Demon Slayer: What Does It Take... To Move Forward?

Giyu was tired.

His breathing was ragged and uneven for the first time in years, his body shook under a sudden fever that gripped him tightly, and he could feel his muscles, worn out from constant use over the last few years truthfully, finally begin to give out on him.

He sheathed his blade with some difficulty, and turned to look into the eyes of the young woman who dared to cradle a demon so close to her heart. She had refused to step away from his side as Giyu recovered, instead choosing to wait in the moonlight in silence.

"What are your names?"

She seemed startled by his question before forcing her tears to stop and offer him her full attention.

"I am Sumiko. This is my sister, Nezuko. And our father, Tanjuro."

The girl and her father needed aid. His body creaked and swayed as Giyu turned around and walked past the shell shocked girl.

"Come, before you collapse."

And that was how the rest of the night was spent.

With Giyu's body eventually giving out on him after treating the father and daughter, collapsing against a small pile of debri with the now named Kamado family freshly bandaged and resting underneath a clear night sky and a gorgeous full moon.

XXXXXXXXXX

Within a courtyard meant to house the greatest warriors their corp has to offer, a small group of warriors remain kneeling before their sworn leader.

The frail man remained in place, his usual warm and kind smile lost beneath the worried grimace. His blind eyes never once moved, but the Hashira could feel the man's gaze locked into the distance.

It had been hours since the message had arrived, and despite Kagaya offering them a chance to depart.

How could they? After all, one of their own, arguably their most infamous, was engaged with their sworn enemy and they had now way of reaching him.

They would await a crow, either to mourn their comrade, or celebrate his victory.

Kagaya prayed his most stubborn child would prevail, and finally allow himself to feel as the Hashira he truly was.

A rhythmic squawking resounded through the courtyard alongside the clinking kf jewelery, only one of his children's crows bothered with decorations. The man stood shakily to greet an old friend.

"Nejimaru."

One of the crows his family had raised for generations landed lightly on his outstretched arm, being careful not to dig his nails into the frail man's sickly arm.

"Report, my friend." A weak hand cradled the crow close as Kagaya waited to either mourn his most stubborn child, or exalt in his victory. He leaned close to the bird so only he could hear its throaty ehisper.

"Upper Moon Five, slain."

The silence around the weak man was deafening. His legs gave out on him, and blood began to drip next to him from how hard Kagaya's hands were clenched.

A coughing fit assaulted him, only for the quiet stone Hashira to hold him upright. The corps leader slowly recovered and met the concerned eyes of the rest of his children.

They were not all within arms reach, safe within his home's walls, but that would change soon enough.

"For the first time in over a century…" Kagaya felt it in his soul, when his children realized what he was saying. Their concern turned to shock, and gave way to joy.

Little Mitssuri was giggling to herself as small tears of joy fell. Young Obanai was beside himself, torn between stopping his love's tears and allowing her to keep smiling so radiantly.

Muichiro looked less tired than before, Gyomei was smiling while praying for once, and young Sanemi looked as if he'd been punched, however the way his eyes danced told the real story. The wide grin of Kyojuro was something softer than his usual enthusiasm, but just as blinding.

Kagaya was just as overjoyed as his children, however the message still needed to be delivered.

"… An Upper Moon has been slain."

His children had already known in their hearts, but it had been this declaration that silenced them.

They were waiting for his orders.

He would command them, as his family had done for more than a thousand years.

"Spread the word. A time of celebration is upon us. This is merely the first step in a long road to victory. A time of change and progression is upon us all."

They were excited, motivated in a way they hadn't been since they first started slaying.

"To all demon slayers, now is not the time to relax. You must all be prepared, the demons will broker us no quarter. They have tasted our vengeance, a fire set alight through their own cruelty, and stoked by your own pain."

The crows would take his message and spread it throughout his children, to reinvigorate the corps.

"The blade your flames have honed, have been quenched in the blood of the inhuman. The blade of the corps will take the head of Muzan Kibutsuji, and you shall honor our creed…"

An era of change has arrived, Kagaya could feel it in his weary heart. The war shall end with this generation, and who shall fall to the other has yet to be written.

"Destroy All Evil Demons."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sumiko woke with a start, her back flaring in dull pain. Her limbs were leaden and her tongue was dry. A panic began to burn in her heart, her eyes trembling as she tried to force them open.

A sudden shift, and she felt Nezuko nuzzle deeper into her weak arms. Against her back was the wizened form of their father, and the scent of clear water in the air informed her of their savior's presence.

Her father's scent had not faded since last night, he would recover and their family would not break anymore.

A small sob almost made it past her trembling lips, and she forced herself to sit up straight.

Their ancestral home was demolished. The trees shemd grown up playing in and around were simply gone, blown away in the battle of the warrior and monster.

He was resting against a pile of wood, his smell told of old pain, and healing wounds. A fever held him, and forced him to rest.

His clothes were torn, his body exhausted, and yet still he refused to take his hand away from his blade.

He was vigilant, even in an uneasy reast, his expression troubled and sweaty even in the frozen mountain air.

She would do her best to repay her family's debt.

She forced herself to her feet, and hobbled closer to the swordsman, not a god nor spirit. Simply a man who had saved her family. A man who needed help.

She fell beside him, clutching Nezuko's resting form closer in the chilled air of the morning before dawn could break. She felt his temperature, his form barely shifting at her intrusion. His fever had only just broken, and his scent was strong in her nose.

He would be okay, with rest.

"You should rest."

Her heart jumped into her throat, he was awake, and staring at her while she had the back of hand to his temple.

"Eh?! I'm sorry sir! I was just taking your temperature!" She quickly pulled her hand back, only for it to be caught before the momentum could force her to fall onto her back.

"It's fine." He waited for her to get her legs back under her before standing himself. He stood over her by a few inches, reaching out to steady himself against the debri he'd spent the night resting against.

"Come, your wounds need to be tended to." He walked past her, over towards her father where he'd left his medical supplies.

"Yes sir!"

It was after her and father's bandages were changed did he bother to speak again.

"I am Giyu Tomioka, Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps."

She hadn't gotten his name the night before, so she smiled even ss the tears came back with a vengeance.

She forced herself to gently lay Nezuko beside her father, and turned towards Giyu. She bowed her head low to the ground, and forced herself to speak past the tears.

"Thank y-you Mr. Giyu."

…

""T-thank you for s-saving my f-family."

…

"Thank y-you, 'hic', for b-being, 'hic' here."

…

She laid against the ground, curled into a ball as the weight of what had happened pressed against her heart. Her life was in danger last night. Her sister, her father, her home were all in danger last night.

Her world was almost erased last night.

A hand grilled her shoulder, giving her a chance to pull herself together, the man averting his eyes to give her a semblance of privacy.

"You're welcome."

It was soem time before the last of her strength left her and she was gently placed next to her sister and father to rest.

"The storm has gone around us, but it's still raging below. We'll be stuck here for a few hours."

"O-okay."

"My teacher, he'll be willing to take you and your father in, but your sister is another story."

"Why?"

Please don't let them take her sister away. She was supposed to take care of her little sister, it was her promise as the elder sister.

"She's become a demon, something every soldier in our corps is meant to slay. It's my duty as a Hashira of the demon slayers to eradicate all demons."

Please…

"But I'm willing to give her a chance."

Sumiko felt herself go still, her lungs rebelling against the sobs she choked back, her relief halting her panic for a moment.

"I've been a demon slayer for longer than I thought I would live, and never once have I seen a freshly turned demon deny any source of human flesh, not even their own families were safe from them. And here she is, willingly throwing herself in front of another demon, an upper moon at that."

…

"And for your father to be capable of tearing those creatures apart with his frail body and an ancient axe. Your family seems to be filled with extraordinary people, Sumiko."

"… It's the d-dance."

She could smell his confusion, so she began pulling herself together enough to try and guarantee her family's future.

"Every y-year, my father p-performs a ceremonial dance passed d-down from the fathers to the eldest Kamado child. There are twelve segments, and they m-must be performed in order from dusk to dawn. It's meant to bring good fortune to our family." It started to become easier to talk the longer she didn't allow herself to dwell on what ifs.

Her family was alive. She was alive. Her home might have been destroyed, but they could always rebuild one day.

All she needed to do was work for it now.

After all, her father had asked her to be happy and to protect her precious little sister. So she would do both.

"If I become a demon slayer, and become a Hashira like you, will my family be safe?"

This man was strong, surely he was a high ranking soldier. If she could possess that same strength, and protect people as he had protected them, then there had to be a way for her sister to live on.

His scent was far too muddled to read, but she knew he wasn't going to lie to her.

"To be a Hashira is to stand at the pinnacle of what it means to slay demons."

"To become a Hashira is to slay so many demons, and train hard enough that you are recognized for standing above all your comrades."

"It is hell."

"You will be reserved for only the most grueling missions. Your life will be an endless journey of killing, training, and resting only to do the same thing the next day."

"To be a Hashira is to watch every fallen comrade you are meant to protect as a superior fade away. And to take on only the strongest demons, like the one who tore your home apart."

"To be a Hashira is to die before ever having lived, at least the way things are now."

"There is no hope for any kind of life as a Hashira. The strongest demons are known as the Six Upper Moons. Below them are the Six Lower Moons. Each is quite capable of killing a Hashira if given half a chance."

"Demons are immortal, and grow stronger with every human they consume. Last night was the first time a Hashira has killed an Upper Moon in over a century."

"Knowing all of this, do you still desire to become a demon slayer, let alone a Hashira?"

He wasn't asking if she thought she had the potential to stand beside the strongest demon slayers. He was asking if she was willing to bear the burden that being a Hashira entails.

She was once more laid beside her family as Giyu finished his monologue. His emotions had become too smothered to perceive, but there was no malice in his eyes. And that was enough for her to finally relax and start to fall asleep.

"No."

…

"I don't want to fight. And I don't want to watch people die."

…

"I want to help people, save them as you saved my family. I want to save my sister and find a cure for her. I want to see my father live to an old age, whole and healthy… Can you help me?"

She was selfish in her wish, but then again most happiness is born from selfishness. So this way she could fulfill her promises and live long enough to figure out how she too could be happy.

"Get some rest…"

Please… Just a little more time…

"My teacher will evaluate this dance of yours, as well as your potential with a blade. Your family will be safe until then, I promise."

A chance was all she could afford in a world filled with man-eating demons. She would not allow the kindness of a stranger to go to waste.

She would protect her family.