61 Poison

Turning around, Uzui and Hiroto face the man as he slouched over and stared at the two.

"Niiice face, niiice skin, no spots. No birthmarks, no wounds." The man started to mumble to himself as he stared at Uzui and scratched his face. "Niiice flesh. I can't get any fatter myself. And you're real tall, man."

'What's his deal?' Hiroto thought as he tensed up along with Uzui. 'He's not like the other Upper Moon there, he's a lot stronger.'

"You're clearly over six feet here. I'm sure you're real popular with the girls, man." The man said as he began to claw at his body and face, digging into his own flesh and ripping it apart as he bled. "The envy, ohhhhh the envy. Could you just drop dead? And you'll get a real painful death now. I'll skin you alive and claw your innards out right after."

"Brother!" Warabihime cried out from the side, "That kid's the one who cut off my arm! Kill the one that cut my arm off! Do it! I was working so hard. I was working super super hard alone!" Warabihime started to cry even louder, "And yet they all got in the way and bullied me!! They all kept bullying me!!"

The man's wounds all healed as he left one final scratch on his face, "Yeaah, Yeaah, unforgivable. My cute dumb little sister was working so hard. I'll kill anyone who tries to bully her." He gripped his sickles tightly, "Time to collect the debts. I'll collect one for every bruise and cut they put on you. I'll make you spin round and round and round when you die. Because my name's Gyuutarou!"

(AN: He's referring to the stereotype where pimps would spin the sashes of their prostitutes to undress them)

Slashing at the ground in quick succession, he threw his sickles towards Uzui, Hiroto and Tanjiro. Hiroto quickly pushed Tanjiro off the roof to safety as he quickly defended from the attacks as they crashed into the building below them.

Uzui and Hiroto were then seen standing in front of a group of girls as they huddled together into a corner, shivering from fear. Both bleeding, but not as much as they could cover for each other.

"The envy, maaaan. You two are really niiice guys, huh." The man said, scratching his neck as he slouched over. "Protecting the humans, looking cool, niiiiice. And you're both now a savior in their eyes, huh. I'm sure they'll shower the both of you in love and gratitude upon you."

Uzui then spoke up as the blood trailed down his face. "Well, yeah. I'm a flamboyant, elegant, ladies' man. So of course. I even have three wives."

The man paused, so did Hiroto who looked at Uzui and thought, 'Seriously? Now's the time to brag?'

"You got three wives now?" The man said, as he growled and clawed at his face, ripping his eyes and skin. You're kidding me, right?! Riiiight?! Unforgivable!!"

'Blood Demon Technique, Splatter Sickle' The man then used the blood from his face and sent out multiple slashes of blood akin to a thin blade towards the two.

Hiroto turned to Uzui and shouted, "Get them out of here!" Before jumping in front to block the strikes.

Uzui nodded and, and threw something on the ground below him causing it to explode.

As the slashes arrived at Hiroto, he parried some but was still cut in multiple places as they came at him from multiple angles. Jumping down the hole, he joined back with Uzui as the strikes hit the wall behind him.

"Run and go hide!!" Uzui yelled at the girls behind him.

"You're not getting away." The man said, raising two fingers. "Now turn, splatter sickle."

The blood slashes then stopped in the middle of the air as it rushed down towards them.

Uzui was looking behind him and didn't see the slashes being manipulated. Hiroto quickly jumped in front to block the strikes as he yelled. "Uzui! He can manipulate the slashes!" *splash* Blood started to fly everywhere as Hiroto slashed at them and they exploded.

'Is the brother the real body? If I cute the brother's head off, will they disappear altogether?' Uzui thought, taking out little pellets in between his fingers and throwing them up in the air.

"Hiroto, take cover!" Uzui shouted, as he jumped up and sliced the pellets apart, causing them to explode the floor above them.

*BOOM*

As the smoke cleared, Hiroto came from behind a counter and saw a big ball covered in sashes in the middle of the floor they were on, having fallen from the floor above them.

"Well… Ordinary means won't do the trick, huh." Uzui said.

The sashes began to unravel and showed Warabihime sitting on the man's shoulders. "The two of us are one, after all." The man said, grinning.

On the streets outside, Inosuke and Zenitsu stood next to Tanjiro as they took cover from the explosion. Zenitsu seemed to have been knocked out as a piece of wood his head, but he was still standing somehow. He had also brought over Nezuko's box with her still in it, with Tanjiro catching it before it fell from his grasp.

"What happened? I can feel the Demons up there!" Inosuke said, shouting and pointing to a hole blasted out from the side of the building.

"It's another Demon. There's 2 now. And the second one is a lot stronger, Tengen-Sama and my brother are up there right now." Tanjiro said, gripping his sword in agitation.

"Then let's go!" Inosuke shouted, but was stopped by Tanjiro.

"We can't we'll only get in their way right now," Tanjiro said, a bit crestfallen.

Meanwhile back up in the building, the man stared at the two hatefully.

All of a sudden, Hiroto started to feel dizzy and had to steady himself by stabbing his sword into the ground.

"Hahaha, my blood sickle is full of deadly poison. I'm surprised you're still standing there right now." The man said gloating.

*haa* *haa* Hiroto tried to control his breathing as the poison coursed through him, slowing down the poison with his labored breaths.

Uzui's eyes started to narrow as he saw Hiroto's condition. The man then looked agitated at Uzui. "You're different man. Different from all of the Hashira's I've killed up to now. You were a special guy from the moment you were born. You got that chosen talent. The envy, man. I just wanna put an end to you right this instant. And that kid, how is he still standing? He should be dead!"

Hiroto stared the man back dead in the eyes, with fury present in them. Uzui just stayed silent and then spoke up amusingly. "Talent? Hah. Do I look like I have some kinda talent? If that's how you see someone like me, you must have had a wonderful life."

Uzui then looked at Hiroto and saw him slowing the poison down. "You've lived hundreds of years, yet you shut yourself in this place. I'm not surprised you don't know how the world works. This country's huge. There are swarms of amazing guys."

He paused and gestured to Hiroto. "And there are some really strange guys out there. There are some who become Hashiras just two months after picking up a blade, and there are some like him who already have the strength to surpass some Hashiras."

Scowling, Uzui then said with a threatening tone. "I got chosen? Don't mess with me. How many lives do you think have slipped through my fingers?"

"Gnnngh" The man, who also called himself Gyuutarou, grumbled as he clawed at his neck. "Then why are you still alive now? You haven't even dropped dead or shown the same reaction as that kid."

"I'm from a family of Shinobi. I developed some resistance, so poison won't work." Uzui said annoyingly.

Warabihime then shouted out, "The shinobi went extinct in the Edo era! Don't lie to us!"

Uzui ignored him, as he started to slowly pant.

"Hm? Hmm? Hmmmmm?" Gyuutarou grumbled, then broke into a smile. "Hee. Hee Hee Hee. Well, would you look at that? The poison's working, slow and steady. That whole 'not working' thing was a bluff wasn't it? Laaaaaaame. Hee Hee Hee"

Hiroto then spoke up through his pain, "Enough talking already, some small poison isn't going to stop us from killing you." The veins on his head started to bulge as he glared at Gyuutarou.

"Haha! It's just like he said. I'm in tip-top shape, and I can eat a hundred tempura bowls! Flamboyantly!!" Uzui then charged forward, swinging up two swords in a circle as the chain held them together.

Hiroto also rushed forward and used, 'Raging Sun', unleashing two horizontal slashes towards the Gyuutarou and Warabihime on his shoulders.

Warabihime made her move and sent out her sashes towards Uzui and Hiroto, as Gyuutarou moved to intercept their attacks. *clang* Hiroto attacked Gyuutarou's sickle and deflected to the side, as Uzui set a kick to Warabihime's stomach *boom*, sending her off of his shoulders.

Raising his swords down at Gyuutarou, Uzui continued his attack as the man shouted at him, "Don't you dare kick my sister!"

Hiroto moved in front to intercept the attacks, *clang* and sidestepped out of the way for Uzui to move in.

"You piece of shit!!" Warabihime shouted, launching her sashes towards Hiroto as he dodged and swiped at them.

"Hiroto! Here!" Uzui shouted, throwing one of his blades towards Hiroto who then grabs it and is pulled towards him. Uzui then threw a handful of pellets into the air and sliced at them, causing them to explode.

*BOOM BOOM*

"Gyah!" Warabihime screamed as she took the brunt of the blast. The pellets use special gunpowder that has the power to wound a Demon's body. It explodes from slight friction produced by a sword slash.

Hiroto then moved forward and slid under Gyuutarou's attack, arriving next to him. Gyuutarou pulled his leg back and kicked towards Hiroto, who blocked it with his sword. With this moment of distraction, Uzui moved forward and slashed towards him, forcing Gyuutarou to dodge back.

However, as he dodged back, the blade extended, as Uzui held onto the tip of the opposite blade to increase its reach. Bending his body unnaturally, Gyuutarou dodges the strike as he also hit it away to the side with his sickle with a loud *clang*.

"Tsk…" Gyuutarou clicked his tongue in annoyance.