Kanao has good eyes.
Her eyes may seem dazed, but they were sharp. Her eyes were mostly what allowed Kanao to learn Flower Breathing without a proper instructor. Her eyes were what allowed her to memorize the slightest movements of Flower Breathing. Her eyes were one of her strongest points. Her eyes were her ace.
She used her eyes for lots of things, from going about her daily life to surviving as a demon slayer. Her eyes may not be able to gaze past the flesh, but Kanao often thought her eyes allowed her to judge a person on first impression quite accurately.
Kanao first saw Inori when Sanemi broke the estate door open with a kick, a mummified Inori held so gently in his arms. It was actually quite a sight to see, the fearsome Wind Pillar cradling a little girl with his haori wrapped around her like a blanket. Kanao was sure his intimidating image decreased after that incident, not that she paid attention to the gossip. But she did watch from the sidelines as Shinobu immediately ordered the other girls to prepare a room and all the needed medical tools. She watched as they spent nearly a whole day treating Inori. She watched it all without being of much help.
"Kanao, can you watch over Hoshizora-san for tonight?"
Sat on the prepared chair, Kanao didn't sleep that night. Her eyes were on Inori's unconscious form, analyzing the way she breathed. Total concentration constant, she realized. That was the first time Kanao was interested in Inori. Because she knew just how difficult it was to maintain Total Concentration Constant breathing when unconscious, and the younger girl did it while in a state of comatose.
Nobody would deny that Inori was memorable. Her unusual appearance made her easy to remember. Kanao didn't remember most of the demon slayers who got treated in the Butterfly Estate, but she immediately recognized Inori despite it being months since she last saw her.
"You really are cute, just like she said you are." Were the first words Inori said upon meeting Kanao. Her voice was soft and so was her smile. Kanao couldn't help but see Kanae's face overlapping with Inori's.
Inori didn't even need to try, her existence alone was enough to leave a lasting impression. That was why she wasn't surprised when Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo kept begging Shinobu to bring Inori back. Kanao herself didn't know why Inori suddenly decided to leave the Butterfly Estate just after a day of staying there, looking obviously stressed and flustered, but she did, and the little girls wanted her back.
Kanao didn't know how, but Shinobu one day came home from her visit to the Ubuyashiki Estate with Inori following behind her like a nervous puppy. The estate welcomed her warmly, they welcomed her as if she had always been part of them, and Kanao could see the way Inori's face started to brighten as the days passed.
It didn't take them long to realize that Inori was a very touchy person. Kanao herself had her fair share of hugs from Inori, not that she complained. She just wondered why Inori liked to call her cute. Fueled by curiosity, she flipped her coin and asked, "Why do you call me cute?"
"Because Kanao-san is very cute." Inori smiled and again, Kanao saw Kanae's face overlapping with hers. "Kanao-san is fine the way she is, but I hope Kanao-san can fall in love someday. The man you fall in love with will surely be the luckiest man alive."
Kanae nee-san's words. Kanao felt her eyes going wide. She didn't know whether Inori was deliberately mimicking Kanae's words or those were her own thoughts that just so happened to be the same as Kanae's. Either way, Kanao unconsciously reached out and tugged on her sleeve, earning a confused look from Inori.
"Can you perform your forms again?"
Inori obliged with a small smile, as if she knew what Kanao had been doing since Kanae's death. She performed all the forms of Insect and Flower Breathing, deliberately performing them slowly so Kanao could burn each movement into her memories.
Inori changed a lot since the day Kanao first met her. She grew bolder, more confident, and more genuine. What used to be fake smiles turned real. What used to be forced laughter turned natural. What used to be insecurity turned into confidence. Her change was almost unnoticeable, but Kanao could see it, and she was happy for her.
"Thank you for being my sisters."
Kanao had a feeling, one she refused to accept. But had she known that it would truly be the last time she would ever see Inori again, she would've hugged her a little bit tighter. Say the words she had always wanted to say. Me too. Thank you, Inori. Thank you for being my sister.
"Inori...are you...going to fight?"
Kanao heard the echoing sound of clashing swords somewhere away from Muzan, and forcibly made her way toward the sound. She couldn't stop a few tears from slipping out at the sight that greeted her. Inori and Muichiro, both with only one arm left and spilling blood to the ground, bound their red blades to their remaining hand. They were panting, looking ready to collapse at any given moment, yet their eyes burned with resolve.
Inori smiled at her, the same smile Kanao had grown to love. She staggered forward, looping her remaining arm over Kanao's shoulders. Kanao gripped the back of her haori, burying her face into Inori's shoulder as she sobbed her heart out. She didn't want to lose another sister.
"Kanao-nee, please live."
Inori's last words to Kanao were neither an 'I love you' nor a 'thank you' like she expected it to be. It was a plea for her survival.
After the battle was finally over, Kanao watched the aftermath. She watched as Inori's medicine, explained by the kakushi, saved dozens of lives. She watched as Sanemi hugged Genya with tears streaming out of both of their eyes. She watched as Kyojuro lifted Senjuro around with tears spilling out of their eyes. She watched as Obanai and Mitsuri embraced each other with tears slipping out of their eyes. She watched as Tanjiro and Nezuko went home together with teary eyes and bright smiles. She watched as Zenitsu and Inosuke cried with the Kamado siblings over their victory. She watched as Giyu smiled at all of them with a tear trickling down his cheek.
Kanao knew she should be happy for them, and she was. She gulped down her favorite drink and scarfed down all of Aoi's delicious cooking. She twirled around with Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo in Inori's garden, wearing flower crowns and pruning the plants there. She fed Shinobu's goldfish and Inori's pond fish. She smiled and laughed as she lived in a now demonless world.
She just wished her sisters were there to cry joyful tears with her too.
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
Inosuke has a good sense of touch.
He needed to if he wanted to survive as a child up in the harsh mountains. Inosuke prided himself in the fact that not even a mosquito could get away from his incredible senses. His senses had saved him multiple times and he knew he could rely on them, whether to fight or to live. His senses could even sense someone's intent before they could act, so he knew that his senses would never betray him.
"Stars, stop struggling already."
Inosuke first met Inori when he was on the verge of death during the Mount Natagumo incident. The Star Pillar had saved his life and proceeded to manhandle him. She, a tiny girl who was shorter and younger than him, managed to manhandle and render him immobile. Granted, it was for his own sake, but Inosuke burned Inori's face into his memory as someone he needed to surpass.
He remembered how he gaped when Inori fought against Akaza. Compared to Kyojuro whose attacks were strong and forward, Inori's were full of tricks. She would slide beneath Akaza, backflip to slash behind him, or even try to disorient his movement by changing her tempo. Her swordsmanship wasn't as strong as Kyojuro's, but Insouke's senses were telling him she was the most dangerous out of the two.
When Inosuke thought Inori couldn't master his Beast Breathing, he was proven wrong when she did. She may not use it in real fights, but she picked up the unpredictability and wildness of his movements and adapted it into her own swordsmanship, making her even deadlier than before. Inosuke couldn't stop his skin from tingling every time he saw her, itching for a fight.
"Argh! Take this off me! I'll kill you all!"
Inori laughed behind her haori sleeve at the sight he had been reduced to. It was supposed to be a harmless nap. But somehow, the little girls managed to steal his boar head and placed butterfly hairpins on his hair. He chased after the screaming girls until they hid behind Inori, still giggling to themselves. Tanjiro and Zenitsu just watched him suffering from the sidelines. He decided he would kill them too.
"But Inosuke-san looks cute like this. You look like an older sister."
"Shut it!" Inosuke growled, yet he made no effort to take the hairpins off. "I'll rip your head off, you damn woman!"
"You tsundere boy." Inori poked his cheek, snickering. "You actually love them, don't you?"
"No, I don't!"
Inori laughed behind her sleeves, her laughter growing louder as Inosuke continued to growl. But despite him not removing the hairpins until they fell off during training, Inori made no comment. She did smile weirdly though, much to Inosuke's irritation.
It was just him and Inori in the Star Estate, and the Googly-Eyes brothers, but they were insignificant. Inori was patching him up because his knuckles were bruised, but Inosuke was looking at her with sparkling eyes. The girl smiled and eventually asked what made him so giddy.
"Show me your wisteria carving."
He had heard some random guys yapping about how the pillars had their titles engraved on the back of their hands. Inosuke didn't quite understand, but that sounded cool, so he wanted to see it. Inori, despite raising an eyebrow, simply rolled up the sleeve of her haori.
A kanji he couldn't read—"Star. This kanji means star because I'm the Star Pillar."—appeared on the back of her hand, and Inosuke gaped with stars in his eyes.
"That's so awesome!" He exclaimed, lifting his swords. "Once I become a pillar, I'll be called the Beast Pillar! I'll have 'beast' on the back of my hand! So awesome!"
"Wow, so cool." Inori clapped her hands, beaming at him. "Please do your best, Inosuke-san. I'll be cheering you on."
Soon after that, he was whisked away by the god of festivities and encountered a praying mantis and sash worm demon—why the fuck are they two heads in one? So irritating—and when he woke up, he was in the Butterfly Estate, and both Tanjiro and Inori were still unconscious. Tanjiro because he also fought that demon, while Inori was unconscious because she fought another and much stronger demon.
"Oi! Inori!"
Inori choked on her drink, coughing out the water as Muichiro patted her back in panic. Inosuke fumbled his hands around her as she continued to cough, but what caught him off guard was Inori's expression after she calmed down. Her mouth was hung agape, jaw practically dropping to the floor.
"You...you said my name right!"
"Hah?!" Tick marks appeared all over his boar head. "I did not! I said Inomari!"
"You totally did." Inori laughed again, only to wheeze in pain when her wounds didn't agree with her.
"But he called you Inori last time too." Muichiro tilted his head to the side. "I think he did."
"Then, I must've been too out of it to notice." Inori laughed it off. "But still, I'm glad Inosuke-san finally remembers my name. It'll be a pain if another demon calls me by the wrong name."
"Gah! Who cares!" Inosuke stomped on the floor, pointing a finger at Inori and completely ignoring the murderous glare Muichiro was giving him. "Inosuke-sama demands a match! Fight me!"
Inosuke should've known something bad was going to happen when Inori smiled that venomous smile of hers, one that reminded him too much of Shinobu but was different enough that he knew it was Inori's. But while he was supposed to have known, that didn't mean he would follow his common sense. Thus, he ended up sprawled across the training hall, beaten over and over again by Muichiro.
"Huh? Ranking?"
"That's right." One of the slayers whose name Inosuke couldn't bother to remember, he would call him Greasy, pumped his fists. "Inosuke, you're the first one who said Himejima-san is the strongest, right? What about the others? Rank them."
"Isn't it obvious?" Another anonymous slayer snapped his fingers. "If Himejima-sama is the strongest, then Hoshizora-sama is the second strongest. I heard that she has over two dozen demon moon kills. What do you think, Tanjiro?"
Tanjiro scratched his cheek with a nervous chuckle. "Well, Inori-san herself said that in terms of offensive power, she's one of the weakest."
"Huh? How come?"
"Inori-san specializes in defense," Tanjiro explained. "Her strength is her ability to dodge and attack blind spots. Unlike most of the pillars who immediately go for the offense, Inori-san mostly stays on the defense. That's how she fights."
"So, Hoshizora-sama is weak?"
"No, not like that." Tanjiro hastily shook his head, effectively stopping Inosuke from pummeling the poor slayer in favor of listening to his explanation. "In the first place, there are people who are just more compatible with certain demons." Kyojuro and Inori had explained how information was power because certain techniques worked better against certain demons.
"For example, I think that Uzui-san and Inori-san are best suited to fight Upper Moon Six since Uzui-san has high resistance to poison and Inori-san can dodge all of Upper Moon Six's attacks." The other pillars wouldn't be able to fight as effectively if they had been poisoned, after all. "But against Upper Moon Four, pillars with wide-ranged attacks like Himejima-san and Kanroji-san are most compatible. That's why you can't really rank the pillars based on their opponents alone. Well, Himejima-san is an exception though."
Inosuke huffed, nodding his head. While strong, none of the pillars, Gyomei being an exception, really stood out. He admired Shinobu and Inori who were nice to him, as well as Gyomei who he considered the strongest. But other than them, none of the pillars really stood out.
Well, whatever. Inosuke chomped down on another fish. As long as I beat them all, I'll be the strongest.
"Oi! Girly Old Man!" Despite being severely injured, Inosuke was resilient enough to remain conscious. At least enough to watch as Tengen took off Inori's haori and let the kakushi carry her somewhere else. "Did you see me? Inosuke-sama beat Muzan! I'm the strongest now! I'm stronger than anybody else! I'm stronger than Inori and that Ball-Ball Old Guy!"
"Yeah." Tengen's voice cracked but he masked it by clearing his throat. "Hashibira, you're still alive so you're the strongest now."
"Huh?"
Tengen ruffled his hair, forcing Inosuke to look at the ground. "Congrats. You're stronger than the kid and Himejima-san now."
Inosuke didn't quite understand, or he did but refused to accept reality. Either way, his attention was diverted to the ripped shreds of purple fabric in Tengen's hands. "What are you going to do with that?"
"This?" Tengen lifted the shredded haori that Inori loved so much. "I'm going to bring it to my wives. Hopefully, they can fix it so we can bury it together with the kid."
"Bury?" Inosuke took off his boar mask, staring at the haori until his vision blurred with something wet. "Inori's...dead?"
"Don't look so down." Tengen ruffled his hair again. "She probably expected this to happen. It won't...it won't do anybody any good if you cry."
"Yeah." Inosuke clenched his fists, forcing his tears to remain inside. "Everyone's going to return to the earth sooner or later. Inori's the same. I won't cry! I'm going to keep on living!"
Tengen didn't comment on the fat tears leaking out of his boar mask.
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
Tanjiro has a sharp nose.
Everybody close to him knew that. He was blessed with a nose that could smell something as abstract as emotions. Tanjiro knew just how reliable his nose was. He managed to become a demon slayer because his nose helped him. He managed to find Kibutsuji Muzan because of his nose too. He knew people's characteristics even before knowing them because of his nose as well. His nose was his most reliable and trustworthy asset.
Tanjiro only saw Inori for a brief moment in Mount Natagumo because the next time he woke up, he was surrounded by ten of the strongest demon slayers in the corps, who were demanding his sister's death at that. The anger in the air was so thick that Tanjiro almost felt sick. Each and every one of the pillars, even someone as absent-minded as Muichiro or loving as Mitsuri, radiated the smell of anger. However deep it had been buried, Tanjiro could still smell their anger.
But the smell of sadness was only emitted by one person.
None of the pillars except Inori radiated sadness. They felt pity, but nobody was sad. Tanjiro knew that Inori wasn't just sad for him or Nezuko, but she was sad about something else too. But that sadness alone was enough to garner his curiosity.
"You may not trust Tomioka-san, but you should at least trust Oyakata-sama. I believe our master wouldn't do this without reason, so let's listen to the reason first."
Tanjiro didn't think that Shinazugawa Sanemi was capable of reasoning, but his scent surprisingly calmed down after listening to Inori. Sure, he still looked like he was ready to skewer Inori and the Kamado siblings altogether, but his scent told him otherwise. It wasn't just Sanemi, Tanjiro could also smell a little bit of consideration from the other pillars.
From his brief encounter with the pillars, he knew that they only listened to Kagaya. Other than that, they did things their own way without much regard for what others thought. As long as none of them got in each other's way, all was good. So, for someone other than Kagaya to make them actually consider something that he knew was brazen, Tanjiro couldn't help but be more curious about Inori.
"Nezuko-san's blood is really strange." Inori hummed, lifting her head from the microscope. "I've examined a lot of demon moon blood, but there's something within Nezuko-san's blood that they don't have."
"Is it bad?" Tanjiro asked, patting Nezuko's head to quell his anxiety.
"Well, she is still acting like a child." Inori tapped her chin in thought. "I've never seen a demon act that way before. Her level of reason resembles that of an animal's unless she forces herself to do otherwise."
"Animal?" Tanjiro squeaked out, looking absolutely horrified. "Huh? Why would you say that?"
Inori tilted her head to the side. "Tanjiro-san, the reason why humans and demons can't get along is because they both have an equal level of reason, but aren't on the same level of the food chain." Because they were prey and predator, and they were predator and hunter. "Nezuko-san's level of reason is equivalent to that of a clueless child, or a smart animal if I may be blunt. It's only there for survival and not much for planning or feeling. From what I heard, even during a fight, she acts without thinking, just surviving."
"I...I don't think I'm following."
"What differentiates humans and animals is their ability to reason," she explained. "Animals have a limited reason, so they act based on their survival instincts. Meanwhile, we have a much more advanced sense of reason. That's why humans have the ability to understand what's right and wrong, or the ability to do advanced thinking for the best possible solution. It's quite complicated to explain but that's the gist."
Inori tilted her head towards Nezuko, who was currently dragging her body through the floor while humming incoherent songs. "Demons were originally humans, so once they've regained themselves, they also regain their sense of reason. That's why demons act and think similarly to humans. However, Nezuko-san doesn't seem to have regained herself yet. It's quite unheard of."
"Do you know the reason for this?"
"Unfortunately, I'm not knowledgeable enough for that." Inori shook her head, but smiled at Tanjiro. "However, I believed that whatever it is, it shouldn't be harmful to Nezuko-san. I think it's fine if we let Nezuko-san do whatever it is she's doing, as long she doesn't eat anyone that is."
"Of course." Tanjiro beamed, bowing in gratitude. He lifted his head. "Thank you, Inori-san."
The Star Estate smelled of chemicals, blood, and flowers, as well as bitter happiness and desperation. The usually sickening smell of blood had never smelled like hope so much before, not until he met Inori. Even when he lost all sense of self to Muzan's blood, he could smell wisteria, chemicals, and blood. He reached out his hand, grabbing onto the hands trying to pull him back to the light, as well as the hands pushing him towards it. Tears streamed down his eyes as he finally opened them, greeted by his allies in the land of the living.
Whether in life or death, whether by the living or the dead, he has always received the help he needed.
He just wished everybody received the same.
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
Zenitsu has exceptional ears.
He daresay his hearing surpassed that of Uzui Tengen's, because not even the Sound Pillar could hear something as deep as thoughts. Despite that, he was always getting deceived. He only wanted to believe what he wanted to believe, so people took advantage of him. His tendency to trust so blindly was what led him to the path of a demon slayer, and Zenitsu couldn't say he was happy with it.
"What about this one?"
Zenitsu first met Inori during the aftermath of the Mount Natagumo incident. He had been wrapped into a cocoon of bandages that rendered him immobile, and she was the one checking up on him before he was transported to the Butterfly Estate.
"He defeated the demon who turned the others into spiders."
"My, you must've fought really hard." Inori smiled, patting his head and letting Chuntaro nuzzle against her finger. "Alright, move him to the Butterfly Estate and have the girls treat him. Shinobu-san and I will do something as soon as the Pillar Meeting is over."
"As you command, Hoshizora-sama."
Inori was pretty, though Zenitsu would think of any girl as pretty. It wasn't a shock to anyone when he was smitten with her at first sight. But Zenitsu knew he has a tendency to trust any girl at face value, and he didn't fancy being deceived again. So, he listened to Inori's sounds.
Aren't you crying? Zenitsu never had the chance nor the courage to ask that question. How are you smiling as if you're not on the verge of crying right now? How are you laughing as if you don't feel like life is against you? How are you taking care of us when your own heart sounds like it's breaking apart?
"Inori-san, do you hate demons?"
It was a dumb question, Zenitsu knew that. But he couldn't help himself. If she really hated demons, then why was she always so sad and unsure? Shouldn't she be angry?
"Of course I hate them," Inori admitted after a few minutes of silence, breathing out loudly.
"Then, why do you always sound so guilty and sad?" Zenitsu cocked his head to the side. "It's completely natural. Everyone hates demons, except Tanjiro but I don't think that guy has the ability to hate anybody."
Inori chuckled behind her haori sleeve, calming down sooner than Zenitsu would've liked. "Yoriichi-sama taught me how to value lives, that includes the lives of demons. I tried to understand them, I really tried." She sighed again. "But I always end up hating them. Demons steal everything without a care for the damage they leave behind. I know I'm probably disappointing Yoriichi-sama, but I...I just can't bring myself to not hate them. I really tried to think of them objectively, but I always end up releasing my anger on them. It's disappointing."
Zenitsu never learned much about Tsugikuni Yoriichi, but he knew how much Inori adored him. It was the constant echo in her sound, something that was engraved so deeply and became a part of her. So, when Zenitsu heard of her death, he couldn't help but hope she at the very least managed to make Yoriichi proud. He hoped that she had found peace with her hatred and sadness. He hoped that she managed to go to the stars.
He may not be able to hear the sounds of the dead, but the stars shining every night told him enough.
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
Genya has an extraordinary mouth, to put it simply.
It wasn't anything to brag about. His tongue and digestive system were just strong enough to withstand the nastiness of demon flesh. Genya wanted to be of help to his older brother and apologize, so he walked down the path of a demon slayer despite knowing how talentless he was. He ended up overestimating himself, which caused him to lose control and nearly killed a human. Fortunately, he was spared when Gyomei stopped him and took him in.
"Genya, are you uncomfortable with Kocho?"
"I'm fine." Genya's voice cracked, and he hated it. "I know I'm weird, okay? I'm fine. Kocho-san still treats me and that's enough." Even if she looked disgusted and scolded him more often than not, Genya was fine with it. He was a demon-eating demon slayer who couldn't use breaths, it was only natural for Shinobu to be put off, especially with his rude personality.
"I see. How about going to someone else?" Gyomei asked. "Hoshizora is finally home. She should be able to check on you."
"No, that's not necessary." Genya felt fear overtaking his entire being. He had heard rumors of the Star Pillar. She was the youngest pillar of this generation of pillars, even younger than him, and while she was known for getting along with her fellow pillars, she was even more popular for her ruthlessness. Hoshizora Inori was merciless like the Wind Pillar whose smile was as sweet as the Insect Pillar.
Definitely not a good combination.
"Hoshizora knows a lot about demon physiology, and there might be a chance she knows someone with your condition."
"Knows someone with my condition?"
"Hoshizora used to be able to see dead spirits, so she knows a lot of historical figures, particularly those affiliated with the Demon Slaying Corps."
That was news to him. He had heard of her talents which allowed her to master multiple breathing styles. He had heard of her knowledge in pharmaceuticals that rivaled that of Shinobu's. He had heard of her relationship with her fellow pillars, particularly his brother, which often made him envious. He had even heard rumors about her obnoxiously huge crow that liked to pick fights with other crows. But he had never heard of her ability to see dead spirits.
Much to his surprise, Inori never had a disgusted expression whenever she saw him. More than that, she, a pillar, always referred to him, someone who was ranked underneath her, with honorifics.
"One of the dead I knew was an imperial princess," she explained when he asked why. "I mean, I know my mouth is a bit foul, but Princess Yua taught me the imperial etiquette. She's from centuries ago, so I don't normally use the etiquette she taught me, but some of it just stuck. I guess calling people older than me with honorifics is just one of them."
In Genya's conclusion, Inori was weird.
Call him childish, but he'd rather have someone who smiled at him do his checkups. So, Genya would go to the Star Estate for his checkups, only going to Shinobu if the situation really called for it. He didn't mind that Inori would always ask for an extra blood sample, being mysterious with her reasons. He trusted her and knew she would never misuse his trust.
Genya knew he was weak. He couldn't even use breathing techniques. But despite all that, he still wanted to fight. His goals may be selfish, but his desire to exterminate demonkind was the same as every other slayer. He didn't want to die, but above all else, he didn't want to let his friends—his brother die. He wouldn't allow it. He would never allow it to happen.
Thus, he fought the strongest of the upper moons. He didn't intend to die, but if that was the price of their victory, then Genya guessed it was a relatively cheap price. Besides, his mind reasoned, I can see the others again.
But death never came. Instead of the cold he expected to experience, he felt warm in the embrace of his beloved brother. Sanemi was crying into his shoulder, blubbering out thank yous as he pressed Genya to his chest. It took Genya a few moments to realize that he was still alive, saved by Inori. He made a mental note to buy her lots of sweets after the battle was over.
"Aniki, wait!" Genya couldn't move his limbs, so he opted to call out to his brother. It worked as Sanemi stopped. "Don't die! Please don't die!"
"You idiot, that's not for you to worry about." Sanemi grinned and knocked his knuckles on Genya's head. "You just have to wait here until sunrise. By then, no more demons will exist, and you can live a normal life."
"Aniki!"
"Take care of him." Sanemi ignored Genya, ordering the kakushi before storming to join the battle against Muzan. The last thing Genya saw before passing out was the 'kill' kanji of his brother's haori.
When Genya opened his eyes again, he was in a bed in the Butterfly Estate. The first person he saw was Kanao, and so he asked her, "What happened? Is Aniki okay?"
Kanao smiled, yet it didn't reach her cheeks. "The Wind Pillar is stable, he's still unconscious though."
Genya breathed a sigh of relief at that, then he asked again, "What about the others? Tanjiro? Zenitsu? Inosuke? What about the other pillars? Himejima-san? Inori-san? Tokito-san?"
Kanao lost her smile, looking down at her lap as she fumbled with her fingers. Genya knew what she would say even before she said it. "Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke are fine. But the three pillars you mentioned...Himejima-sama, Tokito-sama, Inori, and Shinobu nee-san...the four of them didn't make it."
"No...way..." Genya felt like a rock had just been placed to block his throat. "They...died?"
The Flower Breathing user nodded. "Shinobu nee-san was...killed by Upper Moon Two. Himejima-sama passed away due to the mark...Inori and Tokito-sama..." Kanao took a deep and shaky breath, exhaling slowly. "I heard that their injuries were too severe even for Inori's medicine."
"But...but...but Inori-san has good control of her breaths! She can...she can even do what Aniki did! Himejima-san is the strongest pillar! How did—"
"Genya," Kanao cut in, her eyes glistening with tears. "Inori lost her arm during her fight with Upper Moon One, yet she still fought Muzan without getting it treated. Not even breaths can fully stop the bleeding of a lost limb. And neither medicine nor breaths can save vital organs that have been embedded with shattered pieces of bones. Their injuries were just...beyond saving."
Kanao wiped her moist eyes. "Himejima-sama got the mark despite being over twenty-five. Inori said that the mark drastically reduces one's lifespan in exchange for tremendous powers. He fought beyond his limits...it was inevitable."
"But it's just...I just—"
"I know it's hard to believe."
Genya took a deep breath. "What about Aniki? He got the mark too. Will he die by twenty-five?"
"Inori left behind an unfinished research on how to lessen the effects of the mark. Aoi is currently studying it," Kanao answered, standing up and walking out of the room. "We'll definitely do whatever it takes to finish her research before the pillars run out of time, so rest assured. I'll call for Aoi to check on you now."
Genya didn't suffer too many injuries since most of them were healed by his pseudo-demonic abilities and Inori's medicine. Despite that, he couldn't help but hope he was hurt a bit more. That way, he could at the very least have the pain distract him from his emotions.
"Aniki." Genya waited until he heard Sanemi grunt. "Promise me you won't punch me?"
"Hah? What kind of dumb shit are you going to do?"
"Promise me?"
"What dumb shit are you trying to do, Genya?"
"I won't tell you until you promise you won't punch me."
Sanemi clicked his tongue but eventually agreed. "So, what dumb shit are you going to do now?"
"I can't do anything." Genya gestured to the wheelchair he was currently using. "I just...I just want to know if it's really okay for me to be alive right now."
Judging by the sudden crack of knuckles, Genya guessed Sanemi was holding himself from punching something, or someone, or him.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Sanemi asked back, turning the wheelchair to another corner of the graveyard. "Why are you saying dumb shit like that now?"
"It's just...is it really okay for me to be alive on someone else's sacrifice?"
Sanemi remained silent until they reached their destination, Inori and Muichiro's grave. He knelt and prayed while Genya could only sit still, lost in thought.
"Most of us are basically alive on someone else's sacrifice," Sanemi said, arranging the flowers they brought in front of the grave. "We have no choice but to live on. If they're not satisfied with it...then they can kill me when I'm dead."
Genya snorted, but he knew Sanemi was right. So, he finished his prayers and read the names on the grave, thanking the two of them before heading to the next grave. It was hard, but he'd try his best to live on. He'd be damned if he let his second chance at happiness slip away.
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙