walk steady on this cruel world's path

By: Aviantei

Part Ten:

"First Thunders, Second Roars"

Finding the enemy wasn't hard. We were pulling what one might call a Pro Gamer Move—or insert another clever cultural reference that worked for the 1930s, I don't care! By pretending Kaigaku and I had a disagreement and went our separate ways, it would paint a larger target on our backs. I'd look like a coward (not accurate, but no doubt it made me seem like easy prey), and Kaigaku would look cocky (accurate, but also making him seem easy like easy prey). Now we just had to hope that the enemy took the bait so we could get somewhere.

Spoiler alert: the enemy took the bait.

I'd sprinted off downstream, towards where I was pretty sure the woods would break. I hadn't even been traveling at my full speed, so I couldn't have gotten very far before I heard the rustle in the trees. A few seconds after that, I took a rather unfortunate blow to the back of my skull that I let send me tumbling.

It had been some time since I added another head injury to my collection. Still, though, the hardest parts of making the strategy a success were a) letting the thing hit me when its attack was so obvious, and b) ragdolling well enough to make it seem like I was unconscious. Point b) became much more challenging whenever I rolled partway into the goddamn river I'd been trying so hard to avoid this whole time, and half my haori ended up soaked.

I used Total Concentration to keep my breath in a replica of sleep and used my forming fantasies of fucking eviscerating the demon responsible for the mess I'd become to keep myself warm.

For the next several minutes, I couldn't see much without risking the demon's replica shell or whatever noticing that I was watching, so I couldn't say much about the trip. All I could say is that I did get picked up, carried along to god knows wherever, and, by the time I got dropped on the ground, had a fucking uncomfortable layer of ice forming over my cheek.

I am going to destroy this piece of shit so hard.

There was another thud on the dirt next to me, which I assumed was Kaigaku. The alternative was that some other poor sucker had gotten caught (you would think, that after all the people who'd gone missing in the woods, anyone who wasn't a trained Demon Slayer would stop coming, but nooo, locals were still disappearing in here!), and I didn't want to have to balance fighting dumb doppelgangers and protecting someone else. Whenever the sound of footsteps from whatever had dropped me off retreated, I chanced opening my eyes a fraction, holding in the sigh of relief when I saw my kōhai across from me.

Since I could make out the shape of my barrette attached to his collar on the left side, I knew it wasn't a doppelganger. I could feel the smoothness of Kaigaku's magatama against my skin, and I hoped it was visible enough for him to notice I was still me, too. Well, Phase One: [Get Caught] had gone well. Now we just had to hope that we could move into and complete Phase Two: [Kick Ass] without any issues.

"Foolish Demon Slayers," said a voice, and I had to resist the urge to groan right then and there. Always with the monologuing! I get it; demons tended to be antisocial, but did that mean they had to always run their mouths at us? Yes, it seemed, as I could hear the voice coming closer as it continued, "If they hadn't split up, they wouldn't have been so simple to take down. Well, I won't argue with an easy meal—"

Yeah, you can fuck right off!

Though it wasn't anything comparable to a proper Hekireki Issen, I had a pretty decent quick draw on me from all the drills and practice. The second I felt the demon touch me, I'd snapped out my sword, and I almost managed a decapitation in that moment. For the most part, the demon looked human, with straight, shoulder-length dark hair—but when my sword tore through the surface across its chest, I realized that it was wearing one of its own doppelganger shells to disguise its appearance. No wonder people kept getting eaten by the thing. I wouldn't have been surprised if the first few Corps members in the area had tried to help it, just to get stabbed in the back.

While I'd been quick on the draw, Kaigaku was a split second behind me. He, too, missed the decapitation but at least lobbed off one of the thing's hands in the process. The demon retreated, and it would have been easy to race after it and in for the kill if it weren't for one little issue:

The clearing we'd been brought to was loaded with those stupid Blood Demon Art shells.

Some were of me, some were of Kaigaku, some were of people I'd never seen before, Demon Slayers and civilians alike. Regardless, they were all focused on us, and even the ones that weren't armed didn't look like they thought that was reason enough not to try and tear us apart. Or maybe I was just projecting again? Who knows! It wasn't like there was any other option but to fight.

Though our forms didn't match, Kaigaku and I both raised our swords at the same time.

"Kaminari no Kokyū—"

"Roku no Kata: Dengō Raigō!"

"Ichi no Kata: Hekireki Issen!"

Recognizing his form, I let Kaigaku attack first, lightning blasting through several of the shells and disintegrating them with the sheer force of the move. That opened up a path, giving me a clear shot of the demon as I rocketed forward. This time, my decapitation was clean—which would have been cause for celebration if the shell I'd targeted wasn't now empty. I landed in the middle of a cluster of enemies, having to defend myself right away from my own mirror image. I clicked my tongue and yelled, "It changed its shell before I could get to it!"

"Then we'll just have to kill every damn one of these things until we hit it!"

It wasn't an elegant plan by any means, but it sure was the scenario we'd gotten ourselves into, so it was what we were gonna do. Yes, there was a mob here, but it wasn't that hard to defeat them. Since I'd managed to get a hold on Total Concentration: Constant, I could take this all the way until dawn if I had to. The issue was the possibility of the demon's main body escaping in the process. I wouldn't be able to complete the obnoxious objectives of surviving the horde and finishing off the demon on my own.

But I wasn't by myself. Kaigaku was here, too, and he was tearing through the shells with just as much ferocity as I'd seen him put into his training. That said, I was an idiot for even considering that the shell I'd fought earlier was him. Kaigaku's skill level was far above that thing's, refined by the last of his training with Sensei and the beginnings of his experience with the Demon Slayer Corps. In my absence, he'd grown, and I felt a strange mixture of pride and disassociation start to wander into my heart.

Still, while it may have been a little disorientating to see how far he'd come without me, there was no doubt that he was the person best suited to have my back in this situation.

Together, we thinned out the shells to a far more controllable number without managing to hit paydirt on killing the main body. But it was down to a process of elimination, and one that got easier when one of the shells bolted out of the melee and towards the trees. I cut straight down the middle of a shell in the shape of some Slayer I'd never met and took off after the retreating enemy, trusting Kaigaku to run crowd control just in case my new target was a decoy and the real one had blended into the group. I leapt up into the air, my sword poised to strike—and the Slayer's mouth opened wide to make way for a massive fist to launch in my direction with the rest of the shell distorted to accommodate.

Way past squicked out, I just managed to twist myself out of the way mid-air—gods above bless anime physics! Hooray for Fantasy Taishō Era Japan!—to dodge the blow. I landed, skidding back over the ground and preparing to launch myself into a fresh attack. Which so would have happened if my foot didn't slip on a patch of slush that caused my left ankle to roll, upsetting my balance.

Shit, fucking hell—! I hate the goddamn winter!

The demon may have been running away a few seconds ago, but it didn't hesitate to take advantage of my prone state to aim another punch at me. I pulled up my katana, already knowing I'd be too late for the block, but then there was movement in front of me as Kaigaku arrived, slicing off the arm. Just as sudden and disgusting as the first time, the shape of the Demon Slayer warped as a second arm emerged from its mouth, smacking Kaigaku aside. Since he still had the energy to curse about it, I was sure he was okay, and he rolled to his feet a second later, blood dripping from his nose. I had a little less luck, since my ankle must have been sprained, but, in hindsight, I was so, so grateful for every hellish part of Sensei's training that made it possible for me to stand up and keep fighting.

"Shi no Kata: Enrai!"

With the precision afforded by the form, I could release several targeted attacks—though none of them hit the demon. Instead, I worked on blocking off its escape routes, corralling it towards where Kaigaku was waiting with his sword at the ready.

"Ni no Kata: Inadama!"

The five strikes tore through the shape of the shell still clinging to the demon's skin, revealing the distorted monster beneath. The final blow knocked the demon between us, and I'd already used my still good leg to launch forward, while Kaigaku had begun to sprint. The demon's head whipped back and forth as the two of us took in the very same breath and roared:

"GO NO KATA: NETSU KAIRAI!"

Our katana swung with the force of thunder we'd been trained in, each of us rending a cut from the demon's neck and into its chest from the opposite directions. The tips of our swords caught against each other, but by that point the demon's head was flying, the rest of its body disintegrating into the dark. I considered playing it cool, then abandoned the very premise itself as I punched both arms into the air, though I knew I was just going to fall onto my ass.

"Fuck yeah!" Sure enough, my butt smacked into the ground, the force running through my leg and making my already pissed off ankle even more so. Still standing, Kaigaku tried to hide the fact that he'd just pumped his fist in victory, and I grinned up at him, tucking my sword away before offering a high five. "Nice job!"

"What did you expect?" Kaigaku said, sheathing his sword, and, instead of slapping my hand, he yanked on my wrist to pull me to my feet. Come to think of it, when were high fives introduced to Japan? When were high fives invented period? If the answer to both those questions as Not Yet, I felt sorry for the world at large. "Don't tell me you got hurt bad enough that you can't even stand."

I shifted my weight onto my good foot, still managing to keep my balance. "I mean, I can stand. I just feel like it wouldn't be a recommended course of action by the greater medical community." I tried to think of how many kilometers it had been between this forest and the nearest town. It was not an estimated number that I liked the idea of covering with an injured foot, though it was possible—it would just be a slow as balls process and would come with the consequence of dragging out my recovery in the aftermath. "Um, we could call a Kakushi, but it would just be quicker if we headed to the closest Wisteria House ourselves. I mean, you should get checked out, too. It looks like you took a pretty bad hit at the end there." Sure enough, smears of blood trailed back to Kaigaku's nostrils, and I could see the darkening bruises on his cheek, even in the dim light and through the mud on his face.

Kaigaku scrunched up his nose in the way he did when he was irritated; the gesture seemed to send a fresh ping of pain through his face, though, based on his grimace a second later. "And who's fault is that for getting knocked down?" A wave of guilt rippled through me—I had screwed up enough to make myself vulnerable. Even if it was just an accident, I should have kept a better eye on my surroundings. "Ugh, whatever," Kaigaku said, turning around and squatting a bit, his position easy for me to climb on for a piggyback. "We're going the same direction, anyways. It'd be stupid to waste everyone's time. Get on."

Not wanting to risk the possibility that he would change his mind if I acted too slow, I did as I'd been told, hooking my arms around his shoulders and letting him tuck his arms under my thighs. "Thank you, Kaigaku."

"Hmph. I'm not going slow, so don't even think about bitching over it, Rairi-senpai. Momo!"

There was a caw that I assumed was from his Kasugai Crow, and, before I could even make a smart comment about him naming his bird after peaches of all things, Kaigaku took off.

As expected of a Thunder Breathing user with a clear destination in mind, we made good time. Kaigaku hadn't been lying about not going slow, and there was so much wind whipping by that it wasn't like we could have a casual conversation. I focused on maintaining Total Concentration: Constant to distract myself from the occasional sting of pain I felt, and I was able to spend most of the journey in a meditative state of mind that made time's passage not feel like such a drag.

It wasn't until the dawn began to break through the cloud cover that had been plaguing us for so long that I bonked my forehead against the back of Kaigaku's skull to catch his attention. "We should eat," I said, raising my voice enough to be heard over the rushing air. Kaigaku made a sound like a grunt. "It's not like I'm in critical condition or anything. We can wait an extra half hour for me to get looked at."

When Kaigaku didn't say anything, I figured he was back to outright ignoring me, but soon enough his pace slowed down after he'd made it most the way up a hill. He stepped off the side of the road, finding a dry enough place to let me down without straight up dropping me. My ankle was still tender, but nothing so bad that I couldn't make it a few paces to sit on the edge of the hill with my legs hanging over the side. Kaigaku had the same idea, though he was at least a meter away, and both of us pulled out what food we had tucked away in our uniform's inner pockets. The onigiri I'd kept on me was somewhat smooshed, but still edible, and I took my time enjoying the salted flavor as the silence stretched on, just as awkward as it had been before we'd killed a demon together.

This is just dumb. You're the senpai, Rairi. You be the bigger person. I licked the last few grains of rice off my fingers, leaned forward a bit, and turned to my kōhai sitting beside me. "You've improved a lot, Kaigaku," I said, meaning every word. His eyes flicked toward me as he continued to chew through his own onigiri. "You've been practicing Total Concentration: Constant, right?" If nothing else, he'd been reading my letters, since I'd shared the technique with him, and the results were obvious. "You moved on a whole new level than before."

"I said I'd show you how much I improved, didn't I?" he said, sounding as petulant as ever. "I've been working this whole time you haven't seen me." He held up his hand, showing off the Wisteria Flower Engraving mark (more magic junk I didn't know how it worked!) that had the character for his rank, Kanoe—impressive considering that he just had a few months of experience under his belt. I could see the competitive glint in his eyes, so I went through the process to show off my own mark, one rank higher than his at Tsuchinoto.

"Don't look so upset. I'm still your senpai, and I joined the Corps first." As expected, Kaigaku frowned deeper, and I reminded myself to reign in my tongue a bit if I wanted to rebuild this bridge instead of burning it to the ground. He'd made it his goal to improve, and he'd put forth the effort to do it. It was no wonder that someone like Zenitsu, who'd run away at the first sign of adversity, upset him. Not that it excused Kaigaku's actions or anything, but it made sense. And, when it came down to it, he was reliable in battle, beyond suited to be a Demon Slayer. I smiled. "You're doing a great job, Kaigaku. I'm proud to call you my kōhai, and I'm glad that you're my fellow successor."

For the first time in the years we'd known each other, I got to witness Kaigaku blush, and it was incredible—as well as incredibly difficult to keep myself from snickering at him for it. It was a shame he had such a godawful attitude half the time; he was pretty handsome, and more so now as he'd gotten old enough for most of the awkward teenage stage I'd met him in to melt away. Then again, I could see him considering anything besides training a waste of time, so he'd view it as no big loss if people didn't view him that way. Regardless, watching him flush red was a moment I would tuck away for blackmail in the future, and the color rushing all the way to his neck just cemented my resolve.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," I said, fumbling with my uniform collar to retrieve the choker he lent me. "I'm sure you want this back. Just gimme a sec, wait—" It felt simple enough, just tug on the end, and nope, nope, I was wrong, I was super fucking wrong.

Kaigaku clicked his tongue, stuffing the remains of his own onigiri in his mouth and swallowing it whole before scooting over on the hillside. "Just stop, you're making a bigger mess of things." I dropped my hands and let him undo the tangle I'd made. Soon enough, the golden magatama and its cobalt cord were in his hands, and he tied the accessory into its place around his own neck. "Guess I should give you back your barrette, too. Your braid's already coming out."

I flipped the rope of hair over my shoulder, sure enough finding the twist starting to come undone. I pinched the pieces together—no sense in rebraiding it since, as soon as I had approval, I was getting that warm bath I beyond deserved—holding out my other hand for my barrette. Kaigaku had detached it from his collar and was staring at it in his palm. "What's the matter?"

"It cracked." Just as advertised, when he showed it to me, there was a jagged line down the middle, and I was impressed that it was still in one piece. I plucked it out of his palm, inspecting the damage further. Oh, how I missed super glue… "Must've been when I got knocked down. I'll get you a new one."

"You don't have to do that. You got knocked down protecting me, so it's my fault. And I bought it for cheap; it wasn't worth anything." I mean, it was kind of notable since it had been one of my earliest purchases with the pocket money Sensei had given me, but I was still using it because having more than one of the things when I traveled everywhere on foot was a hassle I didn't want to deal with. "It's like that superstition that items will go missing or break whenever they're protecting you from something bad. I'd rather have a busted barrette than have you be hurt worse. So don't worry about it; I'll just pick up another one when I get the chance."

"I said I'll get you a new one," Kaigaku repeated, looking almost as fierce whenever he'd stared me down while sparring for months on end. I stared back, not sure what to say to that, and he sighed. "Look, it was your birthday last month, right? Just count it as a late gift if it makes you feel better." That time, I couldn't help it; a splutter of laughter slipped out of my lips, and Kaigaku's scowl deepened. "What the hell are you laughing at?"

I tried to catch my breath, which took me a couple of failed attempts, and I pressed my face into my hands. "Sorry, sorry," I said, still chuckling between the words. "It's just, last time we saw each other, we had this big blow-up fight. To be honest, I was worried that you'd end up hating me. But you're getting all worked up over getting me something, and I'm just—I'm just glad we're okay. That's all." Rubbing away the sting in my eyes, I grinned.

Kaigaku's face twisted up into an expression that didn't seem very comfortable, even without accounting for the bruise marring his cheek. "I…don't hate you," he said, the tone in his voice softening for a moment. Starting to pull apart the rest of my hair from its braid, I listened as he continued. "I still think you spoiled Zenitsu too much. And I sure as hell don't think he's worth being the successor of anything. But even though it pisses me off that I can't beat you just yet and take that title for myself, I don't hate you for any of it. So don't be stupid. You're better than that."

And that's about the closest thing to an apology I'm ever going to pull out of him, I thought, still satisfied by the outcome. Besides, if anyone deserved a proper apology, it was Zenitsu, and I had a feeling that conversation would be just a bit more like pulling teeth than this one had been, assuming it ever happened. Baby steps, Rairi, baby steps. "Well," I said, "I'll try my best to be worthy of that assessment."

With my hair all undone, I shook the locks loose, letting the waves bounce against my back and all the way to the ground. I wore it in a braid for practicality's sake, but it was nice to let it down for a bit. Though since it had been so long since I'd done any maintenance aside from washing it, I had plenty of split ends going on. Did the Wisteria Houses happen to have someone who could give me a trim while I was there?

Kaigaku, who had to be thinking about more important things than my need for a haircut, watched me for a moment before opening his mouth again: "Rairi-senpai—"

"Rairi-kun!"

We both started at the voice, and I blinked in surprise. On the path below us was a familiar figure in a Corps uniform and a wave-patterned haori, and I raised my hand in a wave once I recognized her. "Shimizu-chan!" She glanced at the hill, then bounded up the sides until she was on the same level as us. "Were you headed out to a mission?"

"Nope, I'm headed back. I was going to stop by the closest Wisteria House for a bit, though," Shimizu said. I raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "No, no, this isn't another case of 'I got to see you because of an awful injury'!" She puffed out her cheeks in a pout, and I laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it. "I just started to get the sniffles, so I wanted to grab some cold medicine before it could get worse." Her eyes skimmed over me first, then the bruises across Kaigaku's cheek if I was reading her gaze right. "I take it you guys weren't so lucky, Rairi-kun."

My earlier joyful laugh dwindled into a nervous chuckle, and I lifted my left foot. "I just managed to roll my ankle. Nothing serious, but nothing fun, either." Shimizu nodded, still looking at Kaigaku, and I realized that introducing them to each other was a good idea. "Shimizu-chan, this is Kaigaku, the elder kōhai I mentioned. Kaigaku, this is Urokodaki Shimizu-chan, the one I teamed up with at Final Selection."

As per usual, Shimizu's smile was a level of pretty that transcended all levels of common sense. "It's nice to meet you, Kaigaku-kun."

Kaigaku grunted. "Yeah, well, the feeling isn't—" I jabbed Kaigaku in the ribs before he could finish, and he glared at me, rubbing the spot I'd just elbowed. "It's nice to meet you," he said in a purposeful monotone, but it was a slight improvement, so I let it slide. He brushed stray grains of rice from his pants before moving back into the squat to let me onto his back again. "Come on, Rairi-senpai. We've finished our meal break. Let's get moving."

"Oh, yeah, you should get that ankle checked out, Rairi-kun!" Shimizu rushed to assist me with climbing onto Kaigaku's back, which just made the whole process harder, and then she'd hopped to her feet as he stood. "Just let me know if you need to trade off, Kaigaku-kun. I'm glad to help."

I couldn't see it, but Kaigaku's eye roll was all but audible. "I think I can take care of my own senpai, thanks. You're a Water Breathing user, right? Don't be surprised if you can't keep up."

"Oh my fucking god," I said, but the sound soon disappeared in the wind as Kaigaku sprinted off once more.

"You're headed out on a mission right now?"

We'd been at the Wisteria House for not even a full hour, and Kaigaku was already leaving. Sure, he looked better with the muck from the woods cleaned off his face, but the bruising was still pretty nasty, not to mention the bags from lack of sleep under his eyes. I, in comparison, was delegated to the expected bedrest for at least the next few days, while Shimizu had been offered medicine and a bed to sleep in so she could head off the sickness before it got worse. The sole reason I wasn't napping right now was because I was getting that bath I earned, dammit, and someone was running the water for me.

"Don't give me that look. The doctor checked me out; nothing was broken," Kaigaku said, his tone making it seem like having someone else feel concern for him was equivalent to some sort of illness. Well, too bad for him, because I cared for my kōhai, dammit, even when they were obnoxious little shits. Proving my point, Kaigaku smirked. "Unlike someone I know, I didn't get hurt enough to be put out of commission."

I mimed a gesture of strangling him, to which Kaigaku's lips peeled back to reveal his teeth in a snarl, and I stuck out my tongue. As if that could intimidate me. Our exchange done, I let my arms flop back to my sides and sighed. "Well, I get how it is. If you gotta go, you gotta go." I smiled at him. "Thanks again for your help, Kaigaku. Stay safe out there."

He scoffed. "Try not to die while I'm not there to save your ass." I flipped the bird, he returned the gesture, and in the end we both snickered. Kaigaku turned to the door, glancing over his shoulder to say, "I'll send you a new barrette once I find one. Keep an eye out for it, Rairi-senpai."

And sure enough, not even a full week had passed before Momo found me en route to a mission, a lilac-colored barrette with cobalt ornamentations clutched between her claws. I accepted the gift, asked the crow to wait a moment, undid the temporary ribbon I'd placed in my hair for the time being, put the new accessory in its place, and wrote out a quick thank you note, using my forearm as a surface to get the words down.

For once, I felt that my chances of getting a reply to that letter were pretty high.

[Author's Notes]

Yesterday, I got to have the incredible experience of getting Kimetsu-themed ice cream at a limited time event. The Thunder Breathing flavor had pop rocks. It was amazing.

All the thanks to Stormy-Clouds231, Sandovair77, Illuminate1103, x7porkchop123w, Sit Back and Live Life, PCheshire, ILikeFoxes828. kimmay94, Joeb Vaquilar, Mitsuo the Universe jumper, chibi-no-baka, bitterxhanahaki, alfrediiimt, ximenalucio701, 0owya77o0, kiitsunequeen, mircoborhaga98, Monstertrainer, Chrome Fate, samovich17, The Name Is Greed, AbbyIA, rotam, Kancolle Haruna Chan, camiilaherediia98, and meteor13 for the favorites, follows, and reviews! We've somehow already crossed 50 reviews, plus this is now my second most favorited and followed work? Y'all also broke all my viewing/visitors records last month, too. I know I seem to freak out every update, but genuinely thank you all so much for the support!

I also finally took the time to draw the cover for this story, so it's available now. You can also see a lot of concept art and other walk steady sketches on my Instagram aviplotbunny, which is finally back to being up to date again. I def spend more time on writing than drawing, but art is fun, so you can check things out there if you wanna see what Rairi, Shimizu, and Hanai look look, as well as all my super self indulgent art for this project.

Quick side note: I've gotten a couple of comments relating to why Rairi is nonbinary. So for anyone wondering, the short answer is: I'm enby, I'm tired of not seeing people like me in leading roles in stories, and I'll be damned if I don't write them myself. End of discussion.

That said, this chapter was a lot of fun to write. Kaigaku do be a little shit, but he's enjoyable to work with. Look, actual character development for him; who would have thought...

It's time for a Taishō Era Secret! The shell ability of the demon on this mission was inspired by one of the Akuma from -man, from the Mater arc. Unlike that Akuma, though, this demon's ability is only camouflage; the rest of their body can distort in shape to fill in the shells or create giant body parts to attack with, rather than replicating abilities of its image.

The idea of Kaigaku's Kasugai Crow being named Momo was borrowed from EtherealNyx's Cyanide at the Center of a Peach, a "Kaigaku becomes a Hashira" AU. I read the fic on AO3, so I know it's available there. Because, really, what else would Kaigaku even consider naming his Crow?

Next Time: This is not the news I wanna hear; oh, shit, Canon; and Show Off to the Kōhai. Please look forward to it.

-Avi

[05.08.2021]