3rd Person
Somewhere on the train Nezuko is feeling rather worried in her heart, for when she heard her brother's voice from afar...
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"INOSUKEEEEEE THIS TRAIN IS NO LONGER SAFE! PROTECT THOSE WHO ARE SLEEPING!!!" screams Tanjiro, trying to inform him of the situation.
"THIS WHOLE TRAIN TURNED INTO A DEMON!! cAN YOU HEAR ME!! tHE ENTIRE TRAIN IS A DEMON!!" Tanjiro screams.
"I knew it... it was just as I anticipated. So that means I was right and I'm the boss!!" exclaims Inosuke. 'Breath of the Beast, Fifth Fang: Mad Cleave!!!' he thinks as he releases an attack, clashing in all directions. Making all of Enmu's flesh detachments fall after being slashed by Inosuke.
"I'M GONNA SAVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! YOU UGHTA PROSTRATE YOURSELVES BEFORE ME!!! WORSHIP ME AND ADORE ME!!!. INOSUKE SAMA'S DRIVING ON THROOOUUUUGH!" he says continuously using Mad Cleave.
The 'Mad Cleave' is a technique which slices everything in all directions. It's optimal when you're surrounded by enemies.
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Nezuko is trying her best to protect everyone from Enmu's detachments, for she sees all the humans on the train as her family, from the spell she is under.
She flashes the flesh detachments that are wrapping around an old man, which she sees as her dad, and a young girl, which she sees as her younger sister.
She continuously tries to slash away all the flesh detachments with her razor sharp nails. Nezuko spots a young man being surrounded with the detachments she runs to go help but one of the detachments wraps itself around her hand and another does the same for her opposite arm. Other detachments start to wrap around her feet, securing her to the ground, Nezuko starts to struggle to get free, a few muffled grunts are heard before someone comes and slashes the detachments. Nezuko opens her eyes to see who it was to see a certain thunder breath user.
(read from left to right^)
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'The sound of lightning falling... from the car behind me?! I don't know what's happening... Is that what Izumi san's doing? Are Zenitsu and Rengoku san awake!? And Nezuko....!! The most I can do is to protect everyone in front of me. This is bad, what now? We can't cooperate!! I hope the passengers in the cars behind me are okay.. Dammit, it's so narrow It's hard to swing my blade.' Tanjiro thinks.
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"Hmm! It seems like things took a turn while I was having my nap!! For sure, for sure! As a pillar, I'm ashamed of myself!! If there's a hole, I wanna go into it!" Rengoku exclaims.
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The cars that Tanjiro is on starts to tremor, making it shoot up a little sort of bouncing off the rails. Tanjiro falls forward tumbling into the car door.
'What the!? Did a demon attack!?" He wonders trying to sit up right.
"KAMADO, MY BOY!" Rengoku exclaims, helping him sit up right.
"Rengoku san!"
"I managed to land some very minor slashes before I came here. And I think the demons will take some time to regenerate. But there's no time!! I'll speak to you quickly. This train is made up of 8 cats. I'll protect the back five! Yellow boy and your sister will protect the other three. You and the boar head boy will go for the demon's neck while watching out for the front three cars." he explains as quickly as possible.
"NECK!? But now the demon's-" Tanjiro gets interrupted by Rengoku before he could finish.
"It doesn't matter what he looks like. As long as he's a demon, he'll have a neck!! I'm also looking for his weak spot while fighting him. Time to get fired up, boy!" he exclaims, looking right at him in his eyes. "Also if you encounter Mei sama, make sure she doesn't get hurt. She was a bit startled by her dream so leave her be until she feels fit to fight. She didn't have such a nice dream like everyone else. So just be aware of that, but also when she is fighting make sure to not let anyone get in the way. I don't know if she's going to keep her cool when fighting because she's rather angered by the demon." he said in a serious tone, he flashed an encouraging smile towards Tanjiro before dashing off, leaving a trail of un harmful fire behind him.
'WHOA...!! I didn't even see him! So that tremor before was from Rengoku san's movement! He's quick to grasp the situation and he's taking care of five cars... There's no time to be impressed, moron! Do what you should do! The demon's scent is getting stronger and stronger. Hurry!!' he thinks before getting up and running ahead.
"INOSUKE!! WHERE ARE YOU!!" Tanjiro screams.
"SHUT UP! I'LL KILL YOU!!" A muffled voice screams back.
"Above!!" Tanjiro says out loud trying to find a way onto the roof of the car.
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"Googly eyes just had to butt in! But somehow... Somehow... Somehow he's so awesome it pisses me off so much!!" Inosuke exclaims as an irk mark forms on his forehead.
"INOSUKE!! WATCH OUT FOR THE FRONT THREE CARS!" screams Tanjiro who chose to run from the inside of the cars rather than being on the roof.
"I know!! And I'll find it soon!!! With my full focus 7th style!!" Inosuke screams back. 'This 'guy' has a weak spot somewhere!! I see!! I knew it... Is it up in the front?' Inosuke wonders.
"Up, Up in the front is his weak spot!! It smells disgusting though!!" Inosuke screams letting Tanjiro know.
'It was hard to tell where the scent came from because of the strong wind, but if Inosuke says so, he must be right!!' Tanjiro thinks.
"It's where the coal is stockpiled. Isn't it!" Tanjiro asks.
"Right!" Inosuke replies.
"Got it!" Tanjiro screams back.
"OKAY LET'S GO!!" Inosuke screams.
"TO THE FRONT!!" Tanjiro screams back.
'Who's that?' Inosuke wonders, when he spots a brown haired girl standing on the front car's roof.
"I don't care who that is!! I'm going to kill that demon!!"Inosuke screams, leaving Tanjiro dumbfounded as to who he's talking about.
'Rengoku san is taking care of the five rear cars. Inosuke found the enemy's weak spot. Zenitsu and Nezuko are also fighting. I have to be of use as well and protect everyone!!' he thinks.
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Inosuke finally gets to the front car and the girl he saw had jumped into the air, but hasn't came down yet, Inosuke disregards her slashing the roof of the front car and jumping down
"Weird! Weird! Especially around here!!" Inosuke exclaims.
'Who Are you!? G- get out now!!" the conductor screams at him, but Inosuke just ignores him.
"The demon's neck... This week spout!!" Inosuke exclaims, as a bunch of Enmu's flesh detachments try to grab on to him.
'EW!! So.. Many hands!!" Inosuke thinks about trying to cut them all down. "Cra.." he tries to say, but they all just surround him.
"Breath of Water, Sixth Style: Swirling Vortex!" Tanjiro screams bursting into the room releasing Inosuke from the hold of the flesh detachments.
'It's right below!! The smell of the demon is really strong right below here!!' Tanjiro finally releases.
"Inosuke!! The demon's neck is right below us!!" Tanjiro exclaims.
'Don't boss me around! I'm the boss here!!" Inosuke retorts.
"Fine!" Tanjiro replies.
"Breath of the Beast, Second Fang: Rip and Tear!!!" Inosuke screams, slashing the floor of the train car in an x shape.
"The bone.." Tanjiro says horrified at what he's looking at. "The bone of his neck!!" he finishes his sentence.
"Breath of Water, Eighth Style: Waterfall Jar!!!" Tanjiro says trying to slice Enmu's neck.
'It got blocked!!' He thinks looking at what he sliced, which were just a bunch of flesh detachments. 'Even so I'm doing my best to expose the bone with my strongest attacks! I gotta sever the bone...' Tanjiro thinks.
"Inosuke!! Let's perform a combo attack and match our breaths together!! One of us will slice the flesh up. The other will cut down the bone without a moment's delay!" he exclaims.
"I see!! Good idea! I'll give you some praise!" Inosuke says.
"Thank you! Here we go-" Tanjiro is cut off by Enmu's blood demon technique, Coerces Swooning Sleep: Eyeballs.
'A blood demon technique!! It got.. us!! We're being put to sleep!!' Tanjiro thinks.
"Inosuke, cut your own throat in your dreams! That'll wake you up!!" Tanjiro screams before blacking out with Inosuke and returning.
'It's fine! I'll destroy the technique even if it gets to me!' Tanjiro thinks as soon as he wakes up, he gets put to sleep again. 'Moron!! I have to close my eyes when I wake up otherwise I'll get caught by his technique! All right! I'm awake!' he exclaims in his mind before accidentally looking straight into another eye. 'Everytime I wake up, I immediately cross my eyes with the demon! I need to wake up with my eyes closed! And while they're closed... It doesn't work!!" he thinks looking into yet another eye. 'Wake up!! Cut my throat quickly and wake up! Wake up now!!" he thinks, raising his katana to his neck.
"THIS ISN'T A DREAM!! IT'S REALITY!!!" Inosuke screams, grabbing ahold of Tanjiro's katana.
"Don't get caught in any traps!! Don't die in a lame way!!" Inosuke says. "I'M WEARING THE HIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN MASTER! I'M NOT AFRAID TO MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH THESE THINGS WHATSOEVER!! YOU SMALL FRY EYEBALLS!!" Inosuke screams, slashing them with his katanas.
'I see! Inosuke has a hard time realizing where the gazes are coming from...!!" Tanjiro thinks. "INOSUKE!!" Tanjiro screams trying to make him aware of the man behind him trying to stab him. 'Oh no! Not only is this place cramped, he isn't standing in a good position!! I've got no choice but to jump in between them!' Tanjiro thinks, shoving Inosuke out of the way, and getting stabbed himself.
"DON'T GET IN THE WAY OF MY SWEET DREAMS!!!" The conductor yells, before Tanjiro knocks him out.
"I'm fine!! We have to cut the demon's neck now or Zenitsu and the others won't last-"
"YOU THREE ARE IN THE WAY!!!" a familiar voice is heard above them, Tanjiro looks up and his eyes widen before pulling Inosuke and the man out of the way. Just before something collides with the first car, nothing is visible anymore since smoke is surrounding the whole area.
"AND THAT'S WHAT YOU GET YOU FILTHY DEMON!!!" a female voice is heard screaming.
"What the hell was that?" Inosuke says, helping up Tanjiro who was having a coughing fit.
"That was the Sixteenth Form of Moon Breathing! The most strongest form in all breaths!" the girl exclaims walking out of the smoke.
"Izumi san!" Tanjiro exclaims, when he sees her.
"The terrible scream of death... And these tremors...!!" Tanjiro says covering his ears while Enmu screams in pain.
"We cut his neck and made him writhe in pain!! Terrific!" Inosuke exclaims, as Tanjiro tries to get up but fails falling onto his side, where the conductor stabbed him, making him wince in pain.
"Are you okay!! Santarou!" Inosuke asks. "Keep it together! You saved me when I was tangled up in demon flesh! Now it's my turn!" Inosuke exclaims, propping Tanjiro up in his arms. "Your tummy okay? You got stabbed there!" he says.
"I.. I'm fine, how about y..." Tanjiro trails off.
"I'm so fine, I'm not catching any colds!" Inosuke says as Izumi starts to walk over to them.
"Looks like I can't move right away... Save the others... Are there any injured people... The driver was near the demon's neck..." Tanjiro says weakly, as Izumi starts to examine the state he's in.
"I think it's okay if he dies!" Inosuke exclaims.
"It's not..."Tanjiro trails off.
"He's the one who stabbed you in the tummy! That guy got his leg caught, and he can't move! His foot is squashed and he can't walk anymore!! If I get him out, he'll die anyway!" Inosuke explains.
"Then I think he's had enough punishment. Go save him. Please..." He asks.
"...Hmph. I'll do it. Because I'm the boss. And my underling asked me to!!" Inosuke says, putting Tanjiro down. "After I save him, I'm gonna pluck all his hair off!!" He says.
"You don't have to do that..." Tanjiro trails off.
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'My body's getting destroyed. I can't regenerate... Did I lose? Am I dying? No way... No way!! I haven't unleashed my full strength!! I couldn't eat a single person.. My plan to merge with the train, and eat a whole bunch of people in one gulp is now in ruins! I even ended up like this...!! Even though I put in so much time and effort....!!" Enmu thinks. "That weird hair guy!! It's all his fault!! I've taken two hundred people as hostages, but I still got pushed back. I got pinned down. This is the strength of the pillars... That yellow guy... That guy was fast too. Even though he couldn't completely get out of my technique...!! And that girl!! Isn't she a demon? What the hell!! A demon siding with the demon hunters! why hasn't she been killed by Muzan sama? Also isn't she that earring kid's sister? Shit, Shiiiittt!! From the beginning...! All my bad luck started after that kid got through my technique! It's all the brat's fault....!! I'm fine with just killing that brat... No, no, it was Lady Izumi's fault!! She cut my neck!! Yeah, and the boar!! If only I could have killed that brat! But that Boar got in the way. His intuition is strong and out of the ordinary. He was also very aware of my gazes. Did I lose? Am I dying? AAAAH it's a nightmare! A nightmare! It's always us lower demons that keep getting killed by the demon hunters. The upper moons, the demons whose ranks haven't changed for hundreds of years, they've buried mountains. They've buried demon slayer pillars. Is their strength on a completely different level? I never reached the upper moons despite being given so much blood.... AAAAH, I wanna have a redo, I wanna have a redo! What a miserable nightmare this.... is...' Enmu thinks as he fades away
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"You can use full focus breaths all the time now? Impressive." Izumi says.
"Thank you." Tanjiro replies.
"Doing it all day is taking one step to becoming a pillar!" she exclaims. "But it might take millions of steps to pillardom!" she says.
"I'll do my best..." Tanjiro trails off.
"You're bleeding from the abdomen... Focus some more and raise the accuracy of your breaths. Spread the sensitivity of your body. There's a blood vessel, and it's broken." she explains.
"FOCUS SOME MORE!" Rengoku exclaims, comes up from behind Izumi.
"There, Stop the bleeding. Stop the hemorrhage." They both say that at the same time as they point to the same area on Tanjiro's body.
"Focus." Rengoku says putting a finger on Tanjiro's forehead.
"Bu-hah! Hah hah" Tanjiro says panting.
"Yup!" Rengoku says.
"You've stopped it." The two pillars say at the same time.
"If you master your breathing, you'll be able to accomplish various things. It's not like you can do everything." Izumi explains.
"But you can definitely get stronger compared to how you were the day before." Rengoku says, finishing off what Izumi was going to continue saying.
"..Hai!" Tanjiro exclaims, sort of impressed by their coordination in words, as Rengoku shows him a wholesome smile.
"Everyone is safe." Izumi says.
'There's a lot of injured people, but there's nothing life threatening. You don't have to push yourself anymore..." Rengoku trails off as a loud noise interrupts them.
a/n: finally, this is the last part of chapter 23, see now you understand why i wanted to put it in parts, if i didn't it be way too long!
An announcement for everyone im going to go on break until the 15th of august bc ima be celebrating my moms birthday, so its gonna be choatic. so sorry for the future wait.
anyways i hope you enjoyed this 4 part chapter!!!