Chapter 2: Warriors

A bullet has enough force to penetrate someone's skin to easily damage them. They're so powerful that they can leave a permanent scar on anyone unfortunate enough to get hit by a small pellet in a non-vital area.

Susamaru's temari balls were akin to the force of a bullet, and three times the normal size. A normal bullet would be enough to make the human muscles constrict to absorb the huge amount of energy coming from their speed, but with the size of the temari balls, they would leave something worse than a hole on the victim; it would absolutely rip apart anyone who got hit by them.

No matter where the ball was aimed, if it hit, it was death. Kazuki didn't have to get hit to know this, it was common sense.

Even if the balls were coming at him very fast, it wasn't something that he couldn't handle.

"Ahahaha~!" Susamaru cackled as she was watching Kazuki dodging her balls. "Not bad. You're actually pretty fast for a kid, but dodging is not enough."

Kazuki felt uneasy, he got careless. He felt the wind pressure suddenly fade behind him, which meant that the balls changed their original trajectory.

"Ice Breathing, Fourth Form: Ice Path - Surface."

Using his special zori sandals, he was able to slide on floors that were not too arid.

Normally, the Fourth Form could only be used on walls where he was being propelled by the force of gravity, but he would be unfit to call himself a warrior if he only followed his brother's teachings.

Still, it was futile; no matter how fast he was, he would have to stop at some point and those balls didn't seem like they were going to stop anytime soon. The force of the impact would make him fly and crash to the house, but a little damage wouldn't kill him.

"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"

That was until Kazuki saw a boy flying towards him, cleanly cutting both of the temari balls in one swoop. Tanjiro took a defensive stance and placed his back towards Kazuki's, both of them never blinking once.

"You're okay?" Tanjiro asked as Tamayo, Yushiro, and Nezuko stepped out of the house. Kazuki frowned as he took notice that the sliced balls were still vibrating on the floor.

"Kamado, at the count of three, jump forward…" Kazuki said, watching the balls carefully.

"One."

The balls moved.

"THREE!"

As those words came out, both warriors were already successfully dodging Susamaru's balls. The temari balls started to regenerate completely and went back to the demon, much to Tanjiro's dismay.

Kazuki however, was already setting his plans into motion.

"Yushiro, I need to get my bag. I need you to try and endure as much as possible," Kazuki demanded, making Yushiro frown at the absurdity of the plan.

"Are you serious? Do you intend to get Tamayo-sama and me killed?!"

"Well, all of us are going to die if we don't take these bastards down!" Kazuki argued back, looking at Yushiro with a look that said that he wasn't taking a "no" for an answer.

"Tch, fine! Just hurry up."

"Kamado, can you take care of yourself for a while?" Kazuki asked, blankly looking at the slayer.

Tanijro sent him a reassuring smile, full of confidence. "Leave it to us, we'll wait for you."

"One more thing, there was a second demon that came with her, but I don't know where he went… Still, I don't think he's idle and doing nothing, he has to be supporting the temari demon with his Blood Art," Kazuki said, causing Yushiro to immediately perk up.

"I see, so that's why there were arrows—watch out!"

Yushiro dived towards Tamayo and crashed into the wall towards the house, leaving Kazuki and Tanjiro to fend for themselves.

"I have no time for this… I really need to go and get that bag," Kazuki growled as he was surrounded by the temari balls that were surrounding both like a tornado.

"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!"

Tanjiro made a strong spin which slashed the spinning balls, but that didn't stop them as the balls shot forward, hitting both him and Kazuki on the face and torso. Before Kazuki could question what the hell he was doing, he saw him pointing towards a tree.

"Nezuko, he's over there!"

The demon girl nodded and used her demonic speed to quickly lunge towards the tree, ripping it from the earth and forcing it down. From the top, Yahaba fell on his face towards the ground and Nezuko kicked him in the face. Blood splattered everywhere as the demon's head blew up from the force of the kick.

Susamaru took notice of this and threw her temari balls towards Nezuko, causing Tanjiro to quickly make a run for it. He pulled Nezuko's kimono and dragged her away from the projectiles, quickly dashing his way back to Kazuki's position.

"Ehhhh? What are you doing Yahaba~? There is no fun in killing them if you get caught off guard..." Susamaru pouted as Yahaba's head started to regenerate from the damage.

"Tch, I got careless, I let that filth get too close to me…" Yahaba said in annoyance as the remaining parts of his head got fully healed.

Kazuki frowned, noting that the regeneration rate of these demons was far above normal, which meant they couldn't go for reckless tactics that easily. However, there was something that interested him more.

"How did you find him?" Kazuki whispered, careful to not make too much noise. "That demon was clearly out of sight; he didn't even move."

"I have an acute sense of smell; nothing can hide from me," Tanjiro said with a little pride in his tone of voice.

Kazuki was genuinely impressed. This guy had a bag of useful tricks on his own. In this situation, that couldn't have come at a better time.

"This is so much fun!" Susamaru laughed as she undressed from her kimono, only leaving herself with a black sash on her chest. Her body started to mutate as she grew more arms on both sides, making it a total of six.

Kazuki bared his teeth in annoyance. This battle was becoming harder by the minute. He hated when demons showed more resistance than they normally would.

Tanjiro showed a mix of shock and disgust at the demon's mutation. "You're kidding me… six arms?!"

"My body is all tingly! Please show me more of your moves, ahaha~!" Susamaru cackled, causing Kazuki to sweat nervously. "Your heads will serve me well as a trophy!"

"You take everything as a trophy, Susamaru…" Yahaba muttered as he made a wide grin that unsettled the warriors. "But this is not that bad of an idea, human filth will tire too fast, and dodging will only result in them getting killed. Amusing really, humans really are pathetic. They act according to their instinct and always end up getting killed, no matter who they are. Just look at their faces—"

As Yahaba kept mocking them, Kazuki's anger started to rise up to the point that the veins on his forehead started to show. One could make fun of his attire, his face, or even his hair.

But no one should ever look down on him.

"This idiot is really starting to irritate me…" Kazuki scowled as he took a deep loud breath. "Ice Breathing, First Form: Freezing Lunge!"

Kazuki dashed at Yahaba and impaled him in the chest, leaving the demon so surprised that he wasn't able to move for a second. Kazuki then kicked him in the guts with such force that it sent the demon flying a couple of meters away from Susamaru.

Before Susamaru could react, Tanjiro acted fast and closed the gap between them, trying to go for the head. However, the temari girl wasn't as distracted as Yahaba, so she acted fast and threw four balls at the slayer's face. Tanjiro backflipped away, dodging Susamaru's strike.

Since Kazuki was keeping Yahaba busy, the balls were now traveling in more predictable directions, making them easier to dodge.

Yahaba wasn't very happy seeing Kazuki moving towards him so freely.

"Fucking filth!" Yahaba snarled, moving his hands in a strange way. "I'm going to make you regret that you laid your filthy hands on me!"

As Kazuki was moving in, he felt a very strong force pushing him in the guts. He widened his eyes as he lost his balance and was sent flying towards the wall. A crash like that would've snapped his neck or given him head trauma if he wasn't careful, so he tried his best to land on his feet to lessen the impact. It would fracture some of his bones, but it wouldn't leave him unable to fight.

However, the worst didn't come. As he crashed into the wall, he felt that something soft was on his back. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Nezuko was standing behind him, with blood coming down her forehead and gashes on her pale face. Kazuki was genuinely taken aback, not because she protected him, but because she wasn't regenerating the damage. He then heard a bunch of steps coming towards him, which luckily were Tamayo and Yushiro.

"Are you both okay?" Tamayo asked, checking the two for any injury. "You don't seem to have taken any serious damage Kazuki, just grazes. Nezuko-san on the other hand…"

"She doesn't seem in pain to be honest, so her demonic endurance is still there," Kazuki stated, peeking outside to see Yahaba slowly coming towards them.

"Tamayo-san, you need to heal the demon girl fast if we don't want to get overwhelmed by this eye-guy…"

Tamayo took out a syringe that contained a strange yellow liquid. It was one of her demonic steroids which would augment the strength and healing factor of a demon.

Nezuko started to regenerate her forehead fast, her demonic blood already going dry by the effect of the serum.

Kazuki took notice that Yushiro was handing him something, a dirty green bag. The demon boy looked absolutely disgusted while holding it.

"Don't stand there to look at it! Take this foul thing away from me!" Yushiro shouted, irritated by Kazuki's dumbfounded expression. The white-haired boy didn't complain and took the bag with no hesitation. He took a quick peek to check its contents.

"Alright, this will do..." Kazuki muttered as his face lit up in realization. He then looked specifically at Nezuko and Yushiro. "You two. I have a plan."

Yushiro narrowed his eyes.

"...What kind of plan? Let me remind you that your plans are way too reckless!"

Tamayo nodded, giving them a worried look. "Yushiro is right Kazuki, your plans tend to cause... a lot of damage."

"Mmph?" Nezuko tilted her head and blinked. She was interested in what plan the boy had.

"...This is a good one." Kazuki finally said, fixing his gaze onto Nezuko. "Demon girl, I hope you're good at hearing instructions because I'm only saying this once."

Nezuko was sweating bullets at the determination in his voice.

----------------------------------------

"Hey, hey! Don't space out now, you could die~"

Tanjiro gritted his teeth in frustration, desperately wanting to know what happened to Nezuko after she threw herself to save Kazuki. But he couldn't go see them if he was endlessly dodging the temari balls Susamaru was throwing at him.

He had to finish this fast.

Before Tanjiro could move into the offensive, he felt a gentle tug on his haori. Sharply turning around, he saw Nezuko waving at him cheerfully. Seeing that she had no injuries, Tanjiro was relieved for a second but still didn't let his guard down. They were in the middle of combat right now, and at risk of getting hit by a limb-tearing temari ball.

"Nezuko, stand back. It's dangerous!" Tanjiro ordered, worried about Nezuko's safety. Seeing that she wasn't moving, he wanted to press further. Until he saw a small object that she was holding.

Tanjiro's eyes widened. That wasn't a harmless small object, that was a stick of dynamite! It was very commonly used for mining and was a very potent explosive. It was something he used in his days when he mined charcoal, so Tanjiro was very familiar with how this bomb worked.

On the other hand, Nezuko shouldn't know how to even use them.

"N-Nezuko, who gave you that?" Tanjiro stuttered, careful around the destructive object. Nezuko pointed towards her eyes and made a gesture around them. Now, Tanjiro didn't know sign language, but it was very obvious that Nezuko was referring to someone with glasses. "Kazuki gave it to you? That's way too reckless!"

Tanjiro would have taken away the object from Nezuko, but he was stopped when he saw that Susamaru had already thrown six balls at them. He gasped and quickly jumped away from the impact area. Nezuko did the same, dodging every single projectile like it was child's play.

Nezuko allowed the veins from her forehead to show, a trait that demons had when they were beginning to engage in combat.

The balls returned back to Susamaru, who was grinning in anticipation at how fast the siblings moved.

"I feel it… I feeeeeeel it! The bond between you two is very strong, yes?" Susamaru cooed as she caught her balls back. "Let's play more!"

'Even without the help of that arrow demon, she's so resilient! I need to do something before she wears me down completely…' Tanjiro thought as sweat ran down from his forehead. But despite his nervousness, he didn't lose focus; he was a Demon Slayer after all.

One move, everything had to end this with one move. He just needed to see the opening thread before striking his foe.

He couldn't ignore the temari balls either, so he had to attack them if he didn't want to get turned into paste before he dealt some significant damage. He needed a technique that would have him in constant movement so he could get close to deal the final blow.

A move that had him in constant movement…

Tanjiro's face lit up. He had it! Susamaru seemed to notice this, which let her already present grin grow bigger.

"It seems that you have your hopes up…" Susamaru mused, clenching her balls tighter as her entire body started to fidget. "Good… let me crush those hopes as you get killed by one of the Twelve Demon Moons!"

That was an important detail, but Tanjiro wasn't going to ask as he saw imminent death coming towards him. He rolled, dodging every single one of the six balls that were thrown at him, and dodging yet again as the balls came back in the opposite direction.

Difference from the previous throws? The balls were no longer moving in unnatural directions. There was a pattern, back and forth. Even if it was still hard to dodge, it was not an impossible task, which was a huge advantage for Tanjiro. It was all thanks to Kazuki keeping the arrow demon in check.

However, Tanjiro wouldn't get anywhere if he couldn't get to a safe distance to perform his technique.

Just as he was about to change his plans, Nezuko took charge as she dashed to the seemingly unaware Susamaru.

Until the demon started to twist her body in an unnatural way, her torso making a full 360-degree turn towards Nezuko.

Tanjiro's eyes widened in horror as he feared what was coming next.

"Surprise~"

Susamaru grabbed her temari balls and slammed them full force into Nezuko's face. The hit was so hard that it caused a shockwave that reached even to Tanjiro. Nezuko lost her balance and fell over. The temari demon didn't stop there and used one of her six hands to pin her to the ground.

Tanjiro couldn't bear to watch this anymore. He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"NEZUKO!"

He felt as if his whole body moved on his own, dodging every single one of the balls that were thrown at him. He was closely getting in range for him to use his technique.

It was now or never.

"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"

This technique was a gamble, it would cause him to never stop attacking until he finally took down his target. If he took too much time, he would die.

He dashed forward, his eyes locked onto Susamaru, whose grin faltered and then faded. She was serious now.

Susamaru fixed her attention towards Tanjiro, having all of her six balls ready in her hands. She threw four of them, each of them in different directions at different speeds, while still being lethal if it ever hit someone.

One, two, three, four- all dodged as Tanjiro continued his unstoppable assault. He could already sense the opening thread. Four of her balls were already sliced, so he didn't waste time as he jumped towards the demon's open neck.

Susamaru however, didn't seem to be scared in the slightest. In fact, she was grinning, with that sick grin she always wore on her face.

Tanjiro had made a fatal mistake. Susamaru was still holding two balls in her hands, and he was already midair. He could use the Ninth Form to dodge, but that would cause him to lose this rare opportunity to strike the demon down.

"Big mistake~!" Susamaru cackled as she threw one of her two remaining balls.

Tanjiro persisted; he could try to slice the ball, but as soon as he did that, he was pretty sure the demon was going to finish him off with her remaining ball.

He wasn't going to let that happen though. He would use his body as cover and slice Susamaru's head off, he had to do it even if it meant that he would lose an arm in the process. Constant Flux was still active, and his blood was rushing fast, so he had to push his body to the very limits.

He could pull this off.

He slashed the temari ball and charged towards Susamaru. The demon didn't think twice and hurled her remaining ball at Tanjiro.

However, instead of going for the neck, Tanjiro thrust his sword and nailed it to the ground, gaining enough force to gain altitude to jump over Susamaru.

He completely fooled her.

Susamaru visibly panicked, her eyes widening when she saw Tanjiro jumping over her. "No, no, you don't have me cornered!" she shouted through gritted teeth, quickly raising her hands to Tanjiro. "I have YOU cornered!"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, her arm detached from her body and shot itself in the air in an attempt to catch Tanjiro off guard.

He quickly shifted to his left and dodged the projectile, but he lost his balance in the end and landed on his butt, a couple of feet away from Susamaru. The demon grinned victoriously, quickly approaching Tanjiro as she had six balls again in all of her hands, ready to finish off her prey.

"That was fun! Very fun yes! I will keep your head as a trophy for such a good—" Susamaru was cut off when a hand grabbed her mouth from behind her.

Nezuko got up, with half of her head slowly regenerating. She used her other hand to place the stick of dynamite she'd had earlier inside Susamaru's mouth.

Tanjiro knew immediately what he had to do as he quickly dashed forward and hit his blade hard enough on the floor to create a spark. The sparks flew over to the fuse, lighting it up.

Susamaru's eyes widened in fear as she desperately tried to get rid of the dynamite, but Nezuko didn't let her as she shoved the stick all the way down her throat.

Tanjiro ran quickly towards Nezuko and pulled her away from the imminent explosion.

A big radius of dust covered the area causing Tanjiro to cover his eyes. Once the smoke cleared, he could finally stare at the result of the explosion, only to look away in disgust as he saw the disfigured Susamaru, with only her lower torso remaining intact. The same could not be said for her upper half that was badly mutilated. Half of her head remained attached to her body, while the other was completely torn apart into pieces.

Tanjiro couldn't let her regenerate the damage, so he set Nezuko down and took a deep breath.

"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"

He dashed towards her, screaming with all of his might. He saw the opening thread as clear as day.

It connected. His sword cleanly passed through Susamaru's neck, effectively decapitating her. Her body fell limp to the ground as it started to disintegrate in little bits.

Tanjiro let out a sigh of relief, sheathing his blade. He turned around to double-check if he actually killed the demon, only for him to look with pity at Susamaru who—despite being faced with imminent death—still clung to her temari balls like a child.

"My… mari… thank you… for not leaving me behind…"

She expired after saying that, her last bits disintegrating into the wind. Tanjiro could only pray for the safety of her soul and that in her next life she would get to live better and greater without the need to kill people. It was a sad existence for demons, from genuinely good people to flesh-eating monsters with no conscious thoughts for human life.

And it was all thanks to Muzan Kibutsuji. Just the thought of that thing made his blood boil, but he calmed himself. The time to face him would eventually come.

He tensed as he remembered that he had more important things to worry about. Was that ball demon one of the Twelve Demon Moons? Is Kazuki alright in his fight with the Arrow Demon? Does he need a sample for this demon? What about Nezuko?

Nezuko...

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro remembered that Nezuko wasn't in the best condition when she pulled that stunt against Susamaru.

Tanjiro ran towards his sister, immediately leaning towards her to check her appearance. She was a mess: her head got completely smashed in as soon as she got too close to danger, her face was dented like metal and completely bloodied. Luckily, she was regenerating the damage she took, albeit slowly.

Tanjiro avoided contact with Nezuko's face as, judging by how she was wincing, it was probably very painful for her to regenerate, so he had to be extremely careful with her. He kindly carried and leaned her against a nearby wall.

Nezuko eased her posture as soon as Tanjiro touched her and went back to sleep.

Tanjiro wanted to hug her very tightly, tell her how much he was sorry for putting her through such an ordeal. He was her big brother, he was supposed to protect her, not the other way around! He sighed, leaving her in the same spot to let her rest and heal. He immediately went on guard as soon as he smelled two demons were still nearby.

Two demons and one human, to be precise.

One of those demons was Yushiro, and the human was definitely Kazuki. They must be still fighting the arrow demon.

Before Tanjiro could rush in to help them, he caught a peculiar, but pleasant smell near the arrow demon. It was the scent of… flowers?

"Aaaargh. I HATE YOU!"

That was the arrow demon!

He had to move fast. Tanjiro picked up Nezuko and rushed in towards the house, looking for someone.

The house was a complete mess, furniture rolled over, walls cracked, building unstable. It made Tanjiro sad seeing Tamayo's clinic getting wrecked.

"Tamayo-san!" he shouted, head swinging like a swivel.

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No response.

Tanjiro clicked his tongue and kept looking around for someone, anyone, that could help.

"Tanjiro-san?"

To his luck, Tanjiro turned around and found someone standing across the hallway. Tamayo had opened the door to her basement just in time. Tamayo gasped as she took notice of the bloodied Nezuko in Tanjiro's arms. "Quick, give her to me!"

Tanjiro complied and quickly made his way towards Tamayo, who took the bloodied girl in her arms.

"I will treat her wounds down in the basement," Tamayo said while checking Nezuko's wounds. "I can't do that on this floor."

Tanjiro nodded. He was willing to give Tamayo all the time she needed if it meant Nezuko would be okay.

"There was a great amount of noise outside where Kazuki and Yushiro were fighting, but now it is all silent..." Tamayo muttered worriedly. "Would you be so kind as to check if they're okay while I tend to your sister?"

He didn't even hesitate to respond. "Of course!"

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A couple of minutes ago...

Humans were a complete eyesore for Yahaba; their filthy and weak nature always got to his nerves. The only thing they were good for was being a fine delicacy to the superior demons.

But he had found something more irritating than a human. In front of him was a demon who bore no desire to eat this human and on top of that, he was actually helping him!

He was helping food to survive.

He didn't understand it. He couldn't understand it at all.

"I hate wearing this…"

"Quit whining, it's the only way that you can fight him."

The human boy snorted as he appeared to be caressing his forehead. The demon boy had placed one of his tags on his head and not so kindly forced a needle into his forehead, which seemed far from a pleasant sensation. Must have been the boy's Blood Demon Art.

Not like Yahaba cared, but what intrigued him the most was that it had improved the human's eyesight to the point where he didn't need to wear glasses.

Well, that was it for the analysis. The human didn't look that imposing, and the demon boy didn't have a very good Blood Demon Art at his disposal.

The outcome of this fight was already decided.

Yahaba grinned, preparing his arrows to go for the kill. He wasn't like Susamaru who prefers to play with her food; there is something called manners after all.

"Yushiro..." The human addressed the demon boy. "You know the plan."

The demon boy frowned deeply, slowly looking towards the human.

"I still think this is a really bad idea..."

The human rolled his eyes, not even acknowledging his partner's complaints.

Yahaba couldn't bear to watch this anymore. He moved his hands and quickly directed his arrows towards his opponents. He would quickly disarm the human and bring him towards him to personally slice his neck. A slow but painful death for sure.

Even if Yahaba didn't want to touch that filth, it was what the human deserved for trying to lay his hands on him a while ago.

That would be the outcome if his opponents were stupid enough to stand still.

"Split."

As soon as those words came out of the human's mouth, both boys dashed in different directions. Yahaba moved his arrows towards them, trying to get them to lose their balance by any means.

However, they were dodging the arrows as if they knew they were there as if they had some sort of second eyesight on them. Yahaba knew his ability well, and he knew that the naked eye was not able to see his ability by any means.

He gritted his teeth, quickly putting the pieces together. It's all part of the demon boy's ability. It's the reason why the human wasn't using the glasses he had earlier.

The human began charging towards his front, sword already unsheathed while already looking for his neck. He could see the demon boy coming from behind, probably willing to pin him down.

They were trying to surround him from both sides.

Yahaba snorted. It was a foolproof strategy, that's for sure. But if they thought they could grab his neck that easily…

They were sadly mistaken.

"Foolish," was all Yahaba said before waving his hands erratically. His arrows started to twist into a spiral pattern, quickly moving towards the demon boy.

The demon boy lost his balance and passed just around Yahaba, completely missing him. He then crashed into the human so hard that it pushed them back a couple of meters away from him.

The strength of his koketsu arrows was strong enough to kill a normal should they hit any solid material, so Yahaba was fairly sure that the human was done for.

"Ice Breathing, Fourth Form: Ice Path - Surface!"

As the human was falling to the ground, he grabbed the demon boy's kimono and performed a backflip. He then landed on his feet, sliding across the smoothest floor possible.

Interesting ability, but ultimately useless, as it only served to delay the inevitable.

The human growled in frustration, glowering at the demon boy angrily.

"Yushiro, focus! Didn't you see his arrows? We would have him already if it wasn't for you!"

That tone of voice didn't seem to soothe the demon boy in the slightest.

"I'm trying to headlock him, dumbass!" he argued back, eyeing him at the same level. "Did you forget that you are the only means to kill this guy?! You should shut your mouth and pay attention to his movements!"

The human's expression darkened. It appeared that the demon boy pushed him over the edge. So, he's one of those people…

"If you won't listen to what I say…"

One second, the human was just staring blankly at the demon boy, making no sudden movements. Then, out of nowhere, the human swung his blade, cleanly cutting off the demon boy's head.

That was a clean kill. The demon boy's body fell limp to the ground, with his head slowly rolling towards Yahaba. The face of the demon boy was completely horrified like he did not expect this turn of events, but mostly, his expression was that of betrayal.

"You are just a liability."

Yahaba's eyes widened. That was certainly a surprise, an unexpected but welcome surprise.

"You just killed your ally…" Yahaba muttered in disbelief before breaking out into full-blown laughter. "Bahahaha, you humans are as dumb as rocks. You just attacked your only means to win—as if you had any in the first place. I'll have to agree with you on one thing though, your ally was certainly an idiot if he thought he could surprise me like that."

The human boy glowered at him, making Yahaba flinch instantly. His cold blue eyes, his scowl, the entire look on his face may have seemed plain at first and something that Yahaba had seen in countless slayers he has killed. It would only make them look like idiots.

But this human? The intensity of his emotions could be felt from miles away.

It was cold, chilling anger.

All of sudden the human kicked the demon boy's corpse towards him. Yahaba immediately used his koketsu arrows to push away the body, but as soon as he did that, he knew he screwed up.

The human boy immediately took charge and got dangerously close to him. Yahaba instinctively used his arrows to pull the human away from him.

Yahaba grinned as soon as his arrows enveloped the boy's torso. The win was his, he would twist his arrows to break the boy's spine to make him bleed out. A painful death was deserving of someone as dirty as this guy.

"Now!"

As the boy shouted, Yahaba froze.

Not because of the intensity of the human's voice, but because he literally couldn't move. His hands felt like they were strongly gripped by something very strong.

Or rather someone…

This grip was far too strong to belong to a human, and since Yahaba was only fighting one person, it didn't take too much time to figure out who it was. He twisted his hands all the way to the back, courtesy of his demonic attributes and he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The treacherous demon boy was standing with his ever-present frown on his face. Yahaba gritted his teeth, closing both of his eyes and redirecting the arrows.

"Damn you, get away from me you- Aiiieeee!"

He shrieked as he felt the force of a train starting to crush his pupils. He couldn't see it, but he could feel his hands starting to bleed. He felt the burning pain across his whole body.

He had to move now; if he stayed still screaming any longer, then that human boy would surely slice his head off.

"I'll kill you both!" Yahaba roared as he opened the eyes of his face. He could see that the human was only inches in front of him. He would not let such filth kill him that easily!

Yahaba activated his ability and sent arrows in every direction towards the human boy, intending to turn him into paste. He could feel the pain getting stronger as the demon boy started to crush even harder, but Yahaba didn't care.

He would kill this human; he was flowing with determination.

The human panicked, his serious facade fading as he saw the number of arrows coming towards him. It was a total of 20 arrows, it had the strength of 10 demons at once.

"Yushiro, get away from him!"

Yahaba grinned, already tasting victory. It mattered not if the demon boy used himself as a meat shield, he placed all his power into this attack with a force so strong that it was capable of dismembering every part of the human body.

"Dammit!" the demon boy cursed as he jumped away to help the human. The arrows were already on the human's entire body.

It's over.

Before the human got pulled by his arrows, he threw something small towards him. It was a very fast throw, but Yahaba's eyes could easily catch it. It was a worn-out leather pouch.

How filthy.

With a grunt, he sliced the pouch away from him, accidentally ripping it apart.

Yahaba gawked, stunned at the sight as he watched the contents spread out in the environment. It was some sort of sparkly white dust, with some pink colors that made a good contrast with them. It also had a pleasant smell; it almost drove him to the point of dozing…

He shook his head, what the hell was he thinking?! He almost lost focus on the battle again!

He pressed his attack further; the human boy was struggling to even swing his blade at this. However, the demon boy still insisted on getting in his way, placing himself behind the human in order to shield him from his attack.

"Don't you understand?" Yahaba asked through gritted teeth. "What you're doing is pointless, you'll get torn into pieces too!"

He got no response. No matter, they would die soon. Dawn was coming and the demon boy would take time to regenerate.

'They're very close to the wall now, they're as good as dead.' Yahaba thought as he let a feral grin show across his lips.

"Ice Breathing, Second Form: Brutal Hailstorm!"

The human boy made a single stab towards the wall, completely shattering it in the process. That seemed to slow down their pace, but not enough as Yahaba kept propelling them in all directions.

However, their movement came to a halt as the demon boy managed to dig his entire hand into the ground. Thanks to the human's earlier attack, they were brought to ground level.

Yahaba snarled. They were annoying and persistent pests. He would not rest until every single one of them was dead.

After all, he cannot go back to Muzan empty-handed.

Luckily, he saw that the human was panting in exhaustion as he was struggling to get up. Good, all he had to do now was make him use those techniques of his until he got completely worn out.

But he couldn't help getting this weird feeling. It felt like it was getting hotter every second.

He froze as he noticed something: his koketsu arrows were starting to lose density and some of them were even fading from sight.

His eyes widened. Why was he getting weaker? Demons were unable to feel fatigued, and thus, were always able to stay at full power. It's what made them significantly better than humans.

Aren't they?

'Why, why is it harder to move?' Yahaba thought as his whole body started to tremble, feeling something that he didn't think he would feel in all of his demonic life—fatigue. His vision started to get blurry as he got a terrible headache. He placed his hands over his heads to try and see the problem, only to meet with a horrifying sight.

His hands were not regenerating, their eyes were still crushed by that demon. That was out of the ordinary: his regeneration was strong enough to the point that it only took a matter of seconds to get fully healed!

'Am I turning… human!'

Then, he felt a sting. A strong, painful sting.

His skin was starting to turn purple, every single part of his body feeling like hell was burning him completely. He then felt like he had a noose tied around his neck, choking him brutally as foam started to come out of his mouth.

"What… is happening… to me!" he tried to yell as he struggled to keep himself on his feet.

The human and the demon boy seemed to notice as the former started to breathe heavily, preparing himself for an attack.

Yahaba panicked as he desperately tried to move, but the pain was so strong that it kept him snared in his place. He was left there, defenseless, dreading what was coming next.

"Ice Breathing, Third Form: Sheer Cold!"

He felt it. He felt the pain every single time the human drove his sword into him. It burned, it felt like diving into cold water and unable to get out. The feeling of a thousand needles piercing all your body was far from a pleasant sensation.

Yahaba collapsed, losing all the feeling of his feet and hands. His body fell limp to the floor, unable to make a single movement.

"You have lost," the human said without a hint of pity.

Yahaba gritted his teeth, unable to comprehend the situation. He had the upper hand just a few minutes ago!

"What… did you do to me…!" he snarled weakly; it was too painful to even talk now.

The human stared blankly with those cold eyes of his, and he couldn't tell what he was thinking. Those eyes were empty, like they had seen all the horrors in this world.

"The pouch you destroyed earlier… contained a powder made from wisteria flowers—courtesy of the escapee you're trying to kill."

Yahaba caught his breath as he processed the information. He didn't like this one bit. That damned plant was said to give demons a slow and painful death.

And he got careless and inhaled a whole ration of it.

"That face of yours seems to have realized what is about to happen to you." He leaned forward, glaring at Yahaba dead in the eye. "I can make it painless for you if you provide me with the information I need."

Yahaba screamed, the pain of the poison starting to become unbearable. His bones were starting to melt, penetrating his organs and muscles. He could feel the bones of his face cracking little by little.

"Please stop this. Please… stop this! PLEASE KILL ME NOW!"

The human inhaled sharply, placing the blade right beside Yahaba's throat.

He smiled. Finally, the sweet release of death is the only thing that can stop this pain.

"...How many people have you killed as a demon? How many families have you destroyed because of the useless killings?"

He pressed the blade forward, the steel of the blade drawing blood from his neck. "How many innocents have begged you to kill them as you're doing it now...?"

Yahaba coughed blood as he scowled. This was getting ridiculous. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Answer. My. Question."

"What questions! What goddamn questions—agh!" Yahaba was so fed up with this human bullshit that he forgot about the poison. His eyes turned blood red, crying tears of blood in the process.

The human didn't waste any time. "Why is Muzan looking for Kamado, the boy with the Hanafuda earrings?"

"Why should I know?" Yahaba spat, sending a glare towards the human. "It's not my place to question his orders. I only serve."

The gaze of the human seemed to harden before shaking his head in disappointment. "I see, then you're truly hopeless. Serving someone who ruins other lives for pleasure… just because he turned you into a monster."

Yahaba wanted to lash out at this filth. He was being looked down on by a human! This type of humiliation could not stand!

"Y… You! How dare you- a mere human, talk about our Lord like that! I'll kill you, every single one of you. I will hunt you down!"

"The talk is over."

Yahaba felt the cold steel passing through his neck, the pain of the poison finally fading. His rage, however, was still ever-present.

The human said nothing else, he just sheathed his blade and turned around, leaving him to die.

This act was so humiliating, it was like being treated like a goddamn peasant. Using his last breath before disintegrating into nothingness, Yahaba screamed. "Aaaargh. I HATE YOU!"

In their last moments, people show who they really are. Yahaba was loyal from the beginning to the end. He lived a life of loyalty for his lord and died serving him well.

----------------------------------------

"It is done," Kazuki said, staggering as he walked towards Yushiro. "Thank you for trusting me back then. You detached your head just in time."

"It was that or you would have killed me by accident!" he snapped as he looked ready to punch Kazuki in the face. "This is exactly what Tamayo-sama and I meant when we said your plans are way too reckless!"

"Calm down… it all worked out in the end didn't it?"

Yushiro sighed and then looked up and sent a serious glare towards him. "Kazuki, you're smart and creative, I'll give you that, that's why I accepted this crazy plan of yours in the first place, but you have to bear in mind the consequences of your actions. What if I had been a second late to detach my head? What then?!"

Kazuki narrowed his eyes, offended by Yushiro's comment. "You know damn well that I won't do that to—"

"I know you don't have that intention, but the chance was still there, and you took it!" Yushiro yelled at the top of his lungs, making Kazuki shut up immediately. He didn't realize how upset he really was. "If you only think about yourself, you will end up hurting others. If you and I died, do you know how hurt Tamayo-sama would be?"

Kazuki inhaled sharply before exhaling, letting the thoughts of his mind roam freely. He didn't know he'd screwed up that badly.

"I-It was the only thing I could come up with at the moment," Kazuki stuttered, but that did little to help the situation as Yushiro's pupils narrowed like a serpent.

"Really? Do you still have an excuse?"

That firm tone of voice made him shut up. He was right, he shouldn't have an excuse for doing what he did.

"Sorry…" Kazuki muttered, looking away in shame. "I-I will try to be more careful next time."

That seemed to calm down Yushiro as he eased his posture.

"Just… be more self-aware next time. Got it?" he asked, a bit more softly this time. Kazuki made an awkward nod, which was enough to satisfy him. "Good, now, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he mumbled, softly. He then looked over to Yahaba's disintegrated body before looking back at Yushiro. "We need to go help Kamado, I'm pretty sure he's still fighting with-"

"Kazuki, Yushiro!"

They both turned their attention to the source of the voice. Kamado Tanjiro approached them, blade ready in both hands.

"Where is it? Where is the arrow demon?!"

"Disintegrating." Yushiro pointed towards Yahaba's body on the floor. Tanjiro eased his posture, storing the blade back to its sheath.

"So… it's over?" Tanjiro asked, causing Kazuki to nod.

"Yes, it appears it is," Kazuki said, feeling less tense than before. He then turned to Yushiro, who seemed to notice his stare.

"What!"

"Do you… have that dagger thing that you use to draw blood?"

Yushiro raised an eyebrow, confused about where this was going. "I do, but why do you want to…" he trailed off as he began to look back and forth between Kazuki and Tanjiro.

His face lit up, finally realizing what Kazuki meant. "Oh, I get it now. Now you want to help us, you stubborn prick?!"

Kazuki rolled his eyes. "I'm more of returning the favor rather than helping him. So, if you would please just give me the-"

"Alright, alright!" Yushiro yelled before digging his hands into his kimono. He then pulled out a small dagger which had a white line engraved on the blade, it also had a handle made of glass. He then gave it to Kazuki, which he gently took and made his way towards Yahaba's corpse.

Tanjiro was completely confused about the current situation. He blinked two times before finally looking at Yushiro.

"Yushiro-san, what is that dagger?"

Yushiro opened his mouth, then closed it. Whatever he was about to say got cut short as he sprinted towards Kazuki, who fell limp onto the ground.

"Kazuki!" Tanjiro screamed, sprinting towards the fallen figure of Kazuki. When both boys arrived, he didn't hesitate to pick him up from the ground and give him support from his shoulder.

"Tch, that was very risky Kazuki," Yushiro scowled, checking his pulse in the process. "You know you can't use the Ice Breath so much. It's not suited for your body."

"Thank you for reminding me," Kazuki deadpanned, earning a scowl from Yushiro.

Tanjiro gawked, clearly surprised by this information. "You can't handle the use of your own breath?"

"The Ice Breath is meant to be used by someone who has very high resistance and flexibility… which I don't have," Kazuki explained as he panted lightly. He clearly needed to rest.

"B-But you defeated… him!" Tanjiro stuttered as he pointed towards the place where Yahaba's body was supposed to be, which had now disintegrated completely.

"While I can't handle my own breath, that doesn't mean that I'm useless because of it," he explained again. "With the right planning, I can save my moves for the right time at the right moment. I can use up to three of the Ice Breath techniques in a fight. Any more than that and well… you see what happens."

"But why use something as risky as the Ice Breath?" Tanjiro asked.

Kazuki frowned as he looked to the side for a moment before returning his gaze to Tanjiro.

"It's… complicated," he said finally, albeit awkwardly. "Long story short, it's the only breath style I know, and I have the most experience with it."

Tanjiro seemed to ponder the information he was given before asking, "You're going to be okay?"

Kazuki gave a slow nod. "For the moment, yeah."

Tanjiro let out a small smile. "That's good to know."

Before they made their way inside the house—or what was left of it—Kazuki remembered something important that he forgot to ask. "Yushiro, I need to talk with Kamado for a moment," Kazuki said, prompting Yushiro to raise an eyebrow. "You should make your way inside; the sun is coming out soon."

"Okay?" he said, quickly making his way inside of the house. He turned around to glance at both boys. "Don't take long, I hate when people make Tamayo-sama wait."

Once the demon made his way inside, Kazuki sighed. "Well, I guess that's that then…"

"What did you want to talk about?" Tanjiro asked, sweat running across his face as he couldn't mask his impatience, which Kazuki noticed.

"What's the rush?"

"Nothing, I'm just worried about Nezuko…" Tanjiro said, looking at Kazuki with a frown. "You know, after you gave her a stick of dynamite!"

Kazuki knew where this was going. His eyes widened, clearly surprised by Nezuko's actions. "She understood everything I said?"

"I guess? Even if Nezuko has become a demon, that doesn't mean she's incapable of thought," Tanjiro explained in clear displeasure. "That's beside the point, why did you give her a stick of dynamite?!"

"I didn't think she would actually go ahead and do it..." Kazuki said as he nervously scratched his cheek. "Well, I gave her the dynamite as a last resort so you could go ahead and finish the demon off. You did that, right?"

Tanjiro nodded. "Yeah, I did it but it was still way too risky."

Kazuki sighed, understanding his displeasure. If he said this to him a few minutes ago, then he would have shrugged it off as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. However, his plan with Nezuko was less risky than the one he did with Yushiro.

"You know, only you and I should be concerned with our lives. Demons can only be killed via sunlight or decapitation by a nichirin blade."

"I know that! But still what if-"

"If she got caught in the blast?" Kazuki finished for him, making Tanjiro shut up. "She would regenerate. She's a demon, we're not. She can heal, we cannot. It's as simple as that."

Tanjiro frowned, clearly not accepting Kazuki's explanation.

Kazuki looked to the side, quite ashamed by how harsh he was. "Sorry I'm…"

"Tired," Tanjiro said, his gaze softening. "Don't worry, I can tell… It's just that as her elder brother, I must ensure that she's safe no matter what."

Kazuki blinked a couple of times. "Sounds to me that you're being unnecessarily overprotective."

Tanjiro's mouth gaped. "Eh?"

"Kamado, you should let your sister take care of herself for a while," Kazuki explained, careful as to not make him mad. "Otherwise, she would have a hard time fighting tougher opponents because of her lack of experience."

Tanjiro's expression turned grim. "I know that but… she's the only family I have left."

Kazuki's blank stare didn't leave Tanjiro, but deep inside he knew why he was being overprotective. He didn't know the details of what happened to him, but he knew how it felt. To lose a family, and to protect the few that you have left.

It was the same with him regarding Tamayo and Yushiro—they were two of the few people he considered as family, after his last incident.

"All the more reason you should let her protect herself," Kazuki finally said. "Who knows, she might surprise you."

Tanjiro closed his eyes as he seemed to think over what he said. He seemed to be reminiscing unpleasant memories as Kazuki saw him frowning lightly. Then, after a brief silence, Tanjiro let out a satisfied grin. "Thank you… I will think about it."

"Sounds good to me," Kazuki said, nodding in satisfaction. "Now, can we go inside? We've been here for who knows how long that dawn is already out."

Tanjiro perked up as he turned to look in the direction where the moon was supposed to be, only for him to cover his eyes to avoid being blinded by the rays of the sun. It appears that they were talking for quite a while.

"Yeah, we should go now," Tanjiro said as he started to walk inside the house, supporting Kazuki on his shoulder.

While they were walking, Tanjiro spoke. "That reminds me, Tamayo-san told me your first name, but not your last name," he said. "Is there a reason for that?"

Kazuki just sent him the most deadpan stare he could muster. "Are we really having this conversation now?"

Tanjiro chuckled nervously. "I'm just curious, that's all."

Kazuki would have rubbed his temples if he could actually move. He sighed. "One reason, which I will not explain, so I guess I'll just tell you my last name... Miyamoto," Kazuki said, causing Tanjiro to beam. "My full name is Miyamoto Kazuki, but please only call me Kazuki."

Tanjiro hummed before nodding. "I'll do that, but can you please call me Tanjiro?"

Kazuki didn't take that too kindly. "Why? I just met you like… five hours ago."

"Well, you are basically forcing me to call you by your given name…" Tanjiro laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head. "It would be nice if you would call me by name too!"

Not having the energy to keep arguing, Kazuki sighed. "Fair enough… Tanjiro."

----------------------------------------

"I need to see your tongue, say ahh."

"Ahh…"

Kazuki opened his mouth as Tamayo drove a tongue depressor into his mouth. It had an odd taste, which made him a little uncomfortable.

Tamayo's clinic was a mess. All of her rooms were completely wrecked because of the crossfire which meant all of her medicine and medical appliances were buried in rubble or broken. Luckily Tanjiro—who was the first to offer his help—got various things from the wreckage. That being some alcohol, a stethoscope, and many other tools. He also got Kazuki's glasses out there.

While it wasn't everything Tamayo could wish for, it was still something she could work with.

And thus, Kazuki sat on the floor, with Tamayo giving him a normal checkup while Tanjiro, Yushiro, and Nezuko—now fully healed—looked from behind.

"It appears you have a sore throat... " Tamayo said, taking out the stick from Kazuki's mouth. "What did you feel when you fell?"

"Well, the first thing was feeling a little lightheaded, I thought it was nothing. Then suddenly my muscles felt like rubber and I lost my strength and balance."

Tamayo was humming, deeply in thought. "So, it's the same feeling you have after using your breath?"

"Yeah, the same as usual."

She nodded and then took out a small leather cuff and wrapped it around Kazuki's arm, connected to a tube to a manometer. It was a blood pressure meter. She then wore her stethoscope and placed it in the center of Kazuki's chest.

"Alright, take a deep breath," Tamayo said softly as she started to pump the air into the device.

Kazuki did what he was told, closing his eyes and breathing slowly. It hurt a bit, but nothing he couldn't handle.

After a brief session of inhaling and exhaling, Tamayo finally turned off the device and detached it from Kazuki. She had a neutral expression through all this, so it had to be nothing major.

"You have low blood pressure," Tamayo said while putting away her appliances.

Tanjiro gasped. "W-Wait, that's nothing too serious, right?" he stuttered, sweating profusely.

Tamayo shook her head. "It's serious if it's not treated, but right now there is nothing to worry about," she said while pulling out two pills from her bag. She then handed Kazuki a cup of water. "Drink this and you'll be okay," she said gently. Kazuki took the pills and the water and swallowed them.

The pills won't work in an instant, it's not magic. Kazuki stood up weakly and leaned himself into a wall for support, waiting for the pills to work. After all the tension was gone, he sighed and pulled out something from his yukata. It was the dagger that Yushiro gave him earlier, except instead of the blade having a white engraving, it was now crimson red, the handle having the same color.

"Tamayo-san, I have something for you," Kazuki said, giving the blade to Tamayo, who gently took it. Her eyes widened in realization as she understood perfectly well what that meant. Tanjiro looked curious about this and approached them.

"Mmph?" Nezuko grew curious as she tried to hold the blade, only for Tanjiro to hold her hand and shake his head.

"No Nezuko, that's dangerous. It could hurt your finger you know?"

Nezuko was confused as she pointed at her finger.

Tanjiro nodded. "Yes, exactly like that!"

"Kazuki, this is…!" Tamayo trailed off as she sent a look to Nezuko, then back to him. "Did you overhear our conversation?"

Kazuki nodded. "Most of it. You're going to need a ton of demon blood to cure that girl right? Here, take this," he said, giving the dagger to Tamayo. He could see that her eyes were welling up, not in sadness, but in happiness. She didn't cry, but she gave him a sweet motherly smile.

Kazuki just looked away, blushing in embarrassment. "S-Stop giving me that look, I'm just repaying the favor."

Tamayo inspected the blade before looking at Tanjiro with a satisfied smile on her face. "Tanjiro-san, with this sample of demon blood that Kazuki provided me, it has helped me in my research to turn your sister back to human."

"About time he helped," Yushiro grumbled under his breath. "But why does he deserve to get Tamayo-sama's angelic look…"

Tanjiro looked genuinely taken aback. He was clearly not expecting Kazuki's help in any way, and he understood why; he had been too dismissive up to this point.

At least he could have some peace of mind with this act.

"Wow, I didn't… Thank you, Kazuki!" Tanjiro smiled, bowing all the way to the floor, so far that it made a crack.

Talk about an overreaction.

Seeing how happy Tanjiro was, Nezuko joined him by raising her arms up and moaning in happiness.

"I'm just repaying the favor for you Tanjiro, nothing else," Kazuki said, maintaining his calmness. "And once again, don't bow."

"What favor?" Tanjiro asked, puzzled. "I don't remember that you owe me anything."

Kazuki opened his mouth and then closed it. He didn't know? Or he didn't care? "Back then, you sent your sister to protect me, right?" Kazuki asked, causing the slayer to look at him.

Tanjiro's face lit up in realization. "Oh, that? I didn't tell her anything, she did it on her own," he explained, giving him a warm smile. "She's been hypnotized—because you're a human, she will protect you because it is her mission."

Kazuki blinked. Hypnosis? He didn't know that ancient technique was still used these days, or that it worked on demons of all species.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. If hypnosis could change a demon's behavior that fast, then Tamayo would have used the technique on every demon turned by Muzan to break out of his control. It wasn't that simple. That girl must have been thinking she's hypnotized to not attack humans.

Kazuki growled, wanting to hit himself on the head as he realized the stupidity of his thoughts… That's basically how hypnosis works.

He would have to research that later in the library. Right now, he would just roll with it.

"I see… her name is Nezuko right?" he asked, looking at the girl in question.

Tanjiro nodded awkwardly. "Yeah… you forgot about her name already?"

"Yeah, I don't remember well the names of demons other than the ones I trust—which can only be counted with one hand," Kazuki explained, causing Tanjiro to frown. "The only ones I trust are Tamayo-san, Yushiro… and Nezuko has been added to that list."

That was enough to ease Tanjiro's distress as his frown slowly dissipated, eventually giving him a warm smile.

It was weird, Kazuki was never someone that wanted to do anything with the slayers, much less with demons, and here he was, befriending two siblings who were those same things he hated.

The irony of all.

Nezuko beamed and skipped towards him. Kazuki found it slightly amusing that a 14-year-old girl was acting like a mere toddler, but he had to admit that she was slightly adorable. She extended her hand over Kazuki's head, making the latter's eyes widen.

Oh no, she could do anything to him except that!

Kazuki pushed her hand away. "No patting."

She tried again, only to get pushed away, again.

"No."

She persisted yet again as she fumed.

Kazuki was getting extremely irritated at this point, that if no one stopped her, he would have to yell at her. Last thing he wanted to do.

"That's alright Nezuko, he clearly doesn't want headpats," Tanjiro said, gently pulling his sister away from him. Nezuko pouted in frustration, clearly not appreciating getting interrupted.

Kazuki sighed, internally thanking Tanjiro for knowing the first thing about personal space.

He couldn't help but wonder, why did he change his mind to help these siblings? He had always hated how seemingly 'unbreakable' sibling bonds were as if that was true.

But he couldn't help to feel that he did the right thing, as a part of his heart still… desired these bonds.

It was an odd feeling that always left a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

"Hey, Kazuki."

Kazuki broke out of his trance as he heard the voice of Tanjiro addressing him.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah…" Kazuki replied dismissively. "I was just thinking about something, what is it?"

Tanjiro seemed unsure at first, as he nervously scratched his cheek. "You know… the slayers could use someone as strong as you. You're very strong and can be such a huge help in their fight against the demons!" he said, causing everyone's eyes to be fixed on him.

Yushiro sent a glare towards Tanjiro as if he had just stepped into very thin ice.

Tamayo just looked between both boys, unsure where this was going. She knew how hard the subject of being a slayer was, something that made Kazuki sick, but she still had a small glint of hope in her eyes.

Kazuki was stunned, his eyes portraying a mixture of sadness and pain. He just didn't want to go to the corps, not because he was a coward—he could take as many demons as he wanted. It's because he didn't want to see… him. Just the thought of that person made his heart sink. It was because of him that he hated sibling bonds in the first place.

But… a part of him wanted to go. He wasn't sure why, but the feeling was there.

"Sorry, Tanjiro…" Kazuki mumbled loud enough to be heard. He clenched his chest tightly, gritting his teeth in frustration.

"But… I just can't!"

Tanjiro seemed to want to talk more, but Kazuki didn't give him the chance as he walked away, not even looking him in the eye.

"Hey Kazuki, what's the problem!?" he could hear him plead. Kazuki stopped by the door, not even turning around.

"Sorry, Tanjiro, Nezuko," he muttered sadly. "Take care, and good luck on your mission… you will definitely need it."