I Feel You - Gyomei Himejima

Chapter 16

The next morning, Mato's body lies still in the dirt. Woken up by the horse nibbling on its feather. He was out of breath, his little crow body seeking his medication.

"Oh no... *cough* oh no Kuza... *cough* *cough* I need to help Kuza..." He slowly pushed himself up, dragging himself towards the rope that connected the horse to the tree. Kuza began to bite and chomp through the leather leash. Using all the strength left in his body to release the horse. After he successfully snapped the leash, the horse grabbed the body of the crow in between its teeth and held him there as it ran off out of the town. Making its way back to the headquarters to warn the other members of Kuza's/Hamito's situation.

---

"You did well with a broken arm." Muzan grinned sadistically, watching me slice down the 54th unranked demon in a row. All of which he sent to toy with me. I don't know how long I've been fighting, I've lost count of the hours I've been overexerting my body. Adrenaline pumped my blood the entire time, the demon king was right before me, the sworn enemy of humanity.

His smirk, his composure, his laugh, he's doing all this to torment me.

I look up at him, breathing heavily as I glare up at him. The man himself, the man behind everything that happened to me. The death of those orphans, of my little sister and brother.

"You will pay!" I yelled charging at him.

A tentacle-like limb formed out of his shoulder and strikes me, not letting me take another step closer to him. I used my Shadow Breathing Technique to close on him and attack from behind, but he stopped my blade with one hand. The very blade that's made from remnants of the sun so it may be able to slay demons.

"You're not the strongest; you're not the fastest. Certainly, you don't have the most powerful breathing technique. It's the first technique of its kind I've seen, but it's not amazing; it's... laughable. The moment your target loses focus on you or focuses too much on you, you use it against them and appear somewhere else."

I narrowed my eyes. He was right. It was that simple.

"Because you've done a great job making me happier than any other useless demons here." He says with such intensity, "I will grant you the gift of everlasting life."

Before I knew it, one of his limbs went around the platform we stood on and struck from behind. I dodged on time, at the cost of my left shoulder being jagged through. I yell in pain, looking over my injury.

In the blink of an eye, Muzam closed the distance between us and then grabbed me by my throat. Giving me an eerie smile before he pushes me off the ledge.

I scream, reaching out as I fall into the air and a wooden door appears right on where I was to land. I fell through and landed on a lake. Drowning into the water and falling unconscious.

---

"We found her!" Tanjiro bursts through the doors of the headquarters; Zenitsu and Inosuke rush Kuza's body through the hallways toward Shinobu's clinical room.

"She was found by fishermen, floating on a lake to the east," Tanjiro explains to Ubuyashiki and other hashira outside the operating room.

"Her mission was to the west; how did she end up all the way in the opposite direction?" Sanemi asks.

Gyomei grabbed the doorknob of her room, impatient to see Hamito's well-being. It was clear that he hadn't slept well, his hair disheveled and the dark circles under his eyes.

Ubuyashiki sets a hand on his arm, stopping him from turning the knob, "Best not to disturb Shinobu while she's working on her. Don't worry Gyomei, Kuza is a strong woman."

"She's been missing for three days." He says in a deeper tone, an unlikely for him to use against Ubuyashiki himself.

"Hey, calm down, man." Tengen grabs his shoulder.

"How can I calm down when she came back on the brink of death?!"

"Gyomei-san, we understand your concern..." Tanjiro speaks up, "We have the same questions, and let's hope she'll be able to recover and answer the questions we have once she wakes up."

Ubuyashi sighs, catching everyone's attention, "My disease progressively gets worse. I cannot walk without a cane no longer. As I grow weaker... Muzan... is getting closer. Everyone must learn to keep their composure; things like this will happen; I cannot guarantee that everyone here will make it out alive once we've faced Muzan. Yet I'm sure you already knew that before joining the corps, I'm sure Kuza knew that as well. If it is her time, then it is her time. We cannot go against fate."

Gyomei pressed his lips together, gazing down as tears streamed down his cheeks. Instead of letting his emotions get over him, he began to pray silently to relax.

"I'll go back to my chambers. Everyone should go rest as well, you all did a good job searching for Kuza. If we were late for even another day, she wouldn't have survived. Be proud of yourselves, let's trust in Shinobu's skills for now." Ubuyashiki slowly walks away, accompanied by his wife.

Everyone agreed and went on their way except for Gyomei.

"Are you going to stay here, Gyomei-san?" Tanjiro asks.

"I'll wait until I can come inside," Gyomei says, a hint of longing in his voice.

"I will stay with you."

Gyomei's eyes widen a bit. He nods in acknowledgment of Tanjiro's company.

"Kuza-san and I aren't that close..." Tanjiro speaks his mind, "But, whenever we had a conversation, I could smell the warmth of her soul; it's comfortable despite her quiet demeanor on the outside as if I can run to her if I was in trouble. Whenever we had a meal together at the dining hall, she always gave Inosuke a portion of her dessert."

"Is that so?" Gyomei lets out a soft half-hearted chuckle, "She was like that as well when we first met... She had a cold shell and once I was able to break it... I found comfort in her arms that I cannot find anywhere else... I've lost her for 7 years... I can't... bear to lose her forever."

"I'm sure she feels the same to you as well, Gyomei-san."

A small smile adorned his face, seemingly enjoying the thought whether it be true or not. He would fall into any delusion as long as it involved her.

---

A few hours later, Shinobu opens the door, taking off her face mask and gloves, "She's all fine now. Her heart rate is steady..."

Gyomei and Tanjiro look at each other momentarily before walking into the room. Kuza was resting on the operating table; next to it was another table where all the used tools were covered in her blood.

"I managed to lock her arm back in place. She has a few broken ribs, but it should heal on its own for a few weeks. Her eardrums were ruptured but it'll heal as well. I stitched up the wound on her shoulder. I administered some medicine on her, she'll recover quickly..."

Gyomei heaves a sigh of relief, walking closer next to her bed as she reaches out and caresses her cheek, "Don't give up just yet, my dove."

"I'll do my best to save her." Shinobu knew how much Kuza meant to Gyomei. Perhaps it is her way of repaying him as Gyomei saved her and her sister Kanae's life as well.

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