This was a mess. I full fucking mess. I gripped sanemi's shoulder. "Love.. we have to go, he's gone." I whispered to him, Sanemi staring blankly at the ground in front of him as he clutched genya's clothes. All that remained of him. His little brother… I slowly sunk to my knees and hugged him, whimpering softly as I felt him tense as my cheek touched his arm, tears sliding down my face. Gyomei-san was right. We had to go, the fight isn't over. But I… I couldn't bare to pull him away in this state. The last time I ever saw him so shaken was when we found out out child didn't survive the stomach injury. He was so broken and shaken. We both were. I almost gave up everything and he had to pull me back. But this? To lose his baby brother he so viciously tried to protect? Could I pull him back from this? I felt his arms slowly wrap around me, his face buried against my neck, his tears rolling onto my skin.
"He loved you Sanemi-kun. He loved you so very much he gave his life for you." I whispered, cupping the back of his head, trying my hardest to keep a sob from ripping out of my throat. His heart. Oh god his heart. I could hear it beating so slowly as it screamed in pain. Oh Sanemi…
"Lets leave."
…What? I moved back a bit, Sanemi following my lead and raising his eyes to meet mine. They were red from crying, looking empty for a moment but filled with sorrow as he stared at me.
"L-leave? S-sanemi we-we cant-"
"Please."
"What about our friends we-"
"Peaches-"
"W-we can't leave the Sanemi! We have t-"
"I CANT FUCKING LOSE YOU TOO! Goddamnit PEACHES!"
He screamed, his hands trembling as he gripped my shoulders, tears pouring down his face.
"YOU," he started, clenching his teeth for a moment to calm himself before starting again, "I can't do this, i-i can't lose you- fuck, goddamnit I lost everything else! M-my mom, my brothers and sisters, Genya, o-our… baby. I just, I can't lose you too Peaches. We can leave. They can win without us, we can live to see another day we c-can try again… We can try for another baby, retire and stay away f-from this life and have a life we-" His words were cut off by my lips crashing onto his. His lips tasted tangy from the tears and blood but I paid no mind to it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close, his arms immediately wrapping around my waist and holding me against him. The kiss was one of sorrow and longing, where all we wanted was to melt away together. I wanted to stay like this forever but… but there was no time. I slowly pulled back, his eyes fluttering open as they transfixed on me. For a moment, his eyes shone of a calm child-like sweetness, and his heart regained the happy flutter it usually had.
"After." I whispered, cupping his cheeks in mine.
"...What?" He asked, Pressing his face into my hands. I smiled, wiping his tears away as best I could.
"Just one more fight ok? Let's just fight this one demon and we can leave. Just one more fight and we can retire. Have a family. One more fight and we can live under the sun and moon without fear. I promise." I cooed, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. My eyes flicked to Gyomei who stood behind us, tears rolling down his cheeks for Genya and Muichiro. He waited patiently for us, fearful of Sanemi's decision. So was I. Because if he said to leave? I would. I would follow him anywhere.
"One more fight."
I was wrong. Muzan was so much more dangerous than I thought, nothing we did even managed to touch him. Any injury he received it healed faster than any of us could blink. Gyomei, the strongest of all of us struggled to keep up with him. This was bad, so so bad. I screamed out as Mitsuri was hit with a whiplash by muzan, knocking her clean out of the air.
"MITSURI!" I rushed to her, catching her in the air before she could hit the ground which only led to me gasping for air when my back slammed down to cushion her. I groaned and sat up, adjusting her in my arms to look at her.
"Mitsu are you alr-" I felt sick. Blood gushed into my uniform as I stared at the stump where the rest of her arm used to be. I shivered and tears welled in my eyes and I quickly ripped the red ribbon from my hair, sentiments of my mother out the door as I hurried to tie it around what remained of her arm to try and stop the bleeding. Luckily Mitsuri was quick and focused her bleeding to try and circulate her blood through the rest of her body, though her eyes were wide with panic and fear. My heart clogged in my throat. The bodies of lower ranked slayers laid around us, blood and carnage everywhere we looked. How could muzan… That thing be so heartless? He- he was a monster. Could we beat him. I looked to Mitsuri for strength only to see her with the same expression.
"1 HOUR TILL SUNRISE! 1 HOur till…" The crows words fell deaf on my ears after a moment.1 hour? We have to hold him off for 1 fucking hour?
"Peaches!" I quickly looked up as Sanemi landed in front of me, his face dropped when he saw Mitsuri. "Can she-" "I can fight!" Mitsuri cut him off, her eyes like daggers as she stared at Muzan from our distance. She shot me a look and smiled at me reassuringly.
"Hey, I've dealt with a drunk you at your bachelorette I can do anything." She teased spinning her sword in her hands, and then jumping back into the fight faster than I could blink leaving Sanemi and I on our own. I stared at the fight, nothing working on him.
"Will we survive an hour." My voice trembled as I spoke, and I immediately felt sanemi link his hand in mine.
"No. We won't… But we can still save everyone." My eyes widened at his words. No… he couldn't mean-
"Sanemi that-... that form, it'll only kill me, not you." I tried to explain but was stopped by his sad expression. "You think I won't follow after you go?" He said softly, facing towards me and cupping my cheeks.
"We aren't going to survive this fight peaches. We either die with him still living. Or it just be you and me who die, and we save the future generations…" He struggled out, gritting his teeth as he said it. He didn't want to ask me this. I know he didnt and it hurt me so fucking me that he was driven to ask me this. But he was right. We won't survive. I felt tears roll down my cheeks again, God how many times have I cried tonight? My hands found his and I held his hands tighter against my cheeks.
"...I love you Sanemi. I love you so much.." I whispered, sniffling as he gently kissed my tears away for a moment before his lips found my lips. The kiss was as long as we could let it be. The kiss was goodbye. My fingers tangled in his hair one last time and his arms held me tight. I allowed my ears to drown in the sound of heart, letting every other sound fall away. His beautiful, beautiful heart.
When he pulled away a sob escaped my throat. "I love you Tsuru… I'm sorry we couldn't get our happy ending." He whispered, trying to be strong but the grief in his voice was suffocating. He then took a step back, staring at me as if he tried to burn me into his memory.
"Do it." 'Kill me first.' I could hear his unspoken words, and so I raised my arm, my eyes on him doing the same. My arm burst into paper, it forming into a spear , and just before I let the spear pierced his heart, He smiled at me. The same smile he gave me on our wedding day. The smile he gave me after we first 'laid' together. The smile he had when I told him he would be a father. And as his heart was pierced so was mine. All sounds became deaf on my ears , it was all white noise as I watched him crumble to the ground, gasping on his knees. I stood there for a few moments, slowly turning to see Muzan watching me, dare I say curious at what I was doing.
"Why, a lovers suicide? How romantic." He jeered, his tone mocking us. 'Cowards' He hissed. Rage. That was all I could feel, pure unadulterated rage. The broken buildings around me began to move as the wood in them shedding into paper that surrounded us all. Muzan looked at me with wide eyes, though I wasn't sure why. What? Never seen an angry blonde? The papers kept coming and coming, until I was sure there was enough. With a blink they all folded into 1000 paper cranes. I dropped to my knees, my sword forming in my hand, and I basked in its pale pink beauty under the moonlight one more time.
"Ninth Style: Senbazuru Orizuru." I said softly, feeling relief floods me as I felt Sanemi at my side, leaning on me. He was here. In my final moments, he was here. Thank goodness. I pungs the sword into my own heart, gasping at the pain for only a moment before I was met with a gentle warmth. I was in his arms, his lips pressed to the corner of my eye. The paper cranes around us all began to glow, I could hear Mitsuri scream my name but I didn't care. I sank into Sanemi's embrace, pressing my ear to his chest, drowning in the sound of his heart beat before finally, it all faded to black.