A Life Worth Living Alt.

Forgiveness

Mira felt the cold steel make contact with her neck. She heard Genya's voice yelling for Sanemi to stop, and she momentarily felt bad for putting Sanemi in a position where he would once again be killing someone close to him and his brother. However, she trusted that their relationship would heal. Sanemi had promised her as much. She wished that dying wasn't the only way to reach peace, but she could no longer live as a demon. She wasn't sad though. She was free.

Hell wasn't as hot as she thought it was going to be. Well, she assumed it was Hell. She couldn't see anything, but she wouldn't be allowed into Heaven after all her terrible deeds, so Hell was the only other option. She expected to hear the souls of the damned, but she instead heard something else. There was the sound of metal clinking on concrete and someone whispering "I'm sorry". The voice sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place who it was.

She could feel something wet on her neck, then she realized something. She wasn't seeing anything not because there was nothing to see, but because her eyes were closed. Slowly opening them, she saw a familiar alleyway and the familiar figure of Sanemi standing in front of her. She wasn't dead. She looked down at his shaking hands and the katana that lay at his feet.

She reached a hand up to her neck to where she felt something wet. It was blood, but the cut was extremely shallow. She remembered hearing him swing his sword, but he must have stopped right as the blade reached her.

She looked up at Sanemi, who had a pained expression. He dropped to his knees and brought his head down to rest on her shoulder.

"I can't do it, Mira," he whispered. "I promised to take away your suffering, but I'm too selfish. I can't lose you." Mira looked up to the sky as a stray tear made its way down her cheek. She hadn't paid for her crimes. Why did everyone think that was ok? A pair of arms wrapping around her pulled her from her thoughts. She looked to see Genya, who had rushed over to embrace her and Sanemi. He was crying.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" he sobbed. "How many times do I have to tell you that you don't need to die anymore!? Is the love your friends feel for you not enough!?" Genya's words stuck a cord with Mira. She had always been so focused on her past that she never thought about the present. A hand made its way to her shoulder, and she looked up to find Gyomei standing over the trio.

"Akimoto, I know you feel much guilt for the lives you have taken. No one is asking you to forget. What you did was unspeakable. That being said, you were not you when you committed those crimes, and you have proven yourself to be an ally of humanity for the past 800 years. Just tonight, you helped kill Muzan, assisted in bringing Tanjiro back from his demonic self, and saved countless lives ."

"Don't forget the past, but look at your present and realize that you are surrounded by people who love you." It was Kanao who spoke this time. Mira looked to see everyone had heard the commotion and headed to the alley, even the Kakushi.

"I'm not one for 'thank you's, but you saved Kanroji and I. I am forever in your debt, Akimoto," said Obanai. Mitsuri, who stood next to him, spoke up next.

"You trained with us leading up to this battle. Without that, I would not have been able to fight together with the others as well as I did! I was so scared that I wouldn't be useful, but your training changed that!" Giyu stepped forward and spoke next.

"You showed that you are different from the other demons because you risked your life for us time and time again. You showed empathy, compassion, and kindness even when it wasn't necessary. That makes you more human than a lot of people."

"Yeah! And if you're not here, who am I supposed to fight with!?" asked Inosuke. Sanemi slowly raised his head from her shoulder to meet her gaze.

"A long time ago, some snot-nosed brat told me that if I couldn't tell the difference between a good demon and a bad demon, then I didn't deserve to be a Hashira. And as much as I hate agreeing with that freak, he was right. I didn't believe that good demons existed, but then I met you. You're a good demon, Mira." There was a moment of silence after his words. Everyone was surprised to hear Sanemi say he was wrong. Tanjiro slowly walked up and handed Mira a crumpled note.