Flashing Night for Festivities

(Sleep deprivation is nothing to me, and it never will be! Enjoy.)

Tengen Uzui's life was filled with so many different situations that pushed his mind and body to their limit just so he could survive. That was the life of a shinobi after all and it was the first life that he knew, but becoming a Demon Slayer was something entirely new. Up to now he never actually had to strike twice with his dual nichirin blades to finish a demon, even Master Oyakata doubted that anything would survive a second blow from them.

"Is everyone alright?!" He was the senior Slayer on this mission and everyone else's safety was a high priority.

There was some shuffling of rubble near him and the bear girl pushed roofing and a support stud off her. "What just happened? It felt like a typhoon hit us! One second I'm making sure Inosuke and Zenitsu are safe-" She splayed her hands, and chained weapons out by association. "Then boom!"

Inosuke got up with a spring in his step and both his swords ready for action. "That was crazy! What kind of attack was that?! It's getting me all pumped up!"

"That really was- It is him." Haia couldn't believe it. Four long months and now it was a sight right before her. Give her some credit, it's not everyday when something that shocked you into speechlessness decided to happen after all.

Away from the violence, Tanjiro was carrying Nezuko with his slowly recovering body. Going to her box so she could be safe again. "Thank goodness she fell asleep!" He jumped onto a rooftop and found the durable box he needed to set his sister back into security. "Sleep tight now, Nezuko." He started fixing the strap as best he could and tied it tight so it would stay firmly on his back. 'I can still fight. I can still keep going. This time…' He slung that box onto himself and stood up with a new, burning determination behind his eyes. 'This time I'll fight to the end! Until we win!'

Jikon watched the smoke clear… again… and saw Gyutaro with his sister on his back, shredded pink belts proving that whatever that attack was, it could tear through their defenses just fine. 'It didn't sound right at all! His voice still sounds empty!' A quick smell of the air and he saw that woman sitting in the air ever so calmly. "I asked you before and I'll ask you again, what did you do to my brother?!"

She didn't respond to his question. Her attention was on the remains of that building and the figures standing inside. 'Let's see what you can do after all these months…'

"Huh! This pisses me off so bad… First those handsome guys, the guy with three wives, that kid with a girlfriend, and now you?" His wavy, scratchy voice was filled with disdain towards all of them. This night was getting more and more irritating by the minute. "But you- Hey… those eyes my man… what's up with those eyes my man?!"

Uzui used his advanced per- He looked, he looked a little to the left and saw the figure's red eyes with black kanji on them. "So it's like that huh? He really left us for-"

"Tengen. Don't finish that sentence." Jikon was to his left and glaring at that woman floating in the air. "I don't know how but this is her fault, and I'll find out if she's anything like a demon when I cut her head off!"

"Me llamo Carmen, I am Carmen." Now that she saw him without the wear and tear of a derailing train and fighting some demons… he was definitely a prize. A subtle lick of her lips and she pointed a red nailed finger at Jikon. "Hush, the show is about to start."

Gyutaro started his tick of scratching and clawing at his skin with a new anger. "Those eyes man… You really came all this way… for a blood battle?! Really think you can take on someone like me huh? Somebody like you beating me?"

A quick pull and the cloak was off and red hair swayed in the wind. A sleeveless red kimono top with a light blue undershirt showed off well toned arms with black lines running from the shoulder to the wrists. His eyes were impassive, nothing behind them other than a void. He didn't respond to the question but there didn't need to be one, the eyes were the giveaway to any and all of the current Upper Six's questions.

"So now you think you're too cool to talk huh? All the same swagger of those guys out there huh?" He stopped his scratching and started grinning madly. "You're all something different, aren't you? You and those Hashira there…" Uzui and Hakuga paid close attention to whatever he was about to proclaim. "Neither of you are like the Hashira I've killed, usually people have to train to get so strong but I'm sure you were born with that strength weren't you? Something you were blessed with that only makes me more and more jealous of you. Same with this guy coming to take my spot, I know I'm not the smartest but even I can tell he's around the same age as you, little Hashira."

That… that pissed Jikon off. "Shut your dirty mouth." Enraged. Incensed. Infuriated. Whatever fancy words that made angry pale in comparison, he was that.

"Huh?"

"I'm with him. What, you think I look like someone with talent myself?" The blood coming from Uzui's forehead wasn't bringing his flashiness down at all. "I'm not sure about my junior, but if someone like me gives you the vibe of having talent then you're both more out of touch than you think."

Gyutaro was rightly confused by that.

"You may be centuries old but if you've been stuck in this district all that time then your lack of knowledge makes sense."

Daki took this as an insult. Someone telling her and her brother that they didn't understand something? A joke! "What do you know about the real world?!"

Tengen smiled and kept going. "I know about it all too well. You have no clue. This country of ours is giant, full of unbelievable people. Some of them are a mystery, some people can pick up a sword and become Hashira in two months. But here you are calling me special? That's a bunch of crap!" Purple started marking his flesh, and showing damage to his internal body.

"I'm only a Hashira because of an amazing man, a man who was willing to die for me! I'm supposed to be his replacement but here I am, nothing special at all. I trained for two hard years just to be at the bottom rank in the Corps." Jikon pointed his sword at the Upper Rank and his Eclipse. "So don't ever call a substitute like me something special! I'm struggling just to keep up!"

Silence from the red haired one. He was standing completely still with an empty mind. He wasn't given an order yet, that's why. He had to be told what to do otherwise nothing from the swamp of his mind was going to act on it. The dark depths of murk that lurked in his head weren't swaying him to act, so all he could do was listen.

"Then that doesn't make sense…" Gyutaro started scratching again. "My blood sickles are drenched with a lethal poison, I'm positive it's in your blood streams so how are you both alive, huh?!"

"Maybe your poison isn't as strong as you thought." That wasn't the real reason he was still on his feet and he knew it, but nobody needed to know about that now.

Tengen, however, had to repeat himself. "I said it before, I'll say it again. I'm a trained shinobi, I'm immune to nearly all types of poison."

"The shinobi were wiped out back in the Edo period, you fool! Don't think you can lie to us!" Daki knew it was a lie and she called it out as such.

"Not a lie at all. The shinobi are still alive. I had nine brothers and sisters, seven died before I was fifteen. Our father feared our clan dying out, so he had us train like our lives depended on it."

Jikon's eyes drifted to Tengen's left hip and the pouch attached to it. 'They're not paying attention to me, they're listening to his story… maybe I can…' Unnoticed... except by Carmen, but she only glanced and shrugged.

"The only survivors were me and my brother two years younger… and he was exactly like our father. Nobody had any say against him, and I didn't want to be like that." He rejected the values that shaped him into the fighter he was. But went right into a battlefield where those values were treasured. The Master knew he had such an intense struggle in his mind about such conflicting interests… but he didn't judge him. He thanked him for his efforts in wanting to fight for such a good cause, saving as many lives as he could. 'I should be thanking you, Master. I never think twice about laying my life down for your sake, those without conflict are nothing but spineless idiots… but it's why I've gotten so far."

Heavy exhales and panting. A slight shake to their motions. Gyutaro started laughing.

"What's so funny? You're against two Hashira and someone who wants your spot apparently… you have no reason to laugh, Gyutaro." Jikon was never off in his observations.

"Because you should be embarrassed. Slowly but surely, my poison's affecting the two of you, all that boasting your tall friend did and here you both are going to die."

Tengen slammed one of his swords down to proclaim his flamboyancy! "You're wrong about that! I've never felt better! I could eat a hundred bowls of tempura udon! In a flashy way that is!" He charged with Jikon pulling behind. The two managed to coordinate their attacks and put the Upper Rank on a retreat, long enough for Tengen to pull off a split kick and send Daki into the air!

"Don't you dare kick my little sister!" Gyutaro was about to retaliate but Tengen pulled out more of his explosives and scattered them around. 'Huh!' He avoided bombs while his sister slashed one with a belt, and blew it up right in her own face.

'Minamo Giri!' (Water Surface Slash). A curved slash with water tracing the blade and Daki was separated from her head, courtesy of Jikon. 'That's one! We need to cut Gyutaro's head off next!'

The actual Upper Six was eying the explosives around him with a cautious eye. 'These are unique explosives. The slightest friction sets them off, and she slashed one without realizing that. There's never a dull moment watching her after all.'

Tengen rushed in and slashed with his massive blade but it was just too short, key word there is that it 'was' too short. Gyutaro was shocked at how the blade suddenly extended from being too short to reach his neck to being right beside it.

'The blade extends?! No… He's holding it with just two fingers! What insane grip strength!' A deflection with his sickle and part of a cloth by his neck was cut away, with a small cut on his neck.

Daki put her head back on while everyone recovered from that quick interaction. "My head got cut off again! I'll make you pay for this Hakuga! It's not fair! I'm the one always getting beheaded!"

Gyutaro realized that what happened wasn't just a coincidence. "Hold on… you're onto us aren't you?"

Tengen was smiling that handsome smile. "About what?"

"Not like finding out about our trick will work. Both of you are poisoned and getting closer to your deaths." Gyutaro ducked his head away to avoid having a heavy ball rip it right off. "Who the hell?"

"Did you forget about us?! Lord Inosuke and his trusty minions!" He was baring his silver swords and rustling chains pulled a flail back into Ami's hands. Zenitsu was there by Inosuke's side, lightly snoring.

"The Bear Queen's here with her friend too!" Silver fans unfurled and pushed dust away from them. "We're here for a- Woah, is that Koujo?!"

Gyutaro actually forgot about the other presence in the room for a second. "Oh… so that's your name my man… The quiet treatment didn't go so well since they know you… Deduction huh? Well I deduct that you won't be taking my place today or any other day, eh…"

Tanjiro dropped down into the building remains with his black sword pointing towards the greater threat. 'His scent is making my throat go numb. He's more dangerous than the belt demon! But there's so many of us… I knew my nose wasn't lying, that's Koujo!'

A blur of movement and there was another person in there with them. Carmen went from casually floating outside to standing… she was right behind Uzui! "Now, a Blood Battle is about to happen. We can't interrupt."

"I already said that he's not going to take my position. The Hashira are already going to die, and the others will be right behind them. No matter how many underlings there are you won't be able to-"

Carmen appeared in front of him and softly rested a finger on his lips, and while everyone else barely kept up with her speed, Gyutaro was unfazed. "I'm here to make sure you and Koujo have your fight." The back of her dress ripped open and massive scaled wings opened with enough power to push everyone behind her back. "¿Comprende?" He didn't know what that meant but since she turned around it probably meant she was gonna fight the others…

"So that leaves you and me ehh?" A red sword was pointing at him and vacant red eyes were staring him down.

Tanjiro almost took a step back at the malice in the air. 'This woman again… Back at the train she stopped us without even trying… My hands- My hands can't stop shaking! Is it because I'm still injured… or, or is it because I'm scared? No. It doesn't matter. No matter what's about to happen-"

"We'll win! Because we're the Demon Slayer Corps!" Tengen proudly proclaimed!

"No matter what poison is in us, we'll push through and take all of you down!" Sabito's lessons really stuck. As a man, a Hashira no less, Jikon had to push forwards no matter what was in his way!

Tanjiro whipped his head to them both, not knowing about the poison until now. 'Poison! Not good!'

Daki was right next to them but for whatever reason wasn't attacking outright… her brother did say she wasn't the smartest. "When your best bet is being killed by poison, that's just an empty promise!"

"Does it look like I care, idiot?! I'm at my best with a little poison in me!"

He was bluffing, he had to be! "Drop the act already!"

"There's no act! Me, Tengen, Tanjiro, Ami and Inosuke! Haia! Even Koujo! This is a grand fight we're gonna have!" Jikon acted and he rushed Carmen to slam his sword against one of her wings, sparks flew against the metallic scales on her body. "A little poison won't stop any of us!"

"Now that's the spirit Hakuga! No more underestimating humans here, we'll all fight even if our limbs fall off! And I've figured out how to bring the demons down! We just have to take both their heads off! That'll be easy with all of us!"

Gyutaro started snickering to himself. "The demon slayers before you didn't find that route easy themselves, not even the Hashira. Fifteen for me and seven for my little sister… That's how many we've killed!"

A flurry of belts flew right at Tengen but before they could have a chance to strike him, lightning struck. Zenitsu's speed collided with Daki and sent them crashing around the building, then outside and towards another street.

"Zenitsu!"

Inosuke and Ami struck their poses. "Leave the worm lady to us and sleepyhead! Ami, blue demon, let's go!" Haia ran out first and Ami was right behind her. Lord Inosuke would take the back!

"Be careful you three!" The animal fighters and Haia gave an affirmation and ran off, ready to take on-

"Koujo. Fight Upper Rank Six." Everything went off the rails from there.

Gyutaro stopped a red blade from chopping his head off then and there, but the after effects of the attack sent him and his challenger crashing through the remnants of the building and into the streets. Out of sight out of mind.

Now there were three people in a room with Carmen's body slowly covering itself with deep red scales. 'This woman! Her presence is just as strong as the real Upper Six! It's so overwhelming, but I have to stay strong. Mister Uzui and Jikon are poisoned, I have to protect them.'

Carmen's chestnut brown hair started growing and turning jet black. Her dress strained against her body's sudden changes and her flats were kicked off to show her sharp nailed feet, like a hawk's talons. "We're going to have so much fun!" That accent was gone and now she was speaking their full language. Her wings lost their webbing in deep red flames and now they looked more like mantis claws. "I don't want to kill such handsome men, but you need to stay out of the way." She got ready to take a step forward.

'You can do this Tanjiro! The second she moves, strike hard with your sword!' Well he had the idea. Then Carmen actually moved and a wing was about to slice his head in half. 'So fast! Move! Block! Swing your sword! Evade the attack!' He started moving but it wasn't his own actions. Uzui pulled Tanjiro out of the way and clashed his sword against the wing with a small detonation.

Jikon was there and spun hard to collide his blade against a scaly forearm. "Mizu Guruma." (Water Wheel). He barely even cut into her body, and that was just a forearm. 'Damn it!'

Outside and on top of a building is where Daki was being confronted by three Slayers and a demon girl. "Apologize…" A serious and sleeping Zenitsu said. "For the girl whose ear you pulled, it doesn't matter that you were the main source of income for that house. You don't have the right to treat those girls like that."

Elsewhere the fight was intense. Powerful sword slashes collided with sickle slashes and behind those sickles were blood blades that dealt even more damage to the area around them. "Come on my man… We're both demons. We shouldn't be doing this when there's demon slayers trying to kill us!" His kama moved in tandem to block a swing aimed to rip his body in half and then delivered a barrage of his own poisonous slashes. 'This is a problem… My blood sickles are dripping with a lethal poison, but he's a demon.'

Koujo evaded and spun to deliver a slash to Gyutaro's barely covered neck. Old habits slip through. But his sword caught on another kama and now there was one coming for his own neck. "No." A spray of blood and the sickle stopped dead in its tracks.

"You're crazy! You really just let me stab through your hand?! That's something special my man… something I haven't seen before! Kekkijutsu-'' Honed battle instincts interrupted that attack before it could be finished, and Gyutaro's emaciated chest was used as a platform for his rival to kick off with his sword in hand. "Tch! Tobi Chigama!"(Flying Blood Sickles). With several slices to the air, he let loose a barrage of blood slashes that ripped through the air as Koujo landed, but he had his own ranged slash moves.

"Tsuki no Kokyu, Ni no kata." (Moon Breathing, Second form). Several crimson slashes broke through some raging blades of blood and sent a barrage of azure blue crescent moons to dissipate the rest. "Shuka no Rōgetsu." (Pearl Flower Moongazing).

Gyutaro watched as the crescent moons devastated his own attacks with sheer numbers and tore through the buildings on their street. 'His attacks are higher in number… normal flying blood sickles won't be enough, I'll need the rotating circular slashes.' He clenched his hands hard and a dome of fast moving blood blades deflected the moons as they came. "Bakko Chōryō!" (Rampant Arc Rampage). His attack dispersed and he watched the fake Upper Rank slowly approaching him.

"Think you're so special with your cool guy quiet treatment, and your fancy swordsmanship eh? I'm almost jealous of it really… but your priorities are still wrong. There's two Hashira, four demon slayers, and a traitor demon. We can wait to have this fight… we're comrades!" He splayed his arms out to seem less threatening so they could focus on their priorities but it didn't work,

His challenger rushed at him again and started his attacks, but luckily no moon blades followed them. Gyutaro's sickle strikes were enough to match the sword but therein was the issue, he was a dual wielder keeping up with a swordsman. Sparks and scythes of blood flew through the air. Their clash getting more and more aggressive as it went on until Koujo pulled a fast one.

'Eh?' Gyutaro lost his arm from the elbow down to a rising sword slash and took to blocking the next one aimed at his neck. "You're not half bad with that sword huh?" The limb was back and the exchange continued, and it was turning more destructive.

Koujo deflected the sickles then planted the tip of his sword in the ground and used it to kick Gyutaro in the jaw, sending him backwards. "Tsuki no Kokyu."(Moon Breathing).

"Nice moves my man! But not nice enough!" He threw his arms forwards and sent a volley of blood sickles flying through the air. And now Koujo's skin was darkening and getting a reddish tone. 'What's this? Some sort of power up?' That question would be answered sooner rather than later.

"San no kata." With two rapid slashes in gigantic red crescents, he created a storm of small blue crescents that collided with the blood sickles and either beat them or deflected into the surrounding buildings. Mayhem was ripping through the surrounding area and it wasn't going to let up anytime soon. "Enkidzuki Tsugari." (Loathsome Moon, Chains).

Gyutaro started cutting through any of the crescents that made it to him and then some. Mixed with his kama and blood scythes, he cleared the air and grinned at his fellow demon. "You're really not letting up on this are you huh my man?"

Koujo stopped and pointed his sword at him with one hand. "I was told to fight you. There isn't much to say… I'll take the spot from you… with this bright red flame blade." Why did he say that? This blade was for Moon Breathing. Whatever. "You aren't worthy of that position anymore."

Gyutaro closed his left eye and frowned. "That's wrong. With all the horrible things done to us-"

"The things that made us suffer, it only makes sense giving back what we received. Someone blessed like you wanting to get more than what you have, crossing us by taking what isn't there. We deserve now."

Zenitsu, Ami, Inosuke, and Haia watched as an eye opened on Daki's forehead in the middle of her speech that didn't seem very related to them. Her voice fusing with that of her brother.

"The only way to break even is by paying back all that pain we endured, otherwise it's not fair. That's the way we lived our lives. We weren't given anything, we never deserved. We took with our hands until we could have what we wanted. Just like all the others before you, we'll claw out your windpipes so you understand that."

In all that monologue, Koujo sheathed his sword and slid into a stance to dash up while Gyutaro transferred power into his younger sister. "Tsuki no Kokyu, ichi no kata."

"Your little moons won't work forever!" Gyutaro dashed forward with arcs of blood surrounding his kama. "Ikari Chiguruma!" (Raging Blood Wheels). He jumped and came down towards Koujo, attack at the ready and prepared to do some dicing!

"Yamidzuki. Yoi no Miya" (Dark Moon. Evening Palace). A single red crescent slash unleashed a myriad of azure moons and Gyutaro hacked through them with his enhanced weapons… some of them.

'The sheer number of these moons-!' He had to make the choice in either protecting himself from the moons or risk getting his head cut off. 'Damn!' He chose to keep his head. Crescents ripped into his body and tore away his flesh. Large cuts along his torso, arms, and legs ruined what little clothing was there. His left arm was barely attached. "Those moons really are something my man!" He went for the kill and slashed Koujo's neck open. 'High damage is my best choice…'

The challenger Upper Rank was unabashed by his bleeding neck and the both of them healed their damage to continue their exchange. Collision after collision, chaotic blades of blood or blue crescent moons decimated the area.

Koujo slashed at Gyutaro's neck but he couldn't find any purchase with those sickles in the way, the lower range was actually useful since he didn't need to move them as far. Blades of blood scattered out and collided against Koujo's body, ripping into his skin and being healed as quickly as they came.

The Junior Demon started swinging and breaking the attack up entirely, a flurry of slashes as Gyutaro back stepped to avoid being hit. "This is gonna be rough huh?" The two jumped right back into it, a clash of crescent moons and blood blades flying around in their match.

Just a few buildings away, Jikon slammed his sword onto a wing while Tengen swung his swords right for Carmen's neck. Obi smashed into the ground around him and stopped most movements he could make. Tanjiro jumped back and started pushing against the heavy sashes with all his heart. 'So many! They're even stronger than before!'

"Thanks to big brother waking up, I can see everything! Now I'll show you what my true power is!" Not really her power since it needed her brother but that wasn't the point here. They were in danger.

Ami acted first and flung the bladed part of her weapon. But instead of using an axe like her mentor, she used a four bladed claw shaped like a bear paw. "Your voice is annoying!" It slashed through a sash like it was just mochi. She heaved the weapon back as Inosuke, Haia and Zenitsu joined the fray.

"You won't even be able to get close to me!"

The Boar god used his nimble body and swift motions to slice through the belts coming his way. "Oh shut up! If you're really that strong then kill us instead of running your mouth!"

Daki laughed at that. "Be careful what you're asking for!" Even more sashes went for all of them and everyone at ground level.

Jikon pulled back and kept some sashes away from Tengen but there were so many! "You all move so well! But there's no cohesion between you!" Her mantis-like wings lashed out again and Tengen pushed back, slash after resounding slash to deflect those lethal weapons.

'Outside…' More slashes to deflect the violent attacks and reaching stabs. 'I can hear those blood blades and those moons! But I need a better view! She's just as much a praying mantis as the Upper Moon!' He unleashed more explosives and pushed this devil woman back, along with the approaching sashes.

"Dance with me more!" She emerged from the flames and started pulling off more and more intricate moves with those wings, Tengen using dual blades was his advantage against a normal swordsman. He could continue and attack all the way through even while protecting himself! Then he was caught off guard when her wings elongated and primed to stab him from behind. She still had claws and used them to try and turn Tengen into a flashy art piece.

'I'm trapped!' Not today he wasn't!

Tanjiro blocked one large wing and Jikon caught another. 'Heavy! These wings are so strong! There's not much on them but they have so much power!'

"Tanjiro! Don't try to force it! It's a battle of strength!" Water started coursing Jikon's blade.

'He's right. Power against power the weaker side loses! Ward it off! Sidestep! Redirect it with a water breathing technique, if I just did that sooner I'd have never chipped my blade!' With powerful torrents of water, the two pushed the wings away while Tengen prepared himself.

'Oto no Kokyu, Go no kata…'(Sound Breathing, Fifth Form). He gripped one blade and started spinning the other rapidly, releasing more explosives to damage Carmen as much as possible! "Meigen Sōsō!" (String Performance). He ran along the street and blew buildings apart all to damage Carmen, and she took hits from those resounding attacks long enough to set her wings on fire!

"Such a performance! But it doesn't change anything!" Her wings twitched and started randomly slashing at the air, sending rings of fire flying all around, randomly and almost being guided by some mysterious force.

Inosuke and Zenitsu were leaping around to avoid belts and now- "Now there's fire in the air trying to burn us?!" His nimble movements danced around Ami's weapon and between Zenitsu's fast attacks. Their synergy was decent overall, but there was still a problem.

"If this keeps up we won't be able to cut her head off!" Zenitsu stopped a sash right before it could hit Inosuke and Haia used her fans to carve through six then swung hard enough to blow some of the fire away.

"Things are really going against us… but we can't give up!" She let a belt hit her in place of blowing a fire ring away from Ami.

Inosuke and Zenitsu were pushed back again while Ami used her range to nearly land a hit on Daki's body. "I can sense that these fire rings would kill us just from a single hit!"

Now Carmen was striking with flaming wings and sending off rings of fire with every other strike that Tengen deflected. Tanjiro slammed down on a set of obi while Jikon made his own move.

He curved his body with all the agility he could summon. 'Uchishio!' (Striking Tide). He managed to nick part of those burning wings and cut off some of Carmen's hair when she dodged his strike.

Elsewhere the constant struggle of Upper Six against candidate Upper Six raged on. Blowing their surroundings into scraps of wood and burning remains of brothels. Koujo just unleashed something. "Seitōna Tensei: Sayawakana Shio." (Rightful Reincarnation: Refreshing Tide). He sprinted forwards and Gyutaro did the same, then he let loose another barrage of blood sickles.

'I'm starting to get it now… the closer we are, the less he can use those moons.' He started wildly slashing his sickles, aiming for the throat, head, arms, anything major to really slow this guy down… but now there was something different. 'He's avoiding my attacks now, and not in some random bursts of luck.' He was putting more and more effort into hitting his rival, but he was getting mitigated by ever so simple evasions that turned moderate damage into minor injuries.

He avoided a strike from the kama that would've taken his eyes from him, and started his next attack. "Tsuki no Kokyu, Shichi no kata…" Gyutaro didn't have time to respond to this one! A near three-sixty degree slash sent three ripping moon blades out and tore away part of Upper Six's body. "Yakkyō Dzukibae." (Mirror of Misfortune. Moonlit).

He noticed how that attack felt like it was… more accurate. These moon blades were chaotic up till a few minutes ago but now they were getting more and more accurate. It had to be something he did recently. Wait… His Blood Demon Art, that tide thing.

Gyutaro regenerated part of his torso and kept up his erratic strikes. 'Whatever that water around his feet is, it's doing something to help him dodge my attacks… And it's helping him hone in on me…' Tide or something about it. Either way it was annoying since now this guy started getting more and more tough to deal with! But he had to admit that it was a little fun getting to do this. "It's been a while since I had such a good fight against someone who could take my poisoned blood sickles!" A sword collided with both of said sickles and a foot slammed into his jaw. 'Damn… everything is blurry!'

"Tsuki no Koku, Shi no Kata." Koujo jumped back and planted himself firmly in a solid stance. "Shio no Hikisaki, Mikadzuki Seichō." (Ripping Tide, Waxing Crescent). A brilliant upwards arcing slash unleashed two red trails with countless blue moons sailing for Gyutaro.

'That's even more than before…' A frontal barrier of his rampaging blood arcs and he fully deflected the destructive moon blades. 'Our techniques are only similar at long range, when it's up close I have the edge!' He lunged ahead with a sharp grin on his face, and his rapid attacks were blocked by sword slashes. 'Wait-' A last second block of just one sword strike only to barely deflect another. 'Are his attacks getting faster now?!'

Each attack was starting to come even closer to cutting off Gyutaro's neck even as he swerved both his kama to catch the sword. "Give up." Koujo pushed his blade harder against the sickles and the flesh made weapons started giving against his blade.

"Your annoying moon blades aren't so good up close when you can't swing are they?!" The flesh from the blood sickles started fusing with the red nichirin blade and forcing the weapon to stay locked against the emaciated demon's. "If you can't swing your sword then those moons don't matter my man!" He felt his challenger push and pull to wrench his sword away but nothing he did was gonna work! The blood sickles don't let go once they have something in their grip and now he just had to-

"I don't need to swing a sword."

…

"Huh?" Gyutaro learned exactly what he meant once a burst of blue moon blades erupted outwards and ripped his body, taking off chunks of his flesh while tearing his sickles apart and freeing Koujo's sword from their grasp. "You're really starting to annoy me with-" A flash of red. That was all it took. While Gyutaro's body was healing from the damage of those moons, a single streak of red separated his head from his body.

Koujo was staring down at his rival with his sword at his side. The moonlight bouncing off that reddened skin and his slitted eyes. This was an obvious victory for him but his enemy had a special condition to stay dead, and now he had to hurry and- "What?" Something just pricked his neck… and now his entire body was locking up!

"Perfect shot!" Hotaru pulled his triggers again and again, unloading every shot he had into the neck and head of that red haired demon! He didn't stop until his nambu were empty and he could only hear clicking. "I'm not the best but I can read, that demon just took out a Twelve Kizuki! All the bullets I have might not even put him down…" But he'd be damned if he didn't try. It was good that he got help from those kunoichi when they were evacuating people and he asked where to go.

'Some bumbling idiot showed up in the wrong place at the right time… Misfortune really does help sometimes.' Gyutaro grabbed his head and put it back where it belonged, then kicked the convulsing demon into a building and looked at the idiot that helped him out. "Because you helped me out-" He was in front of this guy in a blink and bashing him with the blunt part of his kama. "I'll give you a quick and painless death my man… Now I've gotta get back to that empty headed sister of mine, and whoever that woman is." He sprinted off and left a-

'Death?! As if a hit like that would kill me!' Bloody and battered from that single strike, but Hotaru was still alive. Painfully injured, but alive. 'A demon that survived getting his head cut off?! Doesn't make any sense! But his big mistake was not killing me… I'll get to wherever he's going even if I have to drag myself there!' And drag he did. Slowly but surely, making his way in the last direction he saw that gangly freak go!

Within a forever shifting and expanding fortress, two demons sat in the calming silence of a room. One of which was currently painting a lovely mural on a large board, featuring a beautiful cherry blossom tree with a single figure seated below it looking ever so majestic. The figure was currently modeling for said painting without even trying, his meditation giving the perfect muse.

His current thoughts were related to the situation he was made aware of. What the Master told him was going to happen and the possible outcomes. 'Despite being able to learn some of it, Moon Breathing is more than just a few moves… It's a finely honed style that took me centuries to bring so far.' His eyes opened and he turned his head to the west. 'Mere months of training and a drop of my blood, no matter how skilled, will never bridge centuries of experience.' He started to rise when the other person in the room called out to him.

"Please don't move too much. I'm just reaching your shoulders, I don't want it to look less than perfect." Katachi was skilled in her painting but any movement could ruin where she was now. He complied and relaxed himself back into his meditation, but he was still going to think about the battle going on.

A flood of obi started coming for Ami as she tried to close the distance between her and the three eyed lady. 'Some stupid belts ain't gonna stop me from getting at her. Iwa no kokyu, San no kata!' (Stone Breathing, third form). She started spinning her flail and gripped the bear claw firmly. "Ganku no Hadae!" (Stone Skin). Rapid slashes that betrayed her size, she destroyed each belt that came at her and reduced them to ribbons in her charge.

Jikon was clashing with the more demonic woman while Tengen was putting himself back into the fray. 'He speed is insane! If I even blink she'd be able to hit me where it hurts. I can't even take a full breath!' His torrential attacks were the only thing separating him from a painful and probably burning death.

Uzui was a split second from helping his junior when- "Surprise!"

'The Upper Rank!' His dual blades stopped- They didn't stop shit! No amount of pain was going to stop him now! One eye or not!

"Mister Uzui!" That callout was all Tanjiro had before even more belts came at him. 'I shouldn't have said anything! I don't have the time to afford wasting my breath!'

Tengen was down an eye but he was still in the fight! 'His movements are so similar to that woman's! They're both like mantis!' Now his efforts doubled to defend himself and- Okay at this point everyone was fighting their own battles! 'At this rate… We're gonna be killed!'

Tanjiro's actions were keeping the belts off both Jikon and Uzui, but neither of the Hashira were doing well against their enemies. Both were being pushed back with every passing second, that poison in their bodies was doing its damage.

'Nejire Uzu!' (Whirlpool). Jikon's defense pushed Carmen back but not with any significant damage. 'I don't even have enough time to calm down enough for Lull!' His water coated sword struck against those wings and his body twisted to avoid the flames from her wings.

Carmen was looking irritated at the young Hashira's constant survival despite her better efforts. "I remember back then, you couldn't even see my movements. Now you're more of a man now!" His constant flowing attacks were deflecting those wings but now there was going to be another aspect in this fight. In the middle of her rush, Carmen ripped the remains of her dress off and exposed a perfect, albeit scaly, figure.

Jikon faltered and nearly got his neck sliced open for it. 'Takitsubo!' (Waterfall Basin). He pushed the wing downwards but left himself open long enough to get slammed into a building. 'She really just stripped herself naked!' An unorthodox tactic but it clearly worked on a teenage boy. Jikon painstakingly started to pull himself up to see Carmen's wings point forwards at him. "Not good!" He flung a hand out to protect himself from whatever was coming, and Carmen smiled at the futility.

"It was fun dancing with you, hasta luego." A sonic boom blew up the building he was in, and the fire would guarantee his death if he wasn't already gone. "One down, another left." She sauntered towards the still fighting Sound Hashira and got ready to-

"I'll kill you!" Haia was back in this clash. Her tessen collided with the wing and she started using all her slightly bigger body's strength to try and cut them off. "You really did that to Jikon! And where's Koujo?!" Carmen managed to jump back and nearly strike Uzui but he blocked her attack and when Gyutaro tried to capitalize, Haia got stabbed in the stomach.

"Oh him, my man back there got hit by some other demon slayer's poison bullets." The momentary shock helped him slice off one of Haia's arms and kick her off his other sickle. "And he was in a real bad way after that." He saw the Hashira struggling against that demon woman and those fledgelings against his sister. 'Looks like a perfect time to kill the Hashira…'

He was about to jump back in when his honed instincts had him block a wild fan that wanted to hurt him. Haia just grew her arm back, and the hole in her gut closed. Months ago… eight months ago…

Back when they were traveling back to the Butterfly Estate. Koujo pulled her away from Kibutsuji by doing… whatever weird thing it was that he did.

'My father was sick.'

A man with hair just as blue as hers was smiling so happily… despite the infection in his lungs. A young girl with blue hair walked up to her dad and hugged his legs firmly. "I'll help fix you, father! You'll get better!"

He squatted down to her and kissed her forehead, so much affection behind that one action. "I know you will. I'll be old and watching your kids one day." He turned and started a violent coughing fit. The strain of his body to force whatever was in him out scared the girl. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"He wasn't."

It took years. The doctors said it would only be months but Enkai Isobe managed to survive with pneumonia for six, long, painful, years. Megumi Isobe and her daughter watched his burial… not very well on account of all the tears in their eyes, but they had to see that man be laid to rest. It wasn't easy. She was sixteen when she watched her father get buried and the same age when she had to see his collapsed body in front of their house, vacant eyes telling her everything that she needed to know.

"Then there was my mother."

Megumi lost her husband, the person who was supposed to support her while she did the same for him. They- She had a daughter to raise into a well off young woman who could find a man of her own. It wasn't something feasible, not on her own, not in these times. "Don't worry mom, I'll find a way to help you." Haia's ever so pleasant mood and chipper tone were always bandages for Megumi's stress… but the wound was gaping, and bandages only slowed down the inevitable.

"I couldn't."

Two years… Two long years of doing her absolute best and it came to this. Enkai was her rock after all, it's no wonder she was down to this. 'I'm sorry. Haia, I'm so so sorry!' It would hurt but she deserved it. At least she could be honorable about it. 'Haia please forgive me! Please please don't hate me as a mother for doing this!' It was agonizing but- but she deserved it for being so weak like this… and if only she noticed her daughter's green eyes watching her slice her stomach open. 'Enkai…' She fell to the floor in the pool of her own blood. 'I'll see you soon…'

No… No. No no no! She didn't look. She just ran into the night. She had to find some way to fix this. She tried her best to fix her father, maybe something helped him last so long? There had to be something for her mother! There had to be! She ran right into someone and fell onto the ground.

"Oh?" His voice… it was… smooth. "It seems that you're a bit troubled. No, she was a lot troubled.

"Mother! Blood! Help! I have to help!" She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him with her but he didn't budge. "Please! You have to-" A hand was through her neck and sticking out the other end.

The man who looked so calm before was now the picture of rage. "I don't have to do anything for you. Someone like you doesn't have the place to order me around." It was vile how she thought she could ask him to do anything like that. Death was too easy. "You wanted to help? Now you won't even be able to help yourself, weaklings can't help anything after all."

"Muzan gave me his blood, but it was so little that I was barely even a demon."

A green thread was behind her. Pulled between two trees and somehow following her as she walked.

"Fifty years of not being able to fight. I had to meet Ryuji to even have a chance of surviving Demon Slayers, and they wouldn't believe me if I said I never killed anyone. All I did was eat the dead… I was so weak."

Stuck as a powerful being that was still ever so weak. It was a curse on top of a curse.

"Then when I found out my blood demon art was mending tears… it was only a bigger joke. It wasn't fair that all I wanted to do was help. I just wanted to help my dad! I wanted to help my mom! I just wanted-"

"Blazing Universe!"

Koujo… she helped Koujo. He was her friend. Friends help friends. She fixed his mask since she thought it was important and should at least be in one piece if he was going to die. When he was fighting Ryuji, she helped him. Then he helped her better than anyone else ever could. Now he was poisoned and- Now? No. She could help now! She would help now!

Her forehead grew another horn, but there was more. Her body started swelling up until she was just as tall as the emaciated Upper Six, maybe taller. Now she was mad! "I'm gonna destroy you!" That new body had a lot of power behind it, and she used that power to appear right in front of Gyutaro and use some newly made fans to start attacking him.

Haia's eyes were constantly crying again and the tears worked their way to the fans to add even more effect with those attacks. 'She's a lot stronger and faster than she was before, but she's still just swinging!' He was smiling at her attempts to land a hit on him and in the clash of blood sickles against her tessen there wasn't a real winner. Right now they were locked in a fight for dominance over one another and neither would back down.

'The demon girl powered up the same as Kamado's sister! This is getting even more flashy!' Tengen's halved sight wasn't as important as his excellent hearing, and even in his dangerous dance against Carmen he was aware of the fight as a whole. There was the downside of Nezuko draining all her energy, meaning Haia was probably due for the same effect in no time. 'Oto no Kokyu, Ni no kata."

Carmen saw him toss out bombs and smirked. 'It's like he didn't learn that I'm fireproof.' Her still burning wings were already testament but now he was just proving himself as crazy. 'Doing the same thing over and over is-' He sliced one of the bombs with one sword and sliced another with the next.

"Hibiki Wataru Uta!" (Echoing Song). Once his large sword hit her wing the explosion knocked it away, but then he kept the motion going!

Carmen was being battered by explosive slash after exploding attack! 'He's using the bombs to hit me, then letting the force go to his next swing?!' She couldn't even respond with the shock pushing through her body. Each attack hit even harder than the last one… and they wouldn't stop!

"What's the matter? Can't keep up with the God of Festivals?" He let one more slash go and chopped off both an arm and a wing, then he jumped and got a quick view of what was going on around them.

Inosuke was using all of his very flexible body to evade the three deadly attacks. "Flying blood, fire rings, and these stupid belts?!" He jumped up and started delivering random slashes to the belts as they sailed through the air. "Kuruizaki!"(Crazy Cutting). Those mad slashes carved away enough of the sashes to give Zenitsu and Ami an opening.

"You really think I'll just let you ugly freaks land a hit on me?!" Her obi started forming another pattern like it did against Tanjiro but she didn't have the speed to do much on her own by then.

"Hekireki Issen, rokuren!" (Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold). Five springs from sash to sash, avoiding rings of fire and blood blades brought up the team coordination.

Ami flung her flail away with enough strength to deflect a blood sickle and give Zenitsu an opening. 'Come on Monitsu!' She started pulling it back right when he leapt onto it then went for Daki in a blitz of lightning.

Gyutaro saw through his sister's eyes and didn't like what he was seeing. 'This girl isn't letting up! I won't be able to save that knuckleheaded sister of mine at this rate!' He stabbed his sickles through her tessen and kicked her off- He tried to kick her off but his leg froze!

"Yūgana Namida, Kekkai." (Graceful Tears, Clot). His movements were stopped even if for a second. That's when Hinatsuru appeared on a roof with a large box filled with-

'Kunai?' A pull and she fired a barrage of the weapons at him. 'That's a lot to deal with when I'm stuck like this, well it's still no big- Wait. There's no way this would be a useless attack.' Blades of blood started emerging from his body, pushing Haia away and stopping any kunai from getting close to him. 'Bakku Chōryō!' (Rampant Arc Rampage).

Hinatsuru watched as her husband abandoned fighting that strange naked demon and rushed straight for the gaunt demon. 'He created a dome of slashes to deflect the kunai!'

Carmen immediately rushed towards Daki to deal with the yellow haired boy trying to kill her. 'This fighting is too distracting. I can't sense if he's really dead from poison or not!' Quicker they were shut up the quicker she could do what she came here for. Her remaining wing wasn't on fire but that wasn't actually needed. She lined it up with Zenitsu and- '¿Que?' Explosives!

"Tenmetsu Omatsuri Yoru!" (Flashing Night of Festivities). In between the explosives crashing into her, she felt sword strikes carving into her body! The resounding detonations weren't letting her figure where it was coming from until it finally stopped. The smoke cleared and she was missing both wings now, plus large chunks of her torso and legs. "You don't regenerate, not like a normal demon, but you're damned tough…"

"When did you get those bombs?!" Wait a second… 'Right back when this all started… He slipped his hand behind the other Hashira! "Cabron hijo de puta!" She bared the one hand with razor sharp nails that she had and even noticed the boy keeping his eyes locked on hers. "I was thinking about putting you under like your brother… but now I want to bathe in your blood!"

"Not the first and won't be the last." He raised his sword and his resolve to be a coursing river changed, he had to be strong like a raging storm in the sky! "This really is a flashing night for festivities…" Water wasn't around his sword now, grey clouds with gentle rain were there.

Uzui just managed to cut off one of Gyutaro's legs and Haia got the other one. Then a kunai landed in his neck… and some in Uzui's body, plus the one in the side of Haia's head. 'I'm not regenerating! Those kunai really are laced with something!' He turned his head and saw the girl freeze up the same as him. 'But she's out of commission too!' Then that brat with the scar on his head jumped in. 'I'm impressed now, you're actually getting into some sync with all this craziness! Bend, flying blood sickles!'

Zenitsu's charge was cut short by a blood blade wanting to cause serious harm to him, so the choice of die or survive was obvious to his sleeping body. He canceled the attack and threw himself off course to land on the roof. "Tanjiro and Mister Uzui are going to take the brother's head, we have to get the woman's!"

"I already know that underling!"

Uzui and Tanjiro thrusted their blades out to a smiling Gyutaro… then his legs grew back. 'His legs grew back! He already neutralized it!'

"Man… that poison sure packed a punch, but now it's my turn! Kekkijutsu…" He stuck his arms to his sides and blood scythes started spiraling out from them, with such range despite no movement. "Enzan Senkai Tobi Chigama!"(Rotating Circular slashes: Flying Blood Sickles).

'This attack has so much range!' Tanjiro was lucky to get away when Uzui kicked him, but the damage to the area was still done and they would be next!

"Oto no Kokyu, Shi no kata!" He started whipping his swords while releasing bombs to deliver constant and powerful attacks that defended him against the rotating scythes. "Kyōzan Muken!" (Constant Resounding Slashes). Grunts of effort and strains to keep fighting with half his vision and quickly growing fatigue, these attacks were demanding his all! He stopped his defense and saw that the gross sibling was gone. "Where'd he go?"

"Lord Tengen, look out!" Hinatsuru's warning helped him evade the obi that were still raging around and when he stopped to call out to her she threw more kunai to pin them. "I'll help with the belt demon! Don't worry about me! You have to focus and find out where-" She found him. Gyutaro put a hand over her mouth.

"You've got some nerve getting into this fight… but now you've gotta suffer the consequences of that choice…"

"HINATSURU!" Panicked and angry! He tried to approach but even more belts cut him off. "Damn it! These belts are blocking me! Hinatsuru!"

If he couldn't protect Uzui then he'd have to try and protect his wife! 'Jump onto the roof!' Tanjiro ran and started deflecting belts to get closer. 'I'm weak, he doesn't acknowledge me as a threat! If I do something now, he won't see it coming!' His options were limited. 'I have to use sun- No. I don't have the stamina! What can I do to save her?! Act before it's too late!' A dance of fire and water closed the distance with a blinding level of speed.

"Huh?" Gyutaro looked around and saw the kid coughing his lungs out. Then he saw the girl demon getting up from her paralysis. 'I already didn't expect him to be able to move so fast… but now the girl's getting up too? Although… neither of them look too well off, probably gonna slow down a lot…'

'I actually did it…' He was staring down the Upper Rank. 'I blended the techniques! I have to mix the two together. If I fuse them then I can get more attack power, and I'll be able to move longer. The swordsmen fighting demons up to now had to have been doing that, being flexible like Urokodaki taught us. Even if I'll never master water breathing like Tomioka, or even Jikon…' He saw said Hashira blending flowing water breathing movements with letting out borrowed explosives, creating something that was troubling that woman. 'We can put those teachings to good use!' Gyutaro lunged.

"Enough fooling around! Time to die!" He dodged the first slash but the second sickle locked against his sword. He raised his first kama to block a fan from a winded Haia. 'The girl's running low now! That little boost drains you huh?' There was another.

"Tanjiro Kamado!" Uzui came from behind with his swords at the ready! "You have my utmost gratitude!"

Inosuke was in the air and saw the old man getting ready to cut off the weird guy's head. "Aagh! They're about to cut his head off!"

"Inosuke! You have to focus!" Zenitsu brought the boar back to the real world. "We can hold our own by being defensive! But we need to reach her head! We can't cower back and expect to win like this!" Ami and Zenitsu were much closer than he was so now he was the one dragging them back! "Grraah!" Angry slashes in a mad charge to get closer but once again his friends brought him back.

"Getting all pissed off won't help!" Ami wasn't doing too well from deflecting all those sashes, and now the blood scythes. "We need to focus!"

Zenitsu just rendered more belts into ribbons. "We need to make sure her head isn't attached! That's all! Even after they behead their demon! We have to keep fighting hard!"

Inosuke looked at the yellow haired boy. "You're… You're like a completely different guy now?! The hell's up with that?!"

Ami grabbed both her weapons and jumped out of her predicament. Then she stomped down and flung them both ahead with a flick of her wrist, giving them a nice spin! "Ichi no kata: Jamongan Sōkyoku!" (Serpentinite Bipolar).

Daki smiled and used more of her belts to interrupt the attack. "You really think some spinning is gonna make your attack any more-" The claw and flail tore right through the obi! "Useful?" Then the nichirin weapons slammed into her body and ripped out her flesh, leaving her without some of her torso and neck!

Tengen swung his sword right to Gyutaro's neck and Tanjiro did the same! Their swords were both caught by his kama, so close but so far damnit! "You two really think you could cut off my head?" Blood sickles started forming at the sides of his neck. "Hate to break it to you but that's not gonna happen!" Haia took the rotating circular scythes head on but that was only on one side and there were still more coming!

She managed to resist getting her body ripped into long enough to grab onto the freak's arm. Then watched as he rotated his head around to bite Uzui's other sword. 'Not surprised that a deformed freak can do that!' She pulled. Hard.

"Kamado! Hang on tight!" Hinatsuru grabbed Nezuko's box and Tengen slammed his foot down, sending him and the two demons crashing off the roof.

"Mister Uzui!" The Kamado and Hinatsuru fell back and watched as a second burst of flying blood scythes devastated the ground level.

"Look out!"

Belts were flying all over in Daki's attempts to keep them back while she recovered from Ami's hit. Inosuke and Zenitsu were making sure that the belts didn't land any major blows. "She's getting desperate! Not letting us keep our strategy! Help us take her on while the old man and Haia take on the mantis guy!"

"She's-!" A break to slash through obi. "She's the weaker of the two! We can behead her first! Jikon has the demon woman under control! Tanjiro, can you still move?!"

A series of explosions brought Tanjiro's attention towards the Hashira fighting their own battles. Uzui's strained attacks against Gyutaro's unending stamina. Jikon's improvisation against Carmen's durable, but still vulnerable, body.

"I can move! But Mister Uzui and Jikon are poisoned! We have to hurry or they won't make it!" Tanjiro blocked two blood scythes. 'He's still attacking even against Haia and Mister Uzui!' He turned around. "Miss Hinatsuru!"

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me! I'll hide for now, focus on winning!"

A flash of lightning and a surge of water let Zenitsu and Tanjiro protect Tengen's wife from the harm of more sashes. "You annoying girl! You almost cut my head off! I'll make sure to enjoy eating you! Even if you look like a man!"

Inosuke was rushing through sashes. Angrily wondering how their training was so brutal but here they were not doing enough! "Damn it!"

"Inosuke! Her neck is too soft to cut normally! It'll take a lot of speed, otherwise we have to slash from multiple directions!" Tanjiro was running and cutting, protecting himself from those metal hard sashes.

'Now that I look at it… the sashes are going slower towards Tanjiro… ever so slightly…' He flexed his body. "Might be seeing things but I'm gonna go and say it has!" He leapt off and delivered feral slashes and crazy cuts to those sashes. "Don't worry about it! Lord Inosuke is a dual wielder! If you three watch my back then I can do it!"

"Bring all the ugly freaks you want! I'll still kill you!" Sashes filled the air but the combined efforts of a crazy fast Zenitsu, a strong willed Tanjiro with flowing grace, and a solid Ami with her defensive attacks, kept them right off Inosuke!

Inosuke inhaled and his muscles started swelling. "Kedamono no kokyu… Hachi no kata: Bakuretsu Mōshin!" (Eighth Form: Explosive Rush). He dashed forward with each of his subordinates backing him up! Bringing his own slashes into the fray to keep these worm belts away from him.

"Mizu no kokyu, San no kata…" Tanjiro started dancing around the belts and delivering flowing slashes with his steps and motions. "Ryūryū Mai (Flowing Dance).

"Kaminari no kokyu, Ichi no kata." Zenitsu blasted from the roof and bounced between the numerous slashes to deflect them from the speeding boar. "Hekireki Issen, Hachiren!" (Thunderclap and Flash, Eightfold).

"AAAHH!" Inosuke's charge was getting him scratched and cut… But a fight was about getting hit!

'He's charging right for me without any defense!' His serrated swords slammed against her neck. 'There's no way you can cut off my head! Not with these beat up blades!'

"Roku no kiba!" He started sawing! Pushing and pulling those beat up swords back and forth until he chopped her head right off! "Ranguigami!" Those swords were serrated for a reason! Not just cause it looked really cool! He jumped up and caught her head, then flipped down and started running off. "I got her head! I'll move far away so she can't attach it!" Sashes started coming for him but some basic evasion got him away. "Go help the others! I'll run around with this head!"

"Got it!" Tanjiro looked around but didn't hear any explosions or see any smoke clouds. 'We have to help Mister Uzui and Jikon!' He jumped to other rooftops and looked around but didn't see anything. For good reason.

Jikon's slashes were starting to slow down but even then, they were landing! "You're getting more and more annoying!" Scales were covering almost all of her body now but she was down most of her offensive limbs so she couldn't do much but take the damage, low as it may be from her durability, it was still troublesome.

'I can't assume that cutting her head off will kill her!' He ducked below a mad slash and tossed a bomb up as he did, blowing her off balance as he got behind ber. 'Wait, her back!' The middle of her back had a patch of bare skin that was pulsing ever so lightly… 'I'm not a doctor…' He tossed a bomb up and pulled his sword back. 'Shizuku Hamon Tsuki!' (Drop Ripple Thrust). He stabbed both his sword, and the bomb straight into that spot and wouldn't you know? The explosive attack made Carmen start shrieking in pain.

"NO! NO NO!" Her body set on fire in a bright blaze and she fell to her knees. Her cries of pain and repeated 'No' turned into warped speech as she fell face first into the roofing. He just stabbed her heart, or something like that and managed to finish her off.

"I don't know what she is but even I can tell she's dead… This poison… I have to get to the others before-" A quick smell of the air and it was starting to smell like… "Coal?" He looked at Carmen and saw her body starting to blacken. "Oh no!" He got out of dodge quickly! 'Get away from her and find the others!'

While he searched, Inosuke was dealing with a whining demon head. "Let me go, you hideous boar!" Her hair elongated and got ready to cut him apart but a quick slash got rid of it all.

"Too easy! You really suck now don't you?!"

"What did you say?!"

It was obvious. "With your head cut off you're totally weakened! Maybe not dead but with this weakness you might as well be! Hahaha! Ha ha! Hagh-!"

A kama made from demon flesh just introduced its business end to Inosuke's chest cavity!

"Inosuke!" Tanjiro was forced to watch as his friend got ran right through. 'Did it go through his heart?! It's too dark to see! Damn it!' He looked around and saw Jikon sprinting towards them, that was good but there was still a problem! Gyutaro was smiling as he pulled his weapon out of Inosuke and his sister's head started to hit the rooftop.

Pinkish gray chains and a heavy flail wrapped around his body and started yanking him towards a furious Ami. "You lanky bastard!" She pulled him close in her fury and took a kama into her shoulder and one to her ribcage for the trouble.

"Don't start stuff you can't finish… You're a girl but even you're over six feet… and you're actually pretty too! I'm glad to kill you after the-" A nichirin claw stabbed into his neck and nearly took his head off then and there. Ami was still pissed and trying to kill him for killing Inosuke!

"Even if I gotta die- I'll bring you right with me!" She started pulling the claw and it actually made the Upper Rank panic. Spiraling circular scythes started to come from his body again, and Ami still wasn't letting go!

Tanjiro was glad this was happening but there was still the issue of why he was here. 'What's he doing here?! He was fighting Haia and- Uzui!' The Sound Hashira was on the ground beside a demon cut into pieces…

And he was missing an arm from the shoulder down.

"Zenitsu! Tanjiro! Move!" Jikon just grabbed them both in a mad run as magenta slashes lit up the building. Daki was doing that same destructive attack from before! What was worse than that? The massive, and expanding ring of fire coming from Carmen's dead body. What was even worse than that? The flying blood sickles that just sent Ami careening overhead. The building collapsed and caught two of them in the rubble while the entire area was set ablaze…

'This is all my fault…' Tanjiro's self depreciation was so calm despite the mayhem going on. 'Jikon, Zenitsu, you should save yourselves, not me. If I paid attention… If I helped Uzui. We wouldn't even be in this situation… I'm sorry.'

TO BE CONTINUED, NEXT TIME IN SIBLING BONDS!