Zenitsu and Nezuko had found a great empty space to practice in with enough bushes and trees to block them from other people. It was a rather lucky find this far onto the outskirts of town where one could find nothing but rice fields for as far as the eye could see in some areas.
"Water breathing is… strange," Zenitsu said, his face thoughtful. "It's different than Lightning breathing. I mean, I could hear it was different but I never really thought about it."
Nezuko found it refreshing that he wasn't A. yelling, B. panicking, C. hitting on her/flirting or D. all of the above. Once he got past the initial freak out of having to work or potentially do something painful, he was surprisingly thoughtful and hard-working.
(She suspected that he wouldn't have tried working if she hadn't cajoled him into it, so she could probably add 'lazy' to his list of… interesting traits, but was hesitant to do so as she wouldn't be surprised if his reluctance came more from fear than anything else.)
The Water Breather nodded. "I never realized how subtle the breath differences were until you pointed it out to me. It's surprising how something so little can have such a difference in the way the styles manifest."
She almost regretted speaking as he turned to her with those bright eyes. "You're so intelligent and articulate, Nezuko-chan!"
Well, there went C. She'd take three of four right now, though.
Unsure of what else to do, she ignored him and thought back to her brother. "I think I can remember how Nii-chan uses his Hinokami Kagura breaths… I wonder what would happen if I tried that."
Pain, she found out. Lots of pain from all over, but especially her lungs. They hadn't hurt that badly since she'd started learning her water breathing form. Still, she wanted to try and learn it and had learned the dance by heart, even if she'd never actually performed it. Also, between the new breaths and the memory of the dance and how that footwork changed, it gave her some ideas as to how she could modify her own steps to suit her body more.
"Zenitsu-san," she said suddenly, startling him (had he just been watching her? He needed to practice the first water breathing form if he wanted to actually learn it.)
"Y-yes, Nezuko-chan?"
"Do you mind if I try something? I have an idea."
That dopey smile of his came back. "Sure, Nezuko-chan."
"Okay, stand right there. I'll try not to hurt you, okay?"
"Okay," he replied, but then blinked and seemed to realize what she'd just said. "Wait, what?!"
The form worked surprisingly well. She was even able to stop herself from knocking Zenitsu out. She still apologized for the goose egg on his head. She hadn't meant to do that, really, and promised she'd practice on trees in the future. She didn't want to hurt him again.
She was still more than pleased with the progress she'd made already.
The next morning, after they'd stayed the night in the inn (a common area for sleeping instead of separate rooms that were much more expensive, unfortunately), they found instructions from Zenitsu's sparrow telling them to leave town and that Hashira would be sent to look for Muzan.
They were not unhappy to leave that to the stronger members of the Demon Slayer Corps (for now) and left immediately.
xXx
The last time Tanjiro had been a demon slayer, he and Nezuko had practically been inseparable. He felt it had been understandable. After losing the rest of his family, he hadn't been able to stand the idea of losing her too and being away from her had terrified him. It… still terrified him, to be honest. Knowing she was out there putting herself in danger when he wasn't there to help her, and she wasn't there to help him… It hurt. That didn't mean he wasn't proud of her. She'd left to fulfill her own duties and he knew she was stronger now, but he couldn't ignore the giant hole by his side (or on his back) where she should be. He wanted to run after her, especially with Muzan anywhere nearby. But he stopped himself, knowing she would not appreciate it and in the long run, it would probably hurt her more than help her. He still hated it.
He wondered what missions she would be sent on. She'd become a demon slayer around the time he would have in his original timeline, so did that mean she'd get some of the missions he had? Would she be sent to rescue the teenage girls being taken by the demon that had been his first assignment, or had that been assigned to someone else? That hadn't been an easy assignment…
"Are you really a Pillar? Just standing around all day, staring when we have to pack!" Yushiro's voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to see the boy carrying several boxes.
Tanjiro blinked. "Oh, right. Sorry!" he apologized, bowing and mentally kicking himself. They didn't have time for daydreams.
"Tch, you better be," the green-haired boy grumbled and stomped off. The time-traveler went back to packing the box of necessary books Tamayo had asked him to. Then he and Akaza would take them downstairs and outside respectively so they could be gone by dark. They had to be out of town before Muzan could try to come after them.
He could worry about his missing sister later.
(No, he couldn't. He would always worry about her.)
xXx
They managed to get out in just a couple of hours, after Tanjiro had sent his crow to Ubuyashiki-sama with a letter explaining what had happened. He also explained that while he and Mitsuri, two pillars, could theoretically attack the demon king (Tanjiro was positive he could find the demon progenitor), between Tamayo, Yushiro and everyone's uncertainty about Akaza, it would be best if they didn't confront Muzan at the moment. He had little doubt that as much as Ubuyashiki-sama would lament the missed opportunity, he would also likely agree.
Fortunately, Tanjiro didn't sense the other's presence once they got everything into the cart under several blankets, along with Akaza, who claimed he wasn't nearly crazy enough to simply walk under the sun with only a couple layers of clothing between him and the deadly light. Tamayo and Yushiro did just that. The sheer nerve they both had… Then they started off for a house Tamayo owned well outside of the city.
They arrived well after nightfall and unloaded all the boxes before Tanjiro promptly found a room to collapse in.
He woke up after noon the next day.
He still missed Nezuko and felt so alone without her there. That feeling didn't seem to dissipate or lessen at all.
The only thing that could drag him out of his sadness was sparring with Mitsuri or Akaza. In the couple of days and nights after they arrived at the old, forgotten (if small) estate, they'd gotten in some pretty intense training, and that did satisfy Tanjiro… partially. Mitsuri was even sleeping their latest training session off at the moment.
Tanjiro grinned. He hadn't ever gotten to know the Pillar before, not this well in any case, and he really did feel like he'd gained an older sister.
Then his thoughts returned to his real sister and his smile faded. He paused, glancing back over his shoulder. And then there had been Muzan's presence to factor in…
He hoped she'd gotten out of town very quickly.
And speaking of…
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Part of him had really, really wanted to rush over to where he'd felt that… person and… well, he didn't like to really think on what he'd wanted to do. Tear the man apart… slowly… with his own claws.
His first instincts at that time had scared him. He hated Muzan, sure, but… not like that.
Right?
And he was sure Muzan had sensed him too. The whole situation had been.. strange. Muzan felt like a…
Like an equal.
No… not like an equal so much as an older family member… which frankly, disgusted Tanjiro. He wanted to share nothing with the demon progenitor. So why had it felt… well, as it had? Tamayo had taken to calling Tanjiro a 'sire', did it have something to do with that?
He looked down at his clawed hands feeling a little sick. Just what was going on?
Did he want to know?
No, but he also had to know.
Maybe he should talk to Tamayo-san ab—
A flapping of wings interrupted his thoughts as his own Kasugai crow flew down towards him, apparently returning from the Corps head. He held out his arm and the bird landed.
"Message from Ubuyashiki-sama!" was all it said. Tanjiro smiled, happy to have a much calmer, quieter crow this time around. He reached up with his fingers and stroked the underside of the bird's jaw gently.
"Thank you," he said quietly before he went for the message tied to the crow's leg. It… wasn't a direct response like he'd been expecting. It was a summons to the early bi-yearly Hashira meeting. He was supposed to bring Mitsuri… and Akaza.
Tanjiro groaned and mentally prepared himself for another fight.
Well, at least it would be interesting.
xXx
Akaza stared at the wooden box Kamado had placed before him as the boy smiled widely.
"What is that?" he asked warily. The box looked like it had been hastily constructed with leather straps tied around it.
The older demon was not impressed.
"Well, Mitsuri and I need to travel during the day, so this will keep you safe! I'll carry you on my back."
Akaza looked between Kamado and the box again. Then again.
"No," he finally said, crossing his arms.
The boy's smile fell as he glanced down at the box again, then looked worriedly back up at Akaza. "But we have to travel during the day and we can't take the cart in case Tamayo-san needs it! I don't want you to burn up!"
Which… was actually very kind of the boy, in all honesty. Well, kinder than Akaza thought he'd get in any case. He felt himself relax a little, knowing that Kamado really did care… it was a strange concept, but not truly unwelcome.
Still…
He looked at the box again, then shook his head, ignoring his words from only a couple of days earlier. "I'd rather go in monk robes." So much for not walking outside with only a couple of flimsy pieces of material protecting him from the sunlight.
Kamado frowned, but at least he didn't bring that comment up. "Isn't that a little… disrespectful?" he asked instead.
Akaza shrugged. "It's not the worst thing I've ever done."
The boy looked troubled at that, then he shook his head. "No, just regular clothes and a Haori would be fine. But we'll need to get you gloves and something to cover your face… Oh! Like a tengu mask! Or a Kabuki mask! We'll see what we can get, but I'm sure Tamayo-san has something we can use! Come on!"
With that, he reached forward and grabbed Akaza's hand. Surprised, the former Third Kizuki let him.
An hour later, Akaza stood in front of the door leading outside while seriously questioning his sanity for even contemplating stepping into the sunlight for the first time since he'd become a demon. He wore an old Hyottoko mask that Tamayo had procured from a dead nichirin swordsmith she'd come across in the past, his head had been wrapped in some spare material she'd had on hand and he also wore a very large sugegasa*. His hands had been wrapped in bandages and he wore several layers under the gi and hakama Tamayo had given to him with a smirk.
He knew she was laughing at him. This had, after all, been his idea.
The worst part of it was how patient Kamado looked as he stood out in the sunlight, just smiling back at him.
"Whenever you're ready, Akaza," he said with a slight cock of his head. "If it starts to hurt, we'll figure something else out."
The demon swallowed. He hadn't been this nervous in a while. He glanced up at the pink-haired Hashira, standing behind Kamado with a neutral expression on her face. Yeah, he'd find no support there.
Not that he needed any.
With an inner sigh, he looked down at the line between shadow and sunlight at his feet and then took a deep breath (silently, of course). He raised his foot and stepped forward. The multiple pairs of tabi he wore were working, at least. It felt warm but not unbearably so. So he took another step. The sunlight slowly crawled up him as he moved. He winced when it reached his bandaged hands. That was slightly more uncomfortable, but nothing he couldn't handle. He could just put his hands inside his sleeves while they traveled. He did so then. Kamado noticed and frowned.
"Are you alright, Akaza?" he asked worriedly.
The demon wanted to snap, but he forced himself to be calm. No need to alienate his current allies.
"Fine," he managed, albeit curtly. Still Kamado didn't look happy, but he didn't say anything else either.
A couple more steps and he was fully in the sunlight… for the first time in years. It was so… bright. The clothes felt constraining and stifling, but they also felt freeing in a way too.
"Akaza?" Kamado asked.
The former Waxing Third let out a breath and nodded. "I'm good."
The boy grinned at that. "Great! Well, let's go then! Would you like to lead, Mitsuri-san?"
She sighed and poked Kamado in the forehead. "The next time you call me 'Mitsuri-san', I'll… I'll…" she paused, utterly ruining the moment as she tried to come up with some sort of consequence. Then she smiled happily. "I'll make you learn to do the splits!"
Akaza grimaced a little. That sounded painful even to him.
Kamado, however, just lit up even more (he was almost as bright as the stupid sun). "Really?! I've always wanted to learn how to do that."
The other Hashira frowned – no, she pouted. But then she seemed to come up with something else.
"I'll call you by the most embarrassing name I can come up with!"
For several seconds, Kamado just blinked at her. "Um… like what?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.
Mitsuri huffed and puffed her cheeks out angrily. (It didn't make her look menacing at all.)
"Then I'll… I'll… I'll cry!"
And she looked like she just might be on the verge of doing so too.
To her credit, that did it. Kamado looked utterly horrified. "P-please don't! I'll remember to call you Mitsuri! I promise!"
The pink-haired girl sniffed and studied him for a couple of seconds. Then she sent him a watery smile. (It, too, was surprisingly bright – was it a Demon Slayer thing? He didn't think so...)
"Great! Now come along, Ototo-chan**!" With that, she grabbed his arm and they began to stalk towards the yard's exit. A little amused, Akaza followed.
"Mitsuri-s… er, Mitsuri, I need to follow behind! That's the formation we agreed on."
She paused. "Oh, right!" she said. "Well then, I'll lead you as best I can!" She turned and said that with a fist-pump before she stalked off toward the street again, this time on her own.
Kamado smiled fondly, if a little exasperatedly. Then he turned to Akaza. "Sorry, but we need to keep you in the middle. If we didn't take any precautions and showed up at the estate like that, it could get messy."
Akaza shrugged, not really caring either way.
"Whatever," he said as he followed Mitsuri out of the gate.
They stalked out of the town, carefully taking back roads for some reason, but Akaza still couldn't bring himself to care. He only made the occasional attempt at talking, hoping that they'd answer his questions as he tried to hit every shadow they came across (there weren't many, it was too late in the morning).
"So, we're heading to the Demon Slayer Corps Estates?" he decided to ask. "Muzan was always looking for those."
"Yeah," Kamado said while Mitsuri stiffened a little in front of him but didn't say anything. "And at some point, you'll have to be blindfolded. It's required."
Akaza shrugged. "I get it."
"You're a lot more laid-back than I… thought you'd be," Kamado commented.
The former Kizuki shrugged again. "It's been a… life-changing couple of weeks."
"Will you be able to handle the Wisteria?" the Love Pillar asked suddenly. "Many Demon Slayer estates are covered in them."
Oh. Lovely.
Akaza sighed. "I'm a Kizuki. Or… well, I was. It won't be… pleasant, but I'll be fine."
"Hmm," she replied with a nod.
Then he realized something regarding her.
"Hey, Love Pillar, what should I call you?"
Her shoulders seemed to slump a little, but she still answered. "Kanroji-san," she replied.
Akaza frowned, then nodded. "I've never met a woman as strong in battle as you, Kanroji-san."
Behind him he heard Kamado sigh.
"Oh, so women can't be strong?" she asked, suddenly turning to face him angrily.
Akaza blinked. He hadn't really meant it like that… but he supposed he could see where she was coming from. He had thought that before he got his memories back, to be fair.
So he looked her dead in the eye through his mask and told her the truth. "The strongest person I ever knew was a woman."
Because Koyuki just went on, every single day, no matter how tired or sick she felt. No matter how much she sometimes felt like she shouldn't go on. Akaza had only felt like that for a couple of days and he'd seriously thought about walking into the sun. How she'd done it every single day astounded him.
His comment seemed to take Kanroji back a bit. Then she frowned. "I thought you said I was the strongest woman you've ever met."
"Strongest battle wise," he emphasized. "I hope to meet more like you in the future."
She blinked at that, then a conflicted expression crossed her face. Eventually she just nodded.
"Thank you, Akaza-san," she finally said, albeit a little stiffly, before turning around and continuing on.
Somehow, it felt like a win to him, even if he wasn't exactly sure why.
xXx
Akaza couldn't help but stare at the foliage around them. It really was… pleasant. Something Koyuki would call lovely even, and he hadn't been able to really see or experience it for more than a century. Even with the ever present threat of burning to death if he made the wrong step and accidentally showed too much skin, he thought it had been worth it. The air somehow smelled fresher than it did at night… or, well, different at least. And despite all of the layers, he was enjoying the warmth too. Temperature didn't particularly matter to demons, but that still didn't mean they felt comfortable at all times. But, surprisingly (pleasantly so), he hadn't had a problem.
More than once he saw a wildflower along the side of the path and would stop, wonder about Koyuki's reaction if he'd given her that flower and smile sadly before moving on.
He also found it interesting that Kanroji seemed to be plagued with insects constantly surrounding her while he and Kamado didn't have a problem as far as Akaza knew. As such, Kanroji often avoided patches of stagnant water on the road and any clumps of insects that Akaza and Kamado just didn't need to worry about. She seemed more and more put out by this as they went along, but Akaza found it amusing.
It was during one of their little detours around a rather large puddle that he spotted something in the distance, a flash of blue. He looked over, expecting to see another flower and found exactly that.
Except he had to do a double and then a triple take, because… seriously?!
"Wait," he said, then walked through the small clearing and towards the clump of blue he could see in the distance.
"Akaza?" Kamado asked.
"Where's he going?" Kanroji half-whispered.
Kamado seemed at a loss. "He just felt shocked for a minute and intensely curious and… disbelieving?"
Yeah, that was still creepy. Judging from the look on the kid's face after he said it, he agreed at least.
Akaza shuddered but continued on. Just a couple of feet away, he stopped, because yes, he'd found what he thought he'd seen. It was a clump of blue freaking spider lilies.
"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered, still in shock.
"Akaza?" Kamado asked, stepping up beside him.
"You like flowers?" Kanroji muttered from behind them, sounding rather shocked herself.
It occurred to him then that he'd found his ticket back into the Kizuki if he wanted it. Muzan had been looking for these flowers for almost as long as he'd lived and never found them. Akaza still wondered why if he'd just happened to stumble across them like this, but ultimately dismissed that question because he had stumbled across them.
"Oh," Kamado finally said. Akaza turned to him, suspicious.
"You know what these are?" he asked, maybe a little harshly.
Kamado didn't answer for several seconds, instead walking up to one of the flowers on the edge and squatting down by it.
"Yeah. This… these are what Muzan's been looking for. They're part of what turned him into a demon… I knew they existed, but not this many. I have no idea why Muzan has never found them… "
Yeah, okay, enough of this.
"How did you know that?!" Akaza snarled, grabbing Kamado by his haori and bringing him close to his face.
The boy seemed to contemplate him for several seconds looking completely calm and unworried. Kanroji had already drawn her weapon and had taken a stance from where she'd come to a halt, having trailed several paces behind them for some reason, although she seemed to be waiting to see what transpired before attacking.
Finally Kamado shrugged. "I'm from the future," he said. "In another life, I was a kizuki."
Akaza blinked, eyebrows raising towards his hairline in surprise. That couldn't have… except it actually made a lot of sense.
The former Waxing Third dropped the other's robes and stepped back, looking at the boy as if he'd never seen him before. It… kind of felt like he hadn't. "Oh. No wonder he wants you so badly."
"He doesn't exactly know," Kamado replied, straightening his haori before smiling at him. "I'd like to keep it that way."
Right. Message received loud and clear.
"He won't hear it from me."
"What's going on?" Kanroji finally butted in, hands on her hips as she huffed at them. She still hadn't put her sword away and it hung limply at her side. (Funny, it looked more like a whip than anything else in Akaza's mind.)
"These flowers," Kamado started, "are what Muzan has been looking for for almost a millennia… and part of what turned him into a demon to begin with."
Kanroji must not have heard him say that initially as her mouth actually dropped open. She looked at the flowers, then back at Kamado and Akaza, then back at the flowers again. Kamado had reached inside his traveling pouch and retrieved a rolled pack. Inside, Akaza saw what looked like multiple glass vials with pins or needles on the ends of them. He wondered what they were for until Kamado stuck it in his arm and it began to fill, albeit slowly, with blood.
"T-tanjiro?!" Kanroji exclaimed worriedly.
The former Waxing Three could only stare in a sort of numb shock.
The time-traveler just grinned up at them, sunshine smile firmly in place. "Don't worry."
A cat appeared.
A cat.
Appeared.
What.
"Tell Tamayo-san that I'm sorry for wasting one of her vials, but this is important. Tell her this is my own blood, but these flowers," he pulled several out and began to fix them to the vest the cat wore, "are extremely important. If you can, lead her back here so she can know where these are. Okay?"
The cat meowed and once Kamado finished, it vanished.
Muzan had been… well, awful, now that he looked back on his time as a Kizuki, but at least the demon king hadn't been completely and utterly crazy.
"You expect that cat to relay that message?" he asked, a little incredulous.
Kamado grinned a little sheepishly. "Well, that is Tamayo-san's familiar."
Akaza blinked.
"I didn't know demons could have familiars," Kanroji said thoughtfully, although she didn't look nearly as shocked as Akaza felt she should. Perhaps she'd seen the animal before?
"Me neither," the former Waxing Third muttered.
"Well, as you know, Tamayo-san is very… resourceful."
Kamado received two deadpan stares for that comment.
"What?" he asked, defensive. "It's true."
Kanroji shook her head, but then she bent down and picked one of the flowers. "We should probably take some of these to Ubuyashiki-sama ourselves."
"Good idea," Kamado said as he, too, began gathering flowers. "Don't forget the leaves and if you can, maybe some roots. We don't know what will be useful."
"I'll make them all into a bouquet!" Kanroji suddenly exclaimed, grinning excitedly.
Okay, they were both utterly crazy. But whatever. Akaza figured he may as well help.
He'd just reached down for one of the flowers when a gust of wind swept up. He wasn't the only one startled, but he was the only one who had a hat to blow off.
He closed his eyes and steadied himself, but suddenly his head felt much warmer and his neck and… it was even brighter than before…
He hissed and dropped to his knees, hiding the back of his neck with his bandaged hands, expecting pain to begin to eat through him.
It took him several moments to realize that while there had been some pain, it wasn't nearly the 'burn it with fire' kind of pain he'd been expecting. Not believing his luck, he slowly took his hands from his neck, just for a moment. The heat returned, but again, didn't burn.
Feeling his heart rate pick up, he held out one of his hands and began undoing the bandages around it.
"Akaza! What are you doing?" Kamado yelped, running up with the lost sugegasa in hand. Akaza didn't listen, only exposing his arm to the sun.
Nothing happened, except that after several seconds, it turned red. Then, after several more minutes of stunned staring, blisters appeared. Still, Akaza couldn't help how his jaw dropped.
He wasn't the only one who yelled out at that.
He was the first, though.
xXx
AN: *Asian conical straw hat, also known as a 'rice hat'.
** Ototo-chan aka Little brother (very familiar)
So... this was supposed to be up a week ago. Then my computer died and I had issues, then we had a massive storm blow through and multiple power outages, that was when I had 2 sick cats and didn't know what was wrong and couldn't even dig myself out of the snow in enough time to get them to the vet (thankfully our next door neighbor is a vet tech and she helped us out and the kittens are doing fine now - And people say miracles don't happen), and then I was in charge of the church Christmas Party (I had to be SOCIAL *shudder*) And THEN I had to go to ANOTHER Christmas party in a city an hour away and get all of my Christmas shopping done... it's been an exhausting week.
I'd also like to apologize to my beta readers, TimeLordTim and Found because I made them go through this chapter multiple times because I kept changing it. Truth be told, I'm still not entirely happy with it. The flow seems off to me and I can't find a way to fix it. *headdesk* Is what it is, I suppose. If you have any comments or questions, feel free, just please keep it constructive. Thanks.
Imma go cuddle my kittens now.
Discord: discord. gg/TQxEBuhVjK
