"You were right, Yahaba! A building just appeared out of nowhere!" The temari demon said, amused at the sight of the house.
"The handiwork of a Blood Demon Arts wielder adept at hiding objects. And is the demon hunters accompanied by a demon? What's going on here?" Yahaba said, the eye on his palm moving about.
"Isn't this fun?" she was bouncing the ball up and down in anticipation. Yahaba stuck his palm out signaling the demon to slow down, "Still, I have to say, Susamaru. Your way of doing things is so immature. So careless. You splattered me! You splattered my kimono with dust!"
"Oh stop whining! We found them right away thanks to my temari, so who cares? And now we can have tons of fun!" she yelled, throwing the decadent balls at the house, destroying the wood with it's powerful impacts.
"You've gone and splatter me again!"
"You're so uptight. Your kimono isn't the least bit soiled. And besides..." she said, looking at the dent to see Tanjiro holding his sisters in his arms protectively as the dust settled. "Found 'em! Found'em!"
'A Temari? Did she cause that much damage with a ball of silk?' I watched at the intruding demons standing before us.
'Is she one of Kibutsuji's minions?' Yushiro thought as he held Tamayo in his arm. Susamaru giggled before throwing the temari ball again, the balls doubling and going in all directions. Nii-san held us tighter in his arms, I felt nee-chan grip my arm. I looked over to Yushiro getting up to protect Tamayo only for the ball to stop and change directions and destroying his head.
"Yushiro-kun/Yushiro-san!" Nii-san and I yelled, me trying to get up only to be held back by nee-chan's grip. Tamayo caught Yushiro's headless body, holding him close to her chest.
"Dammit! Nezuko! Take the lady sleeping in the backroom somewhere safe outside!" nii-san said, all of us standing as Nezuko nodded. I unconsciously held the hilt of my sword, I was about to move until I heard Miss Tamayo call out to us,
"It's too dangerous to go outside! We have a basement, so take her there!"
"Okay! Nezuko!"
Nezuko let out a 'mmh' of understanding and ran into the house to retrieve the woman. The temari demon put a hand to her mouth and giggled, "That's one down!"
'She has a different aura than any of the demon's I've met. She's stronger than the swamp demon and definitely stronger than the ones at the Final Selection... it's heavier. I can feel ut weighing down,' I thought, pulling my sword out, watching her catch the balls with ease. There's something wrong with the balls, I can almost feel it. I know if I'm going to find what I have to focus more but I don't know if I'm going to be able to spare the attention. No, you have too, just calm your nerves, you can do it Fujiko... just clear your mind and you can beat them...
The demon bounced the balls in her hands, a playful smirk never leaving her face. "The demon hunter wearing Hanafuda-like earrings... and the girl with the hemp-leaf pattern haori... that's you two isn't it?"
'They're targeting us? Then I'm going to assume that the poison worked or he wouldn't have wasted the time or power to find me. To what extent did the poison?' I thought, looking at the balls.
"Miss Tamayo! Please find a place to hide! We're the oned those demons are after!" I yelled, looking ahead.
"Tanjiro, Fujiko I want you to fight without worrying about us. We'll be fine without your protection. We are demons after all," she said, looking us in the eyes with the last part. I only nodded and looked ahead at the tamari demon, feeling another presence nearby.
"All right. It's all over for you now!" she yelled, throwing the ball at us with monstrous speed. 'The temari will only swerve if I dodge it,' Tanjiro thought, closing his eyes. I could stand and watch as the ball headed straight for him, hoping what he was planning would work.
'Of the ten forms, the fastest thrusting technique. Total Concentration, water breathing! Seventh form! Drop ripple thrust-curve!' He thought as he thrust his katana into the ball, piercing it all the way as the surface rippled like water.
I watched the ball began to move and shake, the temari pulling itself out of the blade. I watched it carefully, bit by bit I could see something controlling the ball.
"Yushiro! Yushiro!" Tamayo called out gently. The boy responded by his veins reconstructing itself, only up enough to speak, "Lady Tamayo! Didn't I tell you? That we shouldn't get involved with those demon hunters! From the start! My blindfold technique is still a work in progress! I know that you're well aware of that yourself! I may be able to conceal the presence of buildings and people, their scent, but it's not like I can mask their very existence!"
Tamayo listened to the boy in her arms patiently, but closed her eyes, "The greater our numbers, the more traces we'll leave, and the greater the odds that Kibutsuji will discover us!" Yushiro said, clearly worried.
"Those demons got this close to us, yet there was not much presence until we came under attack! I was only able to tell a few seconds before. Yushiro's Blood Demon Art is so cool!"
"Anyone who ruins the time I spend alone with you...I despise such people! I despise them with a passion! It's unforgivable!" Yushiro yelled, the rest of his head growing back, veins popping on his face.
Susamaru giggled and threw her black haori into the air. She grabbed the opening of her kimono with both her hands and took it off, revealing a black strapless sports bra. "Hey, he's babbling! What fun this is! What fun this is! To be killed by me, one of the twelve Demon moons. You should be honored!"
"Twelve Demon Moon?" I heard nii-san say, both of us confused. It wasn't till Miss Tamayo told us did we understand the value under the name. "They serve directly under Kibutsuji!,"
The sides of her body started to bubble, before two more pairs of arms popped out of her sides. I was shocked at the sudden change, but decided against it, 'Clear your mind!'
She bounced the ball the multiplied with each bounce, soon enough she had one in every arm, "Now then, let's keep playing! Until the morning comes! Until you die!" she yelled, throwing all the balls at once.
I pushed nii-san to the ground, being able to barely see what's controlling balls to move unnaturally. 'Just a little more until I can see them...come on Fujiko!'
Yushiro kneeled over Tamayo protectively, one of the temari balls knicking his cheek, drawing blood. Tamayo peeked out and thought out loud in her, 'f I were to cast my spell now, it would affect Tanjiro and Fujiko as well. And Yushiro needs time to prepare to attack mode. But if this goes on...'
I was moving back and forth, blocking the balls with my sword being able to see the arrows pushing the balls. I saw that nii-san was having trouble, so I started to block both our balls making me lose focus. Nii-san pulled the collar of my haori, pulling me back slightly as he skewered a ball that was coming towards me. 'Fujiko, concentrate! Don't be a burden. There are two demons here and you can see them now. Don't lose your focus. If you or nii-san were to get hit it's game over, we can't regenerate like Yushiro-kun!'
I looked over to see Yushiro and Miss Tamayo get hit on the sides of their heads, "Yushiro-kun! Miss Tamayo!" I yelled as I blocked another ball. Now that I can see them, it's so much easier to dodge.
"We'll be healed soon enough! So don't worry!" she called out, her hair a little disheveled with blood dripping down her forehead. Yushiro wasn't looking too great either, blood soaking into his white clothing, a chunk of his head missing.
"Hey! Moron demon hunter!" he called out to nii-san, "If you look at the arrows you can tell which direction they're going! Dodge the arrows!"
"Arrows?"
"Seriously, you can't even see them? Even the little barbarian can. Here, I'm going to lend you my sense of sight! That should at least enable you to behead that temari woman!" Yushiro said, making a piece of paper from his haori glow before throwing it at Tanjiro's forehead.
'I can see now! She was using these to control the trajectory of the temari!' he thought as he watched the arrows flying everywhere. We dodged the balls with much more ease than before, now I was able to see them clearly now being able to pay full attention to the fight than keep looking at nii-san.
"Thank you Yushiro-san! I can see the arrows now too!" nii-san yelled out, dodging the balls.
"Then hurry up and defeat her!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar pink kimono. Jumping down I heard nii-san yell for us to go outside. I followed them over the rubble on the ground, the temaris retreating to Susmaru hands.
Nezuko jumped up with us following behind her. I saw nii-san hold out his nichirin blade, the paper still on his forehead. I started jumping after where nee-chan headed off to, knowing that was where the second demon was hiding. I could feel him near.
"The demon hunter wearing hanafuda-like earrings... the other in a lavender haori with hemp-leaf pattern. No question. I'm going to bring that head of yours to him," The temari demon said, confidence gleaming in her eyes. "What fun is this!"
She threw the balls at Tanjiro, the arrows following him as he ran. I could only watch while following nee-chan. If I can stop this demon's Blood Art the will help nii-san considerably. I saw nee-chan's eyes narrow at the demon hiding among the sakura tree. She turned, giving her kick extra power, only for him to block. I saw the arrows disappear, the balls stopping their momentum. The waves started to appear on nii-san's sword, his breath even,
"Water breathing third form, flowing dance!" he twisted and turned, cutting all the temari balls. Then, within a second, he cut off all of Susamaru's arms with a swift cut, the waves from his sword fading.
"Tamayo-san! Are these two demons closely related to Kibutsuji?" Tanjiro yelled to the doctor stepping out of the house. "Most likely,"
"Then, I'm going to extract blood from them for sure!"
The armless demon laughed darkly as her dismembered limbs disintegrated and turned to ash. "You think you're going to extract blood from us? I don't know what you're scheming, but I won't allow you to do anything to displease him!" she said, looking back at Tanjiro.
"If you think you can extract blood from us Twelve Demon Moons, then have at it!"
"Watch your back! Don't let your guard down for a second! If those two really are Twelve Demon Moons, then they're undeniably more formidable than any other demon you've killed until now!"
"Righ! Understood! Watch my back, don't let my guard down for a second, undeniably until now...Right! I'll do my best!" Tanjiro yelled, getting ready to fight the temari demon once more. Yushiro turned to the doctor next to him, "Lady Tamayo! Let's use those three as decoys and escape!" he said, pointing outside to the battling siblings.
Tamayo gave him a shocked look, the colour draining from her face completely.
"I'm just kidding!'
.̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨.̸̸̨̨ↂ⃝⃓⃙⃚⃘ↂ⃝⃓⃙⃚⃘.̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̸̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨̨.̸̸̨̨
Nezuko kicked the arrow demon, spinning for extra momentum. She gave him another kick, but this time the demon was able to block properly. "Don't stir up dust like that. So filthy!" he yelled before using his arrow to push her away off the branch.
"Nee-chan!" I yelled as I watch her towards nii-san. I put my attention back onto the beaded demon with a glare, "Don't touch my nee-chan!"
I jumped straight at him, my sword ready, 'I can't fee any openings but he has the advantage in the tree so I've got to knock him down,'
"Moon breathing seconde form, Pearl flower moon gazing!"
I felt the pearl stream and petals come from my sword as I swung, the demon barely jumping out of the way onto another branch. 'Shit, she's fast,' he thought as he landed. Almost instantly, the girl appeared next to him, the pearly pink dust following her as the petals fell.
The demon jumped from the branch, landing on the ground, sending an arrow to push the girl, only to have her jump to the side to dodge. The girl saw her siblings on the ground. Without a second thought, she ran towards them as fast as she could and pushed them out of the way of the incoming temari, faster than any of the other ones she's thrown. The girl was so desperate to get there in time she landed wrongly, her ankle twisting with a crack. She looked pained but asked her siblings,
"Nee-chan, nii-san, are you okay?"
"Fujiko! Your ankle!" Tanjiro said, looking at her ankle that was showing by her sock rolled down. The skin was swelled and red, "I'll be okay, the other demon just showed himself!"
"Fujiko-"
"Hey! Demon hunters!" Yushiro called out, "You get rid of that arrow man first! We'll take on the temari woman with your sister!"
"I understand. Nezuko," he said, Nezuko leaning back, looking up at him, "Whatever you do, don't push yourself too hard. Let's go, Fujiko!"
"Hai!" I said, getting up, following him. Nezuko looked at the stumbling Tamayo who was holding her bleeding head and a worried Yushiro. In her eyes she saw her deceased mother and a crying Rokuta, making her protective mode turn on.
"I'm counting on you..." Tanjiro said as they stood next to each other, right before they went in opposite directions.
We ran towards the demon, my foot felt so fragile and the slightest weight nearly made me hiss in pain. 'It's not that bad Fujiko, stop over reacting. Just use your breath. Total Concentration breathing,'
I breathed in the air, using my breath to strengthen the muscle around my foot. I ran to the side while the demon payed attention to the checkered haori boy heading towards him, his sword ready. "Tch. What a grimy little urchi you are. You stay away from me!" he yelled, pushing the boy back and into a tree with an arrow. I saw the look on nii-san's face when he saw the opening closed. He was so close.
When the demon wasn't paying attention, I came from the side, making him jump back and crouching. He quickly moved nii-san with his arrow with lots of sharp twists and turns. "Nii-san!"
I pushed him back, causing nii-san to land on the ground painfully. I ran over to him, his face contorted into pain. I put my ear to his chest, hearing the ribs cracking, "Nii-san..." I said, feeling my heart break at his pain. Before I could do anything, I felt an arrow come under me, pulling me with it in a random direction. I saw nii-san reach out for me, our fingers almost touching, but was too late. I felt my my heart drop as I was painfully jerked in all directions, 'Nii-san how'd you do this... it hurts," I thought in my head. I could feel my grasp slipping, making me tighten my grip.
"Fujiko! Use a breath and it will stop you from being pulled around!" I heard Nii-san call out to me. When I neared the ground, with as much air I could, I whispered,
"Moon breathing: Seventh form, crescent moonbow,"
I swung my sword in a crescent moon shape to the ground, stopping the arrow from pulling me further. I dropped to the ground, bearly able to shift to cover my head in time. I saw nii-san running to my side, his face filled with anger. My chest felt like it was going to explode, it was heaving up and down gasping for air. I felt nii-san's arms wrap around me as he lifted me up, seeing blood drip down from my face.
"You hurt Lady Tamayo! I'll never forgive you for that!" Yushiro yelled at the temari demon who was bent over in pain. The arrow demon stopped at the sound of her name, "Tamayo? Hey Susamaru, the one over there... Wouldn't that be Tamayo the Fugitive? What a great souvenir she'll make!"
Susamaru got up, "Is that right?" The demon threw the balls at the Nezuko and Yushiro, three in each direction. Nezuko stopped, leg already back ready to kick the ball, "Idiot!" Yushiro yelled.
"You mustn't kick it!" Tamayo yelled as the ball cut off the pink kimono girl's leg, making her fall over. Susamaru ran over, giggling as she kicked Nezuko into the house. "What fun this is! What fun this is! I like kemari, too! Yahaba," she said, a dangerous glint in her eye, "Will five heads be enough to take home?"
"No, we're taking two. The demon hunter and the fugitive. We have no use for the other two and the hemp-leaf haori girl was requested to be taken alive,"
I felt my heart stop, a slight gasp coming from my mouth. Alive? That means my poison worked quite well. That means he wants me dead. I felt my grip on my sword handle harden, my knuckles turning white. I looked over to nii-san, his sword was wavering. He was losing consciousness.
'What should we do? We can't afford to lose. But even when we were able to see the opening, we couldn't touch him. He just pushes us away with his arrow, then he gets the upper hand by controlling us like voodoo dolls. Even if we're slightly off, the slash won't have enough force to cut off his head. He'll just use the arrow to change the sword's force. And I hate to say this but his eyes are just creepy! I hate to admit it, but it's true!'
I looked over to nii-san, his face staring at his hands, clearly looking at the demon's hands. 'He's thinking the same thing,' I thought as I deadpanned at his face.
The demon shot a bunch of arrows towards us, forcing us to dodge them at excessive speed. 'They're not going to disappear until it hit s us and we can't slash them. The moment we touch it, it sticks to us and pulls us in its direction,'
I watched as nii-san got pulled into the brick wall, making his sword fall out of his hand. "Nii-san!"
"Don't worry about me! Cut his neck while he's distracted!"
I immediately ran at the demon, trying to cut his neck, making him lose focus and let nii-san go. I kept dodging my jumping to the side or rolling out of the way but the arrows kept following me. I took a misstep on my bad foot, making me stumble, but that was all he needed. The arrow touched me and pulled me upwards, then turning at stong angles. I saw that he wrapped an arrow around nii-san's arm.
"It's all going the way I want it too! Your arm is going to get tight off!"
I saw nii-san run and start spinning to loosen the arrow, then slipped his arm out. 'I have to get down!'
When the arrow turned down, I held my sword tightly, muttering a quick move, "Moon breathing: seventh form, crescent moonbow!"
I slashed the ground once more, finally releasing me. I landed on the ground with a thud, barely break falling before landing. I got up as fast as I could despite being winded with my wrist hurting. "Fujiko!"
"Daijobu!" I yelled as I ran to nii-san' side. In a low voice, I said, "Nii-san I'm going to distract him. Can you slash his neck?" I said, looking ahead. I could feel his head nod. That was all I needed. I ran straight at the demon, my sword raised,
"Moon Breathing: third form, lunar eclipse!" I yelled, swinging my words, making the demon drop his arrows, 'Like my ability, I have to concentrate to use it, so I know just what buttons to push,'
"You mongrel! I'll make sure you pay!" He yelled as I slashed his kimono, making me smirk. He's already forgotten that he's not supposed to kill me. "It's about time you die!"
Tanjiro watched as his younger sister dodged his arrows gracefully despite being banged up and injured. 'Fujiko...thank you. I'll make sure your efforts were worth it. I have to adapt my moves! First, use the sixth form to envelope the arrow. Then use the footwork from the third form to close in on him! Twist! Envelope! Twisting Whirlpool Flowing water!'
Fujiko watched in awe as her brother used the whirl to absorb the attack, then bringing it down on the demon. His sword was so heavy that when he took a step forward, the cement underneath cracked. 'My sword is so heavy! But...'
"Seconde form! Modified! Horizontal water wheel!"
Taisho whispers and rumors!
Those two, Yahaba and Susamaru, met for the first time today. I hear that they became friends chatting with each other on their way here!