"Ah, 'light pillar'. I know much about you from Kyojuro." The demon addressed, a little too calmly. His face was nearly frozen in a light smile, his eyes staring daggers that imagine through Airi's amber orbs. The blinding effect bestowed upon him by Airi already diminished in seconds.
Airi's eyes widened for a brief moment, before she realized that she should not play the demon's game. She recognized the common stereotype of the "bad guy" enticing the "good guy" into a heroic death.
The woman lifted her chin in attempts to maintain her intimidating composure. If she was seen with a slight ounce of fear in her eyes, she would have already lost.
"I'd love to sit and chat, but it looks like I have to do some errands first." Airi smiled, her face showing warmth and friendliness, instead of fear. She refused to let her insecurities succumb her.
On the inside of her conscious mind, she was about to cut a bitch right open.
She could not let herself die in vain. She refuses to die without seeing the face of Muzan one more time.
"I tried to coax your little Flame friend if he wanted to join me as a demon. But alas, his talent went to waste, didn't it?" Akaza replied, his voice as smooth as glass panes.
"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK ILL OF HIS NAME." Airi snapped, her face contorting immediately into a look of seeking vengeance. Before her two colleagues could stop her, she charged into battle, sweat dripping down her face in an underlying fear.
Nobody speaks about Kyojuro Rengoku in a negative manner, ever.
"Airi, stand your ground! Don't let your heart falter because of me!" A voice called out from the back of her mind. That voice caused Airi to stumble, nearly tripping on her own feet.
She already let her emotions succumb her fight, but she caught herself just in time.
The battle against Upper Moon Three has begun.
"Breath of Light. Second Form: Prism of Light!"
Airi leapt into the air, spinning into a front flip, her sword tightly at her grip. She aimed right for his head, but he blocked the shot. Her breath hitched before he took a vengeful counter strike. The sound of her blade colliding against the demon's flesh issued a thunderous scream. She faltered because of her overwhelming emotion, and she mentally slapped herself because of it.
"Emi, don't let your emotions consume your goals. Let your feelings go after you have won." Airi remembered her own instruction to her own Tsuguko in those moments.
"And then what? Should I just remain emotionless against a demon?"
"If you are overwhelmed with rage or sadness...you won't ever get the job done, and you will lose."
Airi landed on her feet, but in that moment Akaza aimed for a lethal blow at her head.
"AIRI, LOOK OUT!" Giyū called out before charging into battle with her, with Tanjiro not too far behind him. The two split into two separate directions in attempts to collide against Akaza before Airi was in deep trouble.
It was in slow motion to her, but in the knick of time Airi had bent her back just enough for him to rip off only some of her strayed dark hair. She dodged his swing before leaping back.
"Ah, you pillars just can't learn, can you?" Akaza remarked, his voice laced with fearlessness. He really was convinced he was winning this fight.
Airi landed on the soles of her feet, holding her palm out to maintain her balance as she squatted near the floor.
She released a light chuckle and imitated the demon's melancholic voice, her eyes looking up, "You demons just can't learn, can you? All of you will die by our blades, whether you enjoy it or not. Your Lord Muzan will be dead by my blade."
The seemingly young demon's face contorted at her voice, his consistent smirk transforming into a frown at the sound of Kibutsuji's name being spoken about with malice.
On the other hand, the Hashira woman has gone completely insane. Giyū's expression nearly furrowed at the sound of Airi's menacing tone toward the demon. He knew she had every right to be angry, but her tone was so unlike her.
Airi knew Akaza was holding back the peak of his power, and she gladly took advantage of it.
Tanjiro collided against the demon, for he was closest in proximity now, while Giyū mentally prepared his water breathing attacks. However, Akaza knew of Tanjiro's presence — and countered the boy's advancements with a rapid, circular motion of his fists. The demon preferred melee combat over ranged. His fist was so close to Tanjiro's face, that the boy had to go on defense.
"Dance of the Fire God: Parhelion Rainbow."
Tanjiro swung his blade, blocking the impact of Akaza's incredibly strong fists with his Breath of the Sun technique. Tanjiro flew back, but elegantly landed on his two feet and maintained perfect balance by kneeling on the floor. His blade was pointed directly forward.
The two Hashiras were very impressed, as Airi looked back to Tanjiro and nodded affirmatively at the boy. He looked at her, and nodded in return.
Giyū's eyes were visibly wide at the scene, admiring how Tanjiro's technique has became that of a Hashira.
"'This boy isn't weak. Don't insult him.' I now accept that Kyojuro was right to say that. You are truly not weak. I will show my respect for you." The demon spoke to Tanjiro. The boy's eyebrows furrowed, as sweat trickled down his forehead.
"Technique Deployment."
The demon stepped firmly into the ground into a martial arts-like stance. One hand forward, one hand back. A snowflake like pattern scattered across the ground, surrounding Akaza's frame. Airi cocked a brow, wondering how his powers truly worked.
"Okay, let's get started. It's time for the feast." The demon announced, smiling. His position was steady and balanced, and his heart beat with incredible malice.
Giyū was the first to move out of the three. His breath released perfectly, his lungs filling with oxygen that traveled through every vein and crevice of his body.
"Breath of Water. Third Form: Dance of the Swift Current."
Giyū's body flowed as if he truly was water, his body contorting in inhumane ways in order to gain the upper hand in the fight. Airi was initially mesmerized at Giyū's technique, but she could not bring herself to lose focus any longer.
As Akaza and Giyū danced around each other as if they were executing a performance, Airi struck when the Kizuki was slightly off his guard.
"Breath of Light. Third Form: Piercing Fluorescence."
She struck the demon in the leg quickly with one jab before he was already on her tail. From behind, her blade swiftly grazed Akaza before she proceeded to run in front of him. Giyū, on the other hand, finished his third form.
However, Akaza's attention was only on the male, "The water pillar? It's been around fifty years since I last ran into someone good."
"Destructive Kill. War Style."
Upper Moon Three had released thousands of quick punches in the direction of the water pillar, increasing in speed as they traveled father, causing a barrage of damage. The demon's attack could have been mistaken for bullets being shot every tenth of a second.
Tomioka was no phased, for he was the perfect person to execute their self-taught form.
"Breath of Water. Eleventh Form: Dead Calm."
The bullet-like attacks were nullified, completely leaving an unscathed Giyū as a result. His stoic expression plastered on his pale face expressed complete control over his technique.
Akaza smiled wickedly, and released an aggressive laugh, "I've never seen that one before! The last water pillar I killed never used that."
Tomioka did not respond, his cobalt eyes a dull gaze at the Twelve Kizuki member. Tanjiro sprinted behind the demon, and Airi was close behind after recovering from her third form.
"Dance of the Fire God: Scorching Crimson Mirror!"
Tanjiro concentrated his raw power into the soles of his feet, and leapt into the air; his arms were held high behind his back. His grip on his blade was tight and over his head, perfectly aligned in front of the demon. He swung his blade rapidly, but the demon vanished into thin air.
Tanjiro's eyes widened at the sight, his mind consumed in disbelief that the demon was so quick to dodge his sun breathing.
"BEHIND YOU!" Airi cautioned, her amber orbs widening at the sight of Akaza behind Tanjiro, his hand as tight as a blade. Tanjiro noticed Akaza's hand, but his Dance of the Fire God could not defend himself from the rapid dance that Akaza was performing.
"Breath of Water. Second Form: Water Wheel."
"Breath of Light. Seventh Form: Striking Luminosity!"
Giyū and Airi sprinted toward the demon from both sides of him, giving Tanjiro the opportunity to dodge Akaza's nearly lethal blow from behind. The two Hashira cut off both arms instantly.
However, the Upper Moon's regeneration was far faster than any other demon they've encountered in the past. Airi spat, but Giyū's stoic expression never changed in the slightest. He was extremely calm and collected.
Tanjiro was still in close proximity to Akaza, and while the demon was occupied with the moves of the Hashiras, Tanjiro aimed directly for Akaza's achilles.
The crimson haired boy eyeballed his foot, and prepared to slice through it through sun breathing.
"Dance of the Fire God: Flame Walt—"
The demon was more intelligent than to let his guard down so easily. It is certainly three against one, but the demon has inhumane abilities, and he took advantage of that.
"Destructive Kill. Leg Form: Cap Tip Slice."
Akaza swung his leg high, his flexibility surpassing Airi's. The Hashira concluded that the demon had completely mastered martial arts. Tanjiro held his blade in front of him, in hopes to block at least some of the impact from the swing. Akaza's power concentrated in that single swing of his leg, and he maintained a solid balance on the palm of his hand.
'I blocked it... with my blade...' Tanjiro coughed out, blood escaping his lips by the gallon.
Giyū body flashed in front of Tanjiro's eyes, his sword moving in waves like powerful tides. Giyū's technique against Akaza was incredible to the eyes. He gripped his blade with such gentle elegance, that one may be fooled that the water pillar is weaker than he actually is.
"ELEGANT! This is finely crafted swordsmanship! Splendid!!" Akaza complimented Giyū, and Giyū did not respond. The Water Hashira's focus was only on his technique, and winning this fight.
The two fought each other so rapidly that Airi could not fathom focusing on their bodies alone. They were in one place, and then they vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Give me your name! What is it? I want to remember you!! Your technique is far better than the woman's!" Akaza spoke excitedly, his repetitive attacks still aiming to kill Giyū.
Giyū's face nearly contorted at the sound of Akaza dissing the Light Hashira. Giyū's eyes flashed towards Airi for a brief moment, who shook her head, warning him to not get angry over her.
"Breath of Light. Fourth Form: Brilliance..."
Airi succumbed into a dense fog of light without the demon noticing – for his attention was solely on the water pillar.
"I will not give my name to a demon. Names are to not be shared. I hate speaking, so don't talk to me." Giyū replied bluntly, his facial expression remaining blank.
"Ah, okay, so you hate talking. But, I love talking. I'll ask you again, and again, and again, for your name." Akaza replied, smiling with his sharp fangs.
He executed his power into his leg once more. Giyū attempted to block the impact with the initial grip of his blade, but the Hashira was thrown back, breaking many walls of the fortress as his muscles collided with the material. Airi's orbs widened, her teeth slamming against each other as she fought back to call out to him.
She would not let Akaza hit Giyū the same way again.
"GIYŪ-SAN!!" Tanjiro yelled out, extremely concerned for the damage Akaza inflicted onto the Water Hashira.
"Ah, so his name is Giyū?" Akaza blinked in front of Tanjiro, his wild eyes staring daggers into Tanjiro's mahogany irises.
The two collided once more, with the demon still not noticing the fog of light increasingly traveling toward the two. Airi maintained the duration of the form for as long as she could push through, analyzing the current situation.
She walked towards the demon and Tanjiro, who were executing explosive moves on each other. Tanjiro was losing.
"I need the right moment. The right moment to strike. Keep holding on, Tanjiro-kun." Airi whispered to herself, before preparing her desired breath form. Her eyes flickered and observed Akaza's technique.
Akaza forced Tanjiro back, with Tanjiro's sandals screeching against the floor. The boy held his balance firmly, his head down low and his body bent over in attempts to avoid collision against the wall.
"Nice movements. You've trained so hard in a short time span. Let me praise you...But man, Kyojuro did an amazing job." Akaza complimented condescendingly.
Airi's eye twitched immediately at the name that was thrown out. Not now.
"You were nothing but a weakling lying down on the ground that night. But my goodness!! Look at you now!! Your growth makes my eyes pop out. I'm feeling pure happiness, my heart's leaping!
...I'm glad Kyojuro died that night. He most likely wouldn't have been able to get any stronger than when I saw him then. And he had that dumb worldview about wanting to stay a human." The Upper Moon reminisced the time he brutally murdered the Flame Hashira. Airi was listening, and she was not happy.
Her blood boiled as her heart rate increased every millisecond that passed. The filling anger and rage in her heart felt like overflowing water in a kettle. The lives of her friends and companions weighed on her shoulders intensely. The fury she felt sunk in her crimson blood, waiting to be released.
The fog diminished immediately after Akaza finished his statement. He craned his head, hesitating on continuing his conversation with Tanjiro.
The long ravenette's spark in her eyes was gone, and a tattoo was scattered across her nose. The golden swirls replaced her natural freckles.
"I was wondering what happened to—" Akaza began to speak towards the woman. She was no longer here to talk.
"Breath of Light. Tenth Form: Dance of the Gods."
Feathered wings stretched behind the woman's back. She vanished from where she stood, appearing in front of the demon faster than anyone else. Her eyes screamed a powerful rage; a powerful vengeance in the name of her fallen friend.
The slashes executed rapidly against the demon, forcing himself far back in attempts to dodge Airi's quick attacks. He defended himself with his destructive style, but she kept slicing through. It was so fast, that Tanjiro could only watch. It was initially beautiful, but Airi's infinite rage masked the true elegance of her tenth form.
Airi slammed her feet against Akaza's chest, forcing him down to the floor. Her body was squatting on top of his, her blade aimed horizontally across his neck. Akaza had landed a blow across her forehead while she was executing her tenth form.
"Say the name of the Flame Hashira again, I fucking dare you." Airi whispered menacingly, her eyes impaling through Akaza's sickening facade.
Akaza grinned, "There you are, Airi. I've been waiting for your true arrival."
He lifted his hands back, his palms hitting the floor. He kicked his legs up, springing back onto his feet, and knocking Airi far back in the process.
Giyū approached from the shadows of the hole in the wall, completely unsurprised of Airi's incredible moment against Akaza. He knew she was building up power in her all along, but never performed it.
On the other hand, he recognized the golden mark scattered across her nose. She had awakened her Demon Slayer mark from her pure rage of heart, instead of being in a near-death situation.
Airi landed on her feet next to Giyū. She took one look at him, and the light in her eyes returned; his presence alone calmed her.
"Giyū-san, Airi-san!" Tanjiro exclaimed, his breath releasing in a deep relief that the two of them were alright.
"I am angry now," Giyū spoke, "There's a searing pain in my back..."
"Great job blasting me all the way back there, Upper Moon Three. You have one fault, and that was underestimating the woman."
——•——
Author's Note:
SHIT GOT REAL SO FAST LMAO.