The Dancing Star
Chapter 29
12Thirtypain03
WARNING: This story is rated M for mature-rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering make you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into a demon/human, or more will be labeled in the chapter of occurrence. If a character has died in a chapter, that chapter will give a cause of death to that character.
Giyu and the Water Estate
It took around two months for Giyu to return to the estate he had called home. The very one he had mostly left alone once he left.
The reason for that was rather simple. He had gotten permission from Kagaya to be able to leave, not only to escape the environment, and take a break after the death of Urokodaki, but also to be able to view, analyze, and make sure the demon siblings continued to perform as spectacularly as they were.
Giyu came back with positive news for Kagaya, who was enthralled with the news of Tanjirou and Nezuko both continuing their demon slayer missions, whilst also fitting the bill with the requirements.
They were avoiding other demon slayers whilst focusing on slaying the demons. Now, with Giyu having shown them some examples of advanced training, he hoped that the number of demons the two could eliminate could eventually be worth it all.
The rising amount of demons the two were able to fight and slay was rising, and with every demon they killed, the more credibility they gained within the corps. The vast amount of demons they killed could be sent to some staunchly opposing demon slayers in the event they are exposed and could be used as leverage to maintain the threat that many may see within the corps.
Besides, Tanjirou and Nezuko both were unaware of what could happen if they were found out. It could spell a disaster for those at the top.
However, as Giyu proceeded to make his way back to his estate, he felt someone following him once he was close by.
Shinobu Kocho, once again his guess. Her being the Flower Pillar's younger sister already placed a lot of expectations on her, and even with that, she was a respected demon slayer. Her small and skinny frame made her incapable of decapitating demons' heads off, meaning she would focus on stabbing her sword into demons, laced with wisteria, to kill the demon with time, and with poison.
She was also amongst the fastest within the group, with that being her only trait to match that, or even surpass that of both her elder sister and even some of the Hashira.
Shinobu spotted the retreating figure of Giyu, and eying him up with a bit of confusion. Specifically how he had disappeared from the entirety of the mansion. Whenever Shinobu chose to enter to check up on the water pillar, he suddenly disappeared.
Many of the Hashira were angered when Giyu did not show up.
However, Kagaya had made it an emphasis that Giyu was taking a break. He didn't explain why he had left, but instead said he had decided to take up a mission that required training some demon slayers.
Naturally, that got a lot of people within the Demon Slayer corps intrigued and confused. More importantly, it managed to get the anger off of both Sanemi and Obanai's faces, as they thought Giyu was probably slacking off.
Likewise, Shinobu had been trying to look over Giyu's contents, out of curiosity. However, the journal Giyu seemed to have was gone, meaning he too took his belongings, knowing he was going to be gone for quite a time.
However, in that time, she had gotten a glimpse at the life Giyu held. In particular, the photo he held, and the tone he had when explaining it said miles for what Giyu held in his heart.
She had seen that with that picture and the hints that Giyu held onto the mansion, that Giyu was not just a very shy and awkward introvert. Now, she saw a broken individual, who needed help from others, before potentially falling down a dark hole.
Giyu was an isolated individual, who kept doing such a thing. And that was unhealthy, at least in her opinion. Perhaps it was the doctor in her wanting to help Giyu, or perhaps it was her nature and the unusual and stronger attention she would give to Giyu, but she did worry for the guy constantly.
Sure, perhaps it was something Kanae noticed when she realized Shinobu and Giyu were hanging out, and after especially with her sister teasing Shinobu about Giyu missing, while Shinobu vehemently denied what Kanae's thoughts were, she did admit she had taken a particular interest in the water pillar. This was the case as Kanae had known Giyu for a longer period than Shinobu herself did.
And so, as she spotted the very individual who had been missing for around two months, she tapped his back.
"Hmm?" Giyu turned around to see Shinobu. Sighing silently knowing he would have been coming back to this, he merely asked, "What are you doing?" He asked, in a somewhat tired tone.
Shinobu gave a small smirk, "I came to check up on you…"
"Is that so?" Giyu asked, clearly nonchalantly, "Can it please wait a day? I just got back and I'm rather tired."
"Ara, haven't you realized how long I've been waiting?" She asked, her smirk not disappearing.
"Huh?" Giyu raised an eyebrow at that, "You couldn't have been waiting for me for two months."
"You are two months later and behind for your usual checkup you know, Tomioka?" Shinobu responded with a bit of sass to her tone.
Giyu only sighed, knowing this version of Shinobu would be the most annoying he would have to deal with. It was a sad reality, but one he would have to live with.
"I'm doing fine. Besides some sparring, the most injuries I got, I've managed to clean." Giyu explained, trying to make sure Shinobu did not bother with him.
That didn't work.
"Come on Tomioka, you had three girls coming to make sure you were alright, only to learn you had left?" Shinobu asked a smile on her face to hide the anger she had.
"Well, I had anticipated Oyakata-sama would be the one the tell you all." Giyu explained, "Besides, I needed his position to be able to attend and complete the mission I did."
"I see." Shinobu ultimately decided not to continue with this, for she knew it would ultimately lead nowhere.
"Also, why would you three be wanting to waste your time for someone like me?" Giyu asked.
This caused Shinobu to flinch at the sudden calmness Giyu had when saying that. "Please, I only came originally because I was dragged by my sister. She does somewhat understand what you've been through."
"Is that so?" Giyu asked, crossing his arms, a more serious expression showing up on his face as if to challenge him.
Shinobu sighed, not wanting to get into the bad side of him, "Alright fine, I came on my intuition…"
"Well, you certainly are wasting your time, then." Giyu explained as he wanted to get inside."
"Not necessarily, I do enjoy spending time with you, whether it's teasing or the likes." Shinobu explained, "So believe it or not, Tomioka, I don't feel like I waste my time with you."
This certainly seemed to have a bit of an impact on Giyu, for Shinobu had just admitted to him that she did not feel like her time was being wasted when hanging out with him.
"So you mean to tell me you hang out with me because you're not obliged to?" Giyu asked.
"Obviously. Even if I was permitted to see you at your estate to give you your checkups, I still have my sayings on this. If I truly didn't want to, I would have not accepted this." Shinobu explained, "Besides, it's always fun teasing you.
"Of course." Giyu deadpanned, not surprised by that statement, "Sounds like typical Kocho."
"You could always be nice," Giyu mumbled in response.
"No. Should I keep reminding you that you are disliked by everyone? Although Obanai did tell me you were nice enough to return Kaburamaru to him, that was nice of you. You got friendship points for that!" Shinobu smiled at Giyu, causing him to once again figuratively facepalm.
"You don't need to thank nor congratulate me for being nice to others," Giyu responded.
"Perhaps, but for someone like you, it's almost like you and him are becoming great friends!" Shinobu smirked, clearly knowing she was getting a conversation she wanted from him.
"Please, he still hates my guts." Giyu explained, "At the end of the day, I'll always be hated and the like. Nothing's changed."
"Is that so?" Shinobu asked, "I mean, you had some people worrying for you, not to mention somebody wanted to ask specifically you for help."
"Wait, what?" This caught Giyu completely by surprise, for he didn't expect he would ever hear that.
Did somebody need his help? But then again, two months ago, Tanjirou and Nezuko called for his help with training, and thus that was why he was gone for two months.
It was quite a surprise at the time, and now hearing another individual was perhaps asking him specifically for help further surprised Giyu.
"Why are people coming to me for help? How can I even help these people?" Giyu thought to himself, as he was having strife in his mind.
"Who?" Giyu asked Shinobu at last.
"Ara, are you curious to see who is interested in seeking help from you?" Shinobu asked, and once again Giyu sighed immediately upon seeing Shinobu tease him once again/
"You know what, I'm not going to ask," Giyu explained after a bit, clearly not liking the teasing Shinobu was giving him.
However, Giyu suddenly had the idea. "Wait, is it you who's asking for help?"
That answer surprised Shinobu, as she did not expect that out of all the things for Giyu to respond to, that was not the last thing she was expecting. He had completely flipped the script without realizing it.
"Well for your answer, it's Kanzaki," Shinobu explained.
"Wait, the blue-haired girl?" Giyu asked his shock not leaving.
"Yes, her. She wants to try and slay demons again." Shinobu explained.
"How come?" Giyu asked, "She apparently chose to not hold up a sword ever again, so why now did she pick it up again?"
"I'm not sure, but perhaps she dared to once again build up being a demon slayer," Shinobu explained.
"But isn't she good enough as a caretaker?" Giyu asked, his questions not giving out.
"Yes, but so am I. And I'm a demon slayer, so it's natural." Shinobu explained, answering for Giyu.
"I guess… Perhaps if she wants, I guess I can train her." Giyu mumbled.
"Ara, are you trying to care for the demon slayers, if you are out training them?" Shinobu asked, clearly intrigued by the sudden interest Giyu had in helping others. It wasn't a bad idea or anything, for helping any demon slayer went a long way in the future, but considering how Giyu rarely wanted to interact with people, this was rather significant.
Whilst Shinobu was tailing Giyu, she did notice that he had quite the luggage on him, meaning he had come back from a rather large event, which considering he was gone for two months, said a lot.
However, there was another thing Shinobu noticed about Giyu now due to the sudden passing of the former Water Hashira, Urokodaki.
And that was the fact that Giyu was probably suffering.
Giyu hid a different side, away from anyone. That was the theory of why Giyu was always isolating himself and not wanting to be around others. Perhaps she was too into teasing Giyu and trying to get him out to a more comfortable point of view and audience.
But now, it all changed.
Now, Shinobu could tell that Giyu was suffering.
And it was Gyomei who had helped Shinobu. Sure, even then she felt sympathy for Giyu and thought he would just isolate himself more, but when she realized that he already did that, it made her think.
"He's been acting as if he's been mourning the death of loved ones throughout his time here… No wonder he isolates himself…" Realization hit Shinobu like a truck, and before she knew it, she had even consoled to Gyomei with the help.
The tall man was somebody both Kanae and Shinobu both respected and had an adoration for. He was the one to rescue the two of them when their family was killed by a demon. Gyomei could tell that Giyu probably had a large amount of pain he was feeling.
And that was exactly what Gyomei told Shinobu.
To quote the religious male, "Out of all the Hashira, and people I've met, Giyu Tomioka is the one who seems to be the most in pain… He is the one with the most regrets, and the most self-hatred within the Hashiras'."
The revelation that Gyomei had told Shinobu, and Kanae, shocked the two of them. While Shinobu had a sense of idea since her medical ineptitude was now activating the gears in her brain, Kanae wasn't as gifted in the medical field as Shinobu was.
"I can sense a deep sense of regret, self-hatred, and loss coming from that individual. I don't know it exactly, but it certainly haunts him, for he doesn't seem to sleep properly, either… And even the injuries he comes back to, see forced to sustain…" Gyomei had told both the Butterfly sisters, tears on his eyes and face as he relayed to them the story he was telling.
Then there was the small conversation Aoi had with Giyu when she was brave enough to ask the Water Hashira for help.
It made sense to Shinobu now. Giyu was probably broken. After all, he was a demon slayer, and almost all demon slayers were broken to an extent.
Take a look at every one. Everyone had their profile, with tragedies and struggles they all had to go through.
Even Shinobu herself had some anger for her parent's death at the hands of a demon. However, her sister Kanae had helped her get over it, and demon slaying provided the perfect scapegoat for her.
Giyu seemed to have no one though.
They usually say having strong social group support is crucial to helping people get through their struggles. In the end, however, Giyu has no form of social group, especially since Urokodaki's death, he has no one.
That was a scary concept and reality that Shinobu knew she wouldn't want to live with. And so seeing Giyu alone now made her unable to stand such a thing.
She wanted to be there for Giyu because she genuinely cared for him. So, when she saw Giyu trying to remain alone and stick to his estate, Shinobu tried to continually bother him or interact with him in any way she got, so that he could at least feel he had someone to open up to and release his perhaps pent up frustration to.
She could tell Giyu's mental health was not in a good place.
Unbeknownst to her, Giyu had found two individuals who had helped him to an extent. Too bad the two individuals in mention were seemingly looked down on by everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps.
But Shinobu didn't know that. She thought Giyu was completely alone. Once she realized Giyu was going to continue this, she knew she had to make sure Giyu was with her, or at least being cared for.
"Tomioka…" Shinobu started. The quiet tone that Shinobu switched to seemed to have caught Giyu off guard, as he turned around, his face softening a bit at that.
"Yes, Kocho?" Even his vocabulary was a bit softer as if Shinobu was about to ask something sensitive. And sensitive it was.
"How are you after… you know…?" Shinobu asked, not wanting to be completely disrespectful. "Many of us were worried for you after you just left abruptly. Even with Oyakata-sama's insistence, we were unsure if you were right."
"I'm fine." Giyu nodded simply, but Shinobu could detect a bit of discomfort in him.
"He probably doesn't trust me enough yet, that's understandable." Shinobu thought as she nodded. "I hope you are." Was all Shinobu explained, even though she now knew the true being of Giyu.
The true nature of his mental health and well-being.
However, Giyu was not willing to talk to anyone. Not when he has probably been so used to holding a burden to himself. Shinobu didn't know what Giyu was going through, but she wanted to help him get through whatever he's been going through, what he's been suffering, and what he's been feeling.
"I thought of him wrong this entire time…" Shinobu thought in her mind. "The entire time I thought he was just a shy, awkward guy who had trouble speaking to others. But instead, I took her quietness for suffering, I never once thought he had suffered a loss, even though he's in the demon slayer corps, probably for a reason."
Giyu did his best not to show any emotions to Shinobu. But even he couldn't fail to hide his mild shock when Shinobu had commented on that, hoping he was alright. For a second, he thought it was the doctor speaking to him, but the sheer tone lacked the formality of it.
It was soft, softer than any other voice Shinobu had ever shown. He didn't even know she could show such a tone in her voice, but here they were.
And so, as Giyu was incredibly torn on what was happening around him, another individual was scouring around.
Perhaps the Kochos were being selfish, or pity, as Shinobu would say, but was that wrong? She wasn't sure. But she wouldn't mind saying she was selfish to make Giyu happier, just like how it may be selfish for her to want to be his friend.
And while Shinobu was trying to find out more about Giyu, especially after everything she had learned about him, Kanae was more into something else.
Kanae was a dedicated individual, and when she wanted to find something out, she would work hard to find it. Since she was still recovering, and utilizing training and the likes, she instead continued to focus on anything regarding the mysterious masked slayers.
What made Kanae somewhat intrigued, was how quickly many within the group seemed to have forgotten much of the masked slayers that were a thing within the Final Selection.
The main reason was that many of them assumed were dead. However, the evidence that they were alive was there, as no bodies were recovered. Once that was known, Kanae was relatively dead on finding any specific clue regarding the masked slayers.
And thankfully, she managed to find one.
Within a mansion. Some demon slayers who had visited the mansion already had part of their job done to them. Needless to say, whenever Kanae wanted to ask Kagaya about it, the master told Kanae that it was either a coincidence or that perhaps a demon slayer had already beaten them before someone else did.
But that did very little to persuade Kanae that nothing was off.
It only cemented that Kagaya had some individuals playing within the scenes. In particular, how he seemed rather wanting to simply stop talking about it. Sure it could be down to simple attrition, but Kanae did notice that it was suspicious regardless, especially if we're talking about one of the calmest individuals Kanae knew.
While she did try to hide everything from the rest of the corps, she also knew that some things she knew were just not how it was. Even with her secrets, she did run the risk of being exposed.
And so, she did eventually get some information because of some demon slayers telling their crows that they had an easier mission because the demon they were assigned was already gone. They also mentioned that it must've been a demon slayer because of the fighting that occurred.
This maintained the suspicions Kanae had within the leader trying to hide these mysterious demon slayers. For her, why would they hide the presence of demon slayers? It made no sense unless it would cause quite a stir within the corps.
That pretty much meant that the mysterious demon slayers had some quirks that could cause an uproar. There must've been demon slayers that were sensitive. Perhaps they had done something terrible in the past and wanted redemption.
The other potential option was that the mysterious demon slayers were demons.
Not necessarily a bad shout, but considering Kanae and Shinobu collaborated with Tamayo and Yuishiro, it wasn't something to rule out. After all, if Kagaya was purposely hiding the masked slayers, to be controversial beings, the risk of an uproar could seriously damage the reputation of the demon slayer corps.
As Kanae wandered around, letting her thoughts continue and managing to swirl, she learned that never ruling out possibilities was a mixed bag. It just kept many options out and made it more difficult to detect, but it also did prevent the risk of misguidance.
Overall, Kanae did try and continue to chat with the others within the Final Selection, and even those within the kakushi for answers.
And she pretty much got very mixed results, to say the least. Once that occurred, Kanae knew it was time for proper interrogation. But she also had to do this out of the eyes of Kagaya, for he may see her as snooping when it was not necessary.
Overall, Kanae even tried asking Shinobu to see if they could get something out of the masked slayer, however, it was ultimately futile. Shinobu was too focused on caring for Kanae's injuries that she sustained at the time. When she asked Kanao, all she could say was that he was an anomaly, for his actions. As for Genya, he explained there were similarities between the two.
This could be a hint that the masked slayer was a demon, but it could also mean that the masked slayer was just like Genya. There was a variety of flexible possibilities.
Kanae had tried to speak with Kagaya about the entire ordeal, but once again, she was met with a simple unaware bias. Simply put, the master wasn't aware of it, nor did he know anything about the masked slayers.
And this was another flexible route that could be the truth. Perhaps the masked slayers were truly unidentified individuals whom the demon slayer corps themselves didn't know. This was one of many routes that Kanae could theorize.
However, Kanae had a suspicious hope that the individually masked slayer, at least the one that briefly fought Douma, was a demon.
The reason was simple. The ice that Douma produced wasn't just immediate, it was almost poison-like. The ice from Douma specifically targeted the cells of the lungs. This was critical for multiple reasons.
One, it made it easier for the opponent to be slower, as breathing was the cornerstone of how demon slayers ultimately fought against a demon.
Not only was breathing important for the breathing techniques and breathing styles, but it also was critical for the opponent's survival and ability to maneuver. For battling, if you couldn't breathe, you would eventually, also be frozen, that was if the breathing wasn't gone first.
That meant that without proper medical treatment, anyone would die eventually. The ice would slowly poison the lungs until they were no longer functioning, or if the body somehow fought it back.
But even then, that was such a niche and risky deal, that was if they were a human. A demon inhaling the ice too would suffer from the painful sensation in their lungs, but their regeneration would counterbalance it before the ice did any more critical damage.
All in all, there was no way that Demon Slayer could have survived an attack by Douma like that head-on.
Unless they were demons. And if their body was not taken out, even in the event the slayer was a demon, there was enough time for the kakushi to look around.
That meant that the masked slayers somehow managed to get out without being spotted, besides trying to retrieve some demon slayers back to medical attention. Unless they had someone working behind the scenes as a doctor, then the masked slayer in question would've made a full recovery.
But recent sightings had begun to pop up about them being around various towns, associated with what appeared to be the aftermath. As Kanae did her observation, she discovered something peculiar about the masked slayers.
For one, the sightings of the masked slayers had begun appearing around nine months before the Final Selection. This immediately made Kanae think that the individual slayers were perhaps young adolescents, maybe even in their teenage years.
Somewhat young, but also old enough to be resigned in their strengths and actions. It was clear, especially with how many of the demons they picked fights with were decently strong, perhaps a lower rank, but not the lowest rank.
But to see them in the Final Selection, did intrigue Kanae, as many demon slayers from prior, except the strongest were called with the risk and severity of this.
But the sights of them after, while continued and maintained, they were not associated directly with any deaths. While humans of course died, they were usually before any reinforcement could arrive to assist with the threat of the demon.
But, these appearances disappeared two months ago.
Strangely, at the same time, Giyu proceeded to head out and supposedly train some demon slayers.
Coincidence? Kanae thought not. And through that, Kanae had a sneaking suspicion that Giyu knew something about the masked slayers. The timing was such a coincidence, between Giyu beginning to leave, and the strange disappearance of them.
While one could think they were dead, it was normal for many demon slayers to be off for months, especially with injuries. But Kanae had a sneaking suspicion that Giyu had something to do with this.
And then, this culminated in what Kanae thought.
"Giyu is secretly training demons, who are poised as masked slayers."
While Kanae was perhaps the most sympathetic and forgiving when it came to a demon's plight, the sheer risk of what they were capable of still made her worry. If the demons could prove they could be good and not eat humans, then Kanae would probably be the first to openly accept that.
And so, she wanted to wait to confront Giyu alone. But somehow, her little sister was being clingy to him. Kanae wanted to both tease Shinobu and threaten Giyu.
"That brat better take care of my dear little sister, or I'll take care of him." Kanae had quite the smile, as she was deciphering how to quickly confront Giyu.
Clearly, through the smile, she was seemingly showing her protective side of Shinobu, for if Giyu had ever hurt her, Kanae would gladly hurt Giyu in many more ways than he could imagine.
And so, while Kanae was waiting for the right time to at least interrogate, or rather, ask with a bit of coercion, where Giyu was exactly.
The timing between the lack of appearances, and Giyu's temporary departure, was just too much of a coincidence for Kanae to overlook. She knew Giyu and was aware that the individual had never once done this.
He never showed care for a group of younger players, unlike Gyomei. Perhaps Gyomei asked Giyu to take his place?
That was highly unlikely. Gyomei had more than enough time for that to be the case.
And so, Kanae had to wait for Giyu to be alone.
And sure enough, Shinobu had finally left the mansion, although, to Kanae's interest, Giyu was right at the door of the Butterfly Estate.
"Tomioka, what are you doing?" Kanae asked.
"Your sister was very intent on wanting me to walk her home." Very blunt and straight to the point, as what Kanae expected from Giyu.
Once that was immediately resolved, as Kanae just wanted to make sure Shinobu was alright, she eventually did. Once that was done, she decided to go outside before Giyu could walk off.
"I must take care of something, make sure Kanao and the others are doing alright, got it, Shinobu?" Kanae asked her little sister.
"Understood." Shinobu nodded in response.
"However, what were you doing, hanging out with Tomioka?" Kanae asked, a small smirk hinting to show on Kanae's face, Shinobu immediately got brash and adamant about it.
"I-I was just! What are you laughing about?!" Shinobu exclaimed, her voice present throughout the butterfly estate.
"I don't need to answer that, you know the answer," Kanae responded, her calm and playful attitude contrasting with Shinobu's more serious and aggressive tone.
"N-No! It's nothing like that!" Shinobu tried to reason out and not give Kanae any fuel to her fire. Unfortunately, she was failing miserably.
Shinobu could be able to hide some of her emotions whenever she was around others, but Kanae knew her too well. And so, Kanae knew that this was a time when Shinobu was lying, and failing.
"Is my little sister perhaps interested in him?" Kanae teased her little sister.
"No! He's just fun to annoy." Kanae didn't believe that.
"Please sister, that is an old trick. Always be near the boy so that they can eventually like you by sheer time spent together.
"N-No… That's not what I'm doing." Shinobu continued to deny what Kanae already knew. And even Shinobu knew it would have been best to ignore Kanae's comments that try and defuse them. In trying to, Shinobu had only entertained Kanae and failed at diffusing everything.
Regardless, Kanae had to focus, and ironically, she needed to speak to Giyu on her own. For obvious reasons.
Once she managed to find Giyu alone, which was surprisingly more difficult than what it seemed. Eventually, on the brink of nighttime, Kanae managed to confront the Water Pillar.
Giyu seemed for his part, to notice someone following him. Likewise, he turned around and eyed Kanae.
"What do you need, Kocho," Giyu asked, rather stoic and blunt. He was straight to the point.
"First off, what did you do to my little sister?" Kanae asked. She didn't make it overly aggressive, but more of a protective aura. She was aware of what was going on but also wanted to hear it from Giyu's point of view.
It was fun to see what Giyu would say.
"What she usually does. Bother me like an insect." Giyu responded, "She was the one who came over, and I merely dropped her off after threatening to stay the night."
"Ara, and why would she stay the night?" Kanae asked, a bit of a smirk once again enveloping her face.
"Ask her, Kocho. I was unsure of her intentions. Perhaps I should've realized you would have shown up eventually if she had stayed back." Giyu responded with a sigh as if knowing this was quite the conundrum he found himself in.
"You bet I would have, you didn't touch her, did you, Tomioka?" Kanae asked Giyu with a bit of a serious tone, despite her smile remaining evident.
"No, I did not." Giyu bluntly responded. Kanae raised an eyebrow, but she believed Giyu. He was a believable and reliable guy.
That is unless Kanae's suspicion was true.
"I need to talk to you specifically." Kanae then spoke after a bit. The seriousness of her tone was apparent, and it immediately filled the atmosphere almost immediately.
"What do you need to speak to me about? If it's about the demon slayer corps, why not anyone else?" Giyu asked.
"It's because of your recent actions." Kanae started. She tried her best to see if there was anything off about Giyu's face, she eventually realized he had a really good poker face, whether he meant it or not.
"My recent actions? Did something happen while I was gone?" Giyu asked.
"What? No!" Kanae exclaimed, surprised Giyu had thought of that idea. "It's rather what you were doing during your time out?"
"My time out?" Giyu asked, clearly wanting more information about that.
"Yes, what exactly were you doing for the past two months," Kanae asked.
"I was training some other newer demon slayers," Giyu answered back. It was the same thing he had told both Kagaya and the rest of the Hashira. However, only Kanae was the one who wanted to look more into this.
After all, it was somewhat strange how everything timed out perfectly well.
And so, Kanae put forward the start. "What kind of demon slayers? Were they all water-breathing users?"
Giyu shrugged, "Most of them yeah, and those who weren't just wanted the extra training regardless."
"Very well, but I do have to say, how did you find the proper demon slayers to teach and train?" Kanae asked.
"What do you mean?" Giyu asked, crossing his arms, as he was getting comfortable within the conversation.
"Well, let's just say, I've been intrigued by some specific demon slayers ever since the incident at the Final Selection," Kanae explained, starting her sentence.
"Is that so?" Giyu asked, "And how have you been ever since the incident? Has your leg and eye recovered?"
Kanae smiled, "Yes, I've mostly recovered. My leg is mostly fine, and my legs are healing, and even though I feel that my left eye has lost a bit of its vision, it has ultimately healed to the best of its ability."
"Unfortunate, but I guess considering your encounter with the upper moon, it's a miracle, just like the first time." Giyu expressed his gratitude for Kanae's survival, knowing that the results could have been catastrophic.
"Indeed, but you see. If it wasn't for some specific individuals, I wouldn't probably have gotten the medical attention that I needed." Kanae explained.
"Specific individuals?" Giyu asked. He once again turned his eye to Kanae, but internally, he was confused.
"Specific individuals, does she have an idea who they are?" Giyu asked himself, as he briefly vacuumed out Kanae's voice.
"Indeed, some masked individuals," Kanae confirmed, and this told Giyu the hidden message, that he knew.
"Aw crap, she's suspicious about them." Giyu thought to himself, as he internally didn't know what to do.
"The masked individuals? I'm not so sure what you are referring to. Although I did hear from some other demon slayers within the butterfly mansion that they were killed." Giyu explained. He knew that was a lie, and he hoped Kanae thought that.
"I think they're alive," Kanae explained.
"Crap, that was an immediate shutdown." Giyu thought, as he stared down at Kanae, who was smiling.
"You see, many within the kakushi told me something peculiar." Kanae started. "They said that they never recovered the bodies of the deceased slayers, or at least… they thought it was deceased."
"So, you are saying they're alive?" Giyu asked.
"Indeed. I mean, think about it. If they were dead, their bodies would've been found. It was highly unlikely a demon could eat a human total, or in no way the human could have survived Douma's blood demon art, unless…" Kanae paused, "Unless, the slayers were demons."
"Shit…" Giyu mumbled, he didn't want anyone, even Kanae to find out his allies were demons. Even if Kanae was sympathetic, he wasn't sure if he could trust Kanae with this.
"You think these masked slayers are alive because they are demons?" Giyu asked, confirming what he heard.
"Exactly." Kanae smirked, "And they were being observed and spotted by other demon slayers. And they say whenever they try and encounter, or confront them, they always fled."
Giyu remained silent. He wasn't sure what to say regarding this. The best he could do was to remain silent and try and act like he was unaware of this.
"That was, until two months ago. That is, ironically, and coincidentally, the same time you chose to take a two-month break." Kanae finished the specific punchline she had.
"Shit, she found out… Have to deny everything." Giyu immediately thought to himself, somewhat panicking about this.
"So, Tomioka. What are you doing, helping demons?" Kanae asked, concluding what she said, and officially accusing Giyu of harboring and training demons.
"Well… Shit…" Giyu thought to himself. "What do I say?" Giyu thought, which through all that time, gave Kanae the confirmation she needed.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise. After all, I wouldn't have expected someone like you who hates demons to openly and want to train some." Kanae commented.
Giyu knew he had to respond, "I hate demons that openly strain families and cause havoc." Giyu confirmed.
"Is that so?" Kanae asked, a bit surprised, "So, are you saying that if there were demons that lived their lives, you would accept them?"
"I never said that." Giyu denied the assumption that Kanae had placed on him, even if it was true for Tanjirou and Nezuko.
"Well then, perhaps I'll have to tell Oyakata-sama about the potential of you harboring demons," Kanae mumbled. "Although… You have no reason to align yourself with demons."
Giyu remained silent at that, even then, he couldn't bring himself to deny what Kanae had. She had a good intuition and evidence backing it up.
"So then tell me, Tomioka, why are you then supposedly training some demons?" Kanae asked.
"Isn't this the very Kocho who was open to demons and humans living side by side?" Giyu thought. The fact that Kanae was the one seemingly being somewhat skeptical of Giyu's supposed demon allies was enough to make him not encouraged to go and risk having Tanjirou and Nezuko exposed to the public.
It wasn't even their fault, it was just demon slayers who got overly curious, as they were somewhat like a low-lying myth.
"You know, I've always heard from your little sister that you were always yearning to find demons that were as human as you." Giyu started, almost knowing that he had to blackmail her.
It was the only way to keep Tanjirou and Nezuko safe right now.
"That is true. Besides, I'm pretty sure many demons want to live their lives. If I ever meet a demon like that, then it would ultimately be the first step to achieving peace." Kanae explained, "Alas, even I cannot deny there are pure evil demons who just want to care for themselves and cause harm to those on the other side."
"Is that so? So you think what you are telling me I'm potentially doing is wrong?" Giyu asked.
"Exactly, it's dangerous!" Kanae exclaimed, clearly a bit on the offensive, not liking that Giyu was collaborating with demons.
"Is that so?" Giyu asked, before he then chuckled, causing Kanae to be somewhat shocked. In all her time communicating with Giyu, she had never heard this before.
It was a foreign sound, coming from Giyu's figure.
And it took Kanae some time to realize, that it was Giyu laughing. In all her life, she had never once heard Giyu laugh before. Until now. It was the first time, and the laugh itself was something that made her shiver. It was a calm laugh, but even then, it was a laugh filled with malice.
And Kanae wasn't sure what that malice meant. She didn't even know Giyu could laugh from that, nor did she know Giyu could laugh like that when he wanted to.
All she knew, was that this malice was directed to her.
"I'm sorry, but I could say the same for you, Kanae Kocho," Giyu responded to Kanae, who flinched a bit when Giyu used her full name so suddenly.
"Why is he talking like that all of a sudden?"
"Are you accusing me of being associated with demons? Is that your attempt to deflect my accusations?" Kanae asked, trying to call his bluff.
"I do. Do the names, Tamayo and Yushiro ring a bell to you?" He was satisfied when Kanae's body produced a flinch upon that statement. "If you don't then perhaps, I can ask your younger sibling, or even Oyakata-sama about it. Seems the both of you have been hiding something from everyone the entire time."
Kanae could only eye Giyu, her facial tone becoming more serious, at the sheer severity of everything that was occurring. Internally, she was freaking out.
"He knows…" Kanae's mind was running through Kanae's mind right now. Somehow, Giyu had managed to find out about the two demons they worked consistently with. He had found out now, and he was using it to blackmail her into keeping quiet about his demon's companions.
If this was the case, why wasn't he reporting this to the rest of the demon slayers? Specifically, the other Hashira's? Perhaps he was using this for this specific moment?
The only logical explanation Kanae could think of was that it had to do with the demons Giyu hid.
"For the record, Oyakata-sama already knows of the two demons, and has accepted them into the ranks," Giyu informed Kanae as if telling her that it wasn't as much as a big deal.
"The same goes for Tamayo and Yushiro." That was all Kanae could say before she looked down, "I guess you caught us, but wait, how did they go through the Final Selection?" Kanae asked, "How were they accepted into the corps, besides the intervention during the fire…?"
Giyu sighed, "Oyakata-sama, Urokodaki, and I all have the conditions to slay multiple demons. This included some Final Selection when it was breached by the demons, which we now know seemed to be led by Upper Moon Two." Giyu explained to Kanae.
Kanae's eyes wandered, clearly still a bit nervous, "So, you won't tell anyone? About-"
"Not unless you tell anyone about Tanjirou and Nezuko," Giyu confirmed to Kanae, before he walked into the night, leaving Kanae to think about what she had confronted.
To think that Giyu out of all people had just blackmailed her into keeping his secret about Tanjirou and Nezuko, it was certainly the surprise of the century for Kanae.
She had finally confirmed and found out what she desired to find, but it was unfortunately in a way she wished wasn't this.
Tanjirou and Nezuko
After what appeared to be somewhat of two months, Tanjirou and Nezuko continued their streak of missions. They had allowed for themselves to get back into the groove within the missions. All this time, the two had made sure they had accumulated more missions to make up for the two months they took off.
But even then, Kagaya was willing to give them two months off due to the loss of Urokodaki. Especially if it was to help Giyu's mental attitude, Kagaya owed a lot to Tanjirou and Nezuko. He owed a lot to his children, and he always tried to make it known.
"Where are we going right now?" The sound of Nezuko caught Tanjirou's attention, causing him to turn to face Nezuko, who was stretching and walking around. He had decided to let Nezuko out of the crate because she was always stuck in there, turning into a child form, and the like.
He decided the least he could do was allow Nezuko to be outside of the box, especially since it was nighttime.
"Well, the master told us to head to Asakusa." Tanjirou explained, "He's decided to give us a rather more difficult mission to test our capabilities in case there's a lot of bystanders around."
"I guess that makes sense," Nezuko commented to Tanjirou, as she eventually remained silent, eyeing Tanjirou. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes, I'm doing alright, why Nezuko?" Tanjirou turned to Nezuko's worried face, which immediately confused him. "Why are you worried for me now?"
"I just don't know how you are handling everything… You've always never really told me your mind, even when I try to be open with you." Nezuko explained.
Tanjirou sighed, trying to move past this, "It's rather simple, I just don't want to talk about my mind sometimes. Besides, can't you even read my mind now?"
"Of course! Sometimes I hear you ponder to yourself, and the stuff I hear from you about yourself hurts me." Nezuko explained.
Tanjirou remained silent at that, not knowing what to say regarding that. And it was because he didn't know what to say.
"I don't have much to say out loud, so sorry you have to hear what I think about myself," Tanjirou said at last, after a bit of silence regarding the sounds of their footsteps and the sounds of crickets in the nighttime.
"But it hurts me to hear you talk so badly about yourself… Is it because of our parents?" Nezuko asked, immediately regretting bringing them up, as Tanjirou remained silent, as he even stopped walking right now.
"Brother?" Nezuko turned to face her brother in concern, but Tanjirou remained silent. He didn't want to explain anything. It seemed that the only way for Nezuko to further understand her brother, was to leave him alone, and try and pack what Tanjirou would say in his mind.
All this time, Nezuko always worried for her brother and for the right reason. She was there watching everything happen, and she felt immense guilt for the treatment Tanjirou underwent throughout their lives and childhood.
If Tanjirou held tremendous guilt for not being able to be good enough and protect his family, Nezuko held tremendous guilt for not being able to do anything about her brother's descent into isolation and pain.
She held guilt for not being able to do anything about the abuse and beatings her brother would do sometimes. While that was the case, she promised herself she would fight by her brother's side, and make sure she doesn't let her brother get hurt anymore. It was the least she could do.
Tanjirou felt weak too because of their childhood Nezuko always showed the talent to make others fulfilled. While he was the failure of the family, Nezuko was the golden child, at least through then she was able to live mostly a stable life.
The actual stable life was not so stable. She did help her brother sell coal sometimes since she was the eldest daughter.
And so, Tanjirou wanted to be strong and to find his place in the world. He didn't know what to do. He failed as a coal seller, he failed as a swordsman, especially when Nezuko was better than him, and he failed as a brother.
He failed at everything and thus wanted to find something he could do to show his purpose in the world.
"Do you think Tomioka is doing alright?" Nezuko asked at last, clearly trying to switch up the topic.
Tanjirou sighed, "I don't know." He commented before he continued to walk.
Kagaya had also informed the two that they wanted to meet some other demon allies, so Tanjirou and Nezuko nodded along as they made their way to find the demon allies.
With the risk of other demons finding them, Tanjirou and Nezuko both had to be careful about where they were going, as one wrong move from them could cost them their life.
Tanjirou and Nezuko knew they couldn't risk that. It was simply too much of a risk than a worth, that was only based on their innate feelings, not their morals and values.
Neither of them was strong yet, and so, for Urokodaki's stake, the two of them had to. especially so that they didn't leave Giyu alone.
"I'll make sure we try and send Tomioka letters about us and how we're doing," Tanjirou explained and added after a bit of thought. "He is risking himself by keeping us in the first place."
Tanjirou relied on the water pillar as much as Urokodaki did. Giyu showed care for the two of them as they spent the two months together and trained. Of course, because of this, they were able to develop a closer bond.
Even if Giyu was still quiet around them, he appreciated their company, and it showed in his body language. Plus, Tanjirou could smell the gratitude coming from Giyu as well.
"So, we're looking for demon allies? Do we know their names?" Nezuko asked, switching the topic yet again.
"The names are Tamayo and Yushiro," Tanjirou answered. "We'll try to, but also get rid of any demons that may be a threat to them."
"Understood," Nezuko confirmed before she noticed something.
Tanjirou knew it too, as he smelt it, and before he knew it, his eyes widened, "We've reached Asakusa!"
Nezuko stared at Tanjirou as she tried to catch up to her brother, who was making his way off the smell. It was the smell of noodles that caught Tanjirou's attention, and he looked hopeful. His face had a bit of hope, causing Nezuko to smile, since she could tell her brother was already enjoying himself.
Nezuko couldn't eat human food. She could only sleep. Tanjirou could do both but at the expense of needing demon flesh to get stronger as a demon. When Nezuko slept all those times, Tanjirou had to carry her back to Urokodaki's house while their teacher was dying.
Nezuko hated how she was sleeping while all of that happened and unraveled. But at least they were living for his sake, and as she eyed Tanjirou slurping the food, she marveled at the sheer size of the city.
"This city… It's so large…" Nezuko commented.
"I know…" Tanjirou agreed. "How big can a village get before it looks like a city?" Tanjirou asked.
"I don't know."
As the two continued to relax, their crow circled them, eyeing for anything to inform them of. As Tanjirou ate, he and Nezuko talked in their mind about the circumstances, Giyu, Urokodaki, and the upcoming mission they had. Eventually, Tanjirou's appetite disappeared the more and more he ate before he felt full.
Because of his fast metabolism as a demon, the food would digest, and help him with energy faster than a human, but regardless, it was yummy.
"Should we continue to look for this demon?" Nezuko asked Tanjiro, informing him of the mission they had.
Tanjirou seemed to have briefly forgotten the mission before he realized and nodded. "Of course. As for the demons we're looking for, the master said we should be able to distinguish them from other demons."
"Is that so? Well, I mean your nose doesn't lie to us, even Mother admitted that." Nezuko commented, which made Tanjirou quiet once again. Nezuko as a result felt bad for reminding him, but knew that he had a long way to go before speaking out about his horrible thoughts.
The two remained somewhat silent as they observed the sheer number of people crossing by, and the buildings were large. It was almost overwhelming for the two of them, especially since the largest village they saw was the one they saw during their previous missions.
But even then, Asakusa was incredibly large compared to even those villages.
And so, as they continued, they eventually realized they were going in circles. Nezuko had to be the one to point that out to Tanjirou, who scratched his head in awkwardness and embarrassment when he realized.
The smell. He was getting a smell. A smell so disgusting, it made Tanjirou want to vomit out the food he had. It was incredibly strong and disgusting, to the point that Tanjirou felt a headache brewing.
Regardless, that smell was something that caused his mind to race, and he forgot to breathe as a result.
With instinct, Nezuko turned to face her brother and looked at him in concern. She noticed this after he dropped his bowl of ramen as well. "Brother, are you alright?"
"A demon… So Strong… Incredibly… It smells more disgusting than any other demons we've encountered." Tanjirou told Nezuko, who immediately knew the severity of Tanjirou was speaking through his mind right now.
Nezuko looked concerned as she was trying to find the demon by using her vision. She could make out the smallest of them, but seeing the look of dismay and disgruntled face of Tanjirou, she had an idea.
"Is this the demon ally we're looking for?" Nezuko asked and Tanjirou shook his head.
"It's someone worse…" Tanjirou mumbled as he tried to get up and focus on it.
"What are you smelling?" Nezuko asked, clearly confused and trying to understand what Tanjirou was smelling. But her vision wasn't able to pick it up.
Before she knew it, Tanjirou started to run towards the source of the smell. His entire body was shaking as he ran to the source. Even if his body was also telling him to run away and get away from this individual, he couldn't. Something was telling him to confront this individual.
The smell, as bad as it was, almost smelt similar. He had experienced this smell before. The only time he remembered smelling something this familiar was when…
No…
…
How…
It's HIM.
Tanjirou's eyes widened and Nezuko managed to catch up to him, due to him stopping.
"Brother! What's wrong?" Nezuko asked, clearly worried about the sudden change in her brother's personality.
"It's him… Kibutsuji Muzan…" Tanjirou told Nezuko, whose eyes widened as well.
"Impossible…" Nezuko mumbled, "It can't be…"
"It is…" Tanjurou nodded and confirmed, "He's here."
And so, both the demon siblings pursued Muzan, using Tanjirou's smell to track him down.
"Brother, we should wait until Muzan is away from the rest of the crowd, he might run away using the crowd as a cover," Nezuko informed Tanjirou, who immediately stopped, and nodded.
"Good idea, Nezuko." Tanjirou praised his little sister, as they made sure to stay quite a distance. It was somewhat difficult for them to maintain the image of Muzan, tracking his every movement.
However, they did. The smell of Muzan was just too bearing for Tanjirou to lose him.
Nezuko herself was angry, as she felt her veins bulging, with Tanjirou the same. However, both were wearing masks, which made it difficult for anyone to know what was going on with them.
Turning through several corners and alleys, the two siblings continued their maneuvers, adrenaline entering their bodies before they spotted the exact individual. The very one who was responsible for so much damage to both Nezuko and Tanjirou. The individual who was responsible for the death of Urokodaki, and the one who turned them both into demons.
Kibutsuji Muzan. He was here, right there. He was rather tall for the Japanese male. He had incredibly pale skin, typical of a demon. His attire consisted of a very formal dress, including a tuxedo, fedora, and ribbon.
Muzan seemed to be preoccupied with something, his hand on his head as if staring into the eyes of a human or demon.
"Kill him," Muzan explained, and the now-known demon nodded, crawling away with a look of panic.
"You," Tanjirou growled, Nezuko too growling. They both couldn't be seen due to their mask, but Muzan could tell who they were, to an extent.
"You dare speak to me?" Muzan threatened back, turning to face the demon siblings. "Do you want to die?" Muzan threatened immediately, though a bit terrified once he realized two things.
One, the fact that the two were seemingly demons, and with the two sheathing their blades towards Muzan, he then realized, the boy. The boy had long, red hair, and some hanufuda earrings.
"Those earrings… Where the hell did you get them?!" Muzan yelled, somewhat in fear, as he saw the face and figure of another man he didn't want to see.
"That's a secret," Tanjirou explained, gripping his black seven-branched blade incredibly tightly. So tightly, that the black blade he felt glinted slightly. It was only for a millisecond, but it showed the potential this individual had.
Blood Demon Art: Black Blood, Brambles
"Watch out Nezuko, those are the stuff that impaled me back then," Tanjirou warned his sister, and the two immediately acted. They both managed to dodge the whips, slashing out most of them.
Muzan wasn't necessarily trying to kill them or attack them but merely slash them away. Even dodging, the two demons were struggling. Muzan just wasn't taking these demons seriously, but was rather intrigued.
Muzan wasn't even trying, and yet Tanjirou and Nezuko couldn't do anything to him.
"He's so strong… I can't even get close to him!" Tanjirou thought to himself, as he and Nezuko did their best to come up with something to try and threaten and scare Muzan.
"We're not strong enough to stand up to one of his higher subordinates, so of course we can't even stand against Muzan himself…" That seemed to be the main thought running through the two of their minds, specifically Tanjirou.
Tanjirou wasn't sure what to do, as he focused on his human façade.
As Muzan continued to try and slice the two demons with his barbed wires, Tanjirou rolled down slicing one of the barbed wires down.
With Tanjirou blocking the strike, Muzan finally seemed to understand who these demons were.
"I-It's you two…" Muzan mumbled as he looked at Nezuko, before Tanjirou and his eyes widened yet again, mortally terrified.
"How did you survive?!" Muzan asked, pointing to Tanjirou, "I tortured you! I made your entire family hate you!" He angrily explained, "How dare you break from my curse!" Muzan's entire body and his cells were shaking.
He was beyond terrified. The boy had his long hair past his shoulders, and with the hanufuda earrings, he looked like that monster, in the eyes of Muzan.
Tanjirou's eyes widened at the revelation, as he asked, "Wait… What do you mean, making my family hate me?" Tanjirou asked as he gritted his teeth, "You're telling me you knew my family beforehand?"
Muzan smirked and chuckled. "Seems that was something he didn't remember."
"That is for you to find out, you Kamado brat." Muzan chuckled.
For Tanjirou, he breathed. He breathed in heat enveloping his body. He could sense that Nezuko too was breathing heavily, as she too was focusing on her breathing. She may not have been as talented as Tanjirou was when trying to perform the total concentration breathing constantly, but she was still trying, and her affluence in water breathing was good for her.
As Tanjirou continued to charge Muzan, he felt his heart rate increasing. Despite only using his human strength, he felt himself increasing his overall awareness and cognition as if he was properly using total concentration breathing.
His breathing was making his body feel quick and elegant, and giving himself the needed speed to quickly maneuver out of the barbed wires protruding from Muzan's back.
However, as Tanjirou continued to breathe the way he did, he felt his vision flicker. It was only for a millisecond, and almost impossible for Tanjirou to realize. But what he did pick up was crucial, even if it was for a millisecond.
"Nezuko, he has seven hearts and five brains…" Tanjirou informed his sister in his mind, as she was shocked by that.
"How?!" Nezuko asked, with Tanjirou shrugging his shoulders.
As Tanjirou managed to maneuver himself away from Muzan's barbed wires, his sword shrouded in flames, as he eyed the site of where one of his brains was. He was able to deduce this thanks to the flickered vision he had, and his sense of smell, especially with the frightened fear of Muzan, he knew he was on the right track.
Total Concentration – Hinokami Kagura, Tenth Form: Fire Wheel
Twirling his body, Tanjirou slashed across, his sword managing to strike and slash deep into Muzan's torso to strike one of the moving brains.
Muzan's eyes widened in shock as he tried to attack and strike Tanjirou down, only for Nezuko to come and strike him.
Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow
Nezuko quickly intercepted any counterattack Muzan attempted as both she and her brother continued their onslaught.
"He's… He's using that breathing technique…" Muzan mumbled in disbelief and shock to himself. His eyes widened for the millionth time, "But his father told me he wasn't capable… Unless…" The image of Tanjirou's father grinning quickly came to the back of Muzan, his voice causing the demon king to shiver.
"What's wrong, Kibutsuji? Afraid that a mere human like me and my son are scaring you?" The voice of Tanjurou began to taunt the demon king.
"Damn you!" Muzan yelled internally in his head.
Total Concentration – Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux
Remembering the training she underwent with Giyu, Nezuko emulated her breathing, as she too was moving quicker now, as she focused her breathing. She spun rapidly, safely maneuvering around the bared wires, striking Muzan yet again. Even Nezuko was now managing to provide some useful strikes, which was a testament to her strength.
However, Tanjirou could see Nezuko letting out her demonic urges, as she was growling at Muzan.
Tanjirou slashed apart one of Muzan's barbed wires, before ducking and twirling to clash with more. The problem was that Muzan's regeneration was something beyond even the strongest demons. It regenerated so quickly, that it almost was like he wasn't even affected by the blades both Tanjirou and Nezuko had.
Hinokami Kagura: First Form: Dance
As Tanjirou continued to maneuver, he continued to slash apart the barbed wires. All this did, however, prevent Muzan from striking Tanjirou. It wasn't slowing him down whatsoever, and unfortunately, Tanjirou was still struggling to find any opening.
Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide
That was until Nezuko realized a large ground of barbed wires was heading towards her with the intent of slashing her apart.
"Shit! Nezuko!" Tanjirou yelled as he focused his grip and posture.
Hinokami Kagura, Ninth Form, Modified: Solar Flare Dance and Storm
Tanjirou quickly slashed apart the barbed wires around him, before charging to slash apart the remaining that threatened to harm his sister.
Water Breathing, First Form, Modified: Serene Waves
Nezuko countered the rest of the barbed blades Muzan sent to them, but it was once again the status quo.
Both Tanjirou and Nezuko were panting from the sheer pressure of Muzan's attacks. He was thankful that they were able to at least, for now, be unharmed by the bared wires. Perhaps Tanjirou's previous experience with them made him more adjusted to them.
However, Muzan growled, as he twirled a new set of bared wires, this one on the ground as he tried to yank the two by their feet, and the other to their face.
Hinokami Kagura, Third Form: Raging Sun
Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust
Both Tanjirou and Nezuko reflected on the attacks Muzan struck at them right back. They both knew now that trying to go on the offensive was just too risky for the two of them. Nezuko didn't have much offensive capabilities compared to Tanjirou.
Therefore, the two planned to let Tanjirou go on the offense, while Nezuko did her best to cover for him.
And so, that's what they did.
Hinokami Kagura, Twelfth Form: Flame Dance
Tanjirou quickly slashed apart one of the bared wires heading to them, before he ran straight to Muzan as fast as he could, properly clashing his blade with Muzan's barbed wires.
He managed to block and charge towards Muzan, and as he got closer, so did the time he had to block the barbed wires, and so Nezuko quickly interfered to block the strikes, giving Tanjirou the time to close the distance.
But Muzan noticed this, and he maneuvered his barbed wires from his lower body to uppercut Tanjirou with the barbed wires. Tanjirou's eyes widened before he quickly acted to the best of his abilities.
Hinokami Kagura, Fifth Form: Setting Sun Transformation
Tanjirou quickly backed away and collided his blade yet again with the barbed wires, before another caused him to back away, Nezuko too.
The three stared each other down, as Muzan aggressively pushed the two demons away. However, Tanjirou gripped his blade again, this time focusing on the barbed wires spinning erratically around Muzan.
There was nothing they could do. Despite the first couple of shots, Tanjirou and Nezuko were unable to get in close.
Unless…
Tanjirou saw an opening.
Directly to his side. Perfectly. Because they were erratic, and twirling around, it would take time for Muzan to try and focus them back to their resting state.
Tanjirou quickly maneuvered to the side, as Muzan quickly eyed the boy. However, the girl was somewhat of a problem, especially since they had chosen to split up.
"What are these two doing? Don't they know that I can hit more than one target?" Muzan asked himself, clearly unimpressed.
Hinokami Kagura, Eleventh Form: Fake Rainbow
As Muzan tried to strike Tanjirou, he quickly realized the errors as Tanjirou's figure seemingly fizzled out in a pool of flames. Tanjirou twisted his body at such a pace that it seemed he blitzed past Muzan's barbed wires.
Muzan tried to recall them but realized the sheer number of barbed wires made it more difficult for him to bring them back as quickly. Therefore, Tanjirou had a clean show straight towards Muzan's neck.
Muzan's eyes widened at his mistake, as he realized Nezuko was too confronting him, getting into dangerous range for Muzan's comfort.
As Tanjirou closed the distance, quickly slashing apart some of the barbed wires, he still wasn't able to properly get a decisive charge to Muzan.
His storm of wires was just too overwhelming for anyone. And Tanjirou was not strong yet to be able to confront Muzan.
The gap in their skill was just too much.
But as Tanjirou continued to try and pursue Muzan, he noticed something.
His vision flickered just barely enough to notice that Muzan's torso and body were morphing rapidly into a strange beast.
Tanjirou tried to gain access to whatever this was, but what he did know was that something was coming.
Blood Demon Art: Shockwave Energy Blast
"Nezuko! Look out!" Nezuko's eyes widened when Tanjirou tackled Nezuko underneath him, and Muzan's shockwave was blown out of proportion.
Tanjirou was hit with a side glance, as he and Nezuko went tumbling quite a bit. Tanjirou felt the left side of his body shaken, as he could have sworn his heart moved inside his body from that.
By comparison, Nezuko remained unharmed due to Tanjirous's quick thinking in protecting her. Tanjirou eventually got up into battle, he was shocked to see Muzan running away.
"Oh, now you don't!" Tanjirou exclaimed as he charged towards Muzan, Nezuko was not far behind him.
As Muzan continued to run, he began to slash the necks of some of the other civilians, causing many of them to begin coughing. Some died horribly, and some were converted to demons.
Tanjirou could only sigh at the scene Muzan was causing. Unlike this time, he was using citizens from around the city, with many of these demons manifesting themselves out of nowhere. This in combination with the new demons meant Tanjirou and Nezuko had quite the situation on them.
"Nezuko, stop the demon from killing anyone, I'm going after Muzan," Tanjirou informed his sister, who nodded.
Tanjirou continued to chase after Muzan, as he unfortunately also had to fight against many of the demons that Muzan seemed to be calling to his aid, likely demons that served under Muzan for quite some time.
Breathing heavily, Tanjirou knew he had to adapt to the total concentration breathing again, and so he lashed out, moving faster before any of the demons got the chance to fight.
Total Concentration – Hinokami Kagura, Ninth Form, Modified: Solar Flare Dance and Storm
Tanjirou lashed out, as he slashed apart the demons within his area, before focusing his eyes on Muzan, charging to face the demon king yet again. Even then, Muzan was running faster than Tanjirou.
And it made sense, he was the demon with strength and speed uncanny to that of any human and demon.
If Tanjirou wanted to catch up to Muzan, he had to utilize everything he had.
"Come on! Get faster!" Tanjirou yelled to himself before he quickly realized. "Damnit, I'm still limited in my capabilities!"
Tanjirou panicked internally, not knowing that his body was undergoing some sort of change. He felt something grabbing him from behind.
"Indeed, Tanjirou, you've decided to call me for your assistance, huh?" The voice of what was his demon immediately caused Tanjirou's eyes to widen.
"That's it! I can catch him!" Tanjirou thought to himself, "I'll use my demonic capabilities! I can handle this…"
As Tanjirou continued to run, his body began to change into his demonic form, and almost instantly, his running became a lot faster.
It seemed Muzan was doing something that was slowing his running. "Doesn't matter, I can catch him," Tanjirou told himself before he saw the barbed wires firing out from Muzan again.
Tanjirou gritted his teeth as he felt some of the bared wires, catching by surprise graze the side of his body. With his demonic power now, he was able to catch up and power through the strikes.
"Don't you think you can run from me, Kibutsuji Muzan! No matter where you go, I will follow you to the depths of hell, and my blade will slice your head! All five brains! All seven hearts! If I don't then my sister will! AND YOU WILL TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT MY FAMILY!"
However, before Tanjirou could continue, he felt something inside his body heating him. His body temperature rose once again, as his eyes held a flame to them he didn't know he even had. Whether it was a renewed purpose in life, or a desire to slaughter Muzan, he didn't know.
And he certainly wouldn't know what happened next, for now.
"Oh no you don't!" Tanjirou yelled as he thrust his hand outwards, and his fist was nearing to strike Muzan.
Just before the strike could hit Muzan, he disappeared in a small light of doors, and as soon as they opened, they closed immediately.
"Nakime!" Tanjirou heard Muzan exclaim in pure fear before the demon king disappeared.
Tanjirou growled in rage, stomping on the ground before he stared at the multitude of demons Muzan had brought on to defend his retreating figure. Tanjirou had managed to evade, dodge, and kill every demon in front of him, all to try and focus on Muzan. He panted in anger and tiredness as he felt his body reverting to his human form.
Whatever he had just done, it drained everything out of him.
All this time, however, he still felt uncertain. He had more questions, more anger, and more yearning for vengeance. He was still yearning for something.
He was still yearning for a purpose.
"Maybe this is my purpose…" Tanjirou thought to himself before he forced himself up.
He noticed Nezuko herself was assisting the onlookers and bystanders, seeming to leave the demons he told her to subdue behind. While Tanjirou was confused, he made his way back to his sister, letting her know he was alright.
"Damn bastard got away…" Tanjirou informed Nezuko, as both of their wounds began to heal and close up. "What happened to the demons you subdued?"
"Well… I think I should come and show you…" Was all Nezuko told her brother as she motioned for Tanjirou to follow her.
And so, she did. Tanjirou felt his wounds continue to heal as he began to notice something he was confused at, for a bit before he realized that the two individuals he was looking at, were two demons they were looking for.
This time, however, Tanjirou could smell the kindness radiating from the demon.
Tanjirou's eyes widened in realization.
"This is the person the master wanted us to meet!" Tanjirou thought as he stared at the two demons.
A.N / Well, Chapter 29 is finished. Kanae found out who the masked slayers were but at the cost of being blackmailed by Giyu. That certainly is something OCC from him, but I feel his developing a bond with the demon siblings was a necessary action he had to do to keep them all safe. Of course, Giyu is still mourning the death of Urokodaki, while Tanjirou and Nezuko are coming off the two-month training they underwent.
Also, Tanjirou has seemingly, and accidentally unlocked a lot of stuff in this chapter! Of course, I won't explain anything except one, as they are too early for it to help Tanjirou in any significant way. It will still be a long while before he can accurately use them. For the time being, the one thing you would have noticed was the blood demon art Tanjirou had used without realizing it. Of course, this is something that we'll go into detail in the next chapter with Tamayo and Yushiro. Anyway, I'll see you for the next chapter.
Character Profile:
Tanjirou Kamado: Male, 14 years old
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'5" (165cm)
Weight: 140Ibs
Nezuko Kamado: Female, 13 years old
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'2" (157cm)
Weight: 124Ibs
Abilities:
Kibutsuji Muzan:
Blood Demon Art: Black Barbed Wires
Blood Demon Art: Shockwave Energy Blast: A charged-up attack where Muzan adapts his body and morphs it to unleash a ball of explosion that can damage the nervous system of humans and demons. When Tanjirou was grazed, he felt his heart being moved across his torso.