"Must you really go?" [name] mumbled out as she set down the trays of food that she had prepared for everybody who lived in the Wisteria House then. She then noticed how Kyojuro, Tanjiro, and the others were looking towards her with a gentle look on their faces instead, and Genya was busy helping her in setting up the spread that she had personally prepared.
"Ah... [name]... Don't give that sad look, it will make it even much more difficult for us," Kyojuro spoke out and [name] could only swallow the lump in her throat then. She then slowly parted her pink-tinted lips slightly, and soon shook her head a little then and she soon put on a wide smile despite the tears that welled up at the corner of her eyes.
"Please come back safely," she whispered out and both Kyojuro and Tanjiro could only look at her then. A deep sense of guilt wavering through their veins as they looked at how worried [name] was, although she had done quite a lot for them.
But they will still have to fight till the very end to ensure that no more demons will exist in this world, and ever again.
"Don't worry, Haruki-san! We will definitely come back!" Tanjiro said with a smile and [name] nodded her head then as she soon pressed her lips into a fine thin line and started to hand out the cutlery towards everybody else.
"Eat up, you will need the energy,"
One could tell, she was very reluctant with the fact that she has to watch them head out into a battle that they have no idea whether it would be the final, and whether they would return safely to her as well.
"Please, just be safe," she whispered out softly then and soon she heard the sound of crows fluttering, and her grey eyes widened as the demon slayers and Kyojuro stood up abruptly despite being in the middle of their dinner, and she could only press her lips into a fine thin line.
"Emergency! Emergency! Head over to the Ubuyashiki Estate! Kibutsuji Muzan is present!" the crows announced and [name] listened to the running footsteps then, only to feel two hands on her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze.
"We will be back, Haruki-san/[name]," and [name] sighed as she watched them take their leave and disappear before she could say anything, and Genya knelt down beside [name], gently holding her in his arms as she started to break down.
How terrified she was as she could only imagine the worst although they were very strong.
"Please... Please... Just come back safely," she whispered out, terribly afraid of what might be happening then. And Genya could only gently pat [name] on the head as he tried to calm her down. He too wanted to head over to where he believes he could help.
But given how [name] had convinced him along with his older brother accepting him when he is going to help out in terms of medical attention, it felt as if he had reached his goal. But somehow, looking at [name] breaking down in front of him, he felt like he was doing his part at all.
"Genya... Where's your gun? I'm very worried," she whispered out and Genya's eyes widened as he watched as [name] stood up, not bothering to eat the food that was prepared, and soon walked out towards the patio where there was not a single breeze present.
"I have a bad feeling..." she whispered out and soon entered her office as Genya had gone into his room to retrieve his gun and soon came back to where [name] was, and handed it to her.
"I'm very worried, Genya... What am I going to do?" she whispered out and Genya could only press his lips into a fine thin line then as he quickly grabbed hold of a vial and opened it, knowing very well that it was a sleeping gas that would knock [name] out.
"I apologize, Haruki-san. But to ensure that you wouldn't risk your life, I have to make sure you stay here," he whispered out and soon watched as [name]'s grey eyes slowly closed and her body soon slumped over her table instead.
He then stopped breathing as he waved his hand about to get rid of the fumes so that he wouldn't be affected by it as he needed to be on guard when it comes to [name] as well, for he was assigned that duty too.
As [name] had the reputation of running into the battlefield, not caring about her safety and start to throw rocks at their enemies which were a highly dangerous thing to do.
But Genya couldn't help but find it commendable that [name] was daring enough to do such a thing when she wasn't even a demon slayer, nor could she wield a nichirin blade as well.
She was just a pharmacist. A herbalist.
She is just a girl who is afraid of the worst scenarios happening, and could only hope for the best outcome to happen. She just wanted a peaceful world and not one where she will have to worry every day in regards to when will be their last day.
"Oyakata-sama, did I do the right thing? Have I been forgiven for eating demons back then?" Genya whispered out as he soon grabbed hold of a cover and covered [name]'s frame with it as he pulled a chair over and stayed right next to her.
He held his hands together tightly as he prayed then, for the safety of his older brother. For the safety of everybody, especially those who had taken care of him as well. He could only remain still as he continued to pray, and somewhere else, there are others who are praying as well.
Hoping for the best with this final fight that was going to last a long time until sunrises. They could only pray for everybody to return home with a smile on their faces, still alive.
[name] opened her eyes and noticed that something was covering her eyes. She then slowly reached out and what she believed to be a wrist, grabbing hold of it and lifting it up with ease. She then noticed the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and she slowly reached out to the falling leaves, only to have the wrist she was holding on getting out of her hold and the hand reached out, touching hers instead.
"Are you alright now?" a voice spoke out and [name]'s grey eyes shifted as she followed where the voice had come from. Her grey eyes widened then as she looked at someone who had played an important role in her life for quite a long time.
"Nii-san... How?" she whispered out and Joji chuckled then as he scattered cherry blossom petals onto his younger sister's face.
"You, are really one stubborn girl, aren't you? Knowing that you can't fight a demon off on your own, but you choose to use rocks and throw at them. That is very commendable for your bravery, but also a little dangerous," he spoke out and [name] slowly sat up then as Joji chuckled once more as he leaned back against the tree.
"But sometimes, that part of you is admirable. I really admire you most of the time, despite being younger than me and being a girl, you always fight for the right things. Always trying to ensure something good will happen. I envy that," Joji spoke out and soon he turned to look at [name] once more.
"What are you feeling now? Do you feel the burning desire to run to where Kyojuro and Tanjiro are?" he asked, and he chuckled as [name] nodded her head a little then.
"Reluctant to see them go, I'm not surprised at all," Joji added on and soon he raised his hand out and pointed towards the sky, which [name] soon looked up to where he was pointing.
"Heaven is a beautiful place, but you will only appreciate it once you have live life to the fullest. Go ahead, listen to what your heart wants to do," he spoke out as he soon placed a hand on his younger sister's head and ruffled it.
"Nii-san?" she whispered out as she noticed how her vision was getting darker and darker.
[name]'s grey eyes shot opened and she looked about, realizing that she had fallen asleep in her office. She then looked at Genya who had on a worried look then as he had heard her speaking in her sleep, and he watched as her pink-tinted lips parted.
"Genya, we must go!"
--
"You are going to punished soon, Kibutsuji Muzan," Oyakata-sama whispered out.
"The heavens are not punishing me, despite the hundreds, thousands of humans I've killed, I've been let off the hook. And I have never seen a God or Buddha over these thousand years," Kibutsuji Muzan spoke out as his red plump eyes continued to remain on Oyakata-sama then.
"So... That's what you think... but I have my dreams about that... Muzan... What is your dream? It's been thousands of years... What kind... Of dreams do you exactly have?" Oyakata-sama asked.
"How about I make a guess, Muzan. I understand your heart and soul. You dream of eternity. You dream of being indestructible," and Oyakata-sama started to cough then as Kibutsuji Muzan soon took a step forward to where Oyakata-sama laid on his futon.
"Exactly. And it will come true, very soon. Once I get my hands on Nezuko,"
"Your dream won't come true, Muzan,"
"You seem pretty confident in Nezuko's hiding place. But unlike you, I have a lot of time on my hands,"
"You are misunderstanding something,"
"About what?"
"About eternity. I know something. it is nothing but human thoughts. Thoughts last for eternity. They are indestructible," Oyakata-sama spoke and Muzan watched as the bandages fell from his face, finding the bloodied figure of Oyakata-sama's face to be horrifying.
"The demon hunters have never died out for a thousand years. True, a lot of unfortunate children have died, but they haven't disappeared at all. You just said the truth is foolish. Let me prove to you that human thoughts are indestructible. The thought of 'never forgiving those who have taken the lives of people's loved ones away' senselessly is eternal. And you have never been forgiven. Not even once over the last thousand years," Oyakata-sama added on and Kibutsuji Muzan felt enraged.
"And you Muzan, have stepped on the tiger's tail countless times. So you are incurring the wrath of the dragon. In essence, you have awoken a sleeping creature that's been slumbering for a long time. And they despise you. They will never let you get away," and Kibutsuji Muzan's eyes widened as he looked at Oyakata-sama, who still had that smile of a buddha on his face.
"If you kill me, the demon slayers won't feel pain or even an itch. They honestly don't need me that much. This connection to human thought, is something you probably can't understand, Muzan. Because you... and your kind will cease to exist once you die, right?" and Oyakata-sama felt Muzan tensing up, a change in the air.
"Zip it," he muttered out.
"Yeah, I'm done. I've said what I wanted to say to you. But can I say one last thing?" Oyakata-sama asked and Amane watched as Muzan appeared before him in the room where he laid.
"I said they honestly didn't need me that much... But that doesn't mean my death won't be inconsequential. I am fortunately yet undeservedly loved by my demon slayers. My Hashiras in particular. So if I die the morale of the demon slayers will be higher than ever," and Amane watched as Muzan lifted his hand, ready to grab hold of Oyakata-sama.
"You done talking?" he asked.
"Yes... Though I didn't expect you to listen to me... Thank you, Muzan,"
"That man's face, he had the smile of a Buddha. But then, he along with his wife and kids blew themselves up. I made a mistake, I judged Ubuyashiki to be a normal human. But he was a complete nut job. I figured he was planning something, but not something of this scale. He made the explosion even more deadly by adding spike traps into it, to delay my regeneration too," Kibutsuji Muzan thought to himself then as he started to regenerate.
"Blood Demon Technique, Flesh seed," and Muzan's eyes widened as spikes pierced right through his body.
"Tamayo! Why are you here," and his eyes widened as Tamayo was appearing right before him, and he couldn't even sense her from before. Not at all.
"These blood demon spikes belonged to the man who got turned into a demon in Asakusa. You absorbed my fist, Muzan. Do you have any idea what's inside it? A drug to turn demons back into humans. So? Is it working?"
"You shouldn't be able to..."
"Oh, but I have done it! The situations completely changed. Thought it would have been impossible for me alone," and Muzan grabbed hold of Tamayo's head tightly in his hands.
"You are one stubborn woman, Tamayo. And your hatred towards me is unjust. Who killed your husband and kids? Was it me? Not at all. Nobody but you. You ate them all up," he whispered out.
"If I knew that would happen, I wouldn't have become a demon! All I wanted was to not die from my disease! I just wanted to see my kids grow up!" and Muzan started to plunge his thumb into her eye.
"Then you killed a whole bunch of humans after that. Was that all an illusion too? I noticed you had a lot of fun eating those humans," he whispered out as he started to crush her head.
"That's right. I killed many people after falling into the depths of despair. So to pay for my sins, YOU AND I ARE DYING RIGHT HERE! HIMEJIMA-SAN! DO IT, PLEASE!" and Muzan's eyes widened at Himejima who came swinging his spiked ball.
"As I thought... It's just as Oyakata-sama predicted. This man, Muzan will not die no matter how many times I cut his head off! And the speed of his flesh regeneration. Judging from the sound, he is unlike all the demons I have faced up to this point. Despite weakening him with Ubuyashiki's explosion plan, and Tamayo's help, Muzan-sama has a lot of strength. That means you have to keep restraining the demon lord until the sun rises," Himejima thought to himself as he watched Kibutsuji Muzan regenerating once again.
"IT'S MUZAN! KIBUTSUJI MUZAN! THIS GUY WON'T DIE EVEN IF YOU CUT HIS HEAD OFF!"
"KIBUTSUJI MUZAN!"
"YOU SERIOUSLY THOUGHT YOU COULD CORNER ME?! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO HELL NOW! I'M SLAUGHTERING ALL OF YOU TONIGHT! YOU PATHETIC DEMON HUNTER PESTS!"
"YOU'RE THE ONE GOING TO HELL, MUZAN! YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY! I WILL DEFEAT YOU FOR SURE!" Tanjiro yelled out as he ended up falling through the gap as well, which led to the Infinity Fortress.
"COME AND GET ME IF YOU CAN! KAMADO TANJIRO!"
--
While Tanjiro and the remaining Hashiras engaged Kibutsuji Muzan in the fortress, Sakonji was summoned to the Butterfly Estate to protect Nezuko, who's newfound resistance to sunlight Muzan now seeks, along with Tanjiro's as well.
He also gave her the cure developed by Tamayo, Shinobu and [name], which would turn her back into a human and thus ruin Kbutsuji Muzan's plans.
While tending to her as she fell ill as a result of taking the cure, Sakonji thought about everything that happened since he met her and Tanjiro and told both of them not to lose. He remembered how Tanjiro was being harshly treated then when he received news from Giyuu.
And he could only pray that Tanjiro doesn't let himself get absorbed by Kibutsuji Muzan as well, given how he has yet to take the cure to turn him back into human as [name] had expressed her concern that Tanjiro should not return to being a human yet as he needs to regenerate as much as he can in case he gets injured.
Which many of them agreed to it.
And outside of the room that Nezuko was in, there stayed the former Flame Hashira, Rengoku Shinjuro, who have been hearing things in regards to [name] helping Kyojuro out whenever he was injured, and he could only pray that Kyojuro comes back safely.
Only to have his golden eyes widened when he saw someone running past the Butterfly Estate, heading down the path of where the Ubushiyaki Estate was.
"Is that?!" he yelled out as he recognized [name] and Genya, and he felt as if his heart stopped.
"Haruki-sama, are you sure?!" Genya yelled out as he tried to catch up with [name] who was surprisingly fast despite her not having any training. He noticed how tensed the atmosphere was and he had no choice but to follow her, given how he needed to ensure her safety as well.
"Yes! Something bad is going to happen, I must be there!" [name] cried out and Genya could only press his lips into a fine thin line then as he quickly tried to catch up with her, not bothering with the former Flame Hashira's yell, trying to get them to stop running towards the battle field.
"Please... Please be safe... Rengoku-san... Tanjiro-kun..." [name] whispered out as she continued to run with Genya following her close behind. Tears welled up in her eyes as she could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest as she wanted nothing but them to come back to her alive.
Oh, how she wished they didn't have to go. How she wished that they would be alright just by staying back there with her so she didn't have to worry so much. She wished for so many things, but there are times where things must be done.
And this was one of the things.
Despite how reluctant she was in letting them go, she decided to let herself go to them.