Release and Loyalty

Antidote

Yushiro was lying in wait, he watched the beginning of the battle quietly.

"He'll be fine... he's immortal. He'll just pass out..." Yushiro reminded himself.

Tanjiro rolled, so only his arm was pinned beneath the blade, he began scratching and bitting his own arm in a desperate attempt to get free. Nezuko put her katana in his mouth to stop him; he stared up into her eyes.

"Tanjiro, we just want to help you. You have to stop struggling, if you stop, the pain will too." Nezuko told him.

Tanjiro tried to argue but he just cut his tongue on the katana. Inosuke grabbed Tanjiro's hand and squeezed it.

"Why are they doing this? They've been trying to kill me, i've suffered because of them." Tanjiro thought. "She's my sister, I should trust her."

He stopped struggling.

"I'm sorry, oniichan, you've been through so much, but it's almost over now." Nezuko told him.

Yushiro walked over, holding the antidote. Tanjiro tried to get away once he saw it.

"Tanjiro, it's okay, just calm down, it'll be fine." Zenitsu reassured him.

Tanjiro finally pulled Zenitsu's katana through his arm, he then got free of Nezuko's.

"Shinsetsu, where did you go!?" Tanjiro yelled.

"Here, master!" Shinsetsu responded.

He was holding off Namaiki. Blood demon art: mud slide! Shinsetsu created a tsunami of mud, Namaiki was engulfed in it.

"Tanjiro, come back!" Nezuko called. "Please, we just want you back, oniichan!"

Yushiro came up behind Tanjiro and stabbed him in the neck with the syringe.

"Master?" Shinsetsu asked.

Namaiki got himself out of the mud and cut off Shinsetsu's head with the fourth form.

"Sh-Shinsetsu!" Tanjiro said.

He sank to his knees in the mud and picked up Shinsetsu's head.

"Master, did I do well?" Shinsetsu asked.

"You were incredible and loyal, Shinsetsu." Tanjiro replied with tears stinging his eyes.

"thank you, master, it was an honor to serve you." Shinsetsu said with his last breaths.

"Shinsetsu? Shinsetsu, it's not funny. Please, please wake up." Tanjiro whispered.

"Did it not work? He's still a demon..." Yushiro thought.

"Yushiro, i'm immu-" Tanjiro began saying, but he passed out before he could finish.

"Oniichan?" Nezuko asked.

"He's asleep." Namaiki said.

"What happened to Shinsetsu?" She asked.

"I killed him." Namaiki responded.

"It doesn't matter, Tanjiro said... he said he's immune." Yushiro told them.

Giyuu was hugging Tanjiro's limp body.

"I hope he was lying." He said.

Nezuko hugged Tanjiro too, Urokodaki came in behind them crying.

"Just in case, you shouldn't get so close." Yushiro said.

"He's suffered so much watching what he did, I know that." Nezuko told him. "So I'm not moving until he wakes up."

"Is Tanjiro back yet?" Inosuke asked.

Tanjiro's tail, tendrils, and the spikes on his back disappeared, Nezuko got excited.

463 words, this was three pages long