Village Under Attack!
(I told you I'd be back sooner rather than later. I might have my flow back so let's try and get these pumping out, enjoy.)
Everything was hectic but they had at least some small idea of control now. Even if it was fleeting and temporary they still had some type of management, but at the same time everything was still dangerous. Yuzu just destroyed another pot for one of those super scary fish monsters and he slowly started getting into it, little by little and bit by bit. Even with his general aversion to all this violence and overall anxiety, Yuzu managed to prioritize defending the villagers and focusing on stopping the fish monsters.
'Okay! I can do this. I feel great. I can help these people!' This wasn't all that bad, he could handle this just fine. Something massive started causing loud noises behind him and when he turned around- "HUH?! THIS FISH THING IS EVEN BIGGER!" His inner sense of self preservation started coming out in full force, to the point where he couldn't keep his voice in.
A lumbering and grotesque koi headed beast with human arms and legs walked down the main road, breaking buildings and destroying forges in its rampage. "Groooaaaaaah!"
Yuzu's heart dropped into his stomach once he heard that bellowing cry echo into the air. The decibels made his body shake and his head start to hurt! He wasn't a coward, but there's no way in hell he couldn't be scared of something like this! "HUGE!" He jumped out of the way when it flung a hot forge at him like a stone, ashes and burning cinders scattering across the street. 'That thing's gonna rip the whole village apart if I don't stop it!'
The massive koi creature grabbed at villagers running by and tried its best to sow discord, and that wasn't something Yuzu was going to let slide.
'San no Kata.' (Third Form). Yuzu's body was surrounded by sparks and crackles of electricity, soft streams of powerful lightning that guided him as he jumped towards the beast holding a young man who was stabbing at the hand with a knife.
"Let go! Let go! Let me go!" A flash and waves of arcing lightning in myriad strikes. An attack that struck from multiple directions at once, but they were focused on the arm holding him in the air.
"Shūbun Seirai." (Thunder Swarm).
The swordsmith fell down with an exclamation of surprise. "Shit!" But the rough ground wasn't what greeted him, a head of orange hair and eyes focused on the healing fish monster. "You're Haganezuka's friend aren't you?"
"I thought Hotaru was- Woah!" Yuzu leapt back to avoid a spray of high pressure water that swept those deformed figures away in a flood of white foam and muddy ink. "Get out of here, I'll handle this!"
The boy sliced an ink man in half and then leapt aside to avoid a smashing fist from the main threat. At least a dozen more of the ink figures were scattered around and hunting for villagers, but the fish pot things were a more pressing matter. 'I don't see this one's pot…' They all shared a weak point but the raging fish that was still swinging and trying to crush Yuzu, it didn't show off a clear pot for him to destroy which made it harder to stop the rampaging.
'Oh shit!' In a blast of weak lightning, Yuzu sliced a fist that was sailing straight at him in half. Throwing the beast off balance as more ink things started rushing him from all sides, but in that rampaging he had a good idea. The boy leapt to the side and then flipped backwards to avoid getting crushed again. Some of the ink creatures getting squished and splattered across the ground, turning into dull gold when it hardened… around the fist that mashed them.
The fish looked confused as it tried to lift its hand but Yuzu was triumphantly looking at the downward tilted body in front of him. 'There it is!' The pot he needed to break, it was on top of the grotesque body! Hidden among some giant scales and parts. 'It broke out, but I know where the pot is!' Yuzu inhaled and grabbed the hilt of his sheathed sword. "Ichi no kata."(First form).
"Rrrrghoooooaaaaaaa!" It was not going down easy, not now, not tonight! A handful of the ink monsters and it flung them straight at Yuzu, only to see the kid dodge with a sideways flip.
He repeated himself, but this time it sounded more serious. "Ichi no kata." (First form). Crackles and bursts of lightning surrounded him, but even as they moved around his body in currents… they were focused. Weak even, if compared to others who knew Thunder Breathing.
Water. Another great torrent of water came spewing from the beast's mouth, the street flooded and flames were put out. No swordsmiths were hurt but neither was the slayer! Yuzu leapt onto a building and kept charging his attack, but that only made the beast work harder to kill him! "Ichi no Kata." (First form).
Another great swing and the building was demolished, but Yuzu landed directly on the arm coming his way. A steadfast gaze locked eyes with the bulbous ones of the koi, and in that moment the mindless creature felt fear. It swiped the other hand and ended up breaking the very arm Yuzu was on, but once again the attack missed and the orange haired boy landed back on the ground with more electricity coursing around him.
The air burned and cracked with his… decent power, and his eyes turned a blazing yellow with blue spiking his hair on end. 'I can do this!' Air smelled like ozone and vibrated around him, the beast healed and reeled an arm back but it wasn't going to matter. It was too slow.
"Hekireki Issen."(Thunderclap and Flash). His body surged and he blasted away to avoid a slamming fist, dashing under the beast's legs and then bursting into the air again. Something struck the monster from the side and knocked it off balance, exposing that pot for the boy. "Sanren!"(Three Fold). A third burst and he landed in front of the beast, sheathing his sword from his powerful slash… And then the pot broke in half, causing the killer koi to break apart and dissolve into bloody foam bubbles.
He analyzed and saw that this street was empty, too empty for anyone nearby to have caused that opening. Not that he needed it but it was very appreciated. "I hope Hotaru and his family are okay, this is getting worse and worse!" Yuzu spun around and chopped one of the ink things in half. "WAIT! THAT GIRL WHO SAVED ME, I CAN'T LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO HER BEFORE I THANK HER!" And now he had double the reason to fight against these things, so he started charging through the weak as paper constructs with a doubled fervor. Hopefully he could find that girl and thank her properly.
"These things just don't stop! Get back!" A swordsmith was pushing against some deformed ink freaks that kept on trying to get as close to him as they could… yeah to hell with that. He swung the knife in his hands with all the fury of a man defending both himself and his loved ones!
The gangly things had no intent on slowing down in their advance against the villager, and it was even worse considering that he wasn't just protecting himself. "Holy shit these things don't stop." Another villager was using a katana to hold off another one of the pot creatures. Damn things just didn't back down or quit! A giant hand wrapped around him and its grip made him drop the katana. 'Fuck!'
A huge fish-pot monster picked him up then started squeezing his body… hard enough to put the breath out of his lungs! The village being under attack by these things with all their ability to kill them? There were some Demon Slayers around but they couldn't be everywhere… 'Crap! Can't even breathe, need to- Need to do something!' As much as he wanted to, there wasn't much he could do. Dying in the hands of some demented fish… not his deal means of-
*BANG*
That sound came with the effect of a smashing pot and a fish monster falling apart into a mess of bloody water, not to mention the villager falling to the ground and landing on his side… At least he was alive. 'What- What just happened?' Another pair of bangs, but more quiet, and a pair of the spindly figures fell to the ground in a slurry.
Something ran by him and uttered a proud, "Pozhaluysta!"(You're welcome). Before slamming the butt of a rifle into another one of the ink creatures, the hit being more than enough to dispel the monster. His rustic red hair was moving ever so slightly, and his yellow eyes were focused on every single threat attacking his village!
"Sangyo!"
He was a beast. Two ink creatures and a fish monster rushed him at once, and Luka rolled over the fish monster to pull the trigger on an ink creature. His rifle had the characters for 'hope' on the barrel… and the monsters would learn that it wasn't for Luka's sake. The ink creature swung an arm around but the man ducked below it, and pulled out a nambu pistol to unload a round in its gut.
The fish monster had bright orange scales that were tough, but that wasn't what mattered. 'Sangyo's incredible…' The recovering swordsmith was watching the man avoid and evade each of the lumbering creature's swings like they were nothing, even with a rifle in his left hand and a pistol in the right, Luka Sangyo was just smiling and keeping those eyes open. 'Wait…' He saw the pot and immediately called it out. "Underneath!"
Luka slid and went low, then he saw the exposed pot of this monster embedded in its tummy like a hidden gem. He didn't even pull a trigger. Luka smashed the pot with a pistol whip and kicked himself up as the monster dissolved into bloody foam. Luka looked over at the injured villager with a grin. "Spasib- Thank you." The sound of a great bellow and the two saw down the street. A number of rampaging ink men and more fish demons, Luka quickly slung his rifle on his shoulder to reload his pistol. "I have to go help."
The immigrant sprinted off with his guns locked and loaded, with his first target being a pair of ink men closing in on a mother with a knife in her hands. Two shots and two kills, Luka leapt over a pile of rubble to fire another round at the vase on a fish demon. A set of ink creatures battled with some more villagers, and Luka helped them out. Holstering his pistol and leaping onto the awning of a building, he unslung his rifle and aimed at the targets. Masters don't make mistakes…
A single shot. With one pull of his rifle's trigger he landed a shot that dissolved not one, not two, but three of the ink men. Their wiry movements ceased and the villagers turned the tables. Luka jumped down and continued running, seeing the problem on these open streets. "So, the Demon Slaying members stationed here have all fallen. Damn. I have to hurry to the chief!"
Other villagers were screaming to get the Hashira swords as quickly as they could, but they also were saying to take cover and hide from the flood of fish monsters wreaking havoc on the streets… But none of them were Luka.
A fish demon turned and- Life stopped. Its pot shattered from a rifle butt slamming into it, and one of its brethren rushed towards the man responsible only to collapse like a puppet with no strings. A single shot and he kept moving through. "Kak veselo!"(How fun). Luka pulled the trigger to his rifle again but it clicked to alert him that it was out of ammo. Shit. He unholstered his pistol again to take aim at- "Agh!" One of the ink men snuck up on him and grabbed his left arm!
Incoherent babbles and what sounded like manic chuckles, the bastard was making fun of Luka! It opened that horrible mouth with a sick smile… even without teeth, and then it got the feeling of a spear ripping its head open. Homare Haganezuka was a great swordsmith, but she was also a woman who loved her husband dearly! "Hands off, creep!"
The ink dissolved and dropped into the open scratches on Luka's arm, but there was no time to worry about that! "Goodbye!" He fired at the fish monster that had googly eyes at his wife and quickly tackled her out of the way, avoiding the massive beast that slammed into the building beside them. "There's no end to them is there?" He stood up and reloaded his rifle, slotting seven rounds into the magazine. "Good thing I have so many bullets."
Luckily there was backup. Rapid pink slashes and a sailing white haori, the villagers could clearly see a head of pink and green hair sail over them. "A Hashira!"
"I'm sorry for being late!" Mitsuri Kanroji was back on the scene. "I'll take care of these ones right away!" Her sword swings were so fast, her appearance may have been cute or pretty, but she was undeniably strong.
"The Chief! Please save the Chief!"
Kanroji understood and bolted towards the Chief's home!
The huge beast with four pots on its back just slammed him away, breaking an eye of his mask clean off. 'Damn it! Every guard stationed here has already died!' He looked up to Tecchin and vowed to save him! "But it's so big, I can't even phase it!"
A heavy landing in front of him. "Try not to move, you could have internal injuries!" Her sword was so unique, lord Tecchin had to have made it. It was more of a whip than any real blade, the amount of skill it must have taken to wield had to be insane.
"Koi no Kokyu." Mitsuri dashed forward and unleashed a rapid slash with her winding blade, pink fissures and rapid whips appeared across the massive fish monster. "Hatsukoi no Wananaki." (Shivers of first Love). The beast fell apart from its pots and body being sliced apart. "Lord Tecchin!" She caught the old man as the attendant sighed in relief. Hearing the Chief mention how lady Kanroji was amazing to have saved him proved that the old man was fine.
'Thank the gods…'
A smell. A strange scent was rushing to his nose. 'What is that smell?' Shaking. Tanjiro was shaking and quickly snapped back to his senses to see that Nezuko was carrying him away.
"Fleeing…" Tanjiro looked up and saw Sekido raising his khakkara. "Like a fucking gnat!" He slammed the weapon down and bursts of lightning struck down in their path, chasing and homing in towards them.
"Fuck yourself!" Taiki avoided the strikes until he decided to swing his sword to deflect one, it came with the mixed effect of stopping the attack… but now he was vibrating from having to put his everything into it.
"That shit stain with pink hair… pink is close to red. I hate red hair!" Sekido was about to slam his staff down again to-
Six shots. Six pulls of two separate triggers sent bullets with amazing hues of yellow, blue, and red spiraling towards the demons. Erratic movements matched his trigger pulls, and each bullet landed straight in their target.
"Dandan mai." (Bullet Dance). Hotaru just paralyzed each of the Kidoairaku with his bullets and dove into the lower floor after his friends. 'My aim was off, I wanted to hit their necks.' None of his shots landed above the shoulder but they all still landed, small victories.
"Damned pests…" Sekido broke the paralysis first and sent a wave of lightning towards them, but Nezuko was the first one hit. Taiki managed to deflect some of the attack but he was still directly struck. Hotaru dodged entirely. Tanjiro was protected by Nezuko's actions, so he immediately slung his sister over his shoulder to run away. "Karaku! Blow the entire building away!"
"Gotcha!"
"Forehead! We can't take these bitches down that easy! There has to be a weakness we're missing!"
Hotaru was in the rear and agreed with Taiki's judgement. "There has to be something we can do. You have the most experience, what do we do against Upper Moons?"
Tanjiro was focused on getting distance. Even as he heard Karaku's footsteps down the hallway. "We need to find a way to inflict massive damage on them! Something they can't heal immediately! If we can get an opening then we can attack their tongues!"
"Their tongues are a weak spot? Of fucking course…"
"There's nowhere to run!" Karaku swung his uchiwa downwards and then turned to swing it in a side swipe. "Die!" Massive gusts of wind sent the group flying through a wall, and rubble fell all around them. The entire building was mashed apart and now they were surrounding Nezuko who was trapped under rubble.
"We're alive. We can get the rubble off her, we only need some time." Hotaru was moving pieces of wood and foundation off the trapped Kamado, but she was only paying mind to gripping her brother's sword hard enough to draw her own blood.
"That certainly did the trick."
"We just need to smoke to clear so we can kill 'em!"
The two, Karaku and Sekido, were searching for them. That wasn't good news.
"Nezuko please, you have to let go."
The weird fish pot man in front of them was laughing in a joyous way. "Hyo~ Hyo~ Hyo~ My name is Gyokko, lovely to meet you both. May I have a minute before I kill you?"
Kanamori and Kotetsu clung closer to Muichiro as this demon started his ranting.
"Dear guests, would you like to see my artwork tonight?" A pot manifested beside him while he asked.
Muichiro looked entirely bored with the conversation already, not wanting to humor a demon at all. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh!" The pot started bubbling with a dark fluid and Gyokko smiled wider. "Allow me to show you!"
It emerged from the pot. Much more conceptual than being a direct piece, but one could definitely see the contrast in having nichirin swords pierced through swordsmith villagers. "Presenting L'agonie Des Forgerons! The hands, full of blisters unique to swordsmiths! That's why I placed them in front."
Kanamori and Kotetsu were listing names… names of victims that were put into this disgusting piece of work that spat in the lives of hard working swordsmiths. Gyokko bragged about it, five innocent people made up this piece of his! The masks were left on to express emptiness and absurdity, compared to the actual macabre way their bodies were twisted in horror.
"But if I twist this sword like so-"
"GYAAAAAAHH!"
"STOP IT!" Kotetsu tried to run in to do something, but Kanamori held him back without a thought. The boy would die before he could help here.
"So wonderful isn't it? I plan on mass producing this piece too!"
Muichiro looked less bored now, and a lot more pissed. "Cut that shit out, fuckface." He advanced and swung his sword, but he didn't land a blow. Gyokko relocated to the roof of the shed.
"I'm not done explaining! My pride is in these pots so listen to the end." The pot he was in got cleaved in half, Muichiro realized that Gyokko was fast so he couldn't waste any movements. But a new pot appeared on the ground and Gyokko emerged. "Damn you… Destroying my pot like that! Nothing but a muscle head who can't take time to appreciate art! But even that's okay…"
Muichiro sat on top of the shed and thought about what just happened. 'He's dodging so if I cut his head off, it would kill him.' Gyokko formed a tiny pot in one of his deformed hands, and from it came some bulbous headed fish. "Hm?" The fish's cheeks swelled and they spat out hundreds of sharp needles! "Huh?!" Muichiro rolled back and took cover behind the other side of the roof, falling down to see Kanamori shielding Kotetsu from the other fish.
"Ah!" Kotetsu turned and saw it first. Then Kanamori looked to see it too. "Lord Tokito!" Muichiro was being pierced by those needles all across his body. His arms, face, ears, even one in his thigh.
"You're both in the way. You should leave." The fish spat another massive volley of those needles and Muichiro swung his sword to deflect each of them. Kanamori and Kotetsu ran away with Tokito's sword trailing clouds of mist behind his swings.
"You look really funny with all those needles in you, like a giant pincushion! Hyo~ Hyo~ Hyo~!" He created two more miniature pots and grinned. "So have you lost feeling in your body yet? It's truly comical, you'll die here in a worthless place like this all because you saved some worthless people."
Whether they're present or not, nothing changes. Truly worthless lives.
'Huh? Who was that? I… can't remember. I think someone said it to me before but… but I can't remember. Who said that to me?' Summer. The heat was high. Cicadas were loud as ever and the door was open, from the excessive heat maybe? Even at night it was muggy and loud.
"Hyo~ Hyo~! You're a pillar so I should prepare something nice for you! What type of piece should be fitting of you? I'm tingling in excitement for it!"
Muichiro rushed in again with mist surrounding him. "Shut up. Your words are worthless." Gyokko's small pot swelled and a torrent of water poured out and surrounded Tokito, the water shaping and molding into a giant vase shape.
"Chic!" The fish pot man moved around the display of a trapped Hashira with a smile. "Suffocation is quite ironic isn't it? Beautiful really. But having the sensation of a cold sword through your neck is quite nice too."
Muichiro tried to pierce his sword through the dense water to no avail, he couldn't get any sort of power that would tear through the giant water vase holding him. 'Crap, can't pierce this.'
Gyokko was laughing and chuckling to himself. "I've obstructed your greatest weapon as a demon hunter… your ability to breathe! Hyo~ Hyo~ Imagining your face twisted in pain brings me great joy!" The gross eye where his mouth should be was turned up in a weird smile shape, he was clearly enjoying this view immensely.
"What amazing torture! Such sublime art! To think that I have the juxtaposition of a Hashira suffocating to death in a vase of water, taking away your breathing techniques that give you any sort of ground against demons! Such amazing irony in this beautiful pie-"
Gyokko's admiration of his own work was cut short by a sudden blast that took him completely off guard. Not even far from their location, a blast of wind blew into the sky and some explosions rang out. "Hyo! That can't be Hantengu… Shuradai must be fighting some demon hunters. That means Kinmachi still has his hidden position, good!"
Speaking of the Eclipse… Kinmachi was scrabbling out more and more of his ink men from the black puddle surrounding his body. "Those who don't understand art, are blind to the beauties of life." More of his emaciated henchmen rose from the murk and rushed towards Yoshino in droves.
'Their sounds… each of them is disgusting.' The shifting voices and appalling noises that the ink men created were driving Yoshino up the wall, her sensitive hearing was not enjoying the sounds. She lashed her weapon and immediately pulled it back, a swift yank followed by a leap into the air brought her over the remaining ink creatures.
Kinmachi watched as that long weapon trailed around his creations and he quickly sloshed around in his puddle, moving backwards with a hand already starting to form another set of ink men. 'This girl is ruining my pieces!'
'Masekaeru Matsuge.' (Lashing Choke). The 'rope' of her weapon wrapped around the small group, tightening and pulling all of them into one… then slicing them in half and turning them into a pile of sludge. 'Predict my enemy, if I don't let them react then they can't attack me.' Her master taught her well!
Kinmachi created another ink man but there was a minor problem. "Ah! Damn it!" A hole just blew through his hand, he sunk into his puddle while his new creation looked at Yoshino with its large eyes and unnervingly open mouth. The ground bubbled and Kinmachi rose from a new puddle, admiring his new creature. 'Maybe this will help out? Even before that blood battle, I was the weakest Eclipse… but with my ingenuity and preparation I know that no normal demon Hunter can beat me!'
The new ink man had long legs and arms that ended with clawed hands… and he used those well. A powerful leap towards the airborne Yoshino brought the demented drawing into her personal bubble, but Yoshino heard something.
'That chime.' She pushed her left arm up right as the clawed hand of that creature covered her right eye, and then the both of them dealt with the consequences. Yoshino pulled her hand back, tying her chain around this thing's neck. The creature clawed over Yoshino's eye, and it's hand was still there… but Yoshino took its head clean off and rendered it as sludge.
Kinmachi watched the girl land and start whirling her weapon again… only to be surprised when her vision suddenly cut in half. Gold sealed her eyelid shut and worked into the claw marks over her face. She was half blind while Kinmachi created more ink creatures.
"Such beauty! Fixing damage with the elegance of gold, heightening the flaws while maintaining the quality of the original piece. What amazing-!"
Flashes and a crashing sound, Kinmachi's attention shifted a hundred eighty degrees behind himself. Shuradai was in his Ashura form with some girl- Some demon hunter girl was pushing him back even with Hantengu's weaponry?! That was impossible!
Ever since Kinmachi met him… 'Shuradai's never struggled against a hunter before!' The monk demon hadn't been pressured and yet he saw it clearly.
"Hibiki wataru uta!"(Echoing Song). Nonoka used those powerful bombs in a constant attack! Her blades slammed into the staff and then the spear… but they rebounded from the explosion and kept going! A chain of explosive attacks that forced Shuradai's extra hands into finding some opening to get the girl away from him. Explosive slash after exploding attack, the hand holding onto his uchiwa got slashed off and part of his torso was blown away.
'Each of her slashes is stronger than the last! Damn it, Lord Sekido would be displeased if I can't kill this girl!' Shuradai raised his khakkara and slammed it back to the ground. "Tsuyoi Dendō!" (Mighty Conduction). A connection between a point of lightning in the air and the spot right beneath where the girl was going to be, a bolt of lightning struck down and sent Nonoka into a seizing fit. Convulsing and struggling to pull herself out of the powerful electricity running through her body.
Kinmachi reached into the depths of the dark puddle surrounding him and withdrew his hands, slathered in that mystic ink of his. "I have to make Shuradai's effort count, that girl is too dangerous to let live!" His fingers started moving and he was going to make at least a dozen of his- "What?!" That long weapon that the scrawny girl used just wrapped around his wrist!
Yoshino's rope dart was coiled around Kinmachi's wrist and it sank into his bony arm, burning while it tore his flesh. "I won't let you interrupt Nonoka, not right now!"
"Get away! Those who don't appreciate art can rot away as a kintsugi piece!"
So many clashing ideals and individuals. Yoshino had to stop Kinmachi and she had to make sure Nonoka wasn't interrupted!
'He moves quick, but not quick enough.' Water coursed with that sword but it wasn't a real issue. Andrea had enough experience seeing how Koujo and that harlot Ume fought to know how to counter this. Sparks against his skin and his warped digits moving to prepare more of his attacks. "What's your name? I know you're a Hashira but I'd like a name. I'm Andrea."
A sword thrusted into the back of that giant palm and it forced him to take his attention away, then feel a foot slam into his chin. "Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho, and I'll be doing my absolute best!" She withdrew her sword and kicked off the man's head, only for a bolt of lightning to replace her. Zenitsu's attack made a shallow cut across Andrea's back and he quickly used the Devil as a springboard, getting some distance to form his next attack plan.
Jikon pulled back and slashed straight for Andrea's neck. 'Minamo Giri!'(Water Surface Slash). A shallow cut into a neck followed by the air around them humming. Jikon dodged a blast and then jumped upwards, a slicing spider web caught Andrea's left hand and left him open. A perfect opportunity and-
"I am not a Devil for nothing!" The web on his hand blew away and his eyes squinted at Jikon pulling his sword over his head. 'Familiar…' But they all made a series of mistakes… Injuring his perfect skin! That warped arm was holding onto Jikon's leg with a vice grip, and then the crushing grip turned worse. "WRITHE!"
"AAAAH!"
Zenitsu heard it first, then Rui, and lastly was Shinobu. The horrific sound emanating from Andrea's arm only caused Jikon to cry out in unknown pain. The forest was filled with the sounds of his pain and Andrea wasn't even savoring it.
"Jikon!" Shinobu was the most concerned at the sound of rumbling coming from that demented arm, and knowing that it was using some form of sound to cause the pain, making Jikon cry out in agony. His wailing was so out of character that it froze his comrades entirely, they couldn't even focus on saving him immediately… luckily it was Jikon.
Violent twisting and slashing with his entire body. Jikon did everything he could to free himself from the devil's vibrating hand, and he managed to twirl and slice with enough power to break Andrea's grip… Then slam his sword into the ground to slam his heel straight into the side of Andrea's head! "RAAAH!" (Whirlpool). Crimson threads wrapped around his midsection and yanked him away from-
Shinobu blew forwards with her sword gripped hard. She wasn't going to just sit there and let people she cared about- Not again. Andrea raised one of his arms to guard against the weapon, but there wasn't any protecting himself from the piercing thrust that sank into his body. 'It's like metal!'
Zenitsu launched forward and collided his sword with the back of Andrea's neck, digging into his durable skin but only slightly. "Hekireki Issen!"(Thunderclap and Flash). 'His skin hasn't softened up at all! How are we supposed to-'
*Vm*
The blast sent the two of them flying, and their senses were going haywire from the concussive force alone. It was like being slammed by a waterfall! Rui's threads pulled the two of them down safely while he set up a Murderous Eye Basket to keep Andrea restrained. "Jikon. I've set your leg but you'll need to recover for a bit before trying again."
Said Hashira examined Zenitsu and saw that his eyes were whited out… He was entirely unconscious so they just had to wait for his sleeping self to take over, and Shinobu was lucid but clearly dazed. That attack that Andrea did must've-
"DIWATAAAA!"
Rui and Jikon snapped their attention to the shout of fury, seeing Andrea roaring in fury and creating a pillar of his vibrational power around himself. Fists clenched in a rage unlike anything they'd seen before, his monstrous arm extended all its digits and unleashed all the power it could… then another one sprouted from his other shoulder blade to do the same. Once the power dulled they could see that more of Andrea's skin started warping into a mix of yellows and deep blues, even his face was shifted with one of his eyes turning wide with a blue pupil.
"Now I remember… I know your presence, Diwata."
Di-what-a? Wait Diwata… That sounds like something his dad mentioned before. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Andrea's face was split down the middle. Half of it was turning monstrous while the other half was still its admittedly handsome self. But right now the Devil had no problem explaining.
"You'd have to be that little brat's son, Crisanto, you can't help but be a fucking PAIN!" Rui used his hands to stop the oncoming blast but he still grunted once it pierced his palms and bored into his chest. "Years ago in the Philippines I was sent to uncover something by the Master. I was there for two decades, searching and looking while Spain was in occupation."
Jikon managed to sit up to listen more attentively to this story, meanwhile he was using recovery breathing to fix his damaged leg so he wasn't going to complain about a lull in this combat… but this story was making him think about something.
"I had this dirty moreno help me, Dakila, was his name. He wasn't clever enough to understand what I was doing. That was good, I needed loyalty not brains. But then he had to ask questions. He wanted to know why I was there. Dakila couldn't leave well enough alone! But it wasn't enough to tell him what he wanted to hear, NO, he wanted the truth!"
"What are you talking about…? Who is Dakila?" Jikon needed Andrea to talk just a little longer so provoking more words out of him was a smart play. Shinobu snapped out of her daze and shot onto her feet, veins on her face bulged with hot blood and she was ready to put her sword through this demon's skull!
"I told Dakila the truth he wanted to hear so badly, that I was just using him to hunt down a relic for the Master. It was going to be something to help our cause, even the occupation wasn't aware of our actions but that was already something he didn't agree with… and the dirty moreno had the NERVE to disagree with me! He wanted to walk away when I still had use for him… so it was right that I needed to kill him."
Andrea's purple arm started closing its digits and gripping the air tightly- It was stiffening and adjusting, but the other arm was shades of yellow and dark blues. That didn't make sense until it hit Jikon like a train… and the smirk on his face didn't go unnoticed.
"Dakila fucked you up didn't he?"
*Vmm*
Shinobu bounded towards Andrea and Rui dashed in close. Red threads sliced through the air and collided with hardened flesh, ruining more of Andrea's clothing but not overly harming his body beyond some deep cuts. "Even for a human, one with dirty skin, Dakila nearly forced me to use this much power to kill him." He grabbed the threads and pulled Rui towards him, catching the small demon in one hand… Only to blast him through the head, then toss him away like trash.
"Rui!" Jikon stood up and got Andrea's attention, which gave Shinobu the perfect opportunity to finish her attack.
Andrea realized that the Insect Hashira was too close too late, his large arms raised with their digits ready to send more of his vibrational force. 'Seirei no Mai.'(Dance of the Dragonfly). Her pointed blade jabbed into four spots. Andrea's neck, his still normal eye, between one of his ribs, then where his heart should have been… But Shinobu felt that there wasn't a heart there, not the kind she was used to hitting when fighting a demon. 'It's like the doctor said, their anatomy are different!'
"You bitch!" Both of his demented arms aimed each finger at Shinobu and- "Fuck!" They didn't hum, they sputtered and spat out purple mist… The poison! She put it right into whatever was sending it out! Andrea tilted himself and slammed one of those giant hands into her, sending her careening into a tree. Cracking the trunk and falling in pain.
Jikon was on his own two feet with his sword gripped so hard that it started hurting his knuckles. "Shinobu!"
"I didn't have my chance to kill Dakila. The Master had me withdraw, tensions between America and Spain were too high, so he told me to retrieve Carmen from some islands." Andrea's monologue stopped- Only for him to barrel towards Jikon and send the both of them flying through the forest!
'Shit! My sword!' The impact made him let go of his weapon, which was not ideal.
"I sent people after Dakila but he got away! That bitch of his was the only thing I got out of it all!"
Memories flashed through Jikon's mind as they sailed through the air, occasionally slamming through trees and knocking more memories out of him. "Lola?"(Grandmother).
"Looks like you're remembering your filthy heritage!" He pushed the young man away but not before a punch landed against his punctured eye. He watched the brat roll into a landing and hit the ground himself, standing to his full height. "Dakila sent his own spawn here and hid himself away, your father has to be Crisanto. When I'm done killing you… he's next!"
He closed the distance and had to evade a swing from Jikon, going in for a counter punch but had to watch the nimble man evade it with a back step. Andrea slammed his healthy arm into Jikon and followed him, not giving up on his prey so easily. Jikon was quick but he couldn't be strong enough, not as a human and not as a dirty indio!
"You have a feud with my family all because of my grandfather?" Jikon blocked a strike and returned it with two punches to Andrea's solid chest, barely phasing him. The Devil grabbed him around the neck and introduced Jikon to a rapidly raising knee, which he slammed his hands into as interception. Falling back and slamming both his heels into Andrea's chest.
"That dirty islander ruined my arm! The same way your oriental whore's disabled my blasts!"
Andrea was quick to slam his monstrous digits into the ground once Jikon landed, shaking the very earth around them with what he could dredge up until that poison got out of his system. It wasn't that it affected him, it just 'clogged the pipes' as they'd say. A fist slammed into the side of his head, then two more hits landed on his chest, and one in his throat. One last blow to the gut before he could block the next one, but Jikon just rammed him against a tree with all his strength.
"The FUCK did you call her?!"
"Am I getting under your skin?!"
"You're pissing me off!"
Andrea pushed harder and sent Jikon skidding back, still on his feet. "Good…"
Andrea blurred and appeared right on top of him! A fist slamming into Jikon's cheekbone and then his normal arms picking him up and slamming him to the ground, the healthy arm aimed at him and started to hum. The Hashira moved quickly, kicking out Andrea's ankle and rolling to evade the slag of purple that cratered the ground where he'd been. 'Shinobu's poison was in the way? If Andrea shoots air, or even vibrations, then it's a matter of time before her poison isn't stopping it!'
An uppercut that knocked the Devil off balance, and another punch that was blocked by his damaged arm. Andrea slapped Jikon away into the branches of a tree, then forced the young Hashira to dodge his fist slamming into the wood beside his head. Jikon kneed Andrea in the side but got backhanded for the effort, grabbing Andrea and jumping out of the tree in a whirlwind… which Andrea reversed to slam Jikon into the ground before him.
The Devil turned around to see the damage they'd done so far. Appreciating it in a sense. "Normally I prefer planting seeds, but here I am watching them be torn down." His distraction would be his downfall. Jikon picked up a large log and spun, slamming it into the back of Andrea's body. "Fighting dirty?! Just like you dirty indio!"
Jikon didn't care for the insult… or whatever it could've been since he never heard that word before. "It's good enough for you!" A duck below Andrea's swing and another knee to the Devil's liver, but he had to dodge the third backhand that would've sent him reeling again. Jikon grabbed a big branch and used it to his best! 'Shizuku Hamon Tsuki.' He stabbed the wood into Andrea's hand… and perfectly blocked the hole in it!
"Hijo de cabronsito!" A chokeslam and Andrea picked Jikon up by the arm, then threw him away before aiming the hand with wood blocking the hole in his palm at the boy. A hum and he fired the slivers that lodged into Jikon's forearms. "Idiot!"
Jikon still rushed in with all his heart and grabbed Andrea's hands that went for him. The two were locked in a clash of strength, but even with Jikon pushing as hard as he could… he could tell the Devil had more to give!
"You think I care about you hating a grandfather I don't know? And my father is named Jokan! I want- My brother back!"
Andrea spread his hands far and Jikon's followed, then Andrea slammed his head into Jikon's. Knocking the Hashira to the ground, and suddenly that scarred arm hit his chest and-
*Whum*
The vibrations were different that time. Jikon tried to breathe but- but he couldn't! Andrea- ANDREA STOPPED HIS HEART! Everything- It was all turning dark. It was all fading. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't see. His lungs swelled as he used total concentration, but his blood was still. 'C- Can't. F- Think. No- oxygen.' That was it. Dead against Andrea like that? Without his brother, revenge, or even making sure his great friend or girlfriend were safe? Not ideal… but it's what just happened…
"Oh no, I'm not satisfied yet."
*Whum*
Those vibrations again! Andrea set that healthy arm on his chest and started his heart- he started his heart back up? A rush of oxygenated blood coursed through his body and Jikon shouted in horrific pain mixed with fury, carefully working himself back onto his feet with a series of labored gasps and tears pricking the corners of his eyes.
"Fuck! What the hell?! You killed me- Killed me and want me to keep going?! Why?!" His voice was choked and he clenched his chest, blood on his face and dripping down to his chin. Pain evident in his voice and anguish in his tone. "I'm fucking sick of it! I wasn't ready to be a Hashira!"
Andrea looked like he was actually paying attention, a small look of content on his face at seeing one of the family members he despised losing himself like this. It was savory.
"That responsibility… It crushed me! I just want to save people, but I can't even do that! Nonoka and Yoshino… I only saved them! An entire fucking SCHOOL and I saved two girls! I know I'm not alone… I know I have friends… I know I have family… but I miss MY FUCKING BROTHER! Six months… Six months and I haven't seen him! Why… Why are you doing this?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THIS FOR?!"
"I'm not letting you off so easy. No tengo solo muerte por tu. You're getting no less than three deaths!" His monstrous arms aimed those fingers towards Jikon, his normal hands raised too, this was going to be an all out attack! "Your family scourged me since Dakila, and he couldn't even let himself die. He didn't let me kill his son either, and now I have my chance to start with you? Perfecto. This time I'll make sure you can't defend yourself!"
*Tu*
*Vmm*
Wait. What was that first sound? Andrea fired a dozen blasts and watched as Jikon- Good God, the Hashira vanished! "Catch!" And then Andrea got even more confused when something slammed into the back of his head.
The Devil turned to see a gray skinned female demon with black hair that faded into orange, and a kimono pulled down to her waist to reveal a black bra restraining her bust, along with muscular arms holding… "Footballs?"
"It's great to see you again, Hakuga." A smaller demon girl, dressed in a much smaller Demon Slayer Corps uniform with dark brown boots and a white cloak around her torso. "Even if it was just a few days ago."
Jikon wiped the sparse tears on his face away and sniffled himself back into his calmer state. His heart was beating in his chest and he was burning up from the emotional distress, and his near… or actual? Death. "It's good to see you too, Hima."
Susamaru was chuckling and bouncing her Mari in hand. "I can tell this guy is really strong! We're gonna have to work together if we wanna put him down." She threw one of her Mari and then dropped the other one to slam a kick into it.
Andrea watched the projectiles come towards him and frankly he wasn't impressed. "Such an entrance for something so simple." He blasted the first football to shreds and decided to backhand the second one, he'd get to finish Diwata so there wasn't any problem in-
*Lu*
Jikon was right in front of Andrea and landed a surprise kick that knocked a gasp out of Andrea, great since it crashed into his throat. 'What?! He just appeared!' He was going to batter the Diwata but another tone of that noise, and he just bashed the same football he was going to hit in the first place!
Jikon was right back beside Susamaru and Hima, with his sword being passed back to him by the small demon. A firm grip on his hilt and hot blood pumping through his veins, Jikon was ready for another round until- Holy shit! "Are Shinobu and Zen-"
"They were alright, just resting up. Once they wake up I can bring them here!" Hima brought an ivory flute to her lips while Susamaru created two more temari.
"This'll be fun! We got a Hashira backing us up! Another getting ready, and a Demon Slayer coming with her! This is gonna be great!"
Jikon's emotions were making his body heat up more and more… yet it showed with how he clenched his sword and grit his teeth. "Shouldn't have started my heart back up… I want you suffering."
A burst of those beautiful pink flames. Nezuko's blood immolated Tanjiro's sword and turned the blade from black to red, Hotaru and Taiki stared in wonder as the sword changed colors and they could feel Tanjiro's very presence shift. "Holy shit, make mine red too!" Taiki swung and cleared the rubble with one fell swoop, flowers and trails of reddish white followed his blade.
"Hmm! Hm!" Nezuko reached a hand onto Taiki's sword and she gripped it, letting her blood course onto the blade and-
"You guys planning something over there?!" Urogi was in the air right in front of Sekido and Karaku, that wide grin on his face. His claws were primed and ready to go! "Not like it really matters! You can't beat us. Once we dice you apart, you won't feel pain ever again!" Urogi rushed at them and dodged gunfire from Hotaru's pistols.
Tanjiro's sword was coated in those bright pink flames and his disposition was steady. 'I remember it, just like when I landed my attack on Gyutaro. My entire body was burning up, even the mark on my forehead was on fire. Chanel that feeling…' He struck a stance with that flaming sword overhead, and Sekido's anger changed to recollection. Sekido knew that pose.
'It's like the swordsman that hunted down Lord Muzan… The sword is the same, even their visages are overlapping.' He managed to break out of his stupor. "Karaku!"
'Sun Breathing!'
Karaku kicked away right as the fire started dancing past Urogi and towards both him and Sekido! "As if I'd let you tak-AH!"
Winding strikes that cut Karaku in multiple places all at once, tearing his body apart and making him fall to the rubble in a heap of pain and burning slashes. Fissures of pink and passionate sparks trailing his attack.
"Second form, Love Pangs bitch!"
A long winding attack of multiple powerful slashes with a blazing fire trailing behind them, Tanjiro unleashed slashes that tore through Urogi and led him to clash with lightning attacks until he stormed through and landed his strikes on Sekido!
"Solar Halo Dragon Head Dance!"
Urogi's head was cut off, his tongue split, and slashes were across his chest. Sekido's head was cut off, slashes on his face and through his tongue, and his hands were chopped off. Karaku's tongue was split, his head cut off, and his body twisted like a ribbon.
Tanjiro figured it out. "It's just like back then, pushing Sun Breathing and letting my body burn up. It makes me so much stronger. That's three down, meaning if Genya-" Speak of the devil, Genya was holding the blue one, Aizetsu's, head with a missing jaw. The jumonji gored the body into a tree and Genya's breathing was labored. "Genya's okay! And the fourth one's down too!"
"So why aren't these fuckers dead?" Taiki asked a very good question. Even as Karaku wailed about the pain making it feel like he was dying, they weren't actually burning up like they should.
"FUCK! I CAN'T FUCKING HEAL! WHAT WERE THOSE SLASHES?!"
"Karaku! Shut up!" Sekido took command again and urged his other self to calm down. "We're regenerating but it's slowed down!"
Nezuko ran up and hugged her elder brother, and Hotaru looked around to see that the Kidoairaku weren't dying either. "Something's wrong."
"We can't take them out like this. For a moment I smelled it, a fifth demon. We need to find him too and take his head off!"
Hotaru had one question. "Smelled. You smelled it?"
Oh right. "My sense of smell is really strong! I can even smell the emotions of people if I try, that's how I know that there's another demon around here!"
"And you didn't know that earlier?"
"The hot springs threw my sense of smell off…"
The both of them heard a clap then turned to see Genya and Taiki hit their hands together, grins on both their faces and they clearly made some comment over the pinned Aizetsu.
"Genya! Taiki! There's a fifth demon, I'm going to look for him and do my best to take him down."
Taiki scoffed once he heard that and Genya loaded his shotgun. "That leaves us to keep these four pinned down, wait, is your sister helping us?"
Nezuko gave an adorable wave and Tanjiro nodded. "Yeah! Just be sure not to send any attacks her way by mistake!" Tanjiro started to- "Look out!" Each of them evaded lightning strikes and saw Sekido standing there with an even deeper scowl on his face. "Sekido's back up! Will you guys be alright?"
"We'll be fine!" Hotaru pulled his triggers and blew holes into Sekido's forearms. "Just find the last demon!"
"I'll let you know when I find the last one!" Tanjiro sprinted off and they were left with-
"DAMN IT! We've had enough failure up to this point! We're forming Zohakuten right now!" The other emotion demons looked alarmed and Sekido rushed towards Urogi first… then he absorbed him into his body through his palm.
"What the fuck?!" Genya fired two shots but Sekido evaded them just fine despite poison entering his system, almost like the dose wasn't enough to bring him to a halt.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro was dashing through the forest with his sense of smell pushing its limits. 'Find him! Have to find him! Focus, where could he be?' He swerved around trees and examined bushes for an instant before going to the next one, smells were all over thanks to Karaku's winds. 'Wait! There, right there! I've got his scent again!' He could find him and that meant he could kill him!
Shuradai had no reason to struggle so much against one dumb girl… and yet here he was having his spear thrusts deflected and parried! "Die!" A slam of his khakkara and the girl dodged each of his lightning bolts as she got even closer, but there was still the uchiwa. Once she got too close he could- Lose his hand. He could get his hand chopped off and watch the girl swing her cleavers with one hand, then grab the uchiwa in her right! Uh oh.
"Fly away!" Nonoka slid under him and swung the fan upwards… and the gust of wind sent Shuradai into the air. Far into the air.
Yoshino just leapt over Kinmachi and whirled her dart around his neck, then she pulled with all the force she had in her body! "Masekaeru Matsuge."(Lashing Choke). A pull and she did it, not just yanking Kinmachi out of his black puddle, but slicing his head off!
"NO!" His body writhed from his puddle and revealed that his lower body was just a series of octopus arms. His hands scrambled to the ground and tried to draw more of his twisted figures… but it didn't matter, he was turning to ash and even his head was rolling back and forth out of distress. "This can't be! My art was too unique! Too beautiful to be lost so easily!" His voice… it was coming from his body, not the head. Not like it mattered.
"I did it… I managed to defeat an Eclipse." She clenched her weapon in hand and felt something new, a sense of pride grew inside her body. Accomplishment was pouring through her- Something just pricked her back. Yoshino turned and saw a massive woman in a kimono looking at her. Gorgeous wings of pink and brown colors sprouted from her back, and antennae on top of her head. She looked like a moth, her dark skin being the cherry on top.
This demon looked remorseful. As if she didn't want to have her nails pricking into Yoshino's back like this, a hand pumping something into her body like this. Yoshino could feel her skin swelling at this demon's claws and- She couldn't even move!
"I don't enjoy this. I don't like having to do these things, but Lord Muzan ordered it. My name is Mameha. I'm truly sorry for this, but I was ordered to ensure that lords Hantengu and Gyokko wouldn't have to be against an overwhelming count of demon hunters."
That hand withdrew from her back and went back to Mameha's side. "You…" Something was moving under her skin. Inside her body, Mameha did something that was about to… Yoshino was going to die. "Why?"
"Your friend is staring now. Please, say what you will."
It was exactly like this months ago. Being at the precipice of death and all she could do was wait for it, but this time, there wasn't any saving grace, nothing to show up and undo what was about to happen. The moth lady already did whatever she was going to do… at least she was kind enough to offer this short time for one sentence. Because Yoshino was going to die here, she had time to give a grievance.
Her blossom eyes drifted to the one person who was always there for her, the girl she always treated like the family she didn't know. 'Nonoka-' What could she say? She'd get a few words at most. They had to count. Twenty years growing up in that place, a place where Nonoka was always treated like an idiot. Nobody ever thought she'd be good with anything, until Jikon started training them… 'I'm better at being careful, but Nonoka- Nonoka was made to fight demons. Not me.' A shake of her head internally, negative thoughts had no place in her head right now. 'I can't say that… Everyone put her down but I always-' Oh. It was that obvious.
Yoshino turned her head to face Nono- To face her sister, for the last time. A subtle smile came onto her face as she decided to speak from her heart.
"Nonoka, I always believed in yoUULLLDHG!"
Her skin bubbled and her flesh ballooned. The larvae forced through her were wriggling and writhing underneath her skin. Nerves were on fire and pain was running through her head, but in an instant her body gave way to what the moth woman did. It was fast. Even if it felt like minutes, it barely took two seconds. Her entire body burst in a spray of blood, but the beautiful moths that swarmed from the meat of her corpse drew more attention. All Nonoka could do was stand there in horror, vacant eyed in the face of losing her honorary sister…
"…Yo… shi.. no…"
You are my special~
Taisho Era Secrets
"I don't know how, but we can find the last demon! My nose hasn't led me wrong yet, so all I need to do is just hunt him down and finish him off! Everyone's counting on me and I won't let them down, you can do this, Tanjiro! Push forward!"