Chapter 14: Fox

In the months following Kanae's funeral, Kiyoshi's training intensified. Master Wolf never pushed him to the point of breaking, but it seemed like each day the grizzled shinobi found a new way to push him past where he thought his limits were.

Three months passed before Kiyoshi knew it, and yet he felt as though he'd aged four years in that mere quarter of a year's time. What little baby fat had remained on his frame had been converted to lean muscle, and despite a growth spurt throwing off his coordination for a time, Kiyoshi's control over his body was more precise than it had ever been.

Of course, his body was far from the only thing he trained, and if anything, Miss Tamayo's teachings were more gruelling and unforgiving than Master Wolf's. After all, the only injury Kiyoshi risked in the library was a papercut, and he was extraordinarily careful when handling toxins and medical tinctures alike. That particular lesson had been carved into his mind by both Miss Tamayo and Lady Shinobu (yes, she hated being called that, but she was a Pillar now, and his mother had raised a child with manners).

Despite laying down each night with weary bones and a brain turned to mush, Kiyoshi did not resent the relentless, unforgiving nature of the training. In fact, the opposite was true: he was wholeheartedly grateful that his teachers were willing to push him as hard as they were.

The strength he sought was not the sort that would be achieved by half-measures. Slaying an Upper Moon was not something that could be accomplished with anything short of mastery.

And Upper Moon Two would fall, be it by his hand or by Lady Shinobu's. He did not especially care which; only that his mother and Miss Kanae were avenged, and that the rainbow-eyed serpent would never hurt anyone ever again.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Of course, Kiyoshi's unerring focus on avenging both his mother and his...friend's sister was not lost on either of his mentors. Nor, for that matter, did it go unnoticed by Shinobu herself, when the newly minted Insect Pillar found time in her busy schedule to visit.

Wolf, for his part, had little input to offer on the subject of vengeance. Oh, certainly, he had relentlessly pursued Genichiro Ashina when the man had spirited away his Lord, but it had never been personal. Lord Kuro had been his charge, and it was both out of shinobi duty and out of personal loyalty that Wolf had faced down Ashina itself.

Indeed, Wolf held a measure of respect for Genichiro. The man had been as devoted to his land as Wolf had been to Kuro; it was mere bad luck that their purposes had been so at-odds.

Tamayo, on the other hand…she knew the sweet scent of revenge all too well, and that aroma was thick in the air around not just Kiyoshi, but Shinobu as well.

And one chilly Sunday evening, when Shinobu had stopped by for tea and to discuss a new variant of wisteria toxin she was experimenting with, and the hour had grown too late for her to leave, Tamayo decided to do something about that.

Well, Shinobu tried to leave, but was gently and benevolently overruled by Tamayo's hospitality. This dance of host and guest had practically become a habit by this point, and Shinobu was rather used to losing.

Rather than showing her guest to one of the spare rooms as usual, however, Tamayo brought her to the study, where Kiyoshi sat cross-legged, a book open in his lap. The shinobi-in-training looked up from his studies, an expression of curiosity on his face.

Tamayo motioned for Shinobu to take a seat beside Kiyoshi, and followed suit across from the duo. After taking a moment to get settled, she spoke.

"You may be wondering why I brought you here, Shinobu." She turned to Kiyoshi, and added, "And doubtless you are curious as to why I am interrupting your studies."

Tamayo folded her hands in her lap and took a deep breath. "I brought you both here to talk about your plans to take revenge on Upper Moon Two."

Shinobu arched an eyebrow even as Kiyoshi stiffened, hands tightening on the book in his lap. "I hope you don't mean to try to talk us out of it, do you?"

Tamayo shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Hardly. Far be it from me to command you to discard your rage when not a day goes by without me plotting the destruction of Muzan Kibutsuji and the kingdom of filth that he has built."

Tamayo's usually soft and gentle eyes were blade's-edge sharp as she spoke.

"No, I will not be satisfied until everything that he has taken from me is repaid a thousandfold, and I will not hypocritically chastise you both for holding these same desires.

"By all means, pursue the downfall of Upper Moon Two with all of the burning fury and inevitability of the sunrise. That justice is yours by right."

As Shinobu opened her mouth, a question on her lips, Tamayo spoke a single word.

"However."

Her voice was that of an empress; this clinic was her kingdom and she would be heard.

"I urge you to carefully consider what I am about to ask of you both. Take great care that, in your haste to avenge everything and everyone who has been stolen from you, you do not carelessly discard the blessings that you've been given since."

A sad smile came to Tamayo's face, and she leaned forward to pull Kiyoshi and Shinobu into a tender embrace. In a soft voice, she all but begged, "Please, don't leave behind those who care about you, even for the sake of avenging those you've lost."

Shinobu stiffened, unused to such an emotional display from Tamayo. The doctor was usually so calm and collected, a flawless picture of poise and dignity. After a moment, though, she awkwardly returned the hug. Kiyoshi, on the other hand, immediately leaned into the embrace.

"I promise," he said quietly but firmly. "I want you to do the same, Miss Tamayo. For Master Wolf, for Mister Yushiro, and for me; don't leave us behind, either."

Tamayo's eyes filled with moisture. "Of course," she whispered, her mouth twitching into a smile.

Shinobu, still off-balance by the unexpected embrace, remained silent for a long moment. Finally, though, she whispered, "Am I really deserving of it, though? If I were stronger, had I been there with her…" She gripped the sleeves of her haori as her face twisted in a mixture of rage, guilt, and unspent grief. Her voice cried out, a desperate rasp.

"How can I possibly be allowed to be happy when I failed my beloved sister when she needed me the most?!"

A shudder ran through Shinobu's body as Tamayo released Kiyoshi and pulled Shinobu into a more direct embrace. As though a dam within her had broken, Shinobu collapsed into the other woman's arms, shaking with silent sobs.

A light touch on her shoulder caused her to start, and she turned her face towards the source: Kiyoshi. Despite his face being a blank, controlled mask (as it always was), Shinobu could read his emotions clear as day in his eyes. Usually inexpressive chips of ice, the irises that stared at her now were filled with sorrow and concern.

"Happiness," Kiyoshi remarked carefully, quietly, "isn't something you do or don't 'deserve', Lady Shinobu. You can find it, or it can find you, but it's not 'earned'. And it's damn sure not taken away if you mess up."

"Indeed," Tamayo added. "Happiness is a rare commodity in this world; rather than worrying about if you deserve it, you should instead hold it close, treasure it."

Shinobu was silent for a long time, so long that one might have mistaken her for asleep. Finally, though, she croaked, "I...I will try."

And for now, that would have to be enough.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Following that taxing meeting, Lady Shinobu did not visit again for nearly three months. Whether this was due to her being busy or due to discomfort, Kiyoshi did not know. Regardless, when next she did visit, it was with a message from the Master: the Final Selection exam for entrants of the Demon Slayer Corps was to be held one week hence on Mt. Fujikasane.

Master Wolf had nodded wordlessly at this, and disappeared deeper into the house to speak with Miss Tamayo while Kiyoshi poured Lady Shinobu some tea. Little enough passed between them as they sipped their drinks, an air of awkward tension hanging over the two friends like a cloud.

After a few minutes, the tea was gone, and Lady Shinobu rose with easy grace. As she turned to leave after giving her farewells, she paused, turned back, and said, "I know you'll pass, so I won't wish you luck. Simply...fight well."

Kiyoshi inclined his head, and replied, "Thank you, Lady Shinobu. Of course, I have no doubt that you'll do the same."

The Insect Pillar gave a small, genuine smile; a smile quite different from the mask she'd begun wearing to honor Kanae's memory. "Indeed I shall."

With that, Lady Shinobu departed in a flutter of butterfly-patterned cloth.

For the next five days, neither Master Wolf nor Miss Tamayo brought up the Final Selection at all, though the fact that all but the most basic of training was suspended told Kiyoshi all he needed to know.

Finally, two days before the exam was set to begin, Master Wolf woke Kiyoshi early in the morning and brought him to Miss Tamayo's study. Under his sole arm was a bundle of dark cloth, though Kiyoshi could see hints of brighter fabric here and there on it.

When they arrived, Wolf presented him with the bundle: a black half cape meant to hang from his left shoulder and conceal the Fang while remaining easy to remove so the Fang might be deployed. The cloth was of fine, sturdy make, and when he unfolded it completely, a small piece of metal and cloth fell from within the folds. When Kiyoshi examined it, he found it to be a half-mask, meant to conceal his nose and mouth. When he put it on and looked in a hand mirror, he saw that blackened metal lined his jaw, carved to evoke the image of a beast's open maw.

"With this," Master Wolf declared, his voice somehow more serious and solemn than it had ever been, "you are my disciple no longer. You are shinobi."

The ancient shinobi placed his hand on Kiyoshi's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "I pass to you one single tenet of the shinobi code: Be true to yourself and to your lord.

"Now rise, Kiyoshi. Rise, Fox."

The next words Master—no, the next words Wolf spoke resounded within Kiyoshi.

"Rise, Sekiko, One Armed Fox, and follow the path you know to be true."


AN: Geez, this one is super late, and for that I apologise. Turns out that not having internet at your new place of residence really gets in the way of writing new chapters; who knew? Thankfully, that's resolved now, and we are about to move into the next arc of the story! I do hope you all will enjoy what tale I spin from here on!