Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. I decided to continue this story, so, here it is the twenty fourth chapter!
Nezuko silently bandaged Kaigaku. She had taken a heavy blow to the head on the previous mission. The boy hissed when she tightened the bandage too much, and instinctively, Nezuko backed off.
"Be more careful!" Kaigaku protested, glaring at the girl. Nezuko looked at him and, in response to the Thunder Breathing user's irritation, started laughing.
"What's so funny!?" Kaigaku demanded.
"S-Sorry," Nezuko said, covering her mouth with her right hand in an unsuccessful attempt to stop laughing. "You just reminded me of one of my younger brothers."
Kaigaku softened his expression somewhat and observed her for a few moments. "You never talk about them. What were they like?"
Nezuko smiled with a hint of sadness as she thought of them but began to speak. "I had four younger brothers. Takeo, Shigeru, Rokuta, and Hanako. They were, well, more responsible than they should have been for their age. When my father passed away, they had to grow up. I wish it hadn't been that way..." Her voice broke at that moment, and Nezuko chose to slightly change the subject. "Do you have siblings?"
Kaigaku shook his head. "I grew up in an orphanage. I never got to meet my family," he confessed. Nezuko nodded and lowered her gaze.
"But now I have all of you," he added.
Nezuko looked up. "Yes, of course," she said with a small smile. "We have each other," she murmured.
"Indeed," Kaigaku replied, making his best effort to ignore the warmth that Nezuko's words stirred in his chest. The girl finished bandaging his head and stepped back a bit.
"Is it still hurting?" she asked, looking at him with concern.
"Less," Kaigaku said in an attempt to reassure her.
Nezuko breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. "I hope they give us some respite before assigning the next mission," she commented, her displeasure evident in her voice.
Kaigaku sighed a little and fell into thought. "Where are Rui and Enmu?" he asked, serious. The two of them had left a while ago, and Kokushibo was somewhere in the house.
"They went to buy some food. I don't think they'll be gone for too long," Nezuko replied, offering a more sincere smile.
Kaigaku nodded and stretched a bit. "Great, I'm actually quite hungry. Aren't you?" he asked.
"A little," Nezuko admitted. She felt somewhat uplifted after that brief conversation with Kaigaku. She smiled a bit and followed her friend to the entrance of the house.
Genya listened without making a sound as Tamayo left the house. The tension in his shoulders eased a bit, but he didn't dare move yet. He kept his ears alert, listening as the demon woman moved away.
Only when he was sure she was far enough away did he dare to leave his room. He advanced slowly toward the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. He counted on Yushiro to be, as usual, locked in his room, doing whatever. So, when he heard someone clear their throat behind him, he couldn't help but jump in fright. He turned quickly and saw Yushiro. The demon watched him with a furrowed brow, looking unfriendly.
"H-Hi, Yushiro," Genya said. Despite his best efforts, his voice trembled and sounded higher than usual.
Yushiro crossed his arms over his chest and looked at him suspiciously. "Where were you going?"
Genya began to break out in a cold sweat and racked his brain for an answer that could dispel any suspicion. But the time it took to respond worked against him. Yushiro approached him, and Genya, realizing it was now or never, acted without thinking.
Yushiro cast his eyes to the ground when he heard it creak. Multiple branches sprouted from the ground and immobilized him quickly. Genya, who remained tense and frightened, began to back away toward the door.
"Let me go right now!" the demon yelled.
Genya swallowed hard and shook his head. He opened the door and ran away, ignoring Yushiro's shouts. He didn't look back at any point.
He stopped near a path to rest. He had been running for hours, covering as much distance as possible. He closed his eyes and let out a laughter filled with relief.
"I've finally done it!" Genya exclaimed mentally. He hadn't fully processed it yet, but freedom felt good. He continued laughing until he heard footsteps approaching. He wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes and turned to face the newcomers.
They were a group of six demon slayers who had already drawn their weapons and were preparing to attack. Genya couldn't help but growl and prepared for battle. Now that he had tasted freedom for the first time, he wasn't going to give it up.
Two of the demon slayers, a man and a woman, charged at him. Genya moved out of their path and used his blood technique. Two sharp branches emerged from the ground, one of them pierced the man's stomach. The woman, on the other hand, managed to narrowly dodge it to avoid the same fate, although the branch pierced her right shoulder. She screamed in pain, and the rest of the demon slayers sprang into action.
One of them came to her aid and cut the branch, freeing her. Meanwhile, the other three went after Genya. The demon grinned fiercely and didn't move from where he stood. He could see their expressions of hatred and anger from where he was. He readied his right hand and, when they were within reach, he moved slightly to the right and scratched the face of the nearest one, making sure to damage his eyes in the process. Another demon slayer being able to cut off his arm was just a minor inconvenience.
Genya jumped backward and assessed them seriously. He had to think about what to do next; attacking them in that manner might not have been the best idea, but he was only defending himself. It wasn't his fault at all.
"How dare you!?" the tallest of the humans snapped. He furrowed his brow, and his brown eyes were filled with hatred and resentment.
Genya sighed and shook his head. "You're the ones who started the attack, so..." The demon lunged at them, ready to kill. The demon slayers immediately defended themselves.
Genya defended himself as best as he could. Although he had managed to reduce the number of opponents, he was still at a disadvantage. The sooner he ended this battle, the better. He grabbed the feet of the demon slayers with small branches and, without any hesitation, hurled them backward, causing them to collide with several sharp branches he had prepared.
He only relaxed when he heard their heartbeats stop completely. He sighed a bit and walked away from there, leaving behind a gruesome scene.
Sanemi couldn't believe what Yushiro was telling him. It had to be a joke; his brother would never do such a thing. He clenched his teeth and couldn't take it any longer.
"STOP TALKING NONSENSE!" he snapped, beside himself. Yushiro's eyes widened in surprise at the outburst, but he quickly regained his composure and responded in kind.
"It's the truth!" he retorted. "Why would I make something like this up!?"
Sanemi grabbed him by the shirt and effortlessly lifted him. "I'm telling you, my little brother would never do such a thing!"
"Well, then, I'm afraid you didn't know him at all!" Yushiro shouted, scratching at the other demon's hands in an attempt to break free.
"Fighting won't help," Kagaya's calm and velvety voice intervened at that moment, interrupting both of them. "Sanemi, please, let go of Yushiro."
Sanemi reluctantly complied, released him, and Yushiro dropped to the ground. He disgustedly brushed his shirt off while glaring at the other demon.
"I'm going to find him," Sanemi declared, turning away. Kagaya cast him a look of pity and approached.
"You won't go alone," the Demon King told him. "Giyuu and Tengen will accompany you."
Sanemi clenched his teeth and nodded. He separated himself from the other two demons. Kagaya sighed as Yushiro stormed off, furious.
"We will find Genya, don't worry."
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