Disclaimer:

I do not own nor claim all the rights to 鬼滅の刃 | Kimetsu no Yaiba | Demon Slayer; all rights are reserved to its respective creator, Koyoharu Gotōge. This is purely a work of fiction; names, characters, businesses, events, localities, and occurrences are all extrapolated from the author's writings and imagination or utilized in a fictitious manner. As such, any direct or indirect references to actual entities, dead or alive, or events do not, in any shape or form, resemble the opinions of the author.

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"..." = Dialogue

'...' = Internal monologues

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Standing at nearly twice the height of Giyuu, it is no exaggeration to say that Haji is a towering figure.

Such a menacing appearance could've achieved deity-like status if it were not for the horrid appearance she donned.

WHOOSH

Haji lurched forward at full speed, seemingly disappearing from her antecedent position in the blink of an eye.

'She's fast,' was the first thought that entered both of the Hashiras' minds.

Seeing this, the Giyuu and Shinobu immediately diverged and leaped in opposite directions.

This maneuver had the effect of just barely avoiding Haji's attack, but it also isolated the Hashiras from one another.

BOOM

Within a split second, Haji's double-edged scythes landed a concentrated blow on the concrete foundations the Water and Insect Hashiras were hitherto standing on.

Thus, the susceptible structure collapsed on itself, utterly disfiguring the shape and effectively making the damage irreparable.

It was a terrifying display of Haji's raw strength.

Since Haji donned four arms in total, the upper-two arms—on the left and right, respectively—carried her scythes, while the bottom-two carried her katanas.

With this arrangement, it is obvious why the Demon of Shame utilized the scythes: she had to launch a forward, so the upper-two arms worked best in terms of delivering this blow, and those arms were carrying the scythes.

The scythes themselves are quite unique in terms of design and application. Normally, a double-edged scythe would be extraordinarily impractical due to the original variation being employed purely for agriculture-related work.

And even if it was used as a weapon, the heavy weight of just ONE sharp edge is enough to make the instrument unwieldy and hard to control for the average fighter—add in another sharp edge, and one increases the likelihood of stabbing themselves.

Haji, though, appears to have a tremendous grasp of the weapon and the administering thereof. Her large, bulky arms are sufficient in terms of dealing with the weight, and her adroit usage of the weapons seems to indicate that she has no problem with its potential hazards.

In other words, what might not work for a human may as well be suitable for a demon.

CRACK

Even as the ground beneath them collapsed, the Hashiras sprang into action.

'Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent,' Giyuu gives the incantation, correspondingly adjusting his stance.

Due to the lack of a solid foothold, the Water Hashira surmised that he ought to minimize both the landing time and landing surface under the established conditions.

As he jumped into the air and charged toward Haji, mesmerizing pools of vortex-like water inundated the empty space—giving the impression that a large, curving tidal wave had flooded the vicinity.

'Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter,' Shinobu, meanwhile, jumped from a stray boulder—previously part of the solid ground, it was now flying about due to Haji's explosive attack—and propelled herself towards Haji at blistering speed.

She oriented her Nichirin Blade such that it would effectuate a single, powerful thrust against the enemy—aiming the Kissaki (Tip) of the Katana directly at Haji's neck.

WHOOSH

Both Giyuu and Shinobu lunged forward with great rapidity, reaching within arm's length of Haji in a matter of seconds.

However, Haji was anticipating this two-prong attack. Still leaning forward due to her previous operation, she was in no position to address each of these attacks separately—after all, these were simultaneous moves directed against her from the sides.

So, instead of twisting her body in either direction, Haji instead stretched her bottom-two arms—the ones possessing the katanas—outward.

CLANG CLANG

The Nichirin Blades of the Water and Insect Hashiras clashed with the rusting swords of Haji's armament.

Haji thence shifted her body and raised her upper-two arms—which held the double scythes—and pounced on Giyuu with full force.

She raised her scythes and began spinning them in a circular motion at an increasingly accelerating rate, thereby inducing a sort of blurred movement—the scythes were moving so fast that the naked eye could not discern their original shapes.

To put it simply, the scythes were acting like the propellers of a plane—get close to them, and one may find their head gone missing already.

In light of this, Giyuu quickly readjusted his battle stance.

'Fourth Form: Striking Tide,' Giyuu readies his blade.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

Like a steady stream of water flowing flexibly through the air, Giyuu's blade effortlessly parries each one of the strikes initiated by Haji's spinning instruments.

Because there were two edges to the weapon, Giyuu had to consecutively block and parry within a smaller interval of time—since the first blade of the scythe would immediately follow with another blade. From an onlooker, both Haji and Giyuu appeared as blurred images due to the sheer velocity undertaken by both belligerents.

Meanwhile, Shinobu was quick to come to the aid of her partner.

'Butterfly Dance: Caprice,' she leaped into the air.

WHOOSH

An alluring, mystical kaleidoscope of purple-colored butterflies manifests in apparitional form; Shinobu's elegance and graceful execution of this breathing form bears a striking resemblance to such beguiling imagery, lulling both bystanders and the opponent in a temporary lull at the sight of such serene beauty.

With Haji dealing with Giyuu, Shinobu took full advantage of this exposed disposition—seeking to imbue as poison as possible in this one maneuver.

JAB JAB JAB

A series of incisions and small, but extremely lethal, lacerations were made along Haji's torso and arms, infusing a dangerous amount of Wisteria Poison.

"ARGH!"

Almost immediately, Haji roars in pain as her limbs become encased with purple-colored bruises and contusions—symptoms indicative of the body's overreaction to the poison.

As a result of this development, the Demon's assailment of Giyuu is brought to a temporary halt.

*THUD*

All three combatants finally alight on solid ground, permitting both Hashiras to tap into other Breathing Styles that would otherwise require a gradual accumulation of momentum.

Taking notice of Haji's transitory incapacitation, Giyuu and Shinobu rushed toward her without delay.

'Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag,' Shinobu begins running.

Intending to close this distance between her and the Demon, the Insect Hashira invokes a form of her Breathing Style that allows her to build up momentum for a singular, potent thrust. All the while, she moves in a zig-zag pattern to confuse the enemy in the event Haji regains her battle senses.

CRACK CRACK

Racing in the direction of a beleaguered Haji, Shinobu builds a great degree of momentum to her movement as she adds velocity to her already-accelerating motion—so much so, in fact, that each stride forward indented the floor with its sheer force.

'Tenth Form: Constant Flux,' Giyuu assumes the Ko Gasumi stance, raising his Nichirin Blade over his head.

A great, blue dragon born from the chasms of the vast sea revealed its piercing gaze; it exuded the caricature of an old, wise, and intimidating beast found in legends and old mythical tales. And yet, here it was—ready to unleash its tremendous power onto the enemy.

As Giyuu's sprint was akin to the flowing motion of a dynamic wave, the dragon's head concurrently flew along and abetted the Water Hashira's build-up of momentum. The resulting depiction evoked the spirit of a battle-hardened warrior racing to annihilate the enemy.

Upon reaching their destination within a second, the Hashiras prepared for a strike of profound proportions.

Unfortunately, Haji had only just recovered from this painful bout of intoxication.

Extending her upper-two arms, she begins aggressively spinning the double-edged scythes at a terrifying pace—making for a sort of 'shield' that aims to block the Hashiras' attacks.

Slightly anticipating this, Giyuu and Shinobu shifted their route in order to avoid this 'wall' of spinning blades.

However, Haji was one step ahead, as she unveiled her bottom-two arms—equipped with the rusting katanas—and swiftly swung it.

CLANG CLANG

Both Giyuu and Shinobu manage to block the strike, though at the expense of their momentum; they can no longer properly execute their breathing forms.

Thereafter, the Hashiras' Nichirin Blades were locked in a stalemate against Haji's brown-stained katanas.

SKRRTT

Both sides are trying to push their opponent back in order to create another chance for them to attack.

Amid this, however, Haji chooses to taunt her enemies.

The Demon turns to Giyuu, "What's wrong? Still upset that you hurt her? That you openly attacked her without reason?"

Giyuu's lineaments corrugated after hearing this, but he didn't respond—refusing to play her games.

Haji then faces Shinobu, "And you. Worried that your feeble arms won't be able to keep up? Worried that you won't be able to protect your partner?"

"How about I wipe that disgusting smirk off your face," Shinobu snaps back.

"TRY IT, FOOL!" Haji laughed.

The Demon of Shame then summoned her upper-two arms again, bringing the scythes down for contact once more.

SWOOSH

This abrupt change in situation forced the Hashiras to abandon their current footing and address the oncoming blades.

'Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon,' Shinobu begins her six-strike maneuver.

'Third Form: Flowing Dance,' Giyuu initiates his defensive countermeasures.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

Hitting the focal points of the blades' centrifugal-induced torque, Shinobu's Nichirin Blade managed to thwart the motion of each of the sharp ends of the scythe.

This had the effect of causing a jerk unto Haji's arm, pushing it away long enough for the Insect Hashira to exploit an opening.

JAB JAB JAB

The next three strikes were directed at Haji's vital spots.

"GRH!" Haji winced at the pain, but she was not yet paralyzed.

Similarly, as Giyuu bent his blade and swung it in a winding motion along his body, the Water Hashira danced in a flowing pattern that allowed him to parry the blades in a swift and efficacious manner.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

However, Haji concurrently utilized the bottom-two arms for another assault with the rusting katanas.

She stretched both arms outwards in opposite directions, except at such astonishing speeds that it nearly caught the Hashiras off-guard.

Shinobu promptly assumed another stance in order to address this instantaneous operation conducted by the Demon of Shame.

Giyuu followed, employing a defensive bearing to deflect the sword.

CLANG

The unmitigated prowess imbued into the collision was enough to shove the Insect Hashira a noticeable distance away from the core of the battle.

Whoosh

Shinobu immediately lost her footing and had to instead focus on preventing her entire body from going airborne due to the sheer power exerted by the impact.

With one of her foes briefly out of the way, Haji turned her full attention to trouncing Giyuu.

Now using all four arms, she simultaneously attacked the Water Hashira with all four weapons.

Giyuu knew the presence of both blades and scythes would make attacking her a fool's venture.

So, he resorted to his best defensive tactic.

SWOOSH

Haji lunged forward, swinging all four of her arms against Giyuu—the double scythes were, again, gyrating like the wheels of a moving car whilst the two rusty swords simply jerked forward for a piercing move.

'Eleventh Form...' Giyuu enters a state of complete and utter equanimity, closing his mind from all foreign observations—canceling out the sound, the pictures, and the smell.

The ground becomes awashed in a torrent of great waves, submerging the environment with its deluge and transforming the floor into a quagmire of copious bodies of water.

His heart rate begins to progressively slow, prompting the rest of his body to fall under a resting condition—thereby allowing Giyuu to recompose himself and solely concentrate his senses on matters concerning only the movement of the blades.

*Drip*

'... Dead Calm,' he finishes.

The hitherto fierce waves and flooding suddenly comes to an immediate halt.

Everything is still, and Giyuu appears to not be moving a muscle.

As Haji's weapons approach Giyuu, they are abruptly deflected without warning.

*Swoosh* *Swoosh*

Not even the sound of the metal ricocheting could be discerned.

In truth, Giyuu is moving so unbelievably fast that not even the Demon of Shame can clearly make out his movements; he remains stationary from her perspective.

It's almost as if a spherical bubble has enclosed Giyuu's entire body, granting him full authority over this small zone as a means to instantaneously perform offensive and defensive measures in tandem—a feat that would otherwise be impossible under fast-paced circumstances.

Since Haji's arms—and, thus, weapons—have changed course thanks to Giyuu's 11th form, the Demon's torso was now wide-open for the Hashira to beleaguer.

Furthermore, because her arms are stretched and going in a direction other than Giyuu's current disposition, the Water Hashira stood right next to these limbs that were—from his perspective—slowly arched outward, moving away from him.

This was a golden opportunity for Giyuu to eliminate such limbs.

Subsequently, Giyuu proceeds to launch an attack of his own, now that Haji's arms have been flung out of the way.

SLASH

He chops off one of Haji's arms—more specifically, an upper-arm carrying the scythe.

Not satisfied with just one, he takes it a step further and continues his strikes against the limbs.

SLASH

Another arm was severed, this time a lower-arm carrying the sword.

The Water Hashira decides to push his luck by attacking for the third consecutive time, hoping to cleave a third arm.

He swings his Nichirin Blade once more.

SLASH

Giyuu is successful in accomplishing this risky endeavor, lopping off the second upper-arm in this maneuver.

However, these strikes incurred the wrath of Haji, who—after recuperating her only-remaining arm from the sharp redirect caused by Giyuu's 11th form—swung her only arm, which was carrying the sword, against the Water Hashira.

Unfortunately for Giyuu, he was too focused on going on the offensive that he had totally neglected his defense—his footing and stance were too irregular to assume a defensive posture in time for the coming threat.

SWOOSH

Haji swung her sword with great ferocity, the culmination of her raw strength and the frustration with three of her limbs being sliced off like meat at a butcher shop.

With little time to react, Giyuu instead angles his Nichirin Blade perpendicular to the oncoming Katana.

CLANG

He is successful in narrowly fending off the attack, but it came at the cost of his footing and contact with the ground.

In other words, the impact sent him flying at terrifying speeds.

But just as Giyuu is forcefully ejected from the field of battle, Shinobu swiftly approaches Haji from the rear—seeking to outflank the enemy.

'Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter!' She was visibly angry with Haji's treatment of Giyuu.

JAB

She landed a direct hit against Haji's spine, immobilizing the Demon to a great extent.

"ARGGH!!" Haji bellowed in agony.

*Ting*

In her despair, she instinctively dropped her only weapon and grabbed hold of the main, rod-like portion of Shinobu's Nichirin Blade that was attached to her back.

SWOOOSH

She lobbed Shinobu away, sending her flying like a projectile launched from a piece of ordnance.

This unexpected and hastily-executed movement meant that Shinobu was caught completely off-guard by this throw, and—as such—she wasn't able to control the trajectory of her body's path.

In a twisted turn of events, however, just as he was still reeling from being propelled himself, Giyuu was situated right along Shinobu's path of flight.

BAM

They both collided into each other, sending the two flying with even greater pains involved. The projectile weight is too great for Giyuu to push back against.

BASH

Giyuu's back finally crashed against the concrete wall, with his body acting as a sort of cushion for Shinobu, and the Hashiras were finally relieved of their short-lived plunge into the air.

"ARH!" Giyuu grunted as they made landfall.

"Ach!" Shinobu, meanwhile, also duly experienced pain but to a lesser degree.

Shinobu, the first to regain her senses, immediately scans the area. She subsequently notices herself perched atop Giyuu—her upper body supported by Giyuu's upper body, which, in turn, was supported by the vertically-sloped wall.

The Water Hashira still appeared distressed from the pain.

"Giyuu!" she instantly exclaims.

Shinobu pulls herself off Giyuu's lap, so as to lighten the load on his body. She then tends to her partner.

"Are you ok??" she asks frantically.

"I'm fine..." Giyuu pants. "Just a sore back."

Shinobu felt relief upon hearing this small quip from her partner. Although, it was clear that he sustained far worse.

Nevertheless, there was no time to mull over such things in the midst of battle.

"Don't put yourself in danger like that again," she also takes the time to scold him for his audacious, high-risk actions—referring to his decision to go for a third strike against Haji.

"Sorry..." Giyuu mumbles.

"Anyways," Shinobu turns her head towards Haji, "she's still alive."

The Demon of Shame was stumbling about, trying to recover from the recent assailments made against her.

*Plop*

One of her arms reappeared in an instant, proving that her regenerative faculties were not too dissimilar to that of an Upper Moon Demon—although, the Water and Insect Hashira had already retroactively assumed that to be the case.

"Those scythes are acting like a defensive barrier, while the swords take advantage of whatever opportunity is available to stab her opponents," Giyuu points out.

"That way, she can both attack and defend simultaneously. I guess having two more arms really makes a difference," Shinobu remarks.

"How do you reckon we should approach this?" Giyuu asks.

"Same as always," Shinobu grins, lifting herself up. "I'll stun her with my poison while you chop off the limbs one by one."

She offers a hand to her partner, "If we can remove the arms, then we'll have an opening for a proper decapitation."

"You read my mind," Giyuu concurs, clasping her hand in acceptance of this proffer.

The two Hashiras now stood confidently, raising their blades and their spirit for another round against the demon.

*Plop*

Another one of Haji's arms healed. She begins to pick up her stray weapons.

"Let's go!" Shinobu announces.

WHOOSH

The Hashiras start sprinting together, their synergy working in complete harmony—incredible rapport has been established between the two.

'Butterfly Dance: Caprice,' Shinobu leaps into the air.

'Second Form: Water Wheel,' Giyuu also springs high above, making himself airborne.

*Plop*

At this moment, Haji had fully recovered three of her four arms: the two upper-arms and one lower-arm. Of the upper-arms, she was armed with a scythe in one hand and a katana in the other—a great deviation from the previous arrangement. For the lower-arm, she was just bare-handed.

Seeing the Hashiras on the move, Haji lifts her weapons in anticipation of this duo-maneuver.

SWOOSH

She swings both weapons: the scythe and the katana for Giyuu and Shinobu, respectively.

Shinobu deftly evades the sword; her agility whilst airborne holds no equal save for some of the Hashiras.

WHOOSH

With unbounded swiftness, Shinobu made a dive for the enemy—promptly injecting the poison into the Demon's systems.

JAB JAB JAB

She stings the enemy multiple times in what appeared to be just one, singular strike.

*Thud*

She hastily landed on the ground, clearing the way for Giyuu's move.

Due to the effects of the Wisteria Poison, Haji was rendered paralyzed for the time being.

With this window of opportunity made by Shinobu's attack, Giyuu briskly initiated his operation.

As Giyuu was nearing Haji, he conducted a front flip, while releasing a singular vertical slash along a circular path.

SLASH

He chops off one of Haji's upper-arms—the one carrying the scythe.

*Plop*

One of the bottom arms regenerated, and Haji was also able to recuperate from the paralysis around this time.

Shinobu, however, wasted no time in commencing another Breathing Form.

Thus, once Giyuu completed his severing, the Insect Hashira ran at full speed toward Haji's current position.

'Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon,' she prepares her blade.

After quickly choosing her targets, she jumped upward in the direction of Haji's upper body.

JAB JAB JAB

She lands three strikes against Haji's neck.

JAB JAB

Two stabs against the back of her head.

JAB

And one for the area between her upper-left arm and shoulder—nullifying the nerve that transfers commands to the limb.

Haji had no time to react, as she was still reeling from the previous bout of poison, only now to be infused with another round of poisonous substances into her body.

Much to her dismay, Giyuu was ready for another strike.

'First Form: Water Surface Slash," Giyuu jumps forward.

A majestic blue wave reappeared with small particles of water droplets sprinkling from the sides like a great waterfall.

Instead of wielding the Katana with both of his hands, Giyuu instead disjoined this coordinated effort and only allowed the right hand to firmly grip the weapon.

From there, he crossed both arms in an X shape with each of them standing above the opposite shoulder.

He then swung his arms back across to their original positions; the sheer power of that single move produced the excess momentum needed to slice off a limb.

SLASH

Giyuu removes the bottom-arm from Haji's torso.

Thus, Haji reverts back to two arms: one equipped with a katana on the top and another bare-handed on the bottom.

Another symptom of Shinobu's poison was the deceleration of the rate at which Haji is able to regenerate. Thus, each time the Insect Hashira's poison enters her system, the Demon of Shame is forced to confront the dilemma of her healing abilities being severely hindered.

This is especially problematic with the interval between each injection being short, so the immune system can't fully clean the previous concoction before the next one comes in to wreak even greater havoc.

'Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag,' Shinobu, once again, readies herself for another welt.

'Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin,' Giyuu leaps.

However, Haji was frustrated beyond words, and she was going to have none of it.

"AASAFFAFFHHHAHFHHAWJF!!!!!" she screeched in unintelligible sounds.

The resonance was so intense that even the earth beneath them reverberated from the sound waves.

With volume and pitch so dangerously high, even the Hashiras grimaced at the torturous noise—their ear drums nearly ruptured in light of this development.

This also had the unintended effect of halting Giyuu and Shinobu in their paths, preventing them from fully executing their respective Breathing Forms.

Then, much to their horror, ALL of Haji's missing arms regenerated in the blink of an eye.

"PLAYTIME IS OVER! YOU FUCKING FOOLS GET NO MERCY!!" Haji fumed with rage.

She charged at Giyuu and launched one powerful punch square at his chest.

The Water Hashira, still perturbed by the screeching and recent events, was in no position to properly remedy this tribulation.

Thus, he had to rely on his battle-hardened instincts.

CLANG

Giyuu managed to block the blow with his Nichirin Blade, but he was unable to lessen the impact of the resulting collision force.

WHOOSH

Giyuu is then sent flying.

BANG

Like before, he crashes against a concrete pillar.

And, in a fashion similar to an earlier move, Shinobu attempts to ambush Haji from behind.

'Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter!!' Shinobu was already close to approaching Haji by the time the latter had dealt with Giyuu—which greatly angered the former.

However, Haji seemed to foresee this tactical operation, as she hastily turned around and blocked Shinobu's attack with her arms.

JAB

The Insect Hashira's singular stab was a success in the sense that she accomplished the goal of saturating the enemy with a large dosage of poison.

However, much to her consternation, Haji did not become paralyzed by this poison—likely the byproduct of the Demon having access to all of her arms now, as the poison can be more evenly distributed instead of concentrated along the torso and spinal cord.

Making use of one of her arms carrying the Katana, Haji begins savagely swinging the weapon against Shinobu.

CLANG CLANG

Thanks to her excellent swordsmanship, Shinobu can effectively parry each one of the attacks.

However, Haji then launched a series of pummels with her other bare-handed fists.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

Even for someone as skilled as the Insect Hashira, dealing with this many targets was becoming taxing. Furthermore, the force released by each of the pounces was enough to push the feeble Shinobu back, screwing up her footing and battle stance in the process.

Finally, seeing an opportunity, Haji hurriedly clasps onto Shinobu's blade—as she did before, except it was done intentionally this time.

SWOOOOSH

Haji forcefully hurled Shinobu a certain distance away with all her might.

Shinobu herself is incapable of regaining her footing or sense of orientation whilst airborne, leaving her utterly at the behest of this dangerous trajectory.

BANG

The sheer power of the throw and resulting impact is so great that Shinobu's entire body is compelled to bounce off the hard, non-elastic flooring.

BANG

BAM

"ACH!" Shinobu cries in pain.

As her petite musculature smashes against the ground two times before finally alighting—which, too, wasn't pleasant at all—Shinobu could feel several bones fracturing, from the ribs to the arms.

It didn't help that she still had that graze from Giyuu's attack when he was mind-controlled.

WHOOSH

Giyuu came rushing to Shinobu's aid, visibly infuriated by Haji's assault on his partner.

'Third Form: Flowing Dance!!!' he raises the hilt of his blade.

SLASH

SLASH

As he was slicing everything in his path, Giyuu achieves the severing of two of Haji's arms.

Unfortunately, this is not enough to stop the raging beast, especially since she has two more arms.

Instead of punching him, as she normally would, the Demon of Shame instead clutched his arm—so tightly that Giyuu might have torn a muscle.

"TOO SLOW!!!" Haji laughs.

SWOOOOSH

With her grip locked onto his arm, Haji begins to violently fling Giyuu around, smacking him against the hard ground repeatedly without rest.

BANG BANG BANG BANG

After four or five hits, she finally leaves Giyuu on the floor, who was undergoing acute torment in the wake of this brutal beat-down.

*Ting*

He drops his Nichirin Blade in the process.

STOMP

She cruelly trampled on his body with her foot, crippling and immobilizing him to such an extent that he couldn't possibly escape.

"GIYUU!!" Shinobu came to her partner's rescue.

'Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag!!' She begins moving in a zig-zag pattern, deceiving the enemy into questioning her exact position.

WHOOSH WHOOSH

With this potent accumulation of momentum, Shinobu lunges forward at an imperceptible speed.

JAB

She hits the demon directly in the neck, delivering a powerful blow against this vital spot.

To her shock, though, Haji is unfazed by this attack.

"Is that all you have, Insect Girl?" she sneers.

Before Shinobu could withdraw, Haji moves at a moment's notice.

SWOOSH

She seizes Shinobu by the neck, tight enough to lock her in place but not to choke the life out of her—Haji intends to play around with her toys for a bit.

*Ting*

"ACH!" Shinobu drops her weapon and violently squirms about, trying to pull herself out of Haji's terrible grasp.

"Shinobu!!" Giyuu yells.

STOMP

Haji's foot digs Giyuu deeper into the indent made below him.

"Oh shut up, Water Boy," Haji comments.

The situation has gone awry.

Haji's foot is crushing Giyuu with all her might and she's choking Shinobu with her hand. Nothing could possibly get worse than this.

"Hm?" Haji feels something funny from her foot.

"ARRRGHHH!!!!!" Giyuu is attempting to lift Haji's heavy foot with his bare hands, straining himself in doing so.

"Oh my, we have a stubborn one here! Still feeling shameful about stabbing your own partner?" the Demon of Shame remarks.

Turning her head to Shinobu, Haji notes the graze that is present along Shinobu's torso.

An idea pops up in her head: "Here, let me help you with that!"

SLASH

Using one of her katanas, Haji lacerates Shinobu along the same graze that Giyuu previously incurred.

This resulted in the graze now becoming an open gash, leaking an obscene amount of blood.

"AHHH!!!!" Shinobu yelped.

"SHINOBU!!!!" Giyuu's wrath continues to climb.

He puts every ounce of energy into lifting this damn foot, with the veins protruding from his temples and arms being an indication of the degree to which Giyuu is strenuously trying to raise the limb.

"ARRRGGGG!!!!" he shouts in his fury and labor.

Blood pours out of Giyuu's nostrils and flows gradually out of his mouth, choking him in the process. But he presses on nonetheless: he continues his forlorn attempts to lift Haji's heavy foot.

"Giyuu! Please stop!" Shinobu pleads—the sight of him in agony is torture for her.

Yet, in parallel, the sight of Shinobu in great affliction is torture for Giyuu as well, which is why he's putting everything into this.

"HAHAHAH! LOOK AT YOU TWO IDIOTS! YOU'RE FINISHED, BUT YOU'RE STILL WORRIED ABOUT EACH OTHER?!" Haji actively mocks.

She glances at a struggling Giyuu, "How much of a pity it is that you easily fell for my spell. And now, LOOK AT THE RESULT! You hurt your beloved Shinobu; she is going to DIE because of YOU!"

"As for you," Haji pivots her head to Shinobu, "you're so pathetically weak that it's not even funny anymore."

"Arghgh!!" Shinobu continues to struggle to escape Haji's hold, but her efforts are in vain.

Haji continues, "For example, that attack from earlier. It would've been better for you to cut my leg off and not use poison. That way, you could've freed your friend here and none of this would be happening..."

"Buuuuut I suppose you couldn't... You are small, after all!" she taunts.

Shinobu's eyes dilated with shock and shame.

"That's right..." Haji taunts. "The shame of not living up to your sister's talents and greatness along with being unable to protect your loved ones... Your weakness refuses to elude you."

Shinobu felt sick to her stomach, yet she was forced to listen to Haji's harangue against her.

"You're so physically weak that you have no self-confidence in your own abilities... THAT'S WHY YOU WENT FOR THE SELF-DESTRUCTIVE PLAN TO MAKE YOURSELF A POISONOUS BOMB, DIDN'T YOU?? THE PLAN TO KILL DOUMA, YOUR SISTER'S KILLER!! ISN'T THAT RIGHT????" the Demon of Shame wallowed in her own soliloquy.

Shinobu gritted her teeth, but she couldn't deny what this vile creature was saying...

In the end, everything was the product of her own lack of self-esteem as a demon slayer—her belief that she wasn't strong enough to become a proper demon slayer.

Even if she's developed a new breathing technique suited for her shortcomings, even if she has access to a vast array of pharmaceutical knowledge, and even if she's a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, she will never be a normal demon slayer.

She will never be able to decapitate a demon's head, the fundamental means to kill the enemy.

She's just too small.

Too weak.

Too feeble.

"YOU'RE BETTER OFF KILLING YOURSELF WITH THE POISON PLAN! AT LEAST, THAT WAY, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO AVENGE YOUR SISTER AND KILL AN UPPER MOON DEMON!!!" Haji does not cease this barrage of ridicule. "OTHERWISE, YOU'RE AS USELESS AS A REGULAR CIVILIAN AGAINST A DEMON!!!"

"SHUT UP!!!" Giyuu shouts from the bottom. "LET HER GO!!!"

"Oh? You want me to let her go?" Haji replies.

Then, a smile of the most malicious kind manifests along her lineaments, "Very poor choice of words..."

Haji pulls back the arm holding onto an almost-lifeless Shinobu, who appeared demoralized beyond reasonable doubt.

"Wait..." Giyuu begins to realize what she's up to. "Don't...!"

"Say goodbye to your friend!"

"DON'T DO IT!!!" Giyuu shouted at the top of his lungs.

SWOOOOSH

Haji catapults a torpid Shinobu into the distance.

BOOM

Shinobu's body incorrigibly breaks through a brick wall and disappears from Giyuu's line of sight.

She was instantly knocked out for good.

Giyuu's eyes widened with a combination of fear, anger, and pain.

He tightens his grip on Haji's foot.

"HRRAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" He conjures up everything.

"Don't even try, it's not worth it," Haji nonchalantly replies.

"Wait..." she then notices something.

"HRRRRAAAAAHH!!!!!!!" Giyuu was beginning to lift her foot.

Haji, in response, exerts more force onto Giyuu, but no amount of additional energy availed herself from the Water Hashira's hoisting.

"Y-You freak!!!" Haji instinctively shouts, taken aback by the raw strength of this supposedly puny human.

"HRAAAHHHH!!!!!" Giyuu finally was able to create a big enough gap.

Then, he quickly rolled on his side and escaped the confinement before it came rushing down.

BANG

Haji's foot, upon Giyuu's sudden absence, aggressively stomped into the Earth.

Following this, the Water Hashira hastily picks up his Nichirin Blade and assumes a battle stance.

"Well, you're more of a nuisance than I thought. I was thinking about keeping you for my collection, but I'd rather just kill you now," Haji pronounces in an irritated fashion.

"I'm going to kill you..." Giyuu growled.

Haji smirked, "Let's see how well you do, WATER BOY!"

The two then charged at each other.

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Shinobu

We were violently trembling with fear.

We could only clutch each other for emotional consolation, but even we were au courant with the fact that nothing could stop it from devouring us as well.

*Crunch* *Crunch*

The resonance of flesh, organs, and tissues being ripped off and ingurgitated by its razor-sharp teeth could easily be discerned.

After all, the demon was eating our parents right in front of us–as if this were some exhibit flaunting the voracious appetite of a demon that's situated at the vanguard of us.

"N-Nee-san... Why are Otōsan and Okāsan sleeping...? Shouldn't they be running..." I gulped between my words as a cataract of tears sullied my cheeks.

I was in a state of disbelief, or insanity—either one works.

"S-Shinobu... S-Stay close t-to me..." Nee-san, unable to properly regulate the flow of droplets as well, tried to reassure me.

But we both knew it was of no use.

Not at this moment, not at this time.

The demon upraises its head and looks directly at us, "Oho? It appears I'll have appetizers for tonight."

No.

I bury my head in Nee-san's arms and start uncontrollably whimpering.

I don't want to die.

"Nee-san... Nee-san!" I didn't know what else to say.

Nee-san couldn't do much either, her countenance had an expression of pure dread of the highest order.

We were at the behest of this beast.

We were powerless, useless, and motionless.

There was nothing we could do except witness our parents being eaten as we await our inevitable demise.

"I-I'm sorry..." I squeaked.

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"S-Shinobu..." she says weakly.

"You shouldn't talk, Nee-san! We need to stop the bleeding immediately!" I say emphatically as I attempt to utilize an item of clothing as a barrier to occlude the incision and aperture.

"I... Don't have much time left, Shinobu..."

"Don't, don't say that!" I yell.

"Please... Listen to me," she pleads. Her rhythmic breathing has become more erratic and her voice more hoarse.

"We'll need some antiseptic to clean up the wound," I try to distract myself from the impending doom.

"Shinobu" she starts.

"Don't try to move too much," my own voice is starting to shake.

"Live a life of happiness... Leave the Corps, fall in love, and have children of your own...."

"D-Don't talk too much," I sniveled.

"Don't be consumed by hatred..."

"Nee-san," I began to weep.

"Don't be burdened by your own anger..."

"You can't leave me... You're the only one left... Please... I beg of you. I can't lose you like we lost Otōsan and Okāsan," my tears poured onto her porcelain-like face.

She smiles for one last time.

"Shinobu..." her breathing comes to a halt.

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I slowly lift my eyelids.

I was lying supine on the ground, my head facing up.

It's all dark, and I can't see much. But I guess this is a sort of antechamber to the main hall outside...

My body feels heavy... 

Everything hurts... And I'm bleeding everywhere...

*Hack* *Hack*

I cough blood.

I'm in no condition to fight...

I lift my calloused hand and blankly stare at it.

Why are my hands so small...?

Why didn't I grow taller...?

Arms... legs... the longer they are, the more muscle they have...

Kanae was delicate, but she was tall... She had talent... unlike me...

If I had been a little taller, a little stronger... I might have been able to free Giyuu from Haji's hold...

If, for example, I had Himejima-san's strength and prowess... then everyone could easily breathe a sigh of relief when I arrive to save the day.

Instead... I'm stuck with these small hands...

These useless... worthless... weak hands...

These hands couldn't protect anyone... I have to rely on a suicidal plan of making myself a poison bomb if I want to kill Douma...

I couldn't protect Otōsan and Okāsan, nor could I even save Nee-san from her demise...

If I couldn't protect them... How am I supposed to protect Giyuu...?

How am I supposed to save him...?

"Stand up," a familiar voice beckons me.

I catch someone from the peripheries of my vision.

"Nee...-san..." I say weakly.

She's standing right next to me, frowning and adorning an austere expression.

"Stand up, Shinobu," she repeats.

"I... can't..." I answer.

"That doesn't matter," she replies.

"I'm so weak... I can't protect the people I love... I never could..." Tears start welling up in the corners of my eyes.

"Pull yourself together. I won't allow you to cry," she answers sternly.

"I'm so useless..." I sob.

"Once you decide to defeat a demon, defeat it. Once you decide to win, then win," she expounds. "Win, whatever the cost. You made that promise with me and Kanao, didn't you?"

"How..." my voice cracks.

"It doesn't matter how. If you have someone to protect, then none of that matters..." she replies solemnly.

"..." I can't give a response.

"You want to protect him, right? You've vowed to do everything in your power to save him, haven't you?"

"... Yes..." I whisper.

Nee-san then crouched down and tenderly caressed my cheeks, wiping away the tears.

"You can do this, Shinobu. So do your best..." she says softly.

"I will..." I answer.

"Then stand up... Insect Hashira, Kocho Shinobu."

"Argghh..." I slowly upraise myself, ignoring all the pulsating sensations and pains being induced by this movement.

I can't stop now.

Not after everything.

Not after I've learned so much about him, gotten so close to him, and know what eventually happens to him...

I can't ignore any of that.

Because, ultimately, I've resolved to do something.

It doesn't matter how I feel about something, what matters is that I do it to the best of my abilities.

I need to focus on that alone.

I once believed that the road of happiness continued forever and ever into the distance...

When it was destroyed, I realized for the first time that it lies upon a thin sheet of glass...

And just as we were saved, there were those whose happiness that haven't yet been destroyed. So I wanted to get stronger and protect them. That's what we promised each other.

Even if we're weak and can't cut off demon heads, if we defeat one demon, we can save dozens of people.

And if we can defeat an Upper-Rank Kizuki, we can save hundreds.

It isn't about whether we can or cannot do.

There are things we have to do.

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CLANG

It was getting increasingly difficult for Giyuu to keep up with Haji's assault.

He still hasn't fully recovered from being stomped in the first place; his arms are beyond weary and worn out.

Furthermore, there's Shinobu... He doesn't want to assume the worst, but he's deathly afraid of what might've happened to her.

Especially with Haji's polemic rant against her, Giyuu knew he should've shouted something sooner—it's all his fault.

He failed to protect her again.

CLANG CLANG

Sword. Scythe. Fist.

CLANG CLANG

Scythe. Sword. Fist. Fist.

CLANG CLANG

Fist. Scythe. Sword. Fist.

Giyuu's are moving in all directions trying to keep track of the movement of all four of Haji's arms.

But this is becoming a more onerous task by the second.

CLANG CLANG

Scythe. Sword. Fist... Wait, another scythe????

'When did she pick that up?!' Giyuu panicked.

The Water Hashira was taken completely off-guard by this, so he wasn't ready to block this spinning scythe.

'Shit! I'm done for!' he realizes.

But, before the scythe could even graze Giyuu, another player enters the fray in the nick of time.

JAB

"ACH!" Haji coughs, feeling something impaling her from behind.

A bloodied and battered Giyuu peers to the posterior of Haji, only to find a bloodied and battered Shinobu piercing Haji's back with her Nichirin Blade.

"Shinobu!" Giyuu called out.

"Are you in pain?" Shinobu shouts.

Giyuu's face stiffened in response, "I work through pain!"

"Good! Let's kill this ugly bitch then!"