Rinni's POV
I was walking along the halls with my guard up when I saw a door ahead... I know what to do now. I know I won't be able to save everyone but I hope I can at least save Shinobu or Muichiro from this fortress. I opened a door and came across Upper Moon 2 with Shinobu inside, fighting the demon, Doma.
When I saw the opening I stabbed him with the specialized poison that Hibana made. I felt something pierce my stomach. I look down to find Doma's hand through it. I cut it off before jumping away. I took deep breaths before pulling it out. I groaned and held my stomach as it started to heal. I watched as Shinobu stabbed Doma to the ceiling and he hugged her closely. I quickly cut his arms and pulled her away as more of my blood fell to the floor.
"What are you doing?! I had a plan!" Shinobu screamed at me before I slapped her
"You're not dying today. Kanao still needs you, I'm here, we can take him on. Back up will come, until then, don't you dare give up." Shinobu was staring at me with wide eyes
My wound at this point had fully healed so I jumped up and grabbed Shinobu's rapier, which was on the floor, before handing it to her. Kanao and Inosuke soon arrived and with some effort we managed to defeat Doma, with Shinobu, for the first time, beheading a demon. Once we were done with Doma we left and began to make our way to Muzan. Of course, we heard about Muichiro and Genya's death, but we had to press on. I know I want to save everyone but I can't do that. Orders were given that all of the Hashiras should gather at once because Muzan had revived himself.
Shinobu and I nodded at one another and began to run, eventually reached where the big bad hehe man was and we ended up back in the surface world instead of the infinity fortress. A crow warned us we had an hour and a half left before sunrise. I know this would be the longest hour and a half of our lives. All the Hashiras, including me, began to attack Muzan as we intended for him to stay on the surface until the sun rose. An attack was about to hit me and I knew that I wouldn't have any time to block so I braced myself, but suddenly I pulled away and a few lower-ranking demon slayers had sacrificed themselves for me. My eyes widened in horror upon seeing this.
No...
They didn't have to protect me! They don't have to!
I watched as the lower-ranking demon slayers charged forward to pull us Hashiras away to relative safety before we began to attack again. I knew what was gonna happen next so I tried my best to save Mitsuri and Obanai since they were the closest to me. I was ready to receive the hit but I didn't feel it. I turned to see why didn't it happen only to see a barb through Shinobu's heart.
She... She defended me...
The crow above us announced Shinobu's death but of course, we couldn't stop, but I did. I watched someone who I saw as an older sister, die because of me. What happened next was a blur but I got careless again and this time Mitsuri got injured and Obanai ran to help.
No...
No!
I wanted them to live! I tried so fucking hard to save them!
No!
They have to live! Does anything I do matter?!
My tears flowed down my face as I kept attacking. Suddenly I felt better, physically that is, but that didn't stop me from attacking. I blocked an attack that was for Obanai before charging. I didn't care what was happening to me, I only cared about trying to save these people. I bought out the extra two vials of the poison Captain Hibana made and stabbed them into Muzan's back as Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Kanao were fighting Muzan. I decided to do the riskiest thing I would ever do.
I jump back and prepare multiple antidotes. I gulped before I took a deep breath and charged. I was making sure to intensify the attack. I slashed Muzan multiple times with an enhanced Mercury Leak multiple times before I backed away and forcefully injected myself with the antidote.
I coughed up blood and wheezed as I fell to my knees and eventually onto my stomach. I had a hard time breathing a few slayers dragged me away from the battle and began injecting me and themselves with an antidote for mercury poisoning. Slowly but surely I began to feel better. I shakily got up as some slayers and kakushi were trying to convince me to recover a bit more. I pushed them away and stumbled back into the battle. I saw Obanai already had a piece of paper over his now completely blinded eyes, Tanjiro was fighting on, and so were the other remaining Hashiras.
I got in a fighting stance before taking deep breaths and eventually letting out a battle cry and changing back into battle. I didn't care if the mercury in my system was still there. As I attacked I felt weird but it felt familiar. So I did what I just knew how to do. I sent multiple slashes toward Muzan and each slash cut off the limb, but I noticed something about the way I slashed... I paid attention to my attack and I noticed it forming different beasts, and not animals, but the aragami that I've fought before.
I was still having a hard time breathing but it didn't matter to me. I kept on going. Tanjiro pinned Muzan against a wall of a building, and the rest of the Hashiras sacrificed themselves to ensure Tanjiro would be able to pin down the monster. I used whatever power I had left to continuously use Iron Clamp against the big bad. Giyu and I eventually began to help Tanjiro to pin Muzan against the wall but he kicked us away when the demon lord transformed into a giant baby, quite literally. It was trying to get away and every slayer did their best efforts to stop it. I groaned as I transformed my arms and something just snapped inside of me.
The once axes for arms now became claws, I roared and grabbed the big ass baby and basically held them back with all my remaining strength. He tried to bury underground but I pulled him up the best I could with everyone's help. When Muzan finally disintegrated everyone couldn't help but cry and scream in relief. My arms transformed back to normal and finally, fatigue got to me knocking me out. I know there was more to do but with me needing to recover from all of this it was only fair I got knocked out. I came too when it was already a couple of weeks since the final battle.
Apparently, the mercury poisoning was so bad that I had died for a good 15 or so minutes. That would explain why I was able to talk to Mitsuri, Obanai, Muichiro, Gyomei, Shinobu, and Kyojuro. I'm gonna skip details but all you need to know is that I cried my heart out and apologized for not being able to save them. They comforted me the best they can. Honestly, right now, I stand in front of their graves, feeling nothing but numbness. I only put on a happy face in front of the others but really, I felt numb. It was only after three months since the final battle, that all the remaining Hashiras were called.
"Thank you for coming. Today is our final meeting. Sanemi, Giyu, Rinni, the three of you are the remaining Hashiras. A lot of the other children died too, but we finally destroyed the demons. The Demon Slayer Crops will be disbanded as of today. " Kiriya Ubuyashiki said
"Yes" Giyu, Senami, and I said in unison
"For as long as you have dedicated your bodies and your lives" Kunia said
"Fighting for the sake of the world and people" Kanata added
"The entire Ubuyashiki clan sincerely thanks you" Kiriya stated as the three Ubuyashiki siblings bowed
"Raise your heads!" Giyu screamed
"We don't need your thanks!" Sanemi added
"We did what we had to do for humanity! I owe you and your family a lot for letting me even join the corps despite my initial suspicious background."
"The fact that the Demon Slayers could exist as Demon Slayers was only due to the support of the Ubuyashiki family in the first place!"
"You have done an incredible job Kiriya-sama. Your father and forefathers of the Ubuyashiki family are surely proud." Giyu stated
"So please raise your heads" I added
"Thank you..." Kiriya stated
The three siblings began to sob. Sanemi turned to Giyu and me before giving us a smile. Giyu was the first to leave the meeting and I followed soon after.
"Hey, little shit, wait up" I heard Sanemi say as he jogs up to me
"You know I'm not short anymore right? You're just a few centimeters taller than me"
"If 9 centimeters being taller than you are a few then sure" I gasp and playfully punch him
"Jerk" I heard him give a small chuckle as a smile on his face appeared
"What?" He asked as he noticed I was staring
"Nothing... It's just I'm never gonna get used to seeing a smile on that face of yours. You always have a scowl on it, it is kinda weird to see you smile"
"So you're turning into a Shinobu now?" I frowned at his comment "Sorry..." he said and I gasped
"The former Wind Hashira, Shinaguzawa Sanemi apologizing?! Is the world ending?!" I said in an over-dramatic tone and I felt a hit on the back of my head "Nevermind, he's back" I continued as I rubbed the spot where he hit me
"Servers you right" He said
"What are you? 5?" I asked in a sarcastic tone
"7, actually" He answered in the same sarcastic tone which caused me to playfully glare at him before I ended up laughing
"You know, I've been wanting to ask something... Why were the others so persistent on making me a hashira?" I questioned
"Huh? I don't fucking know. I never bothered to ask shit."
"Does Giyu know?" He looks at me weirdly "You know what... Forget I asked the last question"
"You should."
"I bet you weren't involved in my initial ranking. I mean I did ask to be a Mizunoto, but I ended up being a Tsuchinoe..."
"Who told you I wasn't?"
"Wait... What?! I thought you were not one to be biased! At least that's how I see it!"
"That's true, but I can't deny the power you have... I really believed that you wouldn't be able to do breaths like my brother, but turns out I was wrong... And it may not look like it, but I know when to admit I was wrong..."
"Okay... That's one of the biggest shocks of my life... Anyway, I'm gonna visit my friends, wanna come with?"
"No, I still have something to do." I nodded already knowing what he was gonna do
"Tell Genya I said hi okay?" He nods
The two of us went our separate ways, him going to the graveyard and me going to the butterfly estate. I will admit I did feel somewhat better after that small banter I had with Sanemi but at the end of the day, I still felt numb.
"Yo!" I said as I entered the ward where Tanjiro is staying
"Rinni!" Tanjiro and co said in unison
I smiled and sat down with them and we began to talk firstly about the Demon Slayer Corps being disbanded, and what they were planning to do. I listened to them as they explained what they had planned for the future. They all soon turned to me, with worried expressions on their faces.
"Rinni... are you okay?" Tanjiro asked
"No... I'm not okay. I haven't been for a while now... It's just... A lot of things and... I couldn't save them... I wanted to... But I couldn't" I said as I tried to hold back my tears
I felt someone hug me and it was Nezuko
"Rinni, please don't blame yourself for who we lost... You did your best... But we can't stop death from taking anyone... And... It's okay to not be okay Rinni..." Nezuko said
Soon enough the rest joined in the hug. The warmth and comfort allowed me to break down the walls and let my tears flow down. They comforted me as I let everything out, the guilt, the regret, the sorrow... When it was all done I pulled away and wiped my tears. I sniffled a bit as I slowly calmed down.
"Where will you go now?" Zenitsu asked
"I don't know... Maybe back home... To finally rest..." I answered as I stared at the wrapped-up journal in my hands
"You can come with us! We won't mind having you there. Also, it'd be great to have another woman in the house, especially with three boys running around." Nezuko said
"Flattering, but I can't. I wish you all the best" I said as I stood up "Thank you. For everything." I bowed to them
I waved them goodbye before heading off to visit the others to say a proper goodbye. First I said goodbye to all the residents of the Butterfly estate, which was rather emotional for some of them. Next was a goodbye to the Ubuyashiki family. Then, Tengen's wives were rather emotional upon hearing about my permanent departure but they accepted it and just hugged me as tight as they could. Meanwhile, Tengen watched on the side and told me to take care of myself, before teasing me that I should find myself a lover who will also take care of me. Next was Giyu, who just wished me well and said he would pray for my safety. Sanemi was next, he was packing his stuff when I talked to him, he just wished me well and told me to take care of myself.
"Hey, wait" I stopped walking and turned to Sanemi
"Here, have this."
He handed me two things, one was in a box, while the other is shaped like an oblong wrapped in paper. I opened the oblong first and I looked at it weirdly.
"That's ohagi. Think of it as a thank you from me"
"Who are you and what have you done with the real Sanemi? An- Ow! Okay, you're the real one!" I said rubbing the top of my head that he hit
I sighed before opening the box. My eyes widened in shock at what was inside. I picked up two of the tsubas inside. One was shaped like a butterfly, the other was an abstract shape in an overlapping pattern. I looked into the box and found some of the tsubas of some of the other hashiras. I held the box closer to me as I tried not to cry but I guess some tears fell. I quickly wiped them away.
"I thought you should have something to remember us by..."
"Thank you... You don't know how much this means to me Sanemi... Goodbye..."
Finally, I went to the graveyard, standing in front of the gravestones of my former fellow Hashiras and Oyakata-sama's family. I prayed for them and said my final goodbyes. I walked into the woods before I decided to stop, unwrapping the journal halfway. I looked up at the sky, giving it one smile as I watched a few crows fly by before sitting down on a tree stump and wrapping the ohagi, and eating it. I held the box close to me as I looked up once more, seeing how peaceful everything was now. I took a deep breath before touching the journal