Final Strike

*BOOM*

Multiple crashes and slashes erupted around the hall as Hiroto and the others continued their fight against Kokushibo. Muichiro joined in on the fight but was limited to only using one hand to wield his sword.

Hiroto lunged forward, exploiting a small window of opportunity between Kokushibo's attack.

'This kid. He can see when I need to pull back for another swing.' Kokushibo thought, looking over to Hiroto.

Hiroto's eyes widened as he pushed his body to its limits, thrusting his sword towards Kokushibo's armpit.

Kokushibo sidestepped out of the way, leaving Hiroto exposed to his next attack.

'Breath of Sound, Fifth Form: String Performance'

Uzui held one of his swords with a reverse grip, spinning the other using the chain connecting them. He threw his bombs forwards and cut them apart, forcing Kokushibo back from the attack.

'Breath of Wind, Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash'

Sanemi followed up, leaping into the air and swinging his blade down, generating circular torrents of wind to pull the bombs into them, along with Kokushibo.

'Breath of Stone, Fifth Form: Arcs of Justice'

Gyomei launched his axe and flail forward in a barrage simultaneously towards Kokushibo, causing him to be forced back as the bombs blew up around him.

Hiroto looked towards Muichiro and gave a nod. Muichiro understood the signal and rushed in.

'Breath of Mist, Seventh Form: Obscuring Clouds'

Muichiro drastically changed his tempo of movement in an attempt to disorient Kokushibo. Kokushibo watched Muichiro approach him, but sees that his speed appears to be extremely slow.

Just as he was about to bring his sword down onto Muichiro's head, Muichiro hid amongst the clouds that he let out, allowing him to move in the blink of an eye.

*shik*

Kokushibo barely managed to see the changes in Muichiro's body to predict his move, causing him to be cut along the shoulder.

"Now, Hiroto!" Gyomei shouted out, pressuring Kokushibo once more.

Hiroto then appeared out of the mist, next to Kokushibo.

'Breath of Silence, Final Form: Silent Night'

From Kokushibo's point of view, Hiroto's body faded away as his sword went through him. The hazy afterimage of Hiroto disappeared.

*CLANG*

Kokushibo brought his sword behind his back, blocking Hiroto's strike in the process. Hiroto paid no mind and pulled out his wakizashi, stabbing it forward into his back.

*SHIK*

"Grahhh!!" Kokushibo cried out, as he felt a searing hot pain assault his body. He swung his fist towards Hiroto's body, causing Hiroto to quickly raise his arm to protect against the strike.

*BOOM*

*crack*

Hiroto was hit in the side of his body, sending him tumbling away as Gyomei quickly caught him.

"Hiroto!" Gyomei shouted in concern.

*cough* Hiroto coughed out a bit of blood but got out of Gyomei's arms, saying, "It's fine. We can't let a moment slip just because of our injuries."

Gyomei nodded solemnly, looking towards the wakizashi embedded inside Kokushibo's back.

Hiroto turned to Gyomei and said, "Bring your weapon here. I have a feeling this will only work for a while."

Gyomei nodded, reeling back his axe and flail.

*ding*

Hiroto brought his sword downwards onto Gyomei's weapon, causing them to slowly turn into a shade of Crimson.

Kokushibo's eyes turned towards Hiroto full of fury, 'He turned the other Hashira's weapon red. Just like Yoriichi's.'

'Dance of the Fire God, Flash Dance'

Hiroto launched forward again as Sanemi, Uzui, and Muichiro pressured Kokushibo back, avoiding his attacks in the process.

Kokushibo read Hiroto's movements and quickly predicted it's path. 'Since all of them are attacking me together, I'll just kill them all at the same time.'

'Breath of the Moon, Fourteenth Form: Catastrophe - Tenman Crescent Moon'

Kokushibo swung his sword all around him, creating multiple vortexes filled with slashes that destroyed whatever is caught up within its attack radius.

'Need to get in close, dodge past the attacks and get in close!' Muichiro thought, dodging past the vortex's as he was cut in various places at the same time.

'Breath of Wind, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter'

Sanemi dashed forward in a cyclone of slashes, cutting through the ground as he rushed forward. Kokushibo dodged to the side, but just as he was about to bring his sword down a rosemary ball struck his hand, causing it to fumble slightly.

Gyomei shouted, "Now!"

Hiroto rushed through the hall, leaving behind a seared ground as it blew apart from the force of his propulsion. Kokushibo saw Hiroto and thought, 'I already know this move, you already used it.'

Koksuhibo swung his sword sideways towards Hiroto's body, but just as the sword was about to cut him in half, Hiroto threw himself towards the ground.

'Breath of Silence, Second Form: Crescent Moon - Lunar Eclipse'

Hiroto fell towards the ground, and brought his sword upwards from beneath him, aiming at Kokushibo's wrists. Kokushibo gritted his teeth and slammed his sword downwards towards Hiroto.

*whoosh*

Hiroto disappeared from under Kokushibo as he jumped up.

'Dance of the Fire God, Fire Wheel - Solar Eclipse.' Hiroto jumped up into the air and concentrated his power into his hands. From behind him looked like a raging sun growing as Hiroto blocked its view with his body.

*shik*

"Grahhhh!!!" Kokushibo cried out, as his left wrist was cut off from Hiroto's attack. As Hiroto was still in the air, Kokushibo swung his right arm forward, gripping his sword tightly.

'Breath of Mist, First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze'

Muichiro performed a straightforward and fast thrust attack, stabbing under Kokushibo's right rib cage, causing him to falter on his attack.

Uzui rushed forward and swung his sword towards Kokushibo's face, causing him to pull back and block the strike with his sword. With one arm, he grabbed Muichiro and pulled him away.

Kokushibo growled angrily towards Uzui and brought his sword down towards his face.

*BOOM*

From the side of the hall, Genya shot his gun, launching numerous bullets towards Kokushibo.

Kokushibo reacted quickly, deflecting the bullets off its course. However, in the air they changed directions, sinking into his body. Looking towards the source of the gunshot, Koksuhibo saw Genya with an appearance of a Demon, holding a shotgun that started to change forms, with eyes growing out of it.

*krrk*

*VROOM*

From within Kokushibo's body, tree branches grew out of his body, wrapping around him and restricting his movements.

At that moment, every Hashira rushed forward onto Kokushibo, aiming to end his life right there and then.

"GRAHHHHHH!!!!" Kokushibo cried out, sending torrents of slashes all around him, cutting everyone caught in its path, sending them barreling away.

Hiroto could barely react in time, as one of the slashes cut him all over his body as he grit his teeth in pain.

From within Kokushibo's body, purple blades with eyes protruding out of his body from all angles. Muichiro was the closest to Kokushibo and made his move first.

He saw the wakizashi still embedded in the back of Kokushibo, and grabbed it. Pushing his arm upwards, he forced the blade to run up along the length of Kokushibo's back.

*shiiikkk*

"Grahhhh!!!" Kokushibo cried out, as a searing hot pain caused him to stop his movements, as the red blade sliced open his back.

"Blood Demon Technique..." Genya muttered, as his body was cut into two halves.

From the open wound on Kokushibo's back, a tree started to grow out of it, restricting Kokushibo's movement, not allowing him to execute his sword techniques.

Kokushibo turned towards Genya and was about to swipe his sword towards him, but quickly whipped his head to the side.

*CRACK*

Gyomei's flail landed on the back of Kokushibo's neck, causing it to sear his skin from the Crimson metal surface.

"GUAAAAGHHH! Nuaaagghhh!!" Kokushibo cried out in agony, as he felt his skin being burnt to a crisp.

Gyomei spun in the air, bringing his axe upwards under Kokushibo's neck, aiming to cut it apart.

Kokushib's 6 eyes narrowed as he quickly swung his blade to block the axe.

*CLANG*

"RAAAAGGHHHH!!" Sanemi shouted out, jumping up and swinging his blade downwards onto Gyomei's flail, pushing it down with even more force, causing his own blade to start to turn red.

Kokushibo saw Hiroto and Uzui approaching from in front, with Hiroto leading and aiming to cut off Kokushibo's head.

'His sword, if he cuts me with his sword I'm done for.' Kokushibo thought, then brought his own sword up to his neck, severing his head from his own body.

*thud*

Kokushibo's head rolled away, but his body still stood.

"He's not dead! Don't stop!!" Hiroto shouted, being able to see Kokushibo's body working overcapacity as blood started to surge up towards the neck.

'Breath of Wind, Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash'

Sanemi leaped into the air and swung his blade, cutting across Kokushibo's body as he slid past.

'Breath of Stone, Fifth Form: Arcs of Justice' Gyomei swung both his flail and axe towards Kokushibo simultaneously. Kokushibo dodged and weaved past the weapons, as they crashed into the floor and destroyed the tiles.

'Breath of Sound, First Form: Roar' Uzui held his two swords apart, spinning them rapidly in conjunction and releasing his bombs, forwards to Kokushibo, causing chunks of flesh to be blown apart, but was instantly regenerated back.

Kokushibo then flew past everyone, as he landed a distance away. "Haaagghh." Turning around, Kokushibo grew a new head, as his body took on a whole new transformation, as well as his head.

Kokushibo transformed himself into a demonic, monstrous form resembling a spider, enhancing all of his abilities and powers.

"That asshole regrew his own head!! Fuck! Fucking fuuuuk!!" Sanemi cried out.

"Keep attacking!! Hos body should be weak since he just regenerated his head!! He still only has one hand, so his attacks should be limited! Aim for the head! Over and Over!!" Gyomei shouted out to the others, who launched forwards and continued their onslaught.

Kokushibo was about to prepare his next attack, but when he stared back into Hiroto's eyes, the face of Yoriichi stared back at him, in sadness.

From Hiroto's reflection in his eyes, Kokushibo saw his own, monstrous form. 'What on Earth is this ugly form…'

In his head, he could hear a voice, 'Brother, your dream was to become the strongest samurai in the country, right? I want to be like you as well. I… want to become the second strongest samurai in the country.'

'The form of a samurai? Is this… Is this what I really wanted?' Kokushibo thought, as he felt his back start to crumble and wither away, from the wakizashi and Muichiro used to cut Kokushibo open.

Hiroto could see for a moment, a sense of disbelief and regret in Kokushibo's eyes. Stealing his resolve, Hiroto narrowed his eyes and breathed in.

'Dance of the Fire God, Setting Sun Transformation'

Hiroto leaped up into the air, flipping, and delivering a sword slash downwards onto Kokushibo's neck, severing his head from his body.

Kokushibo's head arced in the air, as his eyes met with Hiroto's. As Hiroto stared back, blood dripping down his face.

The face of Hiroto was replaced with Yoriichi, his brother, and the first Demon Slayer. 'Yoriichi. After your death, Lord Muzan and I made sure to kill swordsmen who knew Sun Breathing and it's forms. So why do your breathing techniques remain?'

*fwooo*

Kokushibo's body crumbled into ashes, scattering into the wind, as though time came back to reclaim it's lost toy.

*clack clack* from within Kokushibo's robes, a flute rolled out of its pockets, tumbling towards Hiroto's feet. Hiroto bent down and picked it up, opening its contents.

From within, Hiroto saw a wooden flute, which was sliced apart at the top. 'Why in the world was I ever born? Tell me… Yoriichi.' Hiroto thought he could hear the voice of Kokushibo in his head, but shook it off, pocketing the flute.

"Shinazugawa!! Stop!!" Gyomei shouted from the side towards Sanemi, who kept swinging his sword away.

Uzui ran forward and grabbed Sanemi, saying, "Shanizaguwa, it's over. We all won, flamboyantly. This victory… is ours."

Sanemi then fell forward, losing his consciousness. Hiroto looked towards Sanemi, and saw that his vitals were still intact, but were heavily damaged.

"He's alive," Hiroto said, taking his wakizashi from Muichiro, and sheathing it along with his sword. "But he's heavily injured, he needs medical attention. And so do you." Hiroto looked towards Muichiro's missing right hand.

Hiroto put a hand on Muichiro's head and said, "You did great."

Muichiro looked back into Hiroto's eyes and saw the figure of his brother smiling back.

'He's only fourteen, and already has to face so much.' Hiroto thought, looking towards Gyomei, who carried Sanemi over to Genya, who laid on the ground in two.

"Bro...ther… You're… Alive… Thank… Goodness…" Genya muttered, looking towards the unconscious Sanemi, as Gyomei laid him down next to him.

Gyomei then turned and walked over to Hiroto, putting a hand onto his shoulder and saying, "Thanks to you, we won. If you hadn't come and helped us, who knows how many would have lost their lives…"

Uzui walked up to Hiroto and said, "You're already so much stronger than I last saw you. You're even stronger than I am, you've become so flamboyant!"

"Ha, thanks." Hiroto smiled back.

"WAAAAAAAGGHHH!!" Sanemi cried out, as he woke up and scrambled towards Genya.

"What the fuck happened here!!" Sanemi cried out, with tears streaming down his eyes. "Your body… Why is your body crumbling like a Demon's?! Aagghh fuck!! Fuck!!" Sanemi tried to grab ahold of the crumbling pieces of Genya's half, pushing them back into his body.

"Bro...ther…" Genya muttered.

"Don't worry, I'll do something! Your older brother will do something about this!!" Sanemi cried out in agitation as he watched his own brother start to crumble before his eyes. "Hiroto!! Your sister is also a Demon, can you do something about this?! Anything!! Please!!" Sanemi turned to Hiroto and begged.

Hiroto watched on, gripping his hands tightly as they bled, feeling powerless to do anything for Genya's situation.

"Bro...ther… So...rry…" Genya muttered, with tears streaming down the left half of his face. "Back...Then… I… Blamed you… Sorry… And for being… A Burden… Sorry…"

"You were never a burden to me! Not even once! Don't die!!" Sanemi cried out, holding onto the crumbling pieces of Genya. "Don't you dare die before me!!"

"Thanks… for… Protecting me…" Genya muttered.

Hiroto watched out, feeling a pain in his chest as tears formed in the corner of his eyes, as well as the other Hashira's watching Genya slowly crumble away.

"You… were… trying… to protect… me… And I… wanted to… protect you… Brother… We feel… the same… because… we're brothers. You had many… horrible… memories… and I wanted you… to be happy… I want you… to not die… Because my brother… is… the sweetest… person… in the world…" Genya's face started to crumble apart, as Sanemi crouched over his head to try and stop it.

"Aaagghhh!! Come on, God! Please! Please!! Don't take my brother away! Please!!" Sanemi cried out, his voice turning hoarse.

"Th...ank...you… Bro...ther…"

*fwooo*

Genya's face crumbled, breaking apart and floating away as a draft blew it into the air.

Sanemi broke down, crying, "Aaaagghhh!! Genya!! Aggh! Waaahh! Genyaaaa!!"

Gyomei watched came behind Sanemi, tears streaming down his eyes, saying, "Shinazugawa. We have to go. This isn't over until Muzan is defeated."

Hiroto turned to Uzui and Muichiro, both had a solemn look on their face. Hiroto looked up to the crow flying above them, and swearing in his heart, 'Muzan, I will kill you. I will make you suffer for all the deaths you caused, all the families you tore apart for your own selfish desires.'