Returning Home

Kamado Akina’s POV

The blood burns away, so does the corpse.

And the next one.

And the next one.

And the one after that.

(Didn’t I board this train with someone else?)

I keep killing demons, despite the chill down my spine, despite the suddenly foul taste in my mouth. I keep killing demons, despite a small, piercing pain in my chest, like something is terribly, terribly wrong.

(When I sat down, didn’t I hand multiple tickets to be punched? Was I just being polite?)

Five, ten, twenty, my hands become soaked, no matter how many burn.

Twenty, forty, fifty, my arms and chest start to burn with exhaustion.

Fifty, sixty, eighty, my chest starts to ache, my stomach starts to spasm.

Eighty, ninety, one hundred-

-I shoot upright with a gasp.

(-the building itself is flesh-)

(-the building itself is burning-)

The train itself is flesh.

The train itself is…not burning?

(Why are we sideways though?)

I gently hold my hands over my chest, finding a frayed rope on one wrist - it breaks away into ash as I stare at it. A dead child I don’t recognize lays on my feet, covered in blood and broken glass-

“He died from something inside your dream.” A voice tells me, I jerk my head up in surprise, a boy with hollow cheeks and sickly skin stares at me, curled up in the seat across from me. “We heard him screaming as we slept. I saw his throat explode before the train went sideways.”

“I…I was having a nightmare.” I murmur, not quite apologizing to him, halfway explaining to him, “I’m so used to…to my job and…it’s just one foot in front of the other at this point. Sometimes I forget…that it’s horrible.”

“What’s your job?” He asks quietly, but his face is blank, his tone is empty, and he curls away from me, as if preparing for a blow. I give him a small smile instead.

“I won’t hurt you, okay? There are others I’ve met who have helped demons.” I tell him, I hold out a hand to him, “Do you want help getting off this train?”

“Yes please, ma’am.”

“-concentrate harder.” Rengoku scolds, I hear someone panting, the boy I carry on my back tightens his grip on my haori. “That’s it! Now, stop the-”

“Rengoku, why is Tanjiro laying on the ground?”

“Ah!” Both of them yell in surprise, then Tanjiro gasps, grabbing his stomach and-

“Oh my God, Tanjiro!” I almost drop the poor boy on my back, then quickly dump him in Rengoku’s arms, settling down next to Tanjiro. “Why the Hell didn’t you come get me!?”

“Nezuko couldn’t burn your rope all the way.” He gasps, curling around the blood, “I thought you were still asleep.”

“He was doing so well, Akina!” Rengoku whines, I give him a death-glare to end all glares, and he quickly finds something to stare at over at the train, whistling innocently as he does so.

“Here, let me handle this, Tanjiro.” I tell him,

“Breathing Form or…”

(‘Or like you used to back home’ I’ll bet he means!)

My lips twitch, but I place a finger in front of my mouth, he grins at me, even as he grits his teeth. I gently place my hands over his stomach, breathing in as deep as my single lung will allow, and-

“Ah, he punctured a venule.” I note, a soft, green glow begins to radiate from under my hands, and Tanjiro gasps sharply, then relaxes. “There, I can’t do much, but I’ve closed the venule-”

BOOM

I jerk around, reaching under my haori for my swords-

Lower Three

He blurs forward, racing around Rengoku-

BOOM

-my arm blocks his fist from striking Tanjiro-

BOOM

-I pivot on one knee, slamming the other into his chest, sending him flying backwards-

He sneers at me, then starts to try and circle, but I stand up and move towards him.

“I don’t fight women. Stand aside.” He snaps, I pause, an eyebrow raising - and then burst into laughter.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought I was fighting a demon - not a man.” I wipe a spot of mirth from my eye, “Since when do any of you have morals?”

He snarls wordlessly at me.

“You just attacked a wounded child, too! But you don’t fight women? Oh, God,” I touch my stomach with one hand as I cover my mouth with the other, “Either I’ve been in this business too long or my sense of humor is dead!”

BOOM

I catch his fist before he can punch my face, and laugh at him again.

“Well then! Let’s do this, little demon!”

Rengoku Kyojuro’s POV

“H-How is she-”

“I can’t even see her!”

“They’re like two forces of nature!”

“The ground just dented - do you think one of them fell?” The boys cheer happily, I…

I don’t say anything.

I don’t say how I can only see the demon move.

I don’t say how I can only see Akina when she’s standing still to land a combo-hit.

I don’t say how I can clearly see the fear on the demon’s face.

I don’t…

I don’t say anything.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

“It’s like thunderstorms from when I was a kid!” The boy in my arms says, Tanjiro starts to perk up to say something, then recoils, starts to grab his nose, and goes still. “Tanjiro? Er, she did mean you when she said Tanjiro, right?”

“Yes, but…I…I think something’s…wrong…” Tanjiro states, looking up, still covering his nose softly, I look down at him. “Akina, she…she’s…”

“It’s okay.” I state softly, gently kneeling down to speak to both of them at the same time, “I know, Tanjiro, just settle down.”

“But…R-Rengoku-san,” Tanjiro looks up at me, fear in his eyes, his knuckles white, “He’s afraid.”

(They really don’t know about her, huh?)

Pity pulls at my heartstrings.

“They always are, Tanjiro.” I murmur softly, a frown pulling at my mouth, the boys both go still, staring at me with an abrupt, horrified silence as the ground-shaking, thunderous fight occurs yards from us. “Your sister is as strong, if not stronger than Gyomei-san, but she refuses to be measured against him. She is faster than me, but refuses to race. I have seen her contort in ways that even the most agile and flexible of us refuses to try. When we call her the Hashira of Death, we mean she is the best of us, whether she admits it or not.”

BOOM

“AA-” A sharp, ear-splitting, blood-chilling, bone-rattling scream of fear bursts out-

And gurgles as it’s cut off.

I swiftly pull both boys into my chest.

(They don’t need to see this.)

“Akaza,” Akina’s voice is soft and low, something born of shadows and blood-

Something born from death.

“You are Number Three - someone who knows where Muzan is.” Number Three - Akaza - gurgles something to Akina, who lets out a deep, throaty chuckle that makes the small hairs on the back of my neck raise up. “Aw ~ You think I’d take you home alive? No, no. You misunderstand me - I want you to bring him a message.”

Akina whispers something to him, and I don’t dare listen in.

Kamado Akina’s POV

Akaza blinks at me, his jaw mangled in my unrelenting grip, and I raise an eyebrow at him.

He nods.

“Your death will come swift next time.” I promise him sweetly, gently kissing his temple-

(Why is that mark always a different color? So strange…)

The curling, vine-like mark that tugs at my soul sinks into his skin without any effort on my part. I release Akaza the moment it disappears, and he jolts away from me, his injuries already healing, quickly fleeing into the dark forest as the sun starts to warm the horizon at my back.

(I liked that shade of green though. It…it looked like that baby blanket I sent for Shigeru.)

“Akina?” Rengoku calls warily, I stand up, my joints popping and creaking noisily, “A-Akina, are you…are you okay?”

(Have I ever been?)

I turn to them and give them the easiest, warmest, most relaxed smile I can - Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Rengoku immediately relax.

The boy from earlier doesn’t buy it, but looks at them and pretends to drop his guard.

(Huh. Smart move. Terrible acting, but smart move nonetheless.)

“I’m fine, boys.” I tell them, walking over calmly, trying to spit out the words withoutsounding like I want someone to die (or that someone died.) “It’s just…time for us t-to go…home.”

“Okay, Akina-san.” Rengoku states, looking more relaxed than he’s been since I first walked up. “Let’s go home.”

“Yeah, Ma! You promised more training!” Inosuke shouts, I wilt exhaustively as Tanjiro perks up.

“I heard training!” Zenitsu screams from nearby, I sigh tiredly as Rengoku visibly bites his tongue and starts shaking quietly.

“Why is it always me?” I ask quietly, Rengoku makes a quietly choking noise, wheezing slightly in his nose. Zenitsu runs up excitedly. “Yes, Zenitsu, you heard training-”

“Training, training, training-”

“Boys! We are in public!” I shout over the chanting as they start running around me in circles, Rengoku bows over, giggling. “Boys!”