Tanjiro stretched as he woke from the day-long sleep he'd just had. At least, he hoped it was only a day as the sun was going down again, much like when he'd gone to bed before. It had been a while since he slept that long. He must have used a lot of energy training the last few days. He felt so close to reaching the part of his soul marked by Muzan – so close to burning that monster's mark away (because he was pretty sure that would work – please let it work). And he'd gotten much better at manipulating his flesh in shape and function as well as size. He'd also managed to finish tweaking the Sun Breathing style. Now it was just a matter of practicing it until it was second nature, much like he'd been doing for the last few days of training. On top of that, Genya seemed to be warming up to him, and they hadn't woken him last night so no demon had attacked.
All in all, he felt it had been a very productive training trip.
Now all they needed to do was wait for the coming attack. Most of the villagers should be gone by now, with only a handful of volunteers left to keep up the image of some population. All of the forges had been moved even. They'd managed to prepare and had likely saved a lot of lives if the upcoming attack was anything like the one in Tanjiro's memories.
His first life's memories.
That had been so long ago, he was amazed he still remembered as well as he did. Especially with the following loops.
Shaking his head, he stood and got dressed. He'd slept as much as he needed. Now he'd have to train and patrol tonight.
He'd just gotten done folding his bedding when the door behind him slammed open with a crack. He hadn't sensed anything unusual – no killing intent or demons – so it took him by surprise.
"Hey! Wake up!"
People really shouldn't take him by surprise.
He had the intruder pinned to the wall next to the door faster than he could really register anything, claws flexed and ready to strike, mouth open in a threatening snarl. Then he realized who he'd pinned as the familiar mask fell off of the man's face, leaving a wide-eyed Hotaru Hagenezuka staring at him, although it seemed to be more out of shock than fear.
Tanjiro dropped him immediately and backed off, holding his hands up in surrender. "Sorry. You startled me… um… don't do that."
He really needed to work on his area awareness. He shouldn't have let his guard down just because it was still light out and he couldn't sense demons nearby.
The sword smith blinked again, then rotated his shoulder and scowled. "Here's your sword. I spent the last three days and nights sharpening it, so take care of it." He pointed his finger very rudely at Tanjiro, who couldn't help but find it a little amusing. He'd just seen the 'Demon Hashira' almost attack him and was still acting like he had any power over the situation.
Tanjiro still bowed as he took the sword. "Thank you very much! I know you've done the best of work and I will use this sword with pride!"
The man harrumphed, but Tanjiro could tell he was pleased. The sword smith nodded and then, without so much as a goodbye, turned and stomped away. The Hashira could only watch on in fond remembrance. At least the man wouldn't lose his eye this time. He hoped not, in any case. Even if only Waxing Four and Five attacked this time, they still wouldn't be pushovers and depending on how quickly they were caught, they could still kill several of the remaining townsfolk.
No, he told himself firmly as he took the sword out of its sheath and smiled at the familiar flame design. I will stop them, whenever they attack. Besides, Mitsuri and Himejima-sensei were both here as well. They were prepared for whenever the attack happened, whether it happened tonight or in three months.
Nodding, he finished cleaning up and then went down to begin practicing with this new sword. He wanted to get used to the weight as soon as possible. Maybe he'd find Genya? He and Himejima-sensei were probably either in the hot springs, patrolling or out training again, likely with Mitsuri.
He checked the hot-spring pool first, but found it empty, the lanterns that would usually be lit around this time dark and cold. He'd likely find them patrolling or in their normal training area then. Tanjiro began to make his way there, taking his sword out and practicing his forms as he went, making sure to keep to the new adjustments in his breathing style.
He'd reached about the half-way point between the village and the training area – was just beginning to feel truly comfortable with the new (but also old and familiar from his distant memories) blade – when the first warning bell from the village rang. Pausing, Tanjiro turned back to where he'd come from, eyes wide. So, it was happening tonight then? He grit his teeth, sheathed his sword, and bounded back into the village, more than ready for the upcoming fight.
xXx
Takeo… may have been a little jealous of Nezuko at this point. Like his siblings beforehand, he'd spent the last week fighting demons and catching as much sleep as he could during the day. He'd only been able to actually sleep a couple of hours that day and was now leaning on a walking stick to keep him going. Nezuko had Nii-san to help. Takeo… didn't. He had one Tomioka Giyuu. Who was completely and utterly unsympathetic to Takeo's pain. He had dressed Takeo's wounds at least, and the boy now wore bandages around his chest and upper back, his side right above his hip (that one had been a hand-print of claws) and his knee.
His knee that he'd likely sprained and had to be very careful with, hence the walking stick.
Still, as silent as Tomioka-san was and as tired as Takeo felt, he couldn't help but be grateful for the company. And he couldn't wait to get home and tell his family that he'd passed. He'd been able to use the Water Breathing forms and make it to the necessary site in seven days. Albeit, he'd been a little late on that last morning, and he barely remembered the two girls who had spoken there at the end as he'd been practically about to fall asleep, but they'd still counted it.
He was a demon slayer now!
As soon as the test had finished that morning, Tomioka-san had taken him aside and explained that he would be accompanying Takeo back to Urokodaki-sensei's house so as to help them move. They were essentially waiting for Takeo to make it home before they left, which made him feel very warm inside.
He'd begged Tomioka-san for a couple of hours of sleep after that, and thankfully, the man had agreed. Like most of his mornings that week, Takeo had slept until the sun became too warm, but those hours had been more than a little welcome.
Then they'd started off home and he hadn't slept since. Now it was late afternoon and Takeo was having a hard time keeping his eyes open… but he didn't want to look weak in front of Tomioka-san either, so he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other and did his best to recover whenever he tripped over a rock or a dip or his own two feet.
"We should rest," Tomioka-san's voice suddenly broke through the daze he'd sunk into.
Takeo blinked as he processed those words and then looked up at his companion. The cool, blue eyes stared hard at him – and how often did people have blue eyes?
No, focus on the words.
"I'm fine," he wanted to say. It came out more along the lines of, "'M fn."
They were passing some rice fields. Maybe he could splash some water on his face or something? Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.
He half stumbled to the side of the road and fell to his knees, wincing as he jarred his injured one, and then went to lean down into the water. A hand caught his arm, stopping him. He blinked and followed it up to those blue eyes again. Oh, had he not explained? Right, he should probably do that. He opened his mouth, but Tomioka-san just shook his head.
"Rest. You have done well to come as far as you have."
And suddenly, that didn't seem like such a bad idea. Why had it before? So he just nodded and laid down, right there, on the side of the road. He didn't remember closing his eyes.
When Takeo woke, night had fallen. At first, he didn't know where he was or what was going on, but he had something soft and warm under his head… and several lumps under his arm and side – thankfully not the side that was injured. It still wasn't entirely comfortable, though. And his body ached again. But he also felt more clear headed than he had in a while.
Then he registered that night had fallen and he sat up quickly, scanning around him for threats because falling asleep like that had been so stupid! What if a demon came by and… wait…
He blinked at his surroundings. In the fading twilight, he could make out rice fields around him. Not trees or forest or…
That movement hadn't helped his back or side or knee or any one of the other hundred small cuts he had, and his brain suddenly realized that. Ouch. He hissed.
"We should change those bandages," a quiet but firm, tenor voice spoke. Takeo whipped around to see whose leg he'd been laying on. Tomioka-san. Oh.
He felt his cheeks flush bright red.
"T-Tomioka-san," he squeaked and looked away. "Um… yeah. Bandages. Right."
"Would you like me to do it?"
Takeo's cheeks flushed even brighter in embarrassment and he was instantly thankful for the fading light. He'd been laying on this man's leg. Oh… he'd never live this down. Had he really been that tired?
And yet… he knew he couldn't change his bandages on his own. Not well. He really, really didn't want to say yes to the man's question, but… he didn't have much of a choice.
So he nodded and carefully took off his haori – the same one Nii-san and Nezuko-nee had worn to their Final Selections. It was getting rather worn, but he'd insisted – for luck. Now it had multiple new tears that would need to be patched up.
And it was easier to focus on that than his embarrassing situation.
"Come here," Tomioka-san said, voice lacking any inflection, as usual.
Takeo did so, sitting with his back to the Water Pillar, who began to unwrap the bandages. He would put them in a separate bag than the clean supplies and burn them later so no one could come across them. Especially demons. It was the common practice, according to Urokodaki-sensei.
"I'm sorry for falling asleep on you," Takeo muttered. Tomioka-san paused, but then kept unwrapping the bandages.
"I don't mind."
Takeo blinked. He didn't? But… why not? He glanced over his shoulder in confusion.
"Don't move."
"Hai," the younger boy said, looking straight ahead of him again. The man finished unwrapping Takeo's back, and he shivered, bare skin exposed to the cool, night air.
"This is healing well," Tomioka-san said. Takeo relaxed a little.
"They still hurt," he said quietly.
"They will for a couple of days."
Takeo slumped a little. Then he winced when he felt something cool on his back. Cool and wet. Ah, the Water Pillar was washing the wound.
If the new Mizunoto had been embarrassed before, he was mortified now. He looked up to Tomioka-san. So stoic and strong… and to have the man see him like this. Well, to have anyone but his family see him like this was humiliating. At least it wasn't some unknown woman, but still…
He bore it with gritted teeth.
"I still won't carry you," the Pillar stated, repeating the words Takeo remembered from earlier when they'd left the Final Selection. Tomioka-san had told Takeo that he was a demon slayer now, and it was tradition for them to make their way home on their own. Some people didn't adhere to that, perhaps, but Tomioka-san said he did and he would not coddle Takeo.
The young teenager had just nodded and followed him.
Takeo didn't so much as sigh. "I know," was all he said. He kind of wanted to make it back on his own anyway, to prove that he could.
After a couple more minutes of silence when Tomioka-san washed Takeo's other larger wounds, he began to rewrap them.
"Where did the other pillar go?" Takeo asked. "The younger one."
"He's accompanying the Ubuyashiki children."
"Ubuyashiki… they're Oyakata-sama's children?"
Tomioka-san hummed in affirmation.
Takeo thought about that. Why wouldn't Tomioka-san go with them too? Weren't they more important than a new Mizunoto? Unless…
"You still expect one of the Kizuki to come after me," he said quietly.
The Water Pillar paused, but then continued. "That is unlikely at this stage," he said firmly. "We are simply taking precautions at this point, and I would like to help Sensei and your family move."
Takeo relaxed a little.
A couple of minutes later, the boy felt Tomioka-san's hands stop fiddling with the bandages.
"I am finished."
Takeo nodded. "Thank you, Tomioka-san." He stood and began to put his haori back on. Then he picked up his walking stick and faced his companion. "I'm ready."
The older man nodded once and turned to continue down the road, thankfully slowly enough that Takeo could keep up, but at a much brisker pace than what he remembered them plodding along at before.
Almost as if reading his mind, the Water Pillar spoke up after a couple of minutes. "We are making good time. Your brother said it took him almost a week to get back after his Final Selection."
"How long do you think it will take us?" Takeo asked, feeling a little lighter.
"Likely two days at this pace."
Oh. Takeo tried not to let that dishearten him. It may have taken his brother a week to get back, but it had taken them two days and one night to reach the Final Selection, and they'd already been walking a day now. He'd really like to get back and see his family.
He let himself droop for a moment, but then pushed that thought aside. There was nothing for it. So he nodded and looked forward determinedly. He'd just have to do his best.
A couple of minutes later, Tomioka-san spoke again. Takeo got the impression that wasn't usual for the man.
"I would like to make an offer," he said slowly, sounding unsure for the first time since Takeo had met the man. The boy blinked.
"An offer?"
"Yes. I… would like to take you on as a Tsuguko," he finally said in a rush, as if getting the words out.
"A… Tsuguko?" Takeo said, his mind going blank. He'd heard the term before… what was it again?
"I would be training you to take over my duties as Pillar when you reach the proper skill level. That may take years, but I would give you personal training sessions and take you on upper-skill missions with me." He cleared his throat. "It is… dangerous. More so than just being a demon slayer. But… you wield your Water Breaths well and have good instincts. You are also intelligent and… I can see potential in you."
Takeo had stopped walking and was staring at the man's back, or what he could see of it in the dark. Things like that didn't happen to him. Tanjiro was the oldest and the kindest and had that great sense of smell – and that was before he joined the corps and became a Pillar. Nezuko had always been so supportive and firm and as the second oldest – and oldest daughter – people tended to focus on her too. Hanako was the youngest daughter and Rokuta the youngest period. Everyone focused on them, leaving Takeo and Shigeru in the background.
He'd never really minded, but being recognized like this… it felt good.
"R-really?" he asked, a little hoarsely.
Tomioka-san turned to him and frowned. "I would not have offered if I did not mean it."
When Takeo did not answer, the man slumped a little, looking disappointed.
"I understand if you do not want to," he started.
"Yes!" Takeo yelled.
Tomioka-san started.
The younger boy paused and cleared his throat. Then he bowed, a little awkwardly with that staff in his hands, but he still bowed.
"I respectfully accept your generous offer," he said as formally as he could. And he stayed that way until he heard Tomioka-san (Tomioka-sensei?) clear his throat.
"Then come along… Tsuguko. I will write to Oyakata-sama as soon as we get to Urokodaki-sensei's place and make it official."
Takeo felt like he might burst from excitement as he straightened and nodded emphatically. "Hai… Sensei!"
Tomioka-sensei seemed a little taken back, but then he relaxed and nodded. He waited for Takeo to catch up and they continued on their way.
Almost twenty minutes later, as far as Takeo could tell, a caw sound had them both looking up. The younger slayer blinked. He'd received a crow for completing his mission, but had sent it with a letter home to let his family know he was safe and on his way. As far as he knew, Tomioka-sensei's crow was supposed to follow them and keep an eye out, something about the crow being too old to be expected to travel far so fast when it wasn't an emergency. So was this his crow or someone else's? Was it a corps crow at all?
That was answered very quickly as the crow came hurtling towards him, cawing frantically. It clutched a missive in its claw.
"Attack! Attack!" it cawed. Takeo felt his breath catch.
"We've been expecting an attack on the Swordsmith Village," the Water Pillar pointed out.
Well, okay… but then why was Takeo's crow telling them? He hadn't sent his crow to the Swordsmith Village. Something was wrong.
"Not Swordsmith!" the crow huffed.
Beside him, Tomioka-sensei stiffened. "What?" he asked, his voice quiet and deadly. It sent shivers up the younger boy's back and he had to resist stepping away out of sheer self preservation. The anger wasn't directed at him.
"Not Swordsmith! Urokodaki! Attack on the Water Cultivator and his students."
Takeo's eyes widened and his heart skipped several beats as he began to realize the situation.
"Who is attacking?" Tomioka asked tersely.
The crow landed on a branch, gasped and then blurted out a sentence Takeo would never forget.
"Two Waxing Moons!"
xXx
Tanjiro was… confused. He'd caught the demons from the town, but they'd been weak and easily defeated. Then he'd gone around the town as quickly as he could, but hadn't found more than another couple of weak demons.
Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. He was so flustered, he decided he didn't have the time or energy to try and turn more demons to his side. He'd been lucky with those he'd turned so far, but Akatsugi himself had proved that just pumping Tanjiro's blood into another demon's body didn't automatically put them on his side. Something he didn't like, but had spoken to Oyakata-sama about – something he had to accept.
He hated it, but keeping the village safe and finding out what was wrong was the bigger priority here.
He finally found Genya and Himejima-sensei clearing out some small demons of their own. He landed just as the older man finished taking out the last of them.
"Himejima-sensei," he said hurriedly, "where's Mitsuri?"
"Right here!" a familiar voice sounded as the Love Pillar dropped down behind him and ran forward, sword out. "I've found a couple of demons, but no Waxing Moons."
"It is the same for us," Himejima-sensei said, frown on his face.
"Me too," Tanjiro butt in, hating how his stomach twisted under the ever-present hunger.
The Stone Hashira turned to Tanjiro, frowning. "Did the attack go like this in your memories?"
The Sun Pillar shook his head. "No. Something's wrong."
Himejima-sensei looked grim. "We must keep fighting and protecting the people here."
Well, he wasn't wrong. But they also needed to find out what was going on.
Just then, Tanjiro heard a crow and turned just in time to catch said crow as it flew at him.
"Oh, he's mine," Mitsuri said, hurrying forward and opening the scroll attached to the crow's leg. Then she frowned. "I can't read it, it's too dark."
"I can," Tanjiro said, holding his hand out. At least his demon eyesight was good for something. She handed the missive over and he read it, his face going pale as he did.
"It's from Uzui-san. We've been called back! Oyakata-sama's house is under attack! By Muzan himself."
Being here had been a mistake! The demons must have realized the Corps knew they were coming, because Muzan had launched his final attack… more than three months early.
xXx
Kagaya's health had gone downhill quickly. His doctors said he had days to live just a week prior, but he was determined to remain alive long enough to see Muzan's end. It wasn't easy. The inability to actually do anything other than lay in his futon was almost as demoralizing as the sickness itself.
For a little while after that diagnosis, he'd actually regretted rejecting Kamado's offer of becoming a demon, after all, they could (in theory) burn it away or outright cure the transformation within a couple of months… but the very idea had felt so wrong. He had the strangest feeling that if he did, it would only make things worse. After all, even if he became a demon, would that lift the curse? He didn't think so. So as much as he'd appreciated the offer and been tempted, he'd still declined and resigned himself to his fate, as much as he hated that thought. After all, he had not done anything to deserve the curse, although he'd realized that long ago – it may be a curse on his family, but he saw it more as incentive (if a cruel one) than a punishment. Muzan's evil needed to be destroyed. Would his family even have acknowledged that without the curse? He didn't think so, and he desperately wished to lift this curse so Kiriya didn't have to deal with it. Although, if the boy did have to – if everything went horribly wrong tonight – Kagaya wanted to set an example for his son; to face his fate head on with dignity and honor. His father had been all too bitter about it and Kagaya hadn't wanted to end up like that, as much as he'd loved his father.
But he wanted his son to have a chance at a true and long life, so he was determined to wait as long as he needed to lure Muzan out.
It hadn't worked all that well. The monster had come so soon… Yet as he heard the steps outside the house – so unlike anyone else currently in his estate – he knew.
He was sitting with Amane by his side, as she'd refused to leave, and the children playing in the garden who had also insisted on staying with their parents. It hurt Kagaya to know they wouldn't survive the night, but he respected their choices.
The Corps members must be on the other side of the estate, training as they usually did. That was good. It meant they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire, and thus, they might just have a chance to survive. Maybe even to help take the monster down.
So he turned to smile at the person he heard (as he could no longer see) stepping through the doorway.
"Hello, Kibutsuji Muzan."
He heard a smooth, superior voice answer. "Hello, Ubuyashiki Kagaya."
xXx
"Again!" Shinazugawa practically screeched at Akatsugi, his face healing from where his fellow demon had slashed him. The former Waxing Third grinned, about to comply, when something twinged on his senses.
Frowning, he froze and turned towards the front of the estate, putting a finger up to signal a pause. It was unusual enough that the white-haired man complied without complaint… for now.
"Akatsugi-san," Rengoku said from where he and Iguro were also sparring. He could see why his pause would catch their eye. They'd just started. But still…
"Something's wrong," he said.
The others exchanged glances and then looked back at him.
Then he realized what he sensed.
He breathed out.
"Nakime…"
Which meant Muzan was—
Then the mansion on the other side of the compound exploded.
xXx
AN: And with that, I leave you. XD
Thanks to Kaylessa, TimeLordTim, Found and Quathis for their help on this! Sorry it's so late, visiting family sucks away your time... but worth it. lol
Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)
