Sanemi Shinazugawa and Masachika Kumeno vs Ubume was a battle that took place withing Ubume's lair. It focuses on the battle between Kinoe-ranked Demon Slayers Sanemi Shinazugawa and Masachika Kumeno against Lower Rank One Ubume.
Prologue[]
Kinoe-ranked Wind Breathing users and close friends Sanemi Shinazugawa and Masachika Kumeno are sent on a two man-operation to investigate an old house where children were disappearing near. Previous Demon Slayers had been sent but all but 3 would go missing. They could not find a lead on the case, and if they failed, the Hashira would be sent in. Despite the heavy task, the two were in high spirits and bantered with each other on the way there.
When they finally arrived at the house, they noted the creepy and gloomy atmosphere before entering inside. Sanemi was immediately hit with a strong and revolting fragrance, and when he attempted to talk to Masachika, he found out that he was missing and was nowhere to be seen inside or outside the house. Masachika, mysteriously separated from Sanemi, searched the house for signs of his friend or the demon but to no avail. As he continued searching, he caught whiff of the awful scent and exited the house in a panic. Confused at the events that had transpired, then Masachika met a cantankerous old man, and under the guise of an investigating police officer, convinced him to give him information about the house.
According to the old man, when he was a young, a woman named Yae lived inside the house alongside her servants. He explained how Yae's formerly charming husband had grown incredibly abusive following the birth of her daughter Sae, and how he had drowned in a river after falling down. Afterwards, Sae became ill and Yae took good care of her but the girl had died anyway, but her buried body was mysteriously dug up and Yae disappeared. The old man also explained that Yae owned a family heirloom that was a mirrored dresser that warded off evil spirits, and claimed that he protected the house from vandals, drawing attention to Sanemi's gruff appearance. Reminded of his friend, Masachika realized that Sanemi had likely been adducted by a demon and wondered if said demon was Yae.
Meanwhile, Sanemi was traversing the old house until he came across a black haired woman and six bedridden people in a row. Four and two Demon Slayers were on the beds, but two children and one Slayer were already dead. The woman was tending to injured, but in a twisted and treacle manner, before turning towards Sanemi, who saw that the woman had "Lower One" inscribed on her left eye. Realizing that the woman was in fact a demon, and a member of the Twelve Kizuki no less, Sanemi was infuriated. As such, Sanemi readied to attack Lower Rank One, Ubume.
Battle[]
Motherly Maltreatment[]
Sanemi grabbed his Nichirin Sword and leapt to decapitate the demon without harming the hostages, but she parried away the blade using her arm with ease. Surprised, Sanemi demanded to know that the Ubume had done to Masachika. Ubume responded that she only wanted Sanemi, and that Masachika was free to go, before gazing into Sanemi's eyes and caressing his cheek. Ubume then realized that Sanemi was abused by a parent, and when she feigned pity and tried to inquire whom it was, Sanemi was further angered and swung his sword. Ubume dodged, and mockingly claimed that a child shouldn't attack their mother.
Suddenly, the room drastically transformed, with the walls turning into pulsating flesh, and the beds the hostages were on becoming flabby lumps. Ubume claimed that they were now inside her stomach, and ate the tree bed-ridden corpses that sunk into their lumps. Sanemi was disgusted and ordered Ubume to stop the motherly act, but the demon claimed that she was not acting and that she sought to adopt abused children to honor her deceased daughter. The conversation was interrupted by a dying Demon Slayer named Uraga, who begged for help. Irritated, Ubume attempted to claw Uraga, but he was rescued by Sanemi, who had taken the same Final Selection as him. Angered by Uraga's "ungratefulness" Ubume proclaimed that he could die, and the Demon Slayer began to spasm violently. Feeling hopeless, Uraga slit his own throat, further traumatizing and angering Sanemi, who yelled "Damn you" when Ubume attempted to justify Uraga's death as deserved for slandering her.
"What are big brothers for?"[]
Masachika heard Sanemi's yell, and kept searching for him. He found the mirrored dresser that the old man told him about earlier and realized that the handles were made of Nichirin and thus could repel demons. Upon further inspection, he discovered a piece of paper, which contained a passage of a person retelling their mother torturing them, written in blood. Remembering the story the old man told him, he realized that the author was Sae, and that she had been killed by Yae. Shocked and despaired by the revelation, Masachika then heard Sanemi's voice again. As he whirled around, the tip of his Nichirin Sword caught on the fabric draped over the mirror. The silk cloth slid away and fell to the tatami mat on the floor. Masachika stooped to pick it up, only to stop when he caught sight of the glass. In the mirror, Masachika could see Sanemi behind him, standing in the middle of the room, attempting to face Ubume who on the opposite direction and smiling. As Masachika witnessed Sanemi attack empty air, he noticed that he and display case in the corner of the room were missing. As Masachika leaned in to get a better look, Sanemi disappeared, replaced by an ordinary reflection. Masachika grabbed both sides of the mirror and shook it frantically. In one corner of its reflection, he could see the display case. An incense burner sat on the top shelf, but when he looked over his shoulder, the case was empty. Masachika looked into the mirror one more time, watching reddish smoke waft up from the incense burner. As he pondered what just happened, he heard a girl crying "Help."
Relying on the image in the mirror, Masachika cut through the display case with his Nichirin Sword. He heard the sound of porcelain breaking and with that, the hateful scent dissipated. He glanced down at the shattered fragments of the incense burner, then ran down the hallway, calling for his friend. When Sanemi shouted back, Masachika raced in the direction of his voice. What had been a dead end when he was searching the house now opened up into a room.
Sanemi still aimlessly attacking empty space, wondered why he couldn’t hit Ubume, and grew frustrated by Ubume taunting him and asking if he wanted a hug or a lullaby. However, Ubume's smug disposition changed when she suddenly began to question how "the child" could see them. After hearing the sounds of pottery shattering, a confused Sanemi saw that the flesh walls had disappeared, and that Ubume was now behind him. He realized Ubume's Blood Demon Art was the conjuring of illusions and he had fallen victim to them, much to his anger. Wondering who broke the spell, Sanemi then heard Masachika's voice who flew through the open door. Relieved that his friend had finally joined him, Sanemi thanked Masachika who responded. "What are big brothers for?"
Sae's Vengeance[]
When Sanemi asks how Masachika broke the illusion, he told him about the mirror charm and Sae's torture at Yae's hands, guessing that her spirit had gotten its revenge by showing the truth about her mother in the mirror. He described breaking the hidden incense burner to make the demonic fragrance disappear. Sanemi then connected the dots and realized that Yae was Ubume, who sarcastically commented that although it didn't do anything against her husband's beatings, the mirror did have some power. Seeing Ubume's eye and realizing her position, Masachika became full of rage, which intensified when he thought about Sae's agonizing final moments. When Ubume griped that Sae had betrayed her "once again", Masachika lost his composure and yelled out all the abuse that she had subjected her daughter too. Ubume was apathetic at Masachika's rant but flinched when he addressed her as "Yae", coldly denouncing her human name and proclaimed that she was Ubume, a name bestowed to her by her master.
Ubume then confessed that she had murdered her abusive husband and framed it as an accident, and when Sae fell ill, she gained a euphoria by becoming her caretaker, so she sabotaged her recovery so she could keep her role. After Sae attempted to escape, she murdered her but regretted no longer having a role to play, until she met Muzan Kibutsuji. Masachika grew disgusted at Ubume admitting to eating Sae's corpse and adducting children so she could become their mother, but his fury culminated when she spoke to Sanemi and claimed that she wanted to comfort him because he had cruel parents. He lunged at Ubume using Wind Breathing, Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree, successfully cutting off her left arm, yelling that Sanemi was not pitiful and that his mother loved him. Sanemi attempted to pacify his friend but his calmer disposition at the cruelty upset him more. Sanemi rejected Ubume's offer and bragged that he could hack her up without her illusions. Ubume reattached her arm and bragged that she'll heal anyways, leading Sanemi to claim that he'll slice her faster than she could heal.
Attacking Ubume, Sanemi performed Wind Breathing forms in numerical order, but Ubume continuously dodged or parried them. As Masachika readied to join the battle, Sanemi signaled for him to get the two surviving children that Ubume had abducted to safety. As Masachika accomplished this, he grew more enraged at Ubume's cruelty towards children, and began to furiously attack her, much to Sanemi's shock. He grew concerned that he was attacking blindly, but his worries subsided when realized that he was in fact faster and in sync with his attacks. As the two aimed for her head, Ubume kicked at Sanemi, grazing her Adam's apple and then punching him on the solar plexus, sending him flying. Masachika then used Clear Storm Wind Tree again, which hit Ubume, but caused her to retaliate by kicking at Masachika, splitting the skin on his temple. As he staggered back concussed, Ubume attempted to stab at his torso. Masachika avoided a direct blow, but Ubume had clawed his stomach which caused severe pain and made him collapse on the floor. As Ubume moved in to kill him Sanemi attempted to using Wind Breathing: Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm, but reopened his wound and began to bleed.
Kumeno Falls[]
Ubume stopped in her tracks, recognizing that Sanemi had rare Marechi blood, and moved towards him. After lapping up his blood, Ubume again attempted to coax Sanemi into becoming her "child", but was suddenly left dizzy at the blood's potency, since it was more effective against more powerful demons. Enduring his injuries, Sanemi then tried to kill Ubume again, but Lower One barely dodged. Masachika also got up despite his heavy injuries, demanding that Ubume apologize to Sae and all her other victims, and leaping towards her about to use Clear Storm Wind Tree a third time. Before he could finish his move however, he became startled at a voice yelling "Stop!", before seeing the girl that Ubume that abducted standing in front of her and begging him to not kill her "mommy". Panicked, Masachika moved to not harm the girl, but Ubume took advantage of his disorientation, by tossing the girl aside and punching through Masachika's gut.
After delivering the fatal blow, Ubume taunted Masachika and claimed that he should've cut the girl down, before releasing him and allowing his body to fall limp. Immediately afterwards, Sanemi finally decapitated Ubume and let out a powerful roar of grief and anger. Ubume's head still bore it's false smile, before she disintegrated into nothing, finally killing Lower Moon One once and for all.
Aftermath[]
After the battle the Kakushi arrived at the house to both rescue the children and give aid to Sanemi. The boy reacted with joy at being rescued, while the girl, who had gotten Stockholm Syndrome, was now in a catatonic stupor at the death of Ubume. Although Masachika was still alive, he was beyond medical help, so the Kakushi attempted to make his final moments as comfortable as possible. A Kakushi attempted to give aid to Sanemi, who stubbornly refused their help, a demand respected by Goto who encouraged the rest to follow. After being left alone, Masachika inquired about the children's safety, and after being told of their fates, he expressed optimism that the girl would recover. As the Demon Slayer grew weaker, he asked Sanemi to live out his life, not to die, and with his last words, he asked Sanemi to be happy. Sanemi cradled his dying friend trying his best to stifle his emotions, although he eventually wept when he had finally died.
Sanemi being given Masachika's will.
Shortly afterwards, Sanemi was given the rank of Wind Hashira, but despite this, he remained bitter over his friend's death. When he confronts Kagaya Ubuyashiki about the latter's inability to fight, Kagaya apologizes for his weakness and identifies Masachika by name, much to Sanemi's surprise. Kanae Kocho then informs him that Kagaya has memorized every slain Demon Slayer's name and background, and Kagaya decides to give Sanemi Masachika's will.[1]
References[]
[]
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 168 (Pages 9-16).