Serrated stones dig painfully into Tanjiro's back. A searing headache raked across his skull. Opening his eyes was a slow and agonizing process. Tanjiro sat up and blinked stubborn darkness from his vision.
.
This isn't the butterfly mansion. A bright blue sky sprawls over an endless field of ash and brittle trees. Stunned, Tanjiro's breath lodged in his throat. Soot spills through his fingers. He looks around and sees that his box –and Zenitsu, is gone!
.
Jumping to his feet Tanjiro hurriedly surveyed his surroundings. His sister and Inosuke aren't wounded thankfully. What's more surprising is that Nezuko looks human again! And she's not turning into ash in daylight either!
"Nezuko, Inosuke! Get up!"
.
Inosuke snorted indignantly and rolled over. "Lemme sleep!"
Nezuko responded by being just as shocked; she looked at her hands and placed a hand over her mouth. No fangs, no horn, no sharp nails. Her glowing eyes have also returned to a maple-brown. "What happened? Where are we?"
Tanjiro shook his head. "I have no idea!"
"There's been a fire. Were we fighting some demons?"
"No we were at the butterfly mansion waiting for our next mission. And it doesn't explain how you've become human again Nezuko. Zenitsu is missing too and there aren't any footprints."
.
Reluctantly pulled from a half-peaceful sleep, Inosuke's sharp senses warned him of something. "I smell fire and I hear people marching."
The two started following him when Tanjiro stepped on something. Bright red cloth gazed through a layer of ash. He brushed it away and grabbed onto a big flag. It has a fire symbol stitched onto it. Tanjiro felt sadness clutch his heart. These once-beautiful lands are now lifeless and desolate, leaving no traces of wildlife. Whoever did this has no humanity.
.
At the crest of a big hill Inosuke froze. Down below are about forty soldiers marching along. Dark red armor and weapons glisten in the harsh sunlight, portraying a deadly and well-organized army. Midst the thugs are some bleeding and bruised prisoners being guided by violent prodding blades.
.
Passion and empathy ignited in Tanjiro's body.
Nezuko's eyes flashed. "Are we going to help?"
Inosuke chuckled and drew his swords. "Good time to test my new moves on these losers!"
.
Like a violent rainstorm the three descended with all their pent-up venomous rage. Blindsided by such viciousness, many Fire Nation soldiers are instantly slain. In the seconds of respite Tanjiro notices that his breathing arts aren't activating. Still, his swordfight training is enough to scare even the most intimidating fighter. Nezuko is being defensive, kicking and punching those who miraculously survived Inosuke's brutal attacks.
.
After a burst of cowardice the Fire Nation gathered up enough courage and flanked the three vigilantes. Scorching waves of fire lunge at them. Inosuke leapt over and skewered two adversaries with his swords. Tanjiro and Nezuko narrowly dodged only to run into more soldiers.
.
Blades sparked as Tanjiro met them with his own. "Nezuko!"
The armored men are about to surround her with a whirlwind of fire when she felt a force –some invisible but tangible thing. Extending an arm she followed it, closing her hand into a fist.
.
A sickening gurgling sound came from a soldier. He went rigid and then fell. Fellow soldiers backed away, eyes wide with fear. "W-What type of bender are you?!"
Another man's arm snapped. Nezuko swung both arms and the man is launched into the air.
.
Latching onto this newfound power, Nezuko controlled the soldiers' limbs to start attacking their own army. They moved like ragdolls with additional eerie popping from broken bones, screaming muscles, and joints. Inosuke killed one who tried to sneak up on her. He studied the Fire Nation corpses. "Hey! That was my kill! But you have great fighting moves."
"Thanks!"
.
An elbow struck Tanjiro's chin and his lower arm, disarming him. Fire Nation soldiers closed in on him, shooting serpents of fire. But he too, felt terror and a surreal power grip his soul. "Boil!"
Death screams echoed in the field. Ten men dropped writhing in agony before becoming lifelessly still. Some Fire Nation retreated but others refused to leave. "They're waterbenders! Take them to the Fire Lord to be executed!"
Before anyone could move a –was that a boomerang?! A boomerang flew by and hit three, knocking them senseless.
.
Three people joined the fight. Two clad in heavy blue winter cloaks and one with blue arrow tattoos. The woman attacked eight soldiers at once with some water and the brown-haired man threw his trusty boomerang again. The kid dressed like a monk gracefully dodged every attack and pushed his opponents away with powerful gusts. The last Fire Nation soldiers ran and the group released thankful prisoners who also traveled back to their village.
.
"Here. I'm a healer," the woman kneeled by Tanjiro and used her floating water to heal his burns gained in combat. Her beautiful blue eyes exhibited admiration. "I've never seen waterbending like that before! You guys are so cool!"
"Bending?"
Nezuko smiled sweetly. "Thanks for helping us. We seem to be lost."
"More than lost," Inosuke crossed his arms. "We must be in some other world!"
.
A campfire hinders lasting dread. Introductions are made and questions are answered. Sokka slumped against a tree trunk and eyed the strange outsiders warily. They acted and looked nothing like any nation citizens he's seen. Still, what if they're just great actors? "I don't believe it. Demons and what was it? Breathing arts don't exist. Can we really take your guys' stories seriously?"
"C'mon Sokka," Aang poked the fire with a spare stick. "They sound like they're telling the truth. And breathing arts sound like bending."
"Yeah," Katara added. "And we're helping the Avatar even though everyone thought he was dead."
.
Sokka thoughtfully chewed on some cooked game. "I still don't believe it."
"The monks were very wise. One lesson they taught me is that every element connects to each other. Nezuko seems to have bended blood and Tanjiro he boiled those guys from the inside, a mix between water and fire."
He sighed. "Fine, fine. At least we'll have help fighting the Fire Lord."
"Whoa, that's awesome! Could you guys teach me?" Katara asked.
.
The next morning the group found a forest and a river. Sokka is fishing while Katara is searching for medical herbs. Aang is talking with Tanjiro and Nezuko who are helping Appa and Momo gather fruit.
.
"I don't know Sokka. We should let them join us. They're looking for their friend. Maybe it's fate. Fate brought all of us together."
"Katara, a reasonable man doesn't believe in fate. We believe in facts. And the facts are that these guys are untrustworthy. Sure they have powerful bending. Sure they fought Fire Nation soldiers. But what if they're lying? What if we're more obvious with them around when we're supposed to be in hiding? If Aang dies, that's it, game over."
Katara put her hands on her hips. "Sokka-"
.
Loud rustling startles them. Inosuke emerges carrying four large game. He's laughing thunderously. "Take that Stinky Sock! I'm the best! I got more food!"
Sokka's jaw dropped. "How?! I'm the best hunter in our tribe!"
Tanjiro gave the Water Tribe sibling an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Inosuke turns everything into a competition."
.
Katara expected her brother to be mad but a big grin replaced his shock.
"You are a beast! The craziest man who has ever crazied!"
"Sokka that doesn't make any sense…"
He ignored Katara's words and tossed his useless fishing line away. "Can you teach me how to fight with a sword? Please!"
"You might learn my beast breathing style but you'll never be as great as me! A good rival will make me stronger! Bring your best muscles to the fight, Stinky Sock!"
Katara smiled and shook her head. Guess that's it then. They've new friends to help them on the Avatar's journey.
.
"We're supposed to be hunting down the Avatar and the peppy Kyoshi warriors and we find this loser?" Mai glared at Zenitsu who is pinned to a tree trunk by her throwing knives. Her golden eyes narrowed further with disgust. "He's so colorful and bright."
.
Azula smiled and Zenitsu paled. "Last night I saw a big flash of lightning but not a fire in sight. You are not wearing clothes from any nation. Maybe you're just some wandering fool but I can tell by your failed escape that you are no mere poor wanderer."
"Could you?" Mai snorted.
"Yeah," Ty Lee did a handstand casually, sounding bored. "He hardly fought and we captured him easily."
"Who are you?"
.
Zenitsu's heart raced. These women are very pretty. Pretty and badass. And deadly. I'm alone. Tanjiro and Inosuke aren't here. So I'll do what it takes to find them. That is, if I can survive. "I'm Zenitsu. I got lost."
"Oh cute," Mai smiled mockingly. "A low-born nobody. Maybe he's a circus freak like you, Ty Lee."
"Hey! I'm one of the top Fire Nation acrobats you know."
.
"I am princess Azula of the Fire Nation. These are my friends Mai and Ty Lee. We were sent out on a very important mission," Azula won't miss an opportunity to make strong allies. She smartly guesses that Zenitsu is from another world. If the Avatar and Spirit World exist then somebody being thrown brusquely in their world wouldn't be implausible. And a good leader always thinks quickly, competently, using what is given to them for the upper hand.
.
"…the Avatar is a longstanding enemy of ours and we're looking for him. Hey," the princess' eyebrows furrowed. "Are you listening?"
He got most of it through the veil of fear. So in this world breathing styles are bending, and Azula can firebend. He really didn't want to help them but what choice did he have? If I die here then I let down everybody. My mentor, my friends, and every person I care about. And what if Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Nezuko were captured by the Fire Nation? From a glance Zenitsu can see these guys are evil. If he acts as if he's on their side then he could find his friends.
.
"Okay. I'll help you."
"You will? Wow, that's great!" Ty Lee cheered.
"Can this idiot even keep up with us?" Mai asked.
Azula removed Mai's knives and walked back to her friends. She extended a hand and fire hovered. "Let's see how strong you are. You must be a firebender like me."
.
Zenitsu's heart is racing. He's hardly a good demon slayer, how is he going to fight somebody with powers he doesn't have?! Will the breathing styles even work? But if he was able to use lightning when he got to this world then…
.
He shakily draws his sword. Azula relentlessly hurls fire at Zenitsu. Shouting, the demon slayer jumps side to side, feeling the scorching flames fly past. The Fire Nation princess lunges with a spinning kick and hits him squarely. Pain shoots through Zenitsu's entire body as he lands in a net of branches. Blood trickles down from his head to his chin, and his limbs stored many splinters. Zenitsu's fighting senses ignited. He jumps down, about to swing his sword, when Azula summons electricity.
.
It hits Zenitsu but has no effect on him and like some violent poltergeist travels through his body. He felt the intense energy and guided his thrashing limbs to redirect it at Azula. Lightning pops deafeningly as it gathers power and sends her flying. Smoke rises from her armor.
Mai and Ty Lee stare incomprehensibly at Azula. No one has ever won against Azula. No one.
.
Azula got up, slowly, her eyes aglow with shock. Her armor is burned and has a hole on it. The wound isn't fatal but it does hurt. "You can bend lightning? Do you know how difficult that is?! I was the only person in the academy to master it! I thought that lightning was just from you arriving here."
"I-I don't know. It's m-my breathing style."
.
The Fire Nation princess chuckled, hiding her limp and regaining her cruel shrewd composure. "For someone with such talented bending you lack any self-confidence or pride. People like us should stick together. The world is a bad place full of peasants and enemies lesser than us, which will try to kill us because we're so great. We will be the ones who will decide what the future will be! You need to work on your moves but one day you'll be a powerful firebender."
.
Zenitsu could see how Azula's fiery speech could refresh a room of Fire Nation soldiers but he knew she was lying, at least partially. I'll get stronger, the demon slayer vowed. Not for you. Not for your cause, but for my friends. As they departed from the woods Zenitsu looked sadly at the sunset. This road he's taking will be a hard one, harder than being a demon slayer, but Zenitsu knows that it might be the only way to reunite with Inosuke, Tanjiro, and Nezuko again.