Madara

Inosuke tried charging at him but he was too high in the air. Without another word he turned and left. "Dam, you! Come back and fight me"! He yelled after falling to the ground. "You ok Inosuke"? "Why did he even show up anyway"?

"I don't think he's the demon that's controlling our people with those threads, we can't focus on them now". I said as I fought against one of the other swordsmen. "Ok, ok, ok, I get it alright. You want me to go find the one who is. Shut up about it already".

I watched as he stuck his swords in the ground and got into a position. "Beast breathing seventh form, spacial awareness". It only took him a few seconds. "I found you, you demon. Follow me"! "Good job Inosuke".

We were about to take off but were still being held back by the demon slayers. "We're not going to get anywhere with these guys"! "Dammit". "The hell with this crap. I'm just gonna demolish all of them at once"! "You can't, there has to be a way for us to save them".

One of the demon slayers came at me but Murata stood in front of me and protected me from him. "Murata". "Leave these guys to me and go on ahead Madara". "Big talk from the guy who pissed his pants"! "I never did anything of the sort you stupid boar! I wasn't even talking to you so but out!

I know I wasn't very brave back there but I'm still a demon slayer. I'll find a way to hold them off. I know now that I only need to cut the threads and that their movement patterns are very basic. So I should be fine, I'll watch out for the spiders too.

There has to be people who are under even greater control that are closer to the demon. You have to help them". "I got it, stay strong". I grabbed Inosuke and took off in the direction he had sensed the demon at.

"Let go of me dammit, I wanna pound that guy's face in first! Who's he calling a stupid boar"!? "Oh shut up! Stop messing around and get out of here"! "I'm gonna make you see stars when I get back! Mark my words!

I can't wait to pummel that guy when I get back". We were running now instead of me dragging him. "Stop talking like that"? "Didn't you hear him call me a stupid boar"!? "Are we heading the right way or not"? "My senses have never led me astray. Although I". He was interrupted by spider threads getting on him.

"This must mean we're getting close". I said taking the threads off of me as well. "There's another group here". "Stop, don't come any closer. You have to leave and bring someone here who's a higher rank. It's the only way to stop the rest of us from being killed". A girl who was still conscious said as two of her teammates were killed beside her.

All three of them were attached to a web." Help us, I'm begging you". I could see her body start moving on its own. "Run away"! She yelled as she was forced to swing her sword at us. "I'm being controlled, so my movements aren't my own". She said as she continued to swing wildly.

"I was nowhere near as strong as this". I could hear her muscles being pulled and strained within her body as she was forced to attack me. She was screaming in pain and had tears streaming down her face.

The demon controlling her has no concern for the strain it's putting on her body. This is cruel.

I heard the rattling sound again.

"Please, end my life". One of her teammates said.

So he isn't dead

"All the bones in my arms and legs are broken and are piercing my insides. Every time I'm forced to move the pain is unbearable. I can't take it anymore, either way, I'll die. So please, just hurry up and finish the job". He said in a strained voice.

"I'll take on the job". Inosuke said charging at him. "Wait Inosuke, we gotta find a way to save him instead". I said as I continued to fight back against the girl. "Oh shut up! You need to stop your bellyaching! He's asking us to put him out of his misery, alright!

These guys are speedy too, if we get caught napping we'll be done for". "I know that, just give me a second to think".

I don't wanna attack them but cutting the strings won't have a lasting effect. How can we stop them from moving?......I've got it.

I ran off and the girl started following me just like I wanted her to. "Why are you running around in circles? Quite messing around"! I turned around and tackled her then threw her in the air. She went over a tree branch and ended up hanging from it since the spider webs ended up getting stuck like I wanted them to.

It worked

"What the heck was that just now!? I wanna do it too! Come at me"! He ran and did the same thing I just did with the man and started laughing afterwards. "You see that!? Whatever you can do I can do just as well"! There was only one left, I threw him up in the three as well trapping him.

We were about to continue on when all of a sudden we noticed the demon slayer's heads being turned backwards killing them instantly. "Dammit, that thing went and killed all of them". "Let's go". I said in a low voice. "No arguments here".

He took off and I followed. "It's this way, we'll be there before you know it".

Now that the winds changed direction my sense of smell is returning. I'll know exactly where it is soon.....There, I'm picking up two more scents.

"Inosuke". "I detected that thing before you did. I'm gonna hack its head right off its shoulders"! He jumped up and lunged at it but was taken aback about how big it was and the fact that it was already headless.

He swung at us and we jumped out of the way to dodge. "This things got no weak spots. Where am I supposed to cut it"? "Calm down and listen closely alright. Slash from the right part of its neck to the left part of its waist. It'll be tough since it's a lot of mass to cover".

He took off. "Don't go alone"! "He's fast". He managed to dodge the first attack but was cut on his side and the back of his hand. "I can still dodge it though". He said before he was tangled up in a bunch of spider webs.

"I can't move". The demon came at him again but I made my way towards him and stopped the attack, I then used my sword to cut inosuke down. "This is a tough one but we can take him". "Dam, you! Don't make me go feeling giddier than I already do"!

I got down on my hands and knees and allowed Inosuke to launch himself off of Hashi's box, he swung his sword and cut the arm off that was holding the weapon he was using against us. He then took his second arm.

"Fire breathing fourth form, flaming strike". I said as I struck his legs. "Your up Inosuke"! He swung down from the air and cut him where I had told him to earlier. Its body disintegrated soon after.

He actually listened to me

"Good job Inosuke". He didn't say anything though. "What's wrong"? He took off without saying anything. I was confused as to why he grabbed me and threw me in the air but understood when I smelled the second demon we were after.

So that's where you are.

"Fire breathing first form". I was about to attack her but was shocked to see her close her eyes and reach out her hands in anticipation.

She wants me to kill her

"Fire breathing fifth form, gently blaze". I used a less offensive move to cut her head off. Yes, she was my enemy but I wasn't going to attack her furiously if she wasn't even going to fight back. "Someone from the twelve Kizuki's here, be careful". She said with a smile on her face before disappearing.

A member of the twelve Kizuki is here on this mountain. The twelve Kizuki should possess a large amount of Kibitsuji's blood. If I can extract it the medicine that can help Hashirama will be finished sooner.

"Madara, the demons I was telling you about are here as well". Hashirama said as he made his way out of the box. "How many"? "Just four, one of them seems to be very injured and sick, however". "I see. We'll worry about them later, right now we need to get back to Inosuke".

"Alright". I put my sword away and we made our way over to where he was at. "So did you two take out that monster"? "Are you ok"? I asked. He was bleeding a lot. "I asked you if you defeated that thing or not"? "I did but that's not important right now, your wounds".

"Don't go showering me with your mushy sensitivity and kindness. I don't need it, you got that. After all, anything you can do I can do too. Before you know it my head will be. My head will be even harder than yours. Not to mention that, not to mention".

He's not doing well and I couldn't save the others. That woman gave off a scent of sadness and terror, enough to make her yearn for death. What is it about this mountain anyway? What demon family living here as well as one of the twelve Kizuki? I didn't think demons gathered together like that.

I thought to myself as I did the best I could to bandage Inosuke up. I then heard a loud sound go off. "Did lightning just strike"? "How should I know"? "We'll I'm not smelling any thunder clouds but that oder got stronger and is messing with my senses again".

"If there aren't any thunder clouds around then it probably means Zenitsu was or is in a fight with one of the enemy". Hashi said. "Let's head over to him then". He shook his head. "We need to focus on our own task Madara.

Zenitsu is a demon slayer just like the two of you. It's time he starts acting like one, he can't expect for someone to always be there to save him". "Hashirama". "You know what I'm saying is the truth".

"Are you furious with me because of that day"? "This has nothing to do with that. I told you I didn't blame you didn't I"? "Then where is this coming from"? "It's coming from that day. There was no one to protect us, I had to do it but I failed".

"Have you been blaming yourself this whole time"? "How could I not"? He said with tears in his eyes. "It's my fault they're dead. Our brothers and sisters were depending on me to protect them and I let them down". He said letting his tears fall.

I took him into my arms and held him close to me. "Don't blame yourself for this. Do you remember what you told me? You said I hadn't started my demon slayer training yet so there was no way I would've been able to protect all of you.

If that's true for me then it's also true for you. You didn't have the powers you do now, that happened after you were turned. The only difference between those two situations is that you survived. If I had been there there's no certain way to tell if I would have been turned into a demon as well.

You would be all alone without anyone, at least this way we still have each other. I will find a way to turn you back into a human and the two of us will get married as planned but you know what else we'll do? We'll create a new family for ourselves.

We'll have a bunch of little ones running around the house and tell them countless stories about their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Their memories won't be forgotten, we won't let that happen". "Thank you". He said crying with his head buried in my shoulder.

Word Count. 2102