"To think a sword was hidden within the doll all this time." Nedris said.
"What, you weren't there when they put it in?" Mark teased. "Although, on the topic of the sword, do you think that's the treasure Mitsuri was talking about?"
"It was a private project. But yes this may be what she was referring to." Nedris said. "The metal in the blade is definitely from the Sengoku period, but given how much time has passed…"
"Yeah, this blade's no good." Mark shook his head. "Maybe we can take it to the swordsmiths, see if they can repair-?"
*THUD* *THUD*
The sound of intimidating footsteps caught everyone's attention, as they turned around and saw none other than Hotaru standing there. To everyone's surprise, he had somehow bulked up greatly.
"I will take it." Hotaru said.
"H-Hotaru?!" Nedris asked.
"Form a wall!" Mark called out, putting himself between Hotaru and Tanjiro.
"Wait, Markie, hold on!" Gemini said. "He's not here for Tanjiro, he's here for the sword!"
"That's correct. There is no need to explain, I heard everything. I will take it from here." Hotaru said.
"Take what from here?" Kotetsu asked.
"He plans to restore the blade to proper condition." David said. "Just a bit of a gut instinct, you could say."
"Exactly Ishihara's point, so get out of my way!" Hotaru said, trying to get past Mark so he could grab the sword from Tanjiro's hands.
Nedris ran behind Hotaru before tickling his sides causing him to calm down and collapse to the ground.
"Wow-wee! How'd ya do that, Nedris?" Gemini asked.
"I know a trick or two on how to handle my godson thanks to Kozo and the others." Nedris said.
"You saved me the trouble of doing so myself. Thank you, Nedris." a voice said as the group saw said person approaching.
"Hello, Kozo." Nedris smiled.
"Greetings, to those who don't know me. I am Kozo Kanamori. I was the one who crafted Mr. Inosuke's new swords after his previous ones were destroyed in the battle at Mt. Natagumo." Kozo introduced. "Since Mr. Haganezuka is incapacitated for now, please allow me to explain everything. First and foremost, please try to forgive his actions."
"Wait, so he wasn't here to kill Tanjiro?" Mark asked.
"As Mr. Ishihara and Ms. Sunrise correctly assumed, Mr. Haganezuka is here concerning the sword you just recovered." Kozo said. "You see, he's been hiding out in the mountains, training."
"Training?" Tanjiro asked as Kotetsu pelted Hotaru's exhausted form with pebbles.
"That's right, Mr. Kamado. All to forge you a stronger sword so that you won't be killed in battle. Though he'd never admit it himself." Kozo said.
"So…everything you were saying about Mr. Haganezuka was true, Nedris?" Tanjiro asked.
"See? There was nothing to worry about." Nedris assured.
"All this time, you've been asking Mr. Haganezuka for another sword, right? I'm sure that made him happy. I'm sure Ms. Nedris has told you already, but he's always losing clients because most swordsmen can't stand him." Kozo explained.
"I never would've guessed.." Tanjiro said.
"He may act abrasive and aggressive, but the truth is… Hotaru cares deeply about his clients." Nedris said. "He always strives to create a strong enough blade for them so they do not break."
"He's got zero social skills, this one." Kotetsu piped in, referring to Hotaru. "It's no wonder he can't get himself a bride."
That comment made Hotaru spring back to life.
"Oh look, he's revived." Kozo said.
"I shall take this rusty sword into my care. And using the Nichirin Sword polishing art of the Haganezuka Family, I will surely restore it!" Hotaru said as he did a few hand motions.
"Y'know you coulda just said that from the start, then Mark wouldn't have got the wrong idea." Gemini said.
"Instead of just repeating 'Leave it to me' when you have no trust built up? Oh, right, you're too stupid to say more?" Kotetsu added.
"What the hell was that? Let's hear you say that again!" Hotaru said as he held Kotetsu up by his collar.
"I can't breathe!" Kotetsu cried.
"Oh dear." Nedris said.
"His sides, right?!" Gemini asked.
"Yes, if you all would kindly help me pin him down?" Nedris asked.
"Tickle, tickle, tickle!" the group said as they held on and began tickling Hotaru's sides while he moved around until he finally collapsed to the ground.
After he was calmed down, Hotaru took the rusted sword into his care.
"I'll be taking this sword with me. This one should hold you over until I am finished, Tanjiro." Hotaru said, giving Tanjiro a spare Nichirn blade. "And Mother, I've received word that your faithful Nichirin blade that you left behind in our village a few years ago is nearly restored and ready for use."
"I see, thank you Hotaru." Nedris said as Hotaru went back into the forest.
The next day later that night…
"No way! You saw Superbia in the hot springs a couple days ago? And you had a heart-to-heart with him?" Gemini asked David.
"That's right. He seemed to have had a downcast look on his face." David said.
"That's mighty strange. Before Mark took him out, he was dead set on eradicating the whole Demon Universe of demons. And when you talked to 'em, he was… completely burnt out? Did he say what had him so down in the dumps?" Gemini asked.
"He talked about his past. Something there really set him off the deep end." David said. "He feels responsible for everything that has happened, all because his anger caused him to take out an innocent civilian."
"Definitely out of character, considering the last time we fought." Mark piped up. "Superbia doesn't - didn't care about civilian casualties."
"Mark, seriously. What is with you? Ever since we saw him, you've been out of whack, man." David said.
"Oh, excuse me for being suspicious of the guy that killed some of my friends and destroyed multiple worlds." Mark said. "I mean, if Theodore Flux apologized for getting Eikichi killed, would you forgive him straight away?"
"Don't you dare bring him into this!" David spoke in an angered tone.
"...Alright, low blow. I'm sorry." Mark apologized. "Point is, I'm not ready to forgive him, not yet. He didn't say he's given up on wiping out all of demonkind, so until he does, I'm going to play it safe."
"I still think you're being paranoid, though. I mean, think about it. How is he going to do that in the condition we found him in?" David asked.
"...I don't know." Mark admitted. "You can call me paranoid if you want, but I'm holding onto my suspicions for now. One of us has to."
"Yes. And on that note, Mr. Haganezuka said my sword will be done the day after tomorrow. But they say that sword polishing art of his is brutal. Some have even died doing it. I'm just worried. You agree?" Tanjiro said to Genya who was also sitting with the group.
"I don't care! Stop talking to me like we're friends or something!" Genya said.
"Huh? But aren't we friends?" Tanjiro asked.
"Not by a longshot! Need I remind you that you and that bee bitch broke my arm?" Genya said.
"I remember it being your own fault cause you hit a girl, Genya. We have no shame." Tanjiro said as he and Sectonia looked innocent.
"It's true. We had no shame in it." Sectonia said.
"Don't you dare call me by my first name!" Genya said.
Kagane then looked at Genya's mouth. "Wait…didn't…you lose a tooth?"
Genya quickly clammed up and turned away. "You all must have imagined it." he said.
"No way. Not only that…we still have it." Tanjiro said, holding it.
"Wait, you kept it? Why would you do that?" Genya said.
"You lost it. So we had to return it." Tanjiro said.
"Are you all soft in the head? Get rid of that nasty thing. And…on that note…" Genya said before the group was tossed out of the room. "Get out of my room!"
"Well, that just happened." David said.
"To be fair, we did intrude on the guy's room." Gemini said.
"Couldn't we have had this discussion in one of our own rooms?" David asked with a sweatdrop.
"It could not be helped. Friends should discuss things with other friends." Tanjiro said.
"Except Genya hates us. And… Rather justifiably so, thinking back on it." Sectonia said.
"I don't believe that." Tanjiro said. "Fact is…I like Genya. And I'd like to get closer to him."
"Believe what you wish. But let's go back to our actual room." Kagane said.
The group soon returned to their actual room and continued their discussions as Tanjiro worked to weave Nezuko's hair.
"Anyways, this place seems rather peaceful. You'd think with our track record, we'd run into demons by now, but no. Not a single one in sight." David said.
"Demons don't come to us just cause we're here. All those times were often coincidence." Gemini said.
"For once, I'm hoping it stays that way." David said.
The peace lasted for a while as they dozed for a bit before being awoken by two figures in the room. These figures being Muichiro and Superbia.
"Have you seen the swordsmith known as Kanamori?" Muichiro asked.
"Oh hey! Muichiro!" Tanjiro said. "Is something wrong? Wait…did you pinch my nose?"
"Yes and you took far too long." Muichiro said.
"Ugh….why is he here?" Mark asked.
"I was curious…about the crafting of these demon-slaying swords." Superbia said.
"You said you were looking for Kanamori? He should be with Haganezuka." Gemini said.
"Kanamori's my new swordsmith. Where's Haganezuka?" Muichiro asked.
"No idea. Let's go look." Tanjiro said.
"Why do you…care about other people so much?" Muichiro asked. "Isn't there something that you need to do for yourself?"
"Life has a way of rewarding good deeds. When you help others, you are helping yourself. I was planning to go anyway, so why not?" Tanjiro said.
Just then, Muichiro lightly gasped as life returned to his eyes.
"What? What did you just say? Right now. Right now." Muichiro said.
"Huh? I said the timing's great- Ouch!" Tanjiro said before Nezuko stood up, accidentally hitting him. "Nice to see you're up." he said as Nezuko ran around a bit before sitting beside him as Muichiro's eyes turned dull again.
"His eyes just now…" Gouto said.
"This girl…and feeling…how should I put it? Have we met before?" Muichiro said.
"Wait, he doesn't even remember the…" Gemini said.
"Guess not." David said.
Superbia looked at Nezuko with curiosity. "Another non-hostile hellspawn? Hmm, they're more prevalent than it seems."
"That's Nezuko. She's Tanjiro's sister." David said.
"Also, she's not from Hell, thank you very much." Mark added.
This got Superbia's attention, getting his first good look at Mark. "Wait…you're…"
Just then, a rattling was heard at the door.
"Were you guys expecting anyone?" Gemini asked.
"Not that I recall." Muichiro said.
The doors slid open as a hand shakingly crawled past the threshold and crawling in was a disheveled looking creature crawling on his hands and crying.
"What…the….we didn't even notice him until we…" David said. "Arm up…this guy…he's an Upper Moon!"
"Hantengu." Nedris said. "He's Upper Moon 4, below Akaza."
Muichiro was the first to act as he went on the attack. "Mist Breathing: 4th Form: Shifting Flow Slash." he said.
"Stop! You mustn't cut off his head!" Nedris called.
The attack however missed by a hair as Hantengu gripped the ceiling.
"He's fast." Muichiro said.
"...Please stop it. Please stop tormenting me. It hurts." Hantengu cried.
"Then don't eat people. It's that easy." Mark said.
"Is this guy really one rank below Akaza?" Gemini asked.
"Don't let his demeanor fool you, he's a very difficult demon to face due to his ability." Nedris said.
"Please…stop telling all these lies about me." Hantengu said.
"Agh, we can't let him get to us… rush 'em!" Gemini said as everyone rushed the demon.
"I got him!" Mark said. "(Nedris said not to cut off the head…so I'll aim for the chest!)" he thought as he used his First Form, aiming it at the chest.
"No…Don't make me do it…!" Hantengu cried as he jumped a bit forward, causing the attack's target to change to the neck. With one quick motion, the demon's head was severed. "He decapitated me!"
"Oh no." Nedris said. "Everyone, get ready!"
"Quit it already. The guy is…" Gemini said. "(No…that's not right. We've already seen from the battle with Daki and Gyutaro that…upper ranks don't die easily, even when decapitated.)" she thought. "Stay sharp! She's right!"
However as they talked, the decapitated head quickly sprouted out an entire new body as the body grew out a new head.
"He split in two?!" David said.
"This is Hantengu's Blood Demon Art, Whenever he loses his-" Nedris said before nearly being attacked.
"Quit spouting your words, worthless wretch." the one who grew the new head said.
"Yeah. You're not gonna make this fun if you give everything away." the one who grew the new body said.
"Let's decapitate them simultaneously." Tanjiro said as they went at each demon. However, the one with the new body held a leaf fan before waving it, causing a massive gust of wind to blow a hole right into the room and nearly blowing everyone away. Muichiro was sent flying, but Nezuko, in her transformed state, grabbed Tanjiro and pulled him to safety, as everyone else held on.
"Damn it. Their abilities are as fierce as back then." Nedris said.
"Hahahahaha! Did you see how far that pipsqueak went flying, Sekido?" the demon with the new body asked.
"Now is not the time for fun and games. Karaku, I hate being lumped in with you." Sekido said.
"Is that right? Good thing we got separated then." Karaku said.
"We mustn't let them divide any further!" Nedris said, trying to attack only for Sekido to strike the ground with his Khakkhara, electrocuting the whole group.
"What is…it must be that staff." David groaned.
*BANG!* *BANG!*
Just as the group was blacking out, the sound of gunfire snapped them back, as both Sekido and Karaku had their heads blown off. Up on the roof, the shooter was revealed to be Genya, who had a sawed-off shotgun in hand.
"Genya? Wait…how did he do that? Nichirin weapons are the only things that…" Gemini said. "I get it…he melted down that metal…into bullets."
"Damn…must have missed one of them." Genya said before jumping down and beheading Sekido as well as Karaku.
"Wait, stop! That's what they're counting on!" Tanjiro said, as the two demons, now became four.
"All four of them have appeared now." Nedris said.
"(It's like he wanted us to go for his head from the start. Whatever this Blood Demon art is, it's way more advanced thatn Gyutaro and Daki sharing the same body. It's like…he's his own team all in one body!)" Gemini said before she was grabbed in a pair of talons by the one who grew wings. "Whoa, Nelly!"
"Hahahaha! What fun! It's been so long since I was last split off!" the winged demon said as he stuck his tongue out which had the kanji for Joy.
"Gemini!" Sectonia said.
"Don't worry about me! Just find a way to beat the others! He may be four now, but he's still one demon, and he's gotta have a weak spot!" Gemini said.
"Hang on!" Tanjiro said as he went after her.
"Looks like we're right in the middle of a crap sandwich." David said. "Mark…you know what needs to be done for now, right?"
"Yeah…focus on the enemies in front of us." Mark said, sparing a glance at Superbia, who hefted his war hammer in preparation to fight. "I'll shelve my paranoia away for the night. Right now…we got demons to slay."
"You all continue the fight." Kagane said. "I need to find Muichiro and get him back here. We'll be able to fight better with more hands."
"Be careful though. If Hantengu found this place…there may be more demons roaming the village." Nedris said.
"Once I get down outta this demon's talons, I'll help you, Kagane!" Gemini said. "You can…huh?" she said, seeing the demon charging a blast in its mouth.
"Gemini!" Tanjiro said, slicing off the talon holding her as he ended up taking the attack head-on in her stead.
"Gemini, cover your ears!" Nedris said.
"Already done!" Gemini said, having covered her ears just before the winged demon fired another attack.
"Gemini, your leg!" Sectonia called out as Gemini looked at the leg that latched onto her had sprouted a head and prepared to fire.
"(Not good… if that fires off, my eardrums are as good as busted!)" she thought before she saw Superbia leaping at her and smashing the leg off of her. "You're…helping me?"
"Not sure what you mean. You seek to eliminate the hellspawn, so do I." Superbia said. "This one…holds no regard to life at all. It must be annihilated."
"Agreed." Gemini said. "Watch over my pals and the village, angel boy!" she said, taking off down the road.
"Gouto, I need you to go to the chief and get an evacuation started." Kagane said.
"Consider it done." Gouto said as he ran off.
"Will he be okay?" Gemini asked.
"He'll be fine. Besides, the chief is guarded by Demon Slayers so I doubt he'll be in too much trouble. For now, we need to find the Hashira." Kagane said.
"Of course." Gemini said as the two took off.
Thus…the battle in the Swordsmith Village…began.