Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
The moon still hung in the night sky, its pale light shining on the silent streets below.
Akaza's nose twitched slightly. The smell of blood in the air was thick, and he turned his gaze to look at the person walking toward him.
His eyes reflected the miserable state of Kaigaku limping with the support of his sword.
'A demon slayer?'
Akaza tilted his head confusedly, his brow furrowed.
He had been feeling frustrated for not being able to fight anyone for several days. The practitioner of martial arts he visited were all trash, not worth mentioning.
At least with demon slayers, they are all lunatics and suicidal enough to risk their lives to kill demons.
'It's better than nothing.'
Akaza stood straight as he waited in place for Kaigaku to reach him.
Then, he slid into his fighting stance with his left hand in front of him while his right clenched into a fist at his side.
He narrowed his eyes as he was ready to unleash his frustration of the past few days through this battle.
He waits for Kaigaku to brandish his sword and start attacking him.
Kaigaku finally stopped walking as he looked up at the person blocking his path. His blood dripped down his clothes.
He saw that the person in front of him had kanji written in their eyes. The kanji for "Upper Moon" and "Two," which leave him stunned as he processes this information.
The Twelve Kizuki.
He encountered one of the strongest demons known to man.
'Ah... why... why me...'
Kaigaku's pupils trembled. He felt like his hope and will to survive were plunged into the abyss.
He resorts to the one thing left for a coward like him.
Kaigaku let go of his broken blade as he bent his knees and put his head to the ground.
He supported himself with his one hand as he slowly touched his forehead on the earth.
"I'M... I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO DISRESPECT..."
"PLEASE... LET ME GO!!"
"I'M WILLING TO DO ANYTHING!!"
Kaigaku begged with any strength he had left. He didn't find it shameful to kneel before a strong figure like an Upper Moon, as long as he remained alive.
"...you're... begging for mercy?"
Akaza frowned in disgust at Kaigaku's state of shamelessness.
Rage boiled in his heart.
Only the weak beg for mercy and run away!
That's why they sneak around.
He hated the weak!
Rage veins were bulging on Akaza's forehead.
After seeing the broken sword and Kaigaku's immediate surrender without a fight.
He was reminded of someone doing the same in front of him.
It was the same situation too. The sword lay beside its wielder, but in his vision, it was a wooden sword, and Kaigaku's clothing was changed into a kendo uniform.
An inexplicable disgust and anger surged within him, and several days of frustration caused him to release an aura of death that affected every living being in the area.
Akaza's vision was quickly turning red as muscles and veins popped out all over his body. His pupils contracted while he looked down on Kaigaku.
"Get up and fight!"
He moved in a flash and appeared in front of the bowing Kaigaku.
"Bastard! I said, Get up!!"
Akaza tensed his muscles and swung out his fist. The speed of his punch left an afterimage as he hysterically screamed for Kaigaku to fight.
He wasn't sure why he was getting hysterical.
Bang!
Crash!
Kaigaku's body was tossed like a ragdoll through the house beside their meeting place.
Before Kaigaku could react.
Akaza charged in through the hole of the house and stood over the broken body of Kaigaku.
"Weakling trash!!"
He clenched his fist and raised it high.
Then, he proceeded to give a wallop to the poor guy.
Bam!
"Fight back!"
Bam!
"What's the pride in using dirty tricks behind people's backs!?"
Bam!
"Answer me!"
Bam! Bam! Crunch!
The more he swung his fists, the angrier Akaza became. On the back of his head, a memory long forgotten seemed to stir again.
The force exerted by his fist broke through the sound barrier as he continued to pummel the body under him.
It sounds like someone was testing a big engine in a factory.
...
The neighbors don't know how long the sound kept coming from inside the house.
The people in this district were awakened by the ruckus and came out to see what happened.
They scurried back into their home when they saw that the terrifying sound was caused by a demon.
Crunch!
"Huff... huff..." Akaza stood there in a daze as he finally stopped swinging his fists. He doesn't know how long he had been pummeling, but the destruction caused by his rage tells him it's been a while.
The ground was cracked like a spiderweb, with the center being Akaza. Several of the walls had collapsed.
Allowing him to see outside the house.
There was no trace of Kaigaku beneath Akaza. Even his clothes were mixed with the soil, and his flesh turned into powder by his punches.
Akaza finally came back to his senses. He looked at his fist, red with blood.
He didn't know which punch Kaigaku had died from.
Why did he go on a rampage like a child throwing a tantrum?
He already forgot.
Originally, he thought of playing around first and then blasting the guy's head with one punch.
'Disgusting weakling.'
'Why am I so bothered, anyway...?'
Akaza lowered his head to his hand as he surveyed his surroundings. All the blood and debris clustered messily.
He tried to catch his breath. HE! An Upper Moon! Catching his breath after a tantrum!
The sight of Kaigaku begging for his life pissed him off so much!
Before he knows it, he is pummeling the coward into paste.
Akaza gripped the side of his head tightly, almost to the point of clawing his eye out.
Swish!
Finally, he turned into an afterimage and disappeared from the scene.
---
Dawn arrived at long last, and the sun provided the light necessary for the residents of the town to come out and start the day.
On the district of Akaza's tantrum, the people came out of their houses again, clamoring over each other about the possibility of last night's attack.
Gossips ran amok as they saw the aftermath of the carnage.
Fortunately, the house that was destroyed was not inhabited by anyone.
After the residents checked the wreckage and discussed it for a while.
They decided to notify the local law enforcement.
---
---
-Location: Ubuyashiki Dojo, at Ubuyashiki Residence-
After their meeting, Kagaya prepared the family dojo for the Hashira to practice.
The targeted training to achieve Transparent World has already begun.
Tanjuro's voice was booming inside the dojo.
"Open your five senses, know the shape of your whole body, down to every blood vessel!"
"Use the least amount of movement to exert the greatest amount of strength!"
"Focus!"
"Master yourself, then master your enemies!"
Tanjuro was walking back and forth in front of the Hashira that were holding meditating poses. He puts his hands behind his back as if to look like a master that knows what he's talking about.
Smack!
He picked up the bamboo sword at his waist and hit Sanemi's on his calf hard.
"Calm yourself! Concentrate!"
Sanemi gritted his teeth through his closed eyes. His focus was shattered by Tanjuro's strike as he rubbed his hair in frustration and shouted angrily to the ceiling.