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You crouch in the tree, waiting. You’re not sure why you’re the one in a tree, nor why Kagaya-San asked for you to be in this tree. All you know is that your brain is tinging with a feeling that demons are nearby, so perhaps he was right to ask you to watch.
He’s down below, speaking to the Hashira. For a second, you find yourself distracted watching them. They’re the strongest slayers out there, really, so it’s interesting to look at them, see if they look the part. Of course, you can’t dally from guarding for too long, so your eyes periodically snap back up to survey the tree line. Even if demons don’t attack, it’s better safe than sorry, and you don’t want to be at fault if they do.
It doesn’t mean that the Hashira aren’t distracting, however. They’re having some sort of heated debate, and they’re loud. Especially the one dressed in white, with scars on his face. He’s interesting, you want to know more about him. For a second, your curiosity gets the better of you, and your eyes linger on him for a second too long. And of course, that’s the second there’s a rustling in the trees.
Your eyes snap up, instincts and reflexes honed by your time guarding Kagaya. You scan the foliage, looking for any threat. The minute you relax slightly, thinking it was just some wildlife, or the wind, that’s when the demon sprints from the trees.
You don’t have to think, don’t even need a second to register it. You’re already dropping down, rolling your impact so that it hurts less. You unsheath your sword and run at it. It’s almost easy work to fight it. You know by heart how to dodge, block, and strike. The demon does manage to get a graze across your cheek, wound stinging, but you retaliate and easily stick him through the heart, pulling your blade out, and cleanly decapitating him.
You look up at the Hashira, glad for a fight well done and hoping to get back to your tree, but unfortunately it doesn’t look as if you’ll get the opportunity anytime soon. The demon you just slayed brought friends. You swear and stand up. The cut on your cheek aches, trying to remind you that it’s there. You’ll stitch it up later. Right now, you have bigger things to worry about.
Behind you, you can hear the Hashira get ready for a fight. You’re comforted slightly by the fact that you’re going to be fighting alongside the Demon Slayer Corps’ most valued and strong slayers. One, maybe two, demons you could take on your own. This many? There’s no way in hell.
You start on the demon closest to you. Thankfully, they’re low level demons, so there’s barely any trouble in the fight. You wouldn’t call the fight easy but you’ve absolutely had more difficult ones, and you’re sure all of the Hashira have too. When your opponent’s head falls to the ground, you chance a glance around to see.
You weren’t wrong, the Hashira seem to be tearing through the demons easily. Some are stuck in battle, but there are already one or two dead demons at their feet, and others have just finished swiping their blades through necks. There’s blood slicking the grass, and you can smell the sweat of fighting. Wrinkling your nose, you start on another demon.
This, you suppose, was supposed to be a massacre. Well, it’s failing. They probably thought that an army of low level demons could take a smaller group of powerful demon slayers. It’s doubtful that they knew it was the Hashira by the way they’re falling. More powerful than humans, and yet your corp brethren are felling them easily.
Of course, demons aren’t just hyped up humans, and a few of the slayers are struggling. A fast glance confirms a few things. First, the stronger demons came last, so that you’d be tired out by the time you reached them. Second, a few of the Hashira are trapped by them. In fact, every single Hashira is trapped in a battle. The sound Hashira, the one with the eye, the name you probably should know, is losing his. You run forwards. The demon is still low level enough that all its energy and attention are focused on his opponent. It’s easy to come up behind it and slash your blade through its neck.
Tengen, that’s his name! He looks at you and nods gratefully. You smile at him, and he smiles back, but quickly he’s distracted by running off to help the snake Hashira. You glance around the battlefield, looking for another to help. Your eyes catch on the mysterious guy in all white from before. He’s the wind Hashira, but that doesn’t give you any answer on why he’s scarred. He’s, you’ve heard, arguably one of the most powerful Hashira, but he’s struggling with the demon he’s fighting.
It only really takes a glance to figure out why. It’s strong, definitely got a blood demon art. You’re not exactly sure why it’s here in a bunch of low level demons looking for some blood. By the strength it’s fighting with, you think that maybe it was the only one who knew that the group was mainly Hashira. Why ever it’s here, it’s giving the wind Hashira a slight struggle. For a second you think you couldn’t sneak behead it, and then the Hashira starts with his wind routine, and the demon is distracted enough that you can run up.
Behind the demon, you slice your blade through its head. The head falls to the grass, and the rest of the demon falls. The wind Hashira sheaths his sword. “I didn’t need your help.” he says.
“Sure you didn’t.” you say, sticking out your hand and introducing yourself. He looks you over, almost like he’s assessing you. Finally, he offers his own hand.
“Sanemi.” you take his hand and shake it. “Who are you?”
“I just introduced myself.” you tease, but a quick glance around leads you to believe that the other Hashira have a similar question. They’ve all finished fighting, and now they’re standing around rather awkwardly, glancing at you periodically. You look down at the ground awkwardly.
“Who is she?” one of the Hashira yells out, probably at Kagaya. You don’t know which Hashira, but the words still make you flinch. Kagaya is calm as he replies, however.
“They.” he calmly corrects. “And they are my bodyguard.” he continues with your name and a slight overview of how you came to the position, but you can’t help but tone him out as you look at Sanemi. It would be rude to ask him how he got his scars, or how he got the title of wind Hashira, but it can’t hurt to befriend him, right? He seems interesting and cool, and you’re at a lack of actual Demon Slayer friends.
“So you’re a bodyguard.” He looks over you again, like he’s putting this into his vision of you in his head. It would be uncomfortable from anyone else, but you get the feeling that he’s just like this. “You’re a good fighter.”
“Sure. You see better fighters than me everyday.”
“Yeah, but besides those.” you laugh. “I still didn’t need your help though.”
“Fine, but it went faster.” he’s about to reply, when his eye catches on the cut on your cheek. You must be at least slightly more tattered by now, at least a few more injuries and some tears in your robes, but that’s the most obvious one.
“You got hurt.”
“That tends to happen in fights.” he rolls his eyes, reaching out for the cut. His thumb connects with it, and you flinch away. He draws his hand back, blood resting on the tip of his finger. “Dick.” you say. “I’ll get it stitched up. I know how to do that.” you pat your hidden pocket, where a first aid kit resides. It’s got the needle, sutures, and bandages. All you need is a mirror.
Sanemi, luckily, doesn’t pull a ‘every other man you’ve met’ and offer to do it himself. Instead, he says “there’s a mirror inside” and points to the small building where the Hashira and Kagaya were congregated around.
“Am I allowed inside?” is the first thought you voice. “Don’t you have to wait for instructions or something?” is the second one. He just shakes his head and leads you inside.
He’s right, there is a mirror. You sit down in front of it, and set the first aid kit in front of you. Pulling out the needle, you thread it. Pulling it through your skin makes it no easier, no matter how many times you’ve done it.
“Talk to me.” you say, pulling the string tight.
“What?” He's standing at the door, tense. Hashira instincts, or he’s just awkward.
“Fucking distract me, windboy.” you hiss as some blood oozes out of the cut.
“Where’d you learn to do that?” Okay, it’s not as removed from the stitching as you might like, but it’s something to think about, at the very least.
“Army medic. You learn to do it on someone else, it isn’t hard to do it on yourself. And demons leave you pretty beat up.” you glance at him in the mirror. He nods once, and then catches your eye. You both look away. The needle pokes through skin again. He doesn’t look like he’s going to continue the conversation. “Keep talking.” you tell him. The cut is longer than it felt, more stitches than you’d like.
“Why are you a bodyguard?”
“Long story.” there’s a beat of a pause, and you realize that he expects you to elaborate. “I’m not elaborating. I don’t want to. Damn, don’t you know any mild small talk questions? Do you Hashira go around asking people you meet what their childhood trauma is?”
“What’s your childhood trauma?” he deadpans, and a startled laugh escapes you. You really didn’t expect him to joke around. Another glance in the mirror confirms he was joking. “Fine. What’s your favorite color?”
Simple. Innocuous. Hardly distracting, but you’ll take it. You talk about your favorite color, and push in the final stitch. Your teeth grind uncomfortably against each other as you tie it off. Shoving the first aid kit back into your pocket, you stand up.
“Don’t you have Hashira duties?” you ask. His eyes dart to the door.
“Yes. I have to go. Are you going to return to your tree?”
“I’m going fucking home.” you respond. “But, I’d like to talk to you again. Meet here tomorrow?” he doesn’t respond at first, and you start to get anxious. You’re just a bodyguard, and he’s the arguably most powerful Hashira. Of course he doesn’t want to meet you.
He smiles at you, and you get the feeling that’s not something that people see very often. “Yeah,” he says, “I’d like that.”