Chapter Thirty Two:Akaza.
After Tanjiro had slayed Enmu, the demon's flesh was falling off the cars, but the Lower Moon's death wail had caused the Mugen Train to derail at a dangerous speed!, and then a sudden impact had caused Tanjiro, Inosuke and the unconscious train engineer to be flung into the air, with Tanjiro desperately trying to save the engineer!.
The train then flew off its tracks and skidded down to the ground. Tanjiro had grabbed the unconscious train engineer and leaped out of the train with Inosuke right behind him and had safely landed on Enmu's soft flesh. Inosuke was angry at Tanjiro for saving the train engineer but Tanjiro said that the man had already suffered enough and atoned for his sin. Once Tanjiro laid the engineer to rest, Tanjiro and Inosuke began helping the passengers along with Nezuko, Zenitsu and Kyojuro, Tanjiro was so relieved, he believed that everyone was now safe.
As the Demon Slayers and Hashira
were helping the passengers, a small piece of Enmu's flesh crawled out of the Mugen Train's wreckage, as the demon was slowly disintegrating he cursed himself for being unable to eat even one of the two hundred passengers, he cursed the Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku who he blamed for thwarting his plan to devour them while fused with the train, he cursed the Demon Slayer Zenitsu Agatsuma who fought him while still asleep and he cursed himself for losing to the Demon Slayers Tanjiro and Nezuko Tsugikuni...how could he lose to those mongrels!,it was that half-human brat Tanjiro who ruined his plan in the first place as well as the Demon Slayer Inosuke Hashibira with is excellent intuition.
As his flesh began to fade Enmu bemoaned that it was only weak demons that got killed off. He thought of a robed a demon samurai, a jin like demon emerging from a pot, a demon wielding a fan, a horned demon with a grotesque bump on his head, a female demon with ribbon like hair,and a demon with striped tattoos, Enmu lamented that the Upper Ranks of their kind have not changed for hundreds of years, even strong and powerful Hashira with high kill counts had fallen by their hands, these demons possessed otherworldly power. In his final moments, Enmu cursed Tanjiro and Nezuko for betraying their own kind and lamented that he had still failed and was unable to compete with the Upper Ranks, even after receiving so much of Muzan's blood, Enmu cursed his defeat as unfair and begged for a chance to undo the nightmare that was his death. As the Lower Moon One finally falls.
As Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke were helping the passengers, the young Demon Slayers were met by Kyojuro.
"You four are the most outstanding team of Demon Slayers i have ever seen!, thanks to you, all of the passengers have survived, tonight you have all taken the first step to becoming Hashiras, and while you still have a long way to go, you are now stronger than you were the day before". Praised Kyojuro, the Hashira was so proud of the young swordsmen. But then out of nowhere a blast had erupted from behind them, the Demon Slayers looked behind and saw a figure emerge from the dust cloud. As the dust settled,they saw a man who appeared to be a martial artist wearing a cropped haori with pink hair and tattoos all over his body. Tanjiro read the kanji in his eyes and he became horrified, the Uppermoon Three was staring at him!.
"You must be Tanjiro, My Name is Akaza" said the demon now known as Akaza as he politely bowed and Tanjiro bowed back to be polite, Tanjiro wondered how the Uppermoon Three demon knew him name?.
Akaza then rised and said.
" You are the splitting image of your father" said Akaza.
"You know my father,whare is he,what have you done to him!?" asked Tanjiro his voice fulled with anger,letting his demonic side slip.
"We haven't done anything yet,he eve gave me this souvenir though i did have to eat off some fingers" said Akaza as he haled a piece of Kokushibo's kimono.
"You bastard!" said Tanjiro his demonic side slowly taking over. Akaza sensed the Demon Slayers blood lust and sensed his strong fighting spirit. Akaza was absolutely delighted and excited!...Akaza and Kokushibo had a deep grudge and toxic rivalry that had been going on for centuries. Many centuries ago, Akaza had challenge Kokushibo to a Blood Battle, and suffered a humiliating defeat at Kokushibo's hands and from that day on, Akaza had been training to become stronger and take Kokushibo's place as the Uppermoon One. Tanjiro had noticed that the scent that this demon emitted was by far the strongest and closest to Muzan that he had faced so far.
Tanjiro waited, he was not going to let the demon goad him into recklessly attacking. Akaza decided to make the first move, he disappeared, rushing forward to kill Tanjiro, but the Demon Slayer dodged and amputated Akaza's arm but the wound quickly healed as the demon flipped back.
"Impressive,your father's blood and strength flow through you truly are the son of UppermoonOne" praised Akaza, it looked like Kokushibo's boy was going to put up a good fight,which was exactly what Akaza had expected from the son of Kokushibo...the Uppermoon Three would have been disappointed otherwise. Tanjiro was so confused when the demon referred to his father as Kokushibo, it was visible on his face, Akaza was amused.
"Ha Ha Ha so he hasn't told you,hasn't he, HaHaHa,Your father is the UPPERMOON One demon, he is the Demon King's right hand man" taunted Akaza, trying to goad the Demon Slayer again.
"You demons are such lying creatures!, my father is a noble and honorable samurai, he would never become a demon!" said Tanjiro. The boy had always knew that his father was different but he couldn't be a demon or be the right hand of the demon progenitor who murdered their family!!!. His father was a man that was deeply loved and respected by his family and village.He had been nothing but kind and loving towards his family and the people of MT.KUMOTORI. He was loyal, honest, treated everyone with the out most respect and kindness, and fulled with dignity and grace. He was never angry or violent, he never lashed out or raised his voice on anyone, how could a man like that become a demon?.
Akaza activated his Blood Demon Art,Technique Development, Destruct Death: Compass Needle. As Akaza prepared to fight he told Tanjiro that this fight will lead to his demise. He rushes and strikes while Tanjiro parries his numerous blows and returns the attacks. Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke and Kyojuro were following the clash, with Kyojuro being the only one fast enough to fallow the battle. Nezuko desperately wanted to help her brother but Kyojuro stopped her, he feard that the girl might get killed in the crossfire if she tried to help.
"Do you know what will happen when the Demon Slayer Corps finds out that you are not only half-demon but also the son of the demon lord's right hand man?...they will kill you, like vermin!,and then your father's legacy will end!" spoke Akaza trying to convince Tanjiro to join the demons side, Akaza was sincere and meant every word that he said, even though he hated Kokushibo with every fiber of his being, he still respected the Uppermoon One and didn't want his legacy to be destroyed and his bloodline wiped out, so he was trying to convince Tanjiro to come to their side so he won't have to kill him or hear news that the young Cambion was killed by the Demon Slayers.
"I have always knew that dad was different, but is that demon telling the truth?...is dad really a demon and is really Muzan's Uppermoon One and his right hand man?...was that what Masamune meant when he said that our father isn't the person that i thought he was?...did mother and grandfather know?...did father turn on us and kille his our family?!...was everything a lie?...i really need to ask Nezuko she was there the night Kibutsuji massacred our family she could tell me what really happened." all these thoughts went through Tanjiro's head as he severed Akaza's forearm but the demon healed the wound instantly. Akaza then leaped into the air and used Destructive Death:Air Type, sending numerous shockwaves at the Demon Slayer, but Tanjiro blocked the assault with with Moon Breathing Second Form:Pearl Flower Moongazing. Tanjiro preformed three crescent slashes, blocking the shockwaves.
Realizing that a long range battle would be difficult, Tanjiro rushed towards Akaza to close the gap and narrowly caught his neck. Akaza unfazed continued his numerous blows while taunting Tanjiro denouncing him for betraying his own kind, but Tanjiro continued to deny the Uppermoon's threats. Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke watched the confrontation with awe and worry, Nezuko feard for her brother's life, Kyojuro had decided that now was the time to interven, if he and Tanjiro can fend the demon off until sunrise, then victory will be theirs.
Tanjiro knocked Akaza into a nearby forest and manged to slash his arm again,Akaza instantly healed the wound and violently kick him back in retaliation, sending the boy hurtling hard into the dirt. Akaza continued his trash talking, calling Tanjiro a disgrace to his father's legacy and that he will execute the maroon swordsman for betraying their kind. Tanjiro leaped into the air and used the fifth form of MoonBreathing, Moon Spirit Calatmitous Edd to slash Akaza's body. The demon instantly healed the wounds and commended Tanjiro for his spirit, while launching an other Destructive Death: Air Type Shockwave and narrowly missing Tanjiro. Inosuke was awestruck, these two were on a different dimension and joining the clash would only result in his death.
Akaza continued trying to get to Tanjiro by saying that Tanjiro will now become an outcast hated by both humans and demons but Tanjiro still adamantly refused. Tanjiro's sword clashed with Akaza's fist. The Upper Rank started to make contact, first cutting Tanjiro's forehead with his fist. Tanjiro sped forward and twisted his body to use Moon Breathing Third Form: Loathsome Moon Chains, slicing both of Akaza's arms off, but the demon regenerated instantly and continued his assault, and then Akaza suddenly struck the Demon Slayer with a punch to the side, breaking Tanjiro's ribs!. The Demon Slayer staggered back in pain but his injuries healed instantly and he continued to fight back!, using Sixth Form: Prepetual Night Lonely Moon-Incessant, to slash the demon's arms off again but Akaza dodged the attack and tried to punch Tanjiro in the face. Though Tanjiro's sword blocked his fist, Akaza still pushed ahead and his hand slips off, hitting Tanjiro's left eye and rupturing it.
But his eye instantly healed and Tanjiro pushed on!. Tanjiro's demonic blood started to awaken and he started to transform and take a more demonic appearance, his mark grew a little and became black and his eyes turned into a darker shade of red and Nichirin sword became coverd in his own flesh with strange cracent moons covering it. As the transformation took place, Tanjiro had a flashback to one of his childhood memories.
It was new years eve and the Tsugikuni family had gathered outside to watch their father and grandfather Tanjuro preform the Hinokami Kagura like they did every year. A little Tanjiro asked his mother Hinata how was their grandfather able to dance all night in the cold winter...didn't they worry about him getting sick?. Hinata explained to her son that the Hinokami Kagura gave his grandfather warmth and stamina so can preform the Kagura dance all night without fear of getting ill or cold or tired, and then she explained how the Hinokami Kagura had been passed down their family for generations, and that because their family works with fire, being charcoal burners,they preform this Kagura dance every new years eve, so that the gods may bless their work. The child was amazed by that. He then looked at his father who was watching Tanjuro preform. His father would always stay up with Tanjuro and observe the Hinokami Kagura until sunrise, and the child didn't understand why but watching the Hinokami Kagura always fulled his father with nostalgia.
Author's Note: i loved writing this chapter, i had been looking forward to it for so long. And now i have a question for you, who is your favorite demon and who is the demon that you most sympathize and identify with?, for me its Kokushibo AKA Michikatsu Tsugikuni.