A/N: Hey another new chapter a day after the previous one? Crazy right? I don't expect to have this frequency of updates going forward but I had a lot more time and motivation this week than I've had in a while so I used it to get further along in this story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I am quite fond of it!

No matter how many horrible things Tanjiro had seen over the last two years, nothing ever prepared him for the fresh Hells he had to witness on a nearly daily basis as a demon slayer. The scene before him was one such Hell. He, Inosuke and Susamaru had just finished a productive conversation and were running to find the demon controlling slayers on Mt. Natagumo; however, all three of them had to stop dead in their tracks as the encountered a young female slayer stabbing into the neck of one of her comrades. There were many other corpses all around her and she was crying relentlessly as her body moved on its own. She begged Tanjiro to go find Hashira or other higher ranked slayers to help. Their brief conversation was interrupted by the macabre noise the threads made before they forced their puppets to attack.

"Run!" the young woman screamed as she lunged at Tanjiro. Luckily the other young slayer was agile enough to avoid her attacks; however, it was clear to him that the demon had even greater control over her than with the previous slayers he faced. It was also clear that the demon had no regard for its puppets as both Tanjiro and Susamaru could hear the poor girls joints being dislocated and her ligaments being torn as the threads forced her body to move beyond its normal abilities. It sickened Tanjiro greatly and Susamaru couldn't help but feel sad for the poor girl.

Suddenly, two more slayers were pulled up by threads. One appeared to be dead; however, the other… he was in far worse shape than any they had seen before. His limbs were twisted and warped in ways that would be more fitting to bent steel than bones. His face displayed all the agony he was going through and Susamaru couldn't help but hold a hand to her face in shock at his condition. Tanjiro stood mouth agape while Inosuke seemed unfazed.

"Please… kill… me… my bones… are piercing... my organs," the young slayer begged.

Tears nearly escaped Tanjiro's eyes. He couldn't bear the thought that a comrade was so harmed that said slayer would literally plead with him for death. The wounded slayer noticed Tanjiro's hesitation and also noticed that Susamaru was a demon and for once he was relieved that she was.

"You… demon… please… kill me. If the others… can't… please…"

Susamaru couldn't help but shed a couple tears herself now. She was supposed to be saving people not killing them! Still… she thought in a way that she would be saving him from the agony he was in. She quickly conjured one of her temari and looked at Tanjiro for approval. Tanjiro looked at her shocked that she would even consider mercy killing him and it made Susamaru flinch. As she herself hesitated, Inosuke took initiative.

"You got it!" he said as he charged the wounded slayer.

"No! Inosuke! We have to find a way to help him!"

"He's begging for death! I am helping him!" Inosuke shouted back; however, the wounded slayer was still being controlled and as a result he was forced to defend himself. His swords swings were so quick that Inosuke was pushed back to Tanjiro and Susamaru.

"Damn it! I can't get close!"

"… I don't… have to get close to them," Susamaru said as she prepared to throw her temari.

"Wait! Susa, I have a plan!" Tanjiro suddenly said as inspiration struck him.

"Oh?" Susamaru said intrigued. She knew his strategies had a good track record so she was hopeful that he actually found a way to help these poor souls. Tanjiro then proceeded to split off from the group to lure the female slayer away and when he had her where he wanted her; he flipped her into the air and got her threads tangled up so that she couldn't move. Susamaru was happily surprised by this display and even Inosuke thought it was cool. Both of them immediately threw away their weapons and had the other slayers chase them so they could do the same. Tanjiro watched them with a smile on his face. He was glad that once a non-violent alternative was given to them that both were eager to take it. It showed him that each of them were striving to be better people in their own way and that made him proud to have them as friends.

"See that Tanjiro? I can do anything you can!" Inosuke boasted after having flipped one of the other slayers into the tree.

"I did see! Great job Inosuke! You too Susa!"

Both of his friends blushed at his compliments. Inosuke still didn't understand why he was reacting this way whenever he was acknowledged by Tanjiro but he decided it was a nice feeling. Susamaru, on the other hand, was glad to finally assist in actually saving some humans instead of simply helping to kill demons. She had ended so many lives herself that she thought one of the only ways to make up for it was to save just as many so to her this was progress.

Suddenly their celebrations were cut short as one by one each of the slayers they tangled up had their necks snapped by the threads. Before any of them could react, all three tangled slayers were dead. For a few seconds no one moved. Susamaru's little spark of hope was stomped into the ground in an instant. She fell to her knees as tears flowed from her eyes.

"I… failed… I couldn't help," she said softly. Tanjiro and Inosuke didn't hear her as they were each having their own reaction to the situation at hand.

Inosuke began to sweat from having to acknowledge his own failure. "Damn it! They're all dead now!"

Susamaru looked up at Inosuke as he said that but her gaze quickly shifted to Tanjiro. His expression was neutral and he simply walked towards one of the fallen slayers and knelt down. Susamaru got up and walked over to him and Inosuke. She initially thought Tanjiro was just as upset as her and wanted to comfort him by placing a hand on his shoulder; however, as she reached out, both she and Inosuke sensed a frightening aura radiating from the boy. This was something neither had felt from him before. They both realized he was not sad or despairing. Instead, he was in a rage.

As Tanjiro stood he said two words, "Let's go," and that was all Susamaru needed to hear to come to a conclusion; there was not chance to save this demon they were facing. Whoever it was had to die. Even for a demon their acts were far too cruel and Susamaru was perfectly fine with letting Tanjiro decapitate them. Inosuke was thinking something similar. He wasn't as affected by the slayers' deaths as much as Tanjiro was and as a result, he was going to swallow his pride and allow Tanjiro the finishing blow on this demon.

With all of them determined to finish this fight, the three began to run towards the demon at even greater speed than before. Nothing was going to stop them, or so they thought. Shortly after they began running, the three of them all detected a demon in front of them. Inosuke shouted that he was going to hack its head clean off before lunging at it. As fired up as they were, Susamaru was convinced Inosuke was going to do just as he said and finish it within a second. Unfortunately, they all realized a bit late that this particular demon… didn't posses a head.

"What the? How?" Susamaru said as the group had to stop to face the demonic puppet.

"Maybe his head was cut off by a slayer earlier?" Inosuke suggested.

"No, then his body would have faded away. It must have been cut by something else!" Tanjiro said.

"But… even so… it would have regenerated by now. Remember when I lopped of Yushiro's head and it grew back within minutes?" Susamaru said.

"Yes… why must you bring that up? That was not nice of you to do!"

"I wasn't on your side at that point!"

"It was still rude!"

"He's a demon! He was fine!"

"What are you both yelling about?!" Inosuke said, not enjoying being out of the loop.

"Uh… we'll tell you later," Susamaru said. "Anyway, the only reason his head wouldn't have regenerated by now is if…" Susamaru paused as the realization struck her.

"If what Susa?" Tanjiro asked.

"If… his head was still intact and being kept away from his body…"

Tanjiro's anger flared up once more. Not only was the demon controlling these puppets cruel to his fellow slayers but it was also being cruel to its own kind! It was forcing this demon to exist in two parts just so it could control him! What a wretched creature they were facing!

"Let's beat this thing so we can move on to the main demon!" Tanjiro said as he prepared for battle. The others snapped into fighting stances as well… until Inosuke realized what they were up against once more.

"Wait… how can we beat this thing! I can't slash a weak spot that isn't there!" Inosuke said as he began to panic. Susamaru also didn't know how to approach the situation but she tried to maintain her calm. She knew better than most that decapitation wasn't the only way to kill a demon so there must be something they could do. Luckily for both of them, Tanjiro already knew the answer.

"We'll cut him from the base of his neck to his waist. It's a tough cut to make but it is another proven method for killing a demon when decapitation isn't an option," he said.

"Got it!" Inosuke said as he charged ahead on his own.

"… why does he always do this?" Susamaru said as one of her eyelids twitched in annoyance. Said annoyance rapidly switch to concern as Inosuke was barely able to dodge the headless demon's attacks and was getting cut up in the process. Additionally, her new friend had forgotten about the small spiders that connected the threads to the main demon and accidentally allowed himself to be tangled. Tanjiro and Susamaru both acted quickly as Inosuke thought that he was doomed. Susamaru exposed her extra sets of arms and used all of the muscles in them to catch the demon's bladed hand. She then braced herself and threw the large demon away from the human while Tanjiro cut him loose with his sword.

Inosuke was a little embarrassed that he had to be rescued but he was also very touched that Tanjiro and Susamaru would save him. He was finally starting to understand he thought. Shortly after that, Tanjiro declared all three of them had to work in sync to defeat the demon before them and so he allowed Inosuke to launch off of him. This gave Inosuke a proper angle to cut off the demon's arms, while Susamaru threw four of her temari to blow off his legs. With the demon fully amputated, Inosuke was able to go for the killing blow and cute the demon from neck to waist as Tanjiro had instructed. It was then that Inosuke realized that it wasn't about who entered combat first, it was about the whole picture. Planning everything out so that victory could be achieved regardless of any individual's input. Tanjiro didn't slash at the demon at all; however, the three of them won because of him and his plans anyway.

As the demon faded away, Tanjiro took a moment to praise Inosuke for his cut; however, Inosuke didn't respond this time. "Inosuke?" Tanjiro asked, concerned that his friend had been hurt. Before he could ask any further questions, Inosuke tossed his swords to the side and wrapped Tanjiro up in his arms so that he could throw the other boy into the air. Susamaru thought that was rather random until she realized what Inosuke was doing. He had thrown Tanjiro towards the controlling demon!

"Good idea Inosuke!" Susamaru said.

Inosuke welled up with pride at her praise. "Of course, I only have great ideas!"

"Okay, okay don't get too ahead of yourself," Susamaru said as she realized her words probably raised his ego to new heights and that was something she did not want to deal with. Both of them suddenly stopped their conversation as they realized the presence of the demon nearby was fading. "Looks like Tanjiro got it."

"Yeah. I knew he would. He was too determined to lose against such a creature."

"True. We should still go check on him though. Remember he doesn't want anyone left behind," Susamaru said as she started walking towards Tanjiro's location.

"Of course I remember! Do you think I'm a moron?" Inosuke yelled at her.

"Do you want me to answer that question?"

"Uh…" Inosuke's words were caught in his throat at her declaration. "No, I don't think so."

"Good, then let's hurry up!" Susamaru said with a mischievous smile.

"I am hurrying! You're the one who should be hurrying!" Inosuke said as he ran past her.

As the duo ran towards there friend, they discovered he had the same thought as them and was also racing back to meet them. The three reunited and Inosuke asked if he defeated the demon.

"I did! But… she surrendered…"

"She what?" Susamaru said baffled by this revelation.

"She… welcomed death… I don't know what had happened to her but… all my anger just… evaporated when I saw her eyes. She was so afraid but not of me. She let me cut her head off and I did so as gently as I could. Before she faded away she told me a real Twelve Kizuki is here and to be careful."

"A real Twelve Kizuki?!" Susamaru asked. "And really? Damn, you were really angry with her, she must have been through a lot to have you change your tune so quickly."

"Yeah… she must have and yes a real member of the Twelve is here."

"Shit…" was all Susamaru could say in response to this new knowledge.

"What… is a Kizuki?" Inosuke asked.

"One of the strongest demons. The ones closest to Muzan Kibutsuji," Tanjiro elaborated.

"What's a Kibutsuji?"

"Are you serious Inosuke? He's the progenitor of all demons. He's basically their god," Susamaru said.

"So… doesn't that make him your god too?" Inosuke said to her.

"Fuck no! He's an asshole who needs to: have his skin ripped off; burned to a crisp; and then have his body set out in the sun!" Susamaru yelled into the sky.

"Okay Susa… that's… more description than we needed…" Tanjiro said as he patted her on the head to calm her down.

"Oh… sorry. I got carried away," Susamaru said sheepishly.

"Nah, I like that plan!" Inosuke said.

"I hate him too but there's no need to be as cruel as he is."

"Yeah… you're right… he deserves it though," Susamaru grumbled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be punished in Hell for his crimes. We don't need to do it ourselves… we just have to send him there," Tanjiro said with determination.

"Oh damn… yeah!" Susamaru replied matching Tanjiro's sentiments. It was then that Susamaru caught the sent of blood and looked towards Inosuke. "Uh, by the way… Inosuke… you're bleeding like a lot," she said as a bit of drool escaped her mouth.

"Oh no! I'm sorry I didn't notice your injuries Inosuke! Are you alright?!" Tanjiro asked.

"I'm fine! I am not a baby like that Zenitsuma brat! I don't need coddling! I can… I can… uh…" Inosuke started trailing off. Both Susamaru and Tanjiro realized he was losing too much blood and they would need to help him. Tanjiro began bandaging one of Inosuke's while Susamaru did the other. It took both of them to hold him down as he resisted their help.

"I don't need those!" he declared.

"Yes you do!" Susamaru said as she held him to the ground with her six arms as Tanjiro kept bandaging him.

"Hey Susa, I have a question," Tanjiro said as they worked on Inosuke.

"Sure, what is it?" Susamaru asked. She was actually kind of relieved he was talking to her. It was taking a lot of her will power to not lick or bite at Inosuke's wounds and a distraction would help her.

"Demons don't normally work together right? So why are these spider demons working with one of the Twelve?"

"You are normally right Tanjiro; however, even I worked with another demon before remember? I think it's all about how Kibutsuji feels about a situation. Normally demons are very competitive with each other, almost like this stubborn idiot we are holding down."

"Hey!" Inosuke piped up.

"I wouldn't call you an idiot if you would just let us bandage you! Anyway… that wasn't the case when Yahaba and I were paired up. There wasn't this same need to force him away so I could get everything to myself and it seems as though he felt the same. In other words I think Kibutsuji can control how strong a demon's urge to be independent is as long as it suits his goals. That's probably what is happening here unless the Twelve can do the same since they are closely related to him." After Susamaru finished her theory, she and Tanjiro managed to finish wrapping up Inosuke's wounds.

"That makes a lot of sense Susa. Also, Inosuke how do you feel now? Any better?"

Inosuke frustratedly turned from his friends and huffed to show his dissatisfaction with the situation; however, after a few moments he did admit his wounds felt better.

"Good, I'm glad," Tanjiro said.

"It would have been nice if you just let us treat you instead of squirming around like an animal though," Susamaru said under her breath.

"Susa! Don't be rude!" Tanjiro said as he smacked her on top of the head.

"Ow!" Susamaru said as she rubbed her head.

"Oh no… I'm sorry Susa!" Tanjiro said as he was shocked at what he did.

"It's fine Tanjiro. It didn't actually hurt. It was just surprising. Especially from you."

Tanjiro looked at the ground with a vacant expression and said, "You guys are rubbing off on me… I'm turning into a violent person."

"Don't be so dramatic!" Susamaru said as she patted him on the back. "It's not the first time you hit someone for being rude anyway… I mean you did headbutt Inosuke… and you did chop off my arms… and…"

Tanjiro's eyes went white upon hearing all of this and his soul started to leave his body through his mouth. "I'm a monster," he said.

"No you are not! Oh my god, stop saying stuff like that. You are the nicest person any of us know! You didn't even let us mercy kill those other slayers or harm the dead's corpses for god's sake!"

"You really think I'm kind?" Tanjiro said a little relieved.

"You also saved my life remember? Of course I do! You gotta get a grip," she replied.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just a little high strung right now. I couldn't save those people earlier or that demon from whatever was causing her suffering and now I hit you… I'm just frustrated with myself."

"Well then that makes two of us… I also hate that I couldn't do anything," Susamaru admitted somewhat relieved that Tanjiro felt the same sense of failure that she did.

"… I too am not satisfied with how things have gone. I wanted to prove I could save people just like you. Looks like none of us got the satisfaction of doing a good job tonight," Inosuke said as he turned towards his friends once more.

"Well, if we all feel this way then there's only one thing to do!" Tanjiro declared as he shot up from his seat.

"What's that?" Susamaru asked.

"We have to kill the Twelve Kizuki that lives on this mountain so it can't kill anyone else!"

"Now we're talking!" Inosuke shouted.

"Yeah let's go!" Susamaru chimed in.

The three of them began walking around the forest, hoping to find the member of the Twelve; however, the decided to take a quick breather first by the river so Inosuke could regain some of his strength. Tanjiro was also grateful for the fresh clean water to drink as he was mentally exhausted by the night's events so far. Susamaru just hung back by the treeline and waited for her friends to finish addressing their human needs. She started realizing how strange it was that she didn't need to drink water or anything to keep her strength up.

"These people have to live like this every day. Eating normal food... drinking water… breathing… all things I don't need anymore. It's so strange and yet… I find myself really missing having to do such mundane things. Maybe because if I needed to… then I would be joining them and finding more common ground with Tanjiro and Inosuke. Maybe then I'd feel less like an outsider in the group." Susamaru thought until she was interrupted by a peculiar sound. It almost sounded like lightning even though there were no rain clouds to speak of.

"What was that?" Tanjiro asked.

"I don't know… weird," Susamaru said as she stood to walk over to Tanjiro.

"You heard that too, right Inosuke?"

"Yeah… and I just felt a demon's presence vanish," the boar man said.

"I did too… very weird but I suppose that's a good thing," Susamaru said.

"Darn, the scent on this mountain is still messing with my nose… I can't tell anything right now," Tanjiro said.

Suddenly Susamaru and Inosuke turned towards the other side of the river. They felt a presence close in and sure enough, all three soon heard soft footsteps moving toward them. After a moment a young demon girl appeared before them. She seemed equally surprised to see them as they were to see her. Inosuke got over his surprise the fastest and began chasing after the girl.

"Hey you damn demon! I'm going to rip you to shreds!"

"Jeez, do you have to say it like that," Susamaru said as she chased after Inosuke.

"Wait! Both of you! Something's wrong!" Tanjiro yelled.

Tanjiro was right as the demon girl quickly yelled for her father. This confused Inosuke and Susamaru until a giant demon appeared above them and pounded his fists into the river. Both Inosuke and Susamaru were sent flying backwards by the impact. Luckily both of them landed on their feet; however, the new spider demon's attack was relentless and he quickly put them both on the defensive. Just as he was about to punch Inosuke into oblivion, Susamaru pushed him out of the way and took the hit. The entire upper half of her body was instantly destroyed in a mist of blood. Her lower half fell into the river and began floating slowly down stream.

"Susamaru!" Tanjiro yelled as he attacked the demon.

Unfortunately, neither Tanjiro nor Inosuke could go after her as what was left of her floated away. The demon was too strong and it was taking all of their effort to stay alive themselves. They just hoped she could regenerate from such an attack and luckily she was slowly doing just that; however, she was still knocked unconscious by the loss of her head and couldn't stop herself from being separated from the group. Shortly after she floated out of sight, Tanjiro was also separated from Inosuke as he was thrown into the sky by the spider demon. Now every member of the group was alone. One of the things they had all secretly hoped would never happen on this mission. Each one would have to face their own challenges by themselves from this point forward… and challenges they would face indeed.