Chapter 12: Final frontier
"Hurry. We're running out of time."
In the darkness of the night, the school building is a really dark and scary place to be. All of the lights were off except for one room, and that is the science lab. Two women is working with the equipment they have to recreate the weapon that has proven to be effective against demon. Wisteria poison.
"Almost there. Just needed to let it cool down." Kanao said as she takes off her safety goggles
"That's great. How did you know how to make the poison?" Aoi curiously asked
"Shinobu nee san's notebook. And by memory." Kanao sat down
"Looks like we got company." Tadano who served as a lookout said to the two
"Who is it?"
"I see, Inosuke-san carrying someone. But I don't see Zenitsu-san." He reported back
"Just in time." Kanao stood up. "You two go to the rooftop. I'll be behind you."
"Right away."
As the two began to ran upstairs, Kanao looked at the jar full of light purple liquids which is poisonous. She memorized the steps when she watched her master once brewed a batch of it. She took the jar and carefully carry it down the hallway and up the stairs to the roof. There, she sees the two from earlier as well as Inosuke and their target tied up to a bench.
"I couldn't believe that you guys managed to make her fainted." Aoi was in disbelief
"I feel sorry (not sorry) for Yamai-san." Tadano said
"Seems like one of us is missing." Kanao spoke out
"Where's Zenitsu-san, Inosuke?" Aoi crossed her arms
"That bastard ran off without me! Said he'll be back in a sec. A sec goes by and nothing!" Inosuke burst out in anger
"It doesn't matter right now. What matters now is that we have the demon in our sight." Kanao walks over to the fainted woman
"What are we doing Kanao-san?" Tadano asked
"We're gonna flush out the demon from her."
Kanao puts down the jar right next to her and pulls out a syringe. She tapped it to make sure it's empty. The tip of it was submerged into the liquid and she pulled the liquid into the chamber. She once again tapped and squirt out a little bit of it out to prepare for the injection.
"Wait, will this harm her?" Tadano asked in concern
"Of course, just a little bit. Enough to get the real demon out." Kanao said in a sadistic tone
"Let her feel pain. We bust our ass just to catch her back then." Inosuke is getting impatient
"Don't worry, the antidote is ready to be administer as soon as the demon comes out." Aoi reassures the man
"Here we go. Show us your true colour."
Kanao took the the unconscious woman arm and search for the veins. She took the needle and insert it into the skin and push the liquids into the vein. Right after she does that, the unconscious person suddenly opens both eyes. The ear piercing scream is telling them that the poison is doing it's magic.
"Argh! What is this pain?! Get me out of here!"
"Get ready. She might broke loose." Kanao warned
"Please work." Aoi prayed
"Just come out here demon and face us!" Inosuke shouted
"Will she be alright?" Tadano is getting worried
'Come on just work!'
As the group backs away from the screaming woman, she's thrashing her body on the bench with veins popping out from her forehead. Not long after the poison was administered, she began to gag. Something is crawling out of her mouth. A body all slimy and black came crawling out which caused Tadano to throw up. The rest felt the grossness but they held it in as they're now facing the true form of the demon.
"My oh my. That is unpleasant. Clever of you using a poison that's effective on me and me only." The demon stands up
'It's a dude!?' Tadano finally finished throwing up
"Now, we can finally do some real damage." Inosuke readies to charge
"Looks like I have to administer another dose. What's your opinion Aoi?" Kanao asked her childhood friend
"This one requires a whole jar worth. Lets give him his medicine." Aoi gains some courage to fight
"I'll just wait over here then." Tadano took a step back
"Where do you think you're going?" The male demonic being took a stance
"Watch out!"
"Blood demon art: Dusty storm mayhem."
The demon raised his arm and the winds began to kick up all of a sudden. Then dusts came from every direction blinding everyone who got caught inside the storm. But that's not all.
"Don't breathe them in!"
'That's some intuition right there. They knew right away that if they breathe in even a speck of my dust, they will fall to sleep. And my sister would take over from therein.'
"Lets see how long could last holding your breath."
As the storm continues, the man stood in the center watching his storm doing the magic. Then out of nowhere, a head broke through the storm but the male simply dodges the headbutt as Inosuke ran back into the storm.
'I can sense each and every one of you inside this storm. So surprise attacks won't work on me.'
"Goddamnit you! Die!"
Whilst Inosuke continues on his attacks, Kanao is still having a hard time to find her bearing. Then something struck inside her mind.
'Wait, if this storm is moving around us, then it all circulates around the demon. Which means, I can find the demon in the center.'
With a newfound discovery, she quickly took her hairpin off and her long hair flew freely in the strong winds. She doused the hairpin with wisteria poison she holds and looked at the wind direction.
'Here goes nothing!'
She charges forward with the hairpin in her hand. She hears the loud noise getting louder which she recognised as Inosuke screaming. She knew she's heading in the right direction and soon enough she broke through. She found herself right besides the target.
'My chance!' She thought
"Not so fast."
She swings her weapon left and right trying her best to hit the man. His agility makes it hard for her even with skills and experience of dealing with hundreds of others like this one. In the end, she's the one who received a scratch on her arms causing the uniform to tear.
"You're quite a fighter. Unlike that other one who kept on charging in blindly." The demon taunted
"You won't be living after tonight, and I'll make sure of that." Kanao grips her weapon harder
"After you darling."
The two demon and human ran towards each other with one holding a hairpin as her weapon whilst the other uses his sharp claw like nails to rip his opponent to shreds. The two side soon collides with each other to fight it to the death.
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"Where did the demon's body go?"
In the butterfly mansion, it was a beautiful morning and yet everyone is still asleep except for one young woman. She woken up from sheer luck and she's in charge of the place until someone else wakes up to help her. But after cleaning the kitchen, she didn't noticed a body went missing. Out of fear, she looks for it around the kitchen and outside covering every inch of the mansion just looking for the missing body.
"How did I lose such things? Those two has entrusted me with such task and now I have to look for it." She mumbles to herself
She look through each room making a full sweep of the mansion. The more she looked, the more people she found to be sleeping still. It wasn't after an hour later, she felt tired and sat down on the floor.
"Where did it go? I've searched everywhere." She breathe in and out
"Well clearly you didn't looked hard enough."
As she was wiping away her sweat, she suddenly felt a presence right besides of her. She instinctively jumped up and away from the figure and she instantly recognised the figure.
"It's you! But now-"
"Yes, I'm no longer a headless body." Yuki points at her. "You're the one who that redhead bastard desperately protecting."
'Redhead? Is she talking about onii chan?'
"What did you do to him?" She questions the demon
"Well he's fallen into deep sleep my dear. The same for all of those who slept last night. They will be sleeping for a very long time. You're just a lucky snowflake to be able to wake up." Yuki giggled like a craze madlady
"You can't do anything to me. The sun is out, you will burn once I get these windows open." Nezuko threatens
"Oh, these windows?"
Yuki pulled out her shamisen from her back and struck the strings like a bow firing its arrows. The sound that was created blast open a big hole in the wall letting the sunlight coming through. Nezuko was frozen in fear when she sees it first hand that the sun doesn't affect her.
"Impossible!" She retorted
"Oh nothing is impossible dear. Say, since you're the only one up right now, why don't I eat you for breakfast."
"No." She's trembling in fear
"Now die."
"Blood demon art: Cutting edge melody."
Yuki plays her shamisen and every time she plays a note, an invisible wave of sound travels through the air and cuts through anything in its path. Nezuko was lucky enough to survive the first wave and began to run down the hallway. Yuki continues on to play faster and fast with multiple waves coming towards her target.
"Somebody! Help me! Onii chan!"
"No ones gonna hear you scream young girl. Now be a good girl and die already!"
As she was running down the hallway, she got to a corner and her leg stumble the other. She fell down hard and with the sound of death is near, she knew she will be dead. She braced for the pain that is coming for her.
"I'm sorry onii chan."
The demon sends out one more wave of sound and this time even larger than before. It cuts the wall as it travels down towards the fallen woman. The first one had finally almost reached Nezuko with only a few inches away from hitting, when all of a sudden, she vanished. All of the notes missed completely and destroying the wall behind it instead.
"What the hell just happened?!" Yuki shouted
With the wall being destroyed, some dust got kicked up and a shadow steps into the light. At first, she couldn't make up who it is but, it didn't take her long to know who it is.
'Oh, it's him. I can take him out easily.' Yuki smirked
"Nezuko, stay still. I'm gonna finish this fight right here, right now."
"Onii chan, wait!"
"Water breathing, ninth form: Splashing water flow."
The man with red hair charges forward with no hesitation whatsoever. Yuki feeling confident began to play a really fast pace song. The notes strikes the surrounding walls and objects with absolute destructive force slicing everything in bits. Tanjiro utilize his breathing form to lighten his footwork and dodges every single not using his ears and nose. It didn't take him long to reach the demon face to face.
Panicked, Yuki plucked all strings at once and it sends out a shockwave capable of pushing the opponent back a few feet. But Tanjiro didn't get hit as he jumps up and spins with his blades in a vertical motions.
"Water breathing, second form: Water wheel!"
"Aaahhh!!!"
The attack landed splitting her head in half. Tanjiro landed behind her and turn around to look at the ugly demon writhing in pain.
"What have you done?!" She yelled
"I only did what I need to do in order to protect my sister." Tanjiro drops three empty vial. "I supposed the poison is working more effectively than I expected."
"How dare you! Poison me! That's absurd!"
"It's time for you to take you leave. Have a nice trip to hell, Yuki-san."
And with that, Yuki began to hold her own neck choking herself to endure the pain. But it was a fruitless act as she had stopped breathing a few seconds after that. Tanjiro stared at her now rotting body that was reacting to the wisteria poison. He nudges her with his sword to make sure that she's dead, for good.
"Onii chan!" Nezuko came up running down the hallway
"Nezuko." Tanjiro drops his blade and ran towards his sister
"Are you alright?! You shouldn't have acted that reckless! You could've injured yourselves!" Nezuko scolds him
"I did that to protect you. Now that she's no longer breathing, we can relax a little bit." Tanjiro laughs it off
"What about the others? She said she had them under her spell." Nezuko feeling worried
"Don't worry. I believe that is being taken care of right at this moment."
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"I'm, awake. Kruh."
In the midst of an intense battle with the real demon, a man who has absolute zero experience with demons weren't prepared for such attack. So he immediately got put to sleep and were out. That was until a piece of rock got flung by the strong wind and coincidentally hit his head sending a shock into his nerve system waking him up.
"Zzz....."
I said, the shock wakes him right up.
"Zzz............"
WAKE UP!
"Zzzzz................................."
*Sigh* Then Inosuke came flying out of the storm and lands on top of the young man, head first into his gut.
"Ough! I'm up! I'm up!" Tadano is finally awake
"Keep it together Madonna! Here I come!" Inosuke went back into the storm
"What just happened?"
Tadano stands up as he found himself at the edge of the dust storm. He takes a few step back as he admire the sheer beauty of the storm contained in a small radius. After a while, the storm began to lift up and as the dust is clearing, a scene unfolds. Bodies, two which was far away from the demonic man whilst one is surprisingly conscious but, she's injured. Tadano had his eyes wide open when he sees the demon getting closer to the one standing female.
"I must admit, you are pretty skilled even when you're not inside your own body."
"All I need to fight a scum like you, are my soul and memories. You can't beat me just like that." Kanao coughs out blood
"Well clearly that wasn't enough. In the end, you're gonna die inside another person's body. Good night."
The male quickly raised his arm ready to claw the life out of Kanao. She braces for it with the arm of her uniform torned up showing some scratches she got from battle. But then, something had stopped the male demon from doing the deed. A hand raised up and wide with his back facing the demon. Both the demon and Kanao were surprised by his action.
"What's this joker doing here?"
"Tadano-kun, it's dangerous. Get out of here!" Kanao urged
"I won't!" Tadano shouted. "You may be a different person inside, but you're still inside my friends. And I will do anything to protect them no matter what!"
"No matter what eh?"
"Tadano-kun, watch out!"
"Then you can go to heaven with them as well!"
Not phased by the brave young man, the demon swings his arm with sharp claws merely centimetres away from touching his face. With quick reflex, Kanao pulls Tadano back a step and it was just enough to barely missed the claw. But it had also caused them both to fall hard on the ground.
"Haha! So long mortals!"
"Oi!"
As he was about to deliver the final blow, he got distracted by the sudden calling from a female. He was about to speak another word but didn't got the chance.
"Thunder breathing, first form: Thunderclap and flash."
In an instant, the head of the demon got separated from the body. His eyes were wide opened as his vision is changing drastically with the world now appears upside down.
'What just happened?! Did my head got cut? By her?!'
"Zenitsu-san!" Both the fallen comrade called out
"This isn't gonna be enough to defeat me! I will heal right back up!" The demon still refused to give up
"Oh but it does. Cause this isn't just any kind of steel knife." Zenitsu holds up the knife. "It's a nichirin blade. The same one we used back home."
"No way! You're just bluffing! I know you are!"
"See it for yourself."
Zenitsu picks up the head and placed it on the floor facing towards a disintegrating body. In under a minute, the body has turned into nothing but ashes. The demon now realized that it is over now. He will die now.
"No. My sister, she's still alive! Why am I dying?!" The head began to wither away
"I will say one thing. Choose you last word wisely." Zenitsu suggested
"She's strong! She will not be beaten that easily! How is this happening?! Why?! Why?! WHY?!"
The voice reached out through the darken sky of the night. There was no cloud presence and the moon shines brightly tonight. The night was filled with his voice until, it became silent once more. Zenitsu confirms that the head was no longer there and so his job is done.
"He's gone now. You two can get off from each other now." Zenitsu casually said
"Eh?"
As he mentioned it, they both were too busy admiring Zenitsu's move to the point they have both forgotten the position they're in. Tadano blushed madly and jumps straight up on both feet. Kanao was amazed by how well Zenitsu are handling the situation, when in reality, he was very jealous of Tadano for having fallen over a beautiful lady like that. He tried his damn hardest to hide it though in order to act cool.
"So, where did you get that knife from?" Kanao shook the dirt off from her
"Oh, this thing. Well, back when we were on our way, I caught my eyes on an interesting store with a familiar name."
"Which is?"
"Haganezuka hardware store. Apparently they're run by a family member with the family name and they sell nichirin knife." Zenitsu showed the knife in his hand
"It's a very sharp knife. Great job Zenitsu-san." Kanao praised
"So, what now?" Tadano asked the two considering the other two are still sleeping
"The demons are now gone. It should be a safer world now."
"Yeah, I supposed." Zenitsu chuckles
"I know that we have beaten the demon and all, but what will happen to you?" Tadano questions
"Well, if we're lucky we would be switched back into our own bodies, hopefully." Zenitsu said cheerfully
"But what if you don't?"
The last question left both Kanao and Zenitsu speechless. They didn't think of the possibility of them being stuck here until they die. All they were thinking is to bring down the demon. Kanao looked at the worried man in front of them with a gentle smile.
"In that case, we will be living here from now on." She simply answered
"Will that be okay?" Tadano is becoming more and more worried
"If that is the case, then your friends will be in our friend's care. As for us, I'm not afraid of being stuck here." Zenitsu looked at Tadano's eyes. "Cause we have you as our friend."
"If we're still here, then we will be in your care, Tadano-kun."
Both Kanao and Zenitsu bowed at Tadano which surprised him. He felt his heart tingling when he heard their words. Sure he will miss his friends and their family won't even know about it, and the guilt he will feel later on for keeping this as a secret that only he knows who they are. Those piles on top of him and slowly the weight adds up and his knees crippled underneath all of those weight.
"Tadano-kun?!" The two panicked
"How can you two say such things with a smile on your face?" He became gloomy
"Tada-"
"HOW CAN YOU BOTH ACCEPT THIS AS YOUR FATE?! DON'T YOU FEEL WRONG FOR HAVING TO LIVE THIS WAY?!" Tadano is losing it
"......." They went silent for a few moments
"Tadano-kun, I know this will be hard for you." Kanao sat down with the man. "The reason why, is not as simple as it seemed."
"In our world, many had lost their loved ones. Those who have suffered many losses still kept their pain underneath their smiles. Cause if others sees them crying, their deceased loved ones would cry as well." Kanao began to teared up
"In the end, we accept it as fate. We can do nothing more than just mourn for them. After that, we grit our teeth and moved on." Zenitsu adds
"Your friends, they're not dead. They will be living a happy long life as long as you believed. So be happy for them, don't cry."
Kanao unconsciously leans forward and hugs the distressed male. She consoled with her words and now she's giving him a warm embrace. This feeling of warmth somehow calms down the conflicted Tadano. He looks right behind her head and he didn't realized his body had moved on its own. He returns the hug back out of pure instinct.
"I will leave you two be. Gotta get Inosuke since he seems to have blood on his head." Zenitsu excuses himself
"Thank you, Kanao-san. I feel much better now." Tadano whispers to her
"It's part of my duty Tadano-kun. I'm glad to hear you're doing fine now."
"I think it's time to return back home." Tadano broke off the hug
'I can't believe I just hugged Komi-san!' He screamed inside his head
"I don't think I can go home with these torn clothes." Kanao states her concern
"Then, lets go check the sewing department if they have a spare uniform." Tadano suggested
"How do you know about so much things?"
"Being part of the student council does have its benefits. Come, we better move fast before the guard wakes up."
"Yeah, you think you can carry one of them?" She asked the young man
"Of course. I can carry Inosuke since I'm used to Najimi." Tadano responded
"Great, then lets get to it then."
And just like that, the two are up on their feet again ready for the long walk to each house. Since three out of six of them is still unconscious, the remaining half decided to deliver them back home. They first made a stop at the sewing department where the school uniforms are made and they were lucky to find a spare jacket for Kanao.
Once they're out in the streets, they move fairly fast in order to avoid detection from the locals. Since all three of them are carrying a body that seems to be dead. They delivered Inosuke back to his house since it was the nearest. Then, the Nakanaka household where they deliver Aoi. Thankfully her family didn't asked too many questions about her. Then, Zenitsu parted ways with the other two carrying Yamai Ren on his back. He knew where Yamai lived so they waved a goodbye to each other leaving Kanao and Tadano alone.
"So, what will you do after this Tadano-kun?" Kanao suddenly asked
"Eh? What's with the sudden questions Kanao-san?"
"Just wondering. I know this experience will be traumatizing for you. But please do forget about it. The sooner the better." Kanao smiles innocently
"How can I forget such an amazing person like you Kanao-san? Meeting you has given me a lot of time to think about some things."
"Then I suggest you should be thinking about your own happiness in the future. Chase your dreams and live life to the fullest. That's what I once heard from him." A slight blush appears on her cheeks
"A-ah, look! We're at your house already!" Tadano flail his hands in embarrassment
They both stop taking anymore footsteps further and stood in front of the Komi residence. They looked at each other in the eyes not knowing what to say. For Tadano, he didn't feel like he was talking to a stranger he just met a few days. He felt like he was talking to the real Komi-san and got a first hand experience of what if she could talk normally. He hoped this could be achieved by her one day and they could have a normal conversation with each other.
"Alright then Tadano-kun, I guess this is a farewell. Please be careful on your way back." Kanao advised
"Thank you, Kanao-san. Till tomorrow then, at school?" Tadano replied
"Hai. Sayonara." Kanao bowed
Seeing her bowed, Tadano bowed to her as well for politeness sake. When they both stand up straight again, Tadano began walking towards the direction to his house. He looks back and sees Kanao waving at him with a smile. He waved back at her but he didn't look at where he's going. He hit a light pole which abruptly halted him in his path.
"Daijoubu?" Kanao said from the distance
"Yeah, daijoubu." Tadano tried to shake off the embarrassment
"Be careful now. You don't want to hit another one now."
Kanao stood there as she watches the male figure slowly getting farther and farther away from her until he disappeared into one corner. She breathe in the cold night air and looked back at the house. All the crazy thing she had done in a short amount of time was insane. She thought.
'Time to go home.'
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Meanwhile back in the butterfly mansion, two siblings were busy cleaning up the mess they have made. That was including the battle with the demon from earlier. They cleared up the debris by the demon and was ready to drag it away.
"Alright Nezuko. Ready?" Tanjiro said as he holds on end
"Ready when you are onii chan." Nezuko responded
"Wait, looks like we don't have to lift her." Tanjiro suddenly said
"What? Why?"
"Look."
Tanjiro puts down the headless body as it was slowly withering away right in front of his eyes. He knew this is an indication of something major. When the body had finally disappeared from view, the first sign of it working is already there. The mansion came back to life as the patients as well as the nurse who were supposed to take care of them wakes up.
"Looks like they did it. Good job, minna." He said in relief
"Does this means, they can come back? Kanao-san and the others." Nezuko wonders
"Yes, they will. I believe they will."
"Then, what are we waiting for?! Lets go and greet them!" Nezuko pulls his old crippled arm
"Hai hai. Lets go and meet them."
The two excited siblings ran across the hallway past the holes they've caused. They each went to a room where their friends slept last night. But, when they opened the doors, they find that they're still sleeping. It looks like they're the only one who hasn't woken up. Tanjiro finally arrived in front of a certain individual room. He knocks and opens it slightly. His eyes widens when he sees the person sitting up in her bed. He quietly enters the room and close the door behind him.
"Komi-san?" He calls out
"......" The person remained still
"How was your sleep last night? I hoped it didn't bother you at night." Tanjiro sat in front of her
"......... T-Tanjiro-k-kun." She stutters
"Ah, hai?"
"I- I- I- I- I- I- I-" She became a jackhammer
"Take your time." Tanjiro gave a gentle smile
"A-about last n-night. I- I was h-horrified when I see you f-fighting. I just couldn't h-help it but what if it h-happens again? All you got now is u-us." Komi looks down
"Is that so?" Tanjiro gently lifts her chin. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I had caused so much trouble for you guys. Forgive me for being reckless."
"N-no. We were the ones w-who caused you t-trouble."
"You did not caused any trouble to me. It was just me being an idiot person I am. It won't happen again. I promise." Tanjiro gave a reassuring smile
"I- I too hope that, you will l-live a long and happy life, Tanjiro-kun." Komi-san takes his hand off her chin
"I wish that would be possible."
"Then, take care of yourself, Tanjiro........kun."
"Komi-san? Komi-san?!"
As she was finishing her sentence, Komi-san suddenly felt dizzy and she falls back. Tanjiro quickly catches her before she hits her head on the futon. He shakes her trying to wake her up. He yelled for help but it doesn't seem to be heard by anyone.
"Komi-san. Do you hear me? Komi-san!"
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"Tanjiro?"