Giyū and Shinobu vs. Dōma

Chapter 3: Wrath

From a young age, I was kind and clever, Dōma reflected. I always helped people in need and made them happy. Because that was my mission.

"There are rainbows in this child's eyes," Jōgen no Ni recalled his mother saying on the day that he was born.

"Pale-gray hair on the head is proof of innocence," his father had said. "This child is special."

"He probably hears the voices of the kami," his mother had added.

My parents were so dimwitted, Dōma continued to reflect. They even created the ridiculous paradise faith religion. I felt sorry for them, so I always played along. But I never once heard the kami's voices. At first...it was awkward when everyone worshiped and prayed to me, as you might expect... Adults would come crying to me, a child, saying that they were suffering and in pain and that they didn't know what to do... I wondered if they were all crazy. After they shared their yawn-inducing life stories...they would bow and say that they wanted me to lead them to paradise. I cried. How sad...that paradise does not exist. It's a fairy tale that humans created with their imaginations.

The kami and the buddha do not exist either. These people had been alive for decades...yet they could not understand something so simple. When you die, you just become nothing. You stop feeling anything. Your heart stops and your brain stops. You rot and return to the earth. As long as you are a living creature, it is unavoidable. They could not accept something so simple. It must be difficult to be so dumb. I wanted to make the pitiful people happy and help them. That is why I was born.

滅

Taishō 5, January 2

Infinity Castle

"Hmm...that's the fifth time," Jōgen no Ni remarked as he held up his right hand, on the back of which was a newly inflicted wound that healed within a matter of seconds. Dōma was currently standing on a wooden bridge that met with the bridge that Kochō Shinobu was currently on at a forty-five degree angle. "And that was no good either. It didn't work! It's getting less and less effective. How many more times can you make poison?"

This is the strength of a Jōgen no Kizuki, the Mushibashira silently remarked, her brow furrowed and her teeth gritted as she gripped the hilt of her Nichirin-tō. The poison isn't working at all. His speed in building resistance is abnormal.

"You know, you're really lucky that that other Hashira...Tomioka, right?" Jōgen no Ni asked, but Shinobu remained silent. "Well, you're really lucky that he was able to deflect my Blood Demon Art with that incredible technique of his! Otherwise, you'd be having trouble breathing right now. I suppose it makes this more fun, though, since you can just keep trying to poison me until you pass out! Speaking of your friend, since he hasn't gotten up yet, I'm guessing that he's d-"

SHING

Insect Breathing, Dance of the Dragonfly... Boiling with rage, the Mushibashira lunged across the gap between her and Jōgen no Ni, striking at his head, neck, chest and abdomen. Dōma was able to block the strike meant for his heart with one of his tessen, but the rest of them landed.

...Compound Eye Hexagon!

Jōgen no Ni doubled over in pain as fresh blood sprayed from the newly-infected wounds while Shinobu front flipped over the oni and landed a few meters behind him in a low stance.

"You really are fast!" Dōma remarked as he stood up and looked back over his left shoulder at the Mushibashira. "Maybe the fastest Hashira I've met so far!"