Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

Chapter 144 - The will to help

[3rd POV]

Kie revealed the location of the Blue Spider Lily to Seiji and also informed him about the exact date and time when the flower would bloom.

When Seiji finally returned to the Kamado household that had turned into a Demon Slayer Camp, exhaustion hit him like a truck.

Seiji passed out like a dead man immediately. The price of fighting against the Demon King on equal ground was fatigue beyond anything he had ever suffered before. Shinobu concluded that he would be out for the next few days at least.

He suffered a nasty wound on his heart where Rengoku had pierced him and his shoulder was also mutilated by Gyomei's blow. The injuries were luckily not fatal and with Seiji's superhuman healing, he should be able to recover fully from this.

It was a miracle that he came out without permanent injuries.

After his return, the Demon Slayers promptly returned to their headquarters. Seiji and the other combatants who had been injured in the fight were carried to the Butterfly Mansion for treatment.

The news of what transpired in the Gifu region quickly spread among the Demon Slayer Corp. Many people were involved, so secrecy was never an option.

The reaction was a mix of horror and joy. The news that the Demon King had fled from their pillars was something the Demon Slayers parade with pride but the experienced warriors knew what that entailed.

They were in for more trouble in the future. Some people thought the Demon King was merely a myth, and this battle had stripped them of their blissful ignorance. Things were going to get more chaotic in the future.

The unfortunate fate that had befallen the Flame Pillar on the other hand was tightly held under wraps. Ubuyashiki spared no effort to make sure that the news never spread.

Nevertheless, the organisation was going through changes with the battle of the Gifu region, now termed the Failed Purge. A sense of unease mixed with excitement filled the hearts of every Demon Slayer.

With the Demon King himself making big moves, it was clear to all that the war was coming to an end.

How will it end was the question.

With the demon's defeat or humanity's death.

That was what scared half and what excited half.

..

..

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[3rd POV]

"Seiji?!"

Kanae Kocho stumbled more than once as she ran towards the main entrance gate of the mansion. What used to be the unrivalled queen of balance and elegance was now a powerless and stumbling maiden. She was one of the many who had been wronged by demons.

"Seiji," Kanae called out once more while she got back up every time she fell. Her action seemed helpless and beyond vulnerable at that moment.

"Sister!!" Shinobu quickly ran forward and caught the blind girl in her arms. She stopped Kanae from blindly stumbling her way to the unconscious man carried on a stretcher.

"What's going on? What happened?" Kanae's unseeing eyes were as expressive as ever. They trembled like stars before tears spilt out uncontrollably.

"Shonobu, why does he smell of blood? Why is he not speaking to me?"

"He's fine, he's fine. He passed out from exhaustion, that's all I promise," Shinobu soothed her sister. In a world of absolute darkness, things get scary fast. But the trusted voice of her sister brought calm to her heart.

"Take Seiji to his personal room and set up IV. You can take the others to the normal ward," Shinobu told the Kakushi.

With Kanae in her arms, Shinobu followed the Kakuhsi as they went to Seiji's room. At the moment, Seiji was the one with the gravest injuries. She had stitched the other's wound but since Seiji disappeared before she had time to do so, his injuries remained open.

Rengoku was also carried to the ward. He looked completely normal except for the metamorphosis his body went through in his body, unseen. Shinobu had given him plenty of medication to make sure he remained unconscious, both for human and demons.

When Seiji was lying on his bed, Kanae immediately took his side. Shinobu too gathered the tools needed and she got to work stitching Seiji's wounds.

"Cut off his bandages," Shinobu asked her sister who despite her blindness was able to take them off.

Shinobu could've easily done everything herself but she knew her sister wanted to do something lest she would feel too helpless when her love was in need of help right beside her.

Kanae froze and then trembled when she felt the extent of his injuries.

"Chest trauma, it's deep but doesn't reach his vitals. No evidence of internal bleeding or his lungs collapsing but I'm sure his ribs are either fractured or broken. There is also a severe aze wound on his shoulder. His deltoid and trapezius are completely snapped and his collarbone is crushed. It doesn't bleed much so I'm assuming no major arteries are snapped," Shinobu quickly analyzed the injury once more for her sister.

"It's a wonder how he always gets so lucky with his injuries," Shinobu asked out loud while she proceeded to address the wounds.

Prediction of movement allowed not only for efficient blocking of an attack but also to ensure that even if an attack did land, it did not harm your vitals.

It was rare but when Seiji suffered injuries in his fight, he always made sure to suffer the least fatal injuries. Advanced Breathing techniques allowed nigh absolute control over your body including blood flow and organ location so he was able to achieve such a feat amid battle. It was almost second nature even.

"What happened? What kind of monster can do this to him?" Kanae asked after a while. Her voice held genuine curiosity after she made sure Seiji was going to be fine.

There was not much in this world that could harm Seiji to this extent. Actually, she thought there was no creature that could harm him to this extent yesterday.

"The Demon King," Shinobu replied, "Muzan Kibutsuji,"

Her eyes widen in shock.

"Seiji somehow ran into Muzan Kibutsuji in the Gifu region. He had been staying with the Kamado family apparently and the children claimed that the Demon attacked them and Seiji protected them," Shoinobu said what she had learned from Tanjiro and the rest while she was babysitting them.

"The battle did not last more than 4 hours. Seiji held him off for the first hour, Gyomei joined and they fought Muzan for the next hour. The rest two hours, Muzan was forced to bear the onslaught of five Hashiras and in the end, he ran away to survive," she said while her whole focus was on stitching the wounds. The loss of soft tissue was making it difficult to close the wound.

"What a crazy man I've fallen in love with," Kanae could only sigh in the end.

"I was scared for a moment that I'd lost him and I couldn't save him like he did me," she said, but the feeling of absolute helplessness did not fade.

It only became stronger.

She used to be a Hashira too, someone Seiji could call upon when he needed help but now she was only a blind woman, helpless like any maiden.

It was frustrating.

She held his hand with all the warmth that she could give.

.. @@novelbin@@

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[3rd POV]

(Mitsuri)

It's not fair.

Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair!!!

It isn't fair!!

She worked hard and trained extensively despite being a sheltered girl only a few years ago. She risked her life, treading the path of power which was a road for people who had lost everything and thirsted for vengeance. She did it out of love.

She was a Hashira now. That meant she had reached the highest rank there was to reach. She could rub shoulders with him now, standing as equals. She could protect what she held so dear.

At least that's what she thought.

But distance was a cruel enemy, crueller than the demons themselves, she thought.

She only heard the news way after the fight was over. She could only go out to help when her love had already suffered whatever it was he should suffer and all risk was over.

She was just as helpless as ever.

She immediately left her post and travelled to the Butterfly Mansion when she heard about the news of the battle. Her journey was long and gruelling but she finished it in under a day.

All throughout the journey, the only thing she could do was curse the world and fate for making her useless despite all her effort to not be so.

"Where is he?!" she asked the sweeper when she reached the mansion.

She did not know why she was in a hurry, either. Everything was over now, so it wouldn't matter if she were gentle and graceful or hurried to the innocent bystanders.

But the heart did not work on logic.

"He has been transported to his own room. I suggest you keep it down Miss Kanroji, Lord Seiji is-"

"Thank you!!" Mitsuri blitzed toward the room immediately. She wiped a generous amount of sweat from her face, vaguely noting that she was covered in sweat.

Her uniform hugged her body tightly, acting like a second skin due to the sweat. The fabric was torn in many places from the bushes and trees that she bulldozed through on her journey.

Her skin had no blemish though, as the things that could tear her clothes easily could not leave a scratch on her skin.

At last, she came upon the room that housed Seiji. She was three days late to the battle but here she was, in all her useless glory, she thought to herself.

The sight of his sleeping face, pale from clear loss of blood and his weak body wrapped in bandages like a mummy caused her to collapse on her knees.

She'd never felt weaker.

..

"It's okay," Mitsuri eventually heard the voice of Kanae from behind her. Then she felt warm arms hugging her body on the floor.

If there was one person in the world who could understand her feelings, it was the girl whose arms wrapped around her.

"We'll be fine,"

..

..

..

Next time.

Just one time.

She wanted to help.

.

.

[IMAGE]

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Stones?