𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳

12. HELPING HAND

"Do you need my help?"

I earlier made a mistake in the battle against the "father" spider demon, in which I stated it was Samsara and not  Naraka, but the rotation move is Naraka that builds on rotations, Samsara builds on fast slice+backstabs and not allowing the opponent to see the sword fully drawn. It requires stability and is dangerous without sure footing and a fixed stance. Naraka can be used mid air as it is rotation. so I fixed that because it's important that they are made clearly different.

[虞]

It was shared instincts that would allow Sakurai to survive this. Don't reveal the demon, even if she felt threatened. The problem here was that the demon in front of her recognized Sakurai didn't belong, not the demonblade.

"Who are you?" she asked with a sharp snarl. Then she saw his eye, marked "three". An upper demon appearing now?

He leaned back, allowing her to stand with her sword in an instant even though her grip was failing and her hands shook. "Woah, little girl. I don't like to fight women-- you human girls are too frail. I just got the sense from his memories that you aren't supposed to be here, but I wouldn't do the honours."

Fire flashed between them, Rengoku cutting a driving path between them and protecting Sakurai behind him. "Stop tensing all your muscles like that and breath. Don't be afraid now.""

Sakurai took a moment to close her eyes, slowing her panting to maintain concentration at a steady level. Slowly, the tension in her forearms released and her hands that felt weak like claws could still hold onto her blade. Total concentration was amazing! Performing something like Naraka almost had her passed out months ago, she had forgotten how strong one could be with it.

But no, she wasn't afraid. It was that crazed bloodlust that liked to slink through her veins when someone strong and terrible and deserving of death appeared before her like a threat. It turned her into a maniac, demons like him turned her into something not Sakurai.

The demon smiled, licking at his blood. "You smell strong. I'm Akaza-- I like fighting those I deem strong and I hate weaklings, you see. They make me feel disgusting."

"You and me have different morals, clearly," Rengoku remarked.

"I have a proposal for you. Become a demon."

Rengoku stared with his regular blank stare. "No way."

"You'll never break through to the next level as a human! If you become a demon, you can become insanely strong! You're a pillar right?"

"I'm Rengoku Kyojuro, the flame pillar."

"I'll tell you why you won't cross into supreme territory," he said, pointing a finger accusingly at Rengoku. "It's because you're human. You will grow old a die. Become a demon, Kyojuro. You'll be able to live for a hundred years and become stronger. If you refuse, I'll just kill you while you're young!"

Sakurai knew to jump out of the way when Akaza came roaring with a punch at Rengoku, clashing with his blade and the force blew Sakurai rolling towards the ground unexpectedly. They exchanged blows, but Rengoku was fighting to protect everyone. She was a liability. Tanjiro, who was on the ground with noticeable blood on his hand was a liability. Zenitsu ushering Nezuko into her box was a liability too, and so was Inosuke helping the passengers get out and away from danger. They were all too weak to be around Rengoku.