Chapter Text
The final battle against Muzan has been brutal, yet ultimately they had won.
But at what cost?
So many lives lost in the final countdown, so many friends and colleagues gone. The ache in Makomo’s heart dulled the throbbing pain that ran through her body. She had barely survived until that moment, but she knew her time was almost over; blood pooled beneath her, oozing from her severed leg and arm, both injuries provoked by Kamado when the demon king attempted to take control of the sun breather’s body.
“Makomo-san!”
“I… I'm so sorry, Makomo-san”
She heard the Kamado siblings talk, their voices sounding muffled. They were always so kind, so warm. It hurt her to hear them so heartbroken. Tanjiro supported his sister's weight against him, ignoring his own injuries.
“Don't worry about me…” Her voice came slurred. “I'm… glad… to have met you… saved you…” She lifted her remaining arm, ignoring the pain that spread through all her body as she patted the siblings' heads. “Live happy… for those who can't…”
She wanted to say more, she wanted to ask them to visit Urokodaki (although she was confident they'd do it anyway). She wanted to ask them to take care of Kanzaburo, the old crow had never left her side, she was worried for the poor bird once he realized his slayer was gone. She wanted for them to tell Kiriya he had been a good successor to his father, that she was grateful for all the things the Ubuyashiki family did for her, for them.
Maybe now that she was dying she could apologize to Giyuu and Sabito for not slaying that demon in Mount Fujikasane so it could have never hurt them, maybe she’d see once again the faces of her fallen comrades, she wished she could have given her condolences to their loved ones before joining them in the afterlife, though.
There were so many things she wanted to say, to do, but her body grew weaker and more tired with every breath she took. She barely heard the frantic voices of the kakushi approaching and the crows flying off before everything turned black.
“Urokodaki Makomo, the Water Hashira has fallen in battle!”
.
.
.
He knew he had been living with borrowed time for years. He had made peace with his death, every demon slayer eventually realized that their time walking on this land was a countdown to their grave. It didn’t make him less upset now that he had just begun to learn how to appreciate that precious time for fate to decide his life was coming to an end.
They had won, Muzan was gone for good now. The bastard tried to possess the Kamado boy with hopes of conquering the sun, only for his plans to fail spectacularly. It would have been hilarious, Sabito had to admit; it would have been hilarious if Muzan hadn’t dragged the poor child to an early grave.
How many of his brothers and sisters in arms had perished in only one night?
How much blood was spilled? How many lives were crushed? How many sacrifices were made?
He wanted to rage, to curse at the now late demon king, but his injuries were finally taking a toll on his body. Considering how much blood he had lost and how deep his injuries went, it was a miracle for him to remain in one piece, considering all the destruction around him.
Sabito felt the Kamado girl clinging to him, her voice already hoarse from all the crying and yelling (he thought she deserved to yell all she wanted at a world that had been nothing but cruel to her and her family). He wanted to comfort her, but realized his limbs felt heavy, like lead, his gaze was getting blurry, too, and his head felt fuzzy.
So this is it, I guess.
“Sabito-san! Don’t go!” He was sure if the girl kept crying she’d end up damaging her vocal chords even further, but he didn’t have the heart nor the strength to scold her. “P-Please! Don’t leave me! …Not you too!”
Silly girl, don’t waste your tears on me, keep your head up. You defied every expectation the corps had on you, you battled your instincts, you fought alongside your brother and you even conquered the sun!
If only he could tell her that. Sabito was sure her brother would only wish for her to carry on with her life, enjoying her regained humanity.
How frustrating it is to not have the strength to speak. So he did the only thing he could.
He smiled.
He gave her a reassuring smile that tried to mask all the pain his weakened body endured.
Slowly, his breaths became slower, until life slipped out of his reach.
The crows would soon announce his death.
“Igarashi Sabito, the Water Hashira has fallen in battle!”
.
.
.
She feels herself floating in a comfortable stillness, everything is so quiet, is this the afterlife?
He tries to open his eyes, yet everything remains pitch black.
“If you could change this outcome, would you try?”
A voice echoes, its ominous presence feels oddly reassuring.
They remain silent, confused by those words, unaware of each other's company. The voice continues.
“If you were given a second chance, would you take it?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Are you offering a second chance? For real?”
“Little foxes, I’m giving you the opportunity to change the outcome of the war, to save as many as you can. Your stories may have come to an end, but somewhere else, someone will need of your assistance if you wish for the cycle to break”
“So I’ll say it one more time”
“If you were given a second chance, would you take it?”
“...”
“...”
“Yes”
The voice doesn't say anything else, but they can guess it is pleased with their answer. Warmth surrounds them before they feel like they are suddenly being thrown in a free fall.
.
.
.
THUD!
He lets out a pained grunt when his back hits the ground, the grass does little to cushion the impact. Sabito stays still for some minutes as he tries to process whatever had just happened. He should be dead, he knows it's a fact, there's no way his body somehow overcame such massive blood loss. Yet here he is, laying face up in the middle of who knows where. The soft sound of leaves rustling and insects buzzing makes him guess he's somewhere in the middle of a forest.
He groggily opens his eyes, his gaze meeting the sunset sky partially covered by the cups of the trees. He pushes himself to sit up, a chill runs down his spine when the wind caresses his face.
So he really is alive.
Sabito’s gaze lands on the figure sitting next to him.
He can feel his heart stuttering at the familiar cyan eyes, the black hair and the flowery haori. She's gazing at the clouds with an absent-minded expression on her face, so familiar yet so different by the aging.
No
That's impossible
She never got to wear the corps uniform
So why…?
“Makomo-san?”
Cyan gaze met lavender, and Makomo's eyes widen in surprise and recognition when she sees him. Sabito thinks she looks like she has seen a ghost by the way her breath hitches and threatens to make her Constant Total Concentration Breathing falter.
He's sure he looks the same, pale and shaken to the core.
It still feels unreal for Makomo to think she's been given a second chance. A second chance to make things… right? Better? It's unclear. She was pondering her situation when that achingly familiar voice drags her feet back to earth. It feels like an eternity since the last time she saw those lavender eyes.
“Sabito…”
If he's also here and he looks as confused as her it can only mean one thing, right?
“You heard that voice too, didn't you?” He scrunches his nose in a puzzled expression before nodding.
“Yeah… that thing about having a second chance… right?”
She hums back in agreement. So they are on the same page, at least it explains why the two of them are there, alive; except it doesn't make sense at all, but Makomo has learnt to not let her thoughts spiral into things that are beyond her understanding for her own sake.
“Whatever was that, one thing is certain, we somehow are alive and in one piece.” Her left hand hovers subconsciously to her right arm and leg, the memory of her limbs getting clean cut from her body sends something akin to phantom pain towards her now-reattached limbs. It's as if their bodies had rewinded back in time, too, as she doesn't feel the same strength she felt once she unlocked the slayer mark.
“So what now?” Sabito grumbles. Even if he’s no longer the child she remembers he acts like the Sabito she grew up with, the Sabito who would easily grow impatient when things moved too slow for his liking.
“We try to do as the voice said.” She says as she stands back up.
Taking a glance at their surroundings, Makomo realizes they are at the outskirts of a mountain, yet it doesn’t look like the familiar scenery of Mount Sagiri. A thought flashes through her mind but it’s quickly brushed aside, as neither the trees nor the weather match the ones in Mount Kumotori.
“Why don’t we keep walking while we talk? I have the feeling that we need to venture further into this place.”
Besides her, Sabito mutters something about the mountain giving him the creeps. He does follow her, though.
As they delve deeper inside the mountain, they remain in a rather awkward silence. Makomo can understand it, at least she thinks so. They technically have known each other for a while, yet it’s clear that they have lost each other a long time ago, too. How can you reconnect with someone who has been dead for years and suddenly is living and breathing in front of you?
As the last rays of sun fade away and night comes, the petite woman decides it's best if she breaks the silence. Besides, she feels she’s finally connecting some dots.
“I think I know where we are,” she begins, her footsteps barely making any sound as she quietly makes her way through the forest. Sabido turns his gaze upon her in an inquisitive manner. “A year or so ago, I recall getting a mission alongside another Hashira to deal with a possible Lower Moon in a place named Mount Natagumo, many mizunoto ranked slayers were disappearing so they sent us to investigate and deal with the demon.”
“Should’ve sent us earlier,” Sabito mumbles, when Makomo gives him a puzzled look he stumbles a little with his words. “I mean… us as me and the other Hashira… ugh, I mean , I too was sent to a mission in Mount Natagumo alongside another Hashira to deal with a possible Lower Moon.”
“I see…”
“Yeah…”
“...”
Makomo can almost feel the itching curiosity emanating from her fellow water breathing user.
“... Were you too faced with those creepy-ass spiders?” He finally blurts out and Makomo lets out a startled chuckle.
“You got scared by the spider demons?” She fights back the urge to laugh harder when the redhead’s face lights up, making him look like a tomato.
“Of course not! That’d be unmanly! Besides I… I was just disgusted by their appearance”
He looks almost offended, and Makomo knows that Sabido definitely fought fiercely as ever during that mission; yet deep down she remembers vividly how once he screamed and cowered behind Giyuu while she dealt with a spider that snuck into their room back at Urokodaki’s house during their training days.
“That’s good to know,” she teases one more time as her chuckles die down, leaving only an amused smile on her lips. “... But yes, I too faced demons with spider-like features.”
She feels Sabito's gaze upon her, he's likely waiting for her to spill what has been bubbling in her mind. It's almost endearing, no matter how many years have passed or if they come from different realities (“parallel universes, don't you think it'd be fascinating if they existed?” Kanae once said), Sabito always seems to trust in her the most.
“I was thinking, we got sent to the past after someone or something gave us a ‘second chance’ when we were on the brink of death,” she began, one of her hands fidgeting with the hilt of her sword. “Considering that the both of us seem to recall loosely the same events in this mountain, it is likely that the same thing has either already happened or is currently happening… at least that's my guess.” She admits.
Sabito hums as he rubs his chin in a thoughtful manner.
“If we were given that so-called second chance then, why are we here? Together, I mean.” He clarifies. “It doesn't make sense, like… at all”
The peach-haired slayer has a point. Why don't just send them back in time in their respective timelines to make things different? Perhaps…
“Perhaps we are meant to change the outcome in another timeline instead of our own.”
Why, though, that's something they might never know.
She wonders how Sabito will take her statement. As far as she remembers the boy was always sceptical about supernatural things beyond demons, even if he treasured the fox mask Urokodaki had gifted him before going to his final selection, the boy treated it more as a good wishes gift, a memento of his accomplishment rather than a protection charm. Much to Makomo's surprise, the young man seems lost in thought, maybe he does believe her, maybe he's just too tired to argue.
They remain in silence for another while as they venture further.
“... Say… if it's true that we're in another timeline, or whatever this is…” His voice wavers for a moment, long enough for Makomo to take notice. “Who do you think is the Water Hashira here?”
Now that she thinks about it, Sabito's question is a good one. Furthermore, if the same events are to occur, then it means they are likely to have an encounter with the water hashira from this reality, she hopes it is someone else, it sure would be rather awkward to face another her or another Sabito.
“Who knows? Water breathing is one of the most widespread breathing techniques amongst the corps, the pool of candidates is quite large.” She says. Still, they both know that's partially a lie.
Even with the relatively bigger amount of water breathing users, very few of them actually have a remarkable grasp of the breathing technique. There's a reason why there were so many slayers under the role of Water Hashira from the span of Urokodaki’s retirement to the moment she managed to climb up the ranks until being eligible for the position, she guesses the same could be applied to Sabito. Makomo is still uncertain of how many deviations exist between timelines, but she has a gut feeling that some things are the same. One of which is the fact that in recent years, before Kamado, Urokodaki Sakonji has only had three students under his care.
They know that, if they were to meet the water pillar from this world, there's only another person who could fit in the role. Someone with raven black hair and blue eyes.
Tomioka Giyuu
From the corner of her eye she notices how Sabito's jaw clenches, he too has come to the same conclusion. It's still a theory, but the short-haired girl feels like her junior’s last memory of his dearest friend is a painful one.
They went to the same final selection, after all .
THRUM!
A thundering noise resonates across the forest, startling both Hashira. There must be a fight already occurring somewhere. The memory of Lower Five flashes across their minds, his cruelty towards a certain opponent.
“Ta-!”
“Nezu-!”
They both freeze for a second before the urgency kicks back in. As Sabito is ready to rush into action, Makomo stops him.
“Wait!”
He gives her an annoyed glare that she brushes off quite easily.
“It was the Water Hashira who finished off Lower Five,” she points out. “I don't know how much we should alter the events, but maybe if we can earn them some time, perhaps Ne… Kamado could come out less hurt.”
“You mean taking down the other demons before them so they can rush to Lower Five?” Sabito bites the inner side of his mouth as he anxiously bounces one leg. “... Fine, let's split and meet back where the Lower Moon is.”
Makomo hums in agreement.
“I'll take the sister! You take the father!” She barely registers Sabito's complaint before she rushes to her next spot.
“Hey wait!” Yet before he could say anything she's already gone.
Damn her and her speed.
“Great, just great.” Sabito groans before rushing to the opposite direction Makomo took. He knows it is very unlike him to be so apprehensive, he blames it to the whole weirdness of the situation. Not to mention there's that huge chance of encountering him .
He doesn't know if he's ready to face him yet.
It's unmanly to not face his fears, he knows, so he grits his teeth as his feet drag him through the forest. A small river is visible when Sabito hears the familiar sound of fighting. It seems he has found his target.
Tightening the grip on the hilt of his katana, Sabito runs until he finds the source of the noises. The hulking figure of a demon with the face of a spider is threatening to crush a teenager’s skull, if the sickening sound of bones cracking says anything.
The redhead soon takes notice that the boy is wearing the pants of the slayer corps and has a boar head. Weird, he vaguely remembers saving a different teenager back then; it must be another of the minor differences he'll have to tell Makomo about later, now he needs to slay the spider demon one more time.
“ Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide! ”
His sword slashes the demon's body, effectively decapitating it and cutting its body in big chunks. It loosens its grasp on the boar-headed boy’s head, making him fall to the ground in a coughing fit. Once he sees the demon beginning to disintegrate Sabito puts his katana back in its sheath.
The Water Hashira will reach this place at any moment, he should leave quickly. As he's getting ready to depart, his eyes catch a glimpse of the boar standing still and practically vibrating from enthusiasm, now that he can take a better look at him Sabito is almost baffled at how ridiculously buff the boy looks.
“OI FOX FACE! YOU LOOK STRONG, FIGHT ME!”
He flinches from the unexpectedly gruff voice, it seems boar-head is a battle freak. Sabito is pretty sure the kid is straining his vocal chords way beyond their already hurt state and he doesn't seem to care about it.
Why am I always let in charge of the rowdy teenagers?
As he mentally laments his luck, the young man takes a rope out of an inner pocket from his haori and, before the boar kid manages to react, Sabito has him tied up and hanging from a tree. The teenager doesn't take long before he begins demanding to be set free.
“WHAAAT?! UNTIE ME FOXFACE! THE GREAT HASHIBIRA INOSUKE ALMOST KILLED THAT LOWER MOON, GAH!”
“What are you talking about? That wasn't a lower moon, or are you too dumb to notice?”
The boar, Inosuke, grumbled as he squirmed frantically in an attempt to release himself from the ropes. For a moment Sabito is concerned about how far he could go to free himself.
“Huh?! Of course I knew! I only said what Tontaro said!”
‘Tontaro’? Probably not a real name, at least he hopes so for the sake of the poor soul. He's lost enough time with the loud teenager, Sabito should leave now.
“Hey! HEY! UNTIE ME YOU DUMB FOX FACE! YER NOT EVEN HEADING TO THE RIGHT DIRECTION!”
He'd be seriously worried for Inosuke’s throat if the boy wasn't getting on his nerves.
At least he's not as foul-mouthed as the Shinazugawa brat back then when he rescued her from the spider demon, but still… Why are the younger slayers so loud?
If she recalls correctly, one of the spider demons is nearby. The familiar gruesome sight of silk cocoons makes her scrunch her nose. That must be the sister, Makomo has already beheaded her once, she can do it twice. From the report back then she recalls the Hashira accompanying her took care of the father, she trusts Sabito will deal with him.
He's no longer a 13 year old, this Sabito survived his final selection. This Sabito reached the rank of a Hashira.
She hears someone struggling and runs towards said direction. There, she spots the familiar white silhouette of the female demon.
“...I'll do it, I'll finish with all the slayers in this mountain!” She mutters to herself, yelping when Makomo touches her shoulder. “Eek!”
She's terrified, just like the last time, Makomo notices.
“You said you were going to finish with all the slayers here, didn't you?” She keeps her voice steady, devoid of the disgust she's currently feeling.
The demon takes a leap back, throwing one of her silky cocoons at her, Makomo slices through it with ease. Fear overtakes the demon girl’s features.
“I… He's forcing me to do so! It's not my fault, I swear!” She's playing the role of a victim now, probably wanting to make her lower her guard or pity her so she might get the chance of being spared.
Makomo keeps her neutral face.
“What matters is that you did it, nonetheless”
“Please! Spare me! I… I swear I won't hurt any more humans!” Now she's trying to bargain.
Honestly, it's as bothersome for the black haired girl as the first time. She'll end this quickly.
Makomo takes a deep breath.
“ Water Breathing… ”
The demon grits her teeth, desperation overtaking her features, she tries to fight back by launching more of her cocoons at her. Still, it's useless, as Makomo's blade slices through them with every move she makes until she slices through the demon's neck with ease.
“ ... Third Form: Flowing Dance ”
The sister demon's head gasps as it falls to the ground, its body quickly disintegrating until the only thing left is the kimono.
“H…lp!”
The voice sounded muffled by the cocoon. With a swing from her blade Makomo rips it open, its contents spilling on the ground. A slayer comes out of the cocoon, he has… a pretty plain appearance, yet he looks vaguely familiar for the female Hashira.
“T-Thank you!” He stammers. “I was heading back to help when that demon caught me.”
“I know,” Makomo replies softly as she sheathes her katana. “You seem fine, so I'll take my leave.”
“Wait! There must be other demons roaming nearby, miss… most of the slayers have fallen… I-I’ll go with you”
He yelps when Makomo kneels beside him to do a quick checkup. She vaguely remembers having saved a kanoe ranked slayer from the cocoons, this must be the same boy. Luckily it seems the acid from the spider sister used only managed to dissolve his clothes.
“That's kind of you, but you should prioritize your current state.” She scolds him gently, and the guy's face turns a deep shade of red as he realizes that by ‘current state’ Makomo is talking about his current lack of clothing.
As she's getting ready to leave. She senses another presence approaching quickly. It doesn't feel demonic, yet it's powerful enough to be taken seriously. Makomo subtly makes sure her haori is folded in such a way that covers most of her uniform, it'd be troublesome to explain the golden buttons.
“Oh my~”
She almost freezes when she hears that voice. As she turns around she's faced with the petite figure of Kocho Shinobu. Although it's jarring for her to see her wearing Kanae’s haori and using her same smile, she hides her surprise underneath an impassive gaze. Kocho lands gracefully, her haori flowing around her in a way that resembles the wings of a butterfly. Despite the smile in her lips, Makomo can see she's alert.
“I came here following the cocoons thinking I'd have to fight a demon.” There's a venomous undertone in her words at the mention of demons. “But it seems I didn't have to worry about it, how nice.”
Makomo stays still, unsure of how she should react. Her silence makes Kocho hum with an amused glint in her eyes.
“Were you the one who finished that demon?”
“... Yes, I am.”
“...”
“...”
Before the silence becomes too awkward, Kocho chuckles light-heartedly.
“My, my, where are my manners?” There's a mixture of amusement and exasperation in the purple-haired woman's voice. “I don't think we've met before. I'm Kocho Shinobu, the Insect Hashira, and who would you be?”
Insect Hashira?
Makomo’s eyes widened in surprise. It's only now that she takes notice of the golden buttons on Kocho’s uniform. It only fuels her uneasiness as her mind races through the implications of the younger Kocho sister being a Hashira.
Would that mean Kanae is…?
She brushes those thoughts aside.
“... Tamura Makomo” She answers between mumbles.
It's been years since she had used her family name to the point she barely considers it hers. Ever since her birth mother left her at the orphanage she kept growing detached from lt, and ever since Sakonji took her under his wing she has considered the former Water Hashira as her only real parental figure. Still, it would be too suspicious if either she introduced herself under Urokodaki’s name or with no family name, so for the time being she'll make use of that long-forgotten one.
Kocho seems unaware of her inner turmoil, as she hums in acknowledgement, her smile never wavering. It's starting to make Makomo feel uncomfortable, while Kanae’s smile was warm and genuine, that smile in Shinobu’s lips feels carefully crafted as an attempt to replicate her older sister's.
The insect Hashira seems to realize Makomo won't be willing to keep up with a conversation, as she glances somewhere over her shoulder.
“Well, it was a pleasure to make us acquaintances, Tamura-chan! But I need to take my leave now, I hope our paths cross again sometime.” She chirps before setting off with a graceful leap.
Now that she's not under those purple eyes’ scrutiny, Makomo indulges herself in letting out a weary sigh. She knows this Kocho doesn't know her yet, but still some tiny part of herself feels insulted by being referred to as if she was younger than the other Hashira. She blames it on her equally petite frame and youthful face; it used to make things even funnier when new slayers learnt that she was actually the second oldest pillar, only a couple of years younger than the imposing Stone Hashira.
“Uhm… Tamura-san?”
She cringes involuntarily as she turns to face the guy she rescued. He flinches back as he feels her glare casted upon him.
Don't be too harsh on him, it's not his fault.
“You can call me Makomo… please”, she softens her voice, the least she needs is to release her tension onto someone who doesn't deserve it.
The guy relaxes a little. His gaze shifts nervously between her figure and somewhere far away, probably where Kocho has gone.
“Right! Ta… Makomo-san!” He quickly corrects himself, fidgeting with the hilt of his katana. “I was just wondering if you happened to be somehow acquainted with Giyuu…” His eyes stay glued to the ground. “It's just that… I-I noticed you seem to have a mask similar to the one he used during our final selection so… maybe I'm overthinking things… Y-You don't need to answer me, though!”
Makomo's breath hitches, she doesn't remember much of her interaction with this slayer back in her world, yet she has the feeling he wasn't this chatty. The mention of her other fellow student fills her with an unexpected relief.
“... We studied under the same teacher.” She keeps it vague, it's for the best, for now. When she realizes he is willing to ask more she decides it's time to keep moving. “The kakushi will arrive shortly, I'm sure they can provide some cover for you.”
She sees how his face reddens up once more before she sets off in the same direction she saw Kocho going. The black haired girl chastises herself for letting the conversation take much of her precious time; yet giving a second thought she wonders if it was for the better, after all, Kocho also got delayed by their small talk, giving the water Hashira from this world enough time to deal with the Lower Moon and give Kamado enough opening to protect their demonic sibling.
At least she hopes so.