A Murder of One - Kimetsu no Yaiba / Demon Slayer

24

Akiko doesn't see Tanjirou again until a week later.

By the time he returns, Akiko is about to leave for the Butterfly Estate by her lonesome, but upon seeing the brutal condition her fiance is in, all anger flies out the window.

"What happened?!" Akiko leads Tanjirou to the futon, yelling for swordsmiths to prepare some food as well as her bag while he explains the week's events.

Turns out Tanjirou has a perfectly good explanation for why he left Akiko alone for a week!

He was being bullied by a 10 year old.

Akiko spends the next day tending to Tanjirou's wounds, which thankfully aren't a lot. Just bruises and sore muscles; nothing a long soak in the hot springs can't fix.

It's when Tanjirou is talking to Genya about his week's events that things slowly start to go south. Genya gets pissed off enough that he throws the basket of rice crackers, much to the couple's dismay. And when Tanjirou notices that Genya's tooth has grown back in, Akiko can't even come up with a good excuse.

"I never lost it..." Genya mumbles weakly.

"But I have it right here!"

"TANJIROU THAT'S UNSANITARY!!"

Defeated, the physician leaves the room with the tooth in a napkin, ready to be thrown away. She plans to also soak in the hot spring, since they're likely to leave the swordsmith village the day after Tanjirou's sword is ready, which should be in 2 days.

When she reaches the hot spring, there's only one person left, but he's gathering his things to leave. Akiko smiles to herself, bidding the swordsmith a goodnight before she undresses to soak in the hot springs.

Akiko falls asleep in the hot water. She always does. Something about the swordsmith village and being able to take care of herself makes her fall into a deep sleep, and she's woken up multiple times from breathing water up her nose.

This time, she's woken up to the sound of a distant explosion.

Miruna caws above her, alerting her of a demon attack. Akiko shoves herself out of the hot spring, hastily wrapping her kimono around her and haphazardly tying the knots. At the very least, she remembers to wrap her kimono left over right.

"Go alert a nearby pillar for assistance!" Akiko yells up at Miruna, and her crow jets away.

Akiko leaps down the steps, blood rushing out of her face when she sees a splatter of blood at the base of the hill. There isn't a body in sight, which Akiko can't deduce to be a good thing or a bad thing.

By the time she arrives at the front entrance of the village, there's a small swarm of swordsmiths, kakushi, and lower level demon slayers. Akiko begins to direct the crowd immediately, yelling for half the kakushi to undergo an evacuation of the village and the other half to start setting up a med tent and treatment.

"Sayu, you're in charge of treatments while I'm gone!" Akiko says to a kakushi that she knows, "The village chief isn't here, so demon slayers come with me to the main building for an extraction!"

The three or so demon slayers huddle around Akiko, keeping her protected when they encounter some weird fish demons. One leaves the pack to lead a small group of swordsmiths they found. By the time they reach the main building, they can hear a commotion upstairs.

A pink blur flies over Akiko and the two demon slayers' heads, and upon exclaiming that the Love Pillar has arrived, the two demon slayers rush up the steps with newfound confidence.