#breathingstyles

Prompt- you remind Azaka of something…of life he lived.. of someone who he shared that life once with.

Part 2 Part 3

Akaza laughed as another man charged at him screaming loudly with a sword in hand—his fellow brothers bodies laid bloody on the floor of the dojo around them.

Akaza just stepped out of his way and with one swoop of his hand sliced him down his spine. He watched the mans body struggle to breath as he fell onto his knees where the rest of his brothers lay. Their bodies still twitching and moaning with what little life was left in them. The yellow eyes of the upper rank demon only rolled at the sounds.

“Pitiful..”

He turned on his heel and made his way out stepping on top of already broken bones as he did. His hand reaching to slide the door open, cut off fingers reappearing as he did. He raised his brow—The last man managed to strike even as he died.

Maybe not so pitiful but nevertheless Akaza left. He sighed as he left the building cracking his neck and staring up to the dark sky. He heard that this dojo was producing ridiculously strong men who couldn’t be beat but to him it was all just cheap tricks and smoke covering insecure weaklings that were easily snuffed. It didn’t matter he still enjoyed killing them all and it was only his first stop. There were two more neighbouring dojos in the next few towns he came to see.

Akaza’s ears prickled and nose perked at the smell of something. A grin etched its way onto his face. He knew that smell and recognised those footsteps.

Demon slayers

Akaza grew excited as he planted himself down on the step of the dojo—How many were there? Two? No three. He could smell the faint wisteria on their clothes and no matter how lightly they walked he picked it up. They were heading right to him. His fists balled and skin tensed with excitement.

What a treat.

~~~

Your nose crinkled at the smell of blood. It lingered in the air as your eyes fell upon the source. Three corp members lay dismembered and bloodied before the dojo. Their swords in their limp hands. You stepped by each one, closing their eyes and laying their sword over their chest. They did their duties. Their crows were all headed back to the master to tell him of their passing. You reached the last boy going to grab his sword when it swung with fleeting strength at you.

He coughed as he took a shallow breath and you quickly moved to sit him up against the steps to the dojo. He groaned at the shift and cracked open his eyes to glance at the rising sun. Its warmth shifting through the gaps in the trees and settling on him. He closed his eyes and spoke.

“An upper rank…” he choked as blood dribbled out his mouth. “H-He killed them all in the dojo”

More blood ran down his chin and you began to shush him feeling disheartened at the pain he must be feeling. You were too slow again—You’ve been sleeping badly ever since Rengoku passed. Your dreams more vivid and frequent. They often woke you in the middle of the night. He grabbed your hand as tight as he could and you blinked out of your daze meeting his eyes.

“Please don’t avenge us…y-you should wait for another Hashira to come- y-you’ll…” his body jerked as he coughed up more blood, head slumping down limp and lifeless. His grip gone and his hand slipped from yours onto his lap.

You only sighed and reached for his sword wrapping his hand around it and laying it across his lap. You watched his crow hop forward and peck at his knee— it knew and it looked to you.

“Fly back and tell the master if he does not hear from me in two days to send at least two hashira to my last location” it nodded at your request and immediately took to the sky.

With that you stood up and continued forward. The sun now almost fully up it gave you confidence you would succeed. You just felt guilty about those three corp members, chewing your lip as you thought back to your most recent dream.

You always dreamt of the same thing of the same people. Your father even though his face was blurred you knew it was him, sometimes he wore different clothes and sometimes you lived in different places— the most common dream you had of this apparent past life was where he taught martial arts as a master.

That life was the only time you remembered having a lover too..

Every time you had one of these memories shoved to the forefront of your mind there was only one where it was you, your father and a boy. A boy who loved you. His face was also blurred and his name was forgotten but it stirred feelings in you so deep you often woke in cold sweats or your stomach bubbled—None of your other memories of your other apparent lives had this boy in them.

So why was the life with him the one you remembered so often?, especially when their faces were blurred and their names were forgotten. It was a pointless torture your mind made you live through. You’d spent so many nights awake with that boys blurred face in your mind. His warbled voice echoing in your head that same conversation. When you began your journey to become a demon slayer those memories faded. You began to sleep through the night with ease but ever since Rengoku passed you hadn’t had a moments peace.

Not even now.

“Ahh!” You shook your head and smacked your hand against your forehead as you stopped briefly and looked around. You needed to focus on your mission—you needed to find this demon. This wasn’t the first time a dojo was left with no survivors. It’s happened a couple times in different areas and each time corp members are either too late or killed off.

You knew there is a town near by and with that another dojo. The sun has just risen so where ever this demon is, it would be a while before it showed face again. You decided to make your way to the next town and find some food and somewhere to stay until night fall and then you’d head to the dojo before the sun fully set and prepare yourself for its appearance.

“Welcome! What can I get for you?” A woman gleamed as you found yourself outside her food stall. You only grinned back and ordered some food.

This little town was quite friendly and clean. It was nice to see somewhere keeping to traditional values in world thats forever evolving. You walked as you ate and found yourself in the center. A poster hanging on a post caught your attention.

☆Fireworks display☆

☆ firework to celebrate our yearly festival ☆

Your brows crinkled as you read the details further. It is in the next town which is where the farthest dojo is. You were already going to head if the demon didn’t show up at this dojo anyways. The display wasn’t for a couple of weeks but if you had the time you could call by. You always loved fireworks—though that was obvious given your breathing style.

You followed Rengokus fire breathing for a bit but you didn’t have enough physical strength to carry out a lot of the moves like he did. He encouraged you to explore the other breathing styles and you found mixing his and master Tengens style worked. The master was impressed to see you develop a completely new style for corps members to use.

Firework breathing.

You maybe took inspiration from one of your memories. The most prominent one—A memory of a firework show where you and that boy stood on a mountain and watched them. You had a conversation about something, something that made both of you cry. It was the only time his face become slightly more visible. His blue eyes teary and crinkled like he was smiling at you. The feelings in them made your heart skip every time the memory surfaced.

You walked about the town until the sun set and as it did you slowly made your way to the dojo just on the outskirts. You found your way up a large branch in a tree just above the dojo, resting your back on the trunk leg swinging just off the side as you looked towards the night sky. You closed your eyes trusting your ears to pick up on any abnormal sounds. The only thing you could hear so far were the sounds of the men training below.

Now!

You wasted now time and jumped down from the tree landing on your feet behind the demon. His back faced you, hand curled up in a fist ready to knock on the door of the dojo which made you quirk a brow. Oddly respectful from a demon isn’t it. You gripped the handle of your sword and moved forward quickly—You didn’t want to drag this out longer than you needed.

First form - spark

Your sword lit up as sparks dragged behind you. Your body moved quick, quicker than Akaza expected and you caught him just as he moved. His shoulder split and blood seeped from the wound. You both had swapped positions as you found yourself however with your back facing the dojo door. Akaza looked you up and down and hummed—no you weren’t what he thought you might’ve been.

He wanted a hashira.

“Hmm this is who they send after what i did to those last three things” your brow raised and temple throbbed with anger.

Things!?—They weren’t things!

“Surely they would have sent a hashira? Save them more bodies” He yawned and you gritted your teeth digging your feet into the ground and taking a deep breath.

First form - spark six fold!

Akaza’s eyes widened just the slightest at your moves. You moved so quickly —almost as quick as him. You darted across the ground before him but alas you made it too easy. You charged straight on at him and he grinned ready to block and kill you when you vanished. He tensed slightly, you appeared to his left and he swivelled prepared again but gone!—You vanished again.

His right!—Akaza spun round a growl slipping through his mouth at you jumping around. This continued four more times. You continued to vanish just as he caught you in his sight and each time you did you sliced him. His arm, leg, elbow, shoulder and thigh. Five slashes in five places and with each one the sparks following your sword grow brighter and burned hotter when finally you stopped behind him.

Akazas breath hitched as he felt the swoop of your blade towards his neck and almost froze. You caught him unguarded, quickly he threw his arms up to block and sacrificed them both as he jumped out of the way. The now severed fore arms burned and oozed out blood. His eyes narrowing as he turned to face you but you were already on the move again and he grinned arms already regenerated.

“Ahh! How exciting! Someone formidable! Worth my time” You charged with that same move and this time he was ready, turning and blocking each swing planting his feet firmly, initiating his blood demon art.

Destructive death.

You jumped back as he began to fight back instead of just defending himself. His fists sent shockwaves towards you—one caught you and slammed you into a tree making you gargle as you felt a rib break. You groaned but you quickly picked yourself up and regained your footing facing the grinning demon.

“You’ll die here tonight demon!” You yelled as you met his eyes. Akazas yellow eyes widened when yours locked. He only really focused on them now, on your whole face really now that you caught his attention.

You seemed familiar—Why?

He clenched his fists and pushed that question to the back of his mind and readied himself for your next move. He wanted to entertain you for as long as he could so he’d take it easy. You seemed like you could put up a good fight anyways.

You tightened your grip and ignored your sore body as you sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. Your mind wasn’t focused for the first time in a battle those stupid memories were trying to push to the front of your thoughts and it was throwing you off. This is upper three and you needed all your senses aligned—You could die tonight—That was the reality. Especially after an upper rank killed Rengoku.

You needed to distract him and get close again now that he was using his blood demon art. He could easily keep you at bay with those shockwave attacks. His movements reminded you of those in the dojo just next to you.

Second form- bursting blossom.

Akaza watched with wide eyes as you vanished once more and appeared in the air. Fireworks followed with each movement you made. His body tensed as the sky lit up and he found his guard dropping—pupils dilating to take in the sparkling show above him. Akaza was always drawn to fireworks and he could never place why.

His body reacted before his mind but still it wasn’t quick enough and even though you missed his neck again you caught his shoulder and your blade slashed straight down his chest— slicing him down to his shorts when you pulled back. Breathing heavily as you stood behind him. Your own clothes were now speckled with blood as you huffed from the exertion.

Akaza jumped from his position in front of you and moved farther forward and turned to face you. His body slowly healing itself back up and the sight made you grimace. He was growing annoyed at his own mind. Why?—Why was he so distracted by you.

Something about you felt so—Intimate.

You sucked in a breath as he narrowed his yellow eyes at you and punched a clenched fist into his palm. Heels dug into the ground as he readied his next move. You prepared yourself watching carefully and then it came.

Destructive death - disorder

Quicker!—These were far quicker and held more power than the last barrage of shock waves as they shook the trees and sent weak branches flying. You ran and jumped from each one trying your hardest not to get caught but there were too many in too many directions and again you were sent flying through the gaps in the tree. Your body rolled into the dirt as it caked itself in your hair and up your face.

But you couldn’t rest—He was behind you almost immediately and you jumped spinning as you did slicing his hand that was above you off and darting out of his line of attack. Akaza just grinned once more.

“Amazing! You had almost no time to recover yet you sensed me immediately!” You tried to steady yourself but everything burned. Your eyebrow was split and blood stained your lips—You definitely had multiple ribs broken now.

“Become a demon! Join me!” He laughed and you sneered at his request.

“Join you? And become a mindless puppet to someone’s stupid cause? I’d die before that happens” his grin quickly flipped upside down at not just your words—but the blood that seeped down your face from your brow.

You were hurt. He had hurt you— Why was that bothering him? Why were your eyes so haunting to him. Akaza pulled his lips together and shook his head of these stupid thoughts. You were still quick even after the damage you took.

Fifth form - blazing comet

You set off with your sword held high as it became surrounded in bright sparks. Akaza began his own assault of shockwaves towards you but just as he did a firework went off and took the damage of the barrage and you vanished out of his sight—He tensed and his eyes darted trying to find you but again he was caught off guard and thats when he felt it.

The tip of your blade piercing his neck. His eyes widened. He needed to act now!—Each second he wasted he felt more of his skin tear. A blazing heat ripped from his neck to the tips of his toes. Your yell rung out behind him.

Destructive death - Annihilation.

He knew this would work even if he wasn’t facing you. His blood demon art would penetrate all around him and so he began his assault, punching the air. You coughed out blood that sprayed onto the back of his head. He had caught you without facing you. His attack caught you right in the stomach just as you twisted out of its direction that was initially your head.

Sixth form - Dancing Dragon

You used your technique to avoid his barrage as best you could once again sparks and small fireworks were left behind with each of your movements. You stumbled once your feet hit the ground and huffed out more blood which dribbled down your chin—You were seriously injured now from that last barrage. He was becoming more and more dangerous with each attack.

Akaza took in your wounded form. The skin on his neck already stitching itself back together but regardless that was too close for his liking. He hadn’t been that close since—since that flame hashira, Kyojuro. You were struggling now with the amount of blood that covered you. You must have multiple ribs broken now. Akaza gritted his teeth in frustration.

“Become a demon! You’ll die if you continue” he almost begged you. You were incredibly strong and that breathing style of yours enchanted him—Maybe that was his sole reason.

He wanted to watch you move like that forever. It entrapped him.

“Stop begging! It’s a loss cause i’ll die before i do that!” You yelled back and found your footing. You breathed as deep as you could with how tight your chest now felt and Azaka sighed.

“At least tell me your name so I can remember you!” He asked. His round eyes lighting up as you spoke once more, even your voice sounded like an echo he once listened to.

“I’ll tell you but not so you can remember! I want you to know the demon slayer who is going to defeat you!” You snapped and again raised your sword.

“L/N) (Y/N) !” And with that you charged once more but Akaza didn’t ready himself.

Your name. It stung him worse than any of your previous attacks. Why?—Why did that name ring so many alarms. It made him want to rip his own skin off as it prickled.

You needed to land this next move. If you didn’t you would definitely be dead as in your weakened form it would leave you immobilised for a few seconds but those few seconds would be all this demon needed to kill you. You put all your focus into your legs and arms and sprung forward. Your sword lit itself on fire, bright colours ripping from it as you danced forward with a your own barrage of fireworks igniting with each step.

Eighth form - God of the Firework Dragon.

A blazing dragon of colours engulfed your form as you ran at the still dazed Akaza. The trees around you caught fire too from your move. Your blade swung and the dragon opened its mouth ready to bite the head of the demon before you when he finally moved too quick to be beheaded but too slow to completely avoid injury. His left arm and leg were severed but he used his right to jump up into a branch and crouched down watching as the dragon roared before vanishing.

You crumbled to your knees where he once stood. Your body stiff, hands clenched around the handle of your sizzling blade—Everything was still around you. The only noise was the crackling of the trees that were singed from your attack. You didn’t even look as though you were breathing.

Akazas wounds were healing very slowly he assumed because of your attack but he made to move to go back down to you not out of fear but rather you made him uncomfortable. Everything about you from your eyes, how you looked, your breathing technique and now—even your name.

(Y/N) (L/N)

He felt his skin prickle once more as he replayed it in his head. Your voice echoing within. Why did it feel as though it wasn’t the first time he’s heard that name?—Akaza has been a demon for more than one hundred and thirty years and whilst he only killed men and avoided women he remembered all those encounters. And he does not remember you—not in the slightest. You have obviously been a demon slayer for some time with how skilled you are and he has never encountered you.

He remained far up on the tree as his limbs finally regenerated. He watched at the same time you finally moved. It was only a few seconds you were still and in that time he could have easily killed you but where was the fun in that?—it would be disrespectful to kill you when you couldn’t defend yourself. Akaza did not harm women they were weak so it wouldn’t be right nor fun.

But right now he wanted to get as far as he could from you. He would have won the battle he knows that but with how his mind kept freezing it would have been an unnecessary long one and the night was beginning to fade, so he left. He jumped from branch to branch with his mind still repeating your name.

Now I'm confused AND disappointed.