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"NO!" She cried, her hand reaching out to grab at him, her eyes filled with what could only be described as pure panic.

No. 

He couldn't get away. 

Not after all this. 

Not after so many people's sacrifice. 

Not now!

But, just as his body was about to tear itself apart, the demon froze in place. It was as though a realisation had hit him and struck his gut as blood began to pour from his lips.

The halfling had never seen him like this before. He looked scared. He looked like he regretted something as he fell to his knees in front of her. This was...new..

But not unwelcome.

The halfling above him couldn't help but let out a breathy chuckle at this, her smirk returning on her face and slicing its way up to her cheeks into a sickening smile. It was just like how he used to do it..

"You thought you could get away, huh?" she spat out, crouching beside him and grabbing his scalp for him to meet her eye in a deadly glare. "I'll have you know...wherever you go, I'll be right behind you."

The man in her hold could only feel dread, looking into such an empty gaze, especially from someone so emotional as her. 

He could feel her rage. 

Her pain. 

Her annoyance. 

And he could feel her sorrow, so much stronger than anything he has ever known her to feel..it felt suffocating to him, and yet he kept going. He was a coward, after all. He only wanted to survive.

So, in an act of desperation, he grit his teeth and threw one of his morphed arms right at-

"Tanjiro, look out-!"

Tanjiro, having only just regained his footing, turned to look over his shoulder in fear, seeing the flesh charge right at him, aiming just between his eyes.

The halfling felt time freeze as she let her guard down from where she stood.

She took her eyes off the demon for one second, and now he had pushed her away, stabbing her in the gut with multiple of his fleshy weapons, just as he was about to do with Tanjiro in moments.

One of the arms went to slash at her neck, about to decapitate her, all before her arm raced to grab hold of the flesh, only leaving a small cut on her neck as she breathed out in relief of what could have been..

But, just as quickly as time froze around her, it regained its legs and ran once again. Instant relief flooded the halfling as she watched Iguro race through the scene to grab Tanjiro and push him out of the way so the both of them stumbled to the ground.

However, not all problems were lost.

For one, Iguro looked in a terrible shape- worse than she looked, and that's saying something. A single collective group of slash marks rested over his face- blood leaking from every place it could find to escape. 

There was no doubt in the woman's mind that he had been blinded, especially by the way Kaburamaru was wrapped around him, its eyes pointed all around the battlefield, as if mapping it out for the snake Hashira.

And second, she was still impaled and bleeding severely.

She turned back to the multiple arms impaled through her body, causing a drop of blood to slip from her lips as she turned to the demon man as he turned on his heel and tried to run.

However, as the man began to run, the arms that went through the halfling released their grip on her, forcing her to stumble to her knees and grip at her stomach until each wound healed a second later. 

She glared up from where she was sitting, all before forcing herself to stand once more.

She took a step, but blinked in surprise when Tanjiro dashed past her, golden and red flames dancing around him as he raced to the demon. 

They wouldn't let him get away.

The halfling, about to move, caught Iguro from the corner of her eye, about to stand back to his feet and race to help Tanjiro, however, before she got to Muzan, she knew she had to help...he looked exhausted.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, to which he tensed. "Iguro..We've got this. Youre not well. Please-"

"No." he spat out some blood as he moved to hold her wrist, shaking his head. "I'm helping- even if it kills me."

"Iguro-"

"Just focus on that demon."

And without another word, he took her hand away from him and dashed to help Tanjiro, raising his blade to slash multiple pieces of flesh away from the boy, leaving Tanjiro an opening to race in and land a blow to the demon's stomach. The demon winced.

The halfling, still holding concern, only nodded to herself and raced in to the battle. But, as she got closer, something caught her eye...

"Are those-....scars...?"Jumping over an attack at her legs and skidding to the ground to avoid a slash at her head, Tanjiro's mumbles made their way into her ears as Iguro let out a cough of blood.

"Their his weak points..!?...Yoriichi is guiding us!"

The woman tilted her head, jumping to grab Tanjiro by the shoulders to pull him away from an attack aimed at him. "Who the hell is that?!"

"The first man to discover breathing styles!" Tanjiro cried, smiling back at her the best he could manage as she carried him out of the demon's line of fire before placing him down and leaning back to avoid an attack to her head.

"Isnt he dead?" she inquired, brows furrowing as a small deadpan came across her features. Tanjiro was about to respond, but then the call of the crow sounded, breaking through the battle.

"40 minutes! Forty minutes until sunrise!"

Muzan let his eyes widen in surprise at the announcement. He watched, his eyes trained on each of the three soldiers left remaining...they were not giving up. One of them was half dead, but still moving..the other came back from the dead just to behead him...and the final one..well, it was safe to say she wasn't giving up any time soon..she had just turned into a full demon, after all.

He looked over them again. He could beat them. Easily. Just a few more slashes and that'll only leave the halfling, to which he could kill in an instant if he really tried...but, can he really pull that off? She had just beat him to a pulp moments before...

No, this was too risky. He had to go. He had to live.

The demon didnt hesitate. He turned on his heel, and faster than he had ever managed before..

He ran.

The woman let her eyes widen at this, a small gasp leaving her lips. "No way.." she wanted to catch up to him, but...just looking at it, he was too fast.. She would never reach him in time- even with all the blood she had just taken in.

No. No, she would get there. She would get there and kill him finally. Just forty more minutes...that's all she needed. "No way- YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!"

As her feet began to dash, a bead of sweat ran down the side of her face. She could use her breathing style to get closer? No, she was too spent for that. She was exhausted- having to endure days of torture, lack of hunger, and then being thrown right into a fight..she couldnt handle much more...but- she had to.

Tanjiro watched as she dashed past him, his teeth gritting as panic filled his gaze. "Iguro! He's running away!" he cried out, his hands shaking and his body surely about to collapse, and yet he remained standing. He couldn't fall. 

Not yet.

She was racing toward him, panting, her chest filling with panic. She wouldn't be able to make it. She couldn't run this fast for much longer..she was almost spent. "DAMNIT!" She cried out, her hand reaching out to try and reach for him. 

She was just too tired. 

She knew she shouldn't have wasted so much energy when slamming his face in the ground.

Tanjiro reached for whatever he could find, eyes flashing with tears as he grabbed katana left on the ground to throw past the woman and straight for Muzan. He couldn't give up..he just couldn't! 

"AAAAAGHH! KIBUTSUJII!" He cried out

"(Y/N)!" A voice called, approaching her from behind, she turned to glance over her shoulder to meet the eye of Kaburamaru and Iguro reaching his hand out to her. "Do it!"

The woman nodded, skidding to a stop, dust setting around her as her hand grabbed around his arm, connecting the two. She didn't waste time, letting out a cry, before using all she could manage, she flung Iguro towards the demon, his blade raised to attack Muzan.

the woman let out a shaky breath. she knew she would have to back down soon. She was so tired, too tired to fight any more...but...she couldnt stop..

She gasped in surprise when Iguro stabbed through the demon's neck, pausing Muzan for a split second to allow the duo to catch up.

Using this time, Tanjiro raced forward, slashing the demon with golden flames before holding out a talisman to Iguro, to which Kaburamaru tilted its head at. "Iguro! Take this, please!" He cried desperately. Soon Kaburamaru helped Iguro reach out and grab the talisman so he could place it against his forehead. "Use your vision in Tandem with Kaburamaru and-"

There was a large blast through the battlefield, a strike forcing Iguro to his knees and making Tanjiro cough up a small dose of blood from his lips.

"No!" The halfling cried, wrapping her arms around Iguro to drag him away from an attack, only to get slashed in the back herself. She winched. It healed. 

She pulled the man away until he stood back to his feet, only now noticing the talisman had fallen from his head and her eyes widened.

"To your right, Iguro!" Tanjiro called, allowing Iguro to jump away from the attack before Tanjiro called again. "Take three strides to your left!" And Iguro followed.

The woman, catching the gaze of a talisman on the ground, took her chance. "Tanjiro!" she cried as she jumped to roll and avoid an attack to reach the talisman. Tanjiro held his arm out to catch it as she threw it over to him.

Muzan jumped back as Tanjiro pinned one of his flesh arms to the ground with his katana before the boy threw the talisman over to the snake hashira."Kaburamaru!" He cried out. And as he did this, the snake threw its neck forward, grabbing the talisman between its teeth and placing it back on Obanai's forehead. Tanjiro sighed in relief.

"You guys..." Iguro began, a small smile coming to his lips as he began to fluently dash around attack and strikes, Kaburamaru letting out a small hiss as he did so. "thank you.." 

It may be different from normal vision, but he could still see. 

And that meant he could still fight.

The halfling stood back to her feet and sliced down multiple pieces of flesh with the side of her hand as she called out to the other two around her. "We..have to make a move on him! We can't afford to let him escape..you hear!?" she panted out, gasping for air in her exhausted state. 

"Okay!"

She was beginning to pant. Her breath was hefty and her eyes blurring out every few seconds as she ran, her teeth gritting. She had learned to take it one second at a time. She couldn't give up, nor give in. The moment she let herself go and turned back into a human, she knew she would collapse in a second. But, she could feel herself reaching closer and closer to that conclusion every time she moved. Every time she breathed..she couldnt hold on for much longer..

"I can't-.." she gasped out, her body beginning to slack, until suddenly...

She fell to the ground, her eyes widening as she thudded to the ground, her chest gasping for breath.

She was spent..!

"(Y/N)!" She heard Tanjiro's distant and muffled voice from where she lay, her body burning and on fire as she struggled on the ground, her hands grasping at her body as a sudden pain overcame her, and when she finally opened her eyes again...she was human...

She had lost control..

Her hand reached out, trying to grip anything from where she lay, until suddenly-"AGGHHHH!"

A sudden force began to press her down to the ground, the surface of the ground shattering and cracking beneath her body, her eyes wide and her breathing-

She couldnt breathe.

She couldnt move.

She couldn't think.

The pressure- it was too strong.

"Ca–..canno—agh-....cannot–..no-...h-..he—-es–esca–.pe"

Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she stuttered, breaths gasped- wheezed- forced- and yet nothing came into her lungs, or out of her lungs.

If this kept going, she would die..

And just as that thought passed her mind, the pressure paused. She gasped for breath, her hand gripping around ehr chest and throat to quickly intake as much air as possible at this moment. It was a miracle she hadn't passed out yet...that pressure must've been the one thing to keep her awake..

She didn't even care who was fighting Muzan at this point. The only thing she needed to hear was some sort of fight. She didn't care. She had to keep breathing. She had to keep her eyes open. She had to stay awake.

But, even as she continued to struggle and regain herself, her shaken and bloody hand scrambled for anything. Anything. The pads of her fingers brushed against the edge of a katana. She tried to reach for it. No use. She let out a cry of pain every time she moved more than needed.

Suddenly, she felt a hand moving to hold over her own.

"Come on-...you cant stay here-!" a shaken voice made its way into her ears. She could only glance up and her eyes met those of familiar blue eyes.

"G-Giyu–" The man silenced her by moving his hand from her palm to wrap around her waist, beginning to pull her body away from the fight as he stumbled. Despite her cries of pain and her struggle to even move her limbs, he kept going. 

He had to get her out of here. 

He had to save her like she did to him so many times. 

"Come on.." he huffed out, all before he let his legs collapse beneath him and he moved to his knees. 

He moved his arm from her waist and then used his only arm left to ensure her body was propped against the wall they had hidden behind. "Stay here...please...you cant fight any longer.." 

Her eyes slowly opened a little more, and what she saw made her lips part in surprise. "A-..arm.." her eyes scanned over his missing arm on the right side of his body. 

The man nodded, smiling sadly as he cupped his cheek. "I'll be fine." Without warning, however, the moment was interrupted by Shinazugawa, rushing in to grab onto Tomioka's shoulder.

 "Come on! Let the Kakushi help her! We've gotta go." And, without hesitation, the water hashira nodded his head, standing to his feet. He gave the woman one last glance. 

"Stay here. The kakushi will take care of you." and with that, he turned on his heel and ran.

Shinazugawa gave her a small glance before he gave her a firm nod. "You've done enough. Stay down." he spoke before he did just the same as Tomioka, moving away from her and right into the fight. 

The halfling could only watch, her hand slowly moving to reach out to them, as if trying to stop them, but as she did it, she winced, her arm falling back to her side. 

She leaned her head back against the wall and sighed out, eyes slowly closing as the battle sounded throughout the district. 

Sanemi was right...she had done enough...she couldn't even move any more...

She let out a small breath, all before she did something she hadn't done for a few weeks...

"Its up....to you....now...."

She collapsed and fell asleep.

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