Chapter 6: 03 – The Night Before
Puffs of desperation could be heard, the sound of someone deeply breathing echoing throughout the dense forest of the mountain named Mount "Natagumo."
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'Breathe... Just like how Gramps taught me...' A young man thought to himself.
He was performing Concentration Breathing while lying down in a wooden house suspended on a tree, looking at the moon due to the hole on the roof.
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The young man had short yellow hair that that was cut off squarely and would fade to warm orange. His hair was cut into uneven bangs and somewhat resembled a bowl cut. He was sporting the Demon Slayer uniform. However, his was a lighter tint as instead of the usual black, it was dark brown while still wearing the same white belt. Over it, was a yellow and orange gradient haori that had a design which consisted of white-colored patterned triangles.
Evidently, he was injured as blood was on his face. His veins being clearly seen and an area on his left cheek was purplish. The same could be said for his hands as there were areas that were of the same color as well.
It wasn't surprising however as he did face against a demon. One that was a spider with venom.
But with the help of Concentration Breathing, the young man with the yellow hair could slow the venom that was affecting his body. With it, he could potentially last until helped arrive.
And as he continued to do so, he could see the old man that trained him, his "Gramps" looking down at him, reminding him to breathe properly.
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"You're still conscious, not bad, Junior-kun." A voice said with a hint of a tone of being impressed.
The location was still the suspended house, with the young man still using Concentration Breathing. However, a figure had now overlapped his Gramp's face and seemed to be getting something from their belt.
Instead of the short elderly man, who wore a yellow-brown colored jinbei kimono with a pale triangle pattern, it was a person with long white hair that faded into green and green eyes.
They had a feminine face and was sporting the Demon Slayer uniform attire, one that was slightly tinted in green and was under a white haori. But if one had a closer eye for detail, then they would be able to see that the person instead had golden-colored buttons instead of the silver-colored ones on his uniform, signifying his status as a Hashira.
This person was none other than Kaze, who was checking the fellow Slayer's condition.
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After confirming so, he took something out of his green belt, a tiny white case.
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As for the yellow-haired Junior, he spoke in a weak and quiet voice, "Gramps..."
"Hm?" Kaze said while opening the tiny white case, revealing components for a syringe. He then started to construct it, humming a tune from who knows where.
"Gramps... Gramps was here, telling me how to breathe properly..."
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Kaze had finished constructing the syringe and was in the process of placing the antidote in it.
Hearing what his Junior said, Kaze mused, "Your family, huh?"
The young junior subtly nodded his head with a small sound of approval.
"Then... I'm sure you saw your life flashing before your eyes or something along those lines, right?" Kaze said while now flicking the syringe a few times.
"It's something that happens when you're about to die. The brain tries to recollect anything that could help you survive." Kaze added with a bit of nostalgia, remembering the same thing happening to him.
The Hashira then looked at his junior, and added, "Anyway, I'll be injecting the antidote now, Junior-kun."
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As Kaze injected the young yellow-haired man, he slightly winced feeling the needle part enter. However, he stayed quiet and voiced no complaint, allowing the treatment to end quicker.
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"The others will take care of things from here. Junior-kun, I'll be going ahead, wish me luck, okay?"
No response came, but Kaze was sure that the young junior was okay. So with those last few words, Kaze left him alone.
While the young man, closed his eyes, resting.
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"Close call, don't you think so, Murata-kun?"
Kaze said as his back was facing a young man with black hair and a pair of eyes which were of the same color.
"M-mhm, thanks for saving me, Kaze-san."
The young man who was Murata, who was from the same "generation" as Kaze and Giyu, replied in a grateful manner.
"I've told you already before that you don't have to be so formal with me, you know... Well whatever, I'll get you to do so some other time."
"I should finish this first and meet up with the others."
Saying those words, Kaze looked at the demon that looked at him scared, taking a grip on his blade's handle which was still sheathed on his waist.
The demons appearance was of a young girl's in her early teens. She had a white complexion, hair and eyes that also were of a similar shade of white.
"W-wait! I—I was forced to do everything I did!"
The demon replied hurriedly, her eyes showing how much she did not want to fight against an opponent she knew she had no chance against. As when she was about to trap Murata in one of her cocoons, the webs she created were cut before both her and the Slayer realized.
It wasn;t hard for her to conclude that the Hashira in front of her, Kaze, could have already finished her without her ever even knowing he was there to begin with.
This caused her to be more frightened when she had the thought and became desperate to at least preserve her own life; to live.
"Is that so?"
The Hashira replied, the grip on his sword not as much as before and was looking at the demon more patiently, causing her to sigh in relief.
However, what Kaze said next had made her eyes widen, making her become speechless and causing her to stutter.
"Do tell me, young lady, how much have you killed; have you eaten? If you can't answer my question, then I'm afraid I'll be forced to end you now."
"I-I... I've only killed 5! I... I swear!"
"Really now?"
The girl practically now had tears on her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. When she saw Kaze remove his hand on his sword, which caused her and Murata to be surprised.
Unfortunately for her, it seemed like every time Kaze would give her hope, it would be crushed moments after by a question or the next few words that would escape from his mouth.
"I know you're lying."
"More than 80 of the cocoons you make were something I saw while coming over here. Tell me, young lady, were those not your doing?"
"More than a dozen had died, many injured and are not able to get up like they will be used to. So, young lady, I must ask again..."
"You didn't do those... Right?"
What met Kaze was no response but,
"..."
Silence.
The demon, the young girl had no idea what to say. If she were to stay quiet, she would die. If she were to say she didn't do them, the same would happen as Kaze knew the truth.
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A soft sigh escaped from Kaze's mouth, breaking the silence that had descended upon them.
And before the demon noticed, the world was upside down, her view was of the trees and of the moon that felt as if they were looking down at her, cornering her to accept the reality that she now had been cut, her life as a demon ending.
From the corner of her vision, she saw Kaze looking at her while still holding his blade.
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The Hashira's blade was a mix of light green and white, the handguard having what seemed to be a green spiral design. Kanji was written on the blade which meant "Destroyer of Demons."
"Your next life... I hope it will be better than this one."
With those words coming from the same person who had beheaded her, she closed her eyes, deciding to accept her fate.
Her last thoughts something along the lines of,
'The moon... How pretty.'
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"I'll be going first Murata-kun, it was nice meeting you once more."
Kaze said, finally sheathing his blade after seeing the young girl disappear.
"Ah- yeah, the same goes for me, Kaze-san. Thank you for saving me."
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Kaze then started running once more, quickly disappearing from the scene. Heading to the area where Giyu and Shinobu were going.
'I wonder... Is a world where Slayers and Demons peacefully living together really possible, Kanae-chan?'
The Hashira thought to himself, not sure if it was possible.
He didn't know why but, he was sure he was about to get his answer to that question.
Was it his [Intuition] telling him once again?
Or just a passing feeling?
He certainly had no answer for such a thing, but as always, only time could tell such things from the future.
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[Word Count: 1514]
A/N: So, I'd like to announce a few things!
First, classes would start for me very soon, as in a few days. Meaning, I won't be able to pump out chapters in a quick pace. With that said, I would only be able to probably get a chapter done every week with maybe an Omake as well.
Second, I have thought of another Fanfic I'd like to do. Won't say much about it but it's in the works!
Lastly, I'm back!
This chapter isn't as long as I hoped it was compared to the few others so apologies.
That's all, thank you for reading.
Random Fun Fact About Kaze #5: Other than his dog "Giyu," he has a few more pets that he takes care of. All of them being in his residence and are taken care of his Tsukugo if he is not able to.
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