Chapter Text
To say there was panic was certainly an understatement. To say they were paralyzed with fear was an underestimation of the Hashira. As the sun slowly dipped under the horizon and a full moon rose above, plans were instantly made. No one was to go anywhere alone.
Mitsuri and Obanai went to patrol along the walls, checking if the wisteria trees were still there. Shinobu and Giyu explored the depths of the manor, checking to see if medical supplies were there just in case. Sanemi and Muichiro patrolled on top of the walls, checking to see if anything was coming. Gyomei, Kyojuro, and Tengen waited in the courtyard to keep an eye out. Or, ear out, in Tengen’s case.
“You think I should just cut myself and see if it lures the bastards out?” Sanemi grunted, already drawing his blade.
“That depends.” Muichiro replied, a different mode overtaking him now that danger was imminent. “If we’re facing an Upper Rank, then I’d actually want backup. Then again, it will most likely come for you first, giving me a chance to take it off guard.”
“Oh so I’d just be your bait then?” Sanemi scoffed.
“What else are you good for?” The Mist Hashira replied.
Sanemi couldn’t help the bark of laughter that erupted. Fuck, but this boy was funny. He knew plenty of the lower ranks would get offended at Muichiro’s words, but those idiots just needed a sense of humor.
Time passed slowly, all his instincts on high alert. When Giyu landed on the wall next to him, the Water Hashira almost lost his head. “Fuck Tomioka, give me a warning next time you bastard!” He growled.
“Jumpy tonight Shinazugawa?” Giyu replied.
“Did you and Kocho split up then?” Muichiro asked.
Giyu, being an absolute asshole as usual, refused to reply. Sanemi honestly couldn’t understand this guy, even after learning about Sabito. He didn’t think he ever would and in all honesty, he didn’t want to. He preferred to just hate him.
It was another few hours of absolutely nothing before Sanemi realized something. “What fucking time is it?” He asked. “Shouldn’t the sun be up by now?”
“If we’ve had nonstop day, it only makes sense for nonstop night.” Giyu replied.
“Maybe that’s the plan.” Muichiro chimed in. “Nonstop demon attacks until we’re overwhelmed and exhausted. Easy pickings.”
“Fuck.” Sanemi summed up. “Let’s meet back up with Himejima and the others.”
When they made it back to the courtyard, they weren’t too surprised to see that Mistsuri’s group was already there. All of them still had their hands on their weapons, ready to move at a moment’s notice. Everyone was clearly tense and on edge, no one saying a word out of fear of throwing off Tengen’s hearing.
“I think we should go back and keep watching.” Gyomei said. “I suspect this sudden night has something to do with Tanjiro’s upcoming battle with the Kizuki.”
“Are you sure that’s a smart idea?” Tengen asked. “No disrespect, but it just feels risky to go back to a small room.”
“We can leave the doors wide open and keep our weapons on hand.” Kyojuro offered.
“So exactly what we’ve been doing?” Obanai pointed out.
“I suppose that’s true.” Kyojuro realized, laughing a bit.
“I don’t like this.” Sanemi added his input. “Everything about this, from the moment we got here. It’s just too suspicious.”
“If we jump at every shadow we’re liable to hurt ourselves at some point.” Shinobu countered. “Let’s be honest, demons aren’t known for patience. If one was going to strike out and kill us, it would’ve done so already.”
Wordlessly, Sanemi drew his arm and cut himself, letting the blood leak out onto the ground. The Hashira drew their weapons and braced themselves, watching for the danger. Ten minutes passed before Shinobu allowed herself to lower her guard and tend to his wound.
“Well if there was a demon around then they would’ve struck by now.” Tengen tsked. “I’ve heard even the Kizuki are weak to Shinazugawa’s blood.”
“That’s right.” Sanemi confirmed. “Haven’t tested it against an upper rank yet, but I doubt even they would stay unaffected for long.”
It was with great reluctance that the group shuffled their way inside, sitting in a new order. Now, Tengen, Mitsuri, and Gyomei sat closest by the open doors while Shinobu and Muichiro sat by the wall. Kyojuro and Obanai sat in the middle while Sanemi and Giyu took the back wall.
Sanemi clicked the episode back on, then immediately zoned back out, more focused on his surroundings than anything else.
Inosuke lets the others know he found the demon but before they can head that way the puppeted slayers attack, blocking their way.
“They’re in a rough situation.” Kyojuro frowned. “They have to defend themselves but they’re up against their own comrades. It’s going to limit how they fight back.”
“And every time they cut the threads they only come back.” Mitsuri fretted. “This is only going to end by killing off that demon.”
Meanwhile, an exhausted and panting Zentisu calls out for Nezuko and leans against a tree for support.
“Well… maybe Zentisu will collapse from exhaustion and solve all the problems.” Tengen suggested.
“I hate that that’s an actual thing that could happen.” Sanemi groaned.
Back to Inosuke and Tanjiro, Inosuke decides to just demolish the slayers. Murata blocks an attack and tells his juniors to go on ahead while he holds the puppets back. When Inosuke mocks him, Murata reminds them that he is a demon slayer and has already figured out a strategy and their attack patterns. Tanjiro drags Inosuke with him as the boar promises to fight Murata later.
“You seem to know Murata personally.” Shinobu recalled, looking at Giyu. “What’s your assessment?”
“I doubt he’ll ever be Hashira level, but he should be able to handle himself for now.” Giyu replied.
Inosuke assures Tanjiro that they’re on the right path as the two are briefly slowed by threads trying to wrap around them. Blocking their path is a woman wrapped in threads who has been forced to slaughter her comrades. She begs them to turn back and get a Hashira before more deaths happen.
Shinobu gasped, a flicker of horror passing over her usual serene expression.
“Are you alright?” Gyomei asked.
“I know her.” Shinobu said. “N-not just in a patient way, we’ve had a few conversations… she had been talking to a man in a nearby village lately, and was starting to think of marriage and retiring.”
“The poor thing.” Mitsuri said sympathetically.
Sanemi tried to swallow down his rage so he could concentrate on his surroundings instead. He knew there was a strong chance none of the slayers shown here would survive the night and it killed him to just watch and be helpless. Even those who survived would likely be forced into retirement with their injuries.
Mother laughs to herself, explaining that the closer one gets to her, the stronger her threads. Rui appears, terrifying Mother to her core as he asks if she can get the task done, threatening to tell Father on her. Mother begs him not to, promising she can protect Rui and there’s no reason to tell his Father. Rui tells her to hurry before leaving. A hyperventilating Mother demands for everyone to die and increases her efforts, terrified of what will happen if she fails.
“I know he’s most likely the Kizuki, but…” Mitsuri frowned. “It’s a little strange to watch a mother be so scared of her child, even if they aren’t actually family.”
“He’s probably beaten his family rules into her.” Tengen suggested. “Or maybe “father” is his rules enforcer.”
“What does it matter?!” Sanemi growled. “Since when do we care about how demons treat each other!? Let them just rip each other apart!”
The girl in threads begs Tanjiro and Inosuke to run away, screaming in pain as she’s forced to move beyond her limits and strength. Mother forces two other slayers to rise, another begging for death as his broken bones dig into him and cause agony.
Tengen looked sickened, and Sanemi could only imagine what he would be hearing if the Sound Hashira was actually there in person. Shinobu’s smile has settled into a more grim look, probably calculating the likelihood of being able to help any of them recover from their injuries after this.
So many deaths… standards for the corp must be lacking. Clearly final selection wasn’t enough of a test if this many weaklings were slipping in.
Inosuke is willing to do so causing another argument as Tanjiro prevents him. Inosuke asks what they’re supposed to do then and Tanjiro struggles to think of an answer. He gets the brilliant idea to have the slayers chase him until they get tangled up in trees, holding them still. Inosuke catches on quickly and wrangles his own slayer, getting upset when Tanjiro misses it.
“Brilliant!” Kyojuro praised.
“Clever, they’re out of harm's way and he can safely move on.” Muichiro noted. “Efficient.”
Sanemi grit his teeth. It was a short term solution. The demon wouldn’t give up that easily. They never did. She was going to make Tanjiro pay for that.
Infuriated, Mother demon decides there’s no choice but to unleash “that one”. The camera shows a brief glance of a giant muscular demon wrapped in webbing.
“Holy shit!” Tengen shouted.
“Fuck that’s massive. Where the hell did that come from!?” Sanemi asked. Something like that… how powerful was this Kizuki that he keeps something like that as a weapon?
“Perhaps a territory dispute?” Gyomei speculated. “Now it serves as a warning against others.”
Meanwhile, Zentisu tearfully calls out for Nezuko and the others, now sitting down in the middle of the woods. Chuntaro returns to him and is quickly overwhelmed by Zenitsu’s sudden affection.
“That idiot should’ve stayed back.” Obanai hissed. “He’s just going to get himself killed.”
“But you have to admire his bravery?” Mitsuri weakly defended. “Just a little?”
Back with our other two heroes, Inosuke demands Tanjiro watch him trap the next slayer. Before he can, Mother Demon snaps the necks of her worthless puppets. Tanjiro kneels by an injured slayer, the screen turning red as Inosuke looks genuinely unnerved by whatever he senses from Tanjiro.
“Fuck!” Sanemi roared.
“That bitch.” Obanai hissed in sync with Kabemaru.
“Should’ve known.” Tengen scowled. “If she can’t play with her toys then she’ll break them.”
“Tanjiro will blame himself.” Giyu noted.
“He couldn’t have known, he was only trying to help them.” Kyojuro replied.
The two slayers take off to chase down the demon that did this, Tanjiro finally able to pick up on her scent with the wind changing. Inosuke leaps through the trees to attack the upcoming demon, but it has no head.
“The strings, it’s gotta be the strings keeping it together.” Tengen guessed. “If they cut those maybe it will fall apart?”
Zentisu is clearly getting tired from his nonstop searching, and his nerves haven’t settled either. He decides to just grab Nezuko and leave the forest, not noticing he’s been followed by some strange spidery thing.
“What the fuck is that?!” Sanemi shouted, grossed out. The gross demon blood arts were the worst.
“Why did it have a baby head!?” Mitsuri wailed.
“How the hell did he not hear it!?” Tengen demanded. “I know how good his hearing is! Unbelievable, the kid has no self awareness.”
Inosuke freaks out that the demon has no clear weakness, but Tanjiro comes up with a plan to slash the torso in half. Now having an idea of a plan, Inosuke charges in without giving Tanjiro time to finish. He only gets slashed up for his troubles and caught by the tiny spiders and their threads. Unable to move, he can only watch hopelessly as the headless demon charges at him.
“No Tanjiro, let him die.” Muichiro said.
“Tokito!!” Mitsuri gasped, missing how Obanai subtly stretched his hand out for a high five.
“He’s an idiot.” Muichiro replied. “He rushes in with no strategy and refuses to listen. At this point he deserves whatever consequences he gets.”
Tanjiro steps in and deflects the blade, making the demon back off. He lets Insouke use his back as a launching pad, the boar boy able to literally dearm the demon and jump off into the air. Using Fourth Form: Striking Tide, Tanjiro destroys the demon’s legs. “It’s almost like he can predict the future! It’s as natural for him as water flowing from a river.” Thanks to their combined efforts, Inosuke is able to slice the demon in half and destroy it.
“Tanjiro is a bit of a prodigy to be fair.” Shinobu hummed. “That nose of his must come in handy.”
“At least the boar boy seemed to finally get his head on straight.” Kyojuro said. “Tanjiro certainly has a way of bringing out the best in the others around him.”
Tanjiro praises his friend, but grows worried when Inosuke doesn’t respond or move. He charges at Tanjiro and launches him in the air, letting Tanjiro find Mother Demon. The demon is currently crying and terrified, blaming Rui for her misfortune. Seeing Tanjiro come from above she panics before embracing her freedom and peace in death, loosening her strings. Seeing her surrender, Tanjiro changes his stance to Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought for a quick and painless beheading.
“Why the fuck would you have a form for that?!” Sanemi whirled on Giyu. “Who cares if it’s quick and painless!? It’s a demon!”
“Sometimes, the demons you face… wear the image of someone you love.” Giyu replied, looking up at him.
Sanemi had to be dragged off his fellow Hashira by Gyomei and it took ten minutes for the room to calm down. One of these days he was going to fucking murder the water Hashira, and not even the Master would stop him.
Mother Demon is stunned by how gentle and painless her death is. A quick flashback shows Mother with her eye missing, sobbing and begging for Father’s forgiveness as Rui blames her for her own pain and the others look on coldly. Father continues to abuse her Mother as she screams for mercy.
Sanemi hated this. This was probably his least favorite “episode” so far. That demon’s screams… how small she was underneath the other demon.
It reminded him of his childhood, trying to herd his younger siblings out of eyesight while his mom took all the abuse from that bastard.
He was going to punch the screen soon if no one stopped him.
Mother is stunned by how kind Tanjiro looks at her, remembering a time when she was human, and she had someone who looked at her like that. “I wonder who that was. I can’t remember. I just know it was someone that always cherished me. I wonder, how that person is doing now.” The screen shows the man’s bloody arm. Mother sighs peacefully before warning Tanjiro that a member of the kizuki is here and he needs to be careful.
“She warned him…” Shinobu said. “Why? It wasn’t even to scare him, she… she wanted to help.”
“Maybe… being a demon has been so awful for her… that being treated like a human again was enough to turn her heart?” Mitsuri quietly suggested?
Tanjiro stands resolute, ready to face the Kizuki for his quest.
“You think he’s ready?” Sanemi asked.
“I don’t know.” Giyu replied.
Taisho Era Secret!
Inosuke declares he can do anything Tanjiro can, but Tanjiro points out Inosuke can’t say his name. Today’s secret is that Inosuke will butcher someone’s name six times before saying it right.
“Oh that explains it.” Kyojuro nodded, as if Inosuke magically made sense to him now. Maybe he did, Kyojuro was a great guy and Sanemi deeply respected his fellow hashira; but he was a bit odd.
“Why are these three kids so fucking weird?” Tengen wondered.
“Next, Episode Seventeen! You Must Master a Single Thing!”
“Keep going,” Gyomei ordered. “We must see this all the way through.”
No one argued.