With Tanjiro
Tanjiro looked around at the snowy forest around him and cursed himself. He had cut his neck and woken up from the same dream so many times, yet the demon always put him back.
I won't be able to kill it like this. All I'm doing is stalling for time. How can I avoid the eyes? Tanjiro thought.
Tanjiro raised the sword to his neck and cut it once again.
After opening his eyes he was back on the train.
"INO..." Tanjiro attempted to yell out.
His yell was cut off as he made eye contact with the demon once again and was put back to sleep.
Waking up back in the same forest Tanjiro yelled in anger.
"HOW CAN I BEAT HIM!" Tanjiro yelled.
It's the eyes, it has to be. I just have to make sure my eyes are closed. Tanjiro thought.
He sliced his neck again and woke up on the train. Unfortunately, his determination did not yield results as his body immediately opened his eyes.
"Go to sleep." He heard and was instantly back in his dream.
"COME ON JUST KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED!" Tanjiro yelled.
He sliced his neck again but failed to close his eyes.
"Go to sleep."
*Slash*
"Go to sleep."
*Slash*
"Go to sleep."
*Slash*
I need to focus. Just keep your eyes closed. Tanjiro thought.
He brought his sword to his neck and prepared to cut again when he saw Inosuke slash though the fleshy mound and grab his wrist.
"This isn't a dream, it's reality." Inosuke said.
Tanjiro was shocked and moved his sword away from his neck.
Then I almost.... Tanjiro thought.
"Don't die such a lame death." Inosuke commanded.
Inosuke then began to laugh and slash through some more flesh, cutting the eyes off from their source of power. Tanjiro saw the colour drain from the eye balls and began to slash at some as well.
"It's because I'm wearing the hide of the king of the mountain. Stupid demon is too scared to face a real king." Inosuke said.
I see, it's probably because the demon can't tell where he's looking. Tanjiro thought.
Inosuke continued to slash wildly at the eyeballs while Tanjiro looked around, trying to formulate a plan for how they could kill this demon.
As Inosuke continued to cut Tanjiro heard the sound of running steps and panicked breathing and turned towards the noise. The train conductor he had just rescued was desperately running towards Inosuke.
Initially Tanjiro assumed it was for protection, but his eyes widened as he saw the man brandishing a knife similar to the children earlier.
Him too? Tanjiro thought
"Don't you dare get in the way of my dream!" The man yelled.
Tanjiro gathered up all of his strength and pushed it down into his legs, propelling himself forward at an insane speed.
"INOSUKE!" He yelled.
Tanjiro made it in time to intercept the stab but wasn't quick enough to do anything but make himself a human shield. He felt the cold steel of the knife break open the skin of his stomach and drive deep through the protective layers of tissue.
The pain was immediate. Intense, sharp and instant, his stomach felt as though it was being ripped open. Tanjiro reacted quickly and struck the man hard in the neck, knocking him out instantly.
Inosuke turned around and noticed the knife sticking out of Tanjiro's stomach.
"You got stabbed?" Inosuke asked, showing something the resembled concern.
"Yes, but it's fine." Tanjiro said.
He then began to drag the unconscious man's body away from the centre of the bowl.
"Are you serious? Forget about that worthless trash." Inosuke said angrily.
"No! I won't let him die." Tanjiro replied.
"We need to focus, this demon is going to be hard to beat, stop wasting time." Inosuke said.
"It will be fine. Do not worry." Tanjiro said.
As soon as Tanjiro uttered those famous last words, the fleshy bowl began to reform. Massive tendrils emerged from the sides of the bowl, forming almost a roof of flesh. The hands the demon had previously used to ensnare Inosuke reappeared from the rood and began to descend on the two boys.
The two quickly launched into action, dodging some and slicing through others.
The hands continued to spawn and attack relentlessly, forcing the two to begin climbing out of the bowl. They managed to exit the bowl and took a moment to breathe. Their brief moment was interrupted as more tendrils attacked the two. Seeing no other option the two leaped into the air in order to dodge.
The demon lashed out with more tendrils, attempting to swipe them while they were still in the air. Inosuke and Tanjiro adapted to the attacks and began to slash the incoming tendrils. The demon responded by retracting the tendrils, sending the boys into a free fall.
The boys sense another spike in demonic energy and four large flesh pillars emerged from the base of the bowl. Tanjiro readied his blade to cut the pillars, but an immense amount of powerful blue eyes emerged from the flesh.
No. If I fall asleep now, Inosuke will be by himself, I have to close my eyes. Tanjiro thought.
"STUPID EYES!" Inosuke yelled.
Tanjiro turned to look at the yelling Inosuke and saw the boy slashing at the eyes crazily.
"FOLLOW ME, DON'T FALL ASLEEP." Inosuke demanded.
Inosuke began to run down one of the flesh pillars, slashing and destroying the eyes in front of him. Tanjiro followed the path, not having to worry about being put to sleep.
"Synchronise our breathing, this is our chance." Tanjiro said.
"JUST MAKE SURE YOU CUT THROUGH THE BONE, I'LL TAKE CARE OF THE FLESH!" Inosuke responded.
The running descent gave the boys a tonne of momentum.
Inosuke leaped from the pillar and raised his swords high above his head.
"Beast Breathing, Fourth Fang: Slice 'n' Dice!" Inosuke yelled.
Landing on the base of the bowl Inosuke delivered to consecutive, powerful diagonal slashes. The flesh floor was completely shredded, leaving the neck bone completely exposed. The demon roared in pain again.
Rengoku and Giyuu recognised the scream as an indication that this was an important moment. The two delivered powerful and focussed attacks, delaying the healing time of the demon even more.
Tanjiro looked at the bone and launched himself from the pillar. He took another deep breath and felt an intense power build up inside him.
Visions of his father's dance flashed through his mind, and he gripped his sword tight.
"Hinokami Kagura!" Tanjiro chanted.
Compared to his usual breathing style his breath was hot. Inosuke heard something that resembled a roaring fire and turned to look at his friend.
"CLEAR BLUE SKY!" Tanjiro yelled.
Rotating his body he put all of his strength into a circular slash.
The neck bone severed instantly and Enmu felt his head separate from his body. He screamed once again and attempted to lash out in a final attack. The flesh surrounding the carts began to expand and swell rapidly. Rengoku and Giyuu felt the expansion and saw an immense amount of flesh hands emerge in separate carts.
Thanks to their experience they recognised the attack as one out of desperation. Understanding this meant Tanjiro had accomplished his mission the two prepared to unleash their own powerful attacks.
Seeing the hands descend on passengers they realised the demon was trying to take out as many of them as possible before it died.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!" Rengoku yelled.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide Turbulent." Giyuu said.
The two unleashed a series of powerful strikes, completely nullifying Enmu's final attack.
The flesh that once ensnared the train carts began to explode sending the train off the rails.
With Shinobu
"Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter." Shinobu said.
She dashed towards a demon and an insane speed, delivering a quick injection of poison before quickly retreating.
"And now your insides will slowly melt. Consider this your punishment." Shinobu said coldly.
"Stop hiding the fact that you're weak, I'm fine." The demon said back angrily.
"So combative, unfortunately for you that was a poor choice of..." Shinobu began to say but was cut off by a yelling Mitsuri.
"Love Breathing, First Form: Shivers of First Love!" Mitsuri yelled, unleashing a series of extended whip-like slashes, killing the demon.
"ALRIGHT, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Now let's get food." Mitsuri said excitedly.
She turned and looked at the flat looking smile Shinobu had and realise she might have made a mistake.
"I'm sorry, were you doing your poison speech thing? I totally ruined it didn't I?" Mitsuri said.
Shinobu laughed, unable to stay mad at her adorable friend.
"It's fine. There will be other moments." Shinobu said.
"I know but like, it's your thing. Like yes, it's super creepy but still it's your thing, and I totally ruined it. Plus with everything..." Mitsuri began to ramble until Shinobu grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Mitsuri. It's okay. Now let's get you fed before you pass out." Shinobu said with a smile.
The two made their way back to the town they were staying in and looked around, searching for something to eat.
"OOOO, WHAT ABOUT SUSHI? Or a rice bowl? Or both." Mitsuri cheered happily.
Not receiving a response Mitsuri continued to look around, assuming Shinobu was disagreeing.
"How about ramen? Gyoza? Yakitori?" Mitsuri continued to list, again receiving nothing
"OOOO NO WHAT ABOUT PANCAKES. I know they're a breakfast food and all but like who really cares right?" Mitsuri asked.
Receiving nothing for a third time she finally looked over at her silent companion. Shinobu was still walking alongside her, but her attention was clearly not on finding the two something to eat. Her gaze was pointed towards the ground, as if she didn't even notice anything going on around her.
"Shinobu-chan." Mitsuri called out.
"Shinobu-chan." She said again.
"Shinobu!" She said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, forcing her to pay attention.
"Oh, sorry. Yes, we should get the mochi." Shinobu said.
"I didn't say that." Mitsuri replied.
"Oh you didn't? Sorry, I'm a bit tired from the mission." Shinobu lied.
"Why don't we get something that we can take back to the inn?" Mitsuri asked.
"That sounds good." Shinobu said.
Shinobu and Mitsuri ordered some food for the night and took it back to their accommodation. Shinobu ordered a rice bowl while Mitsuri ordered a wide variety of foods to satisfy her appetite.
The two sat in the room in a weird silence. They were very close friends and extremely talkative people so a silence between the two of them was truly a herald of bad news.
Mitsuri stopped eating for a moment and looked at her friend. She was picking at the food, barely eating.
"Shinobu, please tell me what is going on." Mitsuri pleaded.
"What? Nothing is going on, I'm just not that hungry." Shinobu replied.
"You've been distracted all mission long." Mitsuri argued.
"I have not. I completed our mission without any issues. In fact I had that demon completely handled, remember?" Shinobu responded.
"It's not that. Anyone can focus when they have to fight a demon, it's a life-or-death scenario." Mitsuri said.
"I would hardly say that demon was a threat to my life." Shinobu said.
"And now you're doing that thing you always do in arguments. You pick on insignificant details that aren't related to the actual topic. It might work on others, but I know your games." Mitsuri said determined to stand her ground.
"I do not have a thing I always do. Are you trying to say that I am an argumentative person who just goes around picking fights? I thought you knew me better than that Mitsuri-chan." Shinobu replied.
"ENOUGH!" Mitsuri yelled.
Shinobu went quiet and Mitsuri took a deep breath. She was not fond of raising her voice to her friends, but whatever was going on with Shinobu had her worried enough to do it anyway.
"The whole walk back you hardly said a thing. You were staring at the ground in town, obviously distracted even though our mission was complete and we had nothing else to do. You're sitting here not saying a word and mixing your food around as if it was paint. There's obviously something wrong but instead of talking about it with your friend you're sitting here arguing with me for no reason. Seriously it's like I'm on a mission with the old Tomioka-sa..." Mitsuri said, cutting herself off as she wandered into dangerous territory.
She looked at Shinobu and saw her face was almost completely blank, apart from a small, strained smile.
"I'm sorry I don't know what I was saying, just ignore me." Mitsuri said
The two went back to silence and Mitsuri felt too awkward to continue eating. Shinobu put her bowl to the side, making a small noise. The sound made Mitsuri to look back at Shinobu and saw the woman had dropped her small smile entirely.
"I'm worried." Shinobu said.
"What about?" Mitsuri asked.
"Tomioka-san." Shinobu admitted.
"I see." Mitsuri said.
She moved some of her plates out of the way and sat closer to her friend.
"You know you can tell me anything." Mitsuri said.
"A while ago Shinazugawa-san came by the Butterfly Mansion. He had partnered with Tomioka-san and apparently, he hasn't been taking care of himself." Shinobu said.
"Really?" Mitsuri asked, clearly worried.
"Yes. I don't know how bad or how minor the injuries were, I haven't seen him since the meeting. But clearly, they were significant enough to warrant Shinazugawa-san visiting." Shinobu answered.
"So, that has you worried?" Mitsuri asked.
"He's never been good at taking care of himself. As you know before he took on Aoi as a student I found him passed out after training too hard after an injury. But he was slowly getting better at it. I just... I can't get over the feeling that he's putting himself at risk." Shinobu said.
"I understand. I know he's a bit reckless, but he seems to at least have an understanding of how to control his emotions. I'm sure he's okay." Mitsuri said.
"That's the thing, he's not good at handling his emotions. He just hides behind a wall and doesn't let anyone in." Shinobu argued.
"That reminds me of someone else I know." Mitsuri said.
Shinobu looked at her friend and gave a knowing smile.
"I guess." Shinobu admitted.
"Do you want a pancake?" Mitsuri asked, earning a bigger smile from her friend.
"I think I do." Shinobu said warmly.
The two began to eat, the previously awkward aura now shattered.
"I'm sure wherever he is, he's fine." Mitsuri said.
With Giyuu
The Mugen Train had crashed, being completely derailed thanks to the mini explosion caused by Enmu's death. Giyuu managed to escape from the crash and began to check the passengers. Thanks to the flesh providing a layer of protection there were no casualties from the crash.
Continuing to search through the wreckage, Giyuu found Rengoku, who was checking on the passengers in his section.
"Any casualties?" Giyuu asked.
"None!" Rengoku replied.
"Good. None in my section either." Giyuu said.
"I'll send a message to the Kakushi. They'll get a medical team in here and they'll alert the authorities. A rescue of this many people would be impossible for just our medical team." Rengoku said.
"Understood. I'll keep searching through the wreck." Giyuu said, leaving Rengoku.
With Tanjiro.
Tanjiro managed to leap off the moving train, but with the injury he sustained all he could manage to do after the fact was lay down on his back. He slowly passed out but managed to maintain his total concentration constant.
Inosuke noticed his fallen friend and ran over.
"SANTARO ARE YOU OKAY!" Inosuke yelled.
He grabbed him and lifted his head off the ground. Tanjiro came out of his state of unconsciousness but didn't open his eyes due to the exhaustion.
"ARE YOU OKAY? HOW IS YOUR BELLY? YOU KNOW THE ONE THAT GOT STABBED!" Inosuke yelled.
"I'm... fine..." Tanjiro replied.
"Are you okay?" Tanjiro asked.
"I'm fine. Didn't even catch a cold. ISN'T THAT IMPRESSIVE!" Inosuke yelled.
"I won't be able to move for a while. Please make sure the passengers are okay." Tanjiro said.
"I already did. The owl eye guy and half and half man were taking care of it." Inosuke responded.
"That's good. I think I'm just going to rest here then. Is everyone okay? How is that conductor doing?" Tanjiro asked.
"WHO CARES! He deserves to die!" Inosuke yelled.
"No he doesn't." Tanjiro said.
"Are you stupid? He's the one who stabbed you. It doesn't matter anyway, he got his leg trapped under one of the carts. He can't walk and he'll probably die, so who cares?" Inosuke said.
"Then he's already atoned for his sin, so help him, will you?" Tanjiro asked.
"NO!" Inosuke yelled.
"Please." Tanjiro said weakly.
Inosuke struggled for a while, not sure of what to do, but he eventually conceded and grumbled before walking away to help the man.
Tanjiro allowed his body to relax and continued to focus on his breathing.
It's almost dawn. I just hope the passengers are okay. Rengoku-san and Tomioka-san are here so maybe I shouldn't worry. Tanjiro thought.
A small mound of flesh began to move slowly towards Tanjiro. The two blue eyes stared at the boy with pure hatred. This is what was left of the once powerful Enmu.
I can't heal, my body is disintegrating. The demon thought.
Even though I fused with the train I couldn't devour a single human. It's those stupid Hashiras fault. That one with the flame abilities was so strong, he completely kept me at bay, I couldn't focus on those boys at all. But that other one, he was happy in the dream, why did he have to wake up? WHY? Enmu thought angrily.
And that blonde one, he didn't even break the spell completely, but he still fought. Not to mention that demon girl. Why hasn't master Muzan done something about that traitor? DAMMIT DAMMIT. It all went downhill after this brat broke the spell. Enmu thought, staring at Tanjiro.
I could at least kill him. Just him. Enmu thought.
Summoning the last of his strength he spawned a hand and started stretching towards Tanjiro's prone body.
I'll kill this boy. All I want to do is kill this boy. Enmu thought, stretching further towards Tanjiro.
The hand got closer and closer until a flaming hot sword ran through the flesh, destroying him for good.
"I see you mastered total concentration breathing constant. HOW IMPRESSIVE!" Rengoku yelled.
Tanjiro slowly opened his eyes and saw Rengoku's face staring right back at him.
"After all, that technique is the first step towards becoming a Hashira, and as my new Tsuguko you need to continue to grow." Rengoku said excitedly.
"I will do my best." Tanjiro said.
"You're bleeding." Rengoku noticed.
"I was stabbed." Tanjiro said.
"Not a problem. Just focus on improving the precision of your breathing. Make your nerves reach the end of your body. There's a blood vessel, it will be torn, find it." Rengoku said.
Tanjiro struggled, trying his hardest to improve his technique on the fly.
"Focus." Rengoku instructed.
Tanjiro focussed and eventually found the blood vessel.
"You found it, good. Now focus, stop the bleeding." Rengoku said.
Tanjiro again focussed but began to cough.
"Focus." Rengoku repeated.
Tanjiro struggled and struggled but finally managed to stop the bleeding.
"Good. You did it. I am proud." Rengoku said.
"Thank you." Tanjiro said though strained breaths.
"You'll be able to do all sorts of amazing things when you've mastered breathing. You won't be able to do everything right way, but you'll become a stronger version of yourself than yesterday." Rengoku said positively.
"Then I'll keep working." Tanjiro said.
"There are hordes of injured people on the train, but don't worry all 200 of them are alive." Rengoku reassured the boy.
"I am glad. Now that I'm not bleeding, I'll come help." Tanjiro said.
"Do not strain yourself. Breathing is a good substitute, but it is far from complete medical treatment. Besides Tomioka and I can handle it." Rengoku said.
Rengoku went to walk away when he sensed an intense surge of demonic power. Tanjiro noticed it as well and saw Rengoku's eyes widen.
Rengoku turned around and placed his hand on the handle of his sword. Tanjiro looked at the source of the power and felt fear creep in.
"Upper... Three?" Tanjiro said.
Rengoku was now face to face with a white skinned male demon. The short red hair of the demon caused its piercing yellow eyes to stand out even more, and inside those eyes read the kanji for upper three. Blue tattoos lined his muscular body, and he wore something resembling a karate Gi.
Before the two could react, the demon lunged at Tanjiro readying a strike. He aimed a punch at his head and Tanjiro could do nothing.
"Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun." Rengoku called out, unsheathing his sword and ripping through the attack arm, splitting it in two.
The demon took a step back and quickly reattached its arm.
"That's a fine sword." The demon said, licking the blood from its previous wound.
Rengoku narrowed his eyes at the demon, ready for it to move at any time.
His regeneration is quicker than any I've seen before, and it's pressure. So this is the power of an upper rank, no wonder Tomioka was hurt so bad. Rengoku thought.
"I can't understand why you'd go and attack a wounded person first." Rengoku said.
"Because, he'd get in the way of chit chat you and I are having." The demon replied.
"What would you and I talk about? I've only just met you, yet I already hate you." Rengoku said.
"I can tell you're a Hashira just by looking at you, so you must be strong. Well I loathe weak humans. In fact the sight of a weak human, such as that thing laying next to you make my skin crawl." The demon said.
"Then it seems we have different sets of values. You despise the weak while I protect them with everything I have." Rengoku said.
"Alright then. I have a proposal for you, why don't you become a demon?" The demon asked.
"No." Rengoku quickly answered.
"I can tell how strong you are at just a glance. Your fighting spirit has been honed to the hilt/ You're even close to the realm of the highest. Tell me, what is your name strong human?" The demon asked.
"I am the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro." Rengoku said.
"I am Akaza. Now let me repeat my earlier proposal. Become a demon and reach the realm of the highest." Akaza said, smiling at Rengoku.
What is up guys, if you didn't see my announcement I am back. I ended up staying over there for almost 4 days so, yeah not much time for writing. Anyway expect a chapter in the next couple days, I'll see you guys soon.