Muichiro

When I woke up, the first thing I felt was terror. It was such an awful nightmare… yet it felt so real. The second thing I noticed was pain, all over my body, and that I wasn't in my own bed. It's hard to breathe.

"Nii-san!"

My body feels like it's being stabbed by a thousand knives as I bolt upright in my futon. I don't even notice Kuina and Kanata by my bedside as Kuina begs me not to move and Kanata is calling for their mother. My head is spinning from pain and delirium, and I can't tell how far I've managed to move before I feel myself falling. But instead of hitting the ground, I am caught by a pair of soft hands. The adrenaline coursing through me suddenly stops, and I can see what is around me.

I am being held by Amane-san, I look up at her eyes… There is so much pain and sorrow in them… pain and sorrow for me. The memories start flooding back, and before I know it I'm wailing uncontrollably into her Kimono. I can feel myself almost choking as I try to speak between embarrassing sobs, but after however many minutes of this… Of crying like a baby while Amane holds me in front of her five-year-old daughters (which makes this way more embarrassing than it already is), I manage to get the words out:

"Nii-san! Where is Nii-san!?"

"He's here," she said as she ran her gentle fingers through my hair.

"Is… Is… he alright?"

She hugs me closer to her before she finally says with a heavy voice: "We don't know yet."

My last memory of him now hits me… He was bleeding badly… He was praying for me… He was only protecting me… He said that the Mu in my name was the 'In' as in 'infinity'… I definitely don't feel that way right now. Right now I'm just scared. "Please Buddha…" I can't even bring myself to finish my prayer. I just don't want Yuichiro to die.

Amane san continues to comfort me as I cry. Her touch is almost like Mother's was. But Mother is gone… Father is gone. My big brother is all I have left.

Yuichiro

I've been slipping in and out of consciousness for a while now, but now I think I'm awake. I'm in pain, but my left arm feels like a red-hot katana's been stabbed up the length of it.

It's not that Im strong enough to ignore the pain, I just can't move or cry out. There are two little girls with white hair sitting by my side, and a shady-looking character on the other end of the room. He's got on a black Haori with red cloud patterns and he's holding a sword… I don't trust this guy. It's probably best he thinks I'm still asleep.

Against my will, I fall asleep again, maybe for a few seconds before I come to again. Now I see that damn Amane woman walk in, and I'm both angry and relieved at the same time because she is holding my little brother, Muichiro.

Once again, I manage to keep still and quiet, not because of my strength, but due to my current lack of it. How long have I been lying here? Days? Weeks? And all that time I've been worried sick for this kid. Now I see him here, being held like a baby by that woman, despite how I treated him there is no anger in his eyes when he looks at me. Only love and worry for me.

"When we found you two," Amane tells him softly, "he was in even worse condition than you were. We managed to save his arm, but he lost so much blood from his other wounds, that..."

She didn't finish her sentence before my brother freed himself from her arms and climbed into my futon. He throws his arms around me and starts sobbing into my chest. God… Buddha Thank you. I've never known much about who is up there, but you've saved my brother. Muichiro is here, and he's just as kind as he's always been.

"Nii-san… Im so sorry! Im so sorry!"

I can feel my guilt well up in my chest. Mui, why are you apologizing to me? I'm the one who was bad.

"Nii-san" he continues between sobs and hiccups. "Please don't die! Please don't die!"

He buries his head into the crook of my shoulder. My chest is already soaked with his tears, and now it seems my shoulder is his next target. I almost want to laugh.

Finally, his crying dies down. He's still hugging me, but he isn't shaking anymore. "Nii-san please don't die" he repeats softly.

"He won't die" comes a voice from the other end of the room. It's the swordsman with the black and red cloud-pattern Haori. I almost forgot that he was there.

Amane and the girls (I now notice, there are four of them, and they're all identical.) turn to him.

"Kobe-san," she says addressing him.

"This one won't die" Kobe repeats, referring to me. "He has enough fire in him."

What the hell is this guy talking about?

"Amane-sama" he says bowing. "I am afraid I must depart. I will return before the end of the month. Please give Kagaya-sama my regards until then."

"Thank you for all you've done Kobe-san," Amane says bowing deeply.

Kobe puts on one of those Western-style hats (a fedora I think they're called) and he's gone.

"Amane-san," Muichiro asks, "Who was that? He said Nii-san will live right? So he'll live?"

"That was…" Amane begins to answer him "a former pillar in our organization. It was he who rescued the two of you that night when you were attacked."

"And…" Muichiro cries, clearly impatient that she's hesitating before answering his real question, "What about Nii-san!?"

Once again, I overestimate myself, and I make the stupid mistake of trying to answer him myself.

I want to sit up, grab him, apologize, and tell him that I'm gonna live and that I'll always be there to protect him but… Instead, my body starts convulsing, and I start coughing violently… I can't speak, I can feel my IV tear out of my arm, and blood begins to flood around me as Amane springs into action, trying to put pressure on it, trying to save my sorry life.

I can see Muichiro screaming. I can't hear what he is saying, but I've never seen such an expression on his face before. It's the last thing I see before I black out.

It's raining outside when I wake up again, and it's dark out? How much time has passed?

I can tell from how my wounds have healed… that I've been out for at least a few weeks. My IV has been taken out. I can move my arm fine about now. It's slow, but I'm able to get out of bed… I'm able to move.

My body still hurts, but moreover… my throat is so dry it feels like it's been charred. I hurriedly find my way outside and stand in front of the engawa with my head to the sky… I am in bliss. The rainwater feels like the sweetest nectar as it touches my tongue and rolls down my throat. Im not sure how long I've stood there before I notice the sound of wood striking against wood around the corner and the sound of my little brother's grunts.

As fast as I can, I stumble through the mud, he's just around the corner! I want to see him!

But my heart drops when I do. Muichiro is there, he's holding a wooden sword in his hand. His body is covered in welts and bruises, old and new, exposed as his mint and turquoise yukata is unfurled above his waist. He stops attacking the wooden dummy only to catch his pained breath and his eyes… His eyes are what hits me the hardest. There is so much rage in them!

I can't believe this is Muichiro. My brother's never even glared at anyone before (and heaven knows I would have deserved it) but now his mint eyes are wild with unfocused, boiling anger.

My heart stops after I see what happens next. Muichiro falls to his knees, and he's coughing like he's got whooping cough until phlegm and blood come out.

I've seen all I can take. "Muichiro! That's enough!"

As for what happens next, well… I should have seen it coming. As you might have guessed by now, my little brother is the biggest crybaby in the world.

–OOF! I should have definitely seen this coming. He's put on some muscle since I've been out, and I've gotten a lot lighter, so I fall to the ground and cry out in pain when he tackles me with a hug.

"N- Nii-san! Are you alright!?" He says after he backs off. Against my own will I smile up at him because his face is back to the way I remember it. He's back to his old self. The rage that was in his eyes is gone as if it was never there at all.

The rain has stopped, and his face lights up like the sun breaking through the clouds when he sees my smile. I can hear that laugh of his…

Thank the heavens.

Notes: Thank you to anyone who has read this far. This is my first time writing a story in the third person, so please lemme know what you think. I am still working on my other demon slayer AU, but after watching this video I had to write this one. /ahtnvXEVaEU