Support

"Hah. Haah"

Nezuko stumbled along the road towards the town where the battle against Muzan raged on. Her mind was in constant flux, as various images of different people surfaced in her mind.

As she continued along the road, the faces of her mother, her sister and brothers flashed by. Then the image of Muzan barging into their house in the middle of the night, killing everyone.

"Run, Sis! Run for it!!" Takeo's voice echoed in her head, as the image of him covering Shigeru surfaced, and then them being killed.

Another image flashed through her head, showing Muzan staring down at her laying in the snow.

"To think that you would die from only this much blood. I guess I can't really create a Demon can that can conquer the Sun, huh." Muzan's emotionless voice echoed through her head.

Anger soured through Nezuko, as the fangs on her teeth shrunk, leaving her with a normal set of human teeth. Her left eye started to turn back into its original color and shape.

The image of Hiroto and Tanjiro running towards the house crying and shouting surfaced in her mind, as Nezuko herself began to cry.

Then the image of Giyu flashed by, followed by Urokodoki. Tamayo and Yuchiro appeared. Then Zenitsu and Inosuke. Nezuko fell to the ground, gasping for breath as her heart pounded and pounded.

The image of Oyakata's peaceful and warm gaze surfaced. Followed by Sanemi with blood dripping down his hand, with the other Hashira's kneeling down.

A memory of Nezuko being in the box, and then it opening to show the curious gaze of Kanao, Aoi, and the other girls looking at her with warm gazes.

The faces of Uzui and his wives after the battle at the red light district flashed by, followed by the different swordsmiths. The face of a smiling Genya surfaced.

The sharp nails on Nezuko's hand's retracted, assuming the original appearance of her human hands. Slowly standing up, the figures of both Hiroto and Tanjiro appeared in her mind.

With both their hands reaching out towards her, the warm filled gaze of Tanjiro, and the brotherly smile of Hiroto loomed over her, as he said, "Nezuko. You're not alone. Both me and Tanjiro will always be there for you."

A painful headache shook Nezuko, as she grasped her head in pain. "Uuughh! Ghhhh! Uuhgh!"

The image of Hiroto covering Nezuko's body in the snow-covered forest, as Giyu was trying to kill her surfaced.

Hiroto's voice echoed. "She's my younger sister! I won't let you harm her! No matter what happens, I will always protect her! Always!!"

Nezuko sucked in a lungful of air, as her left eye returned back to its original appearance before becoming a Demon, as her face was covered in sweat and tears.

'I am Kamado Nezuko!!' Nezuko screamed out in her mind. 'My family was killed by a Demon.'

-----

Back in the town, the battle raged on as Hiroto ducked under Muzan's elongated arms, destroying the building behind Hiroto.

*BOOM*

Muzan's movements have gotten slower and slower, as his body started to slowly rot with black marks appearing over his skin, with the old scars on his body allowing for Hiroto and the others to direct their attacks.

'I'm sensing signs of life.' Muzan thought, as his pupils narrowed. 'The lives are coming back. All those annoying Hashira's. I was unable to finish any of them off.'

"Thirty-five minutes until dawn!!" A crow shouted out over the battlefield.

"Hah. Haa" Muzan breathed heavily, thinking to himself, 'The fight will end here. There's no need to put myself in any more danger.'

Muzan's movements seemed to have faltered, as Hiroto's eyes concentrated on what was happening inside of Muzan's body.

Suddenly, Muzan's left arm started to increase and swell in size, threatening to explode.

"Tanjiro! Iguro! Muzan's trying to split himself apart! Quickly move to intercept him!!" Hiroto yelled out, sprinting forward.

"He's going to split himself into tiny pieces so he can escape!" Tanjiro shouted.

As they got closer, the swelling arm and back of Muzan's started to shrink and revert to their original shape, leaving Hiroto and the others in disbelief. Including Muzan himself.

'I can't split myself apart.' Muzan thought to himself, staring at his arm.

Taking this chance, Hiroto rushed forward, but then Muzan started to vomit out blood.

In Muzan's mind, the voice of Tamayo echoed, "There were actually four types of poison. Thanks to the third drug, the one that destroys your cells at their weak points are now starting to take effect. Well, well. It looks like the death you've hated for so long is right before your eyes now."

Muzan suddenly stopped moving, as his body started to convulse.

'What's he doing? It's probably because of Tamayo's drugs. I need to exploit this chance, and pin him down a little longer until dawn arrives!' Hiroto thought as he, Tanjiro, and Obanai charged from 3 different directions.

As the three got closer, Muzan's body suddenly morphed, as his torso and upper body changed into a gigantic beastly mouth.

"GRAHHHHHHHHH!!!" Muzan released a strong shockwave scream, sending Hiroto, Tanjiro, and Obanai crashing away into the ground as they were caught in the heart of the blast.

The surrounding area around Muzan was left destroyed beyond recognition, as the surrounding area was obliterated. The crow was killed, causing Kirya and his sisters who were far away from the action to also receive the brunt of the damage.

"G-G… Gah." Hiroto started to convulse on the ground, as his body started to lock up, his insides crushed for the shockwave.

On the sides, Tanjiro was having the same issues, as he also laid on the ground, his body convulsing and spasming as blood poured out of his mouth.

Gritting his hands tightly, Hiroto rolled over on the ground, and punched his fist down, forcing his body to stand up.

'My lungs… they're crushed. So are my insides.' Hiroto slowly pushed himself to stand back up, using his sword to support his body as his muscles and body continued to spasm.

"Persistent pests. Why won't you just die already!!" Muzan yelled out, swinging his arm towards Hiroto.

"Aghhhh!!" A shout coming from Inosuke interrupted the attack, as he blocked Muzan's attack before it landed on Hiroto.

Hiroto tried to speak out, to warn Inosuke, but only resulted in coughing out blood. Inosuke stood in front of Hiroto, shaking, as his body was heavily bandaged up.

"They protected us," Inosuke said, his voice trembling. "That ball ball old man's leg and the mismatched haori, and the god of festivities arm got cut off. All those corpses everywhere are the buddies I ate my food with. Give 'em back. The leg, the arms, the lives. Give them back!"

Inosuke trembled with both anger and sadness. "If you can't do that… Then you'll die a million times over to make up for it!!"

Muzan swung his whip-like arms towards Inosuke, who jumped over the attack and dodged out of the way. While he was still airborne, Muzan thrust his right arm into the ground.

*BOOM* From under Inosuke, a giant blob of flesh, covered in jaws and spikes, bit into Inosuke's body.

'Inosuke!!' Tanjiro, on the ground, screamed in his head. 'Aaahhh Inosuke!! Help! Help him!' His vision started to slowly blackout.

Hiroto tried moving his body but felt it cease up, as his legs refused to move. 'Dammit!! If I don't do anything, he's gonna die!!' Hiroto cursed himself, trying to get his dying body to move.

*SHIK SHIK*

Out of nowhere, a yellow streak flashed forward and cut apart the flesh that held Inosuke. Landing next to Inosuke who tumbled on the ground, Zenitsu shouted out, "Inosuke, pull it together! Hiroto and Tanjiro are still alive! I can hear their pulse! Gagh." Zenitsu felt his old wounds opening back up.

'Agh, dammit!' Hiroto shouted in his mind, lifting his sword and pointing it towards his shoulder. 'If this sword can stop a Demon's cells from regenerating, it might work on Muzan's blood technique.' Hiroto looked over to Tanjiro, who had the same thought as he did as they both stared at each for a moment.

With a nod from the two, Hiroto and Tanjiro thrust their sword into their shoulders, aiming to avoid any major blood vessels and arteries.

'Aghhhh!! It burns!!' Hiroto screamed in his head, as he could feel his skin and shoulder being burnt from the inside, as smoke started to rise out of the wound.

"Hiroto! Tanjiro! Just focus on staying alive!" Zenitsu shouted, running around. "You're both going home with Nezuko! With a Nezuko who has become Human again! You're both going home to the house you were born and raised in! Your whole family's waiting for you three to return!"

*BOOM*

Zenitsu was sent flying into the side of a building, as Muzan pinned him there.

"Uwaaa!!" Inosuke shouted, stabbing through Muzan's arm from above with his swords. With his swords still stuck inside Muzan's arm, Muzan whipped it away, sending Inosuke flying into the side of a building.

*KRSH*

"Gegh!" Inosuke spurted out blood from under his mask.

Hiroto's eyes were fully wide open, as tears ran down his face. 'Nezuko… turned back to a human? It worked? Nezuko…' Hiroto's grip on his sword tightened, as the pain from the sword started to subside, with the searing hot pain starting to disappear.