Their mouths and eyes were wide open, breaths leaving them in quick pants, staring at the two peculiar objects poking out from the jagged edge necks that had been Yoriichi and Ayane Type Zero. The objects took form of a sword and pair of claws. Yet it still looked to have held firm even among its tattered and lifeless confines. Kagami, Tanjiro, Kotetsu, and Saena did not move for a long time, they only held each other tightly as they beheld the historic weapons of old.
Kotetsu's mask lit up. "Mr. Tanjiro! Miss Kagami! You were at a loss because you couldn't get new swords forged, right? I'm thinking it would be all right if you took these weapons!" He suggested it loudly but also anxiously.
Beet red, Tanjiro profusely shook his head, protesting, "No, no! That wouldn't be right!"
"The steel they used in the Sengoku Period is the best quality ever!"
"No, no, I couldn't!"
"But we only found it because you came here!"
"That's because it already had a battle history stored inside, and I just happened to be there when it broke! So no!"
Tanjiro and Kotetsu went back and forth, each finding an excuse to either grab or not grab the weapons. Kagami and Saena stared at their strange acrobats, both boys pulling, tugging, and pushing each other closer and closer to the headless dolls. The girls, though just as excited as the boys were, breezed right past them and toward Ayane Type Zero. The boys gasped at their non-hesitance approach toward such sacred relics but did the same not a moment after.
With the sheathed sword in Tanjiro's grip, both boys panting in anticipation, and Kagami's hand reaching inside the doll's neck, both unsheathed their new weapons!
They all collapsed to the ground instantly, both weapons laying disappointedly just near them. The claws, the sword... They were crusted with rust! She knew they had been but she didn't think it would be that bad. There were hundreds of brown rough spots and blobs meshing together, covering the weapons that must've been nothing but the purest and shiniest of steel. But by then... it was nothing but rust waiting to snap.
"Of course they're rusty!" Kotetsu spoke trying to sound positive as he added, "They've been neglected for like 300 years, and no one knew about them. Sorry! I got you worked up for nothing."
Kagami gazed disappointedly at the claws looking about ready to fall off from their hinges, but Tanjiro lifted his head to reveal tears brimming his eyelids and snot running down his nose. "It's okay! I don't mind, all right?" He sobbed softly but despair was evident in his irises.
So much so Kotetsu screamed bringing up his hands, "AH! Mr. Tanjiro! Mr. Tanjiro, my bad!"
"Miss Kagami, why aren't you sad? You were just as excited as Mr. Tanjiro, were you not?" Saena softly asked saddling up to her and the rusty nails in her grip.
Kagami turned her head and laid her emotionless eyes on the girl. She didn't dare cry in front of them again after she had done so multiple times but she couldn't hide the lifelessness that rose in the pit of her stomach at the ancient relic she wouldn't actually be able to use after all. She already fantasized riding into battle with them scaled over her fingers and past the small nubs that would never pass as nails. "I'm... fine. Thank you," She managed a whisper through a dry throat.
STOMP!
The sound of a heavy foot stomp and the sudden vibration of the earth beneath their knees drew their attention away from the sad artifacts and towards their side. "What was that?" They gasped hearing another following after it.
To their absolute disbelief, a hulking figure approached from the shadows of the trees. Pants ripped to just shorts, shirt missing, hyottoko barely hanging onto their face, they came forth into the light. One massive foot landed just beyond the bushes and made the four's bodies leap from the ground at its vibration. Tall and unbelievably muscularly, broad shoulders and veins protruding from beneath his skin, was a man. An eerily similar man!
"AAAAHHH!" They all screamed clutching each other once again at the sight.
"Who's that?! Mr. Haganezuka?!" Tanjiro's scream voiced louder above theirs.
Kagami whipped her head to his in dismay. Mr. Haganezuka was... a lot to deal with, but the last time she saw him he was small and scrawny looking. It had only been a year since she's last seen him, no way he bulked up so much in such a short amount of time. It took her years to get the body she had!
His large hands clenched at his side, his low booming voice spoke, "I have heard your story. I'll take it from here."
"Take what from here?!" Kotetsu demanded.
Mr. Haganezuka reached forward and grasped Yoriichi's sword. Tanjiro no matter how stunned he was didn't let go. As his swordmaker pulled, he pulled back more forcefully keeping it on his side of the invisible line burrowed into the ground. They both started to play tug-of-war, the prize being the artifact from 300 years ago.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Leave it to me!"
"Hey, why are you trying to take off with it?!"
"Just shut up and leave it to me!"
"You can't just show up out of the blue and say, "Leave it to me"! That doesn't make any sense!"
"You leave it to me!"
Kagami and Saena watched safely from the sideline, heads whipping back and forth between every struggled sentence they spoke. Even Kotetsu joined the fight, both boys fighting against the brute strength that was Mr. Haganezuka. Even as Tanjiro asked him where he had been, his swordmaker didn't answer. In fact, he looked to have completely and purposely ignored the question and insisted on taking the sword from them, no matter how much they struggled!
Soon, with a forceful swipe of Mr. Haganezuka's arm, Tanjiro and Kotetsu went flying through the air, screaming as they went, landing harshly on their stomachs!
"What grown-up does that?!" Tanjiro groaned from the ground.
"No sane grown-up."
Kagami gasped at the familiar voice and turned her head upward. Her eyes glistened at Watanabe standing beside her. Even with her hyottoko mask hiding her features, she looked and sounded vexed. Arms crossed and head tilted, she said almost dismissively, "Listen up, boys. Haganezuka's weak spots are his sides. Just tickle him here." Whipping out a folding fan, she ran the tip of it up and down his sides. Almost immediately his body became weak under her touch.
Stunned, they watched Mr. Haganezuka's body twitch and writhe, giggles and uncontrollable squeals muffled beneath his mask at the fan continuously touching the side of his abdomen. Watanabe didn't look as if she was enjoying it at all. It looked like a mere nuisance to her.
"M-Miss Watanabe... Long time no see," Tanjiro sputtered.
Mr. Haganezuka dropped unconscious to the ground. Watanabe waved her fan in greeting. "It's good to see you too, Tanjiro." Their eyes lingered on the lifeless man. "Don't mind him. He always goes limp for a while after being tickled, so I'll explain what he-we-have been up to."
Gathering in a circle, Kotetsu angrily throwing rocks and pebbles at the unconscious Mr. Haganezuka, Watanabe explained, "Please forgive him. Haganezuka's been hiding out in the mountains, training. It was to forge Tanjiro a stronger sword to keep him from dying in battle, and I've been overlooking it. Not that he'd ever admit that himself."
Tanjiro's frustration at the man turned into admiration. "All for me?" He gasped, hands on his cheeks.
"The time you've been asking Haganezuka for another sword made him extremely happy I'm sure of it. After all, he's always losing clients because most swordsmen can't stand him." Watanabe sighed. She unfolded her fan with a sharp flick of her wrist and softly waved it delicately at her exposed neck. "I've been trying to teach him manners and how to retain clients but he doesn't listen. His passion for his work comes above anything else, I'm afraid."
Tanjiro couldn't help but scoff, "Is that right?" almost sarcastically.
"He's got zero social skills, this one. No wonder your marriage was an arranged one. No sane woman would ever want to be with him," Kotetsu remarked with no remorse.
Kagami and Tanjiro choked on their spit at the sudden and casual revelation. "Wait-You're married?!" They yelled eyes running between the stoic and near emotionless woman, who took opportunities to hone her craft with every damage and break Kagami made to her swords, and the unconscious man whose emotions flipped on a coin if any harm were to come to his creations, much like threatening to kill Tanjiro at every turn with every sword he broke fighting against demons. Talk about complete opposites!
Mr. Haganezuka's body lifted into the air with a loud spring, a "WHEEE!" coming from his lips.
"He's revived," Watanabe sighed, exhausted.
On his feet, palms facing forward waving all around him, a powerful, dangerous aura emitted from his body. His eyes, yet hidden, was filled with determination. His face was scrunched with concentration. His voice, deep and guttural, growled with focus Kagami's never heard him with, "I shall take this rusty sword into my care. And use the Nichirin Sword polishing art of the Haganezuka Family, I will surely restore it!"
"Then, why didn't you just say so from the start? Instead of "Leave it to me, leave it to me" when you have zero trust built up?" Kotetsu snorted. "Oh, right, that's the one thing you know."
"What the hell was that?! Let's hear you say that again!" Mr. Haganezuka suddenly screamed with rage. Without notice, he grabbed the front of Kotetsu's shirt and hefted him high in the air!
"I can't breathe!"
"His sides! His sides!" Kagami and Tanjiro panicked screaming in terror racing for the man.
It took them several minutes of tickling for Mr. Haganezuka to finally go limp again. His body thrashed to and fro with a mass hysteria of giggles and writhing. Desperately latching onto him was the only way of staying tethered to him. Yet it only worked because Watanabe flicked her fan against his side and he immediately went to the ground. Kagami and Tanjiro collapsed to the ground in a fit of panted breaths while Watanabe looked none the worse for wear.
When he finally awoke after several more minutes, Mr. Haganezuka held Yoriichi's sword and Watanabe was given Ayane's claws. "I'll be taking this with me. In the meantime, use this sword," He said offering Tanjiro a weapon she hadn't seen him carry on his person.
"I will repair the claws as well, but I've finished your new sword. Here," Watanabe spoke removing the sling from her back and holding it out to Kagami.
Tanjiro's temporary sword took the appearance of the first one ever created by Haganezuka. The hilt was red covered with thick straps of banding and weaving black cloth, the black blade sleek and beautiful. Kagami's new sword was less flashy but more modest. Her hilt no longer took form of a dragon's tail but was a dazzling glitter red speckled with golden dust covered in shining lacquer. The form of a dragon was still etched in the red blade. They waved their hands goodbye to their swordmakers wishing them luck in their new and tough endeavors.
They returned to their living quarters that night and were prepared a feast after what they've endured with Kotetsu. The people of the house had been worried they never returned the initial night they had gone missing, but that didn't stop them from not searching for them. If only they had, Kagami and Tanjiro wouldn't have nearly died from starvation, or dehydration first. Nonetheless, she was glad she finally learned how to dodge and deflect attacks from Yoriichi and Ayane Type Zero, even besting it to the point she destroyed the latter completely. Though, it wasn't nearly as shocking as to finding out Watanabe and Haganezuka were married to each other! Neither one indicated so!
Kagami shouldn't pry, and she wouldn't in the mean time. She happily ate her rice balls and tempura, taking the occasional sip of her miso soup, as Tanjiro recounted inbetween bites of his own, "So that's what happened yesterday. They say it takes three days and three nights to polish a sword... so he'll be done the day after tomorrow. That polishing art of his is so brutal, some people have even died, and that worries me. He said not to look in, no matter what. But do you think it's okay if I go?"
"I don't know. He sounded really strict about it," Kagami mulled over shoving a handful of konpeito in her mouth. "I hope Watanabe won't struggle too hard with the claws. They're not exactly a sword, and she'd have to pry each piece apart and polish them one by one."
Tanjiro shrugged. "Should we visit them together to see how they're doing? What do you think?"
A hand roughly slammed on a table beside them, a resounding boom echoing in the room. "How should I know?! Get out of here! Stop talking to me like we're friends!"
Genya Shinazugawa's large frown landed on them, his eyebrow twitching and eyes wide in annoyance. He knelt in front of his desk with layers of papers sprawled across ready to be written on.
Tanjiro gasped in surprise. "Huh? But aren't we friends?"
"Not by a long shot!" Genya spat immediately. He pointed an accusing finger in their direction. "You broke my arm, remember? And you brandished your sword at me! Don't tell me you've forgotten!"
Kagami vaguely remembered it. They survived Final Selection and Genya was bullying one of the initiation girls trying to explain what was going to happen next. She did indeed lay her hand on the hilt of her sword as Tanjiro's grip on Genya's fore-arm tightened to the point she head it crack in multiple places.
Tanjiro didn't look apologetic at all. His smile was innocent and eyes pure when he replied, "That was totally your own fault for hitting a girl, Genya. I had no choice."
"Don't call me by my first name!"
Kagami, in between sips of miso soup, watched the unbothered and pure-hearted boy that was Tanjiro offer treats to the frowning dog that was Genya silently.
"These rice crackers are delicious! Want one?"
"Damn you! No, I don't want one! Get lost!"
At the snarl spreading across Genya's face, the swipe of his hand dropping remnants of crackers on his bedroom floor, Tanjiro quirked his head to the side. Curiosity fleeted across his features. "Huh? Didn't you lose a tooth? A front tooth... at the hot spring?"
Kagami didn't know what Tanjiro was talking about. Genya right then had all of his teeth. They were crystallized white and completely straight. Mesmerizing and beautiful, too. She surely would've noticed if he was missing some. But Tanjiro sounded extremely convinced in his argument. Even as confused as she was, she was quick to note the sudden change in Genya's demeanor and the familiarity that changed his features.
His anger immediately dissipated at the question. His violet irises turned elsewhere into the unknown. He no longer met their gaze. Not a sense of being caught red-handed emitted from him. His deep voice breathed out in answer, "You must've been seeing things."
"No, I wasn't seeing things," Tanjiro disputed. He held out his fist and laid it open. "I've got the tooth right here."
In his palm was indeed a canine tooth.
Both Kagami and Genya reacted with disgust. They flinched away from him and noises of disbelief spewed from their lips. "Why'd you pick it up? You sure are creepy, you know that?!" Genya shrieked.
"Well, you dropped it, so I thought I'd return it."
"Are you out of your mind?! Toss that thing!" Genya quickly demanded, embarrassment or frustration rushing across his face. Without warning, he grabbed the scruff of Tanjiro's shirt and tossed him out of the room. He screamed, giving the boy a good kick in the rear, "Get out of my sight!" before turning his wrathful attention on her. "You too, dammit!" He moved toward her and roughly grasped her hand hauling her to her feet. A gasp left her mouth at his abnormal strength and fell.
Unable to stop the momentum, Kagami's body flew into his. She nearly stumbled over her own feet at the sudden abruption but clutched his hand tighter, steadying herself. With her feet planted firmly on the ground, she finally noticed her body trapped within his embrace.
Heart hammering, breathing ragged, she slowly opened her eyes to find her free hand clutching his clothing in a white-knuckle grip. Then she raised them higher and settled them on his gaze. Rosy cheeks met hers. Their faces were barely inches apart. His grip on her hand shook tremendously and more with every passing second. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against hers. It was abnormal, the way her body felt against his, how it reacted... She found herself thinking back at the hotspring. The memory of his naked and muscular body dripping wet with steaming water, drenched mohawk running along his chiseled back, and her eyes having wandered down lower than they should've have, brought her to a sudden realization.
That body was then pressing against hers, a toned arm wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling. Not only that but the recollection of him having seen her naked as well, her hands having untied the knot of her robe and flinging open before she could stop it, sent her cheeks rising hotter and hotter. Noises she couldn't discern as whimpers or squeals softly hummed out of her. He must've noticed, too. Remembered as much as she did. His mouth went wide in horror and so did his eyes, a light shining in that violet color of his at her tensed body.
He tried to shake his head free of the memory. Face red as a cherry tomato, he removed her from him and turned to the doorway where Tanjiro lingered, sputtering, "G-Get out... R-Right now."
Kagami expected a push or a shove to his shoulder, a kick in the rear just as he did Tanjiro, but neither came. Her eyes lingered where he held her hand. A soft grip caressed her palm and over her knuckles. At her notice, he let go and bashfully turned away. Not even the bent of his head could lessen the wavering of his eyes.
Her heart fluttered at everything he did. The gasp of his body at the touch of hers, the thumb that gently ran over her knuckles, the softness in his eyes under her gaze, the bashful turn of his head, even his treatment toward her differed from his treatment toward Tanjiro. It was all due to her. What she did made him lose composure. She didn't understand why or how, she barely knew him and their initial thoughts of each other were less than pleasant. What changed? Were their feelings built on the hotspring? Did seeing each other naked rise whatever was building inside them, or was it simply curiosity? Kagami decided not to think too hard on it, it felt... good to be wanted in return by someone.
She hesitated in the doorway. Biting nervously on her lower lip, she turned before he could slide the door shut in her face, nearly gasping, "Is it okay if I come by later?"
Genya's face blushed harder. "For what?"
"Well, you see, since I've been here I never really saw you. I was looking forward to sharing a meal with you but never had the chance to." She was babbling, and badly too. She couldn't stop her hands from rubbing sores into her wrists. "Is it alright if I come by and... have that meal with you?"
They both couldn't look each other in the eye. Their faces were pattered with a cold sweat, a swarm of butterflies fluttering and tickling the insides of their stomach, and cheekbones more red than she'd ever anticipated. She grew hot with worry at his lack of response. When she finally lifted her eyes, she peered inbetween her lashes and caught him staring. His pupils quirked away under her gaze but they flitted back just as quick.
Genya straightened his back. His hands shook at his side. "F-Fine... Just get here before I leave to check up on the progress of my sword." His voice was rough and his face spelled annoyance, but the underlying tone felt welcoming. Did he shake with anticipation?
Kagami still grinned nonetheless. She beamed and nodded her head in thanks. Her heart soared at the thought of finally hanging out with him and talking with him. The harshness in his face softened just slightly at her happiness but she didn't pay too much attention to it. With a wave of her hand, she turned and left down the hall with almost a skip in her step. Back in Tanjiro's room, she frantically messed with her hair with a handheld mirror. Tanjiro sat behind her trying his best to tie Nezuko's hair into large braids just like Mitsuri's.
His face scrunched with concentration, tongue stuck between his teeth, as his calloused fingers delicately and slowly weaved her strands of parted hair. "Like this, like that, then like this..." He mumbled to himself taking the three stands in, under, over, in, under, over, again and again. Nezuko sat happily in front of him caressing and playing the first braid he made humming behind her bamboo muzzle with rosy tinted cheeks.
Even with that scrunched look of concentration, he sounded concerned, mulling, "I wonder why Genya's always so mad all the time. Could it be that he's hungry?"
Kagami's fingers brushed more frantically through her hair at thought. "Do you think he'll be angry I'm intruding his personal time?"
"No way. If he thought so, he wouldn't have accepted your invitation. I think he's quite happy to go on a date with you," He mumbled assuringly tying the end of Nezuko's braid with a scrunchy. Kagami blushed at the insinuation but did not to protest it. When he finished, he smiled down at his sister, cheering, "Now you've got the same hairstyle as your idol, Miss Kanroji!"
"Mmm!" Nezuko cooed lifting her fists happily in the air.
Staring at the happy-go-lucky siblings staring into the gorgeous moonlight, Kagami stood from her seat and brushed down the dirt from her uniform. "I'm leaving. Wish me luck," She said almost giddily toward the siblings.
Tanjiro smiled and waved his hand. "Good luck, Kagami. Have fun!" He said but faltered. She noticed. At her curious gaze, he mumbled, almost apologetically, "Kagami, are you only interested in Genya because he's reciprocating feelings you wished you got from Inosuke? He's not being used as a tool to make you feel better, right?"
Kagami shook her head and adjusted the pin in her hair. "Thank you for your concern, but I genuinely think Genya is a sweet guy. I would like to see where things would go... if he really does feel the same way. This has nothing to do with Inosuke."
He released a sigh of relief and nodded his head in understanding. "Good, I'm glad you're finding happiness. I always want your best interests at heart. Tell me how everything goes when you get back. I mean it, have fun, Kagami." His smile returned and so did his wave.
Nezuko coo'd and waved her hand excitedly as well with her smile hidden and cheers muffled beneath her muzzle.
At what started as excitement and happy nervousness turned to unease the further she walked from his room and closer to Genya's. What Tanjiro said bothered her, a lot. She wondered why he would think of such a thing. That she'd use Genya as some sort of rebound. Sure, she had been devastated when Inosuke rejected her feelings and refused to speak to her afterward as if she had been infested with a skin-eating disease, but Genya... whenever his eyes laid on her, hot pink always creased his cheekbones. At their closeness they both blushed under each other's gazes. He treated her delicately, softly, and it made her feel... like a girl for once. She didn't know what the feeling was, didn't know if they had a name for it, but it was different, and she liked it.
Strengthening her feelings toward Genya, she breathed in a deep breath and knocked on his door. It slid open to reveal Genya... and his brushed back hair.
Kagami stared almost startled at his neatly brushed mohawk traveling voluminously down his back. His face was also wiped clean of any remnants of dirt or debris he may have obtained during training. His clothes were brushed down and wrinkle-free. How he managed to do that within the span of an hour she would never know. But the sight of him and his effort made her smile wider.
Trying to stifle the glee in her voice, she held out a basket of sandwiches she snatched from the kitchen and said, "How do you feel about cucumber sandwiches?"
What ensued next was near unfathomable awkwardness. They knelt across one another and silently ate sandwich after sandwich, the crunch of the fruit filling the tensed air. She wondered if he thought they were tasty, if the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and added lemon juice were to his liking. There was no disgusted scrunch of his face but no glisten to his pupils. His poker face was impeccable, she had no clue to what he might be thinking.
It was probably time to address the elephant in the room. Swallowing her bite hard, she gently placed the rest of her sandwich on her plate. "So, um," She started hoarsely grabbing his attention, "About what happened at the hotspring..."
Genya flushed and his bit of cucumber fell from his fingers. "What about it?" He huffed not meeting her eyes.
"I don't want things to be awkward between us. Let's just call it water under the bridge. It happened, we saw... what the other looked like underneath our clothes, and there's nothing we can do about it. Why don't we just move on?" She offered kindly offering a grin.
She remained calm for both of their sake's but she still trembled under his intense gaze. He had her quivering more than what his response might be.
His eyes leveled with hers. "You're quite strange, you know that?"
Kagami froze in her seat and her grin faltered. "I... guess?"
"I mean, you've threatened me with your sword, seen me naked, and now you want to be friends?" He asked almost roughly.
Kagami gulped a lump in her throat. This wasn't how she expected it to go at all. "What did you expect me to do? You were hurting someone. I couldn't stand by and let it happen. I won't apologize for that. But the seeing you naked was totally coincidental. I didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted to experience the hotsprings with my friend-"
"The same guy friend who broke my arm," He scoffed.
Kagami fumed. All butterflies and happiness was instantly fading. Replacing it was annoyance. "I understand you're upset at the rash actions we took, but we do not condone grown boys bullying little girls," She said firmly defiantly raising her chin at his insinuated tone. "Also I never saw a problem sharing a hotspring with my best friends. I still don't. Tanjiro and Nezuko are my family. We share a bond I'm sure is thicker than blood, stronger than most. I care for them and will protect them with everything I have, and if you don't like it..."
Why were they squabbling as if they were together? And why over Tanjiro and Nezuko? No, not Nezuko. He didn't seem to care about her. But his sudden fascination regarding her relationship with Tanjiro... was he jealous? No. Of course not! He was simply curious and angry at what they've done back at Final Selection. But the visible softening of his shoulders contradicted that.
Biting on her lower lip, she tentatively said, "Your older brother is the Wind Hashira, right? Sanemi Shinazugawa."
Genya's demeanor changed at the sound of his name. His shoulders stiffened and his eyes narrowed tightly on her. She was afraid he'd lash out at her for even bringing up his name. If what Mitsuri spoke was true, the two brothers relationship was so heavily strained it was to the point Sanemi doesn't recognize Genya as his own brother. He'd rather disown him than own up to that fact. It saddened her deeply. Whereas she had grown used to the loving and overprotective bond between Tanjiro and Nezuko, it was strange to think of family members hating each other enough to no longer speak to one another. She wondered what exactly happened.
She wouldn't pry. Not as his gaze turned elsewhere away from her. The same emotionless void he became at Tanjiro's question regarding his magically grown tooth returned. Except a hint of despair creased the under of his eyes. "You're curious about him because he saved your life, right?" He asked softly.
"Twice, but no," She almost sputtered.
"It's strange. He's willing to part with his precious marechi blood for some girl he doesn't care about, but when it comes to me he'd rather pretend I don't exist," Genya growled under his breath. His cucumber sandwich was strangled to death in his grip. "I won't try to understand him. I've seen where his priorities lied. With himself, Kurai, even you, but never with me."
Kagami tasted bitter metallic in her mouth. She reached forward and placed her hand over his. His eyes widened at her gentle touch. They slowly raised to meet hers. "All my life I wish I had siblings to count on, to lean on, because I was tired of being alone. I was scared of having no one. It was then I realized I already have a family who love me. Who will continue to cherish me and protect me just as much as I will for them. Genya, I hope you and your brother make up one day. While I do not know what happened that caused such a big rift, what I want is for you to be happy. You seem angry all the time but your blushes, grins, and the funny stumble over your words are adorable. I'm sure your smile is just as beautiful as you. I hope the first smile I get to witness is a product of your reunion."
With the flash of a bright smile, Kagami tilted her head and released a giggle in turn, eyes closing in delight. What she had spoken was true. It was no exaggeration to say she loved everything he did. She hoped Genya listened to her, hoped he took those words to heart and try to mend his relationship with his brother. If he won't, she'd surely do it herself. No one deserved to know the feeling of being unloved and alone.
Feeling proud of what she had preached, she opened her eyes. He was right in her vision. She expected herself to scream, to push him away in unexpected surprise, or at least turn her head and close them again, thinking he'd go away and she'd be back in her room as if nothing ever happened. But she didn't. Her gaze stayed locked on his. Neither wavered. They refused to lean back. They kept their faces mere inches apart. He sat on his hands and knees, his fingers mere inches from her thighs from where they splayed on the floor, face hovering just above hers. She was locked in, trapped within the confines of his arms once again, but she didn't fight to free herself. Instead, a hand gripped his shirt and the other secured around his arm.
Kagami gulped. She knew he heard, felt, her heart thundering in her chest, but her hands remained strong. They held onto him without a single tremor. "Genya..." She started with a whisper of his name, soft as silk forcing a shuddered gasp to release from him, "Have you ever... kissed someone before?"
Genya didn't shake from the intimate question. From the longing look in her eyes underneath her fluttering lashes. He dropped his head lower, his body shifting even closer, and their noses brushed delicately. "No... Have you...?" His voice was low, husky, and made her squirm.
Kagami immediately thought of Inosuke. She shouldn't have. Their kiss was merely a peck of her lips against the corner of his mouth. It was sudden, she didn't give him time to kiss back or push her away. She had been wrong in thinking he liked it somehow. She had been an idiot to never notice he hated it. But this time, she won't let herself become another victim of embarrassment. Genya made the first move and it was her turn to meet him halfway. And she wanted to... but she couldn't.
For long moments of time, they simply breathed each other in. Their hands never strayed and their bodies didn't advance or retreat from one another. He didn't force her to kiss him. His face never leaned in closer when she never did. She was grateful. If he had, she would've had to punch him across the face for rushing her.
The walk to Tanjiro's room was a solemn one. She hugged her arms close to her chest. She felt the awful twist of her stomach at the memory of his rejected look. Hurt mixed with understanding.
She harshly tugged at her scalp. Why didn't she do it? Why didn't she kiss him? Ever since she arrived at the village she's wanted nothing but to be around him. Her thoughts were nothing but of him. Yet when she stared at his lips, she pictured Inosuke's. A tremendous feeling of guilt had wormed its way through, but why? She should be over him! Unless... Tanjiro was right. What if she wasn't over him and Genya was a means to be rid of him? What if she didn't like him as much as she thought she did? Did she wear that same expression that day? She never meant to hurt him. More than anything she wanted to run back but she knew it'd make things more awkward.
When she finally reached the room to sigh her woes to Tanjiro and Nezuko, she found a quivering old man grasping the door to his room by its hinges. Tears ran down his wrinkling skin, whimpers spilling uncontrollably from his lips, and he peered his head into the room. The light shining within revealed the nasty purple bump as large as her head protruding from the top of his. Was he hurt? Attacked by someone? She rushed forward to meet him.
"Excuse me, sir! Are you all right?" She gasped reaching forward to grasp him.
"Kagami, no! Stop!" The terror in Tanjiro's scream made her falter. Her eyes ran shakily over the fangs slipping from beneath the old man's lips, his claws splintering the wood beneath them, and the horn protruding from its head. "It's an Upper Rank demon! Get away from him!"
Before she could react, before she could even reach for the sword fastened to her waistband, the world disappeared in a sea of mist. Pitch black darkness embraced her replacing the room and its walls with its coldness. The flowing dance of white billowed at her feet and pooled upwards all around her. She didn't contain the speed to turn her head at the sound of a monotone voice speaking, "Mist Breathing, Fourth Form, Shifting Flow Slash."
Muichiro was beside her at once. His sword had dragged through the mist, slicing clean through it, and sliced low. She barely comprehended the upward slash from beneath, his sword shining in the brilliant light. The ringing steel broke through the illusion, the room came back to her and so did the whimpering. They turned their heads following the sound of terrified sobbing. Up above them, hanging on the ceiling was the Upper Rank demon. Kagami could only stare at it in sheer shock.
That thing didn't emit an aura of hostility. She had no idea it was in the building until she saw it. Until Tanjiro screamed what it truly was. How long had it been under their noses before it decided to reveal itself? Even a Hashira was fooled. Much worse, Muichiro couldn't hit it. His speed was incredible, near invisible, but the demon was faster. It managed to avoid the attack without a single nick.
"Don't hurt me! Stop tormenting me!" It sobbed as waterfalls of tears pattered to the ground.
Kagami and Tanjiro didn't hesitate to latch onto the hilt of their swords. Sharply whipping them from their sheathes, a harsh piercing ring following each one, they dashed toward the demon with no hesitation. She had to remind herself, even though it cried like a human it still murdered people to make itself powerful enough to dodge a Hashira. She must not waver!
"Hinokami Kagura! Sunflower Thrust!" Tanjiro screamed thrusting the point of his blade toward the ceiling, a spiral of flame erupting around his body.
The demon jumped away and fell to the ground in a messy heap. She didn't waste her chance, not even hesitating a moment to scream, "Dragon Breathing, Fourth Form, Solar Flare!" and slashed downwards as hard as she could, a whip of fiery burning flames lashing out like a whip.
Once again it leaped away without so much as a spit, slice, or curse in her direction. Even more suspicious, it didn't bother to hide or retreat once it realized it was under attack from three Demon Slayers. Any normal demon would've fought back or run away at even the mere sight of a Hashira. It was nimble enough to dodge all of their attacks, so why isn't it counterattacking? It stayed crawling on the ground whimpering and crying like it did when it entered the room. What is it doing?
Nezuko's body grew to one of an older woman just as it did back in the Entertainment District. The red and green leafy vines that swirled around her legs, arms, and chest were as prominent as ever. All that was missing was her horn. She dashed across the room with an angry growl muffled behind her muzzle and slammed the top of her foot into the demon's stomach. It was sent crashing into the wall with a painful scream.
"Nezuko! Don't transform! You'll go into full demon form, so stop it!" Tanjiro commanded worriedly of her.
At her falter, the turning of her head to her brother, Muichiro dashed by her, sword arched beside his body. With one powerful step in its direction, his sword swung through the air. A spray of blood spilled across the floor, a choked wet gasp filling the air, and the thud of flesh rolling across the ground.
"I've been slashed!" The demon screamed as its head came free of its body.
Kagami didn't allow herself a sigh of relief. She kept her grip tight on her sword, glare steady on the headless body and bodiless head. The battle wasn't over. She refused to believe it. It may have been fast and short-lived, but the Upper Rank 6 demon siblings made it known Upper Rank demons don't always die even if they're beheaded! They're always a price to be paid! They just need to figure out what this one is before someone gets killed!
"Muichiro! Don't let your guard down!" Kagami screamed but it was too late.
The demon's head rolled on the ground once. She blinked. In that split second she opened her eyes, new bodies formed themselves from the shredded necks that had been the decapitated head and the headless body. Two demons stood in the very center of the room, heads angled down. No longer were they the feeble and sobbing mess that was the crying old demon. Horror filled her core at the sight of both tall, muscular demons, becoming frightened at the demon splitting itself into two, but she remained firm. She and Tanjiro charged for the one closest to them as Muichiro advanced toward the other.
They didn't have an inkling as to how to kill them but if they could split in two just like the Upper Rank 6 siblings, slashing them simultaneously should kill them all at once. It would save both time and the village! It was their only option-!
A powerful gust of green slammed into her. Kagami screamed at large pieces of wood, concrete, and shingles whizzing past her body and slicing deep into her skin. The light disappeared in an instant coating her vision in darkness. The wind collided into her so forcefully it lifted her feet off the ground, threw her across the room, and through the air. A hand clamped around her wrist kept her from flying even further away, tethering her flailing body.
Kagami forced her eyes opened against the powerful breeze and gasped. The entire back wall and roof of the room was completely decimated. Dirt, rubble, and remnants of what it had been kept flying past her face and into the night. Tanjiro's hand was clamped firmly on her wrist, finger markings indenting into her skin, as Nezuko held onto his. Her other hand grasped the edges of what was left of the wall through sheer force. Her fangs burrowed deeply into her muzzle with extreme focus, growls fleeing from beneath the bamboo, but Kagami's head flung backwards. Someone was sent flying far behind them and into the distance of the forest! It was Muichiro!
The storm finally ceased. Nezuko dropped them both on the lip of the ledge. They faced their enemies with growls and glares. The two stood in a sea of dirt and dust slowly dissipating to reveal the monsters they'd have to fight. The first demon looked to be a muscular young man with long wavy hair that went past his shoulders and narrow, deep red eyes with a familiar engraving embedded deep within. He carried a khakkhara in its grip. A wide, furious snarl spread its lips.
The second demon crouched just behind him. It was another tall and muscular young man with the same shoulder-length hair but narrow, deep green eyes with the same engraving. A fatsia leaf-shaped uchiwa was held tauntingly out to them. A mischievous smirk stretched his thin lips. They could've been twins if she hadn't known they were ferocious demons.
Kagami tried not to focus too hard on their eyes. The promises of death.
UPPER RANK 4
"This is fun! That peanut sure went flying! Right, Sekido?" The green-eyed demon cackled gleefully.
Sekido, the red-eyed demon, did neither smile or laugh. "There's nothing fun about this! All I'm feeling is rage! Karaku! That also goes for being lumped in with you!" He ranted furious eyes never leaving theirs.
Karaku, the green-eyed demon, licked his tongue teasingly over his lips at his companion. Kagami noticed the flash of the "pleasure" kanji stamped on its fleshy center. "Is that right? Well, good thing we got separated, then!" He taunted.
Kagami dreaded having to decapitate two demons at once. It took everything she, Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Mr. Uzui had. Two of their comrades had almost died against both siblings. It wasn't their strength or teamwork that made them victorious, it had ultimately been the brother's weakness for his sister that doomed the demons. Right then, they didn't even have a Hashira on their side. Mitsuri and Kurai haven't been seen since they last met, and Muichiro had been blown away. It was just she, Tanjiro, and Nezuko, and the girl had lost control last time. Those demons are more powerful than anything they've faced before. Do they have what it takes?
Her mind was snapped to reality at the flash of light. Sekido lifted his khakkhara and slammed its butt against the ground. Dozens of bolts of lightning scattered through the ground from its point in a erratic pattern and crackled in the air. Kagami, Tanjiro, and Nezuko's bodies went rigid at the volts biting into them. Her throat closed up. All breath had been forced out of her chest. She was completely paralyzed! She couldn't even scream the agony surging through her. Colors of red and white streamed all around the demon, the metal rings clinking like chime bells with every bolt passing through the air, the atmosphere buzzing painfully.
The pain, the tortuous bite from every bolt of lightning, had her reeling. Her eyes started to roll to the back of her head, her vision becoming hazy with colors of white and red blurring together, and felt her tensed muscles weakening. She was going to lose consciousness.
I can't...! I must... not give up so... easily! Not... like this...!
Her head tipped back completely, the whites of her eyes the only thing visible in the reflection of the bolts, but before she could lose herself to the pain, she thought she saw something on the roof. No, someone.
Genya...?
She wasn't sure if she saw it correctly, but she swore he held a gun in his hands!
BANG BANG!
Kagami's body twitched at the eardrum bursting sound booming across the air. Her body resisted the urge to cover her ears, a flash of light blinding her, but Genya's aim held true. Before Sekido could even turn his head completely it was beheaded in an explosion of blood. Karaku's was next, blood spraying all over his body and floorboards as his head spun on a thin layer of meat still attached to its body.
At the loss of their owner's head, the surge of lightning immediately disappeared. Kagami forced a gasp of air into her lungs, forced the erratic beating of her heart to get back on track, watching Genya spill the remains of the smoking bullet casings and reloading two more into what she identified as a hand-held double barrel shotgun. What surprised her even more was the fact a normal weapon had the ability to decapitate them with one blow. Regular steel is futile against demons! Unless... could it be the bullets were made of Nichirin steel instead?
Genya flicked the shotgun closed, scowling, "So I missed one of them," and unsheathed a sword tethered to his back. He immediately dove down to join them!
Karaku didn't seem fazed at all. He continued to laugh maniacally, head slumping down to his chest, his spinal cord completely exposed saved for the piece of meat keeping it tethered. "Well, isn't this fun and entertaining! I've never been hit with an attack that felt like that!" It taunted him with the flash of a challenging smirk.
Genya raced forward purposefully and moved with both weapons in hand!
"Genya, no! Slicing off its head will only-!" She started to scream but the flash of metal swinging through the air and cutting off whatever held Karaku's head in place interrupted her. She forced herself to choke out through the terror coursing through her, "Will only split it into many more demons! It gets younger and stronger! It can't be defeated by normal means! It's only making us behead them purposely to achieve that goal! If that's the case, then it means its vital spot... can't be its head!"
At Sekido's headless body, at Karaku's, two more demons started to emerge from the stump of their necks. At the same time, the two demons' bodies regenerated just as swift. Before them were four demons who could deal catastrophic damage. She had to find a pattern, but where? But how? By means of which body healed first? There needed to be a vital spot. Anything could be killed if looked in the right direction. She just needed to figure it out!
Kagami's eyes ran frantically over the three demons surrounding Genya, but confusion seeped in. Where's the fourth?
A large shadow suddenly passed overheard blocking out the moonlight casting down upon her. She heard the disruption of the wind and the heavy flap of what sounded like wings. A horrified shudder left her. Suddenly, something hard slammed into her rolling her across the cracked and debris-littered floor, landing roughly into something.
"AHH!"
"AHAHA!"
"Tanjiro!" Kagami screamed at the top of her lungs when she lifted her head. Dragging him into the air, dangling him by the ankle with large talons, was yet another demon! Nezuko screamed trying to leap for her brother but the demon dragged him so high her own claws couldn't even graze his shirt!
Looking just as identical as Sekido and Karaku, with the exception of golden eyes and the kanji "joy" etched across his wagging tongue, the demon possessed two large wings on his back and raptor-like feet armed with sharp talons that take the place of his hands and legs. An overjoyed expression sketched his face, maniacal laughter spewing from his lips at his snatched prey, giggling, "This makes my heart sing! It's been so long since I was last split off!"
Kagami rose from the ground fearfully watching her friend soar further and further into the distance, hearing him call out, "Nezuko! Kagami! Don't worry about me! I want you to help Genya-!"
"Ugh!"
She turned at the sound of penetrated flesh and a wet cough from beside her. A gasp left her lips. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. Kagami had been so worried for Tanjiro's safety, she hadn't noticed or felt the fourth demon coming up from behind her with its jūmonji yari brandished. Its curved trident-like blades impaled Genya's abdomen. Arms splayed out from his side at an attempt to make a protective shield, blood pooled from his lips. His eyes shook at the weapon inside of him. A sob started to make its way up her chest and her hands moved to grab him.
"G-Genya..." She whimpered, her breath then coming out in pants.
The blue-eyed demon with the "sorrow" kanji etched on its tongue looked pitiful down at Genya. "You're so weak, it's sad," It mumbled. With a swift heft, it lifted his body into the air and held him painstakingly up above, bloody gasps falling on top of her.
"Genya! Nezuko, save him! Save Genya! Please! Hurry!" Tanjiro desperately screamed into the air.
Something snapped inside Kagami's core. An overwhelming sense of deja vu flooded her senses. Despair and helplessness nearly took over at the sight of his bloody body hung up above her. And it was all her fault. If she had paid attention, had cared about her own safety more over Tanjiro's, Genya wouldn't have had to protect her. She'd have deflected the attack and bought him some time to recover. He wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself for her sake. Another stupid mistake she made and it nearly costed someone she cared about their life.
But she wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to sob and become emotionally unstable. No, she's faced greater losses, came back from the brink of depression, surpassed insurmountable odds that would've killed not just her but an entire city if she had never recuperated from a single mistake she's made. He wasn't dead, not yet. She won't repay him by becoming reckless. Tanjiro was still alive and highly capable of taking care of himself without her. She can't afford to think about him right then, not as the golden-eye demon took him away. Yes, it was a mistake... One that she was going to make right!
Kagami grasped her sword tightly within both hands. Her knuckles became pure-white as she arched her blade above her head. She settled her feral eyes on the Sorrow Demon casually holding Genya's quaking body up. She ignored the dejected expression on his face, one she could almost mistaken as boredom, and released a ravenous breath. Its gaze slowly slid to her.
Red blade lighting aflame bursting a fiery red, her fury feeding into it like poison making the flame crackle higher and higher, she screamed, voice low and guttural, "Kill him... and I'll make your death as painful as possible!"
With every passing earth-rattling stomp, with every whimpered cry she heard, Saena sobbed into her hands harder and harder. She hid beneath thick tree roots shielding her small body within its shadows, but couldn't block out the sounds of Kotetsu clumsily fighting a monster behind her. Inbetween gaps of the hard, sturdy wood stringing around her like spider-webs, she fearfully watched Kotetsu swing his sword desperately around trying to fend off the monster roaming the forest.
Saena had screamed seeing it approach them in the dead of night. It's koi fish body was as large as a building with its legs of a frog and arms of a human. A large vase sat atop of its body and it moved nearly unbalanced underneath its weight. Though, it didn't stop from leaping at them with its razor-sharp teeth poised to devour them!
"Run, Saena! I'll hold it off while you run to safety! Hurry!" He had ordered shoving her in the direction of the village. Without looking back, he ran towards it with his sword in his hand.
She had started off running, tripping and stumbling over her feet, tears flooding down her cheeks as she went, but when she turned back and saw Kotetsu struggling to stay alive and out of the monster's reach, she couldn't leave him behind. But there was nothing she could do. She wasn't strong, she didn't know how to hold a sword, and she couldn't even stand on her own two feet properly. She was useless! Nothing but a small crybaby who couldn't even stand up to a monster when it counted. Kotetsu had to defend her again! She was scared he'd get sick of it one day and stop, but he didn't then. But why?
"Urgh! Ack!"
Saena gasped and cried harder seeing Kotetsu caught in its grip. His choked gasps and screams became nothing more than wheezes the more it crushed him in its grip. It hovered him high above its mouth, tongue wiggling over its lips in anticipation.
"Kagami! Tanjiro! Where are you?!" She cried desperately the sky hugging her knees close to her chest. "Someone, please... save him!"
An inhumane bloodcurdling scream answered in response to her echoed pleas. A gasp fell at the sight of the monster's missing arm, blood pooling where it should've been. Monstrous roars erupted from it, head whipping side to side in agony, stumbling backwards away from the fallen body of Kotetsu.
Saena shrieked, "Kotetsu!" racing forward to pluck his body off the ground.
The instant she reached him, a shadow loomed over their bodies protectively. Her eyes widened at who stood over them. The gleaming white blade shone in the moonlight, long black and turquoise blue hair flew softly in the breeze, and the kanji inscription of "Destroy" on the back of their uniform put her at ease. "Run," They had softly spoken. It was cool, calm, but not weak. It was strong and powerful.
A shudder left Saena. "It's you..." She mumbled with a gulp. She'd never been so happy to see the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, crouched in a low attacking position, blade arched behind him. A determined glare crossed his features staring at the wailing monster in front of them. Most shocking of all, the emotionless black she had grown accustomed to seeing in his turquoise blue irises were gleaming with white speckles. He was actually protecting tahem.
He didn't acknowledge what she had spoken. He only repeated, keeping his firm eyes trained on the monster, "You're in my way, so just run," then struck.