"DIE, BITCH!"
Sanemi roared in fury as he pulled at the thick rope that bound the demon which he and Tsukumo had caught, pulling it up until it's kicking and screaming from where it's hanging from the top of the branch. Daylight came and the sunrays peeked through, promptly disintegrating the demon into ash.
It's been months since they ran away together. It's been months since they ran away and wandered across the lands with only each other for support. The rage in his heart had not subsided. The grief he felt had not dulled one single bit. All he ever knows is violence and that was how he lashed out. He would seek out every single demon he could find and kill them off.
They had learnt a little more about demons shortly after they ran away together. Demons only become demons if a demon turns a human into one. That meant that some bastard demon had somehow turned his mother into a demon that led to that tragedy. Upon knowing this, he set off to hunt down every single demon in existence. Tsukumo came with him no matter how much he brushed her off and yelled at her to go away. He had lost too much and too many and he will be damned if he lost his only friend too. He doesn't want to lose her as well because he cannot protect her. He couldn't protect his mother or his siblings and he doesn't want to feel that same way again.
Tsukumo may be an airhead but she can be equally stubborn. She still sticks with him no matter what he did to try and shake her off. Even when he wanted to sneak off in the dead of the night to finally be rid of her she would somehow know immediately and drag him back. So, he begrudgingly accepted the fact that he will be stuck with her for the foreseeable future.
He had lost too many people he cared about. This time, he swore he will protect her. He will protect her from those bastard demons.
Demons have unlimited stamina and any wounds they suffered healed at an abnormally fast rate. The only thing he knows that can kill them is exposure to sunlight so that's what he did. He armed himself with a multitude of weapons. He soon found out that his blood is special and demons smelling or drinking it can make them intoxicated. So, he went demon hunting at night, using his blood to lure and capture demons, string them up such that they cannot escape or move, and then hang them up somewhere high and exposed until the sun rose again to reduce the demons to ash.
Tsukumo may not have the same strength he does but she has a quick-witted brain. She's often the one strategising and cooking up plans to capture the next demon or predict where they would strike next based on whatever information they had found out from the local populace. She still spaces out a lot as usual, especially when she's thinking hard about how to go about capturing their next demon but she will always have a plan somehow. That's how they work as a duo. She thinks of the plan, he takes care of all the hard labour.
They had never failed yet.
"We really need a better way to kill demons other than luring and incapacitating them with your blood." She chided as she helped to wrap a bandage around the gash on his right arm, where she made a cut with a knife to drain some blood out of him. She doesn't agree to his methods but acknowledged it is the only effective one they know how to properly subjugate a demon. So, with reluctance, she helped to draw blood out of him and used it as weapons.
"I don't fucking care. As long as those demons are dead you can take all my blood out for all I care."
"Stop it, Sa-kun." She gently knocked her knuckles against the side of his head. He didn't even feel that tap. "There's already too many scars on your body. There has to be a better way."
"You should just leave me alone. Find a place where you can live the rest of your life in peace. Stop following me around, airhead. Hunting demons is a dangerous job."
"Somebody has to keep an eye on your impulsive self." She stated and wrapped the bandage around his right arm with a little more force than necessary to emphasise her point. "Besides, I'm the safest when I'm with you and you need my help to capture demons. Heaven knows how little you actually used your brain. Someone has to make up for that deficit."
He glared at her for that remark. She returned it with that usual cheery smile of hers and his anger towards her dissipated for no fucking reason upon spotting that smile.
"Whatever. Not my fault if you die on me."
"Yup, not your fault. All mine." She chirped back as she kept the medical supplies she had helped scavenge along their journey. "That said, you should go and catch some sleep. You will have those blood bombs when you wake up."
He doesn't know how she does it, but Tsukumo has a way of storing his blood in tiny wooden balls that will fall apart when forcefully thrown, splattering his blood everywhere. It is the perfect way to safely incapacitate demons from afar as long as his throw is accurate. At the very least it is a better way than his method of letting himself bleed on purpose in front of the demons by cutting himself with a knife or letting them cut him. The wooden capsules can even be reused if they are not damaged from the throw. Sometimes he really wondered where she learnt how to carve wooden objects from.
He quickly ate the food Tsukumo had saved up for him and lay back down on the floor to catch some sleep. There are more demons to hunt tonight and he needs his full strength. He can count on Tsukumo with doing reconnaissance work and making the blood bombs while he's out like a light.
He didn't fucking know that something like a Demon Slaying Corps were a thing, but he didn't question his good luck. He saw how that Demon Slayer took on the demons that he was supposed to hunt like they were nothing. He needs to learn what he knew.
He approached that Demon Slayer without hesitation. That was how he got to know Kumeno Masachika, the person who introduced him to the Corps.
"What do you mean I'm not going?!"
"Exactly like I said, airhead! It's fucking dangerous!"
Currently, he is having a heated argument with the airhead. She cannot follow him. His path is one of suicidal devotion to eradicating all demons from the face of earth. A kind person like her shouldn't follow after him because she will die if she did. He doesn't want to lose anybody else anymore. He doesn't want to lose her too.
"Go settle down somewhere! Go marry a nice guy and have kids! Stop following a scoundrel like me! You can't even fucking kill a demon on your own!"
"And you can?!" She challenged him, her long black hair which she usually tied up is now hanging freely past her shoulders because she didn't have the time to tie it up when he woke her up to tell her the news. "You are too stupid to even think of a plan! Learning how to use a sword or not won't change that!"
"You-!"
"I'm leaving with you, that's final. Someone needs to keep an eye on you, Sa-kun, you are always so reckless. Geez, taking care of you is like taking care of a kid."
"You better fucking LEAVE!" He roared as he grabbed her wrist before she could turn around to pack up her things to follow him. "Stop following after me! You will fucking die!"
"And I won't die if I don't follow you?" She replied with a very unimpressed look on her face. "Demons are everywhere, Sa-kun. Assuming I did what you said, settle down somewhere far away, force myself to marry a man that I don't love and have kids, what makes you so sure that a demon wouldn't appear in wherever I chose to settle down in? Answer me, Sa-kun."
He couldn't get a word out. He's speechless, because she has a point.
"And unhand me, Sa-kun. You are starting to hurt me."
He immediately let her go when she said that, watching a little in guilt as she shook her wrist in pain and saw the marks around it when he grabbed onto her too hard.
"Sorry for that, Kumeno-san." Tsukumo politely bowed and apologised to Kumeno, who was silently watching their interactions at a corner of the room they were staying at. "I will quickly pack up and then we can be on our way."
"Take your time. I'm in no real hurry." Kumeno replied goodnaturedly.
And so, Sanemi can only helplessly watch as Tsukumo quickly packs up all their belongings with that usual cheery smile on her face. She's putting herself headfirst into danger again, all because of him. If she dies it will be all his fault. If she dies too he isn't sure if he could take it.
"Sa-kun?" Tsukumo called after him when he lagged behind a little because he was lost in his thoughts. "Are you o- WAH!"
Like always, he managed to grab hold of her arm in time before she could trip and fall. This happens at least a few times everyday. That airhead could practically trip over anything, even her own two feet.
"Watch your damn feet, airhead."
"Aww, Sa-kun! You do-"
"I don't."
He stomped past her. Whether it's in annoyance or fury or another feeling entirely, he isn't sure.
"Sa-kun! Wait up! Wah!"
He facepalmed when she nearly bumped into a tree this time. How is she going to learn how to slay demons with a sword if she's always this clumsy? She would probably sooner cut herself up somehow before she could even learn how to properly wield a blade.
"Stop thinking while you're walking." He hissed out and grabbed onto her wrist, pulling her along with him so that she will no longer bump into anything. Thinking too much is why she's always tripping over nothing or bumping into something. She thinks too much and doesn't pay attention to her surroundings when she's thinking. Her head is always in the clouds somehow unless he pulled her out of it.
"Hey hey! Slow down!" She called out as she tried to match his walking speed. They caught up with Kumeno, who had patiently waited for them to catch up to him along the path once he realised the two of them had started to lag behind.
"You are too damn slow."
"You need to learn how to slow down! And is this a way to treat a lady?!"
"Bah. You are no lady. Don't act like one with how much of an airhead you are."
"Sa-kun!"
He excels in swordsmanship. He's a natural at it. His teacher taught him the Breath of Wind and the Breath Style suits him right down to his very bone. He learnt all nine forms in the blink of an eye.
Tsukumo, on the other hand, did not have it as easy as him.
"Eh, is it swinging the sword this way from left to right, or was it-"
Sanemi simply demonstrated the Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm for her once more. He sweeps his sword horizontally from left to right and creates multiple cyclones of slashes.
"Oh! So that's how it's done! Thanks, Sa-kun!"
"If you stop spacing out all the time you would have already gotten it down." He snarled at her. Being a Demon Slayer is obviously not for her. She took so long to adjust herself to be able to even hold a sword properly. She doesn't have much arm strength as compared to him. There's no way those slender arms are going to cut any demon's neck off.
He really hopes that this would dissuade her from becoming a Demon Slayer. There's a ton of other things that she could do than to throw her life away like this. He is sure that if he asked there would be a vacancy or two in the Butterfly Estate where she could help to tend to the injured. It will be safe for her there. Safe from the frontlines, safe from all the fighting, safe from their war with demons.
She looked down with a look of sadness when he said those words and he felt his heart tightening a little when he saw that expression on her face. That look doesn't suit her face at all. The Tsukumo he knows is always smiling and happy.
But for her sake, he has to do this. He will drive her away from his side by any means necessary. He only has Genya and her left in this huge and unforgiving world. He absolutely cannot lose either of them.
"Give it up, airhead. You can't do this. You can never be a Demon Slayer." He forced himself to spat those hurtful words and steeled himself to not take it back when he saw her flinch at his words, her grip on the metal practice blade tightening until her hands were white. He could not bear to watch it any longer, so he turned around and left, not wanting her to pick up how he really felt.
She shouldn't be here. She will never be ready and be able to face a real demon in combat. She won't need to do this because he's here. He is grateful for having her by his side all this time but she had already done enough for him. She doesn't need to do anymore. He will slay every demon in existence for both their sakes.
For her, Genya, and him. He will slay every demon in existence so that they wouldn't need to do it, so that they wouldn't need to become a Demon Slayer. He will erase every single demon out of this world so that the two of them can live their lives in peace. For them, he will kill the bastard Muzan.
He will never let a single demon harm his friend and his brother ever again.
He took the Final Selection Exams. He passed with flying colours, slaying the greatest number of demons within the batch of candidates he entered the selection with. He fully expected Tsukumo to have given up by the time he returned.
She's still there, practicing her swordsmanship and the Breath of Wind.
"Sa-kun! You are back!"
"Why the fuck are you still here?" He snapped at her in uncontrolled rage. He easily spotted how her previously smooth hands are now sporting blisters and calluses from practicing with the sword day in and day out. It shouldn't be there. Her hands should remain smooth and unblemished as how he first remembered them to be. She is not fit for this line of work.
"Sa-kun." She frowned at his use of language with her hands on her hips. Her beautiful face squeezed a little from the frown she is giving him. Her long silky hair is growing longer and she no longer ties them up, letting them fall freely. How that doesn't get in her way when she swings the sword eludes him but he doesn't care about that right now.
He grabbed onto her wrist and dragged her off, ignoring her cries of protests.
"Sa-kun! SA-KUN! LET ME GO! Are you even listening to me?! Sa-kun!"
"Go work in the Butterfly Estate. Go cook meals in the kitchen or wash the laundry or whatever. Just don't fucking become a Demon Slayer because you will fucking die. You cannot become a Demon Slayer. Not with the way you swing your sword."
"That's why I'm practicing! Let me go! You are really starting to hurt me!"
She tried to free herself from his grip but this time he is not going to let go. He could not possibly see her sending herself to her own death.
He let out a brief cry and released his hand on instinct when he felt a sharp stab of pain. He looked at his hand which was holding onto her wrist, her teeth marks easily visible and her bite actually drew a little blood.
"You bit me?!"
"I told you that you were hurting me!" She yelled back at him, her eyes a little wet. It made him extremely uncomfortable to see her like this, to see her on the verge of tears but this is necessary.
He doesn't want to see her die. He will do anything to not let her die.
"I'd rather I'd hurt you than to see you become a Demon Slayer." He gritted out. "Look at you! Look at your forms! How many times had sensei and I taught and corrected you?! Your breaths are weak! Your slashes are weak! You cannot even fucking cut a demon's neck even if they offered it up to you! You have no fucking talent in this so don't even bother to fucking try! JUST GIVE IT UP! Go settle down somewhere far from here and never come back! I don't want to see your fucking face again so LEAVE! Leave me alone and leave the Corps! I don't fucking need you anymore so get the hell out of here!"
He could tell that his words had really hurt her from how she is looking at him. A single lone tear slid down her cheek. Another followed, and then it was followed by another and her tears started to flow down uncontrollably.
"Y-You m-mean it? A-All of it?"
No. He cannot imagine a day without her annoying chattering bugging him. He cannot imagine a single day passing by without him pulling out of her thoughts when she is beginning to space out again, her head lost in the clouds as usual. Without him realising it, the girl which he met at the dark alley behind the brothel had somehow occupied an important place in his bitter heart.
But he doesn't want her to die. He doesn't want to see her die right in front of him. He doesn't want to subject her to any form of danger and doesn't want to feel that same sense of hopelessness ever again. He doesn't want to be in the position where he could do nothing but watch as those accursed demons take away every single person who he cares about. If keeping her safe means sending her far away from him and never seeing her again, then so be it.
So, he steeled his heart and let his words flow out like a breeze of cold merciless wind.
"Yes. I meant every single fucking thing I said."
She slapped him. He was taken aback by her action and did not know how to react, his head still turned to a side from the force of her slap. He could hear her quiet sobs and her hitched breaths. He could even smell the scent of her tears.
He slowly turned his head back to face her. His eyes met his. Her eyes told him everything that she is feeling at this moment. She bit on her lower lips and spun around on her heels before marching off. He watched until she disappeared out of his sights.
His hand slowly went up to touch the cheek which she had slapped. It still stings, the searing kind of pain, but it is not the physical pain that really made him feel so conflicted. He's used to that.
It's the one within his chest. That contortion he felt where his heart is. For the first time in his life since he killed his mother and lost his siblings, he let a single lone tear slide down his cheek as well.
He soon rubbed it off with the back of his hand. This is for the better. Tsukumo deserves better than to chase after a useless man like him who only knows how to use violence to solve his problems.
He turned around and walked in the other direction. He would probably never see Tsukumo again, but it is for the better.
This is for the best.
He doesn't want to dwell on what he had done to her, so he threw himself into missions after missions with Kumeno, often running around from one place to the next in order to slay the next demon the Kasugai Crows pointed them to. He was away for more than half a year when he finally returned to the mountain where he was trained in the Breath of Wind by his teacher. His first instinct was to go and find Tsukumo, only to be reminded by the fact that he was the one who chased her away.
That really felt like another tight slap to his face.
He shook the thoughts out of his head. He's here for only one reason. He's here to help HQ deliver the message his teacher needs to deliver to HQ. What information the message has is important so a competent Demon Slayer has to go do it. He volunteered even before he could think through, the only thing that occupied his mind was her when he volunteered for the task.
It's stupid. She would have already left. There's no point in doing this.
"Sensei." He greeted his teacher when he finally found him training another new batch of recruits. His teacher is an aged man with a stern demeanour and does not tolerate tardiness. His teacher passed to him an envelope which Sanemi safely put into his uniform. He said his farewells to the man who equipped him with the knowledge and gave him the tools to achieve the power to slay demons. He was about to leave when his teacher called out to him.
"Shinazugawa. Fujimura became a Demon Slayer as well, she passed the recent Final Selections. She left here not long ago. You should be able to find her in the nearest village east of here if you set off now."
Those words froze him in his tracks. That airhead did what now?
"I… I see." Was all he could say when he could finally get his mind back into working order. "Thank you for informing me about this, sensei."
He ran off as fast as he could. His teacher did not stop him nor did he say another word and it's not like Sanemi could hold himself back to listen. He needs answers. He needs to stop Tsukumo from going down his path. He will do everything he can to get her to fucking listen and quit.
He cannot lose her.
He cannot let her die.
He found her easily enough. The white haori she wore over her Demon Slayer uniform stood out like a sore thumb among the crowd.
"Tsukumo!"
His voice caught her attention as she spun around on her feet. A Kasugai Crow perched itself on her shoulder, head tilted in curiosity. Her facial expression is one of surprise as well.
"S-Sa-kun? Why are you-"
He didn't give her the time to say another word. He grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her along with him again, ignoring her cries to let her go until they are both out of earshot and out of sight in the nearby forest surrounding the village.
"Why did you become a Demon Slayer?!" He hissed as he cornered her against the trunk of a huge tree, his fist punching into the tree bark next to where her head is.
"Uh, to slay demons?"
"I TOLD you to fucking get out of the Corps!" He shouted, his anger quickly rising. "You think this is a game?! You think this is like before?! It's a lot more dangerous, you fucking airhead! You can fucking DIE! I don't know how you even passed the Final Selections when you can't even swing a sword properly but quit while you're ahead or I'll. MAKE. YOU!"
"Then make me." She took a step forward and looked up at him with a determined look in her eyes. He narrowed his eyes at her. Is this a challenge?
If it means getting her out of here, he will take it.
He took a few steps back and placed his hand on the handle of his blade, getting into a stance. It's only then that he realised that she didn't carry a sword on her at all.
What she's holding in her hands is not a fucking Nichirin Blade. It is a fucking umbrella. A white umbrella. The oil-paper umbrella that people use to shield them from the sun and rain and sometimes still managed to fail at that one job it is created for.
"Are you fucking kidding me? An umbrella?"
"No, I'm not." Tsukumo replied with that usual cheery smile as she planted her umbrella tip down on the ground, her right hand holding onto its handle. "Come, Sa-kun, it's rude to keep a lady waiting. I have places to be and demons to slay too, you know?"
He didn't bother to make a single reply as he dashed at her with his sword drawn, not intending to go easy on her at all because if a violent smackdown is what is needed to chase her out of the Corps, for her to lead the happy life she deserves, then it is what he is going to do.
First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter
Sanemi dashed forward in a cyclone of slashes, intending to rip the stupid umbrella into shreds.
Tsukumo did not panic nor did she look bothered at how fast he was charging at her. She simply picked up her umbrella in an unhurried manner before holding her umbrella with both hands in a stance as though she is wielding a spear. She met his charge by dashing forward as well.
And then to his surprise, she accurately redirected his sword away from her with just a single movement when the length of her umbrella came into contact with the top of his blade, causing him to lose his balance. She sidestepped away from him and nearly nicked him with the pointed tip of her umbrella. He barely managed to dodge it.
He blinked in bafflement as he stared at her, still not really registering what the hell was going on. His grip on his blade tightened and it was only when she spoke did he pull his thoughts back into reality once more.
"First Form: Gathering Clouds." She spoke out with pride. "Not bad, eh?"
"Don't get cocky with me just because you blocked one single strike." He bit out angrily as he swept onwards and slashed at her with the Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind. Tsukumo countered his blows with her own, parrying away each of his slash with pinpoint accuracy as she swung her umbrella-spear thing. He changed to his Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree as he swung his blade in circular movements to redirect her strikes and she reacted accordingly, striking at him with rapid thrusts of her umbrella and forcing him to abort completing his Third Form at all.
What the hell was that?
The way she countered and reacted to his every blow was like she had seen through his every move. She did it with so much ease and grace and not even a single movement was wasted on her part. It's like she analysed and broke down his every move down to the bone and created her counters for it.
"You… created a whole new Breath Style and Forms, just to counter the Breath of Wind?"
"Yup!" She clapped her hands happily with that same smile on it. "Fun, right? That was my Second Form: Sea of Clouds and Third Form: Silver Lining Within the Clouds. They were awesome, right?"
"Fun? YOU THINK THIS IS A FUCKING GAME?!" He roared in fury. "WHAT USE DO YOU HAVE OF A BREATH STYLE THAT SPECIFICALLY COUNTERS MINE?! DEMONS DON'T FUCKING USE THE BREATH OF WIND! COUNTERING MY MOVES WON'T HELP YOU FUCKING SURVIVE OUT THERE AGAINST THOSE MONSTERS! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"
"Thinking on how to get stronger. Thinking on how to continue to stay by your side. Thinking on how to not be a burden to you and getting strong enough to stand alongside you as your equal. You are more short-sighted than I thought if you think countering your every form is what my Breath of Cloud is capable of."
He lost himself in his rage and lunged at her again, this time, using the Fifth Form: Cold Mountain Wind. He jumped up and strikes at her from above while unleashing a multitude of arched slashes. She avoided his slashes by correctly predicting where his blade would pass through and stood in the blind spots where the eye of the cyclones were and held her umbrella up, finally opening it. The pattern of clouds in the skies painted on the umbrella filled his vision as she spun the umbrella while jamming it right in his face, blocking his view of her. Just this one move effectively halted his attack by forcing him to evade her thrusts lest he wanted to get skewered by the pointed tip of her spear and also stopped him by blocking his vision of her.
He flipped in midair to avoid getting stabbed by the pointed metal end of her umbrella and swept his sword horizontally to create multiple cyclones of slashes to deflect her attacks. His Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm got deflected instead when she redirected all of his attacks with circular swings of her umbrella, now closed. Again, she had somehow read his attacks with pinpoint accuracy and reacted accordingly to the corresponding Form she invented that could counter his. Fighting her like this is frustrating. No matter how much strength he puts behind his strikes it felt like he was hitting nothing. Her umbrella's movements somehow sucked all power out of his blade the moment they made contact.
"Fifth Form: Clouded Vision. Fourth Form: Swirling Clouds." She stated. "Shall we continue with this dance so that I can show off to you my remaining four forms while you show mine yours?"
Sanemi let out a furious shout as he unleashed a vertical sideway slash that tore the ground up with it. His Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist was gently redirected when the tip of her umbrella came into contact with his sword and Tsukumo somehow guided the path of his blade astray with circular motions. Tried as he might, he could not pull his sword away from the path she was guiding it, like his sword had somehow magically stuck itself onto her umbrella and allowed her to do whatever she wanted to do with his sword's trajectory. Fighting her feels like trying to slash at a large wall of cotton. He simply doesn't feel anything and any power he puts behind his strikes just got absorbed or sucked away.
"Sixth Form: Cloudless Morning."
Sanemi didn't bother to reply. The moment he managed to pull his sword away from her umbrella he leapt up again to use his Seventh Form: Gale- Sudden Gusts. The swings of his blades managed to generate blasts of winds to shred everything in their path.
Tsukumo stood at her spot and opened her umbrella, holding it up and leapt upwards, avoiding the blasts of wind he sent her way and floated off to safety by letting her umbrella catch the winds he generated. She closed her umbrella as she dove down from the air, the tip of her umbrella pointing downwards as she held it with both hands. He was forced to dodge when she cracked the ground he was standing at in one powerful thrust.
"Seventh Form: Stormy Afternoon."
Sanemi unleashed a more powerful torrent of wind with his Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash and created a circular torrent around him with cutting power strong enough to rip everything in its path. He saw Tsukumo narrowing her eyes in concentration and slashed her umbrella downwards in a vertical motion at a speed so fast it produced afterimages. She accurately predicted the path of his blade as her umbrella hit it and pinned it down onto the ground. He quickly drew his blade out from that deadlock and did a backflip into the air, positioning himself over her and performed the Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon, releasing his most powerful circular gusts of wind at her.
Tsukumo quickly pointed her umbrella upwards and opened it partially, making her umbrella look like a cone. She leapt upwards towards him, her umbrella spinning at such a high speed that it looked like a massive drill coming straight at him.
Her umbrella punctured through the spot where his winds didn't blow, where she knew for sure his winds could not blow. She had obviously read him like an opened book and analysed every single Form of the Breath of Wind their teacher taught them and fully exploited every single weakness found in it. He managed to twist his body in midair at the last second to avoid the massive umbrella drill gunning for him and landed on the ground in a crouch. He was about to keep going when he found a thin blade pressing onto his throat.
"I win."
Her voice sounded out from behind him as he simply stood rooted at his spot in disbelief. She put down the blade she had held to his throat and it was then he realised that this is a real Nichirin Blade she is holding. It was hidden inside her umbrella's shaft all along until she decided to finally reveal it by twisting it at its handle to pull it out. Sending that powerful drill of an umbrella at him had been a ruse. It was a smokescreen to distract him from the true killing move, her drawing her Nichirin Blade out and skewering his neck when he least expected it.
He watched as she went to pick up the discarded top half of the umbrella. She sheathed her hidden Nichirin Blade back into the shaft of the umbrella with another twist of her hands, locking it back into place. Her white umbrella remained untainted as she opened it up to block the sunlight shining down at her. She rested her umbrella on her shoulder and turned around to look at him with that same smile still on her face.
"Eighth Form: Cloudy Evening. Ninth Form: Night of Red Clouds. What do you think?"
"Tch." He scoffed with a click of his tongue and sheathed his blade back into its sheath. She had won fair and square, that he cannot deny, but his point still stands.
"Inventing Forms to specifically counter the Forms of my Breath of Wind will not get you anywhere against demons."
"That's true." She laughed. "A pity that you did not pick up the true purpose in which the Forms of my Breath of Cloud is created for. You really are reckless, eh, Sa-kun? Always charging in headfirst like that like your body is made of steel. No wonder you've gotten so many more scars on your body in the few months I didn't see you. Geez, this is why I said someone needs to keep an eye on you."
She walked up to him in small steps and he found that he cannot tear his eyes away from her. Something about how she carried herself simply mesmerised him. Something about the way she walks and how her hips sway with each motion just catches his attention. Her every gesture, her every move, her every word, he just could not not pay attention to her. She had grown a lot more beautiful in the months that he didn't see her. The Demon Slayer uniform that she is now allowed to wear like he does just fits her and accentuates her beauty somehow.
She reached his side and this time, she's the one who grabbed onto his wrist and led him along.
"Unsheath your sword, Sa-kun. Use the First Form."
"The fuck you want?"
"Just do it on let's say… the huge boulder right in front of us." She said as she closed her umbrella and looked at him expectantly. She is already holding her umbrella in the stance that he saw her use her First Form in. He gave a growl of annoyance but did what she told him to do anyway.
First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter
At the very same time he dashed forward using the First Form she did the same. This time, they are not fighting each other. They are both aiming at the same target. She forcefully swung her umbrella downwards at where the blind spot of his First Form would be before following up with a powerful thrust of the pointed tip of her umbrella, effectively covering up any weakness his First Form might have.
The boulder didn't simply shatter or was ripped apart like how it was supposed to be under normal circumstances. It got obliterated in an instant, erased from existence. Sanemi could only stare at the empty spot as his eyes widened, finally realising what Tsukumo had really created with her Breath of Cloud.
"You had always been too quick to anger and didn't use your head enough, Sa-kun. You had always been too reckless and always needed me to calm you down or to even come up with a decent plan. Every single Form of every single Breath Style has a weakness, your Breath of Wind is no different and so is my Breath of Cloud. At the suicidal rate you are going about hunting demons, one day, you will find a demon that you cannot kill with brute strength alone. One day, you will find that your body's toughness will not be enough to take whatever the demon inflicted on you. One day, you will find a demon that can easily exploit the blind spots and weaknesses found in the Forms of your Breath of Wind. One day, you will find yourself hopelessly outclassed and outmatched when a demon can easily attack you where your winds don't blow. The eye of the cyclone is always where it is the calmest, you know this better than I do. That's the second reason I created the Breath of Cloud. The first reason is because the forceful and violent way of fighting with the Breath of Wind simply doesn't suit me. I have to create a whole new Breath Style on my own through what I know about the Breath of Wind. That's the reason why I took so long."
He didn't say anything. He could not find anything to say but to tighten his grip over the handle of his blade.
"You say that my head is always in the clouds. It's true, you know? My thoughts always wander and I am always daydreaming about something. I just can't help it, that's just who I am." She gave a light laugh and walked up to stand beside him, opening up her umbrella once more to shield them both from the scorching sun rays. "But I always had you by my side to pull me out of it. If I'm the cloud then you are my wind that carries me through the skies. If you aren't there I won't be able to move. With you around I can drift across the skies to wherever you want to bring me to. I know I was weak, Sa-kun. I know my weaknesses better than anyone, but I won't be a burden to you. Bring me along. You saw how well my First Form complemented yours and it will be the same for the rest of your Forms. My Breath of Cloud has nine different Forms, just like your Breath of Wind. That wasn't a coincidence. I purposely made it that way because I want to continue standing beside you like how we had always done since we first met."
"But you will fucking die." He spat, still holding onto his blade tightly, still looking downwards at the ground and not able to bring himself to look at her face. "If you choose to continue to follow me you will fucking die no matter how strong you are because I won't be enough to protect you. I am someone who will hunt the Upper Moons down and they are fucking demons who can easily kill a Pillar. I can't protect you, airhead."
"I'm not a weak woman who needs your protection. Open your eyes and accept reality for what it is, Shinazugawa Sanemi. I no longer need your protection. I can now fight alongside you as your equal instead of cooking up half-baked plans in a small wooden room. Why? Do you need me to challenge a Pillar who uses another type of Breath Style to prove my strength? To show you that my Breath of Cloud is something to be reckoned with and not just created with the sole intention to counter and complement your Breath of Wind? Is that what I really need to do before I can convince you?"
"It's not that!" He screamed. "If I lose you too I-! I cannot lose you too! I lost Mum! I lost Shuya, Hiroshi, Koto, Teiko and Sumi! I only have you and Genya left! The two of you should be away from all the battles that we are waging against demons! Living your lives safe and sound and be happy! Not here with ME! The only thing I ever know is violence because it is the only thing that I know to solve my problems and you will eventually die if you follow after me! The only thing I can bring to others is fear and sadness and I don't want to bring that to you too like how I brought it to Genya! So leave! Leave and-"
He never completed what he wanted to say because he got slapped again.
"Done? Are you finally done, Sanemi?" Tsukumo spoke in a cold voice. "Done with your self-loathing? What good would me leaving you bring to the both of us? Me, happy? You think I will be happy if I leave your side? When you asked me to run away together I did it without a second thought and you think I will leave you here of all places? Now of all times? Fighting our battles alone? If that is what you think then we are going to have more than just a few words, Sa-kun. If you think making me live far away from the frontlines and away from you is going to make me live a happy life then I will tell you right now that you are wrong. Safe, yes, but not happy, because I will be alone once more like how I've been living my life before I met you. You were the wind that brought along the change into my life and that still hasn't changed. You are a kind and strong man, Sa-kun, but sheltering the people that you care about and putting them away from the danger isn't going to help anyone. The danger is everywhere, infesting our lands. You cannot hope to protect them forever all on your own. What you should do is to teach them how to protect themselves. Stop being so naive. Stop doing everything alone. You still have me. We still have each other."
She slowly wrapped her arms around him, letting her white umbrella drop onto the ground.
"Don't push me away, Sa-kun. That hurts me more than anything in this world. You have me and Genya, but I only have you. Without you as my wind, I am simply a cloud that could not even drift across the skies. Get that into your head you idiot. It's embarrassing enough for a woman to say something like this to a man out loud so get it into your head already. I'm a shy person and I don't want to repeat myself. Don't make me spell it out word for word or this time I will slap you senseless."
He hacked out a dry laugh. He began to chuckle softly before laughing uncontrollably like a madman. His blade fell and landed on the ground with a dull clank as he continued to laugh through his tears, half sobbing and laughing all at the same time.
"There, there." He felt her hands patting his back as she continued to hug him. "Feel better?"
He nodded, burying his head into her shoulder. Her long silky hair smelt really nice today.
"Sa-kun?"
"What?"
"Can I have a hug too?"
Slowly and hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, closing his eyes and making a silent vow to himself.
This time, he will not push her away. Never again.
This time, he will protect her with whatever it takes.