キミノカオリ ー Moonlight, Wisteria Petals, and Thunderclap

水面斬り- Minamo Giri

 I panted as I pushed my wheelchair back to the room. There was Inosuke, sitting alone on the tatami floor. All the kitchen utensils and bowls were cleaned up, and he was just sitting there, looking outside.

"Oh, Zenitsuru, you're back."

"Inosuke! Where is Tanjirou?"

"He went out."

"This late at night?" I exclaimed. Tanjirou normally goes to sleep early when he doesn't have any missions, so what suddenly brought this on...? I started to get worried.

"Did he tell you where he was going?"

"Nope, just went out the door carrying his sword."

"Ah, okay.... Thanks, Inosuke!"

"No probs. If you're gonna go out...be careful."

But I was swishing out the door even before I heard the last syllable Inosuke uttered.

The night was cloudy, without a trace of the moon that should be sitting somewhere out in the vast night sky. I tried to keep my breath steady, trying to locate Tanjirou with my eyes and ear. Then, I heard something rustling the grass. My heart almost leapt out of my chest before I realized it was a tiny squirrel, merely collecting its food for the winter.

"Ah...." I sighed, gripped my clothes near my chest.

Rustle, there was that sound again. But it was a little different. Crack! A sound of a branch breaking filled the silent air of forest.

I knew instinctively that I was in danger. I had the reflexes to dodge the incoming attack, but I lurched forward due to a miscalculation of the force I had to put in to move my body. Ah, I messed up, I should've put in a little less push. I thumped against the ground, my arms wrapped around my head in order to protect it, and collapsed weakly.

I felt dizzy. The forest's dense aroma of grass and dirt seemed to intoxicate my senses. And not to mention the emotions that were boiling inside my heart...I closed my eyes tight.

"Water Breathing(Mizu no Kokyū 水の呼吸), First Form(壱ノ型 Ichi no Kata)! Water Surface Slash (水面斬りMinamo Giri)!!!!"

I almost heard a splashing sound of a tide when Tanjirou swung his blade, so gracefully and smoothly; I could hardly blink. His movements were like that of an experienced dancer, hopping to and fro on the stage, captivating the audience. In a moment, a demon's head was rolling next to my feet, its eyes having lost their focus. I unconsciously pulled back.

"Zenitsu."

"H, huh?!" I was overly startled by his calling my name.

"Come with me."

Saying so, he lifted me up from the ground and started running toward somewhere. I was so utterly confused that I did not know what to do—I just sat there in his arms, gazing at his face momentarily and then dropping my gaze downward.