House of Wisteria

What-if 01

[ Welcome to the Curse ]
Scenario: What if Fuji Y/N had survived the final battle?

TW: Vague Mentions of Suicide

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This must be a hallucination. It must be. How could it not be? Yet no matter how much you wanted to deny the notion, nothing could dispute the fact that you are, in fact, very much alive and well. Somehow you had been saved just in time. You wondered how, really. You lost your arm and ear for crying out loud, you truly struggled to keep the blood loss at bay during the mayhem. You figured that it was thanks to Chiyo Shuzenji's help that you are here now. And although you were thankful, you did not see any merit in being spared by death. It was supposed to be your salvation, your punishment for your wrongdoings and uselessness. You later on figured out that what you felt was survivor's guilt; and rightfully so. Whilst you are here alive and breathing, dozens of young Slayers, your comrades and your clan-your one and only home-all was gone and of no more.

It was too much to bear. And it felt so even more so when your time of being a Demon Slayer, a Hashira-the Wisteria Pillar-is now permanently effectively relived of your long term duty: protecting humanity from man-eating demons. You were at a loss. This feeling was not only foreign to you, your two other remaining partners are in the same boat as you. You had no will to continue forwards with life, you had no goal nor drive for anything worthwhile for yourself-there simply was nothing left for you. You grimaced. Why bother living on when you would croak at the age of 25? This marking, though a blessing in disguise in the heat of battle, it shall be the bane of your limited remaining existence.

"Is this... an order?" You asked meekly. Your voice was hoarse. You would not talk to anyone for days during your time recuperating, not a peep. Too shocked about your survival. "Or a wish?"

Your peers had saddened expressions on their faces. How could they not? You were born into this line of work, exposed too early to the ugliness of the world. You would not admit it yourself, but deep down, you and everyone else knew that you had not mentally and physically and emotionally recovered from anything-no one ever did themselves. You merely suppressed your feelings, focusing on the task at hand at every hour of every day. It was a coping mechanism, the only thing that kept you grounded. A child grown too soon.

Ubuyashiki Kiriya softly smiles at you with an unreadable look in his eyes. He too wonders the same, worrying about what comes next now, just like you and the others. "A wish. I wish for all of you to live, to explore the unknown, to grow, to be content, to be thankful for another chance. Just as you all wonder and worry for your futures, I too am the same. I want to join my parents too; I want to hold them again, I want to hear them again, I want to see them again." You, Shinazugawa Sanemi and Tomioka Giyuu felt the same. This grief and sorrow resonated within each and every one of you. "But I know that joining them would anger them, displeased that instead of experiencing new experiences that I could not have had before, I am here contemplating whether my continuation on this road further would even be worthwhile. If you cannot live for yourself, then live for those that were lost along this journey; live so that when your time comes, when you meet your parents and friends and siblings, you can stand before them loud and proud, telling them stories of your adventures."

And to your surprise and confusion, you three did just that. How you all did so, you honestly had no clue. Now that your purpose has been met, you saw no need to reside in modern Japan anymore, but you found yourself reluctant to leave. You had no home to go back to, yet you had one here in the Aizawa household. Though you convinced yourself to let go and went back 'home' (wherever that may be), modern Japan was not your world to live through-you are an outsider. Many wanted you to stay, but you refused, reasoning that you never once swore to be neither heroic or villainous; concluding yourself that you could be a danger and a hinderance to all. No matter how many digressed, you stood your ground. You were tired, exhausted; you already finished your battle, you most certainly was not about to go into another when clearly you never were a part of it in the first place. Though you did promised to pay a visit from time to time, rejoicing and pleasing the crowds.