Fluttering Lotus Petals

Chapter 16: Burn, Burn, Burn

At the sight of the tattooed demon in front of him, Tanjiro felt his anger and body heat begin to rise. There was no doubt in his head that this was the best time to utilize the Hinokami Kagura.

"Akaza!" he roared. Without hesitation, he leapt forward smoothly into Fire Wheel and sliced Akaza's left arm clean off. A splatter of blood accompanied it and spilled across the wooden splinters of the floor.

Tanjiro had scarcely enough time to rest as Akaza's fist swung at him once more. He launched into Parhelion Rainbow— just in time to dodge the blow and land one of his own. When Tanjiro whipped his head back, he had sliced Akaza's face diagonally in half.

Akaza's usual teasing smile was absent from his face. Instead, there was a horrible, twisted scowl in its place. From what Tanjiro had seen before, Akaza liked to talk to the humans he was about to kill. But this time, Akaza readily sank into a martial arts stance and activated his Technique Deployment: Compass Needle.

Tanjiro gripped his sword tighter. [Name] had warned him of Akaza's wrath, but Tanjiro disregarded it. He wanted Akaza to feel Tanjiro's own wrath. 

Before Giyuu could strike from behind him, he jumped into Scorching Crimson Mirror, though he ended up striking air instead of his target.

Crap, behind me! He thought, heart rate rising steadily.

Tanjiro ducked, and as he began to slip into Parhelion Rainbow, Giyuu interrupted with Second Form: Water Wheel. And though the Pillar sliced Akaza's arm off, he simply regrew it and kicked Giyuu to the side.

"Kamado Tanjiro!" Akaza spoke for the first time since the battle began. "I will kill you here and take [Name] back!"

Tanjiro's jaw clenched. "I cannot allow you to do that! You abandoned [Name] when he needed you to love him, and that tore his heart into pieces! [Name] deserves someone who loves him, and that clearly isn't you!"

Akaza's aura turned murderous. "How dare you–" his eerie voice rang into the ears of the humans. "How dare you take him away from me!"

"[Name] did not belong to you in the first place, Akaza!" Tanjiro bit back. "And I didn't take him away! He wasn't yours the moment you prized strength above all else!" He couldn't help but add the last bit out of spite, "Unlike you, I won't break my promise!"

The moment after his words fell, he dodged another blow from Akaza's fist. "Fine then," he snarled. "We'll see who comes out alive!"

Tanjiro and Giyuu both launched toward Akaza, swiping their blades in the hopes of knocking off a limb. Akaza leapt upwards and dodged before kicking Tanjiro aside. While Tanjiro landed in the wall with a loud crash, Akaza turned his focus onto Giyuu.

Giyuu used his third form, Flowing Dance, as Akaza countered with his Destructive Kill: War Style. As smooth as his titular element, Giyuu quickly moved into the eleventh form, Dead Calm.

When Tanjiro was finally able to get back up on his feet, Giyuu was kicked all the way to the other side of the room they were in.

"Giyuu-san!" Tanjiro cried out in worry before raising his blade to block an upcoming attack. His brain was running on pure adrenaline, trying to figure out why Akaza's attacks were so precise.

He quickly unleashed Solar Heat Haze, before attempting to unleash Flame Waltz. Unfortunately, Akaza caught his blade in between his hands and pressed, hoping to snap the blade from the side.

In his desperation, he rocked his body weight forward to headbutt his opponent. However, Akaza still did not let go. He tried kicking Akaza's chin next, but the grip on his blade was unwavering.