Twilight, Sanemi Shinazugawa

four, intense

-☆-

As you chased after Sanemi, you couldn't help the frustration that started to bubble within you. Everything he did seemed to provoke a reaction from you. It was as if he took pleasure in getting under your skin, taking every opportunity to push your buttons.

The journey had stretched on for what felt like hours, the sun now replaced by the deep darkness of night. "Let's stop here," you declared, already clearing a patch of ground from twigs and rocks.

"I can keep going," Sanemi shot back, his gaze intense as he loomed over you.

"It wasn't a question," you snapped, glaring at him as you cleared the area. The journey to Biei would take one or two days, and every step with Sanemi drained more energy from you than it would have traveling alone.

Sanemi rolled his eyes dismissively. "I'll check for demons," he stated bluntly, drawing his sword smoothly from its sheath.

You hummed, pulling a few wisteria charms from your pocket. "Do you need help?" you offered, more out of formality than genuine concern. The last thing you wanted was for him to die before you even reached Biei. Even if he was a hashira, this was your first mission together in your nine years of demon slaying. You couldn't afford to take any chances.

"You'd get in my way," Sanemi replied flatly, already disappearing into the darkness of the forest before you could respond.

You sighed, gathering a few sticks to start a fire. Humming to yourself, you spun the branch between your hands, finding solace in the rhythmic motion. As red embers began to form, you carefully transferred them onto a pile of dry grass, blowing softly to coax the flames to life.

Sanemi returned silently, holding two fish in his hands as he sat down across from you. Without exchanging words, you both retrieved small knives from your pockets and began shaving the bark off the end of a stick.

After preparing the sticks with the fish skewered on them, you set them beside the fire to cook. In the flickering light, you watched as the fire cast warm hues on Sanemi's pale skin.

"We're half a day from Biei," you began, the crackling of the fire punctuating the quiet of the night. Sanemi rested his head in his palm, his piercing gaze fixed on you. "How are we going about this?" you asked, peering into the flames before meeting his eyes.

"We'll know when we get there," Sanemi replied, tilting his head slightly as he studied you. "Didn't think you'd be so impatient, Yoshida."

"I am not," you retorted, a hint of frustration in your voice as you avoided his gaze momentarily.  "I just wanted to know what your plan was." Meeting his gaze again, you added, "Nice to know that you don't have one."

"Do you?" Sanemi's tone was sharp, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I thought we'd ask around, see if there's any connection to the disappearances," you answered calmly, leaning forward to carefully turn the fish over the fire.

"Right," he scoffed, "we'll see where that gets us."

You didn't know why, but you couldn't bring yourself to trust him. The thought gnawed at you as you sat in silence, as you ate, and as you stared into the sky for the rest of the night.

Your gaze would occasionally shift to Sanemi, who had dozed off quietly, his head tilted back against the trunk of a tree. You envied that he felt at peace enough to fall into slumber. With a sigh, you pulled your eyes from him and looked back to the sky.

You tightened your haori around you, the night air growing cooler. Gazing upwards, you began naming the visible constellations to calm yourself.

You continued this for a while, the rhythmic naming of the stars soothing your racing thoughts. Eventually, the steady cadence lulled you into a peaceful sleep, the stars your silent guardians as the night wore on.

You woke up the second you heard shifting, your head whipping to the side. Your eyebrows raised as you noticed that the wisteria charms were gone, likely blown away by the wind. The sky was still dark, but light enough to tell you that dawn was approaching.

Glancing towards Sanemi, you saw that his head had shifted from the tree to a patch of grass beside him, his body sprawled in an odd position. You contemplated waking him, but doubted that whatever you heard was of any real concern. You were confident in your strength to protect both yourself and the Wind Pillar.

Your attention snapped away from him when you heard a twig snap. Drawing your spear from the sheath on your back, you slowly turned it in your hands as you stepped deeper into the trees, your senses on high alert.

Abruptly, you stopped and ducked, sensing a presence behind you. A demon lunged at you, but its attack missed as it crashed to the ground, rolling to a stop in front of you.

Without hesitation, you watched as it scrambled to its feet. Swiftly, you swung your spear, the blade cutting cleanly through the demon's neck, its body collapsing as its head separated.

You rushed back to your "campsite," nudging Sanemi awake with your foot. "Let's go," you urged, halting once you saw his eyes flutter open.

He sat up, scowling at you. "Why?"

"Almost dawn," you pointed upwards, indicating the gradually lightening sky. "And the charms are gone. We should leave the forest."

He glanced at your drawn weapon, noticing the blood dripping off of it and forming small dark patches on the ground. His scowl deepened. "There was a demon, and you didn't wake me," he fumed, his tone dripping with venom.

"I handled it," you responded, scanning the trees again. "Can we go?" He remained seated, glaring up at you with a mixture of irritation and challenge.

Frustration bubbled up inside you, and you stomped over to him, harshly grabbing his jaw to make him look at you. He craned his neck, his head thudding against the tree behind him. The rough bark left an imprint on his skin, but he didn't flinch.

"Shinazugawa, I don't want to be here any more than you do, but if we want to get anything done on this mission, we're going to have to put our hostility behind us," you demanded, your eyes narrowing down at him.

He rolled his eyes, shrugging you off with a dismissive gesture. "Says the one who nearly left me for dead," he sighed, stretching his arms behind his head, muscles rippling beneath his haori. "Let's go."

Sanemi got to his feet, brushing off the leaves and dirt from his clothing. You both quickly packed up your makeshift camp, the fire reduced to smoldering embers.

TAISHO SECRETS

☆ Y/n suffers from a sleep disorder, likely due to the demanding and often harrowing nature of her work as a hashira. She struggles to sleep at night but finds herself unexpectedly nodding off at inconvenient times.

☆ Despite their shared status as hashira, Y/n and Sanemi have never been on a mission together. As a result, they consider each other relatively weak at the moment.

☆ Y/n possesses extensive knowledge of the sky, particularly the cosmos. She has a remarkable ability to navigate using the stars and finds solace in stargazing during her rare moments of free time.