The Baleful One appears!
(Tried to get this out as fast as I could, hopefully it matches the standards. Enjoy.)
Tanjiro rushed back as quickly as he left to see- "Wait, there's only three demons now?!"
Screeching winds and powerful squalls were pushing Taiki away, Karaku was laughing happily with each of his swings. Taiki could only do his best to plant his sword down and brace. There wasn't anything he could do to- "Fuck you!" Karaku dashed in, a poor choice, and got the business, Taiki's reddish sword carved through his tongue, face, then torso in a rapid flow of slashes. Weaving in on themselves and gathering to strike in nine consecutive motions. "Ada no Shakuyaku!"(Peonies of Futility).
'Holy shit! This guy's sword burns too!' Karaku didn't like that feeling of pain that coursed through his entire body, it was just as painful as before! "FUCK IT BURNS!" He swung an uchiwa towards the pinkette and blew him away, but it wasn't a mutually damaging exchange. Karaku slumped to the ground with one of his hands missing a fan… really it was more accurate to say he was missing the arm, hand, and fan.
Taiki might've been blown back, but he sprung up with a whirl of his multicolored sword. His body was starting to ache but the ever so sassy smile on his face didn't fade in the slightest. "Suck on that, relaxed bitch." His green eyes looked into the disgusting green ones of the mellow wind user, and he couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Urogi struggling to pick himself up off the ground. "Man, you suck. How are you even Upper Five?"
A blast! A blast of sound waves that started from what felt like every direction at the same time! Taiki slammed into a tree and fought to pry himself off it, opening his eyes to see the anger demon with two firmly clenched hands. "We were Upper Rank Four!" His anger was getting more and more apparent, then he created a khakkara for each hand. "Pink haired shit!"
Taiki dodged the first stream of lightning that came from one of the staffs, but he saw the other one slam into the debris with Sekido's hand bulging with veins. 'Were… that means-' Eight balls of purple lightning formed with the staff's slam and shot towards him.
"Seinaru Ikari!"(Holy Wrath).
'Shit!' Taiki jumped and twirled gracefully, his red tinted sword whirling to strike two of the eight lightning orbs. Two dispersed but the other six slammed into his body, burning his clothes and making his skin burn! "Fuck!" That meant that these guys were more of a threat than they were acting!
"Hmmph!"
Nezuko rushed from Sekido's side, a furious scowl on her face and her muzzle still in her teeth. He didn't even acknowledge her attack. A rapid motion and a jumonji through her gut, Aizetsu stopped the demon girl in her tracks… then gored her against a tree. "How unfortunate. I almost want to cry because of your weakness." He smashed an elbow into her face and looked back at the lead emotion.
Fire trailed and burned everything in its way, Sekido's hands were taken clean off "Enbu!"(Waltz). Streaming slashes followed through and led to Karaku who was grinning with his uchiwa in hand, but Sekido was scowling hard at the sight of the brat waving his sword around like a damned nuisance!
'It's not that he's suddenly gotten stronger!' Sekido sent a blast of lightning and then a wave of sound, but nothing landed against the brat! Two sounds, gunshots and a lingering numbness started spreading from his upper chest. Sekido looked over and saw the red haired one with those damned pistols aimed at him… but he looked straigned. 'And that one's bullets still paralyze us for a bit, but if we form Zohakuten then it won't matter!'
Tanjiro was dancing through bolts of lightning and quickly yelled out directions. "Genya! Straight northeast! The other body is somewhere around there!" Nezuko was preoccupied and Hotaru was doing his best not to die from Karaku's winds! 'Who can help Genya right now?!'
He could give cover. Fire and swings of his sword brought chopped flesh and searing demon cells. 'It's just like Lord Muzan told me, and based off our first meeting.' Sekido's arms and chest were covered in slashes but a powerful scream echoed into the nighttime air, blowing Tanjiro away… but not knocking him out since he managed to escape backwards. 'He has exceptional reflexes and adapts to the battle!' Four stings in his neck and he saw Karaku putting his mangled hands on his equally sliced face. The pink haired little shit was coming towards him now!
"Ju no kata."(Tenth Form). Taiki rushed in with his body twirling, and a dragon of water forming behind his spinning sword. 'It's been forever since I've done this… but it'll rip this bitch apart and make sure he doesn't get back up!' Taiki's moves were graceful and his attack managed to strike true, he sliced Sekido's head off along with turning his torso into carnage. The anger demon decided to attack indiscriminately, bolts of lightning shot out in every direction near him… and Taiki was forced to be shocked by the blasts.
*Bang Bang*
Hotaru's shots were still off but the fact that he was landing them was all he needed! "Just stand still!" He ran closer with more rounds popping off, then he got close enough to fire two final shots into the enraged demon's chest. "Dandan Mai."(Bullet Dance). "GENYA! KARAKU!"
The mohawked one aimed his shotgun and fired two shells straight at Karaku's face, blowing his head apart right before a blast of winds nearly sent him flying away. "Northeast! I got that!" He ran right past Aizetsu who started pulling his jumonji from Nezuko's body.
"It would break my heart if you kept going. You're still so weak and it would make me cry to watch you- What?" His spear wasn't moving. The girl demon looked dead at him and pulled herself right onto him!
'Bakketsu!'(Exploding Blood).
Bright pink flames engulfed the two of them and Aizetsu's screams filled the night air. Genya could keep going with every other demon distracted! Karaku recovered from the blasts but the annoying brat with the fire breathing was right on him!
A maple leaf imprint on the ground and Tanjiro was pinned down by Karaku. "Nice try man but get the fuck out the way!" He hated the idea to all hell but if Sekido called for Zohakuten then they didn't have any other options, so he leapt towards the anger demon and groaned once his flesh started getting subsumed. "Fuck! I hate doing this!" Gone. Only Sekido and Aizetsu left.
Tanjiro managed to push himself up to witness Sekido absorb yet another demon… and his instincts were glaring at the sight of Karaku being completely absorbed. "GENYA! THEY'RE GETTING READY FOR SOMETHING, ON YOUR RIGHT SIDE! MOVING SOUTH!" He was frantic because of what was going on. If Gyutaro and Daki were any sign of how this could be going, then four strong demons fusing together was going to kill them.
He'd been searching. He still was searching! 'Fuck fuck fuck! I've been looking the whole time! Where the hell is he?!' Rapid looking and desperate glances around any and all trees nearby. Genya's veins were bulging on his face and his body was on high alert. 'Is it a technique?! Is he hidden because of some bullshit technique?!' There had to be a way to find him! Why didn't he have a nose like Tanjiro's for situations like this? 'The longer this goes on the more energy I'm gonna waste! Where the fuck are you?!'
Sekido couldn't do both things right now. It was a choice. 'Aizetsu and that girl aren't going anywhere! If I touch those flames, who knows how long I'll be immobile, but if these dirty brats manage to find the main body-!'
Taiki appeared with his still blazing sword, pink sparks following his motions and a scowl on his face. "Why can't you stay down?!" A fan swung and Taiki was slammed through a tree before he could even attack Sekido! Then the anger demon switched his attention. 'Fuck! Can't move! Hotaru, you better catch up.'
Sekido collected his head and broke out in a run, sending a blast of wind towards the pistol user as another bullet lodged itself into his arm. He didn't have time to waste slowing down from this poison!
"WEST RIGHT SIDE! CLOSE TO YOU BUT BELOW!"
His shotgun drawn and his blade ready to swing, but where the hell was he? Where the hell could he- "huh?" He heard something and turned to look down at a patch of shrubs beside him. Genya's six foot frame was massive compared to the maybe four inches of demon he could see standing and cowering at his visage. 'He's fucking tiny!'
"EEK!"
*BANG*
His shot missed. The little fucker could run! 'This is the main body?! He's small as shit! No wonder we couldn't find him without Tanjiro's nose…' Playing filthy. No wonder. Genya chased him down through the foliage, trying to pin the tiny demon down to no avail. 'This runt is a pain! No wonder he's killed so many up to now, fighting those four or even just two and not knowing about the main body?! That's playing fucking dirty!'
He swung his sword and managed to connect it to the little runt's neck. "AAHH!"
'Yes! I did it! We can win this!' And then his sword broke on contact. That was bullshit. 'His neck isn't even an inch wide and I can't cut it?!'
*BANG*
The smoke cleared… and the little fucker wasn't even scratched?! 'You've gotta be fucking kidding me!' He felt a presence behind him. Sekido was there with a fan and khakkara. 'Shit. I wasted too much time, my head can't regenerate! He's going to pierce my skull!'
'Big brother. I'm sorry for what I said. Something so cruel, brother. It's not an excuse, I was panicking. You fought to protect us, as the eldest brother it was your job. How did you feel that night? The anguish of having to kill our mother, and then being berated by the only brother who managed to live? We promised to protect her together. We promised to be the men of our family.'
Sekido was only getting closer with his khakkara. It was aimed straight for the base of Genya's neck and he fully planned to give every ounce of lightning he could muster once it pierced through his throat. The brat was done fucking with them! Zohakuten would form right after this, but a boy who eats demons and gets their powers is too damn risky!
'I'm going to die without apologizing. No talent, I can't use breathing. I have to be a Pillar to see most of the Pillars! I just wanted you to recognize me for-'
A smile and beautiful amber eyeslooking at him. Her laughter was something that really made him feel at ease, and her bear pelt was really cool too. "You work really hard, but I'll make sure to be there as the Bear Hashira when you finally get promoted!"
She believed in him. His friends believed in him.
Sekido's khakkara mis- "What?!" He missed at point blank range! His weapon stabbed into the ground and a foot slammed into his stomach, separating him from it, and the sword that pierced his neck certainly didn't help things. "What?!"
"Back the fuck up!" He forgot about the fan… shit. Sekido was swinging it downwards and-
"Genya!"
Tanjiro's sword sliced clean through that arm and he landed right next to the tiny one. "The main body!"
"Tanjiro! Behind you!"
Aizetsu appeared and performed three long slashes which forced Tanjiro to fight and defend himself… but he wasn't the target. The sorrowful demon bashed Genya out of the way and pulled the sword from Sekido's neck, only to be absorbed with an agonized expression on his face.
"TANJIRO! I CAN'T CUT THE LITTLE ONE!" And that means he had to, he flashed over and quickly swung his- Oh that presence was suffocating.
A new demon was landing in front of him and a series of drums were on his back. 'He's staring right at me! It's so hard to even move! I can't even try to cut the little one's head off like this!'
*Tonk*
Giant dragons made of wood! 'He can manipulate the wood? He makes wood dragons! Damn it!' Nezuko appeared in time and moved her brother out of the way, but the sheer count of dragons from just that one tap of a drum was nothing to ignore. Not to mention that Nezuko lost a leg in showing up.
They crashed into a rough landing right after her leg regenerated. Tanjiro sat up and stared the new demon directly in the eyes. "Hatred… Zohakuten!" This was the one Sekido mentioned, this had to be their strongest form otherwise what would've been the point of reducing their number advantage?
Trees rose and surrounded the cowering little demon while Zohakuten glared at Genya and Tanjiro's pathetic forms.
'Fuck! This is the thing Sekido wanted to be?! It's a combination of all the bodies, except the old fart. Why is this one a kid? Is he obsessed with being younger or some shit?!'
The main body was fully surrounded by wood and Tanjiro realized that he had to act. "Hey!" Zohakuten's glare made him pause. The sheer aura behind it sent enough hate to make him choke for a moment… but he couldn't falter.
"What? You dislike being treated like the evil scum you are?"
Genya couldn't even move. Fear was etched into his very bones and it made sure that not a single motion could happen with that overwhelming intensity from Zohakuten. 'Heavy voice. Pressure. Can't move my limbs, can barely stand!'
At the brink of danger, not only humans are able to grow and exponentially adapt to ensure their survival. The demon, Hantengu, had been driven into the corner countless times in the past. Each time it happened, his powerful emotions split from him and created new selves with blood demon arts. That is how he survived so long, that is why he's so deadly. The worse a situation gets for him the stronger he becomes.
"Calling us evil… you reek of hundreds of humans." Tanjiro stood up with veins ready to burst from anger. "I've smelled it. The emotions you have that Sekido absorbed. Sorrow… you didn't feel any. Joy? You only felt it when you were hurting us. Relaxed? You were only calm when things went your way. And anger? You were mad when you didn't get your way… You're hatred… and I can smell it loud and clear!"
Nezuko and Genya were roused from his speech. The intensity of Zohakuten's aura weakened in the face of Tanjiro's courage, and it let them stand up to ready themselves for a serious fight.
"What is it you smell? Is it the stench of your own evils? The wickedness of your hearts? Or the sins of such vile beings?!"
Their anger matched one another. Except one was rightfully pissed off.
"You're playing the victim when you're the only evil one here! A vile demon like you… WILL DIE TONIGHT!"
Being stuck inside the water vase was really starting to take a toll on him. 'The air in my lungs… I have enough for- One attack.' He used that remaining breath in his body and thrusted the chipped sword at the water. (Hanging Sky, Distant Mist). But the surface tension didn't break, his sword wasn't sharp enough to make a difference.
'It's chipped after all. A thrusting technique couldn't break it, not a surprise really.' His last breath and now things could start going blurry. 'Sorry, lord Oyakata, good luck filling my Hashira spot. I'm going to be dying now.'
"Why do you think that?"
Huh? 'Tanjiro?' He was right there staring at him from just outside the vase. That was a mirage plain as day, he wouldn't just be standing there if he was here. Tanjiro was stubborn.
"Nobody knows what the future has in store."
'Wait… what? Tanjiro never said anything like that to me. So who said that?'
Gyokko just attacked one of the two men in the shack, a sick grin on his bulbous lips. "So why are you protecting this? I can't imagine the village chief being in a place like this." Then he saw the sword being grinded. "Hmm?"
"Great iron. A great blade. The craftsmanship is astounding. I've never seen skill on this level before, it's a masterpiece."
Oh how he was going to love this. "Hey, human."
"Who made this thing? If he could forge a blade so spectacular, why only leave one character and not a full name? But I think I understand- No. No I'm sure I do."
'He's… Ignoring me? No. He's so enveloped in his work, he hasn't even noticed my magnificent presence!' The deformed hands on the side of his face clenched their fists in fury, his entire disfigured face reading nothing but fury in the night air. 'I've never had such a state of focus myself! I cannot lose to him as an artist!'
Gyokko used a vase to form a fish monster with sickle shaped fins, quickly slicing the swordsmith all across his body. Even going so far as to decimate his mask and face.
"Haganezuka!"
His shockingly handsome face was revealed, and it was set in a deadly focused manner. "The entire reason he didn't put his name on a blade so marvelous, is because this one character was his sole purpose for making it. The blade was forged with only that in mind!"
'Th- This man! He pisses me off!' He was only getting more enraged. 'It would defeat the entire purpose to just kill him and be done with it! I have to make him lose his focus entirely! If I can't do that then I'll have lost to this human as a creator!'
Muichiro was still in the delirium of his oxygen loss. Hearing that he had to depend on others to be saved, that the only one who could decide his fate was him. Empty platitudes that he couldn't bother with translating into anything useful… 'Being near death makes me really clear minded, wow.' He was still going to die. Nobody could save him, the only person around his level was locked in a fight to his assumption. So what could be done other than to just give up?
"DON'T DIE TOKITO!" Knife thrusts. Kotetsu was thrusting a knife into the vase like a madman. "Damn it! This thing is so springy and won't give way! Wait, I FORGOT THAT YOU WERE A HASHIRA! You need some ai- rk!" A small fish monster just stabbed him in the back, nothing vital luckily but it was still a lot for a boy of eight to take.
'Kotetsu!' He couldn't do anything inside of the vase! He didn't have any air, he couldn't use the abilities as a Hashira that he honed! He was stuck and couldn't bother- Bubbles? Kotetsu put his face against the vase and blew bubbles.
"Helping other people ends up helping you. People are living creatures, and for the sake of others, they can draw out unbelievable strength."
'Yeah, I get it.' Break the water and make it mist, rapid slashes with inordinate directions! Muichiro sliced himself free of the vase with that chipped sword. (Layered Mist).
Hacking and sputtering the water from his lungs, Muichiro was struggling to get some relief from the burning pain his entire chest was in. "Damn it! If I didn't get out then, then I'd have… These needles, they're numbing my body too." Tearing the needles from his skin while memories flooded through his head… He wasn't always alone. He was orphaned at ten, and alone at eleven. He had a twin brother, Yuuichiro. Right.
So many memories to- Skittering to his right was out down by a single sword swipe to the little fish thing that hurt Kotetsu. "Tokito… protect Haganezuka." Kotetsu was hurt but still on his feet with Kanamori helping him. "The blade… protect the blade…"
The smell of blood was still lingering in the air. Red splattered across the grass, some pebbles, and even a bit on her white boots. Nonoka was stuck there with the blood coagulating on the ground, she didn't even notice when Shuradai landed in a heap before picking himself up in a hurry.
She was still staring at it. The pile of steaming flesh that was her sister. Memories slammed into her head all at one time, like a really big moving object.
"The most useless girls here."
"Neither of you could amount to decent wives."
"It's hard to say which is worse, the ugly big eared one. Or manuke that follows her."
"They only cling together because they're almost equally useless."
Such harsh words were her entire life. As long as she could remember it was a constant she needed to bear with, even if she always seemed cheerful and optimistic about how things were, she still didn't have a completely happy life.
"Oh is that girl dead now? That broke your focus didn't it!" Shuradai wasn't asking. He was just rubbing salt in the wound, and when he slammed the khakkara into the ground… the lightning that blasted at Nonoka struck true. Pure power was surging through the young woman, lightning with enough power to knock even the toughest demon slayers or even demons unconscious… Yet the girl wasn't dropping.
Her body was shaking yes. She was clearly taking damage. Her muscles spasmed and lost fine control. "She won't fall. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or upset, but how far can you really take yourself before you die?" Another wave of lightning coursed for Nonoka, shocking her even harder and leaving her hair standing on end. Her skin even scarred where the bolt struck her.
"Her name is perfect. Nonoka Manuke."
"Nonoka Manuke."
"Nonoka Manuke!"
"Hey, Yoshino… what does my name mean?"
That conversation. Right. Yoshino wasn't mean to her, but she did have a mean side to her. In fact she was just as bad as the other girls could be… just not to her. Even to other slayers she could really have a mean side, but right now she remembered the conversation about her name.
"You have a unique name."
"What does Manuke mean? And what does Nonoka mean? I know it has other characters but… I can't find a single meaning."
"Hm. You're Nonoka. That's what matters."
The lightning stopped and Shuradai felt a powerful presence a distance away. "What is that? It's near lord Gyokko's location. I'll have to go and help him before-" Then a similar presence made itself known behind Shuradai… And it was coming from the girl slowly standing up with her fists clenched hard on the chains for her cleavers, and the uchiwa fan she was still holding tight. "So you can stand back up? Well get up then, you can bear to…"
"The 希 in Nonoka… means something."
Shuradai's angered faces broke out into grins, the girl lost what little brain matter she had apparently. "Of course it does, that's how characters in names work. If that's all you can think of after being blasted by lightning-" one of his hands flew to his thick neck, feeling the pain and blood being right there against his palm. 'There's no fucking way.' His main face was stuck in shock and his rear left one was staring at the girl in a mix of shock and confusion. 'When did she- Wait… I blinked and missed her entire attack?!'
Someone else was having a revelation as well. Muichiro remembered all of it. How it took hours to drag his body just a few feet into his home. How Yuuichiro looked on the floor, begging and pleading to the gods for his younger brother to live. Because he at least was kind, he had a good heart at his core, he wanted his little brother to survive and do good.
"The 'Mu' in Muichiro, is the same as the 'Mu' of Mugen."
"The Kanji reading Nonoka, it has rare in it. You're special. No matter what they say."
Doing things to help others would awaken their hearts to a new world. One where they could show their gem like rarity. Blue musical notes along her right shoulder while her heart beat with a new song. Dark blue mist clouds on his face with his body overflowing with infinite strength.
Chosen ones would be awakened through their inherent kind hearts.
"Well… Whatever this is, if it's only us then it'll have to be fast." He knew this girl wasn't a joke and right now she might've been more deadly than ever. "Would you mind giving my uchiwa back?" He held one of his empty hands out and waited politely for his weapon, the young lady looked at the fan before actually tossing it back to him and holding her cleavers with a steadfast expression. "Thank you, shall we end this? One simple go. My strongest and yours to close this out?"
Nonoka spread her stance with a nod. "Alright. My mussel dentistry against your elemental blasts." This entire time she'd been focused and trying to kill Shuradai… but she wasn't sticking true to what Master Uzui taught her, the lesson was to end things in a sparkly way. What was more sparkly than using your best attacks at the same time and seeing who won?
Shuradai didn't like this girl. She was abnormal. Despite her inexperience showing in her attacks, their overwhelming power was clear. If he let this draw out to where she actually picked up how he attacked then it would guarantee his life as hers. So he was going to end it now. "Let's go."
Shuradai leapt into the air and spun his entire body, winds, lightning, and piercing blasts all manifested around him. It was an all encompassing attack with force made to guarantee that the enemy would be overwhelmed.
"Raijinga!" (Thunder God's Wrath).
Nonoka watched the hurricane of force whirl towards her… and she noticed a rhythm. So she braced her body, flexed her muscles, and she breathed.
'Oto no Kokyu…'(Sound Breathing). She sprinted into the fray, swinging as soon as an attack came into her radius. "Ni!" There was a pattern! "San! Shi! Ichi! Go!" An entire musical pattern surrounded her. The musical score technique took time to implement, and Nonoka only received two demonstrations of how to apply it… but she had plenty of attacks to use as reference so far, and she had plenty of time to understand Shuradai's basic technique!
The multi-limbed demon didn't stop his perpetual rotations, but he could perfectly see that Nonoka was standing in the eye of his storm! 'She isn't just in the midst of my attack, she's deflecting everything that comes towards her!' He could see her explosive slashes stopping lightning, piercing spears, and any currents of wind that tried to blow her off balance. The girl was standing up against all of it! "FINE!"
He stopped spinning and decided to gather all of his strength. Shuradai fell towards her with his weapons primed and ready! This was their last clash and he planned to make it count!
'Roku no Kata.' (Sixth Form). Nonoka flipped one of her cleavers around and adjusted her legs to- "AAHH!" Shuradai blasted her dead on with lightning before he got close with his jumonji.
"You can't dodge this. Die now, in vain."
"Who said… I was gonna dodge?"
She fought through the pain and her spasms to jump hard enough to crack the ground, and then she spun like a top. Slicing clean through Shuradai's weapons with explosive slashes, but she didn't stop there. Her cleavers were sharp but this attack was like drums, bashing against the demon in violent spins that blew his body apart! "Hitori Dashin!" A final blow that blasted his head right off his body with a mixture of bombs and her overwhelming slashes. (Percussive Solo).
She fell to the ground with a small "Oof" and laid there. The lightning attacks she sat through really left a toll on her. A quick rest and then she could help her friends. Just a tiny break… Why were her eyes wet? Oh right. The only person who wasn't mean to her for most of her life was dead now. Even if Yoshino had a mean streak, it wasn't at Nonoka and that's what she cared about. Huh. It wasn't just crying now, sobs and coughs were racking her body. She needed more than a tiny rest it seemed…
"Miss! Are you okay?!"
An unfamiliar voice, a shame she couldn't quite tell who it was through her own crying.
Gyokko dodged a sudden attack from nowhere and turned to face the little boy Hashira from before. 'I thought he'd die from my vase, fortuitous that I get to kill him more personally!' Then he saw the strange markings. Wait. The red haired boy has markings like those, one on his forehead. 'He looks so relaxed, and how was his attack so much faster than before?' Muichiro charged him and Gyokko responded with a case that spawned a flood of octopus arms.
"Hyo ho! How do you like that? Octopus flesh! You can't cut through that, no no!" Then he noticed the swordsmith he'd been carving up… just resume sharpening his blade. 'He's not right in the head that's for sure, but I admire the dedication.' He turned back to the boy. "That's fine, pillar first, then the swordsmith. I let my guard down too much earlier, this time I'll crush you for sure."
Slashes through sinewy flesh. Muichiro freed himself from the octopus limbs and landed perfectly, while making sure that kanamori was alright. "You forged this blade for me, thank you, Kanamori."
"Ah- No, I just followed the designs and instructions from your first blacksmith."
Oh right. Kanamori wasn't first. "Tetsuido made my blades initially, he died of a heart attack." Gyokko had a grimace on his disgusting face. 'Ah, how fitting then. I'm remembering more about Tetsuido.'
"It doesn't matter how many blades you want to use, the end result is exactly the same."
A flood of octopus limbs. That pot sent a mass of limbs that Muichiro started slashing through with fervor. 'Kaun no Umi.' (Sea of Clouded Mist). Dashing in zig zag patterns while delivering countless slashes in front of and around him. Muichiro caught up to Gyokko through the tentacles and slashed straight for the upper rank, only to watch him slip through another pot.
"Almost! You minced the octopus limbs quickly, but you can't catch up to the speed of my pots! Hyo ho!"
Muichiro slowly turned to stare at the ugly demon who was now perched on a branch in yet another cliche pot. "I've been wondering about that, but I suppose your senses have dulled after existing for hundreds of years."
"What do you mean by that?" His neck sprayed blood and his deformed arm on his face quickly tried to cover the wound. "What?!" The boy was looking at him with that calm expression… and he hated it.
"Next time I'll take your head off, I'm done playing your stupid games."
"Don't underestimate me brat…"
"I'm not looking down on you, it's just a fact. You'll die when I cut your head off. I'm also feeling really amazing right now. I wonder why that is."
"Your phrasing is what's crass about you. I don't need to hear that when you've lived only ten or so years." He dropped down from the branch into another pot at the trunk of the tree.
"Not my fault that you're so gross. Nothing about you is worth any praise. Your looks are grotesque and your words aren't any better. You should really just die."
"I'm the apex of beauty. You wouldn't understand that as an uneducated bumpkin!" His anger was getting more and more apparent in his tone, Gyokko didn't appreciate the brat talking about things he didn't understand. "It's like if I was to give a book to a fly and expect it to read."
"Your pots are deformed." Dead silence. "They look lopsided and uneven."
"YOUR EYES MUST HAVE MAGGOTS INFESTING THEM YOU FUCKING ASSHOOOLEE!"
Gyokko whipped out ten small pots with ten smaller arms and unleashed a volley of clay fish. "Blood demon art: Ten thousand gliding clay fish! I'll have ten thousand assassins feed on your body until there's nothing but bones! Then I'll grind them up and use them in a new pot!"
'Roku no kata: Tsuki no Kashō.' (Sixth form: Lunar Dispersing Mist). Muichiro leapt into the air and started using dozens of slashes to clear the onslaught of fish, dicing them all into pieces and landing without even a scratch. And then he noticed that there was something wrong with their blood. 'Poison again? How dull.' An inhale. 'San no Kata: Kasan no Shibuki.' (Third form: Scattering Mist Splash). A singular slash made to blow away projectiles, and he cleared the flood of incoming poison in one fell swoop.
Gyokko didn't even have time to process that before the boy was on him again, slicing into his neck with prejudice. "I can molt too…" Gyokko's presence shifted and his figure was perched in a tree.
"Can you quit dodging and running into the trees?"
A bright and luminous blue was in one of the trees. A long fishtail, scaly arms and clawed fingers, ugly but muscular upper body, and the same demented and hideous face. "I'll show you my true form, you're one of three people to ever see this."
"Yeah yeah, super special."
"Shut up! Once I'm serious I never let anyone leave alive!"
"Oh wow."
"Shut up you retarded brat!"
"These lucent scales, harder than Diamond. Now prostrate yourself before my beauty!"
God he was so fucking ugly. Muichiro just stared at him. Blankly. Not a word leaving his mouth. And it drove Gyokko crazy.
"WHY AREN'T YOU SAYING ANYTHING YOU RETARDED FUCKING PUPPET?! YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO GET ON PEOPLE'S NERVES DON'T YOU?!"
"I mean, you said shut up. And honestly I'm not surprised about this." There was a scaly fist right in his face. "So-"
Gyokko pounded the ground into smithereens with a mad cackle. Until the only thing left were his flopping clay fish. "Oh and what was that abou not hiding in trees?"
Muichiro took some wear and tear. His uniform was torn and those fish flopped from it. "Nah, you just stink. I didn't want my nose to burn." He wasn't bluffing or talking big, he clearly dodged it before it made contact with the target… which was his head.
"How do you like my power? Everything I touch with my fists turns into those sweet fish. Not to mention my speed, this body itself is soft and springy. On top of that these scales are faster than waves. I'm a being with truly no bounds! I can see you shaking, you're scared? That wasn't even my serious attack."
"What actually is the speed of a wave? Unless you mean a sound wave, which is pretty fast. But haven't the others been dodging that other demon and those lightning bolts for some time now? I'm pretty sure lightning is much faster than sound. And they're weaker than me… A smarmy grin spread across Muichiro's face and his teeth glinted in the moonlight.
"So what good is all your flashiness if you're still too slow to touch me?" He jumped from the tree and clenched his hands firmly on the hilt of his blade. Veins bulging across his body, and red hot fury rushing through his blood.
'The ever present rage. The constant anger. I remembered it, even if I lost my memories.' Veins on his face bulged as he and Gyokko began the last clash. 'I wanted to destroy all demons!'
"Accept my sincere and beautiful seriousness!" Gyokko was showing how fish like he could really be! "Blood demon art: Deadly Scales of War!" Bounding and springing from place to place, only staying still for an instant before bounding off again to attack from a different angle. His diamond hard scales clashing with Muichiro's sword in waves. "Opposing the nature of my superiority? These scales make me a free existence, you can't read my movements! But I love anyone who opposes my natural truth."
Muichiro was slashing, cutting, blocking and deflecting. Gyokko's attacks were… 'Bland. Just like his shitty pots.' It was time to end this before he started another tirade of bullshit. 'Shichi no Kata: Oboro.'(Seventh Form: Haze). Gyokko swung his arm right through-!
"Wait, he vanished?" Then he saw the brat behind him. "There you are!" He obliterated the very ground but… didn't land a hit on anything. 'Gone? No. There!' Another swing of his magnificent fist and- 'Nothing? How did that happen? Where did he go?' The entire area was getting covered in a thick fog. A mist that covered everything up perfectly. "What the hell?"
"Hey you."
Gyokko swung again and didn't hit anything.
"Yes you."
Another swing and another miss, this was getting annoying!
"Did you think you were the only one not being serious?"
The brat walked right beside him, awful choice. Gyokko couldn't feel anything for some reason, and the world was upside down. That didn't matter. 'I'll have to kill him and report back to Lord Muzan.'
"Yeah, goodbye. You won't be born into the world again."
Meaty plops against the dirt and then Gyokko realized it. 'he… HE CUT OFF- HE CUT OFF MY HEAD?!'
The seventh form of breath of the Mist had a unique effect. By drastically changing his tempo of movements, Muichiro disorients his enemies before rapidly speeding up to avoid attacks and create openings. Initially he can seem slower than a turtle, but he vanishes in the blink of an eye. His fastest speeds exceeded that of Gyokko's and as such, he overwhelmed and killed him by all means. An unusual situation for a child to kill an upper rank all alone.
"UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE! HOW DARE A HUMAN LIKE YOU DO THIS TO ME!" His neck was bubbling with more gross little arms to try and waddle around with, Muichiro really couldn't stand to look at this thing while it flailed and cursed at him.
A sword tip stabbed through Gyokko's head and raised him up… before delivering enough slashes to turn him into dust in a blur of swings. "Can you just shut the fuck up? God you're gross."
Kanamori rushed over once the demon was finally dealt with. "Lord Tokito! Are you alright?!"
"Yeah I'm fine." He looked haggard.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I should go and find Tanjiro now." He looked even worse than four seconds ago now.
"You're shaking! It looks like you can barely even stand!"
"At least you should check if Kotetsu's okay…" Now he started foaming at the mouth. The poison from before was actually in his blood now. And he couldn't help from collapsing straight onto the ground when it was all said and done.
"Lord Tokito!" Kotetsu appearing from behind and scaring Kanamori half to death didn't help either. But the happy memories flooding into Muichiro's mind were certainly welcome. It made him feel fuzzy inside… or was that the poison?
Tanjiro was desperately putting distance between him and one of the wood dragons! 'Five heads!' One of which grabbed him and pulled him into the air like a toy. 'They stretch up to about twenty meters!' He was falling towards the dragon again, but he could at least prepare. 'Hi no kokyu, Hekir-'
"RAAAAAHH!"
A massive sound wave like Urogi's split the air, and Tanjiro's eardrums. His eyes whited out and he was launched straight into a branch. Then he fell to the ground in a mess. Struggling to breath and right himself, vomit left his mouth and he tried to use recovery breathing to close his wounds… the key word is tried.
'Vision is blurry! My sense of balance is off! Shit!' Another wood dragon reared up ready to attack. 'I have to dodge it!' He jumped out of the way right as a massive maple leaf imprinted on the ground, and yet Tanjiro's left leg took damage from the slamming wind. "GUAAGHH!" He was in agony but still needed to push forward. 'The dragons can use the same attacks as the Kidoairaku, but they're even more deadly!'
Tanjiro started running away, pushing himself despite the pain in his body. Genya was trapped in wood and so was Nezuko. Right now he was on his own to figure out a plan. 'Zohakuten isn't leaving time to recover! I can't chain my breathing together for anything, I can just barely pull off recovery!'
Dodging lightning strikes and avoiding blasts of wind. Tanjiro's ability to predict attacks via smell was coming in handy, but he couldn't try dodging forever. An endurance match against a demon was an uphill battle. 'If I move beyond twenty meters I should at least be able to think! They can only reach so far.'
*Tonk*
One of the dragons started growing smaller dragons from its mouth… then another dragon from that mouth… a chain of wood dragons all the way to Tanjiro's left arm. 'It can stretch?!' And then they started pulling him right towards the main dragon. 'Use a technique! Use a-'
*Bang*
Zohakuten deflected a shot from someone. And in that same moment, the chain of dragons that grabbed Tanjiro were severed by a skillful individual. "What?"
"Interesnyy."(Interesting). "This is what Hotaru and his friends have been against? This demon is strong."
Tanjiro was met by the face of a woman with lovely light blue eyes, and long black hair. "Miss Haganezuka!" There was a long scratch across her face and some flyaway hairs matted in her blood… but she still smiled at him.
"You're alright now, relax a little bit."
Zohakuten stared at the two newcomers with a dismissive hate in his eyes. He didn't like them but these were genuinely nobodies in his eyes. Humans who should stay out of their way. "Why are you here? You can't help." He noticed something that he didn't like, the woman was holding Aizetsu's discarded jumonji yari. 'That weapon would be dangerous in the hands of someone with experience. I won't give her the chance!' He readied a slam of his drum but-
*Bang Bang*
Luka didn't let that happen. "You can't protect yourself from my bullets, and hit your drum." The grinning gunslinger looked around for his son but he could only assume that he was alright, so now there was this demon to deal with. "What is the situation?"
Homare quickly turned with the jumonji and thrusted it out, sending three spear blasts towards Zohakuten. "So that's how this works!"
'How did that whore figure out Aizetsu's weapon?!' Then the idiot man who looked like that pistol using shithead decided to fire his rifle again. "Inconsequential." Zohakuten still slammed his drum and raised a hand to catch the round, his wood dragon immediately went straight for the woman and blitzed the spear thrusts easily.
"CHEATING! THAT'S FUCKING CHEATING!" Homare wasn't pleased at her really cool discovery just being ruined… the wood dragon bearing towards her was just an extra issue.
"Mizu Guruma!" (Water Wheel). Pink hair and intense green eyes, Taiki stopped the wood dragon from slamming into Homare with his well executed slash. "So who the fuck is this? Hatred… Are there any more emotions we need to worry about?!"
"A retard like you shouldn't be objecting to my presence."
"What the fuck did you call me?"
Hotaru appeared right next to Tanjiro with bandaging for his leg. "Are you gonna be okay? I could feel how strong this one is from a distance."
Tanjiro was just focused on his leg being bandaged up and using recovery breathing to repair his damaged body. "Hotaru! I can't actually hear you! One of the wood dragons used the Joy demon's screech and ruined my eardrums!"
"You don't have- Oh you can't hear me. Nevermind just… damn this is annoying."
Homare ran in and Luka was right by her side. The husband and wife duo were going in full power. "YOU'RE GONNA GET HIT BY THIS SPEAR!"
"Dear, please calm down…" Luka was firing off rounds and Homare sent more and more of those spear thrusts towards Zohakuten… who only responded by willing a single tree to rise in front of him and act as a shield. "Hiding behind trees won't help you!"
A new wood dragon breached the ground right beside Hotaru's parents… with murder in its eyes. "YEBAT!" His left arm pushed his wife as far away as he could, but it wasn't enough. The dragon caught both of them by separate limbs before careening and slamming into a regular tree.
"MOM! DAD!" Hotaru didn't hesitate to rush in to check on his parents. At least Taiki gave him a little help.
The pinkette sprung into action and sliced clean through the wood dragon with flowers tracing his sword. "Son of a bitch! Who the fuck even are you?!"
Zohakuten- He actually pointed straight to the kanji on one of his drums without even a word, right before slamming his drums repeatedly. Another burst of dragons and he quickly decided to dodge, running as quickly as he could with a single goal in mind.
Hotaru recovered just enough to move himself, and Tanjiro's biggest concern was to free Genya and Nezuko. "Taiki! Try and get Genya out of those trees!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" Despite saying that, he did act on the command. Readying his sword and giving slash after slash with passionate pink sparks following his swings, and even with bellowing cries of wood dragons along with streaming lightning trying to turn him into a crisp… Taiki advanced with enough power to end up right in the air over Genya. "Koi no Kokyu, Ichi no kata…"(Love breathing, first form). Taiki weaved and slashed like a frenzied cat, a singular slash ripped the tree that trapped Genya apart. "Hatsukoi no Wananaki!" (Shivers of First Love).
Zohakuten was focused hardest on two targets now. 'The brat with the fire breathing and the pink haired one are the biggest problems right now, but they're nothing I can't handle.'
*Tonk Tonk Tonk*
The dragons changed directions and focused their elemental attacks straight into Tanjiro and Taiki, one of which was currently swinging his sword to save his sister. 'Hekira no Ten!'(Azure Heaven). Now Nezuko was free! If he could get her to enhance their swords again, they might be able to get to the main body! "What?!" He saw the dragons rushing towards him while he and Nezuko fell. 'Damn it! I can't respond as well in the air, if one of the dragons screams again-!'
The nearest dragon split apart like a diced cut of steak. Nezuko watched her brother be carried away from the danger with a head of pink and green hair. "THAT'S A HUGE MONSTER! WHAT EVEN IS THAT?!"
Zohakuten's glare followed the one that showed up so late. "A pillar." Didn't matter, he'd just bear down and be serious about her even more than the pink and red haired ones… Taiki and Tanjiro? Right. It was good to remember the names of the evil.
"Sorry for being late! At least I made it in time!" She landed and Tanjiro got off her back, Taiki and Genya landed right beside them.
"Maybe try making it a little bit sooner next time?"
Mitsuri smiled and ran a hand through his soft hair, quickly making him blush from the contact. "Okay Taiki darin! Rest up a bit, I'll take it for a while now!" Mitsuri approached the baleful one with a stern expression on her face. "Hey! Your pranks went way too far now! Apologize for hurting them!"
"Shut your filthy mouth bitch. Giving me orders as if you command me. I take orders from one man in this world."
A dark purple aura surrounded Taiki while Mitsuri sputtered and gasped over being insulted like that. 'He- Is he- Does he mean me?! Unbelievable! How could someone who looks about the age of my little brother be so rude?!' Her shock changed to curiosity once she realized something. Demons age differently. 'He might be much older than he looks… still, RUDE!'
"Aren't you the same pussy that said you were Upper Rank Four?" Taiki approached with his body flaring in rage. "Why is someone so fucking sad acting like he can call us names?"
Zohakuten looked even more hateful for a moment. "It was a fluke! There's no fucking way that the brat could've grown so much so fast! Such evils. Such sins. Such dirty fucking circumstances!"
*Tonk Tonk Tonk Tonk*
The sound wave and lightning dragons reared up to blow Mitsuri and Taiki into dust! 'Kyomei Rai Satsu!' (Crazed Cry of Thunder Death).
Tanjiro was going to hurry over to help, but his ankle really did need an extra moment. "Miss Kanroji!"
'Koi no Kokyu, San no Kata.'(Love breathing, Third form). Mitsuri leapt into the air, performing arcing slashes that wrecked trees and cut through the lightning bolts that were trying to turn her into a corpse. Taiki just leapt upwards to slice the head off the sound wave dragon.
'Ada no Shakuyaku!' Slashes that weaved in and on themselves to tear through the reinforced wood. Taiki fell back towards the ground with Zohakuten sizing up every single one of the slayers he was against. (Peonies of Futility).
Tanjiro was awestruck at the fact that Mitsuri cut straight through the attacks without any backlash! That was a Hashira by any measure!
His hatred was running high. 'This girl cut right through my attacks themselves. Even the red haired one didn't do that last month, but then again he didn't try. A human can't compare to a demon, if he did that then maybe he wouldn't have been so pathetic initially.'
Mitsuri Kanroji had a very unique sword. The blade was incredibly thin and the metal was shockingly soft, her blade techniques could be applied at a faster rate than the former sound Hashira's Tengen Uzui. In addition to her blade, her exceptionally powerful muscles and mobile joints allow her to build a surprising level of speed for her rushes.
Her blade was hard to handle and also could cause damage to someone not suited for its ability, luckily it was crafted specifically for her use. Multiple barrages of wood dragons tried their absolute best to kill her, but her skills and mobility kept her alive. Zohakuten couldn't pin her down so he couldn't kill her. 'Then I'll use an ability. Kill her at close range.'
Her sword wrapped around the teenage demon's neck and she was going to grin… even as his mouth opened wide. 'It doesn't matter what he has planned, if I cut off his head then it won't matter!'
"KANROJI! THAT ISN'T HIS REAL BODY! CUTTING OFF HIS HEAD WON'T KILL HIM!"
Oh shit. 'I messed up.'
Zohakuten screeched straight at Mitsuri's figure. 'Kyōatsu Meiha!' (Compressed Sound Waves). Her haori blew clear off and her uniform ripped from the sheer force. Zohakuten rubbed the part of his neck that he allowed to be scraped by her sword and marveled at her still being in one piece.
"MITSURI!" Taiki turned into a ball of sheer fucking rage. Blitzing through wood dragons that kept trying to oppose him, but he couldn't cut them down fast enough to cover the distance.
"KANROJI!" Tanjiro and Nezuko were fighting through the dragons too, Genya was right there ripping through them bare handed… but Zohakuten was too close to the unconscious Hashira for comfort.
"Incredible. She's still in one piece after that attack. Did she tense all of her muscles? No. Even then no normal whore could've survived that. Her body composition is unique, her flesh is incredibly durable and tough. Strength comes with high quality meat…" He then remembered what happened the last time he knocked someone out with a screech and tried this. Better safe than regretful. He raised a tokkosho and lightning started sparking along it. "I won't fall for the same thing twice.
Mitsuri's life flashed before her eyes. Her unnatural strength. Her hair that shifted colors after eating too much sakura mochi. Her being able to eat as much as three sumos. And her unsuccessful attempts at marriage. All of it was shitty. 'I pretended not to be me. I acted like someone I wasn't. I just wanted to be accepted while getting to be the real me. Was I asking too much?'
Her eyes opened and she felt static running through the air. Nezuko, Genya, and even Tanjiro were making sure that she didn't get blasted by that lightning while she was totally defenseless. 'I passed out?'
"GET UP! GET UP! GET UP! ANOTHER ONE IS COMING!"
"I KNOW! DON'T YELL AT ME!"
"MMPHHMM!"
"We have to protect Kanroji! She's our best bet right now!"
"What about Taiki?!"
Mitsuri heard that and bolted upright to see- Oh no.
Zohakuten was dodging and effortlessly avoiding rapid attacks. 'Uchishio!'(Striking Tide). He missed that one but a turn and shift of his footing would help out. 'Koun'na Kaki!'(Fortunate Persimmon). 'Damn it! This little fucker won't stay still!' And then he had to defend for his very life while a tokkosho clashed with his sword. "Fuck!"
"Are you so retarded that you thought you could fight me up close? Even when I'm holding back, your switching breathing techniques isn't useful enough."
Taiki was going to object but Zohakuten slammed a foot into his stomach, forcing burning bile out of his throat and bringing him right to his knees. Even when he was down, he wasn't quite out yet.
"Unfortunate. Someone so wicked is still brought down, even if you can use various breaths it doesn't matter when you're so weak." He reared back and was going to stab Taiki straight through the skull! And then he saw red. Red and yellow.
A rising arc of flames pushed Zohakuten back and made him immediately flash back to the last time he saw those flames… but these ones were weaker. "Who the fuck are you?!" He ducked below a blazing swing and slammed his weapon into a drum, sending a wood dragon right at them. The new figure grabbed Taiki and leapt away.
"Hahaha! For such a young looking demon, you're incredibly powerful!" He stood proud in front of the others who just repelled another dragon, his multicolored hair swaying in the evening light. "Kanroji! Kamado! Even Shinazugawa's brother! I'm sorry for being late!"
Tanjiro couldn't even believe it… he was up and back again! "R- Rengoku!" Kyojuro was here and Zohakuten looked pissed. "You're awake!"
"Yes! I've been caught up to some things. I heard the village was under attack and came as fast as I could!"
"Hey… Rengoku…"
"Hm? Do you want something of me? If it's my first name then I won't be giving that. I learned a painful lesson already." Kyojuro's sword was in hand, and the others were rousing themselves too.
*TONK*
There was rancor in that drum slam. Five dragon heads popped through the earth and Zohakuten looked fit to burst. "Do you use a form named… Rengoku? Did you teach a form named… Rengoku?"
Kyojuro could be airheaded at times but he wasn't dumb… and as he stared into Zohakuten's furious eyes… he smiled. "So, Koujo bested you with the Ninth form. My cousin is truly impressive."
Tanjiro flashed through what that meant. 'Sekido said they were upper rank four. That means… the same way with Gyutaro. But why didn't he kill this one?!' He quickly came to a realization. His mind flowed with what if's and but maybe's. Only to land on one solid idea. "He must have figured out another way…" It was a half whisper that Genya heard.
"Who figured out another way?!"
Zohakuten roared in a loud set of rage. "Then I'll kill you for teaching him that form! And I'll devour the rest of you to take my position back!"
The dragon of lightning sent an indescribable blast of lightning towards the group, rendering the entire ground scalded and burnt from sheer power. The dust finally cleared and two Hashira were proudly visible.
"Upper Moon! Whatever! The Demon Slayers are my precious family! I don't care what you are, I won't let my friends die!"
"I agree! If you want to hurt any of my juniors, then you'll have to go through me!"
Mitsuri wept in a mixture of joy and determination while Kyojuro brandished his sword over his shoulder. "I won't lose to someone so evil! So everyone get yourselves ready!"
"You can do this, Mitsuri! You can help protect everyone from this angry kid's wooden dragons! I won't let anyone else get hurt here! Not anymore!"