luka

This night was nothing short of a nightmare.

Even if she had known it would happen, the loss of the master was painful. As Chizuru ran through the domain she'd been told about, she kept glancing to her side. Muichiro ran next to her, fighting alongside her as they killed all demons they came across. How could this be her final night by his side? It was unfair, but she didn't have time to think about that.

It didn't take much longer for her to sense a familiar source of power nearby, and she stopped in her tracks.

"Chizuru?" Muichiro slowed and stopped, looking back at her in confusion, "What is it?"

"...someone's nearby, an upper rank," Chizuru told him, all her thoughts and fears forming a pit in her stomach. Should she tell Muichiro to run now? They had seen Sanemi's brother not long ago, maybe Muichiro could team up with him.

"Where? Should we fight them or keep hunting Muzan?" Muichiro asked, hand going to his sword.

Chizuru took a second to focus before replying, "If we don't face him, he'll find us soon enough."

Muichiro nodded at that answer. "Let's go then. You can find him?"

Chizuru nodded and headed in the direction of that ever familiar presence. It was odd, Kokushibo normally didn't draw attention to himself. But since this was different than their previous encounters, and they both knew it, this was probably on purpose. Eventually a door opened underneath Chizuru and Muichiro, and Chizuru looked down to see Kokushibo waiting in the room they fell into.

Chizuru didn't hesitate, pulling out her sword. "Moon breathing, tenth form; crescent moon's descent!" she called out as she turned midair, aiming for Kokushibo's neck.

Kokushibo blocked the attack, and was able to redirect her fall off to the side so she hit the ground. She didn't stay down long, and as soon as she was standing again she had her sword held in front of her.

"You arrived sooner than I anticipated," Kokushibo commented before looking in Muichiro's direction, "Is he the one you mentioned before?"

At Kokushibo's question, Muichiro's eyes widened as he looked to Chizuru, not speaking but his question was clear.

"He is. Remember your promise, Kokushibo," Chizuru warned him. If only she had time to explain everything to Muichiro.. no, she'd had the time. She just never used it wisely.

"I wouldn't forget it. Moon breathing, second form; pearl flower moon gazing," Kokushibo spoke as he attacked, solely aiming for Chizuru.

"Mist breathing, first form."

Kokushibo easily avoided Muichiro's attack, and took his attention away from Chizuru for a moment to address Muichiro, "This is a battle between Chizuru and I."

"I'm not going to let her fight alone," Muichiro said, preparing to attack again. Chizuru wanted to stop him, but words alone wouldn't work.

Kokushibo turned his attention away from Muichiro, still easily evading incoming attacks as he faced Chizuru. Though his expression was intentionally neutral, there was a moment of hesitation before he held his sword up in front of him.

Attempting to take advantage of his hesitation, Chizuru lunged towards him, only for their blades to meet at the last moment. She tried to redirect her attack, but instead was pushed backwards. She was able to land ready to push forward immediately, this time with the aid of a breathing technique.

The two continued this for a long while, Chizuru trying to land even a single blow on Kokushibo as he blocked, rarely attempting his own strike. Every time he did try, though, he managed to scratch Chizuru. The entire time Muichiro attempted to help Chizuru, but his attacks were dodged by Kokushibo each time. At this rate, they'd be here forever..

Eventually though, Kokushibo's blade cut deeper, drawing a significant amount of blood from Chizuru's side. Though it was painful, she could use it to her advantage. Muichiro was far enough away, near the wall furthest from her and Kokushibo. Acting as quickly as she thought, she commanded her blood to move in front of Muichiro, "Blood shield, surrounding."

"What?" Muichiro let his question slip as the blood Chizuru had lost moved to create a wall around him. It was thin, she hasn't lost enough blood yet to make the shield very effective.

"Stay there, Muichiro!" Chizuru yelled to him, "I can handle this, don't get involved!"

"I can't just-!"

"Listen to Chizuru," Kokushibo interrupted, "This fight has been a long time coming, and was always meant to be her against me."

Chizuru knew Kokushibo's words would only confuse Muichiro more, but that couldn't matter yet. She spoke to her fellow Hashira once more, her voice gentle now, "Please, just stay out of this."

"...stay safe, Chizuru," Muichiro replied, his agreement to stay put.

With his safety ensured, Chizuru turned her full attention to Kokushibo. The expression he wore seemed conflicted, she wondered if it was for the same reasons she was hesitant to continue. Both of them only hesitated for a moment before simultaneously moving, each using a different breathing technique.

For what felt like forever, Chizuru and Kokushibo fought. Chizuru let herself get hit a few times for the extra blood, knowing there was no hope of winning without her blood demon art. Neither held anything back, using any advantage or skill they could. It was difficult, having fought many times before as both enemies and friends. Both had seen almost every trick the other had, they could predict each other's next moves even without peering into the transparent world.

The longer the fight went on, though, the less Chizuru wanted to continue. She had made peace with the fact that she would almost certainly not leave this room, but she wondered if Kokushibo intended to. His hesitance from before was nowhere to be found, his attacks had increased in speed and strength. Chizuru no longer had to let herself be cut, Kokushibo was moving past or breaking through her defenses with increasing frequency. If this kept up, if she didn't win... Chizuru abandoned that thought before it could distract her.

Finally, Chizuru saw her opening. It would be difficult, but just maybe she could do it. Without hesitating she followed the path she saw, ignoring how weak she felt. "Moon breathing, seventh form; [form name]." She lept into the air, attempting a 180° with her sword.

Instead she felt Kokushibo's blade go straight through her stomach. Blood shot into her mouth, and she coughed it out as her head spun. Her vision was spotty, and it took a few long seconds to be able to focus on him.

"I suppose our centuries of wondering which of us is stronger has come to an end," Kokushibo mused, his gaze fixed on Chizuru. After keeping her there for a moment, he pulled his sword back and let her fall to the ground.

Somehow Chizuru managed to keep herself from collapsing fully, remaining in a kneeling position. She stared at the ground beneath her, at the pool of blood that would've meant the death of a human long ago. But she wasn't dead, not yet. Perhaps the blood loss was affecting her thinking, but she had one last plan.

"Blood art, entrapping thorns," she whispered the command. That was all it took for her blood to listen to her, shooting from the floor to impale Kokushibo's limbs, body, whatever it could get through before morphing shape to hold him in place and prevent him from escaping.

Slowly, Chizuru forced herself to stand. She still held her sword, and took a few shaky steps. It took every ounce of will she had to keep moving. Finally, she made one last move; "Moon breathing, first form; dance."

As her blade swung downwards, Chizuru's body went with it. Her vision went black for a moment, and as she regained her sight she saw Kokushibo's head in front of her, disconnected from his body.

Chizuru stared at her enemy, her friend. After a few seconds she found her voice and spoke weakly, "Michikatsu... I'm sorry. I promise though, I'll go to hell with you. I'll share your sin.. I'll pay the price with you. Perhaps then... Perhaps we'll be reborn, and you can finally be the man you're meant to be."

"Chizuru... Why?" Kokushibo's voice was quiet, and for the first time Chizuru thought she saw tears in his eyes.

Chizuru smiled as best she could, using her little strength left to reach for his fading hand as she answered, "Because I've seen it in you. You're not evil, Michikatsu, you deserve to try again."

Kokushibo didn't respond to that for a few seconds. Chizuru tried to keep her focus on him, but her vision was becoming increasingly unclear . Finally Kokushibo spoke, and Chizuru could hear his voice shaking as if he was crying, "I won't disappoint you in our next lives."

Chizuru felt tears filling her eyes, and kept silent for fear of sobbing in his last moments. Though she wished she could give him a hug, she couldn't move much more than to squeeze his hand as it faded into ash. They laid there as he fully turned to ash, and Chizuru's smile left as soon as he was gone. Her tears finally fell as let out a sob, losing her grasp on her blood art.

As soon as the wall she'd made collapsed, Muichiro darted to Chizuru's side. He knelt above Chizuru, and froze as he stared at her. Tears filled his eyes as he choked out, "Chizuru, no..."

"I'm sorry, Muichiro.." Chizuru felt tears streaming slowly down her face. She tried to find the strength to sit up, to hug him, but she couldn't feel her limbs, much less move them.

Muichiro seemed to know what she wanted, though, and pulled her into a hug as he sobbed, "Why? Why did you never tell me anything? Why wouldn't you let me help you? You can't die, please, don't die Chizuru."

Chizuru didn't know how to answer, she knew she wouldn't be able to tell him everything. How long did she even have left? Everything felt numb, she had spots across her vision that were growing in size. She mustered as much strength as she could, mumbling in a shaking voice, "In my home.. diaries."

At first there was no verbal response, though Chizuru thought she saw Muichiro nod. After a second he spoke, "Okay. I... I'll read those. I'll miss you so much, Chizuru."

A quiet sob escaped Chizuru. Though she could feel the last of her strength rapidly draining, she willed her blood art to do one last thing; remove her hair piece, and give it to Muichiro. It took everything left in her to whisper one last word, one that encapsulated everything she wanted to say yet could never begin to cover it; "Sorry."