walk steady on this cruel world's path

By: Aviantei

Part Thirteen:

"Thunderclaps and Distant Echoes"

The night was peaceful, and a cool breeze rushed by. The sky was clear, with hundreds of bright stars stretching out above. Again, I was struck by how incredible the view was in this time where the light of cities didn't wash out the majesty of the dark, but I couldn't appreciate it as much as I wanted to. Most times, breathing in the crispness of the night air would have helped me relax, but now I was instead reminded of the environment of my dream, of that vast and empty field scattered with the bodies of people I'd caused to die, if the voice in the dark were to be believed.

Desperate, I clutched tighter onto Zenitsu's hand with my left and onto the scabbard of my sword with my right. Both sensations helped: Zenitsu's warmth to remember that I wasn't alone, my katana's coolness to remember that I was a warrior who could fight.

Zenitsu squeezed my fingers back, managing to keep a reassuring smile. "Just a little bit farther, Senpai. There's a nice place I found."

I nodded, keeping pace with him without much trouble, though I did keep looking over our surroundings. We'd left the walls of Butterfly Manor, since Thunder Breathing techniques in general were not very conductive to letting nearby people sleep thanks to the loud booms they made, and a boosted version of Zenitsu's Hekireki Issen would be even less so. Zenitsu led the way through the surrounding woods. I could smell the familiar aroma of wisteria trees in bloom that would keep any potential demons away, if there were even any that were stupid enough to stick around near a Hashira's residence in the first place.

"I wasn't aware that exploring the nearby wildlife was part of your recovery plan," I said, so I wouldn't have to feel like the silence was going to swallow me up.

Zenitsu's laugh had a nervous tinge. "I might've run away after the first couple of days of rehabilitation," he said, and I couldn't help but smile while thinking of his early days of training. While frustrating at the time, the memory now made me a bit nostalgic. "But then Shimizu-chan told me she invited you here, and I remembered you and Jī-chan encouraging me, and I wanted to give it my best, so I went back to it the next day." He came to a stop, and soon I could see why. "But I did manage to find this place, so maybe you can forgive me?"

I whistled, taking in the view. While it would have been nice to see it in the daytime, the flower field was still pretty under the moonlight. The plants' collective sweet scent was soothing, making it easy to forget the acid taste of vomit threatening to crawl up my throat. He found this on his first try? Someone let that boy do some gacha rolls; I'm sure he'd pull his best boy/girl/enby every single time.

That image was enough for me to snicker, and Zenitsu looked so relieved at that small expression of mirth that he didn't even question it. "It is pretty nice." I let my hand slip out of Zenitsu's and urged him to go forward. "While I like the flowers, I do wanna see your Hekireki Issen. Do you mind?"

"Oh! Of course not, Senpai!" Looking the most confident I'd ever seen him, Zenitsu strode forward, finding a place to stand that didn't end up crushing flower petals underfoot. I sat down on a patch of grass, crisscrossing my legs and setting my sword across my knees. "I'm sure I can improve even more when I get Total Concentration: Constant down, but I've gotten a much better handle on it since last time I showed you." While Zenitsu had once taken his time to breathe, taken his time to get into position, his hand snapped to the hilt of his sword with an undeniable certainty that sent a shiver straight up my spine, and his breath sucked in with lightning sparking around him.

"Kaminari no Kokyū—Ichi no Kata: Hekireki Issen—Rokuren."

Unlike when I'd watched his Niren back in the peach orchard, I knew what to expect this time. Even so, following along with his movements was a challenge, and I ended up watching his afterimage and the blur of yellow light left behind more than I was seeing him. Zenitsu completed six different dashes, each one of them further augmenting his already impressive speed, and when he swung his sword at the end I was sure it could have felled a tree if he'd bothered to attack anything. His katana slipped back into its scabbard with a click, and Zenitsu exhaled before the focused expression on his face melted away to one of expectation as he looked at me for feedback.

"Beautiful," I said, which was the first thought that came to mind. Zenitsu's everything lit up at the praise, and I tried to think of something else constructive to say as a senpai. "You've brought that technique a long way, and I know that I couldn't pull something like that off without a ton of hard work." I'd found my niche as a flexible all-rounder, even if the consequence was that both of my kōhai could outpace me in terms of raw power. "You need a lot of skill to take one thing and hone it into something viable for combat. Keep it up, Zenitsu." He laughed, looking pleased, and I eyed the katana in his grasp. "Hey, hey, I wasn't there when you got your Nichirin sword. Lemme see!"

I made grabby hands, and Zenitsu trotted over to join me sitting in the grass as he fidgeted a bit. Aside from the fact that his scabbard and grip on the hilt were white to compliment the gold accents, rather than the purplish gray of mine, the designs of our swords matched, down to the tassel hanging off the end and the rounded four-petaled design of the tsuba—Hanai-san's handiwork, through and through. Because of that similarity, I'd been expecting the same yellow katana that Sensei and I had, but when Zenitsu pulled the sword from its sheath, there was a silver blade—save for the jagged pattern of a lightning bolt that ran across the surface. "I-it's not like yours, but Sensei said that sometimes Thunder Breathing users get this pattern if they have the potential to become strong…"

"Just like Kaigaku's," I said, thinking back to when I'd seen his blade drawn as we stumbled across each other in the woods, as our katanas collided, rending the enemy apart. Zenitsu winced, and then I realized what had popped out of my mouth. "Sorry, sorry. I can understand if you don't want to talk about him."

Zenitsu hadn't written much about it in his letters (so that I wouldn't worry, I'd guessed), but Sensei hadn't hidden that Kaigaku had gotten more and more impatient as his Final Selection approached. Given what I'd seen back in summer, I wouldn't have been surprised if Zenitsu had taken on the brunt of that frustration. I'd been so happy to make up with Kaigaku that I'd neglected my duty to kick his ass for being a dickweed. I'd have to correct that the next time we crossed paths.

"It's okay," Zenitsu said, and I gave him a skeptical look. Kaigaku bullied him, and that wasn't something you could just brush aside. "I mean it, Senpai! I—I don't like the way he treats me. I hate it, and sometimes I think I hate him. But you know…I can hear things, including feelings. So even though he's angry all the time, I can tell that he's scared of something underneath that. I just…don't know what." Zenitsu wrung his hands together, and I tried to process that knowledge, tried to figure out what it was that Kaigaku was trying to cover up with all his brashness and assholery, but I couldn't know for sure unless he opened up to me about it. And if the past two years were any indication, opening up wasn't something he was prone to do. "I know it's not okay what he does. And I wish I could tell him off on my own instead of letting him walk all over me or having you yell at him for my sake. But he's still strong, and I still respect how hard he works, and I've been trying to write him so we can maybe fix how messed up things are, but he never answers me." Zenitsu swallowed. "Like you said, we're sword siblings, a family. So he's still Aniki. Is it bad that I still think that way even after everything?"

"No, it's not bad." I gave his head a gentler pat than usual. "You're kind, Zenitsu. To see that there's still something good in him, even when you recognize that his behavior isn't okay. And you're brave, to try and reach out to him, even after everything he's done to you. But if he ever does do anything to hurt you again, let me know. I'm sure you'll be able to stand up to him one day, but you never have to do it alone unless you want to. Got it?"

Zenitsu nodded under my hand. "Got it, Senpai."

"Good." Unable to resist, I ruffled his hair, and Zenitsu squawked, his hands trying to push the locks back into place, though he still had a bit of bedhead going on. "And don't feel bad about your letters. I heard back from him for the first time less than a week ago, and he wrote a grand total of two sentences. Two!" Zenitsu snorted, and I smiled. "Also, your sword is amazing, and I'm sure you'll live up to that potential if you keep going the way you are now." Zenitsu grinned, the sight warming up my heart before I yawned, my body at last remembering that sleep was a thing I kind of needed. "Come on," I said, pulling Zenitsu to his feet with me as I stood up. "Let's get back to bed. You haven't caught up to Kanao-san yet, so you need your rest if you're gonna train hard tomorrow, too!"

Zenitsu groaned, and I laughed, pushing him forward and letting him lead the way back to Butterfly Manor so I could avoid adding Getting Super Fucking Lost to my list of experiences for the night.

As the days went on, Zenitsu, Tanjirō, and Inosuke all continued their practice with Total Concentration: Constant. Tanjirō had even recruited Sumi, Naho, and Kiyo to wake him up with blanket beaters if his breathing slipped up in the middle of the night, and I was beyond grateful that my room was well enough away from that mess. Everyone in the infirmary always emerged in the morning looking haggard, and I even caught them sneaking in naps on occasion between practice sessions.

Unlike everyone else, Shimizu didn't look worn out, though I found out after a few days that was because she was pretty handy with some makeup, so she was just concealing it. Even so, she still looked radiant the time I crossed paths with her before she'd covered up the bags under her eyes, so the overall effect of her presence was the same.

She also didn't let that tiredness impact her physical capability in the least. While the boys got to work on trying to burst some gourds that Sumi, Naho, and Kiyo had provided as a way of gauging proficiency with Total Concentration: Constant, Shimizu and I had taken to playing tag—though we used the whole estate instead of just the singular training room. We'd been even between both that and the cup game, though my Thunder Breathing experience meant I had more victories in the former while Shimizu's Water Breathing flexibility (and maybe just a bit of my crush on her; don't judge!) gave her the advantage when it came to the latter.

It was more about keeping our skills sharp while off of a mission than actual wins and losses, so I didn't mind. That said, as Shimizu reached full recovery, she was becoming way more of a challenging opponent, and I had to work for my wins, edge in speed or no. That morning, I was chasing her across the roof and had almost snatched onto the back of her haori whenever the familiar form of a Kasugai Crow divebombed my hand.

"Mission! Mission!" Tanaka screeched, flapping his wings and landing on Shimizu's shoulder. I was convinced that he'd almost scratched me on purpose. "Both Shimizu and Rairi are to report to a farm on the north! Several travelers have gone missing while passing through the area!"

"Eh, both of us?" I asked, surprised. Tanaka fluffed up his feathers at me, as if to fight me for challenging his word, but Shimizu patted him on the head once, and he went back to being docile within seconds. "Well, I'm not complaining, since it's always good to have backup. Are you sure you feel up to going, Shimizu-chan?"

Shimizu nodded. "I got cleared for a full recovery already. No reason not to get back to work." She inclined her head to the courtyard where the boys were struggling to blow apart the gourds as Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo cheered them on. "We should let them know before we take off, though. Plus you should give Zenitsu another one of your senpai speeches so he keeps working hard."

I fidgeted with the barrette at the end of my braid, trying not to look too flustered. "He's always worked hard. I'm sure he'll be fine without me." He'd grown enough to comfort me when I needed it, after all; before, he'd panicked because I was panicking, and the two of us just made a mess. Shimizu laughed at my embarrassment, but the sound was nice, so I couldn't mind too much. "But you're right. Don't wanna disappear without warning, plus we should stock up on food before we leave."

Together, we landed back on the ground, and Shimizu waved to catch the boys' attention. "Tanjirō-kun, Zenitsu-kun, Inosuke-kun!" she called, and all three of them pulled back from their small-sized gourds, gasping for air. "You're all working hard, yeah? Make sure you keep that up while Rairi-kun and I are gone, got it?"

"What? You're leaving?!" Inosuke shouted, scowling. "No way! I still haven't caught up to Kairi and Gimigu yet. You're not allowed!"

"How about you try catching up to Kanao-chan first?" Zenitsu asked, and Inosuke turned to him, nostrils flaring. Zenitsu didn't back down. "Besides, they have a mission to take care of. We can't just keep them here because we want them to help us train." He looked to me, his tone switching gears in record time. "Don't worry about me, Senpai. You taught me the basics, so now I just gotta keep practicing to make it second nature to keep up with!"

God, you've come so far, Zenitsu. I might just cry. I didn't, but I sure felt overwhelmed enough to come close. "Well, you've got this, then. Just remember to keep trying, no matter how much it sucks, okay, my precious kōhai?"

"Right!"

"I hope you two come back safe," Tanjirō said, his smile the embodiment of Purity™. He put his gourd aside and stood, bowing to us both. "Thanks for all your help with training, Rairi-senpai, Shimizu-san!"

"Not a problem, Tanjirō-kun!" Shimizu said, patting him on the head. Whenever Inosuke gave her a look, Shimizu reached out her other hand and let the boar boy in on the action—and, no, I was not jealous that they scored head pats just like that! "Make sure you tell Nezuko-kun I said bye when she wakes up!"

"Nezuko?" I asked, though for once in my life I knew just who the fuck Nezuko was. Behold, the last time I will ever have prior knowledge of anything about the Kimetsu no Yaiba canon before encountering it myself! Overall, I was pretty impressed that none of them had mentioned her the entire time I was around, but I guessed that maybe the whole thing would seem best to keep as a secret from other Corps members, given the whole, uh, demon slaying thing? Still, the effect of my question was that Tanjirō and Zenitsu froze, while Inosuke just looked dissatisfied that Shimizu had stopped giving him pets.

Zenitsu laughed, the sound far too unnatural to fool me, and he knew it. "Y-you see, Senpai, Nezuko-chan is…"

"Nezuko's…" Tanjirō said, also failing for words, and his face was all but screaming that he didn't want to lie to me after all the help I'd given him but also that he didn't know how I'd react to the news that his sister was a demon. Well, the joke was on him, because I knew way before I even met you, you sweet summer child, you babe swaddled in the cashmere blanket of ignorance!

"Nezuko-kun is Tanjirō-kun's little sister," Shimizu said without any shame. "I mentioned in my letter, didn't I, Rairi-kun? That there was a whole blow up with the Hashira and even the Corps leader because he was keeping it secret that his sister was a demon?" Oh, yeah, she had; I just hadn't recognized his name at all until I'd read the details. Tanjirō and Zenitsu's jaws dropped, and Shimizu put her hands on her hips and pouted. "Don't look at me like that. Rairi-kun doesn't have a problem with it, or they would've said something already. You should trust your senpai more, Zenitsu-kun!"

Hm, I suppose that most people would not take the news well, all things considered. But I'd already been initiated into the Imōto Protection Club long beforehand, so there wasn't anything to fuss about. "Shimizu-chan said that your sister hasn't eaten anyone, Tanjirō-kun, so it's not a problem. Besides, it's not like she chose to become a demon or anything." Given what I now knew about how demons were made, it was beyond obvious that Kibutsuji Muzan served as a compelling antagonist, not just for his general presence as the progenitor of all demons, but also for the way he'd affected Tanjirō's life. As such, that also meant I could blame Kibutsuji if anything demon related hurt my loved ones, ever. "Not to mention that you didn't seem bothered by it, Zenitsu. I trust your judgement on this one, alright?"

"Alright," Zenitsu said, sounding somewhat winded. Tanjirō also seemed shocked, though he dropped right down in another perfect ninety-degree bow after a moment.

"Thank you so much for believing in my sister, Rairi-senpai!"

"Now, now, no need to shout about it. Just make sure you and Nezuko-chan keep doing your best, okay, Tanjirō-kun?" He gave a resolute nod, and I tried not to think too hard about how his status of protagonist meant that he was likely to have the hardest time of them all in the long run. I wish I knew more. I wish I could help you all. But the best I can offer you is luck here and pray that you'll all be okay. "Zenitsu, Inosuke-kun. You two keep doing your best, too. Not just in practicing Total Concentration: Constant, but after you master that, too. Help each other out, on and off the battlefield. All three of you—keep working hard."

And stay alive, please.

Shimizu nodded, looking serene. "Rairi-kun said it best already, but I'll add in my thoughts, too. Tanjirō-kun, Zenitsu-kun, Inosuke-kun. The three of you have just gotten started. And take it from your senpai, but it doesn't get easier the longer you're in the Demon Slayer Corps. But you've shown on Natagumo-yama and while we've been training here that you're willing to keep pushing forward, even when the world gets rough. So just keep working hard. I'll have Aoi-kun tell on you if you do, so no slacking off, got it?"

Whenever we started here, I was sure that threat would have made all of them flinch. But Tanjirō and Zenitsu shared determined looks, both of them bowing and almost blowing out my ears with a unified bellow of "THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" while Inosuke made matters worse by screaming, "HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME FEEL ALL FLUFFY! I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S WORKING HARD!"

I might have teared up, but that wasn't anyone's goddamn business.

[Author's Notes]

Y'all can thank my early flight home for this morning posting. May you all enjoy the end of Rairi's involvement in the Butterfly Manor Recovery Arc. If you're keeping tabs with where we are in the canon timeline, the main trio still has a few weeks of recovery and training to go through.

Exuberant thanks to ObservantMushroom, batmanuchiha, Wakamol, GG725, Dawood Saqlain, SaucyBoi69, Darkishbay, Stranger9, Mary D Black2000, frozenrose09, Zeromk7, Guest, ILikeFoxes828, Ausora, Crestowl, kinbarii-tan, Curleyfries, Cadmus8, Sarcrejaune, GlaresThatKill, kev374k, Trevial, Pixio, Punk Trash Noiz, Guito248, Aglio -Saggezza, and Jon Dane for the favorites, follows, and reviews! You guys have launched this fic into 200 favorites already, which is just...uh, wow? I get successively more stunned each week.

We continue the senpai/kōhai fluff this time around, with some talk of swords, Thunder Breathing, and Kaigaku. While I'm fleshing out Kaigaku more, that doesn't mean I wanna brush under the rug how much of a dick he is. Of course, we have a limited scope of just what he's like before his proper canon appearance, but it's enough to be...not great. Zenitsu, meanwhile, has a lot of conflicted feelings on the matter, but he still has some hope, which I think is still true, even later in the manga. I hope I portrayed this situation well. Also just wrapping up the arc in general, so we're ready to move on. Rairi has some new kiddos that they feel connected to, which is both a blessing and a curse, considering how much the Protag Squad gets beaten up.

Also, also, also! I am pleased to announce that the wonderful beta for walk steady, Punk Trash Noiz, has written fanfic for this story, and I am super giddy about it! It's a Dead By Daylight AU with Thunder Trio plus Shimizu (I am taking suggestions for a quartet name, so hit me up), and it's called run for your life on this twisted world's path, so please do go check it out! They also have another walk steady one shot in progress, but, since it's not posted yet, I can't share the details, but you bet I will next update! Noiz has been excellent in encouraging me, giving great feedback, and putting up with my later plot angst, so show them some love, too!

It's time for a Taishō Era Secret! Nichirin swords change in color in accordance to the user's most compatible breathing style, but there are still variances in this. Some users will have the whole blade change color, while others have forms in patterns, like Zenitsu's thunderbolt array. For Thunder Breathing users, this pattern has long been rumored to be the sign of a person's strong potential, but if that has any actual merit is unknown. You can see other variables like this in different Breath Style users, such as Shinazugawa Sanemi's wave-like pattern across his blade.

Next Time: This isn't how I wanted headpats, what's new pussycat, and oh, this has gotta be a canon character. Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[06.19.2021]