Y/n: "Now, tell us." You demand as you crouch down to his evel.
You look him straight in the eyes as he looks like he's been swallowed by fear.
Y/n: "What the hell is going on in this forest?"
Slayer: "I-I received a m-message from the crow..."he says as he shakes in fear while speaking.
Y/n: "Stop being afraid."
Slayer: "H-h-huh?"
You stand up as you continue facing him.
Y/n: "It disgusts me."
A moment of silence was observed after you had said this.
Y/n: "Go on, continue. Make it clearer this time."
The slayer wipes the little amount of blood from his nose as he proceeds to continue explaining.
Slayer: "There were ten of us who came here. Not long after going into the mountain, my compatriots..."
Y/n: "Hm?"
Slayer: "My compatriots started killing each other."
Tanjiro gasps at this as Inosuke continues turning his head from time to time looking at his surroundings.
Slayer: "I... I..."
*Meanwhile, at the Demon Slayer Corps*
Kagaya Ubuyashiki: "You took the trouble to fly back," he says as he sits down holding the tired and worn out crow.
Kagaya: "My slayers should be virtually annihilated by now. The Twelve Demon Moons might be there as well. Looks like I have to send in the Hashiras."
He says as two of those Hashiras were sitting behing him.
Kagaya: "Giyu."
Kagaya: "Shinobu."
Giyu and Shinobu: "Yes, sir."
Shinobu: "It would be ideal if humans could get along with demons. Don't you think so, Tomioka-San?"
Giyu: "That is utter nonsense, so long as demons don't quit eating humans."
*Meanwhile, with Zenitsu*
Zenitsu: "They already hate me, don't they?" He asks himself as he sits in the middle of the path.
Zenitsu: "Would an ordinary guy abandon his own companion on the road? Shouldn't a companion come to persuade me? Had they persuaded me..."
He thinks to himself as he imagines a scene where the three of you comforted him and persuaded to him to go together into the mountain.
Zenitsu: "But you know those three, they would take off quickly towards a scary mountain... not giving a damn about my feelings as they abandoned me."
Sparrow: "Chirp. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp, chirp, chirp." Translation: "Sitting here and moping won't help. Now hurry and help your companions."
Zenitsu: "That's easy for you to say. You don't really understand humans."
Sparrow: "Chirp?!" His sparrow then gets agressive and bites his left hand.
Zenitsu: "OWOWOWOWOWOWOW! THAT HURTS!!"
He quickly stands up and starts yeling at his sparrow.
Zenitsu: "YOU'RE NOT CUTE AT ALL! YOU'RE SO PREACHY, SO YOU'RE NOT CUTE AT ALL!
Sparrow: "CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP!!!"
Zenitsu: "Even Nezuko is cute as a demon while you're so feirce for a sparrow!" He says as he holds his sparrow on hin hands. "Wait!"
He then remembers that Nezuko was in the box that Tanjiro brought with him into the mountain.
Zenitsu: "WAAH! HE TOOK NEZUKO AWAY!"
He stands up and starts running towards the mountain.
Zenitsu: "Why did he have to take my treasured Nezuko?! YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR, TANJIRO! HOW COULD YOU TAKE A GIRL TO SUCH A DANGEROUS PLACE?! YOU FOOOOOOL!!"
He continues running while excessively yelling about Tanjiro.
Zenitsu: "NEZUKOOOOOOOOOOOOO-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!"
*Now, back to Y/n*
All of a sudden, the four of you then look around as you all hear a mysterious sound.
Tanjiro: "What's that noise?"
Slayer: "It's back."
Y/n: "Hm?"
Slayer: "It's this noise. The minute I heard it, I turned around and saw the others hacking each other."
Tanjiro: "Where is it coming from?" He asks as he looks around.
The noise continues on as everyone still kepps looking around, trying to trace where the sound is coming from.
Slayer: " *GASPS*"
Y/n: "Hm?"
Everyone then looks behind them as they see another slayer walking up towards them.
Y/n: "Another slayer."
As the slayer from afar continues walking towards you, more appear behind him. Everyone then stands up as you all look at the group of slayers slowly walking towards you guys.
Y/n: "Seems like they've all sustained some injuries," you say as you walk towards them for a closer look.
Without warning, the slayer infront of you tries to cut you as he swings his blade with his right arm. You successfully dogde it. You then hold his right arm with your left hand and pushed him away with your right hand.
Y/n: "It seems like they're being manipulated."
Slayer: "Huh? What do you mean?"
You then point at the barely visible web strings all connected to their bodies.
Tanjiro: "I can barely see them!"
As the manipulated slayers keep attacking, all of you continue to keep on dodging.
Y/n: "Ugh."
You then jump up as you go over the trees.
Inosuke: "Hey! Where are you going?!"
You then land on one of the top branches as you unsheathe your blade.
Y/n: "This would be more than enough for them to see those strings clearly."
You jump from branch to branch as you cut all the thick bunched up leaves that were forming on the trees. As you cleared more and more, moonlight began to shine brightly, under to where Tanjiro, Inosuke, and the slayer were.
Tanjiro: "I see!"
Inosuke: "Huh?"
Tanjiro: "Look!" He says as he points at the web strings that were clearly visible now.
You then land back down and rejoin the group.
Tanjiro: "Cut the threads! They're attached to it."
You and Inosuke jump over the controlled slayers and cut all the threads flawlessly. The controlled slayers then fall to the ground as you and Inosuke land on the other side of the area.
Inosuke: "I noticed them sooner than both of you!"
Y/n: "Oh, please."
Tanjiro: "Where's the bad guy? Where's the demon pulling threads?"
Tanjiro then smells a specific scent which causes him to cover his nose.
Y/n: "Tanjiro! What's the matter?"
Tanjiro: "This scent is totally pungent, yet it's brief!"
Y/n: "Huh?"
*somewhere in the forest*
Demon: "Hihihihihi..."
Tanjiro then notices something crawling around his forearm.
Tanjiro: "These are..."
Demon: "Hihihihihihihi...."
The demon then pulls the threads on her fingers as it pulls Tanjiro's forearm. Tanjiro quickly cuts the threads off to avoid being pulled away from the group. You also proceed to cut the threads that were being placed on your haori and the threads that were forming around Inosuke. In Inosuke's perspective, he sees this as you initiating a battle.
Inosuke: "Looks like someone wants to fight already!"
Y/n: "Shut the hell up. I just saved your ass."
Inosuke: "Hah?"
Y/n: "For fucks sake..."
Tanjiro: "The spiders!"
Y/n: "Yeah! They're the ones tying their web threads on people. So that means..."
You then look up as the bodies of the controlled slayers slowly get up once more.
Demon: "Come here, my cute little puppets. Dance like madmen until your limbs get chopped off."
Y/n: "It's not enough to cut the threads."
Inosuke: "Huh?" He looks at you.
Tanjiro: "The spiders will regenerate them on their bodies."
Inosuke: "Huh?" He looks at tanjiro.
Y/n: "We have to locate the demon who's controlling these slayers and these spiders. It's the only way for us to succeed without hurting these slayers."
Tanjiro: "That's right..." he says as he covered his nose again from smelling that pungent scent.
Y/n: "Although I don't mind killing these slayers one by one..."
You then turn to look at Tanjiro.
Y/n: "I know one of us don't have the guts to do it," you say as you look at him seriously.
Inosuke: "Well then, I just have to annihilate all these spiders."
Y/n: "You haven't been listening, have you?"
Inosuke: "Huh?"
Y/n: "Idiot..."
Inosuke then proceeds to kill the spiders on the ground one by one.
Y/n: "Are you goddamn serious?"
Tanjiro: "Inosuke, of you have the ability to accurately locate a demon, help us out," he says as he dodges the controlled slayer's swings.
Y/n: "I highly doubt that," you comment on that as you dodge multiple swings from multiple slayers.
Tanjiro: "There was this weird odor blowing this way and it made my nose numb."
You then jump on to a high branch where none of the controlled slayers could reach you.
Y/n: "If I just dash around the forest, I could locate one of these demons. Fighting a demon alone wouldn't be a problem at all. The problem is how I will fight them. If I go berserk, I might end up killing everyone off. Dammit..."
Tanjiro: "And you! What's your name?"
Murata: "I'm Murata!"
Tanjiro: "Murata-san. You and I will find a way to save those who are manipulated."
Your eyes slightly widen as you sense a certain demon's life force clearer.
Y/n: "This one's strength seems strong... where the hell are you at?" You ask as you look at the bright moon.
Y/n: "Oh."
You then look at the demon walking on web strings infront of the bright moon.
Y/n: "Here you were."
Demon: "Don't come here to disturb our family."
You land back down right beside Tanjiro. You then look at Tanjiro who seems to be frozen in fear.
Y/n: "Family? What the hell are you talking about?"
Demon: "My mom is going to kill you soon."
Tanjiro: 'Mom?"
Inosuke then decides to start moving. He jumps on the back on one of the controlled slayers and jumps right off it towards the demon tanding on the web strings above. He swings his blade an attempt to cut him, but he didn't reach him. As a response to INosuke, the demon starts walking away.
Inosuke: "Damn it! Where do you think you're going?! Come here and fight!" He yells at the demon as he lands on his back.
Tanjiro: "Inosuke!"
Inosuke: "What the hell is that guy doing here?"
Tanjiro: "I'm afraid that kid is not the one pulling the threads."
Y/n: "Oi."
Tanjiro then looks at you as you catch his attention.
Y/n: "We need to find his 'Mom.' Seems to me like she's the one who's trying to kill us right now."
Inosuke: "Okay. I get it!" He says as he pushes a controlled slayer away. "Locate the demon, is that it?"
He then proceeds to plant both of his blades to the ground as he crouches and extends both of his arms sideways.
Insouke: "Breath of the Beast. Seventh Fang, Spatial Awareness."
Y/n: "Breath of the Beast?"
Inosuke: "I found it. It's over there," he says looking at the direction his left arm was extending.
Y/n: "He's actually useful," you say as you dodge a slayer's attack and kick him away.
*somehwere in the forest*
Demon: "I won't let anyone obstruct us."
He then raises his hands high as there were webs coonecting to each finger.
Demon: "The five of us have been living a blissful life. Our ties will never be broken."
Tanjiro: "Did you find it?" He asks while clashing blades with a slayer.
Inosuke: "Yes! It's over here! I can sense that they're incredibly strong."
Tanjiro: "You're awesome, Inosuke," he compliments Inosuke as he swats away the opposing slayer's blade.
Y/n: "And I thought you'd only be good for fighting."
Inosuke then feels a sense of bliss then snaps out of it as another slayer's blade almost hit him. He dodges away by jumping backwards.
Inosuke: "Damn. I'll have to deal with these people if I want to go forth."
Tanjiro: "C'mon. Is there no way out of this?"
Y/n: "I could easily jump through the tress and get to that area, but who knows what these demons are capable of."
Tanjiro: "Exactly why we need to stick together!"
Y/n: "By the way, how the hell could Zenitsu be doing?"
*somewhere in the forest*
Zenitsu: " *pant* *pant* *pant* Ne...Ne....Nezuko.... Where are you?..." he says while taking deep breaths.
*back to the gang*
Inosuke: "Damn it! What a pain in the ass!"
Without warning, Tanjiro gets caught off guard as a slayer tries to cut him. Murata then directly jumps in front of Tanjiro; blocking the swing.
Tanjiro: "Murata-san."
Murata: "Leave this to me. You guys go ahead."
Inosuke: "Who are you kidding, Pissed-my-pants?"
Murata: "Who are you calling Pissed-my-pants, you stupid pig!" He yells at Inosuke.
Y/n: "I honestly think you wouldn't be able to handle this. Just go back to where you were and keep crying."
Murata: 'Why are you belittling me?!" He yells at you.
Murata then dodges a swing from another slayer and clashes blades with him.
Murata: "I'm sorry that I've given you such a bad impression, but I'm still a Demon Slayer. I'll do my best to stand my ground. I know that I just have to cut those web strings. It's not so hard to predict how they're used as puppets. I'll look out for the spiders too," he says while clashing his blades with another manipulated slayer.
Y/n: "As long as we can reach the demon controlling all these slayers, I might even be able to fight that demon from earlier. He seems like someone who would know some important things."
Murata: "When a demon is around, it will probably puppet someone stronger. You three should go now!"
Tanjiro: "We got it. Thank you very much!"
Tanjiro then runs toward the direction where Inosuke was pointing.
Tanjiro: " Let's go! Y/n. Inosuke," he says as he grabs Insouke and continues running.
You quickly follow Tanjiro from behind.
Insouke: "Wo..WOAH! Let go of me! I want to beat him up first! Who's a stupid pig?!"
Murata: "SHUT UP! Take your ramblings out of here!" He says with an annoyed tone with a vicious facial expression.
Inosuke: "I'll be back to beat you up!"
Y/n: "Don't make me cut your tongue off," you say as you match your speed with Tanjiro to talk face to face with Inosuke.
Inosuke: "I'll beat you up after I beat that guy back there!"
Y/n: "How annoying...."
Tanjiro then let's Inosuke go as Inosuke runs with you and Tanjiro.
Inosuke: "Damn, I will totally beat him up."
Tanjiro: "Stop talking about that."
Inosuke: "He called me a stupid pig, Monjiro!"
Tanjiro: "It's Tanjiro!"
Y/n: "It's because you are one."
Inosuke: "What did you say, Y/n?!" He yells as he mispronounces your name.
Y/n: "It's Y/... I don't even care anymore."
Tanjiro: "By the way, is this the right way?" He asks looking at Inosuke.
Inosuke: "My senses never betrayed me. But..."
Y/n: "What?"
Inosuke: "What are these annoying threads doing here?!"
Tanjiro: "It shows that the demon is upon us."
*STOMP*
Y/n: "It seems like there's another one coming."
The three of you then look up at your path as another conscoius slayer stands there with the web strings attached to her.
Slayer: "No. Don't get past here."
The three of you then look around as you see corpses of slayers around the area.
Y/n: "Seems like you killed them."
Slayer: "Please. Go back and get higher ranks here. If not..."
Slayer: "I'll get you all killed!"
You then stand there right in front of her as she starts tearing up.
Slayer: "Please," she desperately pleads. "Please!"
Tanjiro: "We'll save you, don't worr-"
Tanjiro was cut off as you raised your right arm signaling him to not move forward.
Y/n: "I'll handle her."
Tanjiro: "Y/n, we have to stick together!"
Y/n: "I can take care of myself dammit."
Tanjiro then looks frustrated after wht you had just said.
Y/n: "You two need to go ahead and look for the demon who's making a puppet out of these slayers. You might run into Zenitsu along the way and we all know that he'd die without any of us around."
Inosuke: "Who said that you could- Hey!"
Inosuke then reacts as Tanjiro grabs him and starts running tot he direction of the demon Inosuke located.
You then look back at Tanjiro as he looks back at you. He then gives a little nod and looks down his path as Inosuke keeps screaming at you.
You then look back at the girl who was being manipulated as her eyes widen from your action.
Slayer: "I'm so sorry...."
Y/n: "Hm?"
Slayer: "I might end up killing you!" she says as tears run down both of her cheeks.
Y/n: "Don't worry about that," you say as you slowly unsheathe your blade. "I'll make sure that I..."
You then look up to her with a determined yet empty look.
Y/n: "...will save you."
********************************
HOW WILL Y/N HANDLE THE MANIPULATED SLAYER?!
WILL TANJIRO AND INOSUKE ENCOUNTER ZENITSU AGAIN?!
WILL SOMEONE DIE?!
FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!~