Douma's obsession - Demon Slayer fanfiction

Water and ice

"You think I won't kill a Hashira, darling? Won't be my first time and it won't be my last..."

Miri adopts a fighting stance, gripping the handle of her new Katana tightly. She wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to kill Douma, but she knew that if she showed even an ounce of weakness, Douma would use that to his advantage. Where are the others? What was taking them so long? When she left the roof, she had secretly given them the planned signal that Douma had arrived. It was only a matter of time before they came to her aid.

The silent tension lay tenaciously between them and the air felt almost too thick to breathe. Their surroundings grew colder as Douma tilted his head a little, emitting his power.

The next moment, several veins from ice crystallized in the blink of an eye and sped towards her. But Miri was focused and ready to fight. With a quick motion, she spins around and performs several clean cuts with her Katana, destroying most of the veins. Miri doesn't stop moving and immediately jumps into the air again, dodging the sharp ice spikes tearing through the ground. Two attacks in such a short time!

Reorienting herself, she glances sideways. Douma was raising his hands for another blow. She concentrated. Breathing Technique 2: Sun Sparks! Small sparks of light coat the blade and her Katana heats up as she sprints towards Douma. She had to be more offensive or he would just keep attacking her until her stamina was gone.

He sends sharp ice projectiles flying in her direction. With perfect precision, Miri slices them in half. The heated blade cuts through them like butter. She now prepares for another strike, aiming for Douma's arm. With as much force as possible, she swings the Katana towards its destination. Douma takes a quick step back, dodging the blade by a hair's breadth. She missed!

"You've gotten faster, Miri," he says, sounding almost a little appreciative. Using her flow, she brings her Katana back at him from behind. With a loud thud, it crashes into an ice barrier. Shit, he was fast too!

Without any time to think, she falls to her feet to duck his next attack when she feels something gripping her foot. The next second, she is dragged backwards across the dirt. She looks back. An ice vine had wrapped itself around her leg. With great effort, she reaches down with her Katana to try and cut through it.

Before she has a chance to free herself completely, another vine wraps around her torso, pulling her into the air. Without any footing, she has no choice but to wriggle desperately, making sure she doesn't let go of her Katana. More ice veins wrap around her arms immobilizing her further. Fuck, what was she going to do now?

Hastily, she turns to Douma. He looks as nonchalant as usual when he steps close to her. With looks that could definitely kill, she angrily stares at him. "Maybe try a bit harder next time." He says with an amused grin and slowly reaches a hand to cup her cheek.

Miri never feels his fingers touch her skin. Instead, a small rush of air blows her hair back and she tumbles to the ground. It is only a few moments later that she is able to comprehend what has just happened. Giyuu is standing a few meters away from her, his uniform still lifted from his sprint and his Katana dripping with blood. He glances at her over his shoulder, checking her body for injuries. One of Douma's arms was missing. Miri was stunned...Giyuu really was one of the strongest Hashiras.

She feels another hand pat her shoulder. "We're here Miri, are you okay?" Mitsuri looks down at her and helps her to stand. "Never better," she answers, brushing the dirt from her clothes. With Giyuu being that strong and all of them working together, they might actually stand a chance, she thought.

"Ahh so it's finally getting interesting," Douma hums and regenerates his lost arm while he rolls his shoulders to get ready for the fight. Miri and Mitsuri nod at each other and start to charge at Douma simultaneously.

All four fighters meet in the center of the square. Pure chaos ensues for the next few minutes. Alternating sequences of blows from the demon hunters are blocked by Douma and vice versa. From time to time, the battlefield is illuminated by a pale blue or white light whenever one of the fighters uses a special technique.

It seems as if both sides are equal in both skill and strength. The blows rain down relentlessly on Douma. He ducks and presses one hand to the ground. A silent surge of power pulses through the underground, deep into the earth. In a second pulse, the pavement cracks open and a massive shockwave of pure destruction is unleashed around him.

First, she hears a loud bang. The next moment, Miri is thrown into the air and crashes into a web of ice a few feet back. Her ears still hurt from the blow and a little blood drips from her nose. She shakes her head to clear her dizziness and looks around. The entire town hall has been destroyed, and large chunks of concrete have crashed down onto what remained of the town square.

Looking to her right, she sees Mitsuri's motionless body lying on the ground. It looks like she crashed through the wall of the nearest house and into a table. Quickly, Miri stumbles in her direction, coughing up some more blood. Miri falls to her knees beside her and shakes her shoulders roughly. "Mitsuri! Wake up now! Mitsuri, please!" she cries, tears forming in her eyes. Mitsuri slowly regains consciousness and blinks at Miri. "Heyy," she whispers weakly. Red blood stains are forming on her uniform. "Shit, we have to get you out of here," Miri says in a desperate voice, considering her options.

She looks back. Giyuu and Douma were fighting again, one on one. Giyuu's Katana splashed water with every blow and Douma countered with a solid ice spear. They were moving so fast that it was hard to tell their movements apart as everything around them was soon enveloped in a mist of water and ice glistening in the moonlight.

"Don't worry about me, I'll make it," Mitsuri rasps, also observing the scene in front of them. She slowly gets up and limps into a side street while Miri supports her. "Okay, be careful...and get help for yourself!" she orders worriedly.

Miri watches as Mitsuri disappears into the darkness and turns around. She was furious. Her best friend almost died! Remembering the bloodstains on Mitsuri's uniform, she grips her Katana tightly. Who did Douma think he was? With large steps she strides across the field, her gaze fixed on him. She concentrates every ounce of her energy inside her: Breathing technique 10: Rays of Sun!

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Out of the corner of his eye, he notices a bright light approaching.

With a powerful punch, he sends Giyuu flying into the air, where he skillfully lands on a rooftop. The next second, Douma tears the building apart with tree-sized ice spikes, leaving Giyuu no choice but to jump down and break his fall with a water technique before he crashes to the ground.

Douma now focuses his attention on the light. Miri was coming directly towards him, emitting light with such intensity that he felt his skin burning. Confused, he averts his eyes from the bright light and creates an ice shield. Suddenly, everything flashes white. Douma is thrown into the air by the impact of her blow and is knocked through some walls on the other side of the hall.

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