“I'm jealous…you really are a good man. Yes. You look so cool, and you protect them. You save them. They owe you their lives. I bet they smoother you in gratitude.” Gyutaro comment, looking at Tengen standing in front of a civilian, who he had just shielded from his attack.
In response, Uzui looked at him blankly and said, his tone like he was telling the most obvious thing in the world : “Of course! I'm a flashy, brilliant, sexy guy! I've even got three wives!”
“You have three wives?? Okay. That's too much! Even I can't forgive that!”
Blood demon art : flying blood sickles
Gyutaro started to continuously slash the air, blades made of blood appearing from his sickles and flying in Uzui's direction.
'Thin blades of blood…and so many! I can't block them all AND protect the others!'
Without any other options, he suddenly exploded the ground, falling through the crater to land in the first floor of the house.
“Run! Hide yourself!” He exclaimed to the civilian, who quickly started to run away, “r-right!”
“Nice try, but you can't get away! Flying blood sickles…turn!”
The blood blades who were still flying around in the second floor suddenly started to move in a way that denies the laws of physics, going through the hole Tengen previously made on the second floor to attack him.
He quickly started to defend from the attacks using his double swords, now free to move without the civilian around. 'The demon doesn't just throw them, he controls them! The slashing blood blades fly around until they hit!'
'Brother and sister… she didn't die even when I cut off her head, they're siblings, so maybe….he's the main body? If I cut off the brother's head, will they both die?'
He suddenly took out weird black marbles from who knows where he was hiding them, 'Either way, I have to try! By the sound of it, the people upstairs have already fled!'
He threw the marbles to the first floor, jumping and cutting them in the air, a big explosion was caused, hitting also Inosuke and Zenitsu who were standing outside waiting for an opportunity to enter the battle.
“Oh well…this isn't going to be easy…” He commented, looking at the two demons with a dry smile, Daki had wrapped both her and brother in her obi, “Because now we fight as one!” Gyutaro said as she revealed both of them completely unscathed.
“You're different…. You're different from the other hashira I've killed. I bet you were special since you were born. Blessed with talent. I mean it, I want you dead as soon as possible.”
“… Talent? Ha!” Even though Uzui was smiling, you could clearly tell by the way his expression darkened that he wasn't happy with this affirmation. “Do I look like I have talent to you? You've got a pretty rosy outlook on life, if that's what you think. Then again, you've been hiding out here for hundreds of years, so I guess you've got a pretty ignorant view of the world. This is a big world, and it's teeming with incredible people.”
“Some are a mystery…” Gyomei.
“And a few have a natural way with the sword, and become a hashira in two months.” Muichiro.
His expression suddenly contorted in anger, as he exclaimed : “So I'm chosen? Gimme a break! You have no clue how much I've lost over the years!”
“Uuuuugh! Then how do you explain it?! Why haven't you died yet? My blood sickles are poisonous, but no matter how long I wait, you don't feel any effects! What's going on?”
“I'm from a family of Shinobi. I've built up a resistance to poison.”
“They died out in the edo period! Enough lies!”
'It's no lie. Shinobi still exist. I had nine siblings. By the time I was 15, seven were dead.
My father was afraid the clan was doomed, so he forced us all through intense training. The only survivors were me and my younger brother.
My little brother was just like my father, he was just as cold and heartless. Minions were expendable, and his wife was just for making babies, he had no respect for others, he was stubborn and cold.
… I could never be like that.'
Tengen…the path you choose is a hard one, it is hard to reject the values you learn as a child. You must always fight yourself, at the same time that you're fighting on the field of battle. But in spite of your many inner conflicts and contradictions, I trust you to always fight for me and to protect innocent lives, thank you Tengen. You're a wonderful child.
He could still hear the words from Ubuyashiki echoing in his mind.
'Master, is it I who am thankful to you. You showed me something worth risking my life for. Doing so is merely a matter of course. People who struggle with their inner conflict are foolish weaklings, I see what must be done, and I do it.'
“Hey! You! Hey!” Gyutaro serious face suddenly started to change to a laughing one, as he finally noticed what was going on. “Hee hee! Hee hee hee! That poison's working after all, isn't it? It's just taking effect very slowly, you almost bluffed me into thinking that it wasn't!”
“No. It's not working at all. Shall we dance? I'm in peak condition. I could dance and sing and eat a dozen bowls of tempura right now- With style!”
He quickly got close to Gyutaro, spinning his dual blades as Daki kept shielding him from his attacks with her obi, he then suddenly kicks the girl, throwing her into the air.
“Nobody kicks my sister!” Gyutaro takes out his sickle, “You scum!” Daki exclaims, also making her worm-obi go in his direction.
In response, he threw several of his explosive marbles into the hair, Daki obi accidentally cutting one of them and occasioning a big explosion. “Gyaaaah!”
'Those beads explode with enough force to hurt demons, and they go off at the slightest impact, her obi accidentally cut one, she always gets hit first!'
Gyutaro thought in annoyance as he looked at his sister, he didn't have time to think more, as a blade suddenly got dangerously close to his neck.
'The blade can stretch…?' He thought in shock as he looked at Uzui, surprised to see that he was actually holding the other sword connect to it by the blade, so it could get close to his neck. 'But he's holding it by the blade! What an insane grip!'
Gyutaro used one of his sickles to defend from the attack, looking in shock at the small cut in his neck, he was so close to succeed in cutting his head.
“Tsk! I didn't finish off this one!” Uzui exclaimed in annoyance, as Daki once again started to scream, “Gyaaaaaah! That big jerk sliced my neck again! This is so unfair! Why do I always get cut?! Waaaaaah! Waaaah!”
Ignoring his sister cries, Gyutaro looked at Tengen with an annoyed expression. “Oh. So, you've noticed?”
“Noticed what?” He responded back with a mocking smile.
“Even if you have noticed, it doesn't matter because, sooner or later, you're going to die. Bit by bit, we are gradually close to winning.” The demon responds with a frown, scratching his cheek.
“Are you sure about that?” A loud voice exclaimed, as Inosuke and Zenitsu suddenly entered the house through a hole made in the wall.
“You haven't taken me into account! Never forget Lord Inosuke! Oh…and that thing too.” With “that thing” he was referring to the sleeping Zenitsu following him.
“… You're who exactly?” Gyutarou asked blankly, but another loud sound interrupted him as Tanjiro and Y/N suddenly appeared from above, jumping through the hole from the ceiling and landing in front of Uzui.
“Magical girl Y/N coming to save the day in a heroic fashion!... -oh and her red-haired sidekick is here too!”
Y/N will never use her brain cells to process the fact that Tanjiro is the protagonist, so she's the sidekick here.
“You. The girl.” Gyutaro suddenly said to her, she gave a small noise of shock in response, not expecting him to acknowledge her presence at all.
“… Huh?”
“I will ignore questioning what the hell a magical girl is, but you're that human my sister kept playing around, am I right?”
Y/N could feel all the eyes in the room in her, and honestly, that sudden amount of attention was kind of making her want to vomit.
“… Playing around? What a cruel way to put it, Daki, was that what you were doing? Playing around?” Y/N tilted her head to look at the demon girl standing behind her brother, the smile in her face impossible to decipher.
“You… You know that's not true!” Daki exclaimed back, still crying a bit.
Gyutaro just looked back and forth at his sister and at the girl, taking a deep breath in an annoyed way and saying blankly :
“If you leave immediately, I will spare your life at least.”
Y/N hardened the grip in her sword in response, smiling gently as she said, “You're the one who should be asking to be spared.” Her words didn't match her expression at all.
He turned to his sister, staring at her with a blank expression as he whispered : “Are you sure that this is the human you like? She kinda gives me the creeps, look at the way she's smiling-”
“Hey! Don't badmouth her!” She responded back, harshly pulling his hair, “Hey you!-”
Everyone just sweat dropped as they looked at the two demons who started to have a sibling fight in the middle of what was supposed to be a serious atmosphere.
“Should we attack them or…?” Inosuke suddenly spoke, still confused with what was going on.
“That won't be necessary…” Gyutaro turned back to them as he finished his mini discussion with his sister, who was still pouting behind him. “No matter how many low-rankers you bring, all of your futures are bleak, everyone dies, so don't bother getting all worked up.” He said, looking at Uzui.
“And the girl, you're the one who refused my offer, but lucky for you, that man wants you alive, so you won't be dying today. But that doesn't mean you won't get out hurt!”
'Muzan wants Y/N?' Tanjiro thought, almost dropping his defensive position from shock as he stared at the girl.
'Muzan?!…well, it isn't the first time he went after me, it sometimes happened in my other lives, the crazy bastard.'
“Muzan wants me alive? Doesn't he have anything better to do besides ordering his minions to chase teenagers around?” It definitely wasn't a good idea to insult Muzan in front of an upper moon, but does it even matter anymore?
After revealing Y/N friendship with Daki, and saying in a manner that was bound to cause misunderstandings that she has something to do with the literal enemy of the humanity, it wouldn't be a surprise if she were to be considered a traitor now, even more that she has a hashira as a witness.
Before Gyutaro could speak up in anger after hearing Y/N blatant insults to his lord, Uzui suddenly steps in, probably to divert his attention away from her. “We're the demon slayers corps…and we are going to win!”
“You can't win if the hashira you're counting on is poisoned!” Daki exclaimed, Tanjiro looked back at Uzui with a worried expression. 'Poisoned?!'
“Listen up, demonette! We'll win and we'll do it easily! I may be poisoned, but I'm still more than your equal! And don't underestimate humans! These four are the very best of all my minions! They'll stand true to the end!”
'Four…? Did he include me?! Really?!'
“Yeah! That's right!” Inosuke loudly agreed while holding back Zenitsu by grabbing his haori collar, he kept trying to run in Y/N's direction after hearing her voice.
“Cut off their limbs, and they will fight with their teeth! Besides, I've already figured out how to beat you two! It's cutting both of your heads simultaneously! I'm right, aren't I? You know I am!”
He started to loudly laugh in a mocking way : “Otherwise, you'd just absorb your little sister and consolidate your powers! But that'd make you vulnerable! You guys are so simple!”
“Ha ha ha! I've got it! We've practically won already!” Inosuke exclaimed, snorting in a proud way.
“Many demon slayers have died trying to accomplish that 'easy' task! Including some hashira, I've eaten 15 of you, and my sister seven more!”
“Yeah! Until dawn breaks, none of you are safe, and the long night is always on your side! So, why don't you all just give it up now?” Daki said, making various of her worm-obi attack Uzui, some of them also going in Y/N's direction to try to grab her.
“Sera- EUGH-” Y/N tried to use one of her breathing forms, but was suddenly grabbed by the collar, she only was able to see a yellow flash as Zenitsu reflected all of Daki attacks, they started to change quick blows, getting higher and higher up in the air until both of them ended up in the ceiling of the house, a confused Y/N still being held by the collar trying to understand what just happened.
“Zenitsu! Y/N!” Tanjiro exclaimed as he looked up, seeing the holes made in each floor of the house until the night sky was visible.
“Leave the worm-woman to me, sleepy-head and underling! You guys handle that mantis! Let's go! Watch yourselves!” Inosuke exclaimed to Tanjiro as he left to go assist the two.
“We will!”
“Not if my little sister has anything to say about it.” Gyutaro said, looking at them with an ominous smile.
Daki landed on the ceiling, glaring at Zenitsu ( who was still with Y/N stuck on his grasp) with an angry expression. “You!”
“Hey! Zenitsu! Let gooo! Come on! Why did even you take me along in the first place?! You interrupted my attack too! What's the point of having a cool breathing technique if you won't let me use it?!” Y/N exclaimed, starting to trash around in his hold.
“Before you die, I have a task for you…” He said to Daki with a cold voice.
“Are you really ignoring me-”
“Apologize to the girl whose ear you nearly tore off, it may be your money that pays for their clothing, food and housing, but those girls are not your toys. You won't get away with this.”
“… Sure. Apologize, huh? Well, if you give my toy back, I will think about it” Daki responded with a mocking smile, pointing to Y/N, who gave up in fighting and was just looking at the horizon with a bored look.
“Huh, what about me?” She asked as she noticed her name being mentioned.
And irk appeared in Zenitsu's head. “… Y/N is also not your toy. If you really want to have her, then you will have to go through me first, though I will take your head before that.”
'…he's kinda cool when he's sleeping-' She violently shook her head, 'Bad Y/N! No fangirling while in fights!'
She managed to get away from Zenitsu's grasp, entering in battle position as she stared at Daki with a serious expression.
“Daki, I'm sorry.”
When Y/N said that, a sad shine appeared in Daki's eyes, a shine that made Y/N flinch.
Did she… Did she really don't want to fight? Was there really a chance of speaking to her? A chance of everyone getting out of this alive?
Y/N questioned before Daki suddenly shook her head like she was trying to get rid of her thoughts. “In the entertainment district, women are always bought and sold, their owners can sell them, buy them or break them. Those who provide no value don't deserve to be treated like humans. The ugly have no right to eat.”
“You were mistreated in the past. But that means you know it's bad to treat others that way.”
In response, Daki started to laugh in a dry way, some tears in corners of her eyes as her eyes brows were furred together.
“… It's funny. If you had said this to me a while ago, I would've had said that the sufferings of my past were lessons on what to do on others…but I understand what you mean now.” She silently got up, slowly raising her head to look at the two. “I wish I didn't understand, though. It would make all of this so much easier.”
Y/N stomach twisted as she saw the almost painful expression Daki had on her face, a third eye opening in her forehead, indicating that she was connecting with her brother.
“That's just how it is when you're a demon. Kill. Kill is all that we know. It has always been like that, so I suppose it couldn't be different now.”
'… Her dialogue…it changed! It's entirely different from the manga!.. Is there really any chance of redemption to her?...But even if I succeed, how will the rest of the corps react? No- I will think about this after I try! There's no guarantee she will listen to me anyway, so there's no point in thinking that much into the future now!'
'… It's worth it. I don't know how it will go, but since they can't kill me thanks to Michael Jackson carbon copy, I might as well use the chance! I will try. No. I HAVE to try.'