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Mugen (1×1 w/ Jikkah)

His strike send her stumbling, but she didn’t lose her footing. She wiped her mouth and spat at his feet, raising her blade before shooting forward.
 
He spun his blades before shooting them out at her, one catching her in the arm and slicing deep, the other narrowly missing her face. He tutted himself, scowling heavily.
 
Ebisu gnashed her teeth as she felt the blades slice through her, but it didn’t stop her at all. She landed a slash across Tengen’s eyes as she passed him. She trailed blood as she stopped behind him and spun around, charging back at Tengen. “Dream Breathing, Third Form: Veil of Shadows.” Her quick movements made her appearance shimmer, much like the Mist Hashira’s own obscuring moves.
 
Tengen listened for her, parrying her attacks easily, before clanging his blades together to create an earsplitting noise throughout the area.
 
The sound was enough to burst both of Ebisu’s eardrums, making blood rupture from both of her ears, but she refused to let it stop her. She could barely hear anything now, only her own heartbeat and the painful ringing trapped in her ears, but still she advanced forward. She went to take his feet this time, teeth bared as she swung for her master.
 
He vanished and appeared behind her, kicking her knees in before digging his blades into her calves, pinning her to the dirt. He walked around and crouched before her, gesturing to read his lips.
"Last chance." He said, "I don't want to kill you."
 
Ebisu let out a scream of agony, trying to push herself back up, but the blades kept her firmly in place. She had loosened her grip on her blade, but tightened it again, swinging with one hand to try and take off his head.
 
Tengen stopped it with his hand, not even flinching when it nearly sliced it in half at the base of his fingers.
"Lord Tengen!" His wives gasped in alarm but he rose his hand to quiet them.
"You made me do this, Ebisu. We could have been a flamboyant team once more." He told her.
 
The blade trembled as she attempted to pull it back and slice off his fingers fully, but it didn’t budge an inch. “That never would have happened..!” Blood oozed out from the wounds in her legs, still trying to pull the blades from the ground, even if they remained in her legs.
 
He stood, pulling her blade from her hands and throwing it aside. As his wound healed, he reached for the chain of his blades and pulled, cutting off her legs at the calf and grabbing her by her arms.
"Akatsuru is rather lucky she's stuck at the Mansion all the time."
 
The scream that came from Ebisu was a guttural involuntary one, blood gushing from the wounds. She didn’t know what else to do, she had lost her sword and her legs, she had no other way of fighting back now.
 
With a tug that seemed little effort to him, he pulled her arms straight from her shoulders, dropping them to the ground before spinning one of his blades in his hand and slitting her throat; she deserved to suffer as little now as possible. She earned that respect from him.
 
Tears burned Ebisu’s eyes and her vision blurred. She choked on her own blood as it gushed from her neck. Strangely she felt no more pain despite having her arms ripped off.
Staring up at the sky, she tried to speak, but only a strained gargle came out, the light fading quickly in her eyes.
 
Akatsuru stood waiting for days; it was a ritual for her to wake up at dawn, do her chores with Aoi and the little ones, before she would nove to the gate and wait for Ebisu. Each day made her worry more and more, before a familiar crowing alerted her.
"Attention!" Akatsuru looked up and her eyes widened in horror at the aight of Ebisu's crow, "Nishio Ebisu has been killed! She lost her life against the traitor Uzui Tengen!"
"N..." Tears blurred her vision as Ebisu's crow moved to land at her feet, crying weakly into its wing.
"Forgive me, Tsuru...!" It kawed pathetically. Akatsuru dropped to her knees, staring numbly at the bird before her throat opened enough to scream in anguish, doubling over and crumpling into herself as she sobbed.
"Tell me it's a lie!! Tell me you're lying to me and it's a sick joke!! I'm not laughing, Ebi!! Show yourself!! Show yourself right now!!"
"Akatsuru?" Kocho came outside, Aoi and the Caterpillars all watching with fear and worry. Even Kanao was there, a frown on her features. Akatsuru shook her head and wailed louder, inconsolable in her heartache. Aoi moved over carefully and reached for the red head, taking a step back when she jerked away violently.
"Let's go inside, Akatsuru...we'll pray for her, ok...?" Aoi offered. Akatsuru coughed and gasped, forcing herself to stop crying before she pushed herself up. She said nothing before she turned and walked inside, eyes vacant and cold.
 
Ebisu never ended up coming out and telling Akatsuru it was all a horrible joke, and as more and more days passed, there really was no more denying what had happened, Ebisu was killed by her own master.
 
With nothing to bury, Akatsuru only had the crane hair stick Ebisu had purchased to make offerings to. She prayed daily, for some kind of peace or comfort, for Ebisu to reach down from heaven and ease some of the pain. But there was only a hrowing anger and bitterness. Hatred. Revenge.
Aoi came to get her for chores one morning, only to find her bedding folded neatly and her butterfly clips resting over top. A small note that simply read "Thank you" on it was left.
Akatsuru made her way from the butterfly mansion to the Ubuyashiki mansion, where she knew the remaining hashira were for their training against Muzan and the traitors.
"Ah! Akatsuru!" Yuko moved over quickly, "What are you doing here? Isn't Shinobu at-"
"Kamado," Akatsuru didn't look at the Wind Hashira, "where is Kamado Tanjirou?"
 
“Ms Fujie-san?” A gentle voice piped up from behind her, a young man with a training sword stood behind her. “You needed me for something? Is there something Ms Kocho needed me for?” He asked, despite being covered in sweat and welts, looked rather pleased to see Akatsuru.
 
Akatsuru turned and bowed as deeply as she could to him, gripping the skirt of her yukata tightly.
"Please," she pleaded, "please, teach me to be a slayer...! Teach me how to fight...!"
"Akatsuru..." Yuko frowned and moved closer. Akatsuru shook and wheezed.
"That bastard took Ebi from me...! I know it's selfish, Kamado-kun, but please...!! I need to make him pay for her death...!" She sobbed. Yuko frowned and looked away, a hollow pang in her chest; she felt the same, her master missing and assumed dead destroying her just as much.
 
Tanjirou blinked in surprise, then frowned softly when Akatsuru started to cry. He moved closer and put his hand on her shoulder, letting her cry for a moment before he spoke. “It would be my honor to teach you what I know, Ms.Fujie-san.” He said. “We can train and get stronger together.” News of Ebisu’s death hit hard, they had just lost half their Hashira, and with Ebisu dead they were back to the same number again.
 
"Thank you...!! Thank you so much...!!" She wept.
"Let's go inside, Akatsuru...you've traveled pretty far...Gyoumei-dana would be more than happy to aid you spiritually..." Yuko offered. Akatsuru nodded weakly, thanking Tanjirou once more before she moved inside with Yuko.
 
“We can meet tomorrow morning for training! Rest and get your uniform tonight!” Tanjirou called after her. “I look forward to training with you!”

Moriko had been sent out by her village head to investigate the Uzui clan- they had gone silent as of late and had stopped responding to all communications. Night was falling quickly, but Moriko knew the route to the ninja village well, having traveled there countless times before during her training. She kept her mask pulled up over her nose, moving quickly and silently through the forest.
 
Akatsuru looked back and smiled weakly, giving a nod before she moved inside. When morning came, Akatsuru moved outside to meet with Tanjirou, not seeing many of the hashira up this early. Just Yuko and Muichiro for now, it seemed, though she could smell incense, so perhaps Gyoumei was awake as well. She took a breath and made a noise.
"Help me through this, Ebi..." She muttered under her breath.

There was movement beside her before a bone like whip wrapped around her ankle, jerking her to a sudden stop and throwing her to the ground.
 
Soon approaching footsteps sounded from the path behind her, Tanjirou’s bright voice ringing out like a bell. “Good morning, Ms. Fujie-san!” He waved, smiling when he saw her. He held two wooden training sword, dressed in his slayer uniform.

Moriko was falling before she even knew what was happening, completely blindsided by the speed. She barely had time to right herself for a safe landing, hitting the ground and tumbling backwards and onto her feet, a kunai at the ready.
 
She smiled and moved closer, "Good morning, Kamado-kun. Did you sleep well?" She asked gently.

"Well, well, well. Aren't you a tasty looking morsel?" A man slithered - literally - out of the darkness, a long whip made from human spines in his hand, "Lord Iguro would love to sample you."
 
He nodded, that same bright smile still plastered onto his face. “I did, training yesterday with Yuko-san was rather strenuous, so I fell asleep easily. And you?”

Moriko could hardly believe her eyes, having to blink a few times to try and register what she was seeing.
This had to be the work of drugs or poison, making her hallucinate a hideous monster. It wouldn’t work on her- it was more likely a rival ninja enemy coming to kill her. She steadied her breathing and examined the monster. The drug was only making her see the man for a monster, but she could still see his anatomy- she could still fight him. She disappeared, reappearing behind him and stabbing him in the throat with her blade, wanting to end the fighting quickly and get the antidote.
 
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