♪───Ｏ（≧∇≦）Ｏ────♪
Nao was kind enough to walk with you back to the Sword-smith Village. Well, it's not as if you remember where it was, so you kind of needed him to show you.
Unexpectedly, you two have been walking almost all day. You took occasional breaks to eat and rest up, but nothing longer than 30 minutes to an hour.
"Damn," You mutter under your breath, feeling exhausted from walking all day, "It's night already."
"I live pretty far," Nao says, his hands clasped behind his head, "Sorry, perhaps I should have taken you to my home that was closer."
You do a double take and stare at Nao with wide eyes, "Y-You have more than one house??"
"(Y/n)."
"..."
"I am rich."
You sigh, "It must be niiice. I'm tryna get like you, ma boy."
The brunette shakes his head, "Life would not be nearly as enjoyable if there were no commoners to laugh at. Thank you for that."
You snort and slightly nudge his side, "Fucker."
"So…" Nao's tone becomes more serious, "Have… you decided?"
"Decided what?"
"If you will retire from the Corps."
Ah.
"Uh… I'm… I'm still thinking about it." You say honestly, "I'm leaning heavily towards going home, but… I feel guilty when I think about the friends I'd be leaving behind."
"You are the most important existence in your life, (Y/n). No one else." Nao hums softly, "And… if you would like… I would not mind if you would stay with me. If… if you decide to retire, I mean."
Ah, to live with a hot rich man. That's literally been your dream since you were like… 8 years old.
You laugh quietly, "You're so sweet, Nao. Why can't you be like this all the time?"
"Because fuck that."
You snort, slapping a hand over your mouth when you do.
"I mean it, (Y/n)." Nao rolls his eyes with a smile, "You're… a mediocre friend."
WOOO!!!
YOU ARE PLEASANTLY AVERAGE!!!!
You point to a tree with funky bark design. You recognize it from a few days ago when you left with Nao for the last mission. You called it the vagina tree because that's what the bark resembled.
"Hey," You stopped in your tracks, "We're here."
"Okay…"
Nao moves behind you and directs your body so you are facing directly Northward.
"Keep going exactly this way for 30 minutes," The brown eyed male instructs, "You will reach the village in no time if you just keep North."
"Thank you so much, Nao," You grin, turning around to face him, "Stay safe on your way back, alright?"
"Are you sure you do not want me to accompany you all the way to the village?" He asks, "It would be no bother to me."
You shake your head, "No, it's fine. You said you had a place close by, so you should enjoy your time there. And… I don't think you'll enjoy hanging out with my friends, anyway."
"That is true." Nao says with a thoughtful expression, "I can barely tolerate you as it is."
"So charming."
"Be safe, alright? Stay out of trouble," Nao holds up a fist, "Tell your mother I said hello."
You smirk and give him a fist bump, "You too, babe. Stay safe."
You two part ways with one last smile. It was a bit awkward, but honestly it was due to the fact that you two enjoyed each other's company so much. You didn't really want to part ways, but Nao was too stubborn to admit it, and you were too respectful of boundaries to push it any further.
You're hoping you'll see him again. He was rude, and sometimes said the wrong things, and wasn't as emotionally available as you wished, but he was…
Selfish.
Nao was a selfish person.
Which, in retrospect, is not a good trait in a friend or a person. But he knew when to take care of himself. He knew when he needed to prioritize himself. He knew what made him happy and didn't care if it made others upset.
And you're the complete opposite.
("(L/n)!!")
You didn't care much for your health. You never truly prioritize yourself. And you didn't want to go home to be happy because it would mean hurting the friends you made here.
("(L/N)!!!")
Nao was selfish, but maybe… maybe that is exactly what you need.
"(L/N)!!!!!"
"WAH!!!"
You jump when you finally register the female voice frantically calling your name. You turn around just in time to be tackled by a girl with pink hair.
"IWBEIEJD?!?!?!?!"
"(L/N)!!! I'M SORRRYYY! ARE YOU OKAY??"
The girl, Mitsuri, climbs off you and helps you up in the span of 2 seconds. You get dizzy from the quick events, but not to worry!
You don't have a second to spare to think about what just happened because Mitsuri quickly ruins your okay mood.
"Y-You've heard… right? The news…"
The girl knows how close you two were, despite only seeing you two together a few times, Kyojuro talks about you a lot in the letters he used to send Mitsuri.
If you haven't heard already, then you deserve to know.
You furrow your eyebrows, "The news?"
Mitsuri's eyes water a bit, "About Rengoku…"
Ah.
That news.
You furrow your eyebrows and look away, trying your best not to cry as well: "Yeah. I was there."
"(L/n)..."
"CAW!! CAW!!"
You didn't pay any mind to the crow, but it catches Mitsuri's attention. And it seemed to remind her of the reason why she was running to begin with.
She clutches the fabric of your blur haori, dragging you by the arm, and running in the direction of the village.
"Wha-Kanroji! What are you doing??"
"The swordsmith village! It's under attack by demons!"
Wait, what?
Already?
That's today?
"O-Okay! Alright!"
Mitsuri lets go of your arm, but in doing so, you can't match her speed and you end up just chasing after her.
"Hurry, hurry!" Mitsuri says, "Everyone in the village is in danger!"
You grimace at her words, not enjoying the reminder as you struggle to keep up with her.
"To think that the swordsmith village was actually this close to my own district! That shocked me!!" Mitsuri continued, "Alright! Here we gooo!!"
This is going to fucking suck.
————
You regret telling Nao to leave. You should've had him come with you, to at least help evacuate the villagers. Dammit.
You hope your friends are okay.
"(L/n)!" Mitsuri calls out, gaining your attention, "This way! I can hear a commotion this way!"
You almost want to ignore her; you just want to find Miku and make sure she gets away safely. But… you can't just abandon Mitsuri either. You nod at the Love Pillar, chasing after her as she runs towards the screaming.
You hold the hilt of your blade with your dominant hand, breathing heavily through your nose as exhaustion was beginning to seep through your body.
"GYAH!!!"
You can hear a man's voice from not too far ahead.
"Wield your daggers!"
"Tetsugorou!!!"
"WAAGHH!"
"Watch out!" You hear another man's voice, "The monster's nails are sharper than a sword!!"
You and Mitsuri break through the trees, being greeted by the building. The demon was fucking uglier in person. A weird, fish monstrosity with an ugly ass pot on its back. The fish-demon was fucking walking on four legs. It grabs onto one of the villagers head, pulling him towards his mouth.
"AGUGH!!"
"OH SHIT!! GET BACK! GET BACK!!"
Mitsuri jumps high into the air, pulling out her weird, long, soft sword and slicing the demon across it's back.
You draw your own blade and make quick work of the demon. Swinging your blade downward on its arms to make it releases the villagers. In a quick session, you then turn your blade the other way, swinging upward and decapitating it.
"Sorry for being late, everyone!!" Mitsuri shouts while still in mid-fucking-air, "We'll make sure to beat them all up!!"
You almost physically deflate at her words. "We"? Ugh, you don't really want to stick around, you want to find Miku.
"Oh, a Pillar's here!" You hear someone say, "Oh yeah!!!"
"I forgot that one was strong since she was so cute…"
The pink haired girl swiftly lands back on the ground, maneuvering her long blade in a quick fashion back into her own sheath.
"Kanroji!" You sheath your blade and jog to her, "Kanroji, I can't stay here."
She widens her eyes, "Eh? What do you mean? You're not-You're not leaving, are you?"
You shake your head, "No, nothing like that. I-I need to find someone, Miku, she lives here. I-I need to make sure she's okay. And Sekido-"
"-Eh?! Sekido is here, too??"
Shit. His name isn't actually Sekido anymore. Well, it is, but he wants you to start calling him Kōrenki now, his human name. You need to remember that.
"Yeah. I-Please, Mitsu-erm, Kanroji," You plead desperately, "I need to find them. I have to make sure they're okay-"
"-I understand, (L/n)." Mitsuri smiles with reassurance, "Be careful, okay? And beat up any demons that block your way!"
You nod in gratitude, turning to run further into the village to find your new mother.
——
SHIT SHIT SHIT!
You can't find her anywhere!
You were jogging lightly past villagers who were quickly making an escape. Occasionally, you had stopped by a destroyed house to search through the rubble to see if anyone was trapped under.
Just like now.
"Come on! Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!!" You grunt with effort.
You were using most of your strength to keep the broken wall up, cursing under your breath as one of the villagers was helping his wife get free of the rubble. Her leg was strapped under the debris, crying in pain as she tried to pull it out.
"I-I can't!" She sobs, her broken mask revealing her pained expression, "I can't move!"
You glare at the man who was just pulling her by the arms, "You! Get down and help her properly!"
"I-I-I…"
He was shaking, not moving from where he was. And you knew why. He could see your strength faltering, scared that if he goes under to help, you'll drop the wall on both of them.
"HURRY THE FUCK UP-" You snap, feeling your feet beginning to slip against the dirt, "-AND HELP HER ALREADY!!"
"Get out of the way!"
You flinch at the familiar voice, not expecting to see the brunette running from behind you.
Nao pushes the male swordsmith to the side, kneeling down and crawling underneath the wall you were holding up. He pushes the rocks off the woman's leg, grunting in effort as it was digging into her flesh.
"Nao," You say with wide eyes, "I tho-What are you doing here??"
"Did you forget I live in this district?"
Nao's voice was strained, cutting the palms of his hands as he finally managed to free the woman's leg. The male villager pulls the woman by her arms as Nao crawls out.
"I think it was 5 minutes after I had parted with you when my crow came to me, telling me and leading me to the village," Nao finishes.
You make sure both Nao and the woman swordsmith were completely out of the way before dropping the wall. You fall forward and catch yourself against the fallen wall, breathing heavily with exertion and watching your arms shake unsteadily.
"Fuck. Why did this have to happen today?" You pant heavily.
Nao kneels down and tears off one of the woman's pant legs, ignoring the horrified looks he received from her.
"Would you have preferred it to happen tomorrow?" Nao asks as he tightly wraps up her injured leg.
"Not what I meant," You take a deep breath and stand up properly, "Thank you for the help, Nao."
The dilf (but not actually a dilf) doesn't say anything. He helps the lady up and leans her against the male villager.
"Both of you get out of here…" He then looks at the male villager with a black expression, "And pray she doesn't decide to leave your sorry ass for your display of cowardice."
"Nao, let's go."
You don't give anyone a chance to say anything, taking Nao by the sleeve and dragging him away.
"I can't find Mi-my mom," You frown, walking towards the direction of her house, "Please…"
You trail off as you freeze in fear and anxiety. Not too far away, maybe 10 to 20 yards away was a small, held up shed. The door was open, and you can see the back of Upper Moon Five (or was it technically four now?) standing in the doorway.
You remember this. Haganezuka and another swordsmith are in there. Gyokko, Upper Moon 4(?), is going to attack them if you don't-
"NOOO! HAGANEZUKA!!"
It happened so fast. The shed shook due to a force, the walls gaining a few, long slashes along the side. You're taken out of your daze when you see Gyokko beginning to shuffle inside the shed.
You shake your head, letting go of Nao: "Nao, you go to the other side of the shed. There's someone there who's gonna need your help."
Nao looks at you with surprise, "How do you know-"
You don't want to answer that, so you just leave his ass behind while running to the shed. You draw your blade once you reach the entrance, readying a stance once you step inside.
Your gaze is drawn to Haganezuka, almost forgetting the mission when you catch sight of his face.
Um….
Look.
You're not a whore.
BUT-
Wow.
He's gorgeous.
So much more gorgeous than you thought. Minus the fact he's now missing an eye, Haganezuka was so much prettier than you would've guessed from seeing him in the manga.
"ugh… gh…"
You flicker your gaze to the swordsmith who was halfway through the wall, bleeding from various wounds on his body.
Wait.
That's-
You remember him; that's Inosuke's swordsmith: Kanamori. He was clutching a weapon, trying to push himself up despite being heavily injured. You heavily respect him, knowing it would've been easier to just give up.
You see Nao kneel down from the outside, pulling Kanamori out to help him.
"Hyo! Hyo! Hyo! It's (L/n)! It's really (L/n)!"
Before you can even look at him, Gyokko was suddenly right in front of you, his disgusting face inches from your own.
You flinch backwards and swing your sword blindly in a desperate attempt to get him away from you. Gyokko does back away, and at the same time, you see a blade headed towards his neck.
Gyokko disappears into his pot, then reappearing in another one at the opposite side of the room. You look back and sigh in relief.
Muichiro was standing next to you, his demon mark stark in contrast against his skin. If he's here, then Kotetsu, the little boy, has to be okay, right??
Muichiro hasn't charged yet, but you quickly make your way to Haganezuka when you see Nao carry Kanamori away from the shed. At that moment, the Mist Pillar charges at Gyokko.
You see in your peripheral vision that Gyokko holds up a small pot, large tentacles bursting out of it and growing in size at a rapid pace.
"Octopus Pot Hell!!!"
You let go of your blade and tackle Haganezuka, feeling the tentacles push you through the wall. You roll over to protect the swordsmith, tears pricking your eyes at the wooden splinters piercing your skin.
You remove yourself from the brunette, making sure he was okay before looking back in search of your blade.
"Hyo hyo! So? How do you like the power of octopus flesh? You can't cut through that!"
You spot your blade not too far, glad to see it only suffered a few scratches. You're about to reach for it when a large tentacle snatches you up into the air.
"NO! EW!"
You struggle (and fail) to break free from the slimy grip. A white girl's spirit takes over you and all you can say is:
"EW! EW!! EW!!! EW!!!!"
"Say, (L/n)!" Gyokko brings you closer, the tentacle around you beginning to tighten every second, "I must thank you for getting Akaza killed! Thanks to you, I became Upper Moon Four!!"
"Fuck off, you tater-cunt!" You spit rudely, "I go to the Shinto shine every fucking day just to pray on your downfall!!"
That's not true, but still.
Gyokko clicks his tongue, "And here I was about to make your death quick as a thanks. But now, I'll slowly crush you and absorb your body."
You bite your tongue to silence yourself. You feel bones creak from the pressure, the tentacles getting painful each passing second.
"Ice Breathing, Sixth Form: Shard Hurricane."
Fucking Kazuki maneuvers over the many tentacles by twisting his upper and lower body in an unpredictable pattern, slicing through each appendage while making his way upward.
Muichiro breaks free on his own, landing on the ground with Kanamori. With the tentacle that was still squeezing you more and more, Nao gets launched upward into the air.
"Ice Breathing, Eighth Form: Hail Storm."
Nao grins as he swings his funky ass sword downward, cutting the tentacle holding you vertically in a flowing motion. The wind caused by his strike reached you, it actually felt cold.
You were about to get ready to break your fall, but Nao, your prince in bitch ass armor, catches you before landing on his feet with a heavy thud.
"Impressed?" He smirks smugly, smirks the smugliest, smirkiest smirk that has ever been smirked smugly.
You roll your eyes while he sets you down, "Yes, Nao. I'm very impressed. Ice Breathing, huh? Very fitting. You look like an Ice Breathing guy."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
Both of your attentions are taken by a new tentacle bursting from the pot. You look around frantically for your blade, your heart racing when you notice how far it is.
You'll never reach it in time. Nao has already taken the defense, planning to shield the attack that is no doubt heading for you.
"Mist Breathing, Fifth Form: Sea of Cloud Mist."
Muichiro jumps in front of Nao, quickly mincing through the tentacles. You don't bother to wait or look back. You run to your nirichin blade and snatching it from the ground.
You'll admit, this is not the fight you thought you'd be joining. You thought you'd help Tanjiro and Genya, since that's what the fanfictions you've read in the past has set your expectations.
You can't say you particularly mind, though. Compared to Upper Moon Four (Actually, from what Gyokko said, Hantengu is Upper Moon Three now), Gyokko is the weaker demon you can be fighting right now.
"You minced it pretty quickly," You hear Gyokko say from his new position in a tree, "But you can't catch up to the speed of my pots."
"I wonder about that."
"What?"
You look over to the Hashira, wondering if he even acknowledged that you and Nao were also here.
Muichiro glares at the demon, "Looks like your senses have dulled. But that's because you've lived for hundreds of years."
Blood spews from Gyokko's ugly neck, though it begins healthy slowly already. Nao widened his eyes, silently amazed by the strength of a Pillar.
"Next time, it's coming off," Muichiro promises, "I'm not playing along with your dumb pot games."
Gyokko grits his two sets of teeths, his one eye narrowing in anger: "Don't underestimate me, brat."
You really don't get paid enough for this shit.