A/N: Heyy. Okay, so I have a plan for this Zenitsu x Murata thing. Because I'm not so sure about it, I have decided to make it romantic, yes, only unknowingly romantic. Kind of like unrequited love but not. Idk they just both unknowingly fall in love (neither knowing exactly how that feels like), and maybe it'll go further, but that's about all I got.

And about Zenitsu complimenting Murata's hair-nothing about his hair or eyes is that breathtaking. But to Zenitsu, y'know, the hopeless romantic? Yeah, you understand. He's also very happy to see him lmao. Anyhow-POVs are important. Remember, this may be 3rd POV, but it's 3rd POV limited, not omniscient. This means you're only limited to the thoughts and ideas of a specific character, yet not being stuck within the character's "brain." You don't read sentences like "I did this," but "he/she/they did this." I also add their feelings into each paragraph, whether or not it's through exact thoughts. Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter! Had a slight change of POV, hehe.

Also, enjoy the random characters I created for the plot. I like them :)

"I'll do whatever I can to make the timeline goes smoothly. I'll try my best to save everyone. I'll do whatever I can.

I hope the others are doing the same."

Zenitsu got up from his bed, pulling at his bandages, and went out to begin training.

"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh..!"

In another part of Japan was a man running away from a demon he never wanted to see again.

Zenitsu remembered this day as the day after he got hit by lightning. On the other hand, the man recalled it as one of the worst missions of his life. What was worse was that he teleported in the middle of it-while he was fighting.

And that's how Murata ended up running away from a demon to collect his thoughts and sanity (if he had any left).

When he got sent back (which was around 30 seconds ago), he almost died by a swipe to his face. The demon had sent one of its signature demon art moves at him, and while past Murata dodged it using speed and wits, future Murata dodged it entirely on accident.

It was a long story, to say the least.

Well...you're all interested, yeah? Hope so because things are about to get a little...Naruto-like. Y'know, with all the flashbacks? Of the same thing repeated so often, you have to skip it out of boredom? You'll see anyway.

So, suppose in this chapter, you'll see things starting from the beginning. Not the beginning-beginning, but enough, so all the information is understood and appreciated. For Murata's sake, of course. He'd be embarrassed otherwise.

Murata wasn't particularly sure how he got here. He remembered the events leading up to this point, of course, but he didn't have the time (nor the ability to) put them together at the moment. Yes, he was still being chased by the demon. Keep up!

If anything, all of this started the night of the last battle (which he did not remember happening). In the Infinity castle...

Murata ran through the castle at the highest speed he could go. He wasn't that fast, but being 19(20?) years old and more experienced than most of the 15-17-year-olds around him, he led the group with his speed.

He had no idea where he was going, but he kept going straight. Or as directly as he could go was nigh impossible with how many twists and turns lay before them. Demons like their mazes, don't they?

A few of the teens he was leading were people he'd helped or "saved" (the teens insisted that he did), while older people were ones he'd been on missions.

Knowing how many people could be in trouble, he ran faster. Faster than he had ever run before. Noises of surprise and annoyance sounded behind him, but he ignored them. Now wasn't the time to complain about running. Now was the time to fight.

And when they stumbled upon the new Uppermoon 6, they fought as hard as their bruised and broken bodies would let them.

Future Marata was not as valiantly fighting as Past Murata. No, he was running away like a coward! Of course, he had a decent reason for doing so-as of the moment, he had severe amnesia. Surprising, severe amnesia.

Well, he still had plenty of memories, just some...recent ones were gone. If anything, Murata remembered this mission quite well, except that it was supposed to have happened months ago! Another problem is-well, that's the only problem, but it's a big one! How could he even begin to slay this demon when so many questions were whirling about in his mind?

It was all too confusing for him!

Murata tried to hold his own as others fell around him. Screams of pain, sounds of fear, clashes of swords, the death of others.

He ignored the ache in his heart as he watched a slayer (one he went on a mission with and got along with swell) fall to their knees. Their face was cracked and burnt and sizzled like oil in a pan.

It pained him to watch, but he couldn't help them. He didn't have the materials, the time, or the ability to assist a single person. He could hardly move from his position, sword clashing against stray lightning not pointed directly at him.

He was only average. Nothing special about him. Except, maybe only his hair, as he makes sure to take care of it every day, so it's soft and silky smooth-but that's beside the point! He's average and useless and can't even help his friends!

His comrades.

His companions.

People he saved, then led straight back to their deaths. Led them right back to death's scythe.

'I'm supposed to be a demon slayer! Gosh darn it, Murata, get a hold of yourself and face the demon!'

He proceeded to get closer. Not too much closer-only a few inches but enough for him to get a little braver. Those inches exposed him to much more lightning and hurt a ton.

As Murata blocked lighting, he looked past the Uppermoon, only to see the mutilated corpses of people he hardly recognized. One body, in particular, looked familiar-blond hair with orange tips, honey-golden eyes, a ripped-up yellow-orange faded haori with a white triangle pattern...

Hair he'd seen sticking out through bandages, eyes he'd see full of tears as the teen complained about taking his medicine-his haori he'd seen him take off along with his gakuran jacket during Hashira training.

'Zenitsu Agatsuma, was it?'

The young man felt mournful at the death of his friend. One he recently just got at that! It was always so depressing to watch the dying around him. Especially if it was of those younger than him.

A flash of anger went through Murata. 'Demons are so terrible! Killing and eating people-it's awful!'

A part of him wanted to cry, while another wanted to rip the demon before him to shreds.

...

Maybe he should have thought about strategy, the contrast in power, and dying before charging and leaping so quickly at the Uppermoon.

He leaped forward, slicing the demon's shoulder while it was focused on someone else. It screeched, before turning around fast enough that if anyone else did it, they'd get whiplash. Murata tried to jump back, using the half-sliced shoulder as leverage, but only ended up getting slammed onto the floor by his ankle.

"G-gah...!"

The slayer took a second to get his mind together and counterattack. By then, though, he was already sliced in the back and flung away like a ragdoll. A scream ripped from his throat. He landed two feet away, straight on his ass, then his back. It hurt like hell.

...

Maybe, that was a bad idea. Well, it was for the sake of others, wasn't it? If he was selfish he wouldn't be in this situation-but then he wouldn't die as valiantly. He'd die a coward. So many demons die cowards, and he'd never want to be like them. So this was for the best.

'Idon'twannadieIdon'twannadieIdon'twannadie.'

Okay, maybe he isn't dying as heroically as he wanted, but come on, cut him some slack! He's dying for goodness' sake! He has a right to be scared, to be terrified. This is unknown territory for him, for everyone! No one died and came back, so no one could tell him what it was like to die. And now that he is-it's terrifying. He's absolutely petrified to know that he'll never see anyone again-that he'll never get to see the end of the Demon King. He won't be able to help.

He doesn't want to die alone.

Thank goodness Zenitsu's there-otherwise, the man would have cried.

"W-we're dying, aren't we, Zenitsu-kun?"

'No need to remind him, dummy!'

Murata listened to the teen's voice crack as he responded, "Y-yeah. We are."

"N-neh, I w-wish I coulda done things better. H-helped more, y'know?" He smiled weakly, then flinched as he heard more of his comrades fall.

"I w-wish I talked to Tomioka-san more. W-wished I wasn't so useless."

"Wish I could've saved you."

'I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. I could have helped. I'd rather I die than you.'

"I need to get up..." Zenitsu whispered. "I need to avenge Jii-chan. Avenge you."

"Neh, we all do, don't we? To get up."

'I'm sure your Jii-chan is proud of you either way. I hope my family's proud of me too.'

Murata stared at the teen before him. The one who was kind enough to want to avenge him. He barely even knew him, yet he said that. Murata feels the same way anyway.

'He wouldn't want to die alone either, would he?'

The teen was nice, right? He wouldn't mind...Wouldn't mind one bit if he decided to hold his hand. It was right there anyway, so...

He reached over and held Zenitsu's hand. It was rough, warm, and was all around nice to hold. Murata wouldn't mind dying like this. Rather, he wants to die like this. There's no way he's going to survive, so he might as well die holding the hand of a friend, right?

"Just don't wanna die alone, y'know?"

The younger slayer gripped his hand hard, and it made the older smile. He made contact with honey-golden eyes. He could see the fire in them-the same fire he felt in him when he faced down the Uppermoon.

The same fire he felt before being cut down. Just like the teen is.

He watched as tears filled the boy's eyes. Why was he crying? Was it because he was in pain? Did he not want to die?

Murata didn't realize that his eyelids were drooping until he felt his grip on Zenitsu's hand grow weaker. Blood seeped out of the cuts everywhere on his body, more prominently on his back. He was dying of blood loss.

Blood was leaving his body.

He was going to die any second now.

At least, he wasn't going to die alone. At any rate, he had someone to see him off. Someone he hardly knew, but someone so kind his heart clenched as he saw more and more tears fall.

Then, all he saw was darkness.

"What the fuck."

That was the first time in years since Murata had cussed. It was well deserved. Last time he checked, he should be dead, seeing black, and then nothing. Now, he was certainly seeing something. In front of him, was a floating moving scribble of lines. It literally looked like someone took a pencil and scribbled in circles all over the paper. It kept moving in such a weird way, moving into different positions with absolutely no movement in between. It made no sense.

"What the fuck."

"Alright, you little shit, listen up."

'What the actual fuck-'

"You and other fucking idiots changed the timeline, and now you're going to fucking fix it. Got it?"

"I-i, uh, um-"

"What the fuck could you be confused about? You and other fuckers changed your person, fucked up the timeline, and now you're going to go back in time and fix it."

"WHA-"

"Alright, fine, I'll explain it better."

"Needy little shit," The scribble muttered quietly (though it was really fucking loud in Murata's ears).

"Um, excuse me scribble sir thing-"

"Excuse me? First of all, call me It, you fucking crackhead. Second, I'm no fucking scribble. I'm taking a form your PUNY little HUMAN mind can understand, dipshit."

"I-oh. Well, It, um, I'm not supposed to be here."

The scribble stayed quiet. Murata felt like it was staring at him judgingly.

"You ARE supposed to be here. You're one of 6 who messed up the timeline really fucking badly."

"I don't understand-"

It scoffed in annoyance. "Of course, you don't. You're a real fucking idiot. Listen to what I'm saying and stop talking!

You and a bunch of other little bitches messed up the timeline. Something within you somehow...changed this run, and made everything go fucking haywire.

Now you're going to go back in time and fix it to our liking. Otherwise, you'll be stuck in a loop forever. Sounds fun right?

Anyway-you hoes have no choice in this matter whatsoever, so don't try to talk yourself out of it. Everyone else is getting explained the same thing as you.

You also can't know who's helping you because of "suspense" or some shit, but you can learn to who your life is most connected.

It's one of the 5 other people your life or death affected the most in the long run. Well, less of the long run and more about whether they lived or died.

Their connection to you now transcends time and is a universal bond.

Now we have to wait on her because she's taking forever to explain things because she's suspenseful and crazy and stupid, and I fucking hate her so fucking much-"

Murata tuned out the scribble as he ranted on and on about whatever girl he was talking about and thought about the information he was given. It was crazy to think about. He messed up the timeline, and now he's going back in time to fix it? Whaaat?

At least he had 5 others to help, despite only being able to know one of them. But whatever. He was confused about how he understood everything It had said. He was also confused about how calm he was about it. Somehow, the scribble's presence was...comforting, despite the vulgar language and attitude. It was calming.

Probably had something to do with the fact that he was a literal scribble thing that brought him to a gray place with no walls, ceilings, or floor. Just void that he could stand in. Maybe there was a floor. He wouldn't know. He was just an idiot (yes he's bitter about being called an idiot by a stupid scribble).

"Don't fucking call me a stupid scribble!"

Murata snapped out of his thoughts. "Eh?"

"You heard me! You called me a stupid scribble in your thoughts!"

'Thoughts-?'

"Yeah, I can hear your thoughts, keep up idiot!" The scribble scoffed (and Murata could imagine him rolling his eyes).

"Quit talking shit about me in your head!"

The scribble then proceeded to go on another rant, this time about how "fucking rude" he was being and how he should be "amazed at having met such a fucking amazing" thing as him.

Murata mercilessly tuned him out.

...

A while later, It finally stopped his long rant.

"It's time."

Murata raised an eyebrow. "Time for what?"

"Time for you to leave.

Go see your "Universal Bond Mate".

See ya you fucking idiot."

With that last few words in his mind, the void (floor?) beneath him opened up, and he fell straight through.

It wasn't that long of a fall. Only a few minutes (though he swears he heard a scream-). Gave him enough time to have another good think. He was thinking a lot, wasn't he? No one was there to talk to but himself. It was gone, but even if he was here, he'd only cuss and give no time for Murata to get any words out.

Whatever he'd already hit the floor anyway.

'Now to find this "Universal Bond Mate" '

The man got up and began to walk. He just picked a random direction and walked. Every once in a while, he would holler out into the void. Signaling to whoever might be there, where he was.

"Uh, helloooo? Universal bond mate?"

His voice echoed farther and farther down the void, despite it being filled with absolutely nothing. Maybe this was proof for his theory that it really did have walls. Perhaps if he walked long enough, he'd reach a barrier of some sort...

Maybe there were walls, and he'd just walked through them into another room! He did talk to a literal floating scribble, so that might not be too far-fetched...with all the time he had, it might be worth trying-

Loud thumping sounds echoed toward him. They were coming forward at such a great speed, that Murata thought it was a demon. He unconsciously reached down for his katana, but only gripped empty space. Not even his Saya (scabbard) was under his belt. He began to panic as the steps got closer.

'Alright, my only choice seems to be hand-to-hand combat-I've learned that. I might not be that good, but I could at least hold off the demon for a minute or two, right? But at the speed it's coming towards me, I can easily guess that it's a fast one. Gosh, it's one thing to another in this place isn't it?'

The man shifted into a fighting stance, preparing himself to protect his weak spots and where ever else the demon may aim. He could only pray that it ended up being weak. Not that he had a sword to slay it, but still! Please let it be weak!

He squinted into the distance. Something of bright yellow color appeared in his vision. It ran fast, and the closer it got, the more he dropped his stance. Something about it felt...familiar.

When it was only a ways away, that's when Murata realized it wasn't it, but a HE. It was Zenitsu! The raven-hair felt his stance drop completely- and his heart flutter with happiness.

Finally, something was going right in his life! Zenitsu was here! Someone he KNEW, someone he more or less TRUSTED, was his universal bond mate! He honestly wanted to jump for joy.

They locked eyes for a millisecond. When they did, he swore he saw the teen's cheeks get a bit redder. Maybe he was embarrassed? Or was he just so happy that blood rushed to his face? He WAS smiling...

Before Murata could linger on the thought longer, he once again fell through the floor and couldn't think at all.

Blackness was everywhere, then suddenly Murata opened his eyes to see an enormous hand with long claws coming straight at his face.

As he stumbled back, he saw his life flash before him at a fast yet slow pace. Passing final selection, comforting Giyuu, his first mission, almost getting killed multiple times-

His mind landed on his memory of this fight. He remembered this moment. He had ducked and then sliced the arm. The demon attacks fast, but its weakness is how slow it is for 30 seconds afterward. That's what his memory tells him.

But it was too late to duck. It was so close to his eye that he could see individual beads of blood rolling down its claws.

Murata would have died then and there. If he hadn't ended up stumbling over a rock and landed flat on his ass. Just as he was about to die, he stumbled backward at the right time, and his heel jabbed against a rock. He fell backward over it, landing down on his ass.

The young man blinked in confusion. He had survived. His ass hurt, yes, but he was alive! And the demon had slowed down too-he could strike!

Murata sliced both legs off the demon in one quick slash. It fell forward-almost on top of him, but he moved out of the way. Then, he was off into the dark woods at a fast sprint. He had to collect his thoughts.

He stopped and hid behind a giant rock. The demon would take at least 5 minutes to regenerate, and then 2-3 minutes to find him. Enough time for him to remember a bit more about the mission, demon, and where the fuck his partner is!

'Right, that moment was when I slew the demon, but that didn't happen. The demon is incredibly fast, and agile, but with its hulking figure, it can't do two fast attacks so soon after another. Its claws help with range and can slice off a head as well as any nichirin blade.

I'm sure I can defeat it a second time, no sweat.

Okay, maybe a little sweat, but a better question is where my partner is. Last I remember, she had run off telling me to take care of this demon...

She died on the mission, but I can't remember how...something about blood loss...I think her eyeballs were gone too...

There was another demon, but where? What were its skills, its weakness? Aah, come on brain, don't cut this off because of trauma now!'

Murata tensed up. A rustle came from the bushes behind him. He slowly turned around, peeking out from behind the rock. He saw long claws glisten in the moonlight and knew now was the time.

'Just wait 'till it comes closer. Just wait...'

Leaves crunch, sticks crack, grass rustles. Closer and closer the noises went, making him grip his blade tighter and tighter.

'Just a little closer, come on.'

The footsteps stopped in front of the rock. He still waited. He knew it knew where he was. He just had to make it think that he didn't know. He just had to trick it-then he'll have the advantage.

'Don't psych yourself out yet, Murata! You'll be fine, you just have to rick it. Make your breathing erratic, position frightened, and look as scared as possible. This should be easy considering how scared I actually am.'

Following his own instructions, he forced himself to breathe too fast, curled up with his knees to his chest, and started to shake (only partially forcing himself).

'Now we wait. Hopefully not long-.'

"Found you~."

The man squeaked, before scrambling away from the voice.

"Found you~."

Kenji grinned at his next victim in glee. It'd been a while since he'd last eaten a slayer, and it's enjoyable to see somewhere so powerful cower before him.

The slayer had been so close to beating him. He had Kenji on edge, making him lose his head and his advantage. The demon had started putting so much speed and strength into his punches, going all out. He had to kill him then and there, otherwise, he'd slay him while Kenji waited for his 3-minute cooldown to finish from putting so much effort into the fight.

But then something happened. The slayer's eyes had changed from someone serious and mildly scared to someone confused and ready to shit their pants. He probably had underestimated Kenji and thought he could have cut his hand. Too bad he was too fast for him!

Or so he thought, until the slayer stumbled backward onto his ass, effectively dodging the point-blank strike. The slayer looked just as confused as the demon, before slashing his legs and running off into the woods like a fucking coward. Not that Kenji didn't like the chase.

The demon followed the man into the forest. He walked straight for a solid minute before reaching a clearing with a huge rock.

Bingo.

He watched as the moon glinted on something behind the rock. Something, he could only guess was katana-like. But, of course, he could be wrong. No coward would hide behind such an obvious rock.

As he crept closer, he could hear how the breathing behind the rock became more and more erratic. It sent a shiver of pleasure down the demon's back. He always found it amazing how he possibly could have been such a coward when he was human. How slayers were such cowards, and yet wouldn't accept the blood that would be their reckoning. Well, it leaves more for people like him to get what they deserve.

Infinite power.

Immortality.

Being a demon was a blessing. So what if he had to eat a few measly humans every few days? They were nuisances anyway. A demon was the ultimate form-as infinite and divine as a god. Just wait until they conquered the sun! They'd be absolutely unstoppable. It was only a matter of time-they'd evolve eventually like everything else. Then, demons would reign supreme!

It was Kenji's job-his goal to kill as many slayers as possible, and stop these little ants from ruining any future demons as a species had. Who knows-the coward of a slayer in front of him could have changed things in the future.

Too bad he'd never know. It's dinner time!

"You're such a fucking coward. What kind of slayer runs away from a fight? Cowers away?" The demon laughed, watching the slayer shiver in fear as sadism crept into his voice.

"I'll be happy to eat such scum as you."

Kenji reeled back, ready to slash the slayer's face and listen to his screams when the katana-wielder jumped up. His fear-filled face was replaced with one of determination and mild annoyance.

'This lying motherfucker-'

The demon positioned his aim towards the moving slayer and slashed with all of his might.

Unluckily, the coward had moved to the side just in time to only catch the tip of it. His right sleeve was torn to shreds, revealing 3 diagonal shallow cuts. The slayer winced heavily and proceeded to cut off Kenji's arm.

The demon howled in fury before jumping back. He almost fled, but stayed because his pride was much more important than his life. What's the point of having power and immortality if you aren't strong? If you can't take down one measly lying slayer? He'd be nothing worth keeping alive otherwise.

Kenji leaped forward, using his left arm to once try to slash the slayer. He ignored that his right arm was only a fourth regenerated.

"Die, you sleazy coward!"

"The sleazy coward" sidestepped the slow attack.

"Ichi no kata: Minamo Giri"

With one swift movement, he sliced Kenji's head off.

"What...?"

'I couldn't beat him? One measly slayer? One who used dirty tricks to win? One who ran away? ONE WHO ONLY SURVIVED BECAUSE THEY TRIPPED!?'

"Impossible! Impossible! How could he beat me!? I'm the strongest! I'm Kenji, king of my region! How could such a measly, sleazy, BITCHY FUCKING SLAYER KILL ME WITH ONE MOVE? THIS ISN'T FAIRRRRR!"

The demon began to cry. He cried big, fat globs of tears. "I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE STRONGEST! I CAN'T DIE YET! I CAN'T BE WEAK! I'M A DEMON! I'M NOT A COWARD ANYMORE, I'M NOT, I'M NOT, I'M NOTTTTTT!

WA-"

Kenji's sobs were cut off as his mouth disintegrated. He laid there miserably as he began to leave this world behind.

'I'm weak...'

His ashes floated away in the wind.

Murata watched as the demon disintegrated. As it yelled curses and cries, he couldn't help but feel the slightest twinge of pity for the creature. Obviously, it had some sort of problem with strength and courage when it was human, and Murata could relate.

He sighed, sliding his katana back into the saya.

Alright, now to do something about that other demon...'

He looked around the clearing. He had remembered following her into the forest, where she shook him off in this clearing. Afterward, he went back to defeat the other demon rather than leaving it there.

'Her crow had mentioned something about a second demon...where did it say it was...?'

He stood there for a minute, racking his memory for the words, but could find none.

"I, uh, Mochi!" The man called out for his crow. "Mochizuki, are you there?"

"CAW, CAW!" The crow landed on the outstretched arm before her. "Caw?"

The brunette groaned. "Mochi, what did I tell you about staying to watch me fight?"

Mochi looked away guiltily. "Caw..."

"And what did you do?"

"Caw..."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well, at any rate, I'm glad your here."

The crow brightened at that.

"But that doesn't you can keep watching me fight."

Mochizuki deflated once more.

"Anyway-I need to know where the second demon is located."

The crow nodded, before telling him where the demon is.

"Can you lead me there? We have to go quick."

"Caw!" Mochi flapped her wings, before flying off above the woods left of the clearing.

"Alright, let's go!"

"What the fuck."

Murata cussed for the first time in years, though felt as though he had already done that a few hours ago. Whatever, the curse was well deserved anyway (why do these words sound so familiar?).

In front of him stood a demon identical to the demon he just fought, but they were women, and had a small build. Rather than hulking over Murata, it was around his size. And compared to the other demon, its speed was 10x faster.

"What the actual fuck."

All this cursing is warranted, considering the situation. His partner, Hanae, was getting choked out by the demon. She thrashed and wiggled, trying to evade its grip, but that only granted her a slash to the leg. Hanae let out a strangled scream of agony.

'What happened, come on, remember! Hanae...she had slain the demon herself, and supposedly collapsed of exhaustion. It had ripped her up and tore out her eyeballs while its body disintegrated, taking her down with it.'

Murata watched worriedly from the bush, wondering how his partner had managed to get out of this situation. Her sword was halfway across the clearing, and she didn't have enough raw strength to take the hand away from herself.

'I have to help! I can't let her die...again? Gosh, this is so confusing-but now is not the time to focus on my situation, but on Hanae's!

The demon is obviously fast and has a decent amount of strength. The only thing I could do is a sneak attack and then move away before the demon reacts. I need to cut the arm choking Hanae, then give her a sword. Or...well, that might not work. The demon could catch it, and Hanae might not react fast enough-but I have to put trust in my partner. She's smart. She'd manage to kill such a powerful demon herself, so I'm sure she's good at figuring out silent cues. She's older and has a higher rank than me too anyway!'

The young man quietly moved around the clearing, to the back of the demon. He slowly crept out of the bushes, gently grabbing the nichirin sword on the ground.

He knew that Hanae saw him. He took the sword by the blade and ignored the way it sliced into his hand. He drew his left arm back like he was about to throw it. He made sure that Hanae knew he was going to.

Then, he threw it as hard as he could, the hilt coming straight towards Hanae's head. She caught it, and in the demons' moment of shock, she cut the arm holding her.

The demon screeched in a mix of pain and rage, before reeling back and pummeling his partner with hits that were almost a blur. Hanae dodged every single one, before cutting off the demons' other arm.

Knowing it was overpowered, the demon began to flee. Hanae made to give chase, but Murata was already moving. Before the weakened demon could move very far, he managed to cut off its legs, just as he did with the other demon.

It fell forward, yelping in confusion, before it began to look between Hane and Murata, begging for its life.

"Neh, no need to kill me, right? I swear I won't eat another human!"

Murata pointed his sword at its head. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes! Of course! Why would I lie?"

"Well, it looks like you're only trying to by yourself a few more minutes so you can regenerate and eat us."

The demon laughed nervously. "Of course not! Why would I do that? I'll help you kill demons! I-I'll become a demon slayer! I'll help, I swear!"

Hanae looked at the creature before her in disgust. "You're a disgrace. You could at least go out with dignity, but you choose to be a coward? You won't become a demon slayer. You won't even make it out of this forest alive." With that, Hanae gripped her katana and sliced the demon's head off.

"AHHH, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!? I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL BRING YOU BOTH DOWN WITH ME-I WILL, I WILL, I WILL-" The demon used its half-regenerated arms to roll its head towards Murata's leg. It clamped down on his ankle with a vise-like grip.

"A-ah! What the fuck, let go!"

The demon didn't, instead clamping down harder. A loud crunch echoed throughout the valley.

The pain in his ankle was almost unbearable. He used his katana to slice the head in half, making it let go. He stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

His ankle smacked against a tree root. The young man let out a scream, before biting down on his hand.

"Murata-are you okay?" Hanae came forward to inspect his ankle. Two puncture wounds were on each side of his ankle. The ankle itself was mangled, and his foot twisted all the way to the right.

She studied the teen as he gripped his leg, and bit down on his right hand. His right arm had 3 shallow cuts, probably from fighting the other demon. His face was twisted into one of pure agony, and blood dripped down his hand.

"Murata, hey, listen to me." The younger looked toward Hanae.

"I'm going to have to move your foot back in the correct position, okay?"

The younger nodded, then winced.

Hanae reached into her pocket and pulled out a small cloth. "You can bite down on them instead of your hand, okay?" She gently pried the hand out of his mouth and stuck the cloth in.

Then, she looked around for a small, but sturdy stick. She found one only a ways away from Murata. Then, she used another, sharper stick to cut her left pant leg into strips. A few for his ankle and the rest to tie up their wounds.

"Alright, I'm going to put it back into place. When it hurts, bite the cloth. It'll be over in a few seconds."

She slid off his sandal and the cloth around his ankle. Then, she gently turned his foot back in position.

Murata was in absolute agony. She could see it in his face, his voice, his movement, and the way tears filled his eyes. She couldn't blame him-his bone was cracked in what felt like 4 places, then broken completely in one. She's sure it hurts more than his wound and her wound combined.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, you're okay. It's over, see? Now, all we have to do is go to the closest wisteria house and get your ankle healed up."

She put back the cloth and slipped his sandal back on. She used one of her clothing strips to tie the stick to his leg. Then, she used the rest of the strips to tie up both their wounds, to not expose them to the air, and to try and lessen the amount of blood loss.

'Now do I carry him, or find a branch to use as a walking stick?'

Hanae glanced toward her partner. He was calmer now and looked like he was in only mild pain. She could see his ankle underneath the cloth beginning to bruise.

The gash on her leg was throbbing, but as the older, she had a higher pain tolerance. Her blood is already clotted, so the pressure shouldn't make her bleed too much.

"Hanae, are we leaving now? It's nearly sunrise." Murata's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Ah, sure, of course. It's time to leave." She moved in front of her colleague and positioned herself so he could climb onto her back. "Climb up."

"Hello? Murata, climb on my back!" She turned around to see him clutching his head in pain. She turned around quickly. "Hey-what's going on? Are you okay?"

'Did the other demon have poison? Or did the bite have poison? Is he getting a migraine from exhaustion? What's happening-'

The young man's eyes widened. He stared at her in scared shock. "What the fuck, I actually time traveled."

"What the fuck. It was serious. What the fuck. What the fuck..."

Just as Hanae was about to ask him what he was talking about, his eyes rolled back into his head, and his body went limp.

'Oh my god did he die!?'

She hurriedly checked his pulse. It was...fine. He was fine. He just fainted-due to some sort of stress, probably. Maybe had something to do with what he said about time travel.

'What a troublesome boy.'

She sighed, before reaching down and pulling him onto her back. Careful not to jolt his ankle, she asked his crow (named Mochizuki, or Mochi for short) to lead them to the nearest wisteria house.

Then off they went, the pace being a light jog. At this rate, they'd reach the house in about a little less than 2 days. That's what Mochi said.

'This mission was a mess.'

A/N: This chapter gave a bit more information. I also intend to go back and add songs to listen to for each chapter. I'll also add a song that I listened to while writing. In this chapter, I listened to Backstabber by Kesha, which had nothing to do with the chapter, but I like the song :)

For Fanfiction, I'll write the song and the author, and you can search it up. For Wattpad, I'll just add a Youtube video. :)

I'll figure out what song to add to this chapter later, lmao.

Also, I'm very happy about the character I created. She's 20 years old, and 1-2 ranks higher than Murata. She usually has her hair in one long braid down her back, but by the end of a fight, the braid's out and her hair is flying everywhere. Yeah, I know, she's badass. Her hair is white, and her eye color is a color fade white to lilac. White on top, lilac at the bottom. She has bangs like Zenitsu, but even. She has a beauty mark under her lip on the right side of her face (when you look at her, left from her perspective). I also just searched Japanese baby names so...yeah. I have a plan for her character. She's also a water-breather-just like Murata. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I worked on it for like a week-using up almost all of my free time writing. Either that or hanging out in my pool (which is inflatable and incredibly small). See you all!