"CAW!! DISEASED!! DISEASED!" a crow flew pass.
Obanai took a deep breath, bracing himself for the worst.
"TOKITO MUICHIRO!! SHINAZUGAWA GENYA!! DEAD!! DEAD!!!"
That was worse than worst.
He knew how she and Tokito had been together for months.
How her eyes sparkled every time his name was mentioned.
How her smiles and grins were wider than ever beside him.
How her hand would reach for his every single day.
Keep fighting, Suzuki, don't hesitate, don't give up.
Make him proud of you too.
************************************************
"CAW!!! REVIVAL!!!! MUZAN IS REVIVED!!! ALL HASHIRA GATHER AT ONCE!!!" crows zoomed through the fortress, racing with time to spread the emergent news.
"WHAT!!!!???" Zenitsu screeched on Murata's back, "He is back!!?? Already!!!? But I'm still injured!!!! I'm going to die!!!! And my Nezuko!!!!! Where is she!!? I still haven't married her!!!! I don't want to die so soon!!!!"
"Zenitsu!!! Argh!!" Murata complained, "Stop pulling my hair!!! You want me to become bald!!! Don't you!!? Yushiro said you won't be dying!!!! Didn't you hear him!!?"
"Please be quiet, Zenitsu-san, Murata-san," Kanao scolded the boys calmly, "We may attract demons if you keep yelling at each other."
"Woo hoo!!! Let's go!!!" Inosuke ran in the front, high-spirited, "The great Inosuke will defeat Muzan!!! Mhahaha!!!"
"Tsuyuri-san! Hashibara-san! Agatsuma-san! W-Wait for us!!" a band of kakushi and lower ranked slayers were trailing behind the trio.
Everyone fell to their knees and screamed, clutching each other as the floor under their feet ascended in a rapid speed out of the blue.
"GYYYYAAAAAA!!!!!!!" Zenitsu shrieked, his voice was so shrill that it could shatter glass, "WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!????"
Kanao glanced around, everything is going up...!? If they had really been underground the whole time, did it mean they were being pushed to the surface now? She couldn't even lift her arms, the pressure was weighing her whole body down.
"AHHHHHH!!!!!" Zenitsu started screaming at the other direction, "WHAT IS THAT!!!!!????"
Everyone turned, gasping at the cubic room crashing straight into them.
W-We're going to die!!!!!!
"Fox Breathing, Fourth Form, Kinko to Ginko, Omnyō!"
Debris rained down.
Kanao's eyes widened at her new look.
Chizuko-chan...!?
************************************************
Chizuko, Zenitsu and Kanao finished arranging the kakushi and slayers into small teams while Inosuke collected talisman paper scattered across the place.
"Teams one to fifteen, please follow the crows and depart first. Assistance in evacuating the area is needed, orders are given that civilians should by no means enter. If possible, please also rescue the people stuck under the rubbles," Chizuko divided the workload according the the latest instructions given by the headquarters, "Teams fifteen to twenty two, please follow us, we would meet up with another team of kakushi before we head for the main battlefield."
"Hai!!" the slayers and kakushi went into action.
Spotting Kanao's hairpin, Shinobu's voice rang in Chizuko's mind.
"So please... don't be afraid for me if you don't see me when the sun rises up again."
Ah, she knew this was coming.
Yet it didn't hurt any less.
Noticing Chizuko's stare, Kanao gave her a sad nod, confirming the brutal truth.
Shinobu-san... Arigatou...
Chizuko thought of Shinobu's gentle smile.
You can finally take a rest now... You can finally let go of all the anger... You can finally be truly happy all the time...
Don't worry about us.
We will not waste any of the sacrifices made tonight.
"Hey!!! Guys!!!" Inosuke's voice came from the side, but Chizuko, Kanao and Zenitsu couldn't see him, "Look what I've found!!!"
"Oi! Where are you!? You dumb pig!" Zenitsu frowned, "Didn't Chizuko-chan tell you not to leave our sights???"
"Mhahaha! I'm right here!" Inosuke tore a talisman paper off his forehead, waving it in his hand proudly, "None of you can see me when I'm wearing that!! Not even myself!! There'll be no reflection in the water puddles!! Haha!! Just what is this thing???"
Yushiro's tailsman, Chizuko finally realised why those small pieces of paper looked so familiar.
"Thanks, Inosuke-kun, please gather as much of these paper as you can," Chizuko headed forward, "Everyone! We have to go now!! There's no time to spare!"
************************************************
"First aid!!" Obanai carried Mitsuri into an alleyway, where a small team of slayers and kakushi stood, "Look for the member with slitted pupils! His name should be Yushiro! Hurry! She's poisoned!!"
"H-Hai!!" the corps members jolted, moving immediately. One of them sprinted off to find this Yushiro guy, while the rest laid Mitsuri on the floor and prepared bandages.
"Wait!!" Mitsuri cried, "I can still fight!! I won't hold anyone back this time! I can still fight! I don't want to just die like this!! Please take me back!! Iguro-san!! I promise I'll be useful!!"
"Take care of her," Obanai said to the closest slayer before hurrying back into the battle.
"WAIT!! Iguro-san!!! I'm coming too!!!" Mitsuri exclaimed in sobs, held back by the slayers and kakushi trending to her wounds, "NO!!! PLEASE DON'T DIE!!! I-I don't want anyone to die anymore!!!!"
Obanai recounted his past. He was more than determined to cleanse his sins, to wash his tainted soul by contributing his life into eliminating this monster who called himself Muzan. Kanroji may never know but the reason for his insistence was her. He really wished from the bottom of his heart that someday they would meet again, where he would become the man she deserved.
His arms have suctions, it's drawing us into his attacks, Obanai sliced a whip off and kicked it aside, we all have to evade with more effort than usual, this is wearing down our strength tremendously. They absolutely couldn't afford to loose though, they had already flung away so many lives, they couldn't just let all those sacrifices to to waste.
An itchy and painful sensation crawled under his skin. Obanai cursed under his breath, it must be the poison, and it must be circulating his body much quicker since he was the smallest amongst the hashira fighting alongside him.
A tricoloured cat appeared above Muzan soundlessly, syringes flew out from its backpack like rockets.
Icy cold liquid was injected through Obanai's arm, most of the corroded flesh all over him and the others recovered instantly. The poison is receding. Obanai tightened his grip, he had contributed the least so far, he needed to think of a way to attack more efficiently.
Tokito did a splendid job, Obanai recalled the report from a crow. Any creature will display an explosive amount of power in the situation of life and death. I who never held anything heavier than chopsticks could gauge my way out of a cage with a hairpin... Tokito burned his blade into a bright red colour because at that moment the only thing he could do was to clutch onto his sword with everything he had...
Dizziness erupted in Obanai's head, flashing stars ate up his vision. This is a mistake, it is too late now. Yes, his blade burned in scarlet, yet he was immobile. He was too focused on his task that he ignored his bodily functions. Damn it! Muzan's attacks couldn't be dispersed if he fell. He wanted to keep up, at least for Kanroji, but he couldn't lift his legs.
"IGURO!!!!!" Sanemi roared, he was too far away. Giyu dashed towards Obanai, but there was no way for him to make it on time.
Sanemi and Giyu's mouth hung agape at the sight of Obanai floating in the sky.
Muzan's whips chased after Obanai, but they were all cut before reaching the hashira.
What..!? Muzan's left and right arm were cut off by the shoulders, one side by a rickety, rough blade and the other by scorching heat.
A chill was sent down Muzan's spine, he had difficulty growing back that arm which was cut off by quite the impressive imitation of Yoiichi's crimson blade.
It couldn't be the guy with the stripped haori, even if he were the only person who could possibly do so at the moment. Muzan was sure that he had lost mobility. It couldn't be that white haired guy and that guy with the mismatched haori as well, they were swift and powerful, but their blades weren't red. It couldn't be the blind guy too, it should be done by a katana.
Muzan took a deep breath, a faint, almost nonexistent floral scent shot into his nose.
His guess was correct.
It must be the doing of Tamayo's demon, again.
The clouds of dust visible, the slight parting of the air, those were all signs that someone had to be moving. Muzan counted, there were four attackers.
The whips on his back sliced through the air, Kanao, Inosuke and Zenitsu's covers were blown in a blink of an eye.
One more.
Chizuko's talisman paper and Muzan's whips fell to the floor at the same time.
"How ironic," Muzan sneered at the girl who landed behind him, "The blue spider lily grants me infinite life... Yet it is gnawing away your years... I wonder... how did it feel when that boy threw his life away for you?"
"Muzan," veins popped from Chizuko's forehead, "You should perish from the world."