hazy || muichiro tokito x oc (kny)

thirty-three: the next step

-♡-

"AMATERASU KANROJI! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!"

mitsuri bursts into the hospital room, but suddenly stops as she stares at the bed, where muichiro and amata cling to each other in the bed, a soft smile on both of their faces as amata lays her head on muichiro's shoulder, and he arms curl around her to pull her closer.

mitsuri doesn't want to wake them. tjr cuteness of her sister and muichiro clinging to each other is too difficult to bear, but the hashira meeting is extremely urgent.

"um, tokito-kun?"

mitsuri taps muichiro, and the boy awakes with a jolt. he tiredly looks up, the turns to amata.

"wake up." he whispers to her. amata stirs awake, pulling away before smiling at mitsuri.

"yes?" she yawns tiredly.

"pillar meeting!"

-♡-

amata feels sad at the feeling that amane has come in kagaya's place. his sickness rendered him incapable of coming, and amata knew his death was near.

"i am pleased to see everyone here." amane says calmly. "and i am also pleased to hear that three of our pillars have defeated upper ranks, and that they have defended the swordsmith village." she says, looking at amata, mitsuri, and muichiro.

"i am also pleased to hear that nezuko kamado has conquered the sun." amane adds. "however, this is going to be a challenge. muzan kibutsuji is now to come after nezuko kamado, and harness her ability to defeat the sun. it is our duty as demon slayers to protect her until we cure her."

amata scratches her arm and breathes deeply.

"and also, three of our pillars have unlocked their marks."

everyone looks at amane in confusion. amata, muichiro, and mitsuri remember the strange markings that had appeared on all of them, yet nobody knew what it meant.

"let me explain." amane starts. "the demon slayer mark is something which signifies great speed, strength, and endurance. they can only be unlocked by pushing your body to it's true limits, by nearly killing yourself. but, once earned, all of your attributes amplify greatly."

amata remembers the feeling of the clouds appearing on her face. how hot she was, how fast her heart was beating, how much her body hurt.

but then, she remembers how much stronger she felt after unlocking it.

"we had to keep the marks a secret." amane goes on. "demon slayers were trying to hard to earn them, and they were continuously dying due to pushing themselves too far. but now, four individuals have earned the mark in the face of battle."

"four?" sanemi asks.

"yes." amata nods. "mitsuri, amaterasu, muichiro, and tanjiro kamado have been marked."

everyone gasps, and amane smiles.

"when one person unlocks it, it begins to spread like wildfire." amane says. "tanjiro first unlocked it in the entertainment district whilst decapitating upper six." she then turns to amata, muichiro, and mitsuri.