58. Akaza

"It sure has been a while," Akaza said, a wild grin stretching across his face. "I'm surprised that you're alive, being the weakling that you are, Tanjiro Kamado!"

Tanjiro narrowed his eyes. His grip tightened around his sword until his knuckles turned white.

Beside him, Hana felt fury flare in her chest.

Without another word, the demon bolted forward, aiming a lethal punch straight at Tanjiro.

Tanjiro reacted instantly. He flipped through the air, his blade trailing fire. "Hinokami Kagura: Fire Wheel!" The flaming arc sliced through the air, cleanly cutting Akaza's arm off at the elbow.

Hana didn't wait. She rushed forward to attack Akaza while he was regenerating. She swung her blade aiming for his neck. But Akaza didn't even look at her. He simply tilted his body, dodging her attacks with effortless grace. He moved as if she weren't even there.

Hana felt a wave of hot rage wash over her. She moved forward, slashing at him again. But again, he rushed forward, focused entirely on Tanjiro launching a flurry of punches at him.

"Hidden Form: Fake Rainbow!" Tanjiro cried out. He used the tenth form of the Hinokami Kagura, twisting his body to move. Akaza's fist went right through empty air.

As Tanjiro landed, a shallow cut appeared on Akaza's face. The demon stopped and touched the wound, his expression changing from mockery to something like respect.

"This boy and girl aren't weak. Don't insult them," Akaza said quietly. "I now accept that Kyojuro was right to say that. I've already acknowledged Hana. But Tanjiro, you truly are not weak either. I will show my respect for you."

At the mention of Rengoku's name, Hana's expression darkened.

"Now then..." Akaza dropped into stance as blue markings glowed across his skin. "Let us continue."

Tanjiro used that moment to unleash his own attack, but Akaza was too fast. In the blink of an eye, the demon appeared behind Tanjiro. His arm was pulled back, a millisecond away from a blow that would behead the boy.

"Tenth Form: Fire Wheel!" Hana screamed. She threw herself into the path of the attack, her flaming blade cut through Akaza's forearm, before it could even reach Tanjiro.

Akaza clicked his tongue. Before Hana could attack again, Akaza suddenly turned away from her entirely and ran straight toward Giyuu moving with such speed that the air roared around him.

Akaza's fist hit Giyuu's sword. The force of the hit broke the walls around them. Giyuu slid back but kept his feet. Akaza grinned. "The Water Hashira..." he muttered. "It's been fifty years since I've encountered someone good."

Giyuu didn't answer. He stepped forward and lunged at the demon. "Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance."

"Destructive Death: Disorder!" Akaza unleashed a flurry of punches. Each one created a localized explosion of air.

Giyuu blocked the brunt of it, but the sheer force sent him skidding across the platform. He hit a pillar, the wood cracking behind him.

"Hinokami Kagura: Raging Sun!" Tanjiro suddenly appears and tried to attack the him, but Akaza dodged his attack and appeared behind him, attempting a backhand chop, however Hana rushed forward just in time and cut Akaza's attacking arm off.

Akaza moved quickly. A brutal kick slammed directly into Hana's stomach. Pain exploded through her body. Blood burst from her nose as she was launched backward violently.

"Hana!" Giyuu appeared beside her instantly, catching her before she could crash through the wall completely.

"You okay?" He whispered as he steadied her.

Hana nodded wiping the blood with the back of her hand.

Then Giyuu lunged at Akaza with terrifying speed.

Akaza was pleased. "Give me your name," he asked eagerly. "I want to remember you."

"I have no name to give a demon. I hate speaking," Giyuu continued coldly. "So don't talk to me."

"Ah, so you hate talking? But I love talking." His grin sharpened. "I'll ask again and again."

His severed arm regenerated instantly and the two clash again, seemingly neck and neck, before Akaza raises his leg and with a powerful shockwave attack, He launched Giyuu backward. Giyuu flew through the air, crashing through several walls until he disappeared from sight.

"Giyuu..!" Hana gasped, grabbing her sword tighter.

"So his name's Giyuu?" Akaza's voice was suddenly right in her ear. He appeared mere inches away from her face, So close she could see her reflection in his golden eyes.

Tanjiro roared and swung his sword, but Akaza simply moved his hip, kicking Tanjiro in the chest. Tanjiro was sent tumbling away, crashing into a pile of rubble.

Hana swung her sword at the demon, but Akaza backed away instantly. He stood in front of her, his posture relaxed, looking at her with a chilling casualness.

"You've gotten even stronger," he said, his voice strangely calm. "You and your brother both. The offer still stands, Hana. Become a demon."

"Never." she spat.

Akaza sighed, looking almost disappointed. "I'm glad Kyojuro died that night." he then said casually.

Hana stared at him her eyes darkened. "What did you say?"

"He had already reached his limit as a human. If he had agreed to became a demon, he could've surpassed every Hashira. But he clung to that foolish pride of staying human."

"How dare you speak of him?" Hana stood tall and held out her sword, her hands steady despite her rage.

Akaza smiled faintly. "You're angry."

She charged at him again. She managed to land a deep vertical slash on his chest, but Akaza twisted just in time and She missed his head by seconds.

Akaza jumped back, the wound on his chest already knitting itself shut. "Why are you angry?" he asked. "I'm praising him and I'm praising you."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "It's unfortunate you were born a woman. Had you been born a man, I would've enjoyed fighting you properly."

Hana's eyes widened with disgust. "No," she spat. "You're just badmouthing him. You spit on everyone you fight."

"You're misunderstanding Hana," Akaza replied calmly. "The only people I hate are weaklings. I spit in the faces of weaklings."

"Weaklings?" Hana scoffed, lowering her sword slightly. "You still talk like you're above everyone else..But the truth is, you're pathetic."

The smile disappeared from Akaza's face.

"You mocked Rengoku-san for being human, yet he stood there dying with your fist through his stomach and STILL held you in place." Her voice cracked with emotion. "He stayed standing until the very end while you fled for your life the moment sun began to rise."

"Watch your mouth." he said coldly.

"He didn't run away. He protected everyone until his final breath while you ran into the woods like a coward. And even while dying, he was more honorable than you'll ever be." She spat angrily.

He rushed forward. Before Hana could even raise her blade, his hand was around her throat. He lifted her off her feet, and pushing her slightly up so her toes barely touched the floor.

"I warned you before," Akaza murmured, his golden eyes cold and hard. "Do not insult me with human ideas of pride. Humans decay. They break. But demons surpass death itself. You would have made an exceptional demon, Hana. But instead, you insist on remaining fragile."

His grip tightened. Hana's vision began to spark. She couldn't breathe. "And you..." she rasped, the words barely audible. "You chose....to spend eternity.. running from the sun...Hiding..in the... shadows."

Akaza's eyes flashed. Hana drove her leg upward, her kick slamming into his jaw with a loud crack. At the same moment, she swung her sword and his hand fell away, severed at the wrist. Hana dropped to the floor, gasping for air, before immediately attacking his legs.

Akaza backed away his severed hand regenerating before it even hit the ground. Hana charged him again recklessly, clashing her blade against his bare fists.

"What?" she shouted while clashing blades against his fist. "Still refusing to fight me seriously?!"

Akaza shoved her backward. "I do not kill women." he said flatly.

Hana froze for half a second.

Akaza continued coldly, "No matter how strong they are, I do not eat them, and I do not kill them. But..." His gaze sharpened into a lethal point. "You are beginning to test my patience. I will break your limbs. I will leave you unable to move until the battle is over. Your brother will die infront of you and you won't be able to do anything."

Hana charged him again and for a brief moment, Akaza finally began to fight back properly, parrying her strikes with his forearms and sending sharp jolts of pain up her arms.

"So that's it?" Hana said, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. "You've been holding back this entire time because I'm a woman? That's your excuse?" She spat swinging for his neck.

Akaza caught her blade between his palms. The sword stopped instantly. Hana pulled with all her might, but it wouldn't budge.

Akaza looked at her, his eyes cold. "Enough." he said.

Suddenly, blood sprayed and Akaza's hands fell away from the blade, severed at the wrists.

Hana gasped and stumbled back. She turned to see Giyuu standing beside her.

He looked battered. His haori was slightly shredded, and a deep gash on his forehead was pouring blood down the side of his face.

"Now I'm angry," Giyuu said quietly. He rolled his shoulder. "There's a pain in my back. Great job blasting me all the way back there Upper moon three."

Before Hana could react, Akaza grabbed her and hurled her away to get her out of the way of his fight with the Hashira. She crashed through three walls, wood shattering against her spine. She heard a loud crack before darkness swallowed her vision for a long moment.

Giyuu's eyes darkened as the sound of splintering wood echoed through the ruined fortress. For a single second, everything around him went still. He looked at Akaza who casually rolled his shoulders.

Giyuu slowly lifted his sword. The air around him changed. "I'm even angrier now." Giyuu said in a low dangerous voice before rushing forward.

Hana drifted in a haze of pain. She could hear the muffled sounds of fighting the ring of steel and the boom of explosions. She forced her eyes open slowly getting up with the support of her sword.

Her vision was blurry. She saw Giyuu locked in a brutal battle with Akaza.

Hana tried to stand, but her legs felt like jelly. She looked around, feeling a deep sense of helplessness. What can I do? Akaza was too strong. Incredibly fast. She couldn't even track his movements properly.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced in the back of her mind. She saw a vision of her father, Tanjuro Kamado. He was thin and sickly, yet he danced in the snow for hours without getting tired. He was like a plant. He never had an emotional outburst. He was always calm and gentle. Whenever Hana thought of him, she remembered his soft smile and his calm voice.

Snow crunched softly beneath Tanjiro's sandals as he followed his father deeper into the forest. Beside him, fourteen-year-old Hana pulled her thick winter cloak tighter. Her breath fogged in the freezing mountain air. The cold was unbearable tonight. Above them, tall trees stretched toward the darkening sky, their branches heavy with snow.

Hana's sense of smell picked up the scents of pine, grass and ice. Then, she smelled something else lingering underneath.

Blood.

Her brows furrowed. She glanced toward her father's back. Tanjuro Kamado walked ahead quietly, an axe in his hands. His thin frame looked fragile, and a soft cough escaped him now and then. Yet, he never seemed weak.

Hana exchanged a look with eleven-year-old Tanjiro and kept walking ahead.

Then, a low growl echoed through the trees.

Tanjiro stopped walking. "Big sis...Dad.." he whispered nervously, immediately grabbing Hana's sleeve.

From between the snow-covered trees, a massive bear slowly emerged. Hana's breath caught in her throat she quickly held Tanjiro's hand. The creature was enormous, nearly two meters tall. Its dark fur was matted with snow and streaked with fresh blood. This was the bear that had already killed six people.

The bear's eyes locked onto them. It was hungry. Tanjiro stumbled backward, his legs shaking. Despite the fear racing through her own body, Hana did not run. She stepped firmly in front of her younger brother, shielding him with her own body. She gripped a small branch, the only thing she could find, and stood her ground.

"Dad..." she whispered tensely.

The beast roared but their father looked at the bear. He was perfectly calm. "I am very sorry about your hunger," Tanjuro said. "But if you come any closer, I will not let you off easily. If anyone or anything tries to harm my family, I will show no mercy. If you do not heed my warning, I will take your life."

"Dad, what can I do?" Hana's voice trembled, but she did not move away from Tanjiro. She slowly moved a step ahead, keeping her brother behind her back, ready to protect him if the bear lunged.

Then, it charged.

Snow exploded beneath the bear's paws. It rushed toward them with terrifying speed.

A single step. A flash of steel. It happened so fast that neither Hana nor Tanjiro saw it. One second, their father stood still. The next, the bear collapsed. The head of the bear, which was the size of a human body, thumped to the ground.

Hana's eyes widened. She had not seen the movement. Their father had struck twice in the blink of an eye. His smell never wavered. There was no hesitation, no fear, and no anger in him. He just stood there with his usual plant like presence.

Tanjuro stood over the animal, his axe resting at his side. He knelt and rested a hand gently against the bear's thick fur. There was no pride on his face, only sadness.

"Did you see that?" he asked softly.

"Dad, yes, we did. We saw." Tanjiro said, still trembling slightly. Beside him, Hana held his hand tightly, her own heart racing.

"The mountain is cruel sometimes. This bear was starving. If I had allowed it to continue, more people would have died."

He carefully closed the creature's lifeless eyes. Tanjiro stared silently at the blood on the snow. Tanjuro looked back at his children.

"Hana, Tanjiro," their father whispered. "Don't use your eyes to see. Use your heart to feel the world. Become like a plant. Become empty. Don't forget what you saw."

Hana closed her eyes. She stopped focusing on the noise and the fear. She focused on her breathing.

"Don't give up. Just keep thinking about it. If you keep working hard and never slack off, you can tear down any wall in your way."

"I won't let anything happen to them," Hana whispered to herself. "I will find a way."

Hana opened her eyes. The pain in her body was still there, but it felt distant now. A strange, calm strength flowed through her limbs. She didn't feel heavy anymore.