Chapter 39: End of the battle

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Third person POV

With a large clatter Tanjiro hit the ground along with a few pieces of the rooftop and Nezuko's box. His mind continuing to apologize to everyone and Nezuko. Tanjiro opened his eyes and he was in a snowy field with trees all around, just like where he grew up.
"Don't apologise Onii-chan" A voice said and he looked to see Nezuko in front of her, looking like she did before she was turned into a demon.
"Onii-chan, why are you always apologizing? If we're poor, does that make us unhappy? If we can't wear pretty kimonos, should people pity us? Are you so determined to blame someone? You think it was our Otou-san's fault for dying of illness. He tried as hard as he could and it wasn't enough, so we just have to accept that! We're humans after all, so none of us can expect everything to go our way. Whether you're happy or not is up to you, just look at Hikaru. No matter what happens he is always smiling and is happy even after everything he has been through. It doesn't matter what the other villagers say about him or even what they do to him, he is always happy. The important thing is now, not the past. Let's just look ahead, let's try harder together, let's fight!" Nezuko said and her hair came done and she looked like she did as a demon without the muzzle.
"Stop apologizing! You of all people should understand! I want you to understand how I feel!" Nezuko cried out as tears streamed down her face.

With a gasp Tanjiro opened his eyes and heard the sound of crackling fire and realised the buildings around him were destroyed and now on fire.
"Was that a dream about the past? Huh? Where am I? I," Tanjiro whispered as he sat up on his knees and looked around. The power lines were destroyed and the fire was getting bigger as it found more buildings to latch onto. It was a disaster. A place that had been so lively just a few hours ago had been reduced to a burning rumble.
'This is awful, I can't believe it ended up like this. Were the people who lived here able to escape?' Tanjiro wondered before his eyes widened and he turned to the box beside him.
"Where's Nezuko? Nezuko" Tanjiro sighed as he saw that Nezuko had rolled a bit out of her box but she was still sleeping.
'Thanks Nezuko, I have to do what I can do!' Tanjiro thought as he turned only to see Gyutaro standing in front of him scratching at his face.
"What's this? You're still alive? You're one lucky guy, huh? Well not that you have anything going for you except for being lucky" Gyutaro said and Tanjiro saw Daki was sitting on top of the building across the street.
"I feel sorry for you! Everyone but you is probably done for! A single thrust to that boar's heart. That towheaded boy's trapped under the rubble and he's flailing, so I'm just going to leave him there until he dies. Squirming like an insect, how disgraceful is that! Then there's the red headed boy, in the end he was weak and succumbed to blood loss. And how weak was that Hashira all he had was bluster! The poison got to him, stopping his head and now he's dead, it's all over for him!" Gyutaro said as Tanjiro looked at the fallen bodies of his friends.
"So disgraceful! So disgraceful! You five are truly disgraceful! Especially you! You're in another league! The one sticking out of that box you carry is a relative right? I can tell she's closely related to you even if she's a demon now, is she your older sister or younger sister?" Gyutaro asked with a taunting voice.
'Why won't he kill me? What is this? My arm is numb, I still have no strength. Even if I went for his head now, I couldn't slash it,' Tanjiro thought.
"Nezuko, is my imouto," Tanjiro said and Gyutaro smirked widely.
"Just as I thought, you really are a disgrace! You're not protecting your little sister at all!" Gyutaro laughed before kneeling down and sticking his sickles into the ground.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped since you're a human and your sister's a demon. Of course you're weaker than your demon sister, even so what a disgrace! if you're her Aniki instead of being protected by your little sister, you should be protecting her!" Gyutaro said as he reached out, patting Tanjiro's head.
"Devotedly, with this hand, see?" Gyutaro said as he lifted up Tanjiro's left hand before grabbing two of his fingers and crushing them making Tanjiro let out noises of pain while Gyutaro laughed.
"Hey, listen, how do you feel now? Being the only one to survive so disgracefully! That little sister you rely on has all but used up her strength" Gyutaro taunted as he smacked Tanjiro's head over and over again.
"Hey, worm! Dimwit! Sad sack! Coward! Good-for-nothing! Why were you even born, huh?" He continued while grabbing Tanjiro's hair and shaking his head.
"What are you going to do? With your weak sauce, battered, disgraceful human body! Let's see you cut off my head! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Gyutaro yelled while hitting his own chest with his hand. Tanjiro was still breathing in pants but he quickly gritted his teeth while grabbing Nezuko in her box and his sword before running from Gyutaro.
"Huh?" Gyutaro questioned before both him and Daki laughed.
"I see, your soul got crushed at the last minute, huh? How disgraceful you are! You're as disgraceful as all get-out!" Gyutaro said. Tanjiro paid no attention to his words as he continued to run until Gyutaro appeared beside him and kicked him. He wrapped himself around the box so that Nezuko wouldn't get hurt as they rolled across the ground and into a building that was burning.Tanjiro didn't get a chance to try and recover from the kick as the roof started to collapse so he threw himself and Nezuko out onto the street again. Getting to his feet Tanjiro continued to run while Gyutaro watched with a smirk and a laugh.
"So disgraceful, you really are one disgraceful guy. I've never seen anyone as disgraceful as you," Gyutaro laughed while following Tanjiro at a walking pace. Getting to the end of the street Tanjiro tripped and Nezuko's box fell in front of him while he turned to face Gyutaro. Reaching his hand out he grabbed small satchels that were filled with smelling petals and started to throw them at Gyutaro who showed no reaction. He still showed no reaction even when Tanjiro threw small chunks of wood at him, his only reaction was to continue to walk towards Tanjiro and kick him in the stomach. Tanjiro bent over coughing up blood from the kick.

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