Chapter Text
"We should have more missions together! It's gratifying to have you by my side!” Kyojuro exclaimed once he was already lying back on his futon with his arms behind his head.
Fumiko chuckled under her breath, kneeling in her own spot as she brushed her hair.
"As long as I’m not a distraction to you, I think we should."
Just like the night before, both of them had returned to the small hotel where they had slept, basically their only option for lodging to recover their strength.
"You're not a distraction! Quite the opposite! You were a great help!” The slayer congratulated, turning his head to look at her.
She laughed embarrassedly and after feeling that her hair was already arranged, she lowered her arms so that she could place her closed fists on her thighs.
“Thank you,” she whispered. "I'm glad to hear it from you, great Hashira." She tilted her head as she smiled tenderly at him, feeling how in his essence, he too became ashamed.
"I find it funny that you call me that way!” He confessed to her, unable to hide how his cheeks blushed slightly.
“What are you talking about?” Finally relaxing, she assessed that she was a considerable distant away from the Hashira, deciding to stand up as she continued. "Everyone admires you, so you shouldn't find it strange that I do too.”
With Kyojuro's still embarrassed essence on her, he watched intently as she pulled her futon closer to his, much to his delight.
When Fumiko was satisfied with the distance she was at, she finally decided to lie down so that she could look at her companion. Almost immediately, the slayer knew that she was preparing to tell him something important by the way she was biting her lip with uncertainty. Therefore, he also turned to face each other.
“Are you okay?” He asked first, trying to give her the confidence to speak.
Fumiko met his eyes, showing her confusion of what to say. Slowly, she exhaled before swallowing and then closing her eyes.
“I've thought about it and I'm still coming to the same conclusion.” When she opened them again, she reached out a hand, reaching for his, and Kyojuro didn't hesitate to comply with her request. "You are a Hashira, one of the strongest by the way. So the fear I have is stupid.”
"No, Fumiko-chan. It’s not.” Taking advantage of the fact that he was close to her, the slayer intertwined his fingers with hers, looking completely into her eyes. "I might be a Hashira and you my talented successor, but in the end, we are both human,” he looked at their joined hands for an instant before returning his attention to her face. "Having fears and insecurities allows us to protect ourselves and stay alive longer. The only thing I know is that your love for me is too much, so much that you fear losing me and I understand it.”
Feeling slightly overwhelmed and wanting to cry, she lowered her head to bring Kyojuro's knuckles to her forehead. The slayer interpreted her gesture as an apology that he didn’t feel was necessary.
"I don't want us to get married to know that you want to be with me," he continued, seeking to make her raise her face again. "I'll look forward to when you're ready, but for now, I'm glad you're here with me. Here and now.”
Bright-eyed, Fumiko forced herself to look at him, wanting to show him how grateful she was.
"I’m glad that you are here too, Kyo," she whispered to him and the Hashira murmured a laugh in response.
It wasn’t exactly what he would have liked to hear, but for now, it was enough.
"Fumiko-chan, can we sleep hugging each other?" He asked, starting to pull her impatiently. “I promise not to do anything else.”
She stammered her own laugh as she dragged herself over to give him permission.
"Only if you let me brush your hair." She conditioned, even though she was already wrapped in his arms.
“Sounds fair.” The boy murmured, feeling how her small hands slipped into his neck and began to gently massage his scalp.
The sensation made him close his eyes as a big satisfied smile spread across his face. This was perfect.
It wasn't long before neither of them realized they had fallen asleep.
…
"Fu..." Kyojuro took a deep breath before exhaling sleepily. "Fumiko.”
With the gentle call of her name, the girl's eyes opened. Once again she heard the slayer mumble her name in his dreams. She yawned softly, careful not to move too much as she wondered curiously what the Hashira was dreaming about her.
"Kyo..." It was her turn to call him, but this time with the intention of waking him up. "Kyojuro.”
He grunted slightly and then settled back, to which the girl chuckled softly.
“Wake up.” She asked while poking his cheek before pinch it playful.
"MmMmm." He complained again, but this time slowly opening his eyes.
"Hellooo," Fumiko greeted, blinking in an attempt to appear more tender and above all, innocent. "Have you woken up yet?"
Kyojuro laughed at that image before leaning down to give the girl a small kiss on the forehead, causing her face to flush a bright red and he laughed harder.
“Good morning.”
She was the first to get up, seeking to lower the heat from her face by fanning with her hand.
"Ready to finish this mission?" The slayer asked as he sat down so he could stretch.
"Umu." She nodded.
…
After getting ready and paying for their stay, they both headed back to the train station. Today would be the day that they would travel on the Infinity Train.
After having slept together, they both looked more energetic and, of course, happier. They walked side by side without holding hands, much to Kyojuro's dismay, but his successor was right, they should focus on the circumstances of the mission.
"Oh! It’s you!” They didn't take more than two steps when they heard the voice of the girl they had saved at dawn.
“Hello ladies!” The Hashira greeted, while Fumiko leaned towards them.
Fuku carried her respective tray full of boxes to sell and her grandmother next to her held two lunches in her hands.
"We don't have much to thank you for this morning." The girl began to speak.
"But please accept these bentos boxes as a show of our gratitude." Her grandmother finished, extending said boxes.
Fumiko's face lit up with joy as soon as she received her gift just like Kyojuro.
"Oh! Thank you so much! Last night I wanted to eat one!” He spoke as he took the box. “But I would be embarrassed to accept it just like that, let me pay for it!”
Fumiko nodded as well, leaning to her side to search for her wallet. At least on her part, it wouldn't be fair to accept it without technically having helped Kyojuro save them.
“No, it’s fine. Please accept them," the girl asked, reaching out a hand to even stop the huntress.
“Alright then! I will accept this as a gift! But I'll buy the rest!” The Hashira clarified, to the surprise of the vendors.
And since she had already been prepared, Fumiko was quicker to pay for them before Kyojuro could protest as the girl and the grandmother wrapped all the bentos in cloth. There was a little discussion between them with their eyes, since the slayer didn't want his successor to get bothered and she simply didn't care.
"Please be careful," the old lady asked at the same time that she extended the bags to the slayers.
Fumiko hurried again, taking one herself and leaving the other to Kyojuro.
"Visit us if you ever come back here, I'm glad to be able to serve a nice couple like you.” Fuku complemented, tucking her empty tray under her arm.
The huntress laughed at her comment as soon as her companion replied: "Sure! I'll be sure to tell my father about you guys! I'm sure he’ll be happy about it!”
Fumiko hesitated at the comment, simply pursing her lips.
"You also take care and I hope to meet again," the successor wished them as she bowed again.
"Umu! Take care until we meet again!”
And with that, both slayers turned to head towards their transport. Although of course, they first went to buy the tickets, and this time Kyojuro was the one who ended up paying.
As soon as they waited for their train to arrive, Fumiko would turn around in her place while sighing in amazement. At night it was an impressive place, but colored by the beautiful orange light of the afternoon and packed with people, it made it even more incredible.
"Excited, Fumiko-chan?" Asked her partner, paying more attention to her than to his surroundings.
"I've never been on a train before and I only have a mission with you to travel in one, two days in a row." She explained in wonder as she nudged him playfully with her shoulder. "I'm lucky to be with you.”
“I think the same!” He pushed her back.
Almost at that moment, the train whistle distracted them, thus announcing it’s arrival. After entering, taking care not to bump into anyone because of the large bags they carried in their hands, Kyojuro was the one who chose the places where they were going to sit.
Being in their places, Fumiko kept looking around fascinated, looking at the people who arrived to board the train. She was so excited that she could start singing, but instead, she preferred to hum softly, trying not to make anyone uncomfortable.
"Fumiko-chan! What excites you most about being on a train?” Noticing how happy she was, Kyojuro couldn't hide his curiosity, preferring to ask her directly.
"Oh! Well…” She put a hand to her chin as she stared at the ceiling. "The fact of traveling in it!" She laughed embarrassed. “It's great that you just have to sit still and the machinery will take you long distances. And the best thing is that you can see beautiful landscapes during the trip!” To prove her point, she pointed to the window.
“I understand!” The Hashira agreed, smiling for the pleasure of seeing her happy.
“What about you?” She asked him, leaning forward slightly in interest.
“The same, but also! I'm intrigued that an invention like this exists!” He assured as soon as he touched the glass with his knuckle. "What will be the story behind this invention?”
“I have no idea, but now that you mention it, it would be great to look into it.”
A couple more minutes passed when suddenly the train began to move and similar to the night before, Fumiko held her breath in surprise before almost hitting her forehead against the window.
“Here we go,” she whispered with a big smile.
Of course she knew they had to find the demon, but she couldn't help but be fascinated.
"Fumiko-chan, if you'll allow me, I'd like to eat the lunches we bought!" At the same time that he was suggesting, he was already opening the box that had been gifted to him.
She turned to see him and her growling stomach was the one that answered for her, embarrassing her deeply.
"Of- Of course." The huntress also took her gift and a pair of chopsticks that came with it. “ Itadakimasu! ”
“ Itadakimasu! ” He wished too, delicately taking a portion of rice with meat.
He didn't even finish chewing when he exclaimed, “Tasty!”
Fumiko exhaled through her nose with gusto, expressing in her own way that she had liked the taste of her lunch as well. For his part, Kyojuro couldn't agree more when his ritual resounded throughout the wagon.
“Tasty!” It was heard again. “Tasty!” And again.
However, the rest of the passengers looked at him uneasily as he continued to speak loudly with every bite he ate. In fact, thanks to the bewildered array of essences, Fumiko became aware of her surroundings.
It didn't bother her at all, after all, she was used to his fuss every time he ate.
“Tasty!” Kyojuro exclaimed again fervently, opening his second box of food.
"Kyo," the girl called in a whisper, discreetly looking at two passengers who saw her annoyingly. "Lower your voice a little, you're scaring the others.”
“TASTY!!” He exclaimed with much more force in its place, apparently not having listened to her.
The girl sighed and shrugged, closing her eyes as soon as he continued to make noise. She kept chewing her bite, completely ignoring the rest of the passengers. He was right, there was no need to be ashamed of who they were. Besides, it wasn't like he was telling lies, the food at the station was delicious.
A couple of minutes passed as Fumiko was just finishing her second box and Kyojuro was about to start his eighth. At least the girl was grateful that they weren't going to waste an ounce of all the bentos they had bought.
Despite fully enjoying her lunch, the girl suddenly opened one eye when she felt the presence of a couple of strange passengers approaching them, both with a strange face because of all the fuss of her partner. From their attire, she deduced that they were demon slayers.
"Uhh... Excuse me... Rengoku-san?" The one with reddish hair and the checkered cape asked, hoping that the Hashira would answer him.
“TASTY!” He exclaimed loudly again.
"Sorry, he'll say something coherent when he's done." Fumiko answered instead.
“TASTY!” He exclaimed almost immediately that the girl stopped talking.
She frowned as she focused on the boy and remembered something Kyojuro himself had told her a few days ago. A boy with a red box on his back? Actually, she could distinguish the demonic essence emanating from said place, but it was not a ‘regular’ one.
“Oh, hello! I am Kamado Tanjiro and-”
“TASTY!” Kyojuro interrupted, turning to face the caller, incredibly excited.
"Umm… Yeah… We got it." Tanjiro responded somewhat awkwardly.
The girl shook her head in amusement when she saw that he had scared them. "Nakamura Fumiko, pleasure." She introduced herself, smiling happily.
"And I’m Agatsuma Zenitsu, the pleasure is all mine.” In a rather flirtatious tone, the boy in the yellow haori approached, taking the girl's hand and kissing the back.
Fumiko blinked a few times before raising an eyebrow as Tanjiro hit his friend on the head and scolded him. It was clearly not appropriate to behave that way between fellow slayers.
However, this caught the Hashira's attention, quickly finishing eating and fully concentrating on what was happening.
“Um! I see you have already met my fiancée!” He exclaimed louder than normal, intentionally wanting to scare the boys away.
Talking about inappropriate behaviors.
Almost immediately, the named one shoved her nichirin sword sheath into his face, crushing his cheek enough for him to stop speaking. She had already understood with his essence what it was he intended.
"Successor. He meant successor.” She corrected between embarrassed laughs.
"Successor?" Asked Tanjiro confused, while Zenitsu backed away, a little scared by her unpredictable reaction.
“No! I said fiancée, because soon we will be getting married!” Still with his cheek crushed, Kyojuro continued to speak, causing her to push harder to shut him up, embarrassed by his words.
“Not yet!” Fumiko exclaimed with her entire face flushed red.
Suddenly, she became aware of her surroundings, noticing how worried Zenitsu and Tanjiro, so she only pursed her lips in embarrassment as she left the Hashira's cheek alone.
At the same time, a couple of girls came over to remove each and every one of the empty food boxes that they had accumulated.
"You're the boy I saw at Headquarters!" Kyojuro mentioned crossing his arms when he looked at the boy with the squared cape.
So she was right. This was the boy carrying a demon on his back that her mentor had mentioned earlier.
“Yeah! I’m Kamado Tanjiro," he introduced himself again, but this time to the Hashira. "They are also demon slayers, Agatsuma Zenitsu and Hashibira Inosuke.”
When Tanjiro finished speaking, Zenitsu bowed slightly, while Inosuke puffed out his chest proudly. Fumiko even blinked in surprise to see that this last boy was wearing a peculiar boar mask.
On the other hand, the essences that the three swordsmen transmitted seemed extremely curious to her, deducing a little their relationship between them and even their personalities. They were interesting people, if she could summarize it that way.
“I see!” The Hashira answered, although his successor had the feeling that he hadn’t learned the names of any of the three. "And of course, the demon in the box."
"Yes, it's my sister, Nezuko." The boy affirmed, leaning his shoulder slightly so that he himself could see the box they were talking about.
"That demon demonstrated what was necessary for the Master to approve. I won't question it.” Kyojuro soothed, as he smiled slightly before patting the empty seat next to him. "If you want, you can sit down."
“Oh. Um… Sure.” Tanjiro thanked as he turned to his friends to indicate where they should sit.
For her part, Fumiko didn’t take her eyes off the boy in the checkered haori, feeling a peculiar essence emanating from him.
"Is something wrong, Fumiko-chan?" Asked her partner, attentive to how she watched the young slayer.
"Rengoku-san, I'll go sit over there," she pointed to the seats next to her. "The boy intends to speak further with you," she nodded her head as she finished her sentence.
"Okay, tell me if something else happens!" Kyojuro simply nodded, spreading his smile.
Almost standing up, Tanjiro was the first to be taken aback. "Where are you going, Fumiko-sama?"
"Here by the side," she clarified while smiling, "So you can talk to him with more confidence." She bowed slightly, shocking the boy. How did she notice?
When she was halfway down the hall to allow Tanjiro to talk with her mentor, Fumiko noticed that Zenitsu was looking at her expectantly, perhaps wishing she would sit across from them. And she did, only in the front seats, thus giving them a view of her back.
A couple of minutes passed when everyone was settled.
“It's fast! Very fast!” Inosuke exclaimed with a lot of admiration, knocking on the window excitedly while the yellow-haired next to him scolded him.
"You're going to break the window! Calm down, will you!?”
Despite the fact that behind her there was a greater commotion, Fumiko was resting her hand on her cheek and admiring the landscape that passed in front of her, still with her astonishment since the trip had started.
"Why are you on this train?" Kyojuro asked suddenly, looking at some inaccurate point in front of him. "Do you have a mission?"
Although Inosuke and Zenitsu were very loud, her partner's thunderous voice was even louder. The girl exhaled defeated, perhaps she had given them a privacy that the Hashira was not capable of taking care of. However, who she couldn't listen to was Tanjiro, for his soft and kind way of speaking.
"So that's why you're here. I understand!” Kyojuro exclaimed loudly.
There was a silence in their conversation, to which she figured it was Tanjiro speaking. For a moment, she wanted to focus more on the noise of the other two swordsmen behind her, but her partner's sudden phrases distracted her. For every sentence that Tanjiro said to him, the blonde responded immediately.
Fumiko bit her lip to keep her laughter inside herself. In her mind, she was deciding whether to laugh and ignore her mentor or get up and hit him on the head so he would stop interrupting the young Kamado.
“I understand! But I don't know anything!” Again and unable to avoid it, the girl concentrated on what her partner was saying. "I had never heard of such a dance, until this moment! But the fact that you could learn it and apply it in the middle of combat, it's wonderful!”
‘Dance?’, repeated Fumiko, puzzled. Now she regretted having walked away from the conversation because she had no context of what the young slayer had asked the Hashira.
"There! The topic has been discussed!" And then she heard of the aforementioned.
For a moment, she looked at Kyojuro and the boy next to him through the reflection of her window, only to see how Tanjiro was trying to persuade him to tell him something else.
"Why don't you become my apprentice! I will take very good care of you!”
With that sentence, the girl let out a big laugh and although she had quickly covered her mouth, this had already caught the Hashira's attention.
She hadn't laughed at Kyojuro himself, but at the way he'd said it. He had made it sound like something easy.
"Don't you agree, Fumiko-chan?" Kyojuro called her, precisely looking for her to come back to be with him.
She just turned her head to see her partner, shrugging her shoulders to play it down.
“Oh, sure. Sounds like… Good , sounds good,” she was nodding, but the way she pronounced the words was clearly in the form of a mockery. "I mean, that is if the young man accepts.”
Kyojuro frowned slightly and despite continuing to smile as usual, with his eyes he asked the girl to sit down in front of him again. A subtle way of indicating that he no longer wanted to talk to the boy. Or at least, not alone.
Understanding what he was asking of her, she stood up and to look more casual, she kept talking. "Would you be interested in learning Flame Breathing?"
"Well… Yeah, I guess I'd like to learn." Tanjiro stated embarrassedly, playing lightly with the fabric of his pants.
"You don't necessarily have to learn this breathing technique," she soothed him as she sat down, being next to Nezuko's red box. "What Ky- Rengoku-san wants to offer you is to better prepare you as a slayer.”
"Umu! The Flame Breathing has a long history!” The Hashira accompanied, now calmer to have a familiar face nearby. “Indeed, in all ages, swordsmen of Flame and Water have been among the Hashiras.”
"What is your breathing technique?" She asked the young slayer, leaning forward slightly.
“Water,” he responded, exuding an essence of embarrassment at the sweet attention Fumiko was giving him.
"Mizoguchi-shōnen!" The Hashira mistakenly called when he thought of a question.
Fumiko rolled her eyes in amusement as she shook her head. As if she didn't know Kyojuro well.
"Kamado -shonen.” She corrected him softly as she held up a finger for attention, and unlike Tanjiro, he did.
"What color is your sword?"
Tanjiro was surprised with the girl when he saw that she had remembered his last name. And so, once the error was repaired, he replied: "My sword is black.”
"Black sword?" She stammered in shock, her face relaxing into a surprised one.
“How unlucky!” The blond complemented before bursting out laughing.
“What do you mean by that?” Tanjiro asked concerned.
"I've never seen a swordsman with a black sword turn into a Hashira!" Kyojuro clarified.
"I had heard that those with black swords don’t have an ultimate breathing technique, so they have a hard time getting ahead.” She explained, holding her chin with her fingers.
Tanjiro looked surprised before lowering his head in disappointment.
“Come with me! Become my disciple! You won’t be let down!” The Hashira insisted, looking attentively at his successor.
Fumiko instead used the hand that was already close to her face to cover her lips and hide her smile.
"That's not what I meant! Also, could you look at me when you talk to me?” The young Kamado exclaimed unconcerned.
As if he had said everything he had to say, Kyojuro calmly lowered his head, closing his eyes with his typical smile. For a moment Fumiko relaxed as well, smiling at Tanjiro kindly when noticing that he had been looking at her.
During the few seconds of silence that followed, the huntress suddenly felt her eyelids heavy, as if she wanted to sleep. That was weird, but she didn't care. Perhaps she was still tired from yesterday's mission.
“This is great! It's so fast!” Inosuke exclaimed, sticking his head out of the train window and scaring the girl's tiredness away.
For a moment, she had forgotten that the other two young slayers were there and from the spectacle that the boy in the boar mask was causing next to Zenitsu, it was obvious that they would attract a lot of attention. But for some strange reason, the essence that the rest of the passengers transmitted was sleepy and tired.
Perhaps it was the environment that had caused her sudden fatigue.
"That's dangerous, silly!" Zenitsu scolded him as he tried to pull Inosuke back into the wagon.
"I want to go out and run to his side! Let's see who runs faster!” The boar head insisted, extremely excited.
"Try to find out another time, Hashibira-san!" The huntress yelled firmly from her place, crossing her arms.
Inosuke and Zenitsu turned to see her, each in their own way. The boy in yellow in an embarrassed way and the boar head with a fighting air.
“She’s right! We don't know when the demon will appear!” Kyojuro supported her.
Zenitsu's eyes widened in shock upon hearing those words. "You must be kidding! Is there really a demon on this train?”
“Yeah!” The Hashira and the successor affirmed at the same time.
“It’s not a joke?!” The young swordsman cried out in true terror. "We are not traveling towards it, the demon is here! I want to get off!”
Fumiko stared at the boy strangely. It was obvious that his breathing technique was particular, but his attitude towards danger had confused her. With all that fear and insecurity on top of him, how had he been able to become a demon slayer in the first place?
"More than forty people have disappeared on this train in a very short time." Kyojuro explained. "The Corps sent some members but we didn't get a response from any of them. That's why they sent me as Hashira to investigate!”
Although she had been concentrating on what he was saying, the wagon's essence really seemed strange to her. Despite being so late, with all this noise from her companions, how was it possible that they had all fallen asleep? Something didn't add up.
When the Hashira finished speaking, Zenitsu burst into tears while screaming in terror.
“That makes sense! All the more reason I want to go down! I'm going down!”
As soon as the boy held his trembling head, Fumiko noticed one of the conductors coming in to mark the passengers' tickets.
She watched as the man walked past all the passengers who had fallen asleep and made a beeline for them.
"Is something wrong, Fumiko-chan?" Her partner asked, noticing her anguished face.
“The conductor is coming to mark our tickets.” She explained, fleetingly looking at her partner before returning her attention to the newcomer.
“Good… Night.” With a completely flat and monotonous attitude, the man extended his hand. "May I... See your tickets...? Please.”
Kyojuro was the first to extend his piece of paper and the driver sealed it loosely. Fumiko hadn't stopped tilting her head from side to side, trying to distinguish exactly why the man was acting that way and something ended up making her even more distressed.
She was having a hard time making out his essence clearly.
After the Hashira, Inosuke was the next to show his ticket and then Zenitsu, who was now on the ground on his knees.
Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, it was her turn to spread out her little passage. Even as he handed it back to her, she gripped the piece of paper tightly. Something was wrong with that man. He felt cold, nervous about something, almost afraid.
Finally, Tanjiro had to get up to deliver his ticket. As soon as they marked their passage, the lights flickered and that tired feeling returned to her for a couple of seconds. She blinked sleepily a bit before shaking her head to drive away the tiredness.
The young Kamado turned his head to both sides alarmed, detecting something strange.
"I have... Checked your tickets." The man stated slowly.
Suddenly, a shiver ran down the huntress’ back and she immediately stood up, directing her gaze to where she detected the essence the most. Following her, Kyojuro stood up with his katana in hand.
“Driver! It's dangerous to be here! Please evacuate the area!” The Hashira asked. "The situation is very urgent! Please ignore that we bring a sword!”
The light kept flickering from time to time, making the girl's eyelids feel heavy. Trying to concentrate, he looked at the rest of the passengers... Who were now awake.
Fumiko frowned as the light went out momentarily. When it returned, a demon stood before them, looming large as the passengers looked on in terror.
At least Tanjiro, Inosuke and Fumiko positioned themselves ready to defend, while Zenitsu was still on the ground, now looking at the demon with great fear.
"So you were hiding that huge body with Blood Techniques," Kyojuro analyzed aloud as he put the saya of his sword on his belt and walked in front of his successor. "It was hard to perceive you! However, if you bare your fangs at innocent people, with this flaming sword in my hands…” As soon as he spoke, he finally drew his nichirin sword in front of him. "I'll burn you to the bone!"
The heat in the wagon began to rise as soon as the Hashira was getting ready.
The demon roared loudly and to everyone's surprise, it was powerful, so Fumiko unconsciously stood in front of the young swordsmen, in an attempt to protect them.
Kyojuro positioned himself to attack as the demon charged towards them.
Flame Breathing: First form. Unknowing fire!
With his attack, the Hashira ended up cutting off his head just at the moment he landed in the next car with a kick.
“Incredible!” Tanjiro sighed in astonishment behind the girl. "He took out the demon in one cut."
"And this is only the beginning." Fumiko muttered under her breath. “Come on!” She nodded, then ran and caught up with her partner, sensing the demonic essence in the next car, with all the eyes of the passengers on them.
The rest of the boys followed her, attentive to what was happening.
"Wait! Don’t leave me!” Zenitsu yelled, getting to his feet with some difficulty.
Without wasting another second, Kyojuro led the way, with his successor and the boys trailing behind.
They needed no further proof as terrified passengers ran away from their car to safety. Another long-armed demon had one of the passengers cornered, drooling to eat him.
"I won't let you hurt that human!" Kyojuro yelled to get the threat's attention. "Didn't you hear me? Your opponent is right here.”
“What the hell is that? His hands are long! Really long!” Zenitsu exclaimed terrified, hiding behind one of the seats.
"I'll go first!" Inosuke announced before launching to attack the demon.
“Wait! There is a person who has not escaped!” Tanjiro scolded him, unable to stop him.
"Don't worry about him! This thing has to be killed first!” The boar's head debated.
"Fumiko-chan!" Called her partner firmly. "Let's get this over with quickly!"
“Hai.”
She didn't need him to explain any more details, as she rushed to remove Inosuke from the battle by tossing him into a seat and then picking the person up off the ground with a push from the back. The demon tried to reach her, but Kyojuro managed to cut off its arms by perfectly synchronizing with her.
"Thank you, Fumiko-chan!" She heard his voice above her.
"Go somewhere else, it's not safe here." She ordered the man in his arms before he quickly complied. When she was free, she returned to her companions.
"Now we can kill him!" The Hashira analyzed and without hesitation, he was the first to advance.
Flame Breathing: Second form. Rising scorching sun!
With one perfect move, Kyojuro slashed its throat.
The demon staggered, destroying several seats around it before disappearing completely.
"Woa... woah..." Tanjiro whispered in genuine surprise. "Incredible, you are the boss!" He exclaimed loudly. "Excellent swordsmanship! Please accept me as a disciple!”
"Of course, no problem! I will train you to become a great swordsman!” Kyojuro accepted.
“Me too!” Zenitsu asked.
“Me too!” Inosuke followed.
Fumiko smiled as she saw the reaction of the young slayers around the Hashira, wanting to learn from him and calling him 'boss' over and over again.
As Kyojuro laughed proudly, the girl's smile suddenly faded as the strange tiredness from before returned. Everything around her felt strange, and while it also felt relaxing, something didn't seem quite right. She nodded slightly again, suddenly feeling sleepy.
She only closed her eyes for a moment.
And when she opened them again, she found herself in front of a house.
She raised her shoulders restlessly, checking her body, looking for some kind of injury or indication of what was happening. But she only found that she was dressed in a beautiful kimono.
Dissatisfied at not finding answers, she turned her head to appreciate her surroundings.
It was sunset beautifully. The orange sky had few clouds and the songs of birds echoed softly on the horizon.
Fumiko frowned in confusion. What was happening?
She lowered her head in an attempt to remember what she was doing a few moments ago. Why did she feel lost?
"Fumiko?" The sound of the door opening in front of her distracted her from her thoughts, but whose voice had spoken... It pierced her painfully.
Fearing that she had misheard, she raised her face slowly, to check that she wasn't going crazy.
In front of her, she found one of the most beautiful smiles she had ever seen. Fumiko felt her stomach drop, opening her mouth slightly, unable to believe her eyes.
"Taiki?”