Demon Slayer: Wisteria Furin

Down to the Wire

All Koharu was hitting was the demon's steel-like claws as he blocked. She could feel Hajime's hand get sweatier and sweatier as he tried to hold on. She wanted to tell him to run, but he'd be wide open, and she knew she couldn't leap to his aid if he was far away from her.

Sparks flew as her blade skidded across the surface of the nail bed. The demon had hit her with a clenched fist, knocking her off balance. The force was enough for Hajime's grasp to break, and he fell to the ground.

The demon reached for him, his dirty claws thrusting towards him. The terrified boy put his arms up.

The nails clanged against the blade. Koharu stood between the boy and the demon. As the demon pushed down on her, she felt herself sink into the soft, wet earth. Her frame shuddered, using all her might to keep him at bay. Hot blood gushed from her wound, splattering on the ground. Her face scrunched up in pain, and the demon grins with glee.

That expression was a sign that he was moments from winning, that he could stop guarding and make his move. He knocked the sword upwards, leaving Koharu open with her arms in the air. If she could just bring her sword down in time, but he was so close and so fast.

The force of the second blade made the demon whip around to face his attacker. The demon slayer in the white haori had slashed across his upper back. The demon reacted to slash back, but the demon slayer's momentum had already taken him far away.

"Damn I missed..." The young demon slayer scolded himself.

Now that the demon had engaged himself with his new opponent, Koharu could get her bearings. She turned to Hajime to check on him.

"Hajime, are you okay?" she asked.

"Ye-yeah" he stammered. Koharu turned back to warn her comrade.

"Don't let him cut you! He'll use his Demon Blood Art!" she shouted.

The demon slayer in white changed his position, solidifying himself in his attack. He'd seen the girl's wound. A Demon Blood Art was never a good sign. His defense would have to increase tenfold.

The demon was attacking more and more frantically, making it harder to dodge and block. Each one had to be perfect. It was too great a risk. But the demon slayer had already rushed to get here to help. Where the demon was speeding up, the slayer was succumbing to human exhaustion.

Those large fingers found something to wrap around. His left arm. He clenched it with such force, that the popping of the slayer's joints was audible.

My arm! Crap!

The claws were coming. But the arm they were attached to fell to the ground. Koharu had leaped back into action, and the demon staggered back.

Her legs trembled, but Koharu was steadfast, her blade at the ready. The young man's arm felt stiff, adrenaline already numbing the pain. At the forefront of his mind was the state of the other demon slayer in front of him. Her thigh was still in terrible shape, the bandage completely soaked through and almost falling off.

"You shouldn't be fighting right now!!!" He barked at the girl. She whipped her head around, her eyes filled with fire.

"If I don't help you, we're both dead!" She barked back before turning her attention back to the battle.

She throws her blade at the staggering demon. The blade sinks point first into his neck. He gargles and sputters as his blood pools in his mouth. Koharu sprints and jumps, putting almost everything she had into trying to finish this.

With a flying kick, she pushes the hilt of the sword to send the sharp edge spinning through his neck. The young man was stunned at the maneuver the injured girl had pulled off.

She's a beast!

She can grasp the hilt before she lands, but the impact was murder on her leg. She gasped when she hit the ground. The demon's head was halfway off his neck, and the other slayer saw his opportunity. He sprinted, taking a deep breath.

The demon was more there than he'd accounted for. With his large palm, he smacked the young man away. He skidded across the dirt to a stop, and he could feel the hot pains in his chest, right where the palm had made contact. His right arm was stinging, and red was seeping through his white sleeve.

He could hear the thumping of the demon's footsteps racing towards him.

"Hey!" her voice pierced through his panic. The demon halted and turned.

Koharu's bandage had completely come off. She wiped some of her blood away and splattered it on the ground, enticing him. The smell made the demon froth at the mouth.

He started to run, sprinting at full force. She knew she hadn't the strength nor mobility to jump as she usually did.

"Get up!" she screamed. The other boy did as he was told, and started running at the demon from the other side.

Attacking out of frenzy. He is powerful but unfocused and wide open.

"Shichi no Kata: Kefu- Tenge Kaze!"

Her blade cuts through his knees and he falls forward where nichirin blades are waiting.

"Together!" she screams.

The rest of his head is taken off, and the demon falls, fading away into ashes.