Muichiro was rushing through the forest to get back to the village.
"I ended up pretty far from the village," Muichiro thought. "I need to get back as fast as possible."
As he was heading back to the village, Muichiro noticed a demon and a child swordsmith.
"He must be an apprentice," Muichiro thought. "Helping him is a low priority."
Muichiro observed the demon.
"That demon definitely isn't the main body," Muichiro thought. "There's no reason to stop here. The whole village is under attack. I must prioritize helping the chief and the skilled artisans."
Once again, Tanjiro's words rang in Muichiro's head.
"Helping others often ends up helping you as well!"
Muichiro changed course and headed toward the demon and the child.
"You're in the way," Muichiro said to the child. "Get out of here."
The child ran away and Muichiro made quick work of the demon. Its weak spot, surprisingly, wasn't its head, but rather, a pot on its back.
The child, who was Kotetsu, rushed over to Muichiro.
"Thank you!" Kotetsu said. "I thought I was dead! DEAD! I was so scared! I was wrong to call you seaweed head! I'm sorry!"
"You called me seaweed head?" Muichiro asked.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was mad at you!" Kotetsu apologized profusely.
"I don't have time for this," Muichiro said, turning around to head back in the direction of the village. "I'm leaving, so do as you please."
"Wait! Kanamori-san is under attack too, and so is Haganezuka-san!" Kotetsu said. "You need to help them! Please! They're going to die!"
Muichiro was about to refuse, but a fragment of one of his lost memories came back to him. He remembered something that Kagaya Ubuyashiki had told him at a time when he was near death.
"Muichiro, you will definitely reclaim yourself," Kagaya had said. "You must be confused, but right now, think only about survival. So long as you're alive, it will work out somehow. Your lost memory will return. Do not miss this opportunity. Begin with the trivial matters and clear the mist inside your head."
While carrying Kotetsu over his shoulder, Muichiro headed toward Kozo's location. Muichiro was running incredibly fast.
"This is not the logical thing to do," Muichiro thought to himself. "By doing this, I'm leaving the rest of the village unprotected. Is it really the correct thing to do?"
"Hey! Slow down a little! We're nearly there!" Kotetsu said frantically.
"Don't talk," Muichiro said. "You'll bite your tongue."
"No, I can do this," Muichiro thought to himself. "The master recognized my value. I am Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira of the demon slayer corps!"
Soon enough, they reached Kozo. There was a demon attacking him just like the one that had been attacking Kotetsu. Muichiro made quick work of it.
"Tokito-dono! Thank you!" Kozo said. "You cut it down in the blink of an eye!"
"Are you done with my katana?" Muichiro asked. "Give it to me already."
Kozo examined the sword Muichiro was currently using.
"Oh my! This is horribly chipped!" Kozo said.
"That's why I came to this village," Muichiro said.
"I'll get you another one right away!" Kozo said.
They headed to the hut that Hotaru was working in.
"There's a sword for you inside!" Kozo said. "Quickly, take it and head to the village chief!"
Muichiro sensed the presence of a demon. A powerful one.
"No," Muichiro said. "I can't do that just yet."
Muichiro drew his sword, and stopped Kotetsu and Kozo from getting any closer to the shed.
"It's here," Muichiro said.
Out of a single vase in front of the shed emerged a demon. It was upper rank 5, Gyokko.
"Very observant!" Gyokko applauded. "You're a hashira? Nice to meet you! They call me Gyokko. Do you mind if I talk for a bit before I kill you? I'd like to show you three of my creations tonight!"
"Creations?" Muichiro asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Here's the first one!" Gyokko exclaimed, motioning to another vase.
Out of the vase emerged the bodies of half-dead swordsmiths, distorted and impaled by several swords. It was a bloody mess.
"I call this DEATH THROES OF THE SMITHS!" Gyokko exclaimed with pride. "The hands thick with calluses like swordsmiths get! I put them in front on purpose!"
Kozo and Kotetsu recognized the swordsmiths that had been brutally tortured and converted into this twisted form of art. Kotetsu broke down and started crying.
"Right! You get it!" Gyokko said and clapped his hands. "I made amazing work of these five swordsmiths, but I didn't know you'd be so moved!"
Gyokko motioned to the swords that he had used to impale the swordsmiths.
"Running them through with swords brings out a certain SMITHINESS!" Gyokko said. "I left their hyottoko masks on to convey absurdity, and to top it all off, if I twist the sword, it goes GYAAAAAH!"
Gyokko twisted one of the swords, and the swordsmiths cried out in pain.
"Stop it!" Kotetsu yelled. "STOP!"
"So? Isn't it wonderful?" Gyokko asked gleefully. "A recreation of their death throes!"
"Hey..." Muichiro trailed off. "You'd better shut the fuck up... you piece of shit."
At what looked like the speed of light, Muichiro rushed toward Gyokko and swung his sword at Gyokko's head.
Gyokko disappeared from the vase and emerged from a different vase, a vase that was on the roof of the hut.
"I see," Muichiro thought. "It can travel between the pots."
"I have more to tell you about my creations!" Gyokko said. "Let me finish! My preference is that vase's-"
Muichiro jumped onto the roof and swung at the vase. This time he destroyed it.
Gyokko disappeared and then emerged from yet another vase on the ground not too far from the hut.
"How dare you destroy my vase!?" Gyokko yelled angrily. "That was a work of art! A mere human like you couldn't possibly appreciate my work! But that's alright too!"
"If it's running away this much, it means that it'll die if I cut off its head," Muichiro thought. "Unlike that dividing demon."
Gyokko summoned a vase in one of his hands and opened it. A bunch of goldfish came out of it.
They spat a thousand needles at Muichiro. He jumped off the hut to avoid them.
Gyokko then prepared to shoot the needles at Kozo and Kotetsu as well. Muichiro jumped in front of them and was impaled by the needles instead.
"You're in the way," Muichiro said. "Go hide somewhere away from here."
Kozo and Kotetsu left immediately, leaving only Muichiro and Gyokko.
"Completely covered in needles... you're a laughable sight!" Gyokko said. "So, has the poison from the needles begun paralyzing you? It really is humorous. You save worthless lives only to lose your life in their place."
Muichiro suddenly remembered something that someone had told him.
"Whether you're there or not, nothing changes. Your life is trivial."
"Who said that to me?" Muichiro thought. "It was summer, so it was hot out. The house was open, and the cicadas were noisy even at night."
"But even so, you're still a hashira," Gyokko said. "What shall I create out of you? The possibilities are so thrilling!"
At a speed resembling teleportation, Muichiro rushed toward Gyokko.
"Shut up," Muichiro said. "You're boring me."
Muichiro's sword reached Gyokko's neck, but at the last moment, Gyokko used one of his vases to summon a large amount of water. He used the water to trap Muichiro using his blood demon art, which was a water prison pot.
"Death by suffocation is beautiful and stylish," Gyokko said. "This is tremendous."
Muichiro extended his sword to cut through the water, but he couldn't use any breathing techniques.
"I've stopped your breathing, which is a demon slayer's greatest weapon," Gyokko said. "It's wonderful to imagine your face contorting as you writhe in agony!"
Muichiro's sword on its own was not enough to cut through the watery prison, seeing as how wherever he reached with his sword, the prison extended.
"If we destroy this village, it will greatly weaken the demon slayers, and if we weaken the demon slayers, it won't be long before Ubuyashiki is eliminated," Gyokko said. "I simply cannot wait!"