Inosuke was walking through the home he was taken to carrying a tray of food, trying as to not lose his mind. 'Too hot! Way too hot! Feel like I'm gonna die in this thing! Dulling my senses and restricting my movement, can't even move how I want!" As he was carrying the tray to his destination, he heard a conversation playing out from around the corner. "Do you think Makio is adjusting here alright?" He moved faster down the hall and hid behind the corner to better listen in. "She's been locked in her room ever since she got here. She mentioned not feeling very well, but she's refusing to go to the hospital or get any aid. If she doesn't do anything by herself, the Madam's going to resort to dragging her out." "I brought a meal to her room, but she didn't come out to even retrieve it. I had to just leave it outside her room for her." Hanta taught him a better way to remember things, thinking of them as his prey that he needed to track and hunt down. 'Makio? Name of the woman I'm meant to look after that Hanta and Hade told me of.'
Inosuke knew just because she was sick it wouldn't stop her from being able to check in with the others of the house. She would have to be in her room, and since the woman said she had left a tray outside for her, he knew what tracks to follow. He quickly rushed away only to hear the women call out to him. "Careful Inoko! You'll hurt yourself running around like that." He turned back with his face making a gentle expression and bowed, now only walking away. He hated not being able to speak, but understood Hanta that a hunter on a prowl needed to be silent. He followed the path he saw others take before, hoping to find the right room. After enough looking and following his nose, he found the trail he needed. Seeing a small tray of untouched food outside of a room, he could only assume it was Makio's. 'Still hot, untouched. I can't hear any noise from her room either.' Inosuke groaned as he finally let himself be free. "Here I am doing nothing just sitting on my heels! This isn't my style!"
He ran towards the room and pulled the sliding doors open as fast as he could, only to see something that caught him off guard. There wasn't anyone in the room, and the room itself was in complete shambles. The mirror was broken, the futon was apart, the walls adorned with long and deep cuts. His senses even when dulled couldn't lie to him. 'There's wind, even if the windows are closed. There's a draft coming from somewhere.' His eyes shot to the ceiling and saw there were more cuts across the surface, and could feel the wind coming from there. "You can't hide from me!" Inosuke grabbed the ramen bowl from the tray and threw it against the ceiling. It only seemed to anger whatever was hiding as the room began to violently shake. "You can't hide from a beast that's conquered nature..." He could here it almost run away as the wood began to creak as it broke into a direction away from the room. He was quick to give chase after it through the halls. 'This thing is definitely a demon, even if I'm slower than it I won't let it escape me!'
Inosuke ran past anyone who was in his way, he could hear shouting for him to slow down, but he knew he couldn't. He broke through other girl's rooms just to try and maintain his speed after the demon. 'It's daytime, it's forced to stay between the walls. But it'll need to come down to try and escape me eventually...' He could see a wall at the end of the hall and used that as the best spot to get a feel. 'Now!' He punched against the wall and began to use his spacial awareness technique to get a feel of what he could. He felt the demon move past his fist as it slid down to the bottom floor. 'Dammit too early!' As he heard more women yell for him to calm down, he ran away to the stairwell and looked around him almost lost in where it went. "Which way? What direction?! Dammit, I can't get a proper reading dressed like this! I can't believe I lost it, there's a demon here and I lost it!" He did his best to contain his voice, but his frustration with having failed in tracking his prey made him boil over.
Zenitsu was walking through the halls of the Kyogoku House almost as if his mind was not there. His eyelids almost heavy as he mindlessly wandered the halls. He almost couldn't remember the original purpose of his mission he had gotten so bored. 'Right, I'm meant to be looking for Uzui-san's wife, Hinatsuru.' He was almost annoyed with how little things of any significance were actually happening. Ever since his arrival, he kept his ears open, but still heard nothing of Hinatsuru. What did not help was the owner of the house had recently died only days before. He imagined nothing else would happen given how somber the people around him turned. He closed his eyes and focused his ears once more, trying to find anything remotely close to useful information. Amongst all the normal chatter, he heard the sharp pained whimpers of a child. "A young girl is crying somewhere in the house."
Zenitsu followed his ears to a closed room, still worried for the girl he could still hear crying. Looking inside, he found the girl in the center of a room that was completely torn apart. "Hey are you alright? I could hear crying and this room is a mess. Are you alright? Did you get into a fight?" He spoke gently as he could tell this was a sensitive issue. He went into the room and started to rub the girl's back to try and act as assurance. He could feel his very heart stop when he heard someone's noise directly behind them. Sweat was already dripping from his face as he did his best to not panic. "You there... What do you think you're doing in my room?" Zenitsu was visibly shaking as he could only become more scared. 'That sound, this noise, this isn't something a human can make. I couldn't even tell she was there behind me until she spoke... How? She didn't even make any noise. Her noise, I've never heard one so quiet, so ominous, so malicious. She's a demon, not even Lower One made this bad a noise... She's Upper Moon...'
The woman's bright eyes pierced with her pupils almost like that of talon marks. Her pale face perfect of any impurities, the only markings she bore were of makeup around her eyes. Her lips a glossy pink with deep red undertones. She wore a large black and white haori with pentagonal patterns across the sleeves and bottom, and a dark magenta trailing skirt kimono underneath. She carried a vibrant pink and yellow obi on her arm with flowery patterns across it. By all accords she was nothing but beautiful, as if to exist as the manifested definition of what an Oiran was meant to be. But the moment she spoke, there was but cruel and hateful malice in her tone. One that whoever heard it's pitch was doomed to face the ire of it. To be in her gaze, was to face death itself.
"What's wrong? Are you hard of hearing or something girl?" Zenitsu could hear more children behind the demon and they sounded just as panicked. "Please wait, Oiran Warabihime." "That girl was only just recently hired. She just started here the day before." The demon woman turned to the girls as her scowl only became more prominent. "And? You act as if being new is an excuse." Zenitsu tried to draw the attention back to him to keep the girls from getting in any more trouble. "Forgive me if I intruded Oiran. I saw that this room was a mess, and I heard crying. I came to investigate and see if I could help." The demon turned back to him, now looking contempt in his existence. "Why do you wear that veil? The only reason why I would think to wear one is if you have no confidence or quality to your looks. Actually, keep it on. If you are indeed that ugly as to feel the need to hide it, you should be thanked for doing this world a favor." Zenitsu felt the wind knocked out of him as he didn't think he could be more insulted than he was earlier.
"In any case, you are correct, this room is still in shambles." The demon walked past Zenitsu and glared down to the child he found in this room. "If I'm not mistaken, I ordered you to clean this place did I not?" The child stopped crying as her fear only got worse. The demon grabbed the child by the ear and picked her up to her feet, the girl yelping loudly as she was forced to stand on the tips of her toes. "Shut your mouth. Stop that incessant ugly screaming and do as you were instructed you brat." The demon scolded the child as the young girls eyes flooded with tears. "I'm sorry! Forgive me Oiran! I'll clean everything up I swear! Just please let go of my ear I feel something warm running down my face!" The girl pleaded as her eyes were clamped shut in terror. Zenitsu couldn't hold himself back anymore and clamped his hand down on the demon's wrist, holding it as tight as he was able. "Just what do you think you're doing?" "Please, just take your hand off of her."
The demon stared him down as she was almost confused. "Just what did you say to me? I dare you to speak with me that way again." "Please, take your hand off of her." The demon's expression only became more disgusted as her eyes burrowed into his soul. "Truly focusing on your voice, you sound just as ugly as what your veil hides." "Take your-" "Who do you think you are? What value do you think you have to speak with me like this? Let alone to touch me?" The demon broke free of Zenitsu's grip with ease before creating a fist, she drove the back of her hand into his cheek. Zenitsu's body went flying out of the room and into the one on the opposite side of the hall, crashing through multiple doors and to the floor. "Keep your hands to yourself you rotten brat! How dare you to think your worth is enough to touch me like that?! Someone must see to it that you are disciplined, and harshly at that..." The demon proceeded to step forward towards Zenitsu. "I for one am more than willing to volunteer."
One of the Master's of the house finally arrived as he stood in the hallway watching everything unfold. "Oiran Warabihime..." He quickly bowed as his face was mere inches from the floor. "I beg of you, please find a way to forgive her. Customers will be arriving shortly, and we will need of your services. I will see that she's reprimanded myself, you have my word. I beg of you, I'll be humiliated tonight without you." The demon's voice took a soft and sickeningly sweet tone in contrast to the venom and malicious manner she had spoken not even minutes ago. "I suppose I may have been too harsh with her. She is a newcomer after all. See that her wounds are looked at. And please Master, raise your head and stand. I'm the one who should be apologizing. With so many things irritating me, my mood was taken a downturn and I've not been myself you see." The demon turned away and began to walk off to take up the standard as Oiran she had made for herself. "I'm off to work now." Her tone slowly shifted back to a deep and evil one as she passed the girls. "Get this place in order at once..."
The night had passed to the next day as tension continued to both ease and become worse. Each of the active Slayers in the Red Light District continued to search for any answers, but were each left with dead ends and no new information. Tanjiro seemed to be having the easiest of parts in the search as no suspicious activity seemed to happen in his house. Yae and Tengen had tracked down old customers of the houses and asked around for testimonies to see what they could find on the missing wives. Inosuke when he could, used his spacial awareness technique to continue to try and track the demon's movements through the walls. With it's speed and free range of moment through the cracks of the structure however, it always was out of his reach. None had known just yet how the others faired on their parts, but knew they could eventually meet together to find the answers each of them looked for. They all only hoped something would lead them to the truth.
"There's a demon at my house, I'm sure of it!" Inosuke exclaimed as Tanjiro focused intently. "Really?" "I'm telling you, it slithered through the walls! Moved through them with such ease and speed even I couldn't keep up! These damn buildings are too complex, too much inside, too many people! I can't even track it properly to get a good read on it! Inosuke screamed out his frustrations, just happy he was able to speak after days of being forced not to. "I believe you Inosuke don't worry." Tanjiro did his best to calm his friend down as he saw he still wasn't use to the lively area. "Don't worry, Zenitsu, Hasinsaw-san, and Uzui-sama should be here soon. We can all exchange information then and talk about what we've found out." The two friends sat idly only for seconds before hearing several voices they recognized. "Zenitsu won't be coming." "Something's kicked off, and I fear it's about to get worse." The two boys turned to see Tengen and Yae in their uniforms, their faces looking rather solemn.
Inosuke looked in slight awe as he couldn't even sense the two arriving. Hade didn't make a single noise, and Hanta moved with such swiftness even with her equipment it made him think she'd dethrone him for being able to conquer nature. "What do you mean Zenitsu isn't coming? And what do you mean things may get worse?" Yae focused on the boys as she began checking her kukri and Webley. "I decided on the idea of visiting the homes as a customer to ask you three how progress went. I checked Agatsuma's house only to find he went missing. After some coin exchanging, I've learned his house in particular has a problem with people disappearing or even dying. Apparently the Lady of the House died just before our arrival, other workers as well..." Tengen sighed as he felt his shoulders go slack as he looked off into the distance. "You all have my apologies for dragging you here. I was so desperate to rescue my wives in time, I made some poor decisions regarding the mission..."
"Stop thinking like that, no one in the Corps would blame you for looking after the wellbeing of your family." Yae argued as she didn't want Tengen to beat himself up, but he didn't seem to be hearing any of what she had to say. "As it stands, Zenitsu is missing and I'm responsible for it by bringing you all here. There hasn't been contact since last night and there wasn't any way to gather information as to what happened to him." Tengen stood up as he looked to the three remaining. "Kamado, Hashibira, you two leave. If this really is Upper Moon level of threat, I can't have you here fighting a battle that'll only lead to more death. Yae, go home. I promised Giyuu I wouldn't let anything happen to you, I'm keeping my word on that." Tengen walked up to the boys as he tried to give a sense of ease. "Neither of you were sold with the idea of debts to be paid, if you two vanished from this district, they'd just assume you left on your own accord." Tengen flexed his hands and felt the pops of his joints before cracking his neck. "As of now, I'm continuing this mission on my own. This is a Hashira level threat."
"Like hell you are!" Yae stood up as she glared at Tengen. "No member of the Corps has killed an Upper Rank in a century. If you go after this alone, you're just as likely to die meaning we'll be out both you and Rengoku. You take on this hunt alone, you'll only end up as more meat for the slaughter!" Tengen shook his head slightly as he laughed a bit. How Giyuu managed to get a woman with this much fire to her still made the man laugh. His expression grew serious again. "Life is about survival. Even if I'm alone, it means I won't need to worry about it turning it's sights against any of you three. We are already down one Slayer, there's no telling what will happen to any of you. Hashibira may not have anyone, but Kamado still has his demon sister and you have Giyuu. How would he feel if he had to hear about your death when he trusted me to help watch over you? You already learned of how alone he was before meeting you, what would he turn into if he lost you too?" Yae gritted her teeth as she stayed silent knowing she had nothing. "Take this chance, get out while you can."
The group watched as Tengen vanished before their eyes, each having their own reactions. Tanjiro felt solemn as he worried just how bad things were if Uzui-sama was telling them to leave. "Is he not able to put his trust in us? Is it because of how low ranked we are?" Tanjiro asked out loud as he didn't want to remain useless to a mission after what happened at the Mugen Train. "I doubt it's just because of that Kamado." Yae said as she pulled out her talisman. "You three are only fourth from the bottom at Kanoe, I'm with Kanao at Tsuchinoto." The boys looked in awe as Inosuke desired to challenge the idea. "We've been slaying longer than you though! How are you already more advanced than us?" Yae was quick to show off her Webley which immediately caused the wild boy to understand. "I have three separate guns, two bayonets, and a hunting dog as well as a crow. Plus, I grew up professionally trained by hunters. It's not exactly like I was a rice farmer and suddenly took a career change. Plus hardly any regular demons have ranged attacks that can match firearms."
Inosuke nodded fervently as he crossed his arms. "Someone like Hanta being as good as she is to be able to beat me at something I was born into makes sense." He threw his arms up in the air and grinned. "It just means I have to stick around and kill this demon so I can catch up to her! If I was able to conquer nature before, I can do it again with the demons!" Tanjiro slapped his cheeks and grew serious. "That's right, we can't let Uzui-sama handle this alone. Inosuke, tonight I'll come to your Ogimoto House once night falls. Don't make a move until then, it'll be too risky to act alone." Inosuke grew annoyed and turned to his friend. "Why would I wait for you?" He questioned loudly as his impatience was obvious "Hashibira." Yae spoke up causing the boy to stop his complaining. "Kamado is right, I already yelled at Tengen for trying to do this mission alone. You want me to yell at you next?" The boy stayed quiet as Tanjiro was thankful someone else could keep his friends in line.
"I still need to investigate my own house. Uzui-sama and Hasinsaw-san were both patrolling our houses last night, and Zenitsu still disappeared. The demon is nowhere to be seen at Inosuke's house at the moment, it all leads me to believe there's passages between the houses. We all have missing women, Zenitsu just went missing, the houses have to be connected in some way for the demon to travel between them." Inosuke and Yae shared a look of understanding and let Tanjiro continue. "There hasn't been anything demonic spotted going in and out of the houses, which means the demon is working on the inside. It must be disguising itself somehow to look more human, then would be able to move more freely to kill its victims carefully." Inosuke and Yae both rubbed their noses as memories both filled their heads. "Even the most clean kills leave the scent of blood. Being shot through the heart may cause the animal to die quickly, but it's still pumping blood which leaves a trail." "The scent is heavy also, and it stains nearly everything. Cloth, snow, hide. Very hard to clean up."
Tanjiro looked off to survey the scene of the district. "This place only comes to life at night, which only makes it convenient to the demons, but harder for us." Tanjiro looked to Inosuke and Yae with hopeful determination. "Even if they've been missing, I say we still assume Zenitsu and Uzui-sama's wives are alive until proven otherwise. No bodies means no confirmation. If we keep this mindset, we'll be sure to have more drive in our coming up actions." Yae nodded as she stared over the area as well. "I'm not going to just believe my friends are dead, not until I see them with my own eyes. I like the mindset." Inosuke let out a small laugh as he began to grin. "The hunt continues, we'll find what we need." Yae turned back to the boys as she hoped things won't turn out so dangerous. "Stay alive you two, do not die under any circumstances. I'm gonna find Tengen and fill him in on the news, I'm not leaving him to handle this alone. Go back to your houses for now." Yae vanished before their eyes as they took a moment to recuperate their thoughts. Just as they left, the small sound of flapping wings could be heard leaving as well.
As the day turned to sunset, Tanjiro couldn't find anything that would act as a tunnel or passageway throughout the house. Since Inosuke was never able to visibly look at the demon either, he had no idea as to how big or small of an entrance to look for. He sighed disappointed that he found nothing that could give him information, and hoped that visiting Inosuke's house would bear better fruits. Wanting to make one last visit, he walked to Oiran Koinatsu's room to properly say goodbye and take care of what he needed to. Stepping into the room, he found her occupied with her appearance. "Koinatsu-san?" The woman gasped lightly at the surprise and turned to face him. "O-sumi? It's you?" Tanjiro lowered his head slightly. "Forgive my intrusion, however I have a favor I ask of you. I'm leaving the Tokito House after this, would you give the Master my payment for the lodging?" He pulled out a small envelope of cash and laid it on the floor.
The woman looked confused as she examined them from a distance. "What's going on? And why are you dressed like that?" Tanjiro remained with a stoic expression. "I had to dress as a woman for my mission, but I'm actually a man. "Oh, I already knew of that. Your rough calloused hands and voice gave you away. My apologies." Tanjiro felt almost defeated that his entire infiltration mission and going undercover was almost pointless if he was found out immediately. "I assume you have your reasons correct? Were you actually worried for Suma, or was that part of your cover story?" Tanjiro shook his head before regaining his composure. "It was the truth. Her family is indeed worried for her safety. I couldn't lie even if I desired to. As for her and everyone that vanished, I promise I will rescue them." Koinatsu smiled as she almost felt a wave of relief wash over her. "Thank you. I needed to hear that." She looked down to her outfit before running a hand over the expensive fabric.
"I in fact will be leaving this district for good tomorrow." Tanjiro let out a smile as he was happy for the woman. "You must be ecstatic for it!" Koinatsu nodded as she continued to smile. "It seems there's someone who would even want me as his wife, it fills me with more happiness than I thought I could have." Her smile dropped as she lowered her head. "But it could be why I'm so worried lately, for those I'm leaving behind. Even if I knew something was wrong, I'd have no way of looking into it." Tanjiro frowned as he leaned forward. "That isn't your fault, nor should you risk your own health to worry about that. All you can do is move forward." The woman accepted the words with grace as she finally smiled again. "I don't want you to disappear either Sumi. Be careful, please?" The words actually caused Tanjiro to relax and smile as he bowed. "I'll be off, I wish you the best." "Thank you Sumi, to you as well. I'm counting on you." Tanjiro nodded at the request before quickly leaving the room.
Koinatsu continued tending to her business as she turned away from the door. She was sure she turned around and believed Sumi had returned. "Oh did you forget something?" She turned around believing she would see her friend. All she saw was a curvaceous woman with an evil smile carved into her face. She wore black and deep magenta stockings with underwear to match. Around her stomach was what looked like an obi made sentient, flowing and moving freely. On her face were flower patterns on her cheek and forehead in what looked like the ume flower. The most striking part of all were her eyes, having the kanji of Upper Six almost cut into them. "No, but thank you. However, I really should devour you before I do actually forget. Since tonight will be your last night here, you can't just leave without saying goodbye." The creature before Koinatsu licked her lips almost in anticipation of what was to come. All Koinatsu could do was shake in silent confusion and fear as her world turned dark.
Tanjiro ran across the rooftops of the district as he learned the location of the house Inosuke was in. His unease only grew as it became darker, the sun almost completely set. Before he could pick up speed to reach his destination, a sickeningly sweet scent touched his nose. He immediately kneeled and focused on the faint smell. His panic only grew as he realized what this meant. 'A demon?! It's nearby as well, this is bad. It's acting even before the sun is completely down!' He quickly ran off to follow the scent, hoping that Inosuke would be able to handle things on his own. Tanjiro frantically looked around as he couldn't see Yae or Tengen for support. He gritted his teeth and continued tracking the smell, hoping things wouldn't be as bad as they could be. As one Slayer ran off ready for what action was ahead of them, another sat waiting impatiently as the peace and anticipation was almost driving him mad.
Inosuke sat in the middle of the room as he did all he could to not crack. "He's late... It's almost nightfall and he still isn't here yet!" He groaned loudly as he knew he couldn't wait forever. The longer he stood still, the longer the demon in this house could act without restraint. "I will not let my prey loose! I will take your head as my trophy!" Inosuke got out of his seated position before launching himself upwards, his upper half breaking through the ceiling. "Mice, I need my fangs and my head! I refuse to be idle any longer!" Through the shadows, he could hear the silent patter of steps. Through the darkness and finally came into his vision, came two muscular mice, carrying over their heads his swords and his boar head. "I need to thank Hade for these little guys, may be too small to eat but they're still useful!" "Muscle!" "Muscle!" Now that Inosuke had his fangs and head once more, he was now free to hunt down the demon with ease. He ran past a woman who checked on him and began his own hunt.
In the Kyogoku House, the Master clung to the bloody kimono of his wife. He could only remember the sight of fear that stayed on his wife's face as she died. Her body was broken from the impact on the ground and she lied in a pool of her own blood. He was too grief stricken to realize a blade had been put to his throat. "What happened to Zenko and Hinatsuru?" He raised his head as he realized he may very well meet his wife in death tonight. "Give me the short answer, and don't even think about asking the questions. You aren't in any position to demand answers." The Master began to sweat as he began to shake. His only choice was to comply. "Zenko just disappeared. They put her to rest after she was injured and I was told she vanished. Hinatsuru fell ill, so she was sent to the Kirimise." "Tell me everything you think might be relevant, leave no detail untold. Who do you suspect was the cause?" Tengen slowly pulled the kunai away from the man's neck. "You can trust me."
The Master of the House began to breathe heavily as he wasn't aware he was holding his breath. "You have my word that I'll kill whoever caused this. I'll get revenge for you and everyone that went missing under your care." The Master of the House only thought back to his wife before he teared up. "It was an Oiran, her name is Warabihime. You'll find her room on the north side. No light touches it." Before the man could realize it, Tengen was already gone to investigate. Tengen opened the window to the room only to find no demon or even furniture. 'Not here. She must be on the prowl looking for more humans.' He returned to the roof only to see Yae waiting for him. "Any information?" Tengen sighed as he remembered that Giyuu was often hunted by Yae so she already had experience with tracking Hashira. "Zenitsu vanished after being supposedly attacked by the demon herself, Hinatsuru was moved to recieve medical care at the Kirimise. The demon has been in disguise as the Oiran of this house." "Great, if she's still alive we can see what she knows. I'll lead, you keep your ears open to find the demon's presence."
"Yae look I'm thankful for the information you gave me with the boys earlier, but you really need to leave. All of you are punching above your weight. I'm responsible for your safety and theirs, if I continue this mission alone then I only need to worry for myself. I have the name of the suspect and can act when the demon returns to her house by daybreak." "We don't even know if we have until daybreak! You can't track everyone down on your own, you can't fight this thing on your own! You're taking our help whether you like it or not." Yae grabbed hold of her kukri and Webley as her instincts told her things were going to get worse. "Giyuu and I have already had this talk. Retirement or death is the only way things end for Slayers. If I die tonight helping to save more lives then I did my job right. You want to watch our backs by sending us away, then who's gonna be here to watch yours?!" Tengen shook his head in defeat as he knew there really was no arguing with this woman. No wonder Giyuu said he was claimed. "Lead the way."
Tanjiro followed his nose until he reached his destination. The sickeningly sweet scent melded with one he was familar with. Upon looking around, he realized he came back to the Tokito House. He forced the window open and grew only more fearful. "Koinatsu-san?!" Tanjiro was frozen from what he saw. "Are you a Demon Slayer? I'm glad you actually came, now you can tell me how many of you there are. I know there's at least two of you, as I found that ugly sounding brat with the yellow hair. Is there a Hashira here as well? Are they with you?" The demon never looked to him as she spoke, only keeping eyes on her prey. "I can tell you aren't a Hashira, you seem far too weak for the title. I don't have any use for you or anyone else that isn't one, understood?" Tanjiro could only watch as Koinatsu was missing more than half of her body, only her head was visible, and everything else seemed to be vanishing from existence itself in the demon's obi. 'What the hell is going on? I can't see the rest of Koinatsu-san's body, but there isn't any blood. I can't even smell a trace of it!'
"In case you're curious I don't devour those I deem as ugly or dirty." The demon finally turned to Tanjiro which caused him to only become more fearful. "Upper Six..." Tanjiro was quick to draw his sword in defiance. "Let that woman go!" The demon actually looked confused for a moment before wearing an annoyed expression, her veins pulsating across her face. "Who are you to think you're capable of ordering someone like me?" The demon sent several obi strands crashing against Tanjiro, sending him flying into a nearby building. Tanjiro laid in rubble as he tried to process what just happened. He slowly started to breathe as his body felt numb from the impact. He could at least move to stand back up, so he was glad nothing was broken. He was afraid, but he knew he couldn't just stay down and wait to die. "Her belts, that's what's been causing the missing people. She absorbs them to devour people that way, it's why there was never even a real passage. They only needed the inches between the infrastructure to move..."
"You're still alive? Well, color me impressed. You may be tougher than I thought." The demon stepped out of the window as she stared at Tanjiro. "Those eyes are actually quite lovely though." The demon slowly dragged her nail under her eye as she licked her lips in anticipation. "So lovely I may need to pluck them from your skull and suck them down." Tanjiro tried to focus on the demon, but faltered when he felt the box holding Nezuko fall away from him. "Nezuko!" He grabbed it quickly with one hand as he slowly lowered it to a stable surface. The straps were completely destroyed, meaning he couldn't carry his sister in combat for now. "Do not leave that box Nezuko, not unless you feel you're in danger." Tanjiro looked on as the demon almost looked excited for the fight. "Water Breathing Fourth Form: Striking Tide, Turbulent!" Tanjiro jumped to the demon, only for her to meet him halfway. He found himself incapable of cutting through the obi, but at least he was still capable of defending himself. With the energy being put into every attack he blocked, he only found himself being launched around in the air.
The demon brought her obi together in a layered singular attack. Tanjiro used the edge of his sword to defend himself only to be launched even higher into the air before eventually slipping away. As he fell to the ground, he used the forms of Water Breathing in order to push away the obi and block anything attacking him. Once he saw what he needed, he finally used his last attack to cut through the obi. "Constant Flux!" The demon in her annoyance with Tanjiro launched a back hand at him to send him careening to the ground below. "Color me impressed again. Your aerial combat isn't terrible, and you carefully managed to cut Koinatsu away from my belt. Your sword-work is fine indeed." Tanjiro looked down to the image of the woman as he breathed heavily, already feeling rather exhausted. "Ugly as you are, there are some cute aspects, aside from your eyes obviously." The demon praised as she leaned forward towards her target.
"I think I'm actually starting to grow fond of you. Care to know why?" The demon raised one of her eyebrows as she continued to glare at Tanjiro. "It's because you're like a rat on the brink of death. You fight and squirm thinking you have a chance if you try hard enough. It's so pathetic it becomes adorable." Tanjiro could feel the blood running through his veins as he was stuck in his own thoughts. 'This is Upper Moon Six... Can I really fight this monster without the others here? Can I really do this on my own?' Tanjiro focused his eyes on the demon, but saw his blade shaking. He was still afraid. Even if he was afraid however, he had to stop her. 'It's not a matter of if I can do it. I need to! Even if I have no reinforcements, I can't just lay down and die!' Tanjiro raised his sword into an offensive position as it finally stopped shaking. Even if he had to take on this fight alone, he would do so without hesitation.