A Boar Among Angels

by Enthused and Caffeinated

Inosuke, freshly recovered from defeating Muzan and his demons, mysteriously finds himself waking up in Tokyo-3, just as one Shinji Ikari stands at a public phone, wondering why his father has called him after so many years.

5. Chapter 5

Misato

"Incredible…" Inosuke stared up at the corpse of the Angel. Even though he'd helped defeat the thing, he seemed amazed at the sheer size of the thing.

"You fought that thing?" Zenitsu shuddered. "Was it anything like a demon?"

"Nope." Inosuke fiddled with the yellow hard hat. Even with the Angel's corpse in the building, Inosuke was the strangest entity in sight. He'd agreed to wear a hard hat, but he refused to wear a shirt. This meant that his dozens of burn marks were on full display. It looked like he was flayed with a molten whip. Yet, he showed no pain. On top of that, he wore the same baggy slacks as usual, with swords at his hips. The image was more surreal the more she looked. The shock of bright, almost neon, blue hair that struck out just under the helmet.

Inosuke continued, "This thing was like… a city destroyer. It took down buildings in one attack."

Zenitsu cocked his head and folded his arms. "We saw demons do that."

"Not to buildings like here! The tall ones! The metal ones. One swing, and whoosh! Three buildings cut down."

After a few seconds of thought, Zenitsu gaped. "What the hell! That's no fair! Why did you have to fight that thing!"

"Could you two quiet down a bit. You're disrupting the crew."

She turned her attention to Shinji, who stared up at the thing with an unreadable mix of emotions.

Ritsuko called out from above. "Only the core's damaged. This is the only full sample we've ever gotten. We appreciate it."

Shinji nodded emotionlessly.

"Oi," Inosuke tapped his shoulder. "She's thanking us. You look like you didn't do anything."

"Well… you're the one—"

"We. We. We." Inosuke struck his own sternum with one thumb and prodded Shinji with an index finger. "How many times do I need to tell you. The first kill went to your Eva. But that second one was us. Together. You were the first hitter. Take some pride as a warrior!"

Misato watched the conversation. She'd seen and heard a few variations on it in the past few days. All things considered, it wasn't the worst that could happen. After that battle, she'd worried that he'd run away from Nerv. He seemed so conflicted and pained.

But with these two strangers, he seemed content. Zenitsu, in the most useful thing he'd done so far, had convinced Shinji not to skip school. She doubted she'd ever forget his flamboyant overreaction when she'd tried to explain school to him. "What?" he'd stared at Shinji accusingly. "You've got something to help you out when you're done fighting! You lucky brat! Give that to me! Don't waste that opportunity! You know what I've got now that the fighting is over? You can't be a warrior when there's no one left to fight. Go to this school thing and don't you dare miss out!"

It'd been a big help, even if the motivation was a little questionable.

After a while, Misato stepped toward Inosuke. He and Zenitsu were invited here for a reason, after all. "So," she said, "what do you feel from this thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on. You understood the Eva better than almost anyone just by being in the same room. Now, or when you were fighting it, what did you feel from it."

"Hmm…" he mused. "Destruction."

When no follow-up came, Misato prodded. "Explain."

"It's hard to describe. It wasn't angry. It didn't have a real plan. It's like a storm, but it was focused on something. It wanted to destroy. I don't know if it had killing intent. It's weird. I don't get it."

How unhelpful, Captain Katsuragi thought.

"Inosuke!" Ritsuko called from the rafters above. "You were closer to the core than anyone has ever been. Could you come up here and answer some questions?"

"Sure," with a nod, he leapt up the corpse of the Angel until he could climb onto the rafter. Ritsuko was the only one who seemed unphased by this.

Misato stared up at the beast. In the silence, Zenitsu stepped toward her. Uncomfortably close. "Um…" he said.

"What do you want?" she asked.

He pulled up his sleeve. "Inosuke says I can trust you. So… um. Who put a needle in me?"

Captain Katsuragi's eyebrows shot to the ceiling. "What?"

Zenitsu stiffened. "You don't know?"

Meanwhile, Shinji stared after his father.

Ritsuko

The two strangers proved as helpful as they were distracting. Inosuke was helpful, at least. Thanks to him, she was able to return to analysis on the computer ahead of schedule. His strength, with which he so casually stunned all who witnessed it, allowed them to move and push equipment with unprecedented speed.

He even agreed to let them take some skin samples of his burns. In the times he wasn't informative, he was entertaining. While he stood on the Angel, explaining those uncanny feelings of his, many hands were scrawling notes. Every eye latched onto his blades as he described piercing the core.

Luckily, he agreed to let them test his blades, so long as he was present, and never more than an arm's length from them.

But that would need to happen later. Drinking coffee, Ritsuko poured over the computer results. As she typed, something stunning appeared.

"Captain Katsuragi," she called out.

Misato was busy wrangling the over-energetic Zenitsu. Based on the gestures he was making to his arm, she guessed that he was asking about the needle mark. It was easy to explain. Taking a blood sample is proper medical procedure, after all. Doctors took it to get his blood type and check for any discernable illnesses.

The scientist would even be able to tell him a comforting truth: there had been no sign of illness in the sample. They'd found nothing abnormal.

She pushed the thought from her mind as Misato, Zenitsu, and Shinji approached.

"Have you found something useful?"

"Something surprising," she gestured to the monitor.

"What?" Misato stepped forward, glaring angrily at the results.

"That's right." She spoke so as to be plainly heard by the two teenagers. "According to these results, Angel's share a genetic similarity of 99.89% with humans."

She looked to Zenitsu, who seemed unsure of what was just said. As expected, she supposed, of one from the past. "In other words, Angel's are almost indistinguishable from humans."

Zenitsu looked at the monitor, looked at the Angel, and looked back. Confidently, he said, "I don't understand and I don't care. Why is there a hole in my arm?"

It took effort not to chuckle at the childishness of the reply. Ritsuko offered the line about the medical sample she'd mentally rehearsed. It comforted Misato instantly. Zenitsu seemed sceptical at first, he but didn't push the issue.

Meanwhile, Shinji stared out of the office. Misato noticed after Ritsuko. "Hey, Shinji, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

Misato opened her mouth to speak, but Zenitsu barked before she had a chance: "Don't give us that. It's obvious that something's bothering you. It's annoying to just say 'nothing' like that. You're practically saying 'oh, look at me, there's something so very interesting that all of you should explain for me it's so obvious.' Explain."

"Well… my dad's hands are burned. I was wondering what happened. Also… it looks like he and Inosuke don't get along."

"Hmm?" Ritsuko pushed the chair from the computer enough so she could glance outside. Gendo was staring at the core with a near-reverence. Meanwhile, Inosuke stood near. Were she sentimental, Ritsuko would have said she could feel the enmity radiating from the blue-haired boy.

"I don't know about that, but I can explain what happened to your father's hands."

Zenitsu

"Liar! No way! I don't believe you!"

"Shh." Rei calmly put an index finger to her lips. "You're lucky they let you in the library."

As soon as he'd seen it, Zenitsu knew he wanted to use a computer. If he was right, it was like being able to pull up the words of every book at once. If he was wrong, it'd be a cool thing to talk about in his own book when he got back home.

It turned out he'd been partially right. The computer showed him, in plain text, a fact of this other Japan which he could not believe. The ideas behind it were obvious. Yet, seeing it in such terms was too much for him to accept. "Bu—bu—but—but— this is impossible!" Rei shushed him again. Zenitsu whispered in exasperation, arms flailing. "It's the Taisho era! Why are you even explaining this to me? I thought you hated me. I bet you want me dead."

"I don't care about you at all," she said.

"So blunt," he started, clutching his heart.

Rei Ayanami, normally a void of emotion, glared at him in annoyance. "I was asked to help you. That's why I'm here." She pointed to the monitor. "In this Japan, it's the Heisei era. Look."

They worked through the numbers. Soon, they understood how many years lay between them. "No way…" Zenitsu gaped, his eyes watering. All those decades… all those generations. It was difficult to believe. Another world was one thing to consider. For some reason, it was stranger to think about being in the future.

No, he understood why this world felt so strange. He was still in a version of Japan. This had many things that his own home nation would likely see in a few generations. His own great grandchildren, or maybe even grandchildren, would live to see such a place.

How could a nation like his get to this level? How could this architecture— these tools— come to be?

"This is too much…" Zenitsu muttered, fingers tangled in his hair. "I don't get it. I don't get it. Leave me alone. I need to figure this out…"

"Okay."

The girl left. Zenitsu scrolled on the screen. There was so much information. It was too much. Even if he told people about all this, would they believe him?

He tapped his fingers on the table. Suddenly, his idea for a book seemed silly. So much was going to be forgotten in just a few years. In this version of the future…

Instantly, an idea struck him.

What if he figured out how some worked in this Japan? What if he learned what materials they used to make the lights and cars and buildings? What if he brought some of that back to his own Japan?

More than that, his home and this place shared a history to a point. If they shared anything in the last century, Zenitsu might be able to return as a prophet. "Hmm…" he wondered.

Suddenly, his book seemed like the greatest idea in the world.

Shinji

"Why didn't you tell me it was a different era?" Zenitsu yelled as they sat down for dinner.

Shinji, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Misato, and Ritsuko were gathered in Misato's home. Misato was already drinking beer as they made plates of her curry and rice. "Oh," Ritsuko said, "that's a good point. I hadn't thought of that. What era are you from?"

"Taisho," he said.

"It doesn't matter," Inosuke said, drowning his rice in curry. Shinji shuddered as he looked. There was no doubt in his mind that his friend would come to regret that decision. "What matters," Inosuke smacked Shinji on the back, "is that we got a lot done. I don't get this science stuff, but you smart types learned a lot about the Angels, right?"

Ritsuko nodded. "That's right."

"Because we're awesome." He smacked Shinji's back again.

The touch reaffirming, if overly aggressive. Shinji had no idea what was going on in the strange warrior's mind, but he knew there was no doubt. No fear. No hesitation. Most importantly, there were no lies.

Blunt as he was, Inosuke was honest. This honest, strong person told him he was worthwhile, that his suffering was worth it. It felt good.

"You need more pilots!" Inosuke said. "We can't carry this whole team ourselves."

"Hey…" Zenitsu mumbled beside him.

"Misato," Ritsuko said. "You don't have any rice. What are you going to eat?"

"Oh? Curious, eh?" She lifted a plate, revealing a finished cup of instant ramen. As usual, Shinji was asked to slop curry into the cup while Misato bragged about the genius of it. Ritsuko and Zenitsu both seemed physically ill. Inosuke, for his part, seemed undecided.

"Now, shall we begin?"

All took the first bite of dinner. Four of the five people lost energy upon the initial taste. Even without Zenitsu's or Inosuke's abilities, Shinji could sense the energy decrease in the room.

"Um…" Zenitsu scratched his cheek. "This is very different from other curry I've tried here."

"You think so?" Misato asked, grinning proudly. "I made it myself."

"Oh."

After a moment, Inosuke began wolfing it down.

"Eh? What's gotten into you?" Shinji asked.

With a groan, Inosuke pulled away the spoon. "Ugh… if I eat it quickly, it's over quickly."

"I guess," Shinji said.

Zenitsu took another bite, then pointed his spoon at Shinji. "Hey, question for you: does getting that LCL stuff in your mouth mess with your taste at all?"

"No, not that I've noticed."

As he answered, Ritsuko reached for her coat. "That reminds me. Shinji, I keep forgetting to give Rei her new security clearance card. Could you deliver it for me?"

"Sure," he took the plastic card from her and looked at Rei's picture on the card. As usual, it was unreadable, without emotion. As Shinji looked at the card, he realized that he knew nothing about his fellow pilot. In all that had happened, he barely knew anything about her, except that his father went out of his way to help her.

"Oh…?" Misato leaned forward, grinning mischievously. "You're looking at that picture pretty intently."

"Huh?" Shinji started.

Zenitsu nodded. "You're both pilots, so I can get that."

"What?" a defensive edge crept into his tone. As much as he loathed the pettiness of his tone, Shinji was unable to stop it.

Ritsuko chuckled, relaxing her posture to the most casual he'd ever seen her. "Well, well. Our little pilot is a teenager after all."

Inosuke continued his stone-faced mission to demolish the curry, oblivious to the mood in the room. Shinji looked at him, wondering if it were possible to change the subject.

Zenitsu leaned forward. "Hey, you just got a golden opportunity, pilot!" He stretched his arms up and outward with the exaggerated energy that was slowly becoming normal. "Dr. Ritsuko just gave you an official reason to go to her house. That's awesome. Use it."

Misato nodded conspiratorially. "He's right, you know. But I'm surprised. I didn't know our little Shin-chan was developing a crush."

"It's not like that!" Shinji said, surprised by the anger in his own voice. "I just don't know much about her. It's weird, since we're both pilots."

"All the better, then." Ritsuko gestured to the card in his hand. "Here is your official reason to get to know your fellow pilot."

"Alright!" Inosuke smacked his palm on the table, then thrust a fist up into the air. "I did it!" His bowl was empty.

The other four turned to him, unimpressed with the undesired mood change.

As he grinned, a horrific grumble emerged from Inosuke's stomach. As they watched, Inosuke's arrogant grin shifted into stone-faced dejection. After a several seconds, and a few more gurgles, Zenitsu reached a hand toward his friend. Suddenly, eyes unfocused, Inosuke bowed his head and stated, "Please excuse me for a while." Every eye watched as he calmly marched to the bathroom.

Misato

"Thanks for coming out," Misato said as she and Ritsuko stepped into the night air.

"Of course," her long-time friend pulled out a cigarette as soon as she was out of the apartment. "We should get together more often. Perhaps we can get drinks like old times one of these nights."

"That'd be nice." Misato stepped away from her apartment, enjoying the view of the clear night sky. With all the night shifts and time below ground, it was easy to forget about the sky above. Humanity had been hiding and fighting to have any place, so the universe beyond was easy to forget. Misato stared up, trying to will her contentment to ease her mind.

Silence prevailed as Ritsuko smoked and Misato stared up.

Eventually, Ritsuko said, "Something's bothering you."

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm worried for you."

"Oh?"

Misato lowered her gaze. The accusation and concern was clear in her expression. Ritsuko didn't meet her eyes. "Talk to me, Ritz."

"What about?"

She glanced at her own apartment door before pressing onward. "The incident with Unit-01. You didn't calibrate the Eva to his wavelength, did you?"

Ritsuko shrugged. "He's from a different universe. It was impossible for us to judge how we could—"

"Don't give me that." Captain Katsuragi turned to face her. "I am in charge of the Evangelion pilots. We attempted to add another pilot to the ranks. You're withholding intel from a Captain."

A flash of surprise crossed Ritsuko's face. "You're pulling rank on me."

Misato crossed her arms. "I'm not enjoying it, if that's worth anything."

The sight would have looked strange to a witness, Misato thought. There she stood, in denim shorts and a casual top, her hair pulled back. A change of setting and clothing made this little clash seem so much less important.

Slowly, Ritsuko returned to her usual composure. "Neither Zenitsu nor Inosuke have readable wavelengths."

"Explain."

"Only Children who can synchronize with the Evangelions can pilot them. If the pilot and the Eva don't synchronize, they will either malfunction, go wild, or fail to work."

"Okay, and where is the information I don't know."

Ritsuko shook her head. "I'm trying to explain. We can't measure the factors we synchronize in Zenitsu or Inosuke. Usually, the numbers are too high or too low, with too much variance across them. Also, when they train or use those styles of theirs, all the numbers fluctuate."

Ritsuko was grimacing. Her fists were clenched. "They're entirely, objectively, unquestionably human. Yet, there's nothing I can understand about them! I need to redefine how the universe works in order to accommodate how they exist. It doesn't make sense."

Ritsuko was sneering. It was a different look from anything Misato had seen from her. "So, when you put Zenitsu in Unit-01."

"Someone had to do something. It still seems foolish to me that we assume them to be our allies. Their origin has been all but discarded as a subject of research, because we can't afford to move any of our sources away from the Angels. Yes, it was rash. Yes, it was handled poorly." Ritsuko stepped forward. Misato stood motionless at this small test of her authority. "And yes, I'm aware of what's being said of me throughout every level of Nerv. I'm a mad scientist who put a Child in danger. I'm the woman who was tasked with babysitting the lunatics from another dimension.

"I am also the woman who is trying to fully explore every possible answer to our cataclysmic problem. We're staggering about in a dark room, and I am struggling to shine some light in that darkness."

The women stared each other down. A part of Misato wanted to relent. Some part of her desperately wanted to concede and back off. There was still another question, though. "Ritsuko…" in the end, Captain Katsuragi reframed the question in her mind. "Is your position in jeopardy?"

Finally, Dr. Akagi took a step back. "My position?"

"Yes. With all these rumours and everything, should we be worried of any demotion or anything of the sort?"

Ritsuko narrowed her eyes. The suspicion was clear. "I'm not worried. Some people, with fair reason I suppose, believe I should be removed from my position. Yet, these are unprecedented times. The Magi System has yet to recognize either of our strange friends. The Marduk Report can say nothing about them. This will forever be a stain upon my career, but, as I said, we cannot afford to lose any resources in this fight."

Misato looked at her friend. She hoped, but doubted, things ended there. "Well," she softened, smiled, and tilted her head. "Enough of the business talk after hours. I'm glad you came over. It was nice to hang out again."

Dr. Akagi smiled. "Yes, it was."

Shinji

The Third Child walked to Rei Ayanami's apartment. When he'd started, he'd been in a fair mood. After all, he was finally going to learn something more about his fellow pilot. Yet, as he approached her building, something began gnawing him from within.

This was just going to be a bother, wasn't it? She was probably busy. He'd show up, hand her the card, and be on his way. She was the original pilot. Sure, he'd taken down Angels, but she was still more qualified than him. It was arrogant to think he could stand beside her as a pilot. He was nothing to her.

After all this time near her, in the same class, in the same organization, and suddenly he felt like talking to her. What was wrong with him? He'd been standoffish to her. Maybe she even hated him for how much he'd ignored her.

By the time he arrived at her apartment, the gnawing had filled his chest. The sight of the overfull mail slot redirected some of these emotions to confusion. "Anyone home?" he asked.

Nobody answered the doorbell, so he tried the handle. It opened without difficulty. He entered, "Excuse the intrusion. Um, Miss Ayanami? I'm coming in."

He stepped inside. The sights that greeted him shocked him. It was as if the place was abandoned. A blanket of dust sat over everything. The kitchen looked as if it hadn't been used in years. The bed was the only furniture in the room. The walls were bare. Every part of the place was decaying. Bloody bandages lay in overfull garbage bins. Long-dried laundry hung above the bed.

Something else came to his mind. Before he had left, Zenitsu had shaken his hand and whispered, "Something's up with Rei."

Those words echoed in his mind. He looked over the room again. What did it mean? Was it some kind of warning? Was it concern? Was it even worth taking seriously?

As his eyes scanned the room, Shinji noticed the glasses on the nightstand. They seemed familiar. He stepped forward, lifted the glasses, and looked at them. A paranoid thought came to him: these cracked lenses belonged to his father. He shook his head.

"Why are you here?"

Confused, Shinji turned around. An almost naked Rei stood before him. "I— I was…"

Her expression hardened. A mute frustration came to her face as she stepped forward.

Suddenly, a strange thought came to him: stammering won't help. He recalled something Inosuke had said: "If you can't think, do! It's better to do something than just stand around and think!"

So, he forced words from his throat. "You have a new key card!"

She didn't stop. As Shinji fumbled for the card in his pocket, she took the glasses from his hand. Partially bowing, he held out the new card. "Sorry about entering. No— nobody answered the doorbell. An— and—" she was on the other side of the bed, reverently placing the glasses in a case. She then stepped back toward him and took it.

"Thank you for the key card. Is there anything else?"

Several questions came to his mind. At the forefront was the question of health. Shinji looked around the room. "Um… is this where you live?"

"Yes. Is that all?"

"Yes. I mean, no!" He took in a deep breath, then released it. His chest felt tight, as if fingers had hooked between his ribs. It felt like the fingers were going to crush his insides in a fist. It was weight, a strange inward force that felt physical.

He opened his mouth. All that emerged was a choked grunt. Shinji wanted to ask why she had those glasses. She had been saved by his father. Who was his father? Who was she to him, and the other way around?

"Why do you pilot the Eva?" he spat out the words, barely aware of what he spoke.

Rei began dressing nonchalantly. With an embarrassed "oh", he turned away.

"Because I'm told to," she responded bluntly.

"Oh… I— I see."

Could he say any different? He wanted to say it was different, but, suddenly, it seemed like a lie. The fingers tightened their grip on his chest. It felt like he was being pulled down into the earth. His body felt heavy.

So, to avoid the pain, he turned off.

Rei didn't look at him. "Anything else?"

"No, I'll see you during the tests."

Tanjiro

"You might be worrying too much," Kanae said as they ran through the forest.

"I'm not!" Tanjiro yelled back. "Something's wrong."

"Inosuke's impulsive. He may have just run off somewhere."

"Maybe, but Zenitsu? They wouldn't both leave without saying something."

Most people thought that the two had simply travelled. Inosuke had gone off on impulse, while Zenitsu was travelling to cities for research on that book he was so insistent on writing. Most people weren't worried, but Tanjiro had never belonged to the group of 'most people'.

"I'm still gonna keep looking. Thank you for following me this far, but you can go back if you wa—"

With another step, Tanjiro crossed over.

The change in the air struck him like a whip. He gasped, lost his footing, and tumbled to the ground. He rolled across the dirt that lay at the edge of a lake.

His heart pounded. Kanae was gone. The sounds were different. The cicadas cried, but everything else was strange. Tanjiro covered his nose as his breath came in sputters. "What— where?"

The air was stale. It was wrong. It was like something had been left to rot, and he now lay somewhere unclean. The air was filled with blood and rust. And something else.

"Kanae?" he called out. The frightened rasp of his voice startled him.

He shut his eyes, planted his feet, put a hand to his sword's hilt, and forced himself to be still. He took a long, deep breath. Nothing felt familiar. He was somewhere distant, for an unknown reason, by an unknown cause.

He let the air flow through him.

This was no time to panic. He needed to be able to react quickly.

He opened his eyes and, for the first time, surveyed his surroundings. Across the water, a bizarre sight greeted him. There was a patch of glass, concrete, and metal amidst the forest. Impossibly huge buildings jutted out of the earth.

Uncertain of what else to do, he ran toward this new area.

Suddenly, he the air changed. He felt a strange feeling wash over him like a wave of freezing water. Something was behind him. Something powerful and unknown.

He turned and saw a speck of something on the horizon. He looked out. It seemed to be moving closer.

Inosuke

"Too slow!" Inosuke shouted as he and Zenitsu sprinted and leaped toward the surface.

"Why are you complaining, idiot?" Zenitsu cried after him. The Nerv people were prepared for this one! They saw the Angel coming before we felt it. We should've listened to Misato and watched what happened. It's stupid to just rush out when they'll take care of everything!"

Inosuke shouted back, "If you don't want to fight, stay here."

"As if I could! I can't go back to Nezuko and say I just let you die. You'll get yourself killed, and I'll look bad for letting you do something so stupid."

Finally, they made it to the surface, about two blocks from the Eva's exit. Suddenly, Inosuke felt it.

"Dodge! Dodge!" Inosuke screamed into the mic in his mask. "Something's coming!"

Down the street, Unit-01 rose.

Chaos erupted.

A building behind them erupted in a blinding shower of glass and debris. A beam of energy drove into Unit-01's core. The pilot's screams filled the mask. Unit-01 was lowered.

Then, as the glass and stone rained down toward them, they felt the air change for the second shot.

The warriors saw hell descend on them. They did not understand the abilities of this thing. They did not understand what they fought, or what it would do, or why it did as it did. All they knew was that this thing, this insatiable force, wanted to destroy them. It wanted destruction and bloodshed. They were simply an obstacle in the way.

In the face of such an impossible opponent, two teenagers armed with swords ran away from escape. "Run!" Inosuke sprinted to the side, unsheathing his blades.

"Like you need to tell me!" Zenitsu followed.

The Angel fired again. A terrible beam of light instantly bore through several buildings on its nearly instantaneous journey to them. Zenitsu drove onward, his body sparking as he sprinted away. Inosuke leaped toward the sky.

The ground beneath him erupted, sending him flying after Zenitsu. Glass and stone fell around them.

Inosuke scrambled onward, glass cutting him. "…first form!" The world went yellow as Zenitsu slashed above the boar-masked warrior, destroying a chunk of concrete that threatened to crush him. "Idiot!" Zenitsu grabbed his arm. "We're running!"

Misato screamed in his ear. "Get out of there! No… third shot inbound."

Each shot was like the heartbeat of the air itself. They felt the atmosphere around them shake as the third shot launched.

"Sun Breathing technique," a determined voice spoke amidst the madness. "Fake Rainbow."

Brilliant flashes of flame rose up near them. The Angel fired. The beam tore through several more buildings, aimed a hundred metres from Inosuke and Zenitsu. They turned toward the voice to see an afterimage of Tanjiro Kamado destroyed as the real one approached them. "Are you okay?"

Zenitsu sprinted to him. "You're late! Why did you take so much time?"

"Let's do this!" Inosuke yelled.

Over the comms, Misato said, "Escape. That's an order."

"No way," Inosuke looked toward the Angel. The air curled churned around him as the Angel prepared the fourth shot. "You're about to see how the Demon Slayer Corps did things."

Tanjiro raised his katana. "I guess we're fighting the big thing?"

"Damn right we are."

"Can't be helped, I guess."

Zenitsu complained about the unfairness of it all as Inosuke heard a dozen orders to retreat. Their voices seemed to be begging him not to fight like this. These hopeless odds, this impossible task, this absurd situation. He'd missed it.

Under the mask, Inosuke grinned.