Chapter Text
You had just one job and that was to help with the ladder.
The thick, dark veil you wore over your face smothered your breathing as you struggled with the long and heavy ladder. It dug into your shoulder painfully but you pressed forward to keep pace. Two others, one in front of you and one behind, had the ends.
It was pitch black and your feet slipped over damp fallen leaves as you ran. You weren’t totally sure where you were going but since you didn’t have to lead, you didn’t have to worry about it. You gritted your teeth and just hoped it wouldn’t be much further.
You didn’t see it until it was almost right in front of you. A stone wall, at least fifteen feet high, stood between you and whatever lay beyond and you and the others did not hesitate to fix the ladder you carried against it. Another trio of Kakushi trotted up behind you and you started to climb up, helping to heave up the second ladder that would let you go inside.
Your back ached. Your arms could barely hold the weight. You were afraid you would tip backward and fall. Your palms sweated and your feet slid on the wooden rungs. But you remained wordless, fearing that any loss of focus would cause you to make a mistake.
It was easier with the extra hands to help, and you lowered the second ladder down to the ground on the other side of the wall. You pushed it firmly to test that it was steady before your leader started down. When he signaled, you went down yourself, and then the third from your group came last. The other three would stay on the outside to assist with the evacuation.
It was still pitch black but something flickered in the distance. Swallowing your fear, you took a flint from your pocket and struck sparks over a kerosene-soaked ball of newspaper your leader had. The smoke it produced nearly extinguished its light and you coughed, helping to set it on a stack of wood. It caught immediately despite the dampness, sending a thick column of steam and flickering flames into the air.
Now, you could only wait. If you were lucky, people would come out. If not…
You held your breath, choosing not to consider the alternative.
Shouts erupted in the distance and you saw the lights of several torches moving quickly your way. You gripped the side of the ladder with anticipation.
According to the crow, you’d just infiltrated a demon’s stronghold. A whole village had been taken hostage. You would know soon enough, but the Master had gotten word that the demon was collecting human skin. Your stomach flipped at the mental image.
Another Kakushi team finally arrived and a second ladder appeared on the other side of the fire. You rushed over and kicked its legs to get them steady in the ground, signaling that it was safe to come down. Three more Kakushi made their way inside.
Your heart leaped in your chest as villagers swarmed the ladders, more than you would have ever expected. At least thirty people crowded around, and more seemed to be on the way.
“No more than two at a time!” you instructed, shoving an older woman up the ladder with less than delicate hands. You watched her disappear over the wall and busied yourself with tying a baby to someone else’s back. It didn’t matter whose it was; it’d get sorted out later.
“Go, go!!” you urged. You hissed as an explosion rocked the ground and you gripped the sides of the ladder to ensure it wouldn’t topple over as the villagers climbed up. Too many people had clambered up in a hurry and it bowed ominously against your arms. Even though your eyes were shut tight, you could see how bright everything suddenly was and could feel how hot the air had become.
Everything was on fire and you forgot all about demons or collections of human skin, or anything else. Two ladders wouldn’t be enough to get everyone out before you burned to death.
The villagers pressed themselves to the walls as the buildings nearest erupted into cracking flames, shooting high into the sky. You could only watch, afraid to breathe as smoke enveloped you, stinging your eyes and throat. The only way out was the ladders. Finally, a third ladder probed downward, hitting you in the back. You yanked it down mercilessly, planting its feet in the dirt.
“This one’s open!!” you shouted, not waiting for the Kakushi to come down. You hustled two more people onto the rungs, shoving them up by their clothes.
“Don’t come down!!!” You called up to the top of the wall with a hoarse throat, commanding the Kakushi that had dropped the third ladder. “Bring another ladder!”
There were still at least forty people waiting to get onto the ladders and climb out. All you could hear was frantic coughing and you crouched, trying to escape the smoke. Your veil covered your nose and mouth, but it didn’t help much with smoke this thick. In the distance, you glimpsed the feet of a fourth ladder appearing next to the first one.
As if answering your prayers, the wind changed direction, carrying the heat and smoke away from you and the ladders. A collective sigh traveled through the remaining group and you stumbled back to your feet, gratefully gasping in air. You helped the last few people up and watched them disappear over the wall.
A crash in the distance caused you to turn and you thought that you saw God.
He exploded out of a third story window in a flurry of fresh flames and blood. The demon’s beheaded body evaporated into ash before it hit the ground and the figure floated down like an ember, light trailing like an afterimage behind him.
“Flame Hashira!!” You watched two other Demon Slayers run toward him and you felt your whole body recoil as he turned to face you. He wore a wild smile on his face and you wondered for a moment if he wasn’t the demon.
All three of them ran to the wall and you realized that it was probably time to withdraw. You repositioned your veil and steadied the ladder so they could make their way over.
The Flame Hashira’s eyes were fixed on you as he stood by, waiting for the other two Demon Slayers in his team to cross over. You held it firmly in place. It would be awful if it were to slip now. Luckily, it didn’t.
“Flame Hashira, please.” You beckoned, too afraid to look him in the eye. You could feel him watching you. He exuded no sense of urgency.
“I go last, my Kakushi friend!!” he said, his voice much louder than you’d expected. You blinked at him. He was still smiling. The other two Kakushi in your team jogged over and you buckled down again so they could climb out. The Flame Hashira crossed his arms and watched, still smiling. You shook your head anxiously.
“I can’t do that. Please escape, Flame Hashira. The wind is changing back.” Sure enough, it was getting hard to see again. Your eyes watered painfully. It didn’t occur to you until just then that you could die here like this. What if the ladder didn’t hold on your way out? But it was better you than a Hashira. You remembered the sight of him slaying the demon. You’d never seen such a show of power in your whole life.
“Nonsense!” You could still see him smile at you through the thickening smoke.
“Here we go!”
Suddenly, a firm arm grasped your shoulders and you were hoisted off your feet. And then, you were airborne.
You didn’t notice you were screaming until you already were. Glancing down, the top of the wall passed several feet beneath you. And then, you were falling. And still screaming.
When he landed, you felt your teeth rattle in your skull. You coughed violently, full of smoke.
“Is that the last one, Flame Hashira?”
“Rengoku-sama, well done! I’m so moved by your strength!”
The two Demon Slayers in the Flame Hashira’s entourage trotted up and he placed you back onto your feet gently. Desperate for fresh air, you unpinned your veil and panted, collapsing onto your knees.
“Th-Thank you, Flame Hashira,” you gasped. “Sorry, I think I’ve breathed in a lot of smoke.”
“Let’s get away,” he suggested, eyeing the dark fumes billowing over the walls. He gathered you back into his arms and hurtled into the woods, the other two Demon Slayers shouting behind him to slow down.
The wind on your face felt good as he ran and you wondered how he wasn’t running headlong into a tree yet. For how fast he was going, you imagined that you would become a pancake if he did. Afraid to watch, you braced yourself and hid your face in his shoulder.
But you didn’t have to worry for long. In just a couple of minutes, he emerged from the trees onto a path carved out of the terrain. Rail tracks ran along it and as the sun cracked above the horizon, you were shocked to find that you weren’t far out of the city at all. You’d traveled all day and most of the night out of Tokyo to get to the demon stronghold. But it had only taken a few minutes to get back to the tracks. You stared up at the Flame Hashira, dumbfounded.
He noticed your face and started laughing.
“It might be a while before the others catch up! But we need to get you to a doctor as soon as possible, so I’ll leave them behind just this once!”
“What?” Your eyebrows knitted together, forming a picture of your confusion.
“What is what?”
“You’re a Hashira, aren’t you?! You can’t have time to be fussed with a single weak Kakushi like me!” You stared, completely bewildered.
“You’re not weak!” He looked bewildered, too, and you wondered for a moment if he was actually stupid. You could find no words to rebuke him that wouldn’t sound rude. Luckily, he had plenty for you.
“You were risking your life back there! All the villagers escaped because of you, my Kakushi friend! I might have slain the demon, but if you hadn’t been there, they would have all burned up, trapped inside the walls of that fortress. That would have been truly terrible!” He spelled it out for you as if he was describing the weather. You felt your face heat up and your fingers fumbled to re-fasten your veil. He was still holding you in his arms.
He smiled down at you again and you felt your eyes fill with tears. How could there be such a gracious god in the world?
“Do you want to blow your nose? It might help! You can use my sleeve if you want. I’m afraid I used my handkerchief earlier on Ito! He was crying because his girlfriend broke up with him.”
“I could never!” you cried before you could even process what he was saying.
He just chuckled and you stared as the first rays of sunlight lit the features of the Flame Hashira. He was easily the strangest and most beautiful person you had ever seen. He looked the way you imagined a spirit would look.
You were both captivated and intimidated. The image of him bursting out of that third story window, blood and flames swirling around him, replayed in your mind. Sweat mingled with the soot that had collected on your neck and palms, creating a slippery, gritty coating. You were thankful for the veil that covered your face.
“Well, let’s get going, then!” He slid back, planting his foot in the dirt and you barely had time to squeak before he was off again, hurtling at breakneck speed back toward the city. You heard the wind whistling in your ears and wondered why your throat felt so strained until you realized, belatedly, that the whistling sound was not the wind but your shrieking. Upon this realization, you couldn’t help but turn it into a crazed laugh.
The Flame Hashira ran faster than a horse and you couldn’t stop laughing for some reason. He started laughing, too.
“What is your name, my Kakushi friend?” he shouted over the wind. “I swear that I’ll remember it!”
You weren’t really supposed to give out your name, especially to a Hashira. It was your duty to work in the shadows, silently sorting through the aftermath of the battles. It was supposed to be as if nothing had ever happened. But he was asking and you guessed that you couldn’t exactly refuse.
“It’s Tokai,” you replied, marveling at how you’d already reached the city outskirts. Houses whizzed by and your head spun. “Tokai _____. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Flame Hashira.”
“Rengoku Kyojuro!” he corrected you, pivoting suddenly into a western avenue. He started to slow down, looking for something, and you realized that you’d reached the neighborhood where the secret Kakushi clinic was located. How had he known where it was? No one was supposed to know, not even the Demon Slayers.
When the Kakushi were described as “the hidden ones,” it wasn’t a joke. No one was supposed to know where they came from or where they went after their duties were fulfilled. It was a hard, silent, often thankless job.
“I can go alone from here,” you said tightly.
Rengoku ground to a halt and your stomach flipped from the sudden stop. He appraised you with a secretive smile that made you uneasy. As he put you back on your feet, you bowed low.
“I can’t thank you enough, Rengoku-sama.” You chose to use his name since he’d offered it, but it made you even more unsettled.
“It’s of no consequence!” he replied. His stare seemed to pierce your veil and you lowered your face further.
“Take care of yourself well, Tokai-san. Let’s meet again someday!”
You glanced up and he was gone.
Feeling an invisible pressure lift from you, you collapsed onto your knees, overwhelmed.
The Hashira were so scary! But you didn’t want the help he’d given you to be in vain. You blew your nose on your own sleeve and it was black with soot. The smell of smoke still stuck in your sinuses, you made the rest of the way to the nondescript clinic on your own.