Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc "Kyojuro and Akari"

BY: RENEE PHYLLIS

FANFICTION

Chapter Nine

"A dream is only an illusion"

The people ran from their cart to the other, seeing a demon with long legs and arms. They were terrified, that's for sure. Everyone was now safe, except for one man who was stuck, because the demon had its attention on him. Inosuke tried to slash the demon without thinking it over. "Wait, we have to save the passenger first", Tanjiro shouted at his comrade who ran towards the demon. "It won't matter once I kill it", Inosuke shouted back, still running, as he launched an attack, but didn't kill the demon, instead, it launched an attack on him. Inosuke was able to dodge its every attack, but ended up in a difficult situation. Luckily, Kyojuro saved him in time and put him down in a seat. He saved the passenger as well and told him to go to the next cart where he'll be safe. "We're good to go. Let's finish him off", Kyojuro looked at Tanjiro and Akari who was sitting beside him. "I'm good. I'm sure Tanjiro-kun would like his shot", Akari said and smiled. The demon got angry not getting its food. It went on a rampage and ran towards the swordsmen who stopped it from eating. Kyojuro ran to it as fast as a flickering light and killed it, before it may victimize another. "Hono no kokyu, ni no kata: nobori en ten", and just that, as he unleased a move, the demon's head got cut off and it disintegrates. The trio were amazed by Kyojuro's skills as a fine swordsman. "That was awesome, Rengoku-san", Tanjiro exclaimed in tears of joy. "What wonderful sword skills! Please make me your apprentice", he added. "Fine by me. I'll make a fine swordsman out of you", Kyojuro said, arms crossed and looking proud. "Me too!", Zenitsu joins in and had a weird look on his face. "Me three", said Inosuke and pleaded. "I'll train all of you", Kyojuro said to the trio which made them so happy, they called Kyojuro their big brother. Akari smiled so widely, her heart full of love. She might have not said it to Kyojuro before, but she was super proud of him. Prouder than she could ever be, to her lover who now has three swordsmen wanting to train with him. Kyojuro laughed and the others leaped in joy as if they had won a lottery. They jumped and shouted in happiness. Akari remembered a time where she laughed at a sad-looking Kyojuro for losing another swordsman. "Your methods are hard and they keep running away", she was hysterical, but when she realized that Kyojuro was indeed saddened, she had felt a sting in the pit of her stomach. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing", she apologizes, but then, she had forgotten that Kyojuro is an enthusiastic person, therefore, he wasn't worried about the swordmen he had lost. He was optimistic enough to say that he'll find more. Now, Kyojuro has three and Akari is happy for him. If only that were the case.

Akari woke up in her old house. "Nee-chan, wake up. Your husband will eat everything if you don't stop him", Koji had said and shook her sister, who was happily sleeping. "Nee-chan? Are you okay?", asked the girl as she looked at her sister who had a tear on her eye. Akari, then, hugged her so tight. "Nee-chan, you're sucking the life out of me", Koji exclaimed, trying to break free from Akari's grip. Akari was now crying. "Nee-chan, what's going on?", the little girl asked, only she wasn't the little girl before, she was a bit older than Akari had last remembered. She stops from hugging her sister and examines her. "Nee-chan, you're creeping me out", Koji said. "I'm sorry, Koji. I seemed to have the craziest dream of all", Akari wiped her tears as she looks at it, wondering why she was crying. When she stepped out of the room. A child had been playing outside with a ball. "Mama", the child said and Akari was startled, but then she looks upon the child and remembers it as hers. "Kajuro, your mom had just awakened", Kyojuro appeared with the ball. Akari carries the child into her arms as Kyojuro kissed her in the side of her head. "Good morning, Akari-san", he said and Akari blushed at at him. "Your mom's angry with you for sleeping so late", Kyojuro added in a whisper. "Kajuro, let's play, shall we?", Koji offered. "Koji, you can't play, remember? You might get really sick", Akari remained oblivious of what was going on. "Nani?", Koji looked confused. "Good morning, Akari", her father comes in the backyard and greets her with a cup of coffee in his hand. "Are you okay, dear? You sound really weird today", said her mother coming after her father. Akari paused for a second, thinking something isn't right. Did she dream all those chaos she encountered and lived through? "I- I don't know", she responded to her mother's question. "You work too hard. Next time, Senjuro and I will help you", Kyojuro said. Work? Help? What was going on? Not a moment too soon, she enjoyed her morning playing with her husband and their child, Kajuro. They continued to do so for a while and Akari had so much fun that she cherished every moment.

When it was time for lunch, they ate together and told stories. "Remember our spot, Kyojuro? We should take Kajuro there", Akari said which puzzled Kyojuro. "Spot? Where?", he asked her and she felt ill. "Right, I need to visit Shinobu back at the Butterfly Mansion", she announced as she stood up, ready to go. "Butterfly Mansion? Where is that? Are there butterflies there", Koji grinned at her sister. Akari was now feeling dizzy. "Oyakata-sama might be waiting for us, Kyojuro. We have to go", she said, head spinning in wild directions. "Who's that?", Kyojuro questioned. What is going on? Why is this happening? Shinobu? Kanae? Kanao? Aoi? Tengen? Sanemi? Kyo- Kyojuro, what's wrong with you? Her head could not take it anymore. Something is indeed not right. Why is she filled with memories she can't understand? People she doesn't even know? Who's Tengen? Sanemi? Oyakata-sama? She held her head and started to trip. Kyojuro held her by the waist and arm. "Akari, are you okay?", Kyojuro looked at her worried. "Akari, wake up. This is a dream. They're all dead. Your parents are dead", a voice called out. She gazed upon its direction. Where is that voice? She was starting to act crazy that it scared Koji and Kajuro. "Koji's dead. She's dead. She's never coming back", the voice said as if trying to make her angry. Not just angry, but sad. Both of her hands were in her head, holding as if trying to shut her mind. "You're in danger. Everyone's in danger. Akari, wake the hell up. Wake up", the voice was getting louder. "They're all dead. Your parents and sister are dead. They're never coming back. Kanae's dead. Kanae's dead. She was killed. Kanae's dead. Think of Shinobu, Kanao, Aoi and the three girls. Think of all those people you want to avenge. Think of your baby. Think, Akari. THINK OF KYOJURO. WAKE UP!", it echoed like a thousand voices all at once. She woke up from the dream, coughing like she was drowning. Her tears forming up. Kyojuro held her and she was startled, scared even. "Hey, it's me. It's me, don't worry. It's just me", Kyojuro comforted her. And upon seeing Kyojuro, she embraced him tightly, not wanting to let go. She poured her eyes out, cried and cried, because before she woke up, she was taken to the time that all of her loved ones died.

She saw her parents' dead bodies lying on the floor, as well as her sister where her face was no longer visible – it was torn apart. She went back to the time she had received the news of Kanae passing away when she just got back to the Buttefly Mansion. But something stuck with her. It wasn't the death of anyone who's dead already, but the death of Kyojuro, where he was lying down on the floor, all bloody. She cried her heart out seeing that horrible scene. She was about to tell him what has been bothering her and what has she been hiding, but there was still a mission to uphold and people to save.

Akari wiped her tears away as she looked at Kyojuro frowning but putting on a strong face. "Let's go", she said and off they went to do their job.

While Kyojuro and the others were in their dreamscape, Tanjiro had been the one who had woken up first, because of Nezuko severing the connection and because of Tanjiro survival instinct and himself warning him that this is only a dream – much like to Akari hearing voices. When Tanjiro had woken up, he saw Kyojuro choking a child, while a rope was tied to both ends of each of the wrists of his comrades. The only one who did not have any rope was Akari, but it seemed like she was in too deep of her dream. Tanjiro saw her smiling and being happy, while Kyojuro expression was quite the opposite. Tanjiro instructed Nezuko to burn the ropes and look for a way to wake Akari up.

Now that everyone was finally awake, they had two goals; to kill the demon and save the passengers. "To think all these happened when I was dozing off. How could this be? I'm ashamed as a Hashira. If there's a hole… I wanna hide in it", Kyojuro says as he launches like a fireball – full on blazing fire – and helps Tanjiro with protecting the humans inside the train. Surely, the demon – Enmu – was hurt. The train jumped and landed back on the train tracks as it kept on running. "You're not the only one who should be ashamed", Akari was left. She touched her cheek with her hand, the other holding one of her swords and blushed, ashamed of being weak inside the dreamscape. "Oh well, no time like the present", she said and off she slices each of tentacle-like things trying to devour humans. She keeps up with Tanjiro and Kyojuro. She and Kyojuro got there on the same time – which basically means, she's faster than him – as where Tanjiro was and instructed him on what to do. "I'll keep it short. There are 8 carts in total. We'll protect the six, while your sister and yellow boy protect the rest", Tanjiro looked at as Kyojuro pointed at Akari, gesturing the "we" in the situation. "They have a name, you know", Akari interrupted the conversation, but Kyojuro did not listen – much like to the time when he's eating, he never listens to a word you say. "You and boar-headed boy go look for the demon's head", he said, putting much pressure on the youngsters. Akari puts her hand on her head, "Maybe that's why they all run away", she thought to herself. "Demon's head, but…", Kyojuro interrupts his sentence. "No matter what it's form, it has a head", he said, getting closer to Tanjiro's face. "We'll be looking for a weak spot while fighting. I want you to show me your spirit", Tanjiro isn't like the others who trained with Kyojuro. He seemed amazed and mesmerized as Kyojuro spoke so loudly. Akari admired that about Tanjiro, that even in the toughest times, he never changes, unlike her, whom her nature and perspective changed as her family died. Kyojuro stands up from his position – one knee down as he spoke to Tanjiro – and flies off to god knows where. Akari was left again. "Seriously, he leaves me every time", she mumbles under er breath. "Uh, MItsuma-san", Tanjiro says while he's still down on his knees. "Tanjiro-kun… you'll be alright, I believe in you. Go now and make him proud", she smiled as she leaned on her shoulders, looking at the boy who stood up tall and got up to look for the demon's head. "Don't worry, we've already told Inosuke what to do from the way here", she smiled to herself, flashing her skills and speed. Now she understood what it meant to be flamboyant. At times like this, Tengen always gets to me. It's annoying. She said to herself feeling a little too proud of herself, though she was still mad at the demon, so she smirked. I will make you suffer; you'd wish you'd just die. She had a raging expression, the expression of anger and revenge, but more on the playful side, like an act of vengeance and making herself feel better – right explanation would be, she looks like a psychopathic villain who's about to do her evil plan out of hobby. Because I'm angry, bored and annoyed by this bastard demon. I shall unleash all of my techniques. You'll taste the wrath of Mistuma Akari. And there she unleashed every fighting technique. In total, the Phoenix Breathing has 13 breathing forms. The 13th form was the strongest and therefore, she doesn't use it as much with simple fights such as this one. Her 10th form was of healing properties, which she'd use in between battles with demons, but ever since she had become a hashira, she has not use it as she usually does when she was only a low ranked demon slayer. Her 8th form – much like to Inosuke form of sensing where the demon is located – is of sight. Using it, would allow her to see the demon from miles and miles away. Like a bird hunting its prey from above. Honestly, she could have used it on her and Kyojuro's first mission together, but well, she was a bit out of her mind – it would have been easy to spot the demon. Requiring the sight, does not need to be from high above. She could clearly see wherever her position was.

Using all her forms, she was getting pretty thorough with slashing every tentacle that Enmu throws at her, it was getting harder and harder for the sleep demon to regenerate, but even though it was hard regenerating, he was still alive. Tanjiro-kun, I'm counting on both of you. She had protected each people on three carts and three for Kyojuro, two for both Nezuko and Zenitsu.