just like a blue gem shining

By: Aviantei

Part Eight:

"Tide Washing Towards the Shore"

The demon is, according to Tamayo's assessment, just a bit older than newborn, which from a demonic perspective can still mean within a year. Still, it eats in small bursts and goes into hiding most of the time. Yushirō has been keeping an eye on it with his Blood Demon Art. While Tamayo is the type to want to help people, making contact with any demon at all is risky, since it could reveal her to Kibutsuji. Felled by a Demon Slayer on the other hand…

I may not be a member of the Corps, but I'm still a Slayer. I can do this.

Whenever Shimizu at last has her sword in functional enough shape, she heads out in the night, Chachamaru trotting along with her. It's been a bit awkward to get used to the blade, since it was forged for someone taller than her, but she's gotten the basic Water Breathing forms down, so it's fine. If nothing else, she can adjust, and fighting some lower-leveled demon is going to be a great litmus test of how much more work she needs to do.

Lucky for her, the thing isn't hard to find. Fresh demons tend to operate more on instinct than anything else, so eating and hiding from the sun are about the extent of their patterns. Muzan very much operates on a survival of the fittest mentality, so he's content to let them do as they please and reap the rewards. It doesn't even take half an hour of exploring the area that Tamayo directed her to for Shimizu to find the demon, prowling the streets.

She waits for a moment on her rooftop perch, to see if this is enough to send her into a panic attack, too. She has a little packet of pills tucked into her haori, made by Tamayo through some combination of medicine and Blood Demon Art, and they've overall been effective as the supernatural equivalent of an anti-anxiety medication. But instead of the surge of panic and nausea, Shimizu feels her entire last timeline's worth of training kicking in, steadying her breathing and getting into a ready position with her hand on the hilt of her sword.

Just like Yushirō recognized in her, she's a Demon Slayer, through and through.

So it's time to slay some demons.

Shimizu still has empathy for demons. It doesn't matter who they were beforehand—no one deserves to be transformed against their will. Even for those that chose demonhood, being put under Muzan's absolute control is still something she wouldn't wish on anyone. And while she's going to be helping Tamayo put her cure for demons together, that doesn't mean she's willing to let other people die in the process.

Drawing her blade, Shimizu breathes.

"Mizu no Kokyū," she says, the words feeling as comforting as ever, "Hachi no Kata: Takitsubo!"

The demon is right below her as she launches off the rooftop, using gravity to further accentuate the force of the blow. Because of the angle, she misses out on the decapitation, but her blade cleaves through the demon's shoulder and takes their arm and a chunk of their torso with it. They're still very humanlike, save for the horns protruding from the sides of their head, and a shout of pain spills out of their mouth, followed by an angry hiss.

"Demon Slayer!" the demon says, and Shimizu adjusts her stance once more, trying to compensate for the still off-kilter weight of the sword in her hands.

"Ichi no Kata: Minamo Giri."

The move comes out at about half the speed that Shimizu is used to, which gives the demon more time to react. Shimizu makes a decent enough cut through their neck, but it's not enough for the decapitation. The demon strikes back, their claws tearing through Shimizu's kimono and drawing blood, and she's starting to miss her Slayer uniform for its special, demon-resistant materials. The wound is on her side and shallow, and she forces herself not to look, instead letting the pain clear her head enough to regrip her sword and strike, finishing the job that she started and sending the demon's head flying into the air.

Shimizu watches, waiting for the moment the Nichirin does its job, because she has no clue what she'll do if it doesn't. But a bit of rust isn't enough to keep the demon from disintegrating, and Shimizu fumbles for the syringe Tamayo gave her to stab it into the closest piece of the demon she can reach, which happens to be their leg. The little vial fills up before the demon melts, and it's at that precise moment that the aftereffects of unmastered Total Concentration: Constant kick in and Shimizu collapses onto her knees, just managing to stab her sword into the earth to keep her from falling on her face. She's going to have to look at the wound if she wants to use her breathing to help it heal, and that's just asking for fresh PTSD all over again, so she fumbles in her kimono for her pills and pops one in advance. They have a pleasant floral smell and don't taste all that different from green tea, if a bit more on the bitter side. Still putting effort into her breathing, Shimizu waits for the soft feeling of blankets to descend over her mind before chancing looking at the blood seeping through her clothes. Something in her brain rebels at the sight, but it feels blunted, which helps her keep together long enough to at least close the wounds.

And then the full brunt of exhaustion hits her, and Shimizu tumbles onto her back to stare up at a night sky filled with stars and the faint glow of lights from the more urbanized areas of the city. Chachamaru prowls up to her side and meows.

Shimizu chooses to take that as praise for a job well done and waits for her legs to regain enough strength to walk home.

Slow progress is still progress.

And so begins an updated version of routine. Shimizu doubles down on her training, pushing herself closer and closer to Total Concentration: Constant. It, to be quite frank, sucks, but it's essential if she's going to be anywhere close to helpful once Canon starts. She does, however, make sure not to make too much of a menace of herself. If she passes out in the yard during the day, there's not a lot that Tamayo can do to help her.

"Don't you dare expect someone like Tamayo-sama to drag you back inside if you're unconscious! And I won't do it, either!" says Yushirō while pointing a very aggressive finger in Shimizu's direction. She decides to take that as him expressing concern and moves on with her life.

Of course, there are other demons to fight, too. Tōkyō is a big place, and so it's as good a hunting ground as any. On occasion, news of demons in other nearby towns also happens to reach them, and Shimizu goes on short journeys to see what she can find. Some demons are stronger, others are weak, but there hasn't been anything she can't handle. She doesn't know if that's because of luck or since Tamayo is picking out reasonable opponents on purpose, but she's glad for the warm-up. Bit by bit, her body is feeling more and more like it used to last time, just with different scars.

It's…comfortable, somehow, even if it's nothing like any of her past experiences. Her first life was a mix of small happy moments and general discomfort with who she was expected to be. Her first time through Kimetsu, life with Urokodaki-san was training and food shared in the evenings, and that life got even cozier whenever Tanjirō joined them. And then after that, it was a life on the road with the occasional check-in at Butterfly Manor to see how everyone was doing and receive treatment. She supposes life at Tamayo's is most similar to that, but it's a bit different when your housemates keep night hours and don't share meals with you.

It's not bad, though. It's just different.

Shimizu spends what's left of winter and all of spring like that, gaining back her strength and her skill. She maintains Total Concentration: Constant during most waking hours, but it's much harder when asleep. Her Water Breathing forms, while the ones requiring more finesse are still rough, are becoming much more functional. Her body has earned back muscle, making her much more capable of handling the sword that's still not quite right for her.

On the other front, she's almost done with her notes, which she's made much more organized than before. They're still all in English for security reasons, but it'll at least be much easier to find what she needs at any given time. She's collected plenty of demon blood, too, which while nothing exciting or groundbreaking, is enough to give Tamayo baseline data to work off of. It's all good, but Shimizu is starting to feel a sense of unease in her gut.

Is this going to be enough? Am I just tricking myself into thinking that I'm making a difference? The thought won't leave her, making it harder to sleep without her anxiety pills to calm her mind. Whenever Shimizu heads out into the early summer night and comes back after slaying another low-level demon; the discomfort sinks into her bones further. Her sword is still working, but the edge is getting duller in a way that her level of maintenance skill can't keep up with. The last thing she needs is for it to break in the middle of a fight, but there's not a lot of options in the city for swordsmiths, what with the weapons being outlawed.

"Welcome back, Shimizu-san," Tamayo says whenever Shimizu steps inside the house before dawn has even begun to stain the sky. Shimizu's managed to reduce her injury count pretty well the past few months, but something in her expression must be noticeable, since the smile dampens upon Tamayo's lips. "Is something the matter?"

Shimizu's been mulling over the right thing to say the entire way back, and she has once again decided upon blunt honesty of the Rairi variety. "I think I need to be able to join the Demon Slayer Corps," Shimizu says, touching the hilt of her sword where it hangs at her waist. "I've been managing so far, but I don't think this sword is going to cut it for much longer."

She's expecting some sort of argument, but Tamayo just nods. "I agree. While I appreciate the samples you have provided, it's clear we will need at least the Kizuki to make any headway. We cannot expect you to fight them with a blade that may break any day. Further, being a member of the Corps will give you access to much more information about demons than Yushirō and I can provide." Even so, there is still a faint trace of worry in her expression. "Shimizu-san…"

"If you don't want me to say anything about you, then I won't." Yes, Shimizu wants Tamayo and Shinobu to start working together as soon as possible, but forcing the issue is going to make a bigger mess than it's worth at the moment. If nothing else, it feels like there's still time. "Whenever you're ready, Tamayo-san, I'll help you connect with them. Though I will say that Oyakata-sama does know you exist, just not where." How? Shimizu has no idea, some sort of Corps Leader Secret. "You've done a lot to trust me so far. I'd like to keep that trust."

"…Thank you." Tamayo looks thoughtful, but she refocuses soon enough. "But, yes, joining the Corps will be the best move, and all the more so if I am to work with them in the future. You may be the bridge we need." Which pretty much means Shimizu's taking over Tanjirō's Canon spot, but, hey, no pressure, he's just the Protagonist! "We will send Chachamaru with you as always, but please consider this my blessing, Shimizu-san."

The permission means a lot more than Shimizu expected it to. Looks like Water Breathing's new Twelfth Form might just happen yet.

Shimizu isn't all that worried about not being able to join in on Final Selection. After all, Inosuke showed up with two stolen Nichirin blades, no Cultivator, and still passed with flying colors. Her showing up out of nowhere isn't going to make things too messy. She's much more worried about taking care of the Hand Demon than anything else; that fight sucked last time, and she had Rairi to help her out, too. Can she solo him? Can she do anything heading into the fight a year earlier than she did last time?

If my time loop status is good for something, please let it be this!

She does feel a little bit more confident in herself. All her practice has paid off, and she can handle the Water Breathing forms again, even with the different length of her sword. They're nowhere near as refined as she used to be able to pull off, but they're serviceable. Shimizu is far less concerned with being pretty than she is with survival, so it'll be alright. Total Concentration: Constant cooperates most of the time, and Tamayo's makeshift anxiety medication helps, though it's been a while since she felt triggered by anything. Somehow, she might just be functional enough to make it through the week.

Step three? Four? Ten? Wait, what number are we on?

It's summer again, just like the last time, except a year earlier. Up in the mountains, the weather is still cool. As always, the wisteria at Fujikasane-yama are in full bloom and they are gorgeous, but none of that is as beautiful as what she sees when she makes it to the dais underneath the moonlight.

Her throat tightens.

Her eyes burn.

Her very soul bursts open in pure, unrelenting relief.

Shimizu looks to the person that's before her, the lilac to violet haori, the long braid, the absolute warmth in those deep brown eyes.

"Rairi-kun…!"

[Author's Notes]

Y'all have been asking for it, so here it is! Shimizu has reunited with the Thunder Trio at last!

Thanks to Lucifer_Archangel, ToonyTwilight, berenice999, dianix96, Sol77, Paran mastered, thijsl, noppa, and CoyoteFang1987 for reading, faving, following, and leaving kudos on walk steady pieces! I'm glad fanfic alerts are working again; I like calling out everyone by name in these sections.

After a lot of struggle, we've at last gotten the gang back together! There's...going to be a lot to talk about, haha.

Thanks as always to my wonderful Punk Trash Noiz for doing my betas. You're the best.

Do go check out my recent updates to Exception, the finale to As the Fox, and my original novel, Twelve Zero Zero, which is now hosted on Ream! That story updates every week on Tuesdays, and it's got gays and ghosts, what more could you need?

Next Time, Part Nine: "The Sea and the Storm," which will go live on September 7. Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[25 August 2024]