight: 150Ibs
Tamayo: Female, 533 years old (chronologically)
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'0" (152cm)
Weight: 95Ibs
Yushiro: Male, 34 years old (chronologically)
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'3" (159cm)
Weight: 115Ibs
Abilities:
Tanjirou Kamado:
Blood Demon Art: Starfall (Hoshifuru Meukarmashi): The user launches a white beam of light that can explode in a fiery bright light whenever the user wants. The user is unaffected by the blinding light. This was gained after Tanjirou consumed Yahaba's blood demon art.
Blood Demon Art: Stellar Orbit: The user unleashes a ball of white light that causes objects of other blood demon arts to rotate and orbit around the white ball, which goes out in a pathway before disintegrating alongside the other blood demon arts that are caught in the orbit. This was gained after Tanjirou consumed Susamaru's blood demon art.
Blood Demon Art: Celestial Ember: A derivative that Tanjirou got from inhaling Douma's blood demon art. The user, in this case Tanjirou creates a mix of cold wind and white flames, before launching and dispersing it out to strike any enemies within Tanjirou's vicinity. The move only damages what Tanjirou wants. The move is concentrated on Tanjirou before he disperses it away. Since Tanjirou does not have a fan like Douma, he just uses his hands to motion.
Tamayo:
Blood Demon Art: Scent of Illusionary Blood, Visual Dream: The user causes hallucinations around the opponent that hinder their vision by creating flower patterns around them.
Yushiro:
Martial Arts: Yushiro shows an inept skill in martial arts, with being a demon allowing him to be able to amplify his strength beyond the normal limits of a human.
Blood Demon Art: Blindfold: The user here can use a talisman to reveal someone's presence, or to mask others from the likes. This can also be used to enhance someone's vision by placing it on their foreheads. Likewise, the move can create illusionary walls, hide entire buildings, and even use it in tangent with his fighting capabilities to simply manifest wherever he wants.
Susamaru:
Blood Demon Art: Temari Balls: The user can manifest Temari balls, which from using her six arms can be used to throw them towards an opponent.
Yahaba:
Blood Demon Art: Koketsu Arrows: The user can use invisible red arrows to redirect objects, and to carry momentum to make anything lethal with enough speed.