𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 ╱ hairo: lower two ( pt one )

      Mirai wished her sensei would come back soon. When Sayuri was gone, it made her feel incapable of concentrating on anything but the absence of the 18-year-old. Her arms extend out into the grass in the back of their home, massaging the green flora in an attempt to ground herself. To 'resonate with nature' and feel the passing of the clouds overhead. It had been one of the first things she was taught in order to become a user of Cloud Breathing, and now it calmed her racing thoughts to stare at the giant white puffs in the sky.

     Sayuri hadn't written to Mirai on this mission yet, and even Fumihito had visited the home a few times to see if his biggest problem-causer had returned. He seemed much more worried than the young girl, likely because Mirai had seen her mentor in action many times before. She'd slain close to 50 demons now at the rank of Kinoe, something that had taken years to achieve. There was nothing Sayuri couldn't conquer, so why would some passing job be the one to take her away?

     Mirai hoped that if the woman was in real danger she'd send Miso to fetch her student. Now that Mirai had officially joined the Demon Slayer Corps after a long seven days in Final Selection, the current Mizunoto could help Sayuri on her missions! She'd already been well-versed in swordsmanship, and the only reason she took so long to attend the selection was Sayuri's hesitance.

     "Fukunaga-sensei," Mirai had asked eight months after training her hardest in Cloud Breathing, "-I believe I'm ready for Final Selection, if you'd let me attend?"

     "No." Sayuri was writing a letter to her brother Giyuu, whom she talked about near-daily to Mirai. She had set down the pen with trembling hands before turning to her student, "It is too dangerous. I need to be completely sure of your abilities before considering letting you go."

     "I know you're scared of the demon!" Mirai didn't quite know how to go about the topic, but that probably hadn't been the right way. Her empathy towards those who experienced agony and grief in their lives was as heartfelt as she could make it. She was lucky to only be joining the Corps because she had the skills to do it, not because of tragedy striking her mentality and dragging her into something she didn't necessarily want. Sayuri struggled with things Mirai had yet to understand, making it difficult for the younger to sympathize.

     "I am, that I do not deny. But please understand I am only looking out for you just as I feel fit," Sayuri's eyes lock onto Mirai's, open and all-telling, "-I have seen and experienced what Final Selection... what that monster can do to people. Please give me a little while longer. Until then, you may write whatever you'd like to Giyuu while I make us dinner."

     That had been enough for Mirai, as Sayuri never lied to her even if it would cause more harm than good. Her sensei's intentions were never to bring Mirai down, but to wait until she was high enough up on a pedestal that she could never be knocked down. So Mirai had patiently waited a few more months to survive Final Selection, doing just as Sayuri instructed, 'stay away from the hand demon'. 

     Plus, she was able to write about her sensei to Giyuu and include whatever she wanted. Sayuri tripping over Miso had been one of her favorites.

     "Mirai? Mirai I've returned," At the sound of Sayuri's tired voice, the girl shoots straight to her feet and shakes away the boredom before entering their home. Upon sliding the door open, she refrains from launching into a bear hug to celebrate her sensei's return after witnessing her body.

     Sayuri holds a hand over her torn-up uniform, giant slashes leaving the battered fabric holding together by a thread. In some odd way, Mirai was frustrated at the woman for not sending help though it now being clear how far their rankings were from one another. A Mizunoto wasn't likely to walk out of whatever fight the Kinoe just resolved.

     "Are you hurt?" Mirai snaps out of her temporary surprise to help take care of her sensei's needs, grabbing a cloth from a cabinet to begin wetting it with warm water. Her very own crow, Ame, nestles beside Miso on a windowsill happily.

     "Me? I'm perfectly safe, you should've seen the demon though," Sayuri strips off her ruined uniform shirt, tossing it to the floor and thanking Mirai for the cloth. She begins wiping away the bloody grime from her toned torso, now tanner from the spring sun, sighing in contentment at the feeling, "-I believe I'm too easy to track. Perhaps I need more distracting linens. Lots of flowing fabric would be harder for the demons to assess."

     "Oh! That'd be very smart! It seems you're always coming back more beat up than the last time," Mirai tries to hide her frown, but there wasn't much Sayuri Fukunaga didn't pick up on. The other tosses the dirtied cloth to the ground and pulls her student in for a hug, strong arms crushing Mirai harder than intended,

     "I'll get stronger and you won't see me like this anymore, I promise."

     "You know that's not what I meant, Sensei."

     Sayuri laughs with that typical sweetness and begins to draw a bath, setting out dividers for privacy. A small tune filters through the air as she prepares all of her belongings, a kimono she'd just finished sewing along with fragrance salts and soaps. To Mirai, Sayuri always smelled like fresh ume blossoms, sweet and fruity just like the beginning of spring. The woman was quite keen on hygiene, often teasing Mirai into bathing after a long day of training.

     "Mirai," Sayuri's pale eyes shine over the top of the divider as she unbraids her long strips of hair, "-What if we took a few days to celebrate you joining the Corps. Revisiting Tokyo would be wonderful."

     "I'd love that!" The younger's complexion brightens temporarily, falling only seconds after into a questioning pout, "But what if we have a mission to attend to before we even get there? You're needed so often as a Kinoe..."

     "Then I'll return right away, I promise. I would hope the Corps would give me time to rejuvenate after this last demon. Start grabbing some belongings, we'll be off in the morning."

     "Alright!" Mirai jumps in the air with a whoop and begins to search for items to bring on their Tokyo trip. A trip that brought them far closer to death than any other obstacle they'd faced. 

:: TW ,, firearms ::

     "Woah, this is the capital?" Mirai gawks at the hundreds... she even wanted to say thousands of tall buildings surrounding her. Never before had she witnessed something so magnificent, a place so grand that it would take an entire lifetime to explore the depths of the capital. Tokyo was no small feat, and it made the young girl's head spin. Even where she stood at the entrance to the modernized city, people whirled in and around her. Couples held hands as they trotted about, arms filled with shopping bags, and parents yelled at their children to stay in close proximity. It'd be impossible to find such a small being in this maze.

     "Sensei?" Mirai begins to reach blindly for her teacher, worried she'd lose sight of the woman who'd brought her here. If she got lost... well that frightened her more than the multiple-layered towers looming over her head. But Sayuri was nowhere to be seen, and panic took no time to strike Mirai. That was until she caught a glimpse of that ruby-red kimono the Kinoe left in.

     "Mirai, there's so much we can do! Oh, how it's grown here," Sayuri pushes through the crowd with fervor, desiring to be in the heart of the capital she'd loved so much as a child, "-We should visit the late-night market, there's always such a wide variety of items! Then we can get dango milk, I used to drink so much of it... We can't forget the desserts, they'll make you want them every day ♡ !"

     "Sensei wait, I can't keep up!" Mirai squeaks and squirms through the hustling citizens to latch onto Sayuri's forearm. At the contact, she can feel the built muscles tense in battle-readiness but relax when blue eyes realize it's only her companion. A single tear slips past the woman's beauty mark,

     "I'm sorry, I suppose I got lost in some sentimental memories. I used to come here every year with my parents so they could purchase supplies for their clothesmaking business."

     "Oh! Is that why you're so proficient in sewing my ruined linens?"

     "Hmm, well I learned a thing or two when I was little, but my skills are nowhere near what they could do. Your clothes would look brand new after my father fixed them, and my mother would create the perfect pieces. Perhaps even prettier than this," Sayuri runs her fingers through the silky garment adorning her shorter frame, golden blossoms sprouting upon the kimono. Mirai liked to think she could be mistaken for royalty, if not for the brand hidden behind those red layers. Under the warm lights of Tokyo, her Sensei was beautiful. The girl truly looked up to her, metaphorically, for the two stood similarly in height. 

     "Sayuri Fukunaga! Report to the Kinoe Kyojuro Rengoku to eliminate a demon within the city!" Miso's sharp caw cuts directly into the beginning of their vacation, remorse in his tone. The crow was also looking forward to his few days off, especially when there was lots of new food involved. His old Demon Slayer had never visited Tokyo before her death.

     "Mirai Hayashi to be evacuated from Tokyo! Retreat this instant!" Ame flies right beside Miso, a red bow across her neck separating her from the other. Both Demon Slayers tense in distraught, happiness drifting away on a passing cloud in the evening sky.

     If demons didn't rest, why could they?

     Sayuri takes the eye-opening moment to regain her control over her senses, letting herself get caught up in the memories of Tokyo had been a mistake. Now she could so clearly sense a dark and powerful presence wafting through the crowds of unknowing people.

     Somewhere in a hotel on the outskirts of the city were both of the girls' bags containing all their belongings. It had been a suggestion by Sayuri to pack their uniforms, but to be thrust into battle and evacuated were not exactly in the first half-hour of their agenda. However, there was no leaving their nichirin blades behind, as both had sheaths hidden upon their backs.

     "Ame, did you say evacuate?" Mirai holds her crow in her hand, eyebrows furrowed stubbornly. There was no way she was leaving! Not with her Sensei staying in the fight, "There's no way I'm going to leave Fukunaga-sensei in harm's way! Just because I'm a Mizunoto doesn't m-"

     The girl's face falls, heart nearly jumping out of her throat when Sayuri flashes her blade a near centimeter from Mirai's left eye. Two halves of a bullet shell clink to the ground, the only sound they had made in their travel to the girl's forehead.

     Mirai had nearly gotten shot.

     "You need to go. I have to find this Kyojuro Rengoku," Sayuri's voice was stern, lacking any emotion except urgency. Mirai could see her hands shaking as they gripped her sword. She hadn't been ready for that gunshot. And why hadn't anyone heard it? The only reason the crowd had now silenced was solely because of a woman holding a sword to another's head. They didn't know about the sliced bullet on the ground, surely this looked like a threat to them?

     "Sensei... Please let me help, I know I can be of use!"

     "Mirai. If I had been even a second later you'd have been dead. I'm not risking it."

     "Right," The younger gulps and scans for a way to escape Tokyo swiftly, though it seems every path was blocked by waves of people, "-Where do I go?"

     Sayuri begins to search around as well, a hand holding onto Mirai's head and gently pulling it down and away from immediate danger. She begins to move the both of them out of the crowd, only to nearly collide with a stumbling girl. A child falls to the brick of the ground behind her, sobbing violently.

     "Are y-you alright?" The clearly flustered girl sinks to the ground beside the boy, arms moving frantically in panic. Three pink and green braids sway with her movements, and her vibrant green eyes search for a parent.

     "Hey! Hands off my child!" The kid is swept up into his mother's arms and the strangely-colored girl begins to crumble under the sharp words of the older lady, "Why is your hair color like that? And you're wearing a katana? You must be a kidnapper!"

     "U-Umm, but I was just-"

     Two strong hands slide under the boy's armpits and he is lifted onto the shoulder of a rather owlish man that Sayuri could recognize even after all these years.

     "Are you okay!" He spoke loudly and just as passionate as he looked, mouth opening wide to enunciate each word proudly. Sayuri found him odd, but then again, he most likely found her similarly strange.

     The woman flushes and tries to take a step forward, stuttering in her movements. Was Sayuri actually feeling nervous about approaching him? 

     "Pardon me! Your son was crying because he fell down!"

     "Huh? Oh dear... is that so?"

     "Your hair is weird mister," The boy tugs at the bright yellow and red mess upon the male's head, but if it were to be considered an insult, the Demon Slayer's eyes shined brighter than the lights of Tokyo,

     "It runs in my family! Maybe my ancestors ate too much shrimp!" The boy giggles at the silly story provided by the man, who was now looking at his frowning friend, "Looks aren't everything! Don't sweat it!"

     "I think your hair is pleasantly unique," Mirai steps up to the two Demon Slayers, carrying her mentor along with a firm grip on her hand. She could sense Sayuri's hesitance. The pair of swordsmen look over as the Mizunoto introduces them both, "-I'm Mirai Hayashi and this is my sensei, Kinoe Sayuri Fukunaga. She's super strong and is here to assist you two!"

      "I'm Mitsuri!" The young girl blushes in delight at the compliment, running a hand over one of her braids, "I'm also a Mizunoto, and I'm being taught by Kyojuro Rengoku! He was given orders to find your sensei. Right-?"

     The pair of Mizunoto look at their teachers only to find them in an awkward staring contest. Or rather just shock. Kyojuro's bird-like eyes open wider than usual, for once at a temporary loss for words. Sayuri fiddles with the hem of her kimono quietly, far off from the calm and collected woman Mirai knew.

     "What a coincidence we meet again!" Kyojuro finally speaks with excitement, "I had always hoped to find you again one day! Watching you run off caked with mud and branded as a-"

     "Well!" Sayuri holds a hand up to stop the other from continuing, pulling the fabric of her outfit just a hair tighter, "-I can certainly tell you what happened another time! If your interest is to listen."

     "It would be! I've worried since that day, and recovered that book you lost!"

     "That story... it's been ages since I thou-"

     Lost in a temporary reunion that had both adults tickling with wonder, the task at hand failed to stay the center of attention. Sayuri hadn't been able to finish her sentence when the building behind them ruptured into flames with the setting off of an explosion. Flames spit toward the group of Demon Slayers, Kyojuro and Sayuri both grabbing their students and tucking them away from the spitting bomb. Chunks of concrete flew at their backs as confused citizens took flight toward the edge of the city, creating an uprising of even more smoke accompanying that of the blast. Mirai begins to choke on the thick and polluted air itching at her lungs before looking back to see Sayuri squinting and breathing hard, eyes comically large at the event.

     "What was that?" Some other members of the Corps run up to Kyojuro, nerve striking their features and leaving some paralyzed.

Two more consecutive explosions occur in rapid timing a few buildings further up the street, sending more debris into the air. Fires light up parts of the city, their booming sounds leaving ears ringing. Some Slayers crouch in shock, cowering under the attack. However, Sayuri stands boldly alongside Kyojuro, both scanning for where this demon could be hiding.

     "Rengoku, I'll go help!" Mitsuri snaps into action, white haori flashing across their faces as she begins to break into a run. Kyojuro shouts in alarm, grabbing her by the scruff of the fabric, just stopping her from a shot being fired into her head. It blasts through the building beside her, leaving a large impact from its speed. The girl squeaks, face dropping in horror.

     "Mitsuri, are you okay!" Mirai gasps and reaches for her new friend, abandoning Sayuri from where she'd been covering the younger. Mitsuri nods in disbelieving breaths, holding Mirai's shoulder tightly to ground herself.

     "But what about- eh?" Mitsuri gawks, looking over to where both Sayuri and Kyojuro had disappeared. Upon a roof across the street, a wide attack similar to a spray of flames can be witnessed, pointing to where the pair had run off to. Mirai could only wonder how they'd got up there so fast, but they were near the rank of Hashira, compared to her and Mitsuri they were fighting on a whole other level.

     "Quick, we need to go help them!"

     Upon the rooftop, Sayuri had already seen the incredible First Form of Flame Breathing. Her hands had drawn out her blade, but now she only hoped her power could compare to Kyojuro. The nerves of meeting him now but a passing emotion as she now focused on nothing but becoming a powerful ally to the man.

     The demon before them was getting up from the ground he'd been thrown against with the attack, dressed in an older style of military uniform with a general's cape and cap. Scars battered his likely once handsome face, now ruined with sickly color and sharp teeth. Sayuri shivers as he grins,

     "Yes, it was all for this day," He stands to his full height and beams, "-The day I get payback against you, Rengoku!"

     From this closeness, the engraving of Lower Rank Two in his eye.

     "One of the Twelve Kizuki..." Sayuri mutters, looking to Kyojuro for confirmation, who sends the slightest of glances toward her with a nod. His eyes were burning with a flame of anger, nothing like the kindness he held earlier. There was no mistaking this man for someone of lower ranking, as he showed the hearth and vigor of a Hashira inside and out of battle.

     He steps down from the edge of the balcony and onto the rooftop, eyebrows furrowed at the demon,

     "An indiscriminating attack involving humans is a deed so foul I cannot overlook it."

     The demon cackles something awful, Sayuri sensing his movement toward her before he even took off. Because it wasn't like Sayuri was of lower ranking either, she too could perform on the level of Kinoe, even Hashira in the presence of this Kizuki member.

     Lower Two dashes to her behind, attempting to grab Sayuri as likely leverage to use in the fight. The brunette twists and uses her own first form to rid of his arm, miscalculating his quick speed and only managing to drop a few fingers. She furrows her brows and hops back beside Kyojuro, putting space between them and the enemy.

     "Heh heh, can't say I didn't try. Thought you'd be a nice easy handguard to fetch for my collection," Sayuri bristles at his words, a muscled arm hidden underneath Kyojuro's uniform holding her from releasing another attack. She was getting too angry too fast. The demon watches this interaction and hums, "-I cannot forget the insult you gave me Rengoku! On that day I swore out of revenge! I spent years growing stronger until I finally became a part of the Twelve Kizuki! Tonight is your last night! Prepare to die Rengoku!"

     "Who are you!"

     The demon stops, staring blankly at the man of unbridled flames, "Heh? You forgot me?"

     "No, I didn't forget! Because we've never met before! Think about it, what Corps member would associate with a demon?"

     The creature warbles completely flabbergasted, at a loss for words and shaking with anger. It begins to lift the long rifle with determination, Sayuri lifting her blade to prepare for anything he could try. Rather, the end of the gun is placed inside of the demon's mouth and fires a blast right through the thing's skull. The woman shudders at the spray of gore and watches carefully as it begins to mumble calming chants to itself.

     BOOM. Another explosion fires directly behind them, taking the top off of a building. In the split second Sayuri's attention turns to the loud noise, tens of little gunshots sound off in front of her body. Kyojuro manages to deflect everyone without a scratch to his uniform, however, he wasn't exactly prepared for that to happen.

     "The bombs, I planted them all over the Captial!" The Lower Two smiles, face now regenerated along with multiple firearms now protruding from his body. The two Slayers run behind the simple cover of a billboard advertisement for a restaurant, regaining their senses and control of the situation.

     "The girls... they could disarm the bombs and leave us to fight this- Huh?" Sayuri leaps out of the way before two more guns pop directly out of the ground in thick smoke, pointing at each of the swordsmen. With a study of Kyojuro, she can see burning anger taking control of his emotions, as seen through his white knuckles clenching his blade. He ducks out of cover almost immediately after the failed shot,

     "Flame Breathing, Fourth Form; Blooming Flame Undulation!" A distracting attack of makes way for Kyojuro to bring his sword down upon the demon's neck, Sayuri watching the weapon cut through a nothingness of that same smoke the guns protruded from.

     "Heh heh, you are pitiful! Anger is clouding your vision, Renogoku. In battle, you must remain calm!"

     "Says the one removing his brain every time he gets angry. You're just as weak as the demons I've fought without a rank," Sayuri finds her own peace amongst a vision of clouds, using her knowledge of their power to her advantage. That's what Cloud Breathing was all about, wasn't it? To move such hefty and powerful objects, but remain light enough to travel through the sky without collapsing to the ground. And Sayuri wouldn't collapse.

     "A girl with twin braids? And that red rope tied into one? Seems you are another of the Kizuki's prey if I'm not mistaken! Oh how you've grown from his description, surely I can return that piece of his clothing to him!" The demon snickers before sticks of dynamite begin to fall to the floor, already ignited and about to burst.

     Before the explosion can go off, Sayuri wraps her entire body around Kyojuro to deflect the damage from him onto her. From the ground, Mirai and Mitsuri watch as the building their mentors were fighting on crumples to the ground. 

☁️

𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘 ╱canon plot is starting
AHHH omg i was so excited for
this arc <3

i fully expected this chapter
to be written better + naturally
FLOPPED EEEK i'm so sorry !!

sorry for the wait! i fr be at
work way too much and 
then get exhausted before
i can even think about my
fics </3 also if there's errors
my docs lags SO BAD and
what i type spawns 10 seconds
later so i might've not caught
them all LMFAO 

last paragraph but i have sm
to say frr ,, neways this will 
be two parts so the chapter
isn't like 8k and i feel so bad
not updating in forever :(

gumiguro-