Mitsuri barrelled into Tanjuro, hugging him tight, while Kyojuro came up behind her, a bright smile on his face. "It's so good to see you again! I've missed you" the pink and green-haired Hashira cried excitedly. "I've missed you too. Have you had a lot of Missions lately Mitsuri?" Tanjuro asked, pulling back to look at the younger woman. "Oh, so many! But at least I've been able to eat lots of yummy food from those places too!" the Love Hashira proclaimed with a big smile, an aura of happiness emanating from her. Tanjuro smiled, "that's great. We were on our way to the Hot Springs, so we'll talk more later, okay?" the Kamado asked.
"Okay! Have a good time! The Hot Springs are amazing! I'll see you later!" Mitsuri exclaimed, waving as she ran down the steps past them. "Miss Mitsuri is very happy again today" Sayuri commented as they watched them go. "Well, I'm sure you already know this already, being that you all live with her, but her appetite is legendary. She can eat more than 3 Sumo Wrestlers in one sitting by herself!" Kyojuro laughed. "R-really? I guess she's out on Missions most of the time, because we haven't seen her eat that much!" Yukito said in astonishment.
The Flame Hashira clapped Tanjuro on the shoulder, "well! We can talk more later! You all have a nice soak in the Hot Springs, alright?!" Kyojuro asked, before he left after his former Student. "Okay everyone, let's go!" Shizu said.
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The group of Demons sighed in bliss as they relaxed into the hot water. "I can't remember the last time I was able to stop and just relax in a bath!" Hakuji sighed, leaning back against the rocks. "It feels so nice!" Sayuri squealed happily. Shizu sighed deeply and sunk all the way down so she was fully submerged, before bursting up through the water again and pushing her hair out of her face. The Shinazugawa practically started purring as she relaxed. Kie blinked down at the water, tilting her head curiously. Tanjuro held out his arms for her, "come on Dear, it's okay. It's nice. Do you remember what baths are Kie?" he asked.
His Wife slowly entered the water, shivering as she did, before she practically melted into the water the rest of the way, causing Tanjuro to have to catch her in his arms. Kie sighed as she hugged him, relaxing against him in the hot water. "Kie" Tanjuro said with a gentle smile, moving to help her sit more comfortably. "Lord Tanjuro? Can we go to Hot Springs more often?" Sayuri asked as she looked up at him. "Maybe. I'll have to talk to Kagaya about that" the Demon King replied. "T-Tanj-juro" Kie stuttered. He kissed his Wife on the forehead, "yes love, I'm here" Tanjuro replied, stroking her hair back. "Oh, my God! This is great! Between working and hunting, we never got to go to the Hot Springs back at the Entertainment District!" Ume exclaimed happily.
Tanjuro smiled at the Siblings warmly, "I'm glad you like it" he replied, making Gyutaro look away from him awkwardly. After a few more minutes in the hot water, everyone got out and got dried and dressed. "Well, we don't need to eat, so what do you say we do some exploring everyone, since it will be dark soon. Kie can be out of her box then too" Tanjuro suggested. "Sounds good" Gyutaro agreed, stretching after he finished getting dressed. So the group of Demons walked through the forest and the Village, memorising the routes for later. After all, they had been sent here because Kagaya had sensed that there was going to be danger here. It was best to know their environment in a battle.
After they'd explored as much as they could, the group returned to the house they'd been given, to find both Hashira eating massive amounts of food. "Woah" Hakuji muttered, eyes wide in shock. Kie was swaying on her feet, most of her energy having been used up in the Hot Spring and walking back. Tanjuro scooped her up, "I'm just going to go put her to bed, okay? You can all do whatever as long as no one causes trouble" he explained, leaving to go to their room with his Wife in his arms. Hakuji watched him go, feeling melancholy as he remembered his own Wife. 'Koyuki. I should have been doing that with you. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you and Master' he thought to himself, closing his eyes against the pain in his chest.
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As Tanjuro put Kie to bed, he closed his eyes. 'Whatever happens here, I promise I'll protect you Love' he thought, opening his eyes and kissing his Wife on the lips. He fixed up the Futon, before making sure the window was covered for when the sun rose tomorrow, then left the bedroom. "Goodnight Kie. I love you" Tanjuro said with a loving smile, before returning to his Demons. "So, we need to talk about this upcoming attack everyone. Unfortunately Kagaya couldn't give me concrete information about who was going to attack the Village. But I think the attacker's being Upper Rank Demons can go unspoken at this point" Tanjuro said.
"Of course. With how important this Village is to the Corps, Muzan wouldn't send anyone but the strongest to wipe it out. He'll send at least Upper 5 or 4. Possibly both" Hakuji confirmed. Tanjuro looked down in thought, while his Demons steeled themselves, "we'll do whatever we have to do to protect this place, even against Upper Rank Demons!" Sayuri said firmly. Tanjuro glanced over at his youngest Demon, "Sayuri. Are you sure about this? You don't have to fight if you don't want to" he replied with a worried frown. "We want to. It's our job now, and we have to try to help kill that Bastard!" Ume agreed, clenching her fists in anger as she remembered Muzan.
The black-haired Demon child nodded firmly in agreement. "Alright. From now on, everyone except for Kie, I want you all patrolling at night and working on your Blood Demon Arts. We have to be prepared for when the attack does come" Tanjuro ordered. "You don't have to go out during the day because the 12 Kizuki can't go out in the sun unlike most of us. So just train during the day, and be careful of the Swordsmiths, alright?" he asked. Everyone agreed, and left to begin patrolling. Tanjuro sighed and stroked Kie's hair as she slept.
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The next week was quiet, and Tanjuro and his Demons spent that time relaxing and training during the day, and patrolling at night. Despite the lack of an attack, Tanjuro was on edge. He could sense something, just on the edges of the Village, but whenever he went to investigate, the presence had vanished. He spoke to Hakuji about this. "An Upper Rank who can hide their presence?" the black-haired Demon asked. "Yes. Do you know of any? I feel like there's one nearby, but every time I get close enough to find of sense it properly, it vanishes again" Tanjuro explained.
"Well, I know Hantengu, who's Upper 4, or who was Upper Four while I was a member of the Upper Rank Kizuki can hide his presence. It could be him. And if he's the new Upper 3, then he's even stronger than before" Hakuji replied. "Wonderful." Tanjuro sighed sarcastically. "Well, he doesn't seem to be making any moves yet. Are you able to keep track of him with your Compass Hakuji?" the Kamado asked. "Maybe. I'll try then let you know how it goes." The other Demon replied, before sitting down to focus on his Compass. "What's wrong Lord Tanjuro?" Yukito asked as he and Shizu entered the room. Kie ran over to him and hugged him.
"D-dear?" she asked worriedly. "We might have a fight on our hands everyone, get ready-" Tanjuro began, before a blast of wind like a Tsunami shattered the building and sent everyone flying through the air. Tanjuro clung onto his Sword as he was flung away. He still had his Flames, but he didn't want to take any chances when dealing with Upper Rank Demons. Especially one so strong. Tanjuro smashed through walls and trees like a ragdoll, and he quickly found himself buried under rubble. Finally the wind subsided, and he quickly healed his shattered bones. 'Damn! What the hell was that?! Hakuji didn't say anything about Hantengu having a wind-based Blood Demon Art' he thought worriedly.
As he burst out of the rubble, Tanjuro looked around finding all of his Demons climbing out of the wooden debris as well. Suddenly Tanjuro sensed the Demons- Demons? There were two separate Demonic energies. They were similar, but not enough to be mistaken for one Demon. Just then Kyojuro landed on the rubble from who knows where, his sword drawn. In front of them were two Demons. One holding a Bamboo-leaf-fan and the other wearing a Kimono and holding a Shakkujo. "Hah! Hah! Hah! Well, look at that Sekkido! We've found that fake Demon King! And that traitor Akaza!" the Demon with the fan laughed. "This is not funny Karaku! Lord Muzan gave us strict orders to kill all of them, and they are still alive!" the Shakkujo Demon, Sekkido replied furiously.
"Damn, he's already started splitting" Hakuji spat, growling. He turned to Tanjuro, "the main body of Hantengu has already split off! I'll use my Compass to find it! Handle these two, and try not to cut off either of their heads! They'll just split into the remaining two bodies! Their tongues are their weak spot!" he called, before running in a different direction, his Compass spinning under his feet. "You traitor! I won't let you get-" Sekkido cried furiously, raising his staff. Tanjuro had a very bad feeling about it, so he shot forwards, "Hinokami Kagura: Dance!" he cried, slicing off the other Demon's hand, and causing him to drop his Shakkujo at the same time.
"Damn you! You fake Demon King!" the Demon, who Tanjuro could now see had the Kanji for 'Anger' on his tongue, grew another Staff from his hand, and slammed it down on the ground furiously. Lightning surged everywhere, paralysing Tanjuro, while Hakuji groaned in pain. Tanjuro struggled to move, but the lightning was causing all of his muscles to seize up. The Kamado Demon burst into flames, the Sunlight Flames sweeping along the ground towards the Upper 4 Demon. Karaku tried to blow away the flames with his fan, but they moved much faster than he thought. Both enemy Demons caught fire, screaming as they burned.
Suddenly Yukito burst out of the shadows caused by Tanjuro's flames and kicked Karaku in the arm as hard as he could. The other Demon's arm snapped, and he dropped his fan. The black and purple-haired Demon caught the Bamboo-Leaf-Fan and swung it, causing Karaku to be blown away. Sekkido fought through the flames and tried to use his lightning again, but Tanjuro shot forwards and sliced his arm off. He dropped the Shakkujo, and Tanjuro kicked it away. However the Anger Demon grew another staff from his other palm. "Lord Tanjuro, look out!" Hakuji cried. However, as Sekkido moved to skewer him with his weapon, Tanjuro caught it with the severed hand.
"Damn you insolent vermin!" the Anger Demon seethed, but was cut off as Tanjuro sliced through his tongue. 'I have to find the main body quickly! Hurry! Before he recovers.' He thought. Suddenly a burst of pink could be seen, as Mitsuri leapt into the air, "I'm here! Hold on!" she cried, whip-like Sword lashing towards the clone Demon's necks. "Wait Mitsuri! Don't-" Tanjuro cried, but it was too late. In one strike, the blade sliced through both clones necks at once. "Fuck" Hakuji muttered under his breath. The Love Hashira blanched as the severed heads grew new bodies and the bodies grew new heads. In her shock, the young woman failed to notice one of the new Demons who was wielding a spear head right towards her.
"Miss Mitsuri! Look out!" Tanjuro cried. But before she could be skewered, Gyutaro leapt in front of her and took the attack through the stomach. He grinned, and encased his Sickles in his blood. Ume quickly grabbed Misturi and dragged her away, who soon began running on her own. "Blood Demon Art: Rotating Circular Slashes!" the green-haired Demon snarled and engulfed the blue-wearing Demon in a tornado of blood slashes. The spear-wielding Clone screamed as he was ripped apart, however, a blast of lightning from Sekkido dispersed the other Demon's attack, and caused him to spasm uncontrollably.
"Shit, this is bad!" Tanjuro growled, before he was forced to snap his attention upwards, only to see Karaku leap back into sight, "this looks like fun! Can I join in!" he cried, laughing, as he swung his fan downwards and a blast of wind slammed Tanjuro and Yukito into the ground. 'Fuck! Even with so much information, and extra forces, we're still getting beaten! Come on Tanjuro! You're a Demon King! You can't be beaten by someone like this!' Tanjuro thought. It really became clear to him, how much Hakuji, back when he was Upper 3 could have beaten him into the ground, if he hadn't enjoyed fighting him so much, and slowly increased the amount of power he was using.
'We have to win here, otherwise the entire Village will be destroyed!' Tanjuro thought furiously. Suddenly the mark on his forehead grew and spread over his face, and he stood up, feeling a new burst of strength burning through him. Tanjuro gripped his Sword in determination, setting it on fire with his Blood Demon Art, "we will not lose!" he swore furiously.