//------------------------------// // Entertainment: Gyutaro // Story: Demon Slayer: The Strange Demon // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// "Y... You did it!" Tanjiro said, as he caught up with Pinkamena and his sister, after having gotten over his coughing fit, only arriving in time to see that Tengen had been the one to remove Daki's head from her shoulders, even if her body wasn't breaking down like all of the other Demons he had faced, "You beat Upper Moon Six!" "Not quite, because, as you can see, she's very much alive," Pinkamena replied, which told her that her suspicions had to be accurate, about there being another Demon that was connected to her, though that meant there were only two since the sash Demon had turned out to be a weapon, causing her to raise a hand to her chin, "though after seeing this I have to wonder how one's supposed to finish her off." "Upper Moon Demons, and those pretending to be them, have a high resistance to being beheaded, but she'll likely start breaking down in the next couple of seconds." Tengen remarked, his tone showing that he didn't care that much, since he still trusted the odd Demon that was near him and knew that she must have found the other Demon who called this place home, the true Upper Moon Six since this one was clearly too weak to do anything, "So, where's Upper Moon Six?" "I'm right here, after you cut off my head." Daki answered, though what Pinkamena found to be humorous was that she was on the verge of actually crying, this Demon, who had killed hundreds to thousands of people, and tormented those who were beneath her during her time as an Oiran, was somehow tearing up and crying, "I'm Upper Moon Six! I'm super strong! I have the number to prove it." "But you aren't strong, otherwise I wouldn't have decapitated you so easily." Tengen said, where he shifted his stance as he rested both of his blades against his right shoulder, because the moment Pinkamena found the Demon that they were looking for he was going to rush at it and take it out, "Even if you were distracted by my allies, and your guard was down due to being enraged, my attack wouldn't have taken the head of a true Upper Moon Demon, which means you aren't the Demon we're looking for." "Stop talking to me as if I've lost! I haven't lost yet... besides, I'm super strong, and I'll grow stronger than my station and become Upper Moon Five in... in..." Daki stated, showing that she was unable to accept the reality of the situation, just like all of the other Demons Pinkamena had encountered during her time with Tanjiro, though as she paused she noticed the look of indifference on Tengen's face and realized that he didn't care about her at all. What happened next was quite the shocker, Daki started to throw a temper tantrum after discovering that Tengen wasn't treating her like the threat she was, declaring that she was Upper Moon Six and that she was super awesome, that none of them would be able to stand against her true power. It was just a sad display in Pinkamena's eyes, as she had expected an Upper Moon to put up an actual fight and had been slightly disappointed in Daki, making her wonder how strong the rest of the remaining members of the Kizuki were, especially after discovering this Demon's power. Of course the only reason she kept her guard up was due to the fact that Daki's body hadn't started to break up yet, meaning they had to perform some sort of requirement to take her down, permanently, and she had a feeling that it was connected to the other Demon who was still lurking in the shadows. It was odd, the Demon seemed to be watching and observing this fight, maybe seeing if Daki had the skills necessary to be an Upper Moon or something, and yet, with Daki's head removed, no one came out to fight them, making her wonder where they could have gone wrong with their thoughts. Daki's next word, however, was something that spurred everything into motion within a matter of seconds, as she cried 'brother' and another Demon started to grow from her back, a male Demon who looked like he was mostly bone since his body was mostly a husk of a normal Human's body. It explained so much, why she had felt another Demon's whose power was on par, or even stronger, than Daki's, and why she was unable to pinpoint his exact location, he had been hiding deep inside his own sister, why she had no idea, but now that Daki was in trouble he was coming out to help her. Tengen moved in the following instant, rushing at the husk Demon and slashed at him, finding that all he cut apart was the remains of the sash Daki had left behind when he cut off her head, before he and Pinkamena sensed some movement and found that the pair of Demons was now by a window. The newcomer was actually skinny, now that she got a good look at him, yet part of him just screamed that he was more like a husk, with a pale grayish complexion to his skin, who had black hair that came to an end in green spikes, and he wore blue baggy pants with no shirt, save for some odd red scarf pieces around his neck and three smaller ones on each arm. Based on that brief showing Pinkamena knew they were dealing with the true Upper Moon, or maybe the two Demons just shared the position, though it didn't change the fact that they needed to figure out how to kill them, as it seemed like beheading Daki was either not the answer or it was only part of it, causing her to lean towards they needed to behead the demonic siblings. "Cryings not going to help... come on, at least attach your own head yourself." the skinny Demon said, where he raised his hands for a moment and kept Daki steady, quickly helping her with her problem while she continued to tear up over what had happened to her, holding it there until the power of the burns left by Nezuko's flames died away, allowing her powers to come back and heal her neck, her face, and the rest of her wounds, "You might be lacking in the brains department, but you have to be more careful... and I'm going to make sure whoever burned your pretty face suffers." Tengen, of course, rushed at the Demon and swung his blades at him, who retaliated by swinging what looked like a pair of sickles that were tainted with demonic energy, given the fleshy look to them, as the Hashira was able to stop part of the attack, but not before getting cut on the forehead above his left eye, breaking his headband in half. "You have some nice moves, clearly befitting that of an Upper Moon." Pinkamena commented, causing the Demon to turn towards her for a moment as Tengen got used to the fact that his headband had been ruined by that attack, though he had to be thankful for placing it there since that attack could have taken his head clean off, "So, what do we call you?" "Gyutaro, that's my name... and the Hashira has some nice moves as well, since he stopped my attack." the Demon said, to which he paused for a few seconds as he focused on her, staring at the fox mask that everyone saw when they looked at her, though he didn't seem to have much of a reaction to what he was seeing, meaning he had either seen it while he was slumbering or just didn't care, "So, you're the fox Slayer... man, you have a nice body, must be getting all the meals you need to survive... just like how he's got nice skin with no spots or birthmarks." Pinkamena would have said something, but found that Gyutaro went on a tangent about Tengen's body, about how tall he was and how fine he looked, all while raking his nails against his skin, drawing blood in the process, showing that he had a bit of envy, or a lot, for people who lived better lives than him and his sister. What confirmed that he had to be the true Upper Moon Six was that Daki claimed that she had been working hard, all on her own, meaning she might be trying her best to live up to his expectations of her, and that she had a great plan to make them even stronger, so they could unseat a Demon called Gyokko, another Upper Moon. From what she could gather Gyutaro seemed to be a collector of some kind for his sister, so if someone hurt her or something he collected some sort of payment by killing those that wronged her, or at least that was what it sounded like he intended on doing to Tengen, Nezuko, and herself. Right now it seemed like the Hashira was their main target, as while Daki restored her body to fighting condition Gyutaro made his move, throwing his sickles at his foe and found that they were repelled without too much effort, even though they did smash through the rest of the building behind Tengen and flew through the air, only to return without Tengen taking a hit. Gyutaro went on about how envious he was of Tengen, though when the Hashira mentioned his wives it really ticked off the Demon, or made him more envious, causing him to release a Blood Demon Technique he called Flying Blood Sickles as he released a surge of blood waves that were almost solid and looked sharp, showing them that he was serious about his desire to kill them. Since it seemed like his current target was Tengen, of course they would focus on the Hashira and not any bystanders that they considered to be weaker than them, Pinkamena did nothing as she watched, where Tengen did something interesting, he reached into a pack he wore as he swung his blades. The resulting explosion tore through the floor and allowed him to dodge the attack with ease, though Gyutaro revealed that he could manipulate the path of each attack he loosed, as a pair turned around and rushed down to where Tengen was hiding, though Pinkamena wasn't even worried at all, because he was a strong Hashira and he could overcome this. She was proven right as the floor exploded a few seconds later, showing her that Tengen was going on the offensive once more, though Daki proved that she was a bit smart as she shrouded her brother and herself in her scarf, shielding them from the flames of the explosion, meaning it would be harder to defeat them with both siblings up. "I had a feeling that ordinary attacks wouldn't work, and it seems I was right." Tengen commented, as he arrived and saw the sash sphere break down, revealing Daki on Gyutaro's back, like she was a young child riding an older sibling or parent, though the reason he could smile in the face of this knowledge was because he had allies, especially Pinkamena, meaning this battle was going to end in his victory. "Well, we are one after all." Gyutaro replied, though in that moment he confirmed something, all they had to do was take his head and Daki's head to defeat them, because such a comment only meant that two or more people were connected in some manner, before he considered something as he stared at Tengen and Pinkamena, "Though I have to say that you and that fox Slayer are different... you're a Hashira, we know that, but how she moves and how she acts makes me think she's one as well, and if so that's got to be a record or something, making her just as special as you are. You both have that special talent." "Talent? Me?" Tengen inquired, where he chuckled for a few seconds, as if he found something amusing with that idea, or at least that was what Pinkamena gathered when she watched what he was doing, though neither Upper Moon moved as they waited for him to say something, "Do I look like I have any talent? If that's how you see me, you must have had such a wonderful life. You and your sister have lived for a hundred years, maybe even more, yet it seems as if you decided to just shut yourself up in this place, cutting yourself off from the rest of the world, so I'm not surprised by the fact that you have no idea how the world works... this country's huge, and there are all sorts of wonderful people, not to mention some of the really strange variety. There are those who simply defy reality, such as Pinkamena over there, and those who became a Hashira after just two months of picking up a blade... trust me, I'm not one of these 'chosen ones' that people like to talk about, as too many lives have slipped through my fingers over the years... I'm not like Kyojuro, but I'll take you two down and ensure you never harm anyone else." Pinkamena tilted her head a little as Gyutaro mentioned that his blood sickles were full of deadly poison and that must of the people he hit with it were dead by now, a fact that caused Tengen to mention that he was from a family of shinobi and that he was used to poison, even though she could see it was starting to spread around his recent wound. "Okay, we've spent enough time talking." Pinkamena remarked, where she stepped in between Tengen and Gyutaro for a few seconds, drawing her blade as she shifted into her new true form, surprising those who hadn't seen her kitsune form as she readied herself for battle, because it was time to bring an end to the Upper Moon, "Nezuko, you take Daki and push her towards Tanjiro and his friends. Tengen, follow my lead." In the following moment she rushed forward and leapt into the air, where Pinkamena kicked Daki in the chest with more than enough force to send her flying, something that caused Nezuko to follow after her as she headed outside, though as that happened Tengen rushed in and parried the sickles Gyutaro used. Due to the fact that she had kicked his sister, while she was on his back no less, she instantly became the target of the Demon's wrath, meaning he targeted her with the full intent of taking her head, hence why Tengen used his own blades to parry the attack, even if he knew she had a plan for it and could have protected herself. A second later she landed nearby and tapped the ground with a hand, fully awakening the barrier around the city so they could have all the fun they wanted, without having to worry about the Demons fleeing, like what happened with Akaza some time ago, but stopped as Tengen held a hand out. In that moment she understood, as he had drawn more of the small black balls that exploded upon impact and by using the friction of his own blades, not to mention the friction of Gyutaro's weapons, he was able to set them off, blasting the Demon with something that packed a punch against Demons. Even though he didn't know the specifics of Chaos World, and what she was capable of, he wanted to make sure she was out of the way, least she get caught in the attack and get blasted to Hell as well, before Tengen lashed out with his blades, this time gripping the very end of one while sending the other after his foe, rather amazing she might add. As Gyutaro knocked Tengen's blade away, before it could slice open his neck or remove his head, Pinkamena shifted her stance for a moment before spinning around as she leapt forward, taking on the form of a drill as she collided with both of her foe's weapons, which was Chaos Breathing, Second Form: Piercing Drill. It was an attack she designed to both defend herself from incoming attacks and pierce the defenses of her foes, though the collision of their powers knocked Gyutaro outside, allowing her and Tengen to see that Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were already fighting Daki, with Nezuko using her power to open holes in her defenses. As she pushed her foe towards the ground, but before Tengen rushed in to deal some damage, she shifted her stance once more and this time looked like she was going to thrust her blade at her foe, so the moment her pawed feet touched the side of a building she rushed forward like she was shot out of a cannon, causing her foe to raise his sickles to defend himself. This was Chaos Breathing, Seventh Form: Deep Impact Thrust, as she made it to push her foes down into the ground, so if one used their arm to defend themselves she would break their arm for just a few moments, opening a hole in their defense so she could cut them down, and when her attack collided with Gyutaro's defenses the street sunk under the pressure of her attack. The instant the Demon realized what her attack had done, but before he could do anything, Pinkamena moved out of the way as Tengen went on the offensive, his blades smashing into Gyutaro without much resistance, though when the Upper Moon regained the use of his arms he went on the offensive and their attacks sliced apart the rest of the building they had been in a few seconds ago. Not a few moments later the two burst out of the hole and clashed with each other, where Pinkamena rushed forward, at a speed that matched theirs, and inserted herself into the fight, swinging her blade at Gyutaro's physical blades or using it to smash his blood sickles before they could hit Tengen in the back. One thing she noted while fighting beside Tengen was that she didn't need any of the Sun Breathing techniques she had mastered, as it seemed like her own style was enough to mess with the Upper Moon siblings, especially when her companion started to use one of his Breathing Forms against Gyutaro. Tengen used Sound Breathing, Fifth Form: String Performance, a skill that involved the user reverse gripping one of his blades and spun the other using the chain that connected them together, and coupled together with his bombs it was a rather destructive and noisy attack as he chased down Gyutaro. As that happened Daki loosed some sashes to deal with the ones attacking her brother, where Pinkamena flashed around the area, struck each sash with her sword, and was able to condense them into a single area before cutting them off from Daki, adding more demonic material into what she had acquired so far. Part of her realized that she was playing with her food, given how much material she was gathering from Daki and Nezuko right now, even though Nezuko's power to solidify her body prevented too much from being taken, but there was one bit to this fight that none of them had noticed yet and it was connected to her barrier, where she figured she'd tell them once someone figure out what was going on. In the following moments she found Hinatsuru standing on one of the roofs and decided to make her invisible to the eyes of both Daki and Gyutaro, though that was when she pulled out some sort of device that was packed full of kunai, which had to be laced with the Wisteria flower in some manner. Sure enough she fired a storm of kunai at Gyutaro and they just rained down on where he was standing, where, thanks to Pinkamena hiding her with her powers, he didn't see coming at all, causing a number to hit his arms and legs as his right eye, as his left was closed, snapped open in surprise. That instant was when Tengen swung his blades before the Demon could react and severed his legs, right at the knee, and as both of them realized what was going on Pinkamena made her move, as she flashed forward and swooped low to avoid the attack coming her way. This was the final of her Chaos Breathing Forms, one she hadn't used yet and found that this was a good time to do so, where she swung her blade in an upward diagonal slash, going from the right hip to the left shoulder, but Tengen and Gyutaro found that it resembled the talons of a dragon, three slashes that quickly severed the Demon's body into four sections. This was Chaos Breathing, Eighth Form: Dragon Rising Flash, a powerful attack that left Gyutaro in pieces, where they all heard Daki cry out in anger as she realized what was going on with her brother, where Pinkamena had a second to pick up all of the scattered parts of Gyutaro, minus his weapon, and store them away before shielding herself and Tengen as their foe released his blood scythes... and when the smoke cleared he had restored himself. "I don't know why a Demon, much less two, are fighting on the side of those who hunt us, but we're going to make you pay for every wound you've inflicted on us." Gyutaro stated, though he had to flex his arms and legs for a moment, as this was a first for him, fighting a Demon whose power allowed her to bend the laws of reality, making her a threat to the Great One and, if they killed her, he was sure they would be rewarded in some manner, hence why he readied himself. Pinkamena, on the other hand, shifted her stance as Tengen readied himself as well, with Daki and the others pausing for a few seconds so they could get back into place as well, as she had a feeling that they were going to wipe out the entirety of this district and have some real fun with the Red Light District, and she was looking forward to every second of it.