Mount Natagumo arc: A forged bond

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Tanya, Shinobu, and Giyu quickly made their way to mount Natagumo. However, even the three hashira could only get there so quickly. Tanya's hand went toward the middle of her torso, she had not fully healed since the fight with Zettour, but she was fine otherwise. 'I should be able to use my breathing techniques since my lungs are unharmed' while it was no surprise you needed to breathe to use the breathing techniques Tanya was technically always combining three in one, combined with her smallish lungs that Being X no doubt cursed her with meant she could only use so many in a row. Luckily her strength could always make up for it. 

"Are you okay?" she was brought out of her thoughts by Shinobu, to who she nodded. "Yeah I should be fine, I would not have gone on this mission otherwise." that was true, she would have preferred more time to test out each of her new forms, but since this mission also offered ample opportunity for it, she figured it would still be alright for her. That and maybe an opportunity to impress master Kagaya. 

Shinobu gave a small smile, she and Aoi had to make sure Tanya was actually okay before they agreed to let her do any training. 'Heh, I still remember she could not even react when Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho were crying over her because they were worried sick.' it made the insect hashira happy her sisters were still safe, and it now meant she could tease her more. Something she would do because teasing Giyu the whole way here would be less fun after a while of doing it. 

So she ran alongside Tanya and said "did you enjoy your 'personal time' with Rengoku?" she asked in a teasing tone. At first, Tanya just gave a strange look "eh? I spend a lot of time with Kyojuro, so?" Shinobu gained a cheekier smile, which only main Tanya frown more. "I see, I was under the impression you had only gotten that personal just once." a shade of pink slowly covered Tanya's face, she stared forward away from Shinobu "Shut up, that is none of your business." Shinobu giggled and whispered, "oh it is my business, want to tell me all the details later?" Tanya grumbled under her breath. She was saved when Giyu pulled Shinobu back, who glared back at Giyu who just kept staring ahead. A vein popped on Shinobu's forehead "oh? Are you getting jealous Tomioka?" he got poked a lot on the way to the mountain now. Tanya was thankful though. 

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Tanjiro walked further through the mount Natagumo, Kanao, and Inosuke right behind him. He kept thinking about how that previous spider demon mentioned there was a demon of the twelve Kizuki here. Leading the demons on this mountain no doubt. He gulped back a bit 'I was told demons do not usually group up, team up even. And yet I have across multiple groups of demons so far.' he was not sure if he should count the swamp demon since it was really a demon made up of three bodies. 

His thoughts though could not continue when he heard Inosuke shout from the top of his lungs "ANOTHER SPIDER!" he looked ahead to see a demon that looked similar to the other woman demon spider he cut the head off earlier, she was smaller though, closer to Nezuko's normal size. The spider demon started running as fast as she could away from them. Quickly Inosuke chased after her, as did Tanjiro and Kanao. 'I saw her eyes from here, she was not the ranked Kizuki demon. Who is then?' the search would have to continue after this one. 

Kanao was able to get ahead of the others, nearing the demon as it attempted to cross a river. She would take her sword back out and prepare to slash at the Spider Daughter demon. "Flower breathing, fourth form; Crimson Hanagoromo," she said in a sweet yet almost uncaring voice. The beautiful cut of the sword nearly got the demon's head off but a ducking reaction caused it just to cut a bit of the hair off. The spider demon was kneeling below Kanao, she looked up scared at the girl. "Flower breathing…" Kanao's eyes widened as she saw a darkened shape start to form in the water below her. A shadow from a bow. 

Sudden the spider demon near her used webs to pull her away from the river. "I got you Kanao!" Tanjiro suddenly pulled her away, as all he and Kanao were nearly knocked out of the river completely just from the wave caused by the new demon that arrived. The demon was a large-built demon, unlike the rest encountered so far he did not have pale white skin but his face was the same as an actually spiders. "Stay away from my family!" it yelled as it attacked Inosuke that was still next to it in the river. As the large spider demon clashed with the three of them the smaller spider demon whispered her breath as she snuck away "I leave it to you father." 

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Zenitsu had made it decently far into the forest and he was already regretting his decision. "The worst part is I have no idea where they are, and I cannot remember the way back." he shook as his tears welled up in his eyes like they always did. He shakenly made his way further into the forest, hoping to at least come across the others or some other slayers a tree bush shook "AHH!" he turned as just a small animal came out of it. He was still shaking for fear, but at least it was not a demon. "I-I need to get out of this freaky place." 

Despite his constant fear of every little noise that went on in the forest Zenitsu managed to get a little further. He heard more rustling further into the forest "I heard that!!" he pointed accusingly at nothing. A bit more distance was made before he felt something on his hand, and he shivered "GET OFF ME!" he shook off what appeared to be a small white spider. "W-w-what is with this place, trying to give me a heart attack!" he shouted, not even continuing to look at his hand as he made a fast-paced motion through the forest. "Are the others doing good? Is Nezuko freaked out like me? Is she even aware? Inosuke is prob-" he heard some scuttling noises behind him. "Grrr, leave me alone!" he shouted as he turned and pointed at a spider. But this one seemed very off. 

"Ah…" he let out a small squeak as he stared at the spider. It had a human face, it looked grotesque in many features though. "w-w-w-...WHAT IS THAT!" Zenitsu shouted, backing away. He leaned all the way back and his hands touched the ground behind him. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?! Why am I seeing it!!" he was completely freaked out, as soon multiple of the creatures came out, "AHHHHH!" he started frantically freaking out, moving around multiple times in the same spot on the ground out of fear. But nothing matched what he saw next, as spinning it down from a hut hanging from webbing in the middle of the trees. The new demon had a large spider body, and a creepy human face. But unlike the others, he seemed excited in a creepy way. The culprit behind all these slayers turning into spiders, the older spider brother. 

"Hehe, well well, another one of you slayers," he said elatedly as his many spider-like legs waved around him while he hung upside down staring at the boy below him who was growing in fear by the second. "W-What the hell are you! This forest has been non-stop horrors before this! Now, this creepy spider demon comes out?! Why can't I just be left alone? AHHHH!" Zenitsu started grasping and scratching his face, his head shaking as well, he constantly repeated "no-no." 

The older spider brother stared at the frantic yelling boy. At least the other slayers only freaked out when they actually noticed the change and at least tried to put up a fight, but this boy was crying even before that. "Didn't you come here to kill us?" he said 'us' since he referring to his 'family' as a whole. "Shut up! Just shut up! I do not want to hear you speak!" Zenitsu shouted, still freaking out about seeing this demon. But the spider demon grinned again as he pointed to Zenitsu with his hairy limbs "well now it does not matter what you want, soon you will be one of those spiders like the rest of teh slayers. You did get bitten after all." 

Zenitsu stared at his hand and saw a dark purple spot appear on it. It was the same hand he shook the small spider off of earlier. He thought nothing of it at the time, but even if he had there was no way he could have seen this happening to him. Dark lines appeared over his face. His head slowly looked up at the spider responsible for this, he could not even look at the small spider creatures, but they were slayers as well. Or at least were. 'i…I am going to be turned into them?' he then covered his nose, 'it took me so long to realize, this smell is horrendence' 

The older brother demon took out a pocket watch, from which Zenitsu had no idea. The limb pointed to the moving clock, at the '1' mark "when it reached here you will start to feel a tingling sensation and pain in your limbs." the limb then moved over to the '3' mark, with a creepy voice of enjoyment he said "here, nausea and dizziness kick in." his limb then moved to the '4' mark "hehe, and hear, you will feel immense pain and your body will start to shrink. You will even pass out!" with last wide grin to the boy who was already speechless he said, "by the time you wake up you will have transformed like all the rest." 

Zenitsu felt sick in his stomach, caused not by the poison now flowing through his body but as a reaction to what was to happen to him because of the poison. He looked and saw the various former slayers, now creepy little spiders, crawling towards him. "Leave me alone!" he started to run away, and up a tree, hiding his crying face in the trunk of it after finding a branch stable enough to hold him. "Eh? What are you trying to hide? Nothing can save you from the poison no matter where you go!" Zenitsu pushed more against the three, shouting out between his fear-filled tears "I know that!" after shouting that he thought back to his master. 

"Hey Zenitsu! What are you doing? Get down from there!" the old man that was his thunder-breathing master, Jigoro Kuwajima, shouted up at him as Zenitsu was on top of a tree. "No, I do not want to! You keep telling me I will get it eventually but I never do gramps! I do not like letting down gramps." Jigoro tapped his cane on the ground "I told you not to call me gramps, it is master!" Zenitsu whimpered a bit and said "but you mean so much to me, I call you gramps because of that." this actually warmed the old man's heart, to the point where he had to hold his chest. After a minute of trying to convince Zenitsu to come down, a strike of lightning hit the tree with Zenitsu on it. "OH MY` ZENITSU ARE YOU OKAY?!" 

'After that my hair was yellow, and I still could not master thunder breathing.' Zenitsu thought to himself, thinking back to a day later when he did master one form. And only one. Not even getting close to the others. "It is okay Zenitsu, mastering even one is more than enough." with a wide grin his master said, "if you can only master one that makes is strong as you can, I know you can do it." Zenitsu leaned more against the bark 'I am sorry gramps, I cannot do it.' 

"Grr, he is wasting time. Just get him already." the little spiders started climbing the tree towards Zenitsu. "AHHHH, no stay away! I can't deal with this right now!" he had gripped his hair during this, but not enough to pull hair out. So when his hands were stuffed with fist folds of hair he stared blankly at them. "Hehehe, did you not see the others? Of course, you would lose hair." Zenitsu said nothing, and while the spiders made it onto the branch he fell unconscious as everything had overtaken him and he fainted on the spot. While the spiders stared at the unconscious boy, the spider demon was very annoyed and kinda seemed bored. 'What is with this slayer? Didn't he come here with the others to kill our family?' he then watched as Zenitsu fell from the branch, 'he is just gonna fall to his death. What the hell?' 

As Zenitsu fell though, his teeth gritted and suddenly he started moving. "Thunder breathing…" he then used the trunk of the tree he fell from to launch himself at the spider demon. "Eh?" in response the demon spat poison at him, but the unconscious Zenitsu spun and dodged, falling to the ground but stabilizing himself on his feet. 'He dodged in mid-air?' Zenitsu kneeled down again, "thunder breathing" The spider demon spat more at him, Zenistu stopping his form to dodge away. 'Heh, he only knows that one form doesn't he? He surprised me with that attack, but he is still weak.' watching as Zenitsu prepared another form he shouted orders for the spiders still on the ground to stop him, forcing him to move more. He thought if he could force the boy from never using the form he would leave himself open eventually. 

All while Zenitsu thought back on his time in training more. 

"Tch, not even able to master more than one form, Pathetic." another student of thunder spoke brashly at Zenitsu before biting into a peach. "But gramps said it was fine." this angered the other slayer "Do not call our master gramps! You do not deserve that. He is an amazing person, a former Hashira. training you is a waste of time!" Zenitsu looked to the ground, unable to even counter back since he sort of agreed with it. 

"Hey, leave him alone!" Mary came out with a basket full of peaches. "He can call master anything he wants." she pointed at the other boy "master would not train someone if it was a waste of time unless you are implying you know better than him." the black-haired boy grunted out of annoyance "shut up, the only reason you are here is that master knew your father. You do not deserve to be here either." Zenistu gripped his hands "don't yell at mar-" he was suddenly cut off when the black-haired boy threw the peach he was eating at him. "Shut it, go back to chasing tail, though much like training you are not good at it." the boy walked off. 

Mary patted Zenitsu's shoulder "barring the bit about chasing tail, do not listen to him Zenitsu." she handed him a fresh peace from her basket. "As I said Master would not train you if he felt it was a waste of time. He believes you." the girl was trying to make him feel better, but he still felt weak. 

As the spiders gathered around him Zentisu in his unconscious state thought about everything, a flash of Nezuko appeared in his head before it went over the various people in his life that left him 'I learned a long time ago, that if you cry all the time people leave you. They do not want to hear it, and they give up on you.' he started preparing his technique as the spiders roamed closer and were on him. 'But gramps never game up on me.' he thought back to all the times he ran away and cried, and all the times his master stopped him. He was trained by the old man against his will, but despite everything he did to avoid it or cry about it, his master never gave up on him. The spiders started covering his body as they crawled on him, but then as if a booming strike of thunder and lightning hit them, they were all thrown off and the ground shook while Zentisu was ready for his attack.

"Did the ground just shake!?" the spider demon said as he stared at Zenitsu, he breathed out and shouted "Thunder breathing, first form; Thunderclap and Flash, sixfold!" suddenly he was gone in a flash. The spider demon saw multiple flashes and got by the tree, "what? I can't keep up!" each flash got faster and louder. When Zenitsu finally appeared to strike the demon reacted by having his web pull him up towards the hut hanging in the middle of the trees. But Zenitsu, using two small strings of the web, launched himself up and at the spider. He crashed through the hut, having cut off the demon head. 

The unconscious and poisoned Zenitsu fell into the hut, avoiding falling to his death. The spider demon could have frustrated thought about his loss as he slowly started to dissipate on the ground. 'I lost to that guy?! This can-' his head was gone, with the rest of his spider-like body. Zenitsu opened his eyes 'did i do it? Gramps?' he was alive, but the pain was still there, he could not move. He was alive, but how much longer did he have till he transformed? 

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Inosuke and the large father spider clashed in the river, but the father spider was not even being damaged by him. During this Kanao and Tanjiro took the demon's focus on Inosuke as a change to cut off his arms, "second form, water wheel!" Tanjiro went for the right arm "first form, orchid blossoming" and Kanao went for the left arm. But neither even made a small cut in the arms. 'They are so durable!' Tanjiro and Kanao had to move away from large punches that came their way. 

Tanjiro was knocked out of the river. "His skin is tough, maybe if we can trap him." he stared ahead and saw a tree that was leaning towards the river, it had been broken a bit, and if he could cut away the rest. "Kanao, Inosuke, lead it down the river." Inosuke was knocked back further into the river, but he still shouted "do not tell me what to do, I got this!" but after Kanao was knocked back as well, both of them ran down the river while in the water anyways. The Spider father demon chased them. 

Suddenly a tree fell on him, crushing the Spider demon below the river. For a moment it looked like Tanjiro's plan had worked, but the tree was easily lifted by the Father Spider, the tree falling on him only making it maddened him more than before. Tanjiro gripped his sword, he jumped up and prepared to cut at the demon from above. But he quickly saw his mistake as the spider demon swung at him with the tree. Tanjiro's sword soften the blow but he was still hit far into the air. 'He is so strong, he, he has to be that ranked demon!' 

"Tanjiro!" Kanao shouted from below. While he was still close enough to shout at them he gave his mistaken warning. "Inosuke, Kanao. That demon is a member of the twelve Kizuki! I will make my way to you as fast as I can. Try to hold off till then or run!" Tanjiro was soon out of earshot, even eyesight. Inosuke stood in teh water 'twelve Kizuki?' while Kanao stood staring at the sky, she hoped Tanjiro was okay, but she wondered if she and Inosuke could even handle a ranked demon. 

The father spider demon chased the two of them slightly more into the forest of mount Natagumo, "second form; Honorable shadow plum!" Kanao managed to block a hit from the demon as it knocked her away, she slammed against a tree. She had managed to harm the fist of the demon, but the small inconsequential cut healed quickly. Inosuke attempted to get it from behind "fourth fang, slice n' dice!" all cuts made by the slashes just bothered the demon, who knocked Inosuke away with its elbow. "If we strike together, maybe we can take it down," Kanao said as she struggled to get up, the tree knocking on her back leaving her feeling sore. 

"SCREW THAT!" Inosuke shouted as he got up more easily than her. For once, Kanao felt frustrated "do not be an idiot, if we do not work together to take this down-" she had to stop and move as another punch came for her, but Inosuke clashed the fist with his two swords, and the two of them putting a small bit of distance between teh demon and themselves after wards. "This ain't up for discussion Kanat." Kanao was about to correct him when he said "you are worried about him aren't Ya? Go find him then." he gripped his swords "haha, I bet by the time you two get back, I will have made Mincemeat out of this Kizuki demon!" 

Kanao wished she had her coin because she really had no idea what to do now. Inosuke was tough, but was he tough enough to hold out until she and Tanjiro got back? "Just…just stay alive," she repeated Tanjiro's words before running off. She had not gotten a good look at the many eyes of the large demon, Inosuke would hopefully stay alive long enough for her and Tanjiro to return, and the three of them could find a way. She hoped she would not regret her decision of leaving him behind, she had to trust he would survive. She had to! Inosuke gulped as the large demon was almost right at him. "I can do this, RAHHH!" 

Tanjiro was flying through the air still, as the speed was ticking down he got a breathing form ready, using the second form to slow his descent, and the eighth form to cover it. He was fine, but now he had to find a way back to Inosuke and Kanao. He then heard crying, it was nearby. "Huh? Where?" he followed the noise, and hide behind a couple of trees. There he saw the girl demon that led him towards the large spider demon before. And now a new demon was there, small in size. The girl was bleeding below him and crying. 

"What are you doing?!" Tanjiro should have concealed his anger, he could have gotten the drop on one of them. But still, he could not contain how he felt seeing one person attacking another, even if it was two demons. Both spider demons stared at him the boy not really seeming to care for him "this is a family matter, my sister needed to be punished. We have a special bond, which is none of your concern. So go away unless you want to die." The boy, Rui said coldly. 

Tanjiro gritted his teeth, his sister was on his back in the box still. With his family so close, it filled him with rage to see someone claim someone as their sister while hurting them to the point they bleed. "You are a liar if that is what you think!" this got Rui's attention. The spider girl holding her healing eye stared between the two of them, she could tell Rui has angered already but Tanjiro did not stop there. "If you harm someone you claim to be family, that is not a real bond. But a forged one! I can smell it." he gripped his sword, remembering the same smell that the woman had, and while it was less noticeable, he could even smell it on the large spider demon. "This entire time, every demon I faced has smelled of fear, not love! No family connection whatsoever!" 

Rui stared at the slayer in front of him, seemingly not noticing the one coming from behind. "Heh, finally managed to find a demon." the new slayer said ignorantly. "Once I kill them, I will be on a path to become a hashira, then I can get paid more than I ever need." he moved towards Rui with a raised blade. "Wait!" Tanjiro tried to stop them, but in one quick motion the other slayer was cut into pieces by webs, ones spun by Rui. the spider demon pointed at Tanjiro. "Take back what you said." he stared directly at Tanjiro "or I will kill you like this one." 

Tanjiro took his sword out, he smelt something off about this demon. "I will not!" Rui was not still in a fit of anger, he started spinning webs to fire out at the boy. Tanjiro dodged a few, he gripped his sword, a clash engaged but Rui used his web to great effect, Tanjiro could not get in and he was even cut up a bit by the treads of the web. He attempts to face Rui head-on, "water breathing, first form…" Rui fired a small thread in return. It seems like nothing, unlit the sword is broken in half by the thread. The tread nearly gets his head as well but Tanjiro moves to the side, his cheek getting cut up a bit instead. He stares at the sword, 'even the father's skin was not this tough' he relents that his sword was broken, barely much of the blade left on it. 

Rui holds many threads of webbing in his hands "I will give you a choice." he was clearly still angered by what Tanjiro said about his family's bond. "If you take back what you said I will give you quick painless death." Tanjiro knew the alternative but he refused despite his sword being barely usable now. "I will not." Rui huffed and then send a hand wave of webs at Tanjiro. But something takes the hit for Tanjiro. It was Nezuko having left the box takes it, getting her leg cut off as a result. "Mnm." Nezuko winces as Tanjiro's mouth is open agape "Nezuko, why would you do that?!" 

While Tanjiro tries to put the leg back together, the spider sister watches confused "isn't she a demon?" Rui however is in awe, the girl had taken a hit for her brother as if it was as simple as breathing. 'What devotion' he thought as he walked up to the two siblings in front of him "you, is she your sister." Tanjiro nods and holds the injured Nezuko close. 'So it is true, she is a demon as well it looks like.' Rui holds his hand to his chest "I see, finally, perhaps I have found a sister for a genuine bond." 

The other spider demon hears this, "b-brother, aren't I, your sister?" Rui's eyes bulge with anger, and with one quick motion of his hand, cuts his 'sister' up, with the head falling off her shoulders "silence. None of you have ever been able to fulfill your simple roles in our family." he was now more angry with her then he had been with the boy. She had a few tears in her eyes "please, brother, I beg of you. I am your sister." Rui did not even look at her, in cold yet angered filled tone he said "there are still slayers left on the mountain, go kill the rest of them and I will forgive you." the body of the Spider Sister picked up her head "oh okay." she quickly ran away, not wanting to incur more of Rui's wrath. 

"As for you." he turns back to Tanjiro, who still holds Nezuko close, even more, worried after seeing what Rui did. "Your sister has shown me something I have not seen in a while. And as such, I want it." he smiles slightly and says "if you give her to me, I will spare your life. She will become my sister from now on." Tanjiro's eyes widened "you, you cannot expect me to actually agree to that!" Rui nods "of course, but I will simply kill you and take her for my own sister instead. This way, both of you get to live. I can protect her far better than you ever could. Together, we will forge a bond. And I will show her exactly what happens if she defies me." 

Tanjiro was of course irritated to hear this "I will never give Nezuko to you!" he pointed with his broken sword, not breaking eye contact with Rui. "you force people to be your family, you punish them for even stepping out of line even once. You will never find what you are looking for, so long as you think that way you will never truly forge a genuine family bond!" Rui placed his finger to his mouth "quiet, it is clear we will never agree but you do not need to agree. Simply hand her over and be spared, that is all." 

Tanjiro stood up and got in front of Nezuko "I already told you, I will not give you Nezuko!" he held his broken sword, ready to fight "I will take your head, here and now." Rui laughs, a gritting grin on his face "you could not even cut my threads. You have a good spirit I will give you that, so I would like to see you try beating a member of the twelve Kizuki!" Tanjiro watches as Rui reveals his marking. 

'Lower 5'

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