Tanjiro gripped his Sword tightly. Akaza had already overcome being beheaded. How were they going to kill him if cutting off his head wouldn't work? "Make sure you both give me a good fight!" the Demon said, lowering into a fighting stance before shooting towards the two Hashira. 'Hinokami Kagura:' Tanjiro thought, drawing in a deep breath, 'Burning Bones, Summer Sun!' he thought, defecting the punches aimed at him. Kyojuro tried to attack him while he was distracted, but the attack only cut off a forearm as he blocked it.
Giyu added his own attack though, 'Water-Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide' the arm was severed through their combined power. "You're strong too! What's your name Water-Breather?" Akaza asked. "I have no intention of telling an enemy Demon my name" Giyu replied stoically. Tanjiro glared at the upper 3. He didn't have time for this! He had to find his family before Muzan got to them!
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Kie, Shigeru, Hanako, Sanemi and Muichiro fought Upper 1. But he was powerful. Instead of random attacks, he seemed to use his own Breathing Style, like a Demon Slayer. Kie kept the two human Hashira from taking too much damage with her Blood Demon Art. But unlike Muzan, who really just stood still while his whips did all the work, this Demon moved all around, dodging and attacking.
That made him hard for the Kamado Matriarch to catch him with her Blood Demon Art. So she had to transfer the injuries to herself before healing them. What made it more difficult was the rate the fight was going at. Kie and her children were fast as well, but keeping up with who was getting attacked and keeping them from being fatally injured was troublesome.
Upper 1 seemed almost stronger than Muzan had been. But she supposed that was what the difference between skill and pure power brought to a battle. As Upper 1 sent out waves of crescent-shaped blades at them, Kie transferred and injuries Sanemi and Muichiro got back to the enemy Demon. Chunks of flesh exploded out of Upper 1 as the damage from his own attacks increased.
Shigeru sent bone spears at him, then swing his spiked bone ball at him. "Moon-Breathing, Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing" the enemy Demon called, as several hundred crescent-shaped blades emerged from his Sword and sliced apart the ball. "This is what I call a fight! But we will kill you" Sanemi cried with manic glee.
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Nezuko growled as she tried to get to the one-eyed Demon woman, but another wall blocked her, before she was smashed in the side with a square platform. The enemy seemed to control everything here by strumming her instrument. Rokuta also tried to hit her with his Reflection Ball. But that too was blocked. "This is getting really annoying" Iguro hissed, as he and Mitsuri also dodged attacks from the Biwa Demon. Nezuko locked eyes with her baby Brother and they shared a nod.
"Stay, back!" she called to the two Hashira. Rokuta formed his Reflection Ball again and Nezuko added her Exploding Blood to it, causing it to burst into hot pink flames. "They can combine their Blood Demon Art's?!" the Serpent Hashira breathed. As the Siblings launched their combo attack, the area they were in suddenly changed, and the attack hit a wall and exploded violently. The two human's covered their eyes from the blast. When they looked up again, the entire wall was obliterated, with the edges burning with Nezuko's flaming blood.
"That. Was. Incredible! Nezuko! Rokuta! Did you know you could do that?!" Mitsuri exclaimed with wide-eyed awe. "U, n-no?" Nezuko stammered. Iguro let out a slightly hysterical sound, "what the hell?! With this kind of power, I can believe they all almost killed Kibutsuji while working together." 'Thank God the Kamado's are on our side' he thought, Kabarumaru slithering around his neck anxiously. Iguro reached up and pet his friend to calm him down
They looked around. "Well, it looks like we're nowhere near that Biwa Demon now. Since she's static, we've been moved to another place, while she's back where she was. Do you agree Kanroji?" Iguro asked Mitsuri. "Oh! Yes, that makes sense! For now, since we don't know where we are, we should continue on while being wary of enemies" he said. As Iguro looked at the Demon Siblings, he was surprised by how quickly he had gotten used to their presence. He didn't even mind them anymore.
Well, maybe if the girl came too close to him- but otherwise, he felt like he could trust them both. "Let's move. If the Biwa Demon still knows where we are, she could still manipulate this place to kill us easily. It's best that we keep moving". Everyone agreed, and the group left that room quickly.
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Tanjiro, Kyojuro and Giyu deflected Akaza's attacks. He was now using both his fists and legs to fight them. Something he hadn't done in their first fight. Without his Siblings help, the battle was exponentially harder, but Tanjiro wasn't going to give up just because of that. He had to get back to his family, and make sure they could become humans again. No matter what, dying here wasn't an option for him.
'Hinokami Kagura: Raging Sun!' Tanjiro thought, sending two attacks at Akaza. The Demon deflected them with and Air-Type attack. 'Flame-Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!' Kyojuro blocked the attack with his own technique. 'Water-Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm' Giyu also blocked the attack with his own unique form. With both of them working together as one, the air attacks were dissipated. Tanjiro growled in frustration, a habit he'd picked up from his family. All of this fighting was meaningless. Because even if they decapitated Akaza, he would just regrow his head again. He shut his eyes tightly, there had to be some way to end this! There had to be! Suddenly Tanjiro realised something and he opened his eyes. It was only for a moment, but he could see into everyone's bodies.
Could see their hearts pumping, and their blood flowing. The changes of their muscles as they moved and the way their lungs contracted as they breathed. Then it was gone. Tanjiro rubbed his eyes hard, 'what was that?' he wondered to himself. He was forced to dodge out of the way of another attack. Akaza glanced over at Tanjiro, who wasn't moving. He was staring straight at them with a dazed look on his face. But the Upper 3 could sense something changing in the boy's Fighting Spirit. 'What is that?' he thought, even as he blocked another attack from the Water Hashira.
Tanjiro realised he really could see into their bodies somehow. 'How am I doing this? I can see into their bodies, like their skin and clothes aren't even there!' he thought in shock. Suddenly he remembered something his Father had once told him.
*Flashback*
"Father, when you perform the Hinokami Kagura, what are you thinking about?" Tanjiro asked, looking at his kind and frail Father who had for so long been ill. "If it's too tough for you Father, I can do it next year instead. I'm worried about your health" Tanjiro said with a worried frown. His Father smiled, "thank you Tanjiro. But in all these years, your Father never once thought the Dance was tough" Tanjuro replied.
"It's quite mysterious. Back when I learned the Dance from your Grandfather, I was much younger and healthier than I am now. But it was so hard that my breaths were reduced to faint wheezes" he explained. He and Tanjiro continued to weave new bamboo snow shoes together as the younger children played outside. "I think there were a lot of simply useless moves. But what's important are the correct breaths and movements. And releasing your maximum strength with minimal movements" Tanjuro said.
"When you do that, your mind will slowly become invisible." He continued. "Invisible…" Tanjiro repeated. He didn't understand it, but he trusted his Father completely. If he said that was what would happen, then it would. "You have to remember all this when you are starting out. You have to find the movements and sensations. Utilise your five senses and become aware of your entire body down to the tiniest blood vessel. It's really hard during this time. And even if you continue to polish it, it will only feel like it's taking you to your limits.
After you remember all this, you take out the parts you don't need. Just keep the necessary things from those movements and close everything else" Tanjuro explained. "Close?" Tanjiro asked in confusion. "You know how people close their eyes when they try to listen to the world around them, right? Just like that, you pick and choose the most necessary things in those movements. Before long, your body's blood vessels and muscles will open and close. You will quickly and simply do the movements like you're blinking.
When your mind becomes invisible, you will begin to see the 'Transparent World'. But this is the 'Boundry' because you will struggle and suffer as your strength will be at it's limit." Tanjuro finished. "Can I get there as well?" Tanjiro asked excitedly. "If you keep working hard and don't slack off" his Father replied, patting him on the head. "Look, I'm done" said, presenting his Son the newly woven shoes. "Thanks!" Tanjiro said gratefully.
*End flashback*
'Father, Grandpa and Great-Grandpa learned this in the exact same way, for sure' Tanjiro thought. He took a deep breath, eyes tracking the movements of everyone's bodies, waiting for the perfect time to strike. Akaza punched towards Kyojuro, when he realised something, 'wait. Where's Tanjiro? I haven't been able to sense his Fighting Spirit for a while now. Kyojuro's and Giyu's are still blaring all around me. Something's wrong!' Akaza thought, eyes widening as he turned. Tanjiro was standing there, staring at them.
But Akaza couldn't sense any Fighting Spirit from the teen. He easily blocked the other two Hashira as they attacked, but he could only fixate on Tanjiro. 'How is he doing that?! It's like he's not even there at all, even though I can see him with my eyes! No. no way. Has he done it? Has he reached the peak of existence?! The very thing I've been trying to achieve for all these years?!' Akaza thought incredulously. He clenched his fists tighter, 'I- I don't know what he's going to do! How do I-' he thought , feeling fear that wasn't of Muzan for the first time in a long time.
'This is it. I'm going to cut off his head right now. But strangely, I don't feel angry like I normally would. Is this how my Father felt all the time?' Tanjiro took a deep breath, and ran towards Akaza.
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Kie, Shigeru, Hanako, Sanemi and Muichiro continued to fight against Upper Rank 1. 'How long has this battle been going on for?' "You're probably, wondering, how I, can predict your, attacks" the 12 Kizuki said haltingly. "Lord Muzan, can share, his, memories with, us. So I know about, you all, from the beginning" Upper 1 explained. "Yes. And?" Kie asked. Sanemi grinned, "who cares if you knew about them! We're still going to kill you!" he cried. The battle started again, with Upper 1 letting out several lots of Crescent Blades from his Sword.
The two Hashira deflected the attacks, while the Kamado's used their Blood Demon Arts. 'I don't know if we can do this. He's so strong' Kie thought, baring her fangs. She shook her head, 'no. It doesn't matter. We have to defeat Upper 1. And Muzan. I will not let them win!' she thought determinedly.