A Cook, A Doctor, A Ghost and A Ronin.

Death Throes

*Zoom!*

"Waaaaah!" Kotetsu screamed out of fear and shock. He was being carried by Muichiro who is running at maximum speed towards where Kanamori and Haganezuka supposed to be. Despite having such a small figure, Muichiro could run at extremely fast speed.

"Hey! Slow down a little! We're nearly there!" Kotetsu told Muichiro to slow down a little. The kid feels like he's going to puke. He also told the Hashira that they're nearly reaching their destination. 

"Don't talk, you'll bite your tongue." Muichiro replied with an expressionless face. He told Kotetsu that he might bite his own tongue if he keeps on talking. 

Is this right? By doing this, I'm leaving the rest of the village unprotected. Muichiro questioned and doubted his choice. He wondered is he's doing the right thing. No, I can do this! The Master recognized my value. I am Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira of Demon Slayer Corps!

Muichiro could see a fish demon in his direction. It seems that the fish demon is fighting against a swordsmith. Muichiro throw Kotetsu aside, then he rushed with his sword. He leaped from the ground and swings his sword.

*Slash!*

"Oh! Tokito-sama! Thank you! You cut it down in a blink of an eye!" Kanamori was amazed at how swift did Muichiro had slain the fish demon. 

He cut the vase on top of the fish alongside its head, killing it in one swift blow. Kanamori who's fighting the fish demon was both shocked and relieved at the arrival of the Hashira. He dropped his knife and lets out a sigh. 

"Kanamori!" Kotetsu was relief to see that Kanamori is still fine. Kotetsu rushed towards Kanamori to give him a hug.

"Young Kotetsu! I'm glad that you're unharmed! To be honest, I thought that you were dead already." Kanamori blatantly said that he thought that Kotetsu has died. Kanamori refrained from hugging Kanamori.

"Are you the one called Kanamori? Are you done with my katana? Give it to me already." Muichiro instantly reveal his true intentions. He wanted his new sword as his current one is already chipped quite badly.

"Oh dear! This is horribly chipped!" Inspecting the Hashira's sword, Kanamori find out that the sword is horribly chipped. The edge is already losing it's sharpness. 

"That's why I came to the village." Getting new sword is Muichiro's true intentions for stepping in to the village of swordsmiths. He needs a new sword. He's really uncomfortable with using tthis current sword. I cannot cut well.

"I see, I see! I shall get you another one!" Kanamori understood.

"......that was fast" Muichiro is a bit surprised but his face is still showing little to no expression. He thought that it will take some time before he could get his hands on a new sword. Yet he could get his in a flash.

"Tanjiro asked me to prepare your katana. And he wanted me to understand you." Turns out that it was the redhead that did it. Muichiro didn't understand the kid. At least he could get his sword right away.

"-so I asked who was the first swordsmith in charge of you and-oh! That's right! Haganezuka!" Kanamori almost forgot about something very important. He then look around until he sees a small hut.

"Good! The fish monster isn't here! I was working in the jut earlier! There's a sword for Tokito-sama inside! Take it and quickly go to the village chief!" Kanamori instructed Muichiro to take the sword and hurry to protect the chief of the village right away.

*Yank!*

"Uh! That hurts! What was that for?!" Out of nowhere, Muichiro yanked Kanamori as he fell to the ground. Muichiro could sense it, an impending danger that's waiting for them the moment they step a foot.

"It's here." Muichiro warned.

*Rustle*

"Hyo! Very observant! I take that you're a Hashira?" From the bushes, a vase appeared and a demon comes out from the vase. Muichiro took a stance. He's anticipating attack from the demon. It was Upper Rank Five, Gyokko.

The demon had a very bizarre and grotesque physiology, taking on the form of a pale white, abstracted, grotesque humanoid figure with a muscular upper torso that has no arms and resembles that of an armless statue growing from a porcelain vase. He had multiple infant-like hands that line along his head and back.

Gyokko's face was even more distorted, with large green mouths located where one would expect his eyes to be located, and his actual eyes were located vertically from one another on his face; one eye appeared in the constantly open bottom mouth and the other was seated at the center of his forehead.

"Why is this hovel is so important? What are you trying to hide? Hyo, hyo!" The demon giggled. He was curious of the contents of the small hut. 

"Hyo, hyo! Nice to meet you. They call me Gyokko. Mind if I talk a little before I take my time in killing all of you?" Gyokko asked if they could spare some time on hearing him out and be a spectator of his art.

"I'd like to show the three of you my lovely creations tonight!" Gyokko explained. He's so excited to show the latter of the masterpieces that he had created tonight.

"Creations? What are you talking about?" Muichiro didn't understand what Gyokko is trying to explain. He is still wary of the Upper Rank Five.

"Here's the first one!" He clapped his hands, then a vase appears out of nowhere.

*Clap!*

*Clap!*

"I call this Death Throes of Smiths!" Gyokko presents his "art" piece titled "Death Throes of the Smiths," consisting of multiple mangled swordsmiths with blades pierced through their bodies. However, they were still being kept alive. Kotetsu and Kanamori were left speechless.

"Look first at their hands! Dirty hands with thick calluses that swordsmiths get! I put them in front of purpose!" Gyokko happily explained everything about his masterpiece.

"Kongoji, Tetsuo, Kanaike, Kotaro, Tetsuhiro..." Kanamori recognized each and every single swordsmiths that was put there. Kotetsu was about to cry seeing just brutality. It's too much for a kid like him to handle. 

"Right! You get it! I've made lavish and detailed use of five swordsmiths! But I have no idea you would be so moved!" Gyokko clapped his hands in joy, proud of what he made and glad that someone understood his priceless art.

"And running them through with swords brings out a certain smithiness!! I left the hyottoko masks on to convey emotionlessness and absurdity!" Gyokko keeps on rambling and rambling about his creations while Kanamori and Kotetsu were left speechless.

"To top it all of, if I twist the katana like this, it goes 'gyaaah'!!" Gyokko rotated the sword just a little, then the a swordsmith screamed from the pain.

"Gyaaaah!" A sharp scream permeates the air.

"Hey, that's enough you bastard." Muichiro gripped his sword tightly.