THE COLOR OF THE WORLD

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Disclaimer: Kimetsu no Yaiba belongs to Koyoharu Gotouge

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Genre(s): Adventure/ Hurt/Comfort

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Warning(s): Typo is my most loyal fan, spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language, Possibly OOC and a lot of Angst. I hope.

Beta'ed by LamboLover36

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Manga: Chapter 63, 64, 65

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Akaza disappeared then reappeared right in front of Kyojuro, fist raised and aimed to punch a hole through his face.

The Pillar leaned back and pointed the sword to the ground. Breath of Flames, Second Style— his feet planted hard on the ground and fire sprouting from the blade, creating a wheel of flame as he swung the weapon vertically upward. The attack reached till the demon's elbow, the sharp sword cutting the arm from below and splitting it into two. ASCENDING BLAZING SKY!

The beast evaded his follow-up strike and cartwheeled to the back, right at his previous landing spot. His abused arm raised to the air—showing them the meat, wrecked bones and flailing veins inside—then snapped it back into one. The wound healed in an instant, the blood seeping back into the pale skin. He licked the excess with an amused gaze, "nice move."

Kyojuro stood straight, his broad smile turned sour. His regeneration was top-notch, there's no waste in his movement. Then there's this intense sense of pressure and dread. So this is an Upper Moon's power, "it's rude to attack someone before they introduce themselves, you know."

"You're right. I'm sorry, I'm just a bit too giddy with the prospect of a real fight," Akaza innocently chuckled, his expression didn't show any remorse at all. He tilted his head to the side, staring at the pink slayer who was sitting in shock at the appearance of another demon (and the dawn was approaching too. She grimaced), "is that girl going to get in the way between you and me? I don't fancy myself in hurting nor eating any woman. But if she does get in the way, I'll gladly eliminate her for you."

Kyojuro shifted slightly to the left and let the night wind blared his torn haori regally, concealing the sight of his injured soldier. His eyebrows furrowed as he silently tsked. He knew the demon knew about her existence. Yet still hoping that, with his attention solely on him, Akaza won't take another glance at the downed hunter. Looks like it was just wishful thinking, "no. she's wounded and she cannot move for the rest of the day. My name is Rengoku Kyojuro. If it's a fight you want, then a fight you'll get. But leave my junior alone."

"Deal. You sure are lucky, little girl," the Flame user could feel Nezuko tensing from behind, the gaze of the demon petrified her in place. That supposedly gentleman smile only overwhelmed her with dread even further, "I really hate weak humans, especially if they're women. Just looking at them disgusts me. But sure, I let it slide this time."

"Y-You! Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean—"

"It looks like you and I have different moral values in regards of things," Kyojuro interjected. He applauded Nezuko's bravery, but not with her condition at the moment. He didn't agree with this fiend's conclusion either, being he knew Shinobu and Matsuri were people who should not be trifled with. One of them could kill you with a small nick of a blade, while the other…well. Kyojuro tried not to think about her too much. He respected the Pillar of Love, really. He just didn't want to comment about her skill willy-nilly or else others will start gossiping and mocking her for something she could not handle. Kyojuro hated those types of people, looking only at the cover of the book and not underneath it. He raised his left palm, a silent order for Nezuko to stay silent and focused on taking care of herself for now, "it's our first time meeting but I already hate you."

"I see. I don't hate people for having different opinions, though. So I have a wonderful proposal for you," his cheek flushed and his grin widened. He looked like a happy-go-lucky kid if his status as a demon was not there, clinging onto him like a disease that will not heal, "how about you become a demon too?"

"I refuse."

"So quick. Why not think about it a bit longer?" Akaza chuckled, both of his eyes sharpened, "I can see your strength just by looking at you, see," his fingers moved in a curve, creating a vivid image of a flame surrounding Kyojuro's figure. Or something within that line just by judging from his hands' movement, the pillar assumed, "your battle spirit is quite polished. You're getting close to supreme territory."

"But you're a human," he spat the word, treating it like something vile. Trash that needed to be destroyed and immediately forgotten, "because you'll grow old and you'll die."

"Become a demon and live, Kyojuro," Akaza's hands spread wide, letting him know that he'll accept him with a warm embrace, "if you do, you can continue to train for a hundred. Even two hundred years. Your technique will not die and your existence will always be remembered."

Nice offer, if Kyojuro was any desperate man.

The unfortunate thing for the demon was, Kyojuro is not a desperate man. He's not selfish nor he cares about something petty such as getting stronger just for the sake of it. If he has to get stronger, then his main reason was—

"To protect others," he voiced those words out loud. Akaza looked at him in slight confusion, not getting the context of his inner thought. The Breath of Flame user instead said, "growing old and dying is the beauty of the fleeting creature called a human being. Because we grow old and die, we appreciate our life even more. We treasure every single time that has passed. Happy things, sad things. We overcome any misery that befalls upon us, growing stronger in spite of it. And that, is what we call true strength."

"A demon who threw everything away. Their feelings, their humanity," the night wind screeched to a halt and the air stilted to nothingness. Kyojuro's aura flared and the demon grinned, "no matter what kind of motivation I may have, I will not become one of your kind."

(Technique Deployment, Destructive Kill; COMPASS NEEDLE), "If you won't become a demon…"Akaza took a stance—legs apart, left arm fisted to the side of his waist while right arm to the fore, palm open—the ground under him lit with a bright, white light that surrounded his whole body. A pattern of a snowflake appeared beneath, containing archaic kanji that carved the number one to ten on each of its crouched and the fire rattled. Breath of Flame, First Style—, the pink demon cackled "THEN I'LL KILL YOU INSTEAD!"

Both of them dashed.

SEA OF FIRE!

WHOOOSSHH

WHAAAM

And each of their skills crashed with intensity.

A kick, a punch. Slash and hack. They were committed to this dance of danger. Between the fire that howled like a tidal wave, Kyojuro realized the movement of the demon was a lot more fluid than before, evading the surge of the element, seemingly aware of the trajectory of it. Was it because of the first technique he unleashed just now? (The pillar rolled when the ax kick cracked the earth). Somehow, it could detect incoming strikes of his through sensing…something. (Both of them tried to overpower each other—Kyojuro, with his blade lodged in the fiend's lower arm. While Akaza pushed the said arm harshly that it actually made him skid backward. The flesh felt like a lead—before the Pink Demon's feet surged upward, Golden Man somersaulted to the side to evade it). Maybe the concept of a 'Battle Spirit' he told him before? The abstract thing only the demon could see. (Upper Moon Three lept backward when the orange blade pierced like a spear). The thing that resembled a crackling flame. Akaza flipped in midair, palm shot forward (Destructive Kill—) the atmosphere stiffened as he punched. So fast, that the following air created a destructive slice itself, crisscrossing over the place; to the left, to the right. Downward and upward. Six punches within a split second. Both of Kyojuro's hand that gripped onto the handle of the sword tightened ever so slightly (Fourth Style—) then he spun it, creating a whirlpool of fire that repelled the rapid attacks.

VOID STYLE!

WAVE OF BLAZING FLAMES!

He could create a multi-shot shockwave range strike by the pressure of air alone. What a move. Kyojuro mused as he blocked the whirling kick with his sword after their fancy moves had finished, swinging the weapon wide and made Akaza flipped to the sky once more. It'll be dangerous for me to cut his head off if we fight from a distance. In that case—

Akaza landed with grace and he brought his head upward, not noticing the presence of the Pillar before he literally teleported right under his chin.

—I'll get close to him instead!

"What a wonderful reaction speed" the demon laughed and he reared his fists back, using the same technique to tried immobilizing Kyojuro, where the slayer also used the previous skill to protect himself from the full-blown onslaught. Air and fire mixed in beautiful yet terrifying scenery, causing the flame to blast into the highest vantage point. Resembling a deadly, burning flower blossoming on the spot their opposite elements clashed. Akaza was still grinning like a lunatic, planted his feet to the ground and shot both of his knuckles forward at the same time (Destructive Kill—) while Kyojuro twirled and summoned an amalgamation of a fire animal. Body of a serpent and face of a mauling tiger (Fifth Style—)

WAR STYLE!

FLAME TIGER!

Nezuko breath stuttered when the surrounding exploded with a loud boom, blowing heavy dust and pieces of rubbles out of their circle. Now she was sure the sounds of this intense battle will catch the attention of her friends out there. Maybe they can help Kyojuro in fighting the Upper Moon and they'll be a lot more useful than her who only hinders him because of her uselessness how could she get wounded in this time of need—. When the fog of dirt settled down, her eyes widened and the burgundy orbs within quivered in disbelief. There, at the far away of the battlefield, Akaza stood almost in a relaxed manner. While Kyojuro…

While Kyojuro was banged up beyond measure. His white haori was covered with blood, left eye destroyed and the right side of his stomach was punctured. With how he hunched over himself, she garnered his ribs were also broken.

Why? Nezuko's questioned, desperately wishing to prop herself up and check on him but to no avail. Rengoku-san is a Pillar. Why is he bleeding from a single demon?

Is he really that strong?

"Look at this, Kyojuro," Akaza pointed to the slash across his own chest. He could instantly heal it, yet he took time to slowly close the wound to get his point across, "the wonderful slashes which you attacked me with have already completely healed. But you?" the demon's eyebrows rose with pity, watching Kyojuro trying to stand up straight, although his quivering legs showed that he was almost at his limit, "you can't recover from those injuries anymore. And if you do, your career as a demon hunter is now out of your reach. Turn yourself into a demon and you would be able to cure that in a blink of an eye. Come on," he clawed his palm that tore the flesh, letting the blood inside to pool onto it, a misplaced smile that radiated warmth directed at Golden Man, "drink my blood. It won't hurt a single bit."

Rengoku-san…Rengoku-san… Nezuko will herself to move. Grip her swords. Anything. To help the man who has a bright, bright fog don't let me see that color fading away, not again—

"Never, you filthy demon," he spat, blazing eyes popped with determined fury, "even if I have to forgo my sight, my limbs, even my life. I will fulfill my duties," Kyojoru bent his body forward, sword placed to the right side of his head, the aura within his being flared. Akaza's laugh became a whole lot maniacal than before (his Battle Spirit growled like an inferno, truly amazing), he leaned as well, one of the legs drawn to the back. While Kyojuro's ability caused him to have fire whirling around his body, the dust and rocks were forcefully brought to the air by the force of the current tornado (Full Focus Breath, Breath of Fire, Esoterica—), the atmosphere around Akaza was the exact opposite. It stilled like a compact vacuum, sucking any wind that came too close to his personal space (Technique Deployment—). Kyojuro glared as he exclaimed.

"I WON'T LET ANYBODY DIE!"

FWOOOMMM

Together, both of them dashed once more. Cracking the ground under their feet and creating a loud shockwave behind, releasing a booming noise that almost pierced everyone's eardrums. Kyojuro's skill leaves a straight trail of enormous flames along the wake, some part of the orange fire was circling around the beam of light; the shape of this technique resembled of air being torn apart by the speed of sound, Nezuko distractedly observed. His rushing form met the demon's jump, who's skill tore the reality itself, leaving darkness that consumed the light as both of them crashed—

NINTH STYLE, PURGATORY!

DESTRUCTIVE KILL, OBLITERATION STYLE!

BOUUUUMMMMM

KRATAK KRATAK

WHOOOOSSHH

Nezuko had to cover her sight for the second time when the accumulating dust that converged around them was a lot denser than before. She could not see, not even the form of them. Her heart thudded behind her ribcage in grim anticipation, dread latched onto her like second nature (both of their fog were intermingling. And, did Rengoku-san's color started…fading? That was just my imagination, right? Right?). When the world finally decided the waiting was enough and let a gust of wind blow the wall of dirt away, her stomach churned, mouth fell open in shock. Her face turned paler, a horrified gasp tore from behind her raspy throat. No way. No way…

In front of her eyes, they stood at a standstill. Akaza stared at his own arm in disinterest. The arm that was buried deep within Kyojuro's body pierced right on his stomach then exited through his back (First Nezuko and now Kyojuro? What's with tonight's demons' attack that caused them to penetrate the body of a human like it was a mere piece of paper? Even if in Nezuko's case, it was mostly unintentional). The flame pillar coughed, splattering the red blood on the Pink Beast's blank face. Slow trickles of red liquid dripped and dripped, resounding like an echo in a hollow cave and Nezuko's entire being dropped.

Ah…am I gonna die? Kyojuro belatedly thought, ignoring the demon's last attempt in proposing him to joining in on their bandwagon. His sight was going hazy, the pain in his stomach felt blinding hot and dizzying. The copper he tasted on his tongue choking him and somehow, somehow he saw his late, already-gone-why-is-she-here mother sitting there. With her silky, smooth hair that was tied into a low tail, hanging by her shoulder. Piercing gaze of narrowed eyes that will see right through your soul. She was fragile and delicate, pretty yet unyielding. Watching him from their house veranda with an unreadable stare.

Huh, so he finally experienced this phenomenon, Kyojuro mussed. He knew about a story of someone having a flashback of their life when they were near their deathbed. From this scenery alone, he knew his mind had already wandered, reality and illusion fused into one. If that was true then, there's one thing he wanted to ask—

Am I going to die, mother?

"People who were born and blessed with greater abilities than others have to use their power for the world. For the people. Hurting others with your power which was gifted from the heavens and soiling your clothes is unforgivable, her voice murmured, overwriting Akaza's harsh tone with her soft words. He couldn't see the demon anymore, caught off guard by the memory of his late mother and was too busy drinking in the images, knowing it'll seep through his fingers at any moment, "it is the obligation of those born strong to save the weak. Your mission requires you to fulfill your duty properly."

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(TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP

A flurry of footsteps could be heard. The wind whipped past the struggling-to-stand Nezuko, causing her hair to sway and her eyes widened)

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"I will not be alive for much longer. It was a blessing to become the mother of such a strong, gentle child," the illusion continued, the pillar's grip on his sword slackened and dots started appearing on the corner of his view (he could feel his soul's grip on this mortal world weakened). His mother lurched forward and engulfed him in a warm hug. Protective and radiated safety was it just his imagination or he could even feel the warmness in real life? It calmed his beating heart—. Mother snuggled into his orange hair, breathing the smell of log and dew from within, "It's lonely here. And I'll be glad to welcome you at my side."

"Mother—"

"But Kyojuro. You still have a duty," she said, cutting her kid's unfinished word, "as a strong person, as a leader, and as a brother. Your duty awaited you. So—"

His consciousness cleared as her mother pushed him away and declared.

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"Stay alive."

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"GRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Tanjiro pounced from out of nowhere, sharp claws fully retracted and catching Akaza off guard. The ginger demon latched onto the enemy's hand—the only thing that connected these two fighters into one like a morbid bridge of unity—and burst into fire. Enveloping them all in an inferno of ginger flame. Kyojuro eyes opened and he breathed harshly. Wet coughs lodged in his throat yet he could feel his tensing muscle relaxed. The pain subsided into a more bearable twinge.

So warm. So soothing. He thought, a wry smile blossomed on his bloody face. The warmth that I felt in my illusion before came from him, not mother.

From the nice demon who protected his sister. A demon and a brother all the same.

(He felt it before, when the ginger teen woke him up from the dream/nightmare using the same trick. Except it didn't click in his mind that his fire was harmless. Never dangerous)

(Not until now)

"AAARRRGGGHHHHH!"

Different from Kyojuro, who felt like he was figuratively being embraced by his precious parent, however, Akaza wailed in agony. The scream was guttural and heart-breaking. Desperation tinted in it and anyone who never heard the sounds of a dying man now knew how it sounded. His pale complexion slowly turned red because of all the heat, some part of the skin flaking off. It seems, although Tanjiro's unique flame doesn't hurt Kyojuro a single bit, the element did the exact opposite to a demonkind. Well, what a normal fire should've done, actually. Burning everything in its path without mercy. But that's the reason why Kyojuro deemed the oldest Kamado's flames was unique. Akaza tried to separate from Kyojuro, struggling to yank his hand out and even throw a punch by using his unoccupied hand to the Ginger for a good measure. Except Tanjiro caught it without breaking a sweat and held on tightly. Yellow orbs blazed with determination—veiled with anger and hatred that somehow doesn't suit him stop looking like that, your sister is going to be sad—and intended to trap him in this fire of agony.

Kyojuro absentmindedly realized that Inosuke was here too, along with the finally-awake Zenitsu. Both were torn between fussing over the injured Nezuko or helping their fight now that they stood at a standstill.

He didn't know how much time had passed, his thoughts had turned muddy long ago. The thing he knows was Akaza lost a massive amount of his hair, skins began to decay and the smell of burnt meat started to get very uncomfortable. The enemy, who was mostly struggling to escape, had his eyes widened, sudden fear overrode his pain. What did he see? The pillar asked himself. What was it that frightened a demon so much, that the prospect of being burned alive slipped out of his mind—ah. Kyojuro blinked.

Was the dawn…approaching?

Was this one-sided, unfair, painful fight going to end soon?

(Will he fulfill his duty and can finally greet his mother with a smile?)

Akaza rested the weight entirely on his heel, cracking the earth, letting out a loud cry, "rrrrraaaAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!"

CRAASSSS

And tore his arms by using his willpower alone. The mutilated hands that were still in Tanjiro's clutch and Kyojuro's stomach turned into ash within a blink.

The fight is over.

Or it should be.

But it didn't. Not a little. Their physical battle may have ended, but the rest—the mental one—had yet to come.

"NIICHAN!"

Zenitsu jolted awake from his utmost fear of seeing the demon run to the foliage —Upper Moon Three. How did they encounter such a powerful demon in this unofficial mission?—with a gasp. He was in the middle of lamenting his uselessness tonight. Where Kyojuro, Inosuke, Nezuko-chan, even Tanjiro were battling through the horde of these disgusting limbs and risking their life where I fainted like a dumb-dumb that I was, being a baggage to these wonderful people. And as his thought spiraled down and down to the darkness, Nezuko's sounds of hatred (towards the Pink Demon), concern (towards the Flame Pillar), fear (toward her older brother) rang inside his head, bringing him back to the land of reality. The girl was standing on her wobbly legs—flailing Inosuke was right beside her, silently asked if he could help or something—she slowly walked to the other two of their companions. Kyojuro and Tanjiro were still not moving, still veiled by the fiery flame of a ginger bonfire. Nezuko took another step and shouted, "niichan! Stop it! It's almost morning! You have to get back!"

Right. Zenitsu looked over the horizon, fear of the scary Upper Moon was replaced by the fear of the safety of his friend. He's going to burn if he keeps this up. And not the type of burning he'd been doing since minutes ago.

"The box. The box…" he rushed to the wreckage, searching for the bag of wooden that was Tanjiro's haven. Fortunately, it only took half a minute, the thing was stuck under some rubble, unscathed, "Nezuko-chan! I found it! Here's the bo—"

WHOOOOSSSHHH

The heat suddenly picked up, the wind swirled into one place. Zenitsu gasped when the ginger flame snarled and grew in its intensity. The air around them swirled then sucked into the fire, creating a vacuum and forming a whirlwind of twister that enveloped them both. It grew and grew, Zenitsu could even feel they were starting to get pulled into the vortex also. But before it could do exactly that—

FWOOOUUUMM

The typhoon burst like a popped ball.

And Kyojuro and Tanjiro—now in his kid form—appeared once more. Their eyelids fluttered closed in an instant and they fell, letting out a silent thump when their body hit the ground. Everything turned silent. They didn't move for a second, too shock over what just happened. The second Kamado, again, was the first to react as she dashed. Or wobbled more exactly, to the side of them while pulling her pink haori off. She then threw it over the fainted form of her tiny brother and said, "niichan? Rengoku-san? What…what's wrong?"

No answer.

They didn't stir. Nor they grunted in their unconsciousness.

They just kept on sleeping and unaware of the world around them.

And Zenitsu knew…that something is clearly, clearly wrong.

(Rengoku-san's voice. That was always in a constant state of battle had waned. The usually sound of a marching soldier now become a sluggish step of a drunkard)

(Then there's Tanjiro. His warm, gentle voice, swaying like a beautiful spring and comfortable breeze of autumn was now muted. Null. Still. Too, too still, even the abyss without end has the sound of wind in it and that is worrying)

"Niichan? Rengoku-san?" Nezuko whispered, trembling hands hovered over them (Zenitsu heard a crack. Was it coming from her voice or her Voice? Whichever it was, it broke Zenitsu's heart—). When there's no response, her expression shut down and tears started gathering (the crack was even louder than before—). She shook their body hard, desperation was clear as tiny sobs become full-blown weeping, "niichan! Rengoku-san! Wake up!"

"We won. That Akaza jerk is already gone. We won the battle! We really did!" the sun rose and the birds chirped. Inosuke was silent while Zenitsu cried. The despair was palpable and the just-arriving Kakushis were having a hard time separating the hysterical girl from their patients, "So wake up. I don't want to be alone. I don't want to see anyone die again. Please! Please, I beg of you!"

"Wake up!"

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Four months had passed and both of them are still sleeping.

(A/N): The sound Zenitsu heard was Nezuko's pearl a.k.a her spiritual core cracking even more. Before, it was almost muted because of her happy mask. Now, it was recognizable that Zenitsu doesn't even have to listen THAT hard to know that, yes. Nezuko is suffering.

Do you remember when canon!Nezuko slept for a full two years at the very first chapter? Fanfic!Nezuko never has to experience it so let's see how she feel about THAT! #IKeepTorturingNezuko #authorWhy

This story will not be some kind of fix-it fanfiction. Rengoku's injury is still fatal. Especially because Akaza's hand is big and pierced right in the center, while Nezuko in the last chapter had to suffer a thin brake lever and stabbed at the side of her waist so, not that big of a biggie. Rengoku is alive, sure. But he's stuck in a coma now and have to spend the rest of the story being taken care of in the medical center. Even with this major difference, the story still won't derail that much from the canon lol `3`

It's always my intention to save Rengoku in this fanfic of mine. Especially because Tanjiro is more human than a demon, his conscience is more coherent than demon!Nezuko, and he can control his flame a lot better too. It's not because I like Rengoku or anything. In actuality tho', I'm neutral to all of the character in KnY. I love the story as a whole, not just the individual character. Just like how my fav anime is Natsume Yuujincho yet I don't have a favorite character in there :P

So, don't worry guys. I'll totally kill some of the characters~ :D

Chapter 67 (idk why…I just don't feel like putting this scene into the main fanfiction at all. But it's still uuh…a bit important? So here it is): Akaza had to reform his whole body, starting from crushing his entire body, chopping his limbs, and regrow his head from inside out, like a crab shedding its skin, as Tanjiro's fire lingered and he could not handle the heat. When he informed Muzan—now, in a child form with slick hair—about his failure in searching for the Blue Spider Lily and his encounter with their lord's target, Muzan was too busy laughing (Tanjiro becomes a lot stronger. Even more perfect for his puppet) that he didn't punish Akaza for his recklessness. He's still bitter towards Tanjiro because he forced him to 'revive' himself unnecessary, though.

(Maaan, I'm bad at fighting scenes. I've been lazy, cozying myself in writing fluff fanfic all this time :'D )