Ice Breathing/氷の呼吸 (A Demon Slayer Kanzaki Aoi Fanfiction)

V

She was training a lot by herself in the large room for rehabilitation during the nighttime.

Zenitsu didn't even realize this because he couldn't hear her quiet movements.

Aoi wondered how the Kakushi covered for her. Did they have to apologize on her behalf? What reason did they come up with to whilr returning a half-mauled beheaded child?

She thought of Genya who helped her momentarily snap out of it that night. He was sent as supposed backup but Aoi had already finished the job on her own. Genya wondered why Aoi still wasn't a hashira after understanding the events. She had tended to him many times after his training with Gyomei so he helped her return to the mansion quickly despite feeling awkward that he was left with a girl.

If he had arrived to the scene faster than me, would that child still be alive?

She felt shame that she learned the demon's name but not its victim's.

She inhaled sharply and performed the same movement that dismembered the child.

Nothing happened because she wasn't holding her weapon.

Her white haori was white once again but that didn't matter because it was dark. She couldn't see it and she remembered it as being red-the color it had whenever she returned from missions.

"Hello." A gentle, familiar voice calls her and she meets Shinobu's eyes.

"Shinobu-san," She lose her stance and quickly apologizes. "Was I too loud?"

"Not at all."

Aoi met the Kocho sisters before her parents were killed.

She knew that the younger Shinobu wasn't always pretending to smile like she was now.

She knew that Shinobu began to mirror Kanae's actions and emotions after Kanae was killed by an upper moon.

"Are you still blaming yourself for what happened?" Shinobu asked, her smile disappearing but the calmness in her eyes staying the same.

Aoi nodded. She blamed herself for many things and this was the most recent addition. She didn't want to trouble Shinobu but she couldn't lie to her either.

"If I had noticed faster, I could have pulled back my blade and killed the demon in an instant instead of.."

The silence was loud and uncomfortable.

She was with someone but she didn't want her mind to fall into that depressing state again. It would be an inconvenience to everyone.

"You're skilled." Shinobu continues, "The demon knew that and was scared of you and it hid behind someone weaker than itself."

It wasn't your fault. Aoi predicted her to say next.

"The demon was a coward. It was your weapon but it wasn't you who killed the child. No one believes that it was your fault."

Deep down, Shinobu knew her words might not reach Aoi. The young girl was always like her.

Pretending to not be mad. The difference was that Shinobu despised demons for killing and Aoi seemed to hate herself whenever someone died.

"Take it as a command from me and Tomioka-san. Stop blaming yourself. In the end, Muzan is our only enemy."

This was easier to accept for Aoi. She nodded as if she had received an order.

Stop distracting yourself. What matters is that you don't make the same mistake again.

The following day, Tanjiro notices her hands shaking while she's replacing his bandages and he says while they're alone, "You have a tragic scent, Aoi-san."