Archive of Our Own ^beta

       "Mui-kun!"

       'That voice...'

       "Hey! I'm here, okay?!" Their blood was ice in their veins, heart pounding as hard against their rib cage as their feet did against the ground. "I'm here now! Just ho— just hold out a little longer! I'll get you out of this shit!"

       "Yeah! We'll— we'll get you out of this shit!" Kotetsu echoed from his place situated on their back. Their arms were hooked around his legs to keep him in place, while his arms squeezed around their neck to balance himself a little better. They pinched his thigh scoldingly.

       "Don't repeat that! You're ten!"

       'Ah... it's [Surname]-sama... and Kotetsu-kun..?'

       Heavy pants left their lips as they skidded to a stop, falling to their knees in front of their poor, incapacitated Tsuguko. Kotetsu was quick to slide off of their back, settling beside them. "Shit... what the fuck?" they cursed under their breath, palm pounding against the cage of water, only to be met with ferocious rebound. Their pupils were blown wide with terror, the gloss of unshed tears making their eyes shimmer in the moonlight. Dragging their sword against the water's surface had no effect. The young boy mimicked their motions, simply with a knife instead. His efforts had no effect either. "The fuck is this? Why isn't it breaking? It's just water... why..?"

       'Come to think of it... I've never seen [Surname]-sama cry, have I? They look so stressed.'

       "Tokito-san, we won't let you die!" Kotetsu shouted. Beneath his mask, tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "Hang in there! What is this?!" He threw his whole body weight against the water, only to bounce back just as they had. "What the hell is this, [Surname]-san?! It's all rubbery and gross!"

       "I don't know! I know as much as you do, okay?! I may be a Hashira but that doesn't mean I automatically know everything!"

       The heat bubbling just beneath the surface of their skin was unbearable. In their panicked haze, they didn't notice the unfamiliar markings manifesting on their skin. As soon as they appeared, they were gone, fading from their flesh with no trace left behind. It was like they had never been there in the first place.

       It seemed that they had a hard time maintaining their enhanced state when panicked and unfocused.

       'You two have bigger priorities than me right now. Protect the chief, [Surname]-sama. Not me. That would be beyond Kotetsu-kun, but not you.'

       Muichiro's eyes widened. His palm pounded furiously on the water, hoping to get at least one of the two's attention. Thankfully, he knew his mentor well enough to know how attentive they were. They reacted immediately, head whipping around to face whatever it was that he saw approaching from behind them.

       It was only a small demon in comparison to the size of their body, hardly reaching up to their knee, but they knew better than to make assumptions about its power based solely on its size.

       It came from an Upper Moon.

       Surely, then, it was imbued with at least a fraction of said Upper Moon's strength.

       "Kotetsu-kun, get behind me!" they commanded, snatching up their blade from the ground. "Now!"

       A sharp gasp was torn from their throat when an equally sharp pain pierced their side. In their frantic state, it seemed that they were at a disadvantage, slowed down by their overwhelming worry. If Muichiro had screamed, the water had swallowed the sound up entirely; even so... the absolute horror on his face was surely enough to clue one in on his thought process. They winced, swinging their blade with enough force to behead the demon. It dissipated within an instant.

       "[Surname]-san!" Kotetsu shouted, stepping back in shock of the sheer amount of blood that spilled from their lips.

       "Fuck this whole mission," they muttered, bitter and tired, drawing in the deepest breath they could manage to in spite of the pain that struck their whole body like lightning when they did.

       They exhaled into the vase of water.

       'Even when you're bleeding out...'

       Muichiro inhaled the oxygen they provided him with.

       'You still come to my rescue. I should be embarrassed. Let me help you for once.'

       "Kotetsu-kun! Get down!" they shouted out, leaping forward to shield his much smaller body with their own. His little hands immediately went to their side to put pressure on the wound they sustained.

       Upon feeling their back drench with freezing water, they dove away from Kotetsu, catching their injured Tsuguko in their arms.

       "I've got you, I've got you..." they whispered over and over like a mantra of sorts, perhaps in an attempt to console themselves rather than the coughing Hashira in their embrace. No mind was paid to the spines poking their skin, nor the way Muichiro spat up a concerning amount of water over their shoulder. They did, however, take note of the way he made desperate attempts to apologize for practically throwing up on them. "It's okay, it's fine, just get all the water out of your lungs. It's not a big deal."

       All they truly paid attention to was the fact that he was breathing.

       Alive.

       However, he was weak. Terribly weak.

       "You've gone numb," they observed as he ripped a spine from his cheek, arms trembling. "I've got you. I've got the rest from here. You need to rest."

       "N— no," he choked out before rapidly pulling the rest of the needles out of his body. Something in their gut twisted uncomfortably at the sight of their student so battered. "Why do you always have to be the one to save me?"

       "I'm your mentor. It's my job. I teach you. I protect you. That's how this relationship works," they replied, standing up on shaky legs and taking their blade with them. They watched as more of the demons gathered around. "No harm will come to you for as long as I live."

       Aching.

       That's all they could feel on one side of their body. The pain was enough to make them double over. They squeezed their eyes shut, expression contorting into a pained grimace. One hand pressed deeply into their wound in a desperate attempt to make it stop. "Fuck..."

       They were already injured enough as it was from battles earlier on in the night.

       Muichiro could read his mentor like an open book.

       The book in question read nothing but agony. They were in no condition to keep fighting, and yet, neither was he.

       Even so...

       The rage he once felt three years ago boiled over again. It flooded the entirety of his veins, searing his skin and clouding his thoughts, stealing away the momentary clarity and reprieve from the haze in his mind. Muichiro clutched his sword with newfound rage.

       'Stay away from [Surname]-sama.'

       In an instant, the demons were all beheaded, dissipating into nothing but ash and dust.

       "Mui— Mui-kun, listen to me," they choked out in a gasp with sudden urgency, as if they had remembered something extremely important. "The swordsmiths. Haganezuka-sama and Kanamori-san. They're— we need to go back for them. Upper Moon Five is still..."

       "...You didn't get rid of him?"

       Their eyes softened impossibly. "I... I didn't. I am selfish sometimes, Mui-kun, and you... you were my priority. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had left you. Please understand where I'm coming from."

       "I should be mad at you."

       "...Yes. You should be, and I wouldn't hold it against you if you were."

       A heavy silence settled for a moment. Not even Kotetsu dared disturb it.

       Then, with tender delicacy, the Mist Hashira wrapped his arms around their torso, laying his head on their chest. He was especially adamant on avoiding causing any further irritation to their injury. The firm beating of their heart was deeply comforting to him (he did, however, note the worrying wheeze that came every time they exhaled). "...I'm not, though."

       It was as if a weight was lifted off of their shoulders. They softly wrapped their arms around his shoulders. "I'm glad, then. Thank you."

       "No..." the boy trailed off, withdrawing from their embrace. Much to their surprise, he bowed in front of them. "Thank you, [Surname]-sama. I might not have made it out if not for you. I'm sorry for being so troublesome. I overestimated my skill, simply because I am a Hashira. I should have known better. You taught me better than that."

       An embarrassed laugh left their lips as they scratched the back of their neck. "Hey... you, um, you don't have to do that. You can stand up. It's okay. That's why we build bonds the way we do; we all mess up sometimes, so we need people we can reliably fall back on." As he rose, they hummed. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but... something about you has changed."

       He smiled. Such a gentle, sincere smile... it suited his face, but it was an expression they were not accustomed to seeing on him. He said nothing in response to them, however.

       'I'll tell you everything once we're out of here.'

       "...Shit! The swordsmiths! Mui-kun, come on! Grab Kotetsu-kun! Let's go!"

it's been two weeks.

muichiro has kept track of the days with impressive precision for someone with such poor memory. he knew for a fact that it had been far longer than usual. his mentor was gone for much longer than usual. worst of all, he's heard nothing from them. they've replied to not one of his letters. it was as if none of the letters ever arrived to them, as if the messenger crows could not find them. half a month was a very long time to not have the well-beloved cloud hashira around. it was a long time to not hear anything from or about them.

in that time, he's been on a variety of missions himself, all of which were concluded within a day or two.

it's when muichiro is coming back from his last mission within the two week period that he finally gets some kind of news regarding his mentor's whereabouts. the news comes in the form of his crow.

"tokito-sama," his crow caws, batting her ridiculously long eyelashes as she settles on his shoulder, "[surname]-sama has been found and has been escorted back to the butterfly estate."

his heart stutters in his chest at her ambiguous statement. that told him nothing. what he needed to know was if they were breathing or not; either way, he'd be at their side in an instant. he would much prefer the former, though.

"...are they alive?"

"yes, but—"

that's all the confirmation he needs to speed off in the direction of the butterfly estate.

muichiro gets to shinobu's estate within the hour, his crow having long since abandoned him out of fear of getting blown away from the speeds at which he was running. the insect hashira is gentle when she tells him that the cloud hashira is unconscious. she's even gentler when she describes the severity of their gashes and cuts to him.

"they've lost a lot of blood," she had said. "there is... unfortunately, no way to know if they will pull through or not. only time will tell."

muichiro sits at their bedside for days.

surprisingly, he hasn't been called away for a mission. he wonders if oyakata-sama knew that he'd be rendered so... helpless by his mentor's injury. would they scold him if they were awake? probably. he should be out on the field, but he is not. in his defense, oyakata-sama has not assigned him anything. he'd most likely be able to function if he had to, and yet... he hasn't needed to. oyakata-sama has not forced him to do so.

muichiro sits at their bedside for what feels like an eternity, absentmindedly watching the slow rising and falling of their chest. as such, he's there when they begin to stir.

he nervously clasps one of their hands between his, leaning over their body and quietly calling their name. they stir even more, eyelids twitching. he calls out to them again.

relief rolls over him in waves when they open their eyes.

"hehe..." they laugh hoarsely, tired eyes crinkling with fondness. he feels their fingers shake slightly in his hands, and suddenly they're holding one of his hands back, giving it a weak squeeze. "hi, mui-kun."

"who did this?"

"wh— what?"

"who did this?"

their breath catches in their throat. they're taken aback by the sheer rage burning in his eyes; it's as if he's been blessed with a brief moment of clarity from the never-ending haze in his mind. they're hardly even awake yet, but they can see his fury clear as day.

then, their expression hardens slightly.

"i will not tell you."

he looks betrayed, like a kicked puppy. they almost falter.

"[surname]-sama... please, i—"

"no." they remain firm nonetheless. the sheer authority in their tone triggers a heavy wave of nostalgia to wash over him, though he cannot quite explain why. who was the last person to be so hard on him..? he can't recall. "this conversation ends here. you will not ask me again. do you understand?"

"i..." he trails off. his throat tightens. "why?"

"because you'll get yourself killed if i tell you." he goes quiet. then, they gingerly reach up to his face, tenderly brushing their knuckles across his cheekbone. the moment of firmness is gone in an instant, and their eyes are soft again. "i have to be hard on you. you won't listen otherwise. you understand, don't you? you're a stubborn one. you don't listen if someone isn't firm."

his mentor's soft touch snaps him out of the daze he was in. it's then that he realizes he had been crying.

"shh... it's alright. don't cry. come here."

their arms open for him. he gladly accepts their invitation, cautiously kneeling down and laying his head on their chest. to properly hug them would be forcing them to sit up; he doesn't want to disturb them anymore than he already has. they've just woken up and they're already having to console him.

a visceral sob tears from his throat. his shoulders shake.

how humiliating.

their hands smooth over his hair with such love and care that it overwhelms him.

"it's okay, mui-kun," they murmur kindly. "i'm okay."