#A/N: "... Sorry for putting this at the beginning of the chapter, but I just wanted to remind you guys, Kagerou will have a little, yeah, (just) a little character change, and this will be the last one (probably), so sorry if it might not fit with how you guys think Kagerou should be"
---
*Step*
*Step*
*Step*
Kagerou's footsteps echoed throughout the silent forest.
There was no urgency in his pace.
No hesitation.
He walked with the calm certainty of a hunter who already knew his prey had nowhere left to run.
His body was a complete mess.
Countless wounds covered him from head to toe. Fresh blood continued to seep through his torn uniform, leaving a crimson trail across the forest floor. Every step sent sharp pain through his battered body, yet he never slowed.
His colorless Nichirin Ninjato dragged along the ground behind him.
*Clang*
The blade scraped against a rock.
*Clang*
Another spark scattered into the darkness as steel met stone.
Kagerou paid it no mind.
He simply kept walking.
One step.
Then another.
Across from him, Tsukikage stared in absolute horror.
The massive wound across his chest had almost completely regenerated, yet the strength had vanished from his body. Whether from exhaustion... or fear... even he no longer knew.
His breathing became ragged.
His crimson eyes trembled.
*Step*
Kagerou took another step.
Another second disappeared from Tsukikage's life.
*Clang*
The tip of the Nichirin struck another stone.
The sound echoed like the ticking of a clock counting down to an execution.
One inch closer...
One inch closer to Tsukikage's neck.
His face grew even paler.
Instinctively, he crawled backward across the dirt.
Yet no matter how desperately he retreated... Kagerou only seemed to draw closer.
"...S-STOP!!"
Tsukikage's voice cracked into a scream.
"D-DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"
Fear completely consumed him.
It was written across his face more clearly than words ever could.
His trembling hand groped blindly across the ground until it found a loose rock.
Without thinking, he hurled it toward Kagerou.
*Thunk*
The rock struck Kagerou squarely on the forehead.
Blood slowly trickled down the side of his face.
He didn't dodge.
He didn't flinch.
He didn't even blink.
It was merely one more wound among countless others.
Just another drop of pain in an ocean that had already overflowed.
But to Tsukikage...
That indifference was more terrifying than any scream.
*Step*
Kagerou finally stopped.
The prey had nowhere left to run.
*Slash*
His Ninjato moved.
One clean stroke.
"AAAAAGHHH!!"
Tsukikage's right leg separated cleanly from his body.
He collapsed onto the ground with a scream that echoed through the forest.
*Stab*
Before the scream could end... The tip of Kagerou's blade pierced straight through one of Tsukikage's eyes.
"ARGHHHH!!"
Black blood poured down the demon's face.
Slowly...
Kagerou pulled the blade free.
He never changed expression.
He never spoke.
"...K-KILL ME!"
Tsukikage's voice broke completely.
"PLEASE... JUST KILL ME!"
For the first time since walking toward him...
Kagerou finally spoke.
"I will... But not that easily"
"KILL ME, YOU MONSTER!"
Silence.
"...You kill humans"
*Slash*
Another clean strike.
Tsukikage's remaining leg was severed.
"I understand"
Kagerou's voice remained frighteningly calm.
"...That's your nature"
"...You slaughtered countless Demon Slayers"
*Slash*
One of Tsukikage's arms fell beside him.
"I understand"
"...That was how you survived"
Tsukikage could no longer stop trembling.
"...P-Please..." His voice had become nothing more than a broken whisper. "...Please... kill me..."
"...But..."
*Grab*
Kagerou seized Tsukikage by the head.
His fingers tightened slowly around the demon's skull.
For the first time...
Emotion appeared upon Kagerou's face.
Not rage.
Not madness.
Something deeper.
Something that had remained buried until this very moment.
"...You wore my mother's face"
His voice grew lower.
"You looked at me with her eyes"
Each word became colder than the last.
"...You smiled with her smile"
His grip tightened further.
"...You used the face of the person I loved most..."
His breathing remained steady.
Yet the hatred within every word was unmistakable.
"...That..."
"...That is the one thing I cannot understand"
Tsukikage's body shook uncontrollably.
"...P-Please...Kill me..."
Kagerou looked directly into the demon's remaining eye.
"For me..."
His voice became quiet.
Almost gentle.
"...That sin is greater than murdering hundreds of people"
Silence filled the forest.
"I'm not fighting because I want to become a hero"
"I'm not fighting because I want to save this cursed world"
He slowly leaned closer.
"People who are born with greater strength than others..."
"...should use that strength to protect the world"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
It held no warmth.
"...But my world..." His eyes trembled ever so slightly. "...is them"
"The people I love"
"And you..."
His voice finally cracked.
Only once.
"...used them against me"
A long silence followed.
"...That..."
"...was your greatest mistake"
His grip tightened one last time.
"It is a sin that cannot be atoned for..."
"...not with one death"
"...Not with a thousand"
Kagerou leaned close enough that Tsukikage could feel his breath.
"So pray"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Pray to whatever you believe in"
"That if there is another life..."
"...you never cross paths with me again"
His eyes never left Tsukikage's.
"Engrave those words into your soul"
*Slash*
---
Kagerou remained silent for a long while.
Even after everything that remained of Tsukikage had crumbled into ash and scattered across the forest floor, he didn't move.
He simply stood there.
Eyes closed.
His bloodstained Nichirin hung loosely at his side as the night breeze stirred the ends of his scorched haori. Not a single word escaped his lips.
The forest, once consumed by screams and clashing steel, had finally fallen silent.
Only after several more seconds passed did Kagerou slowly open his eyes.
His gaze wandered across the empty battlefield before settling on a single figure in the distance.
"...Kanae," he murmured softly.
He turned and began walking toward her.
Each step was slow and unsteady.
Now that the battle was over, the exhaustion he had forced himself to ignore came crashing down upon him all at once. Every wound burned. Every breath felt heavier than the last.
Still, he kept walking.
Kanae was leaning weakly against the trunk of a large tree, struggling just to remain conscious. Her breathing was shallow, and her Nichirin Blade rested loosely beside her.
Kagerou stopped in front of her.
For a few quiet moments, he simply looked at her face.
Then, without a word, he slowly lowered himself and sat beside her.
With practiced familiarity, he reached into his uniform and retrieved his kiseru.
A soft click.
A tiny flame flickered to life.
He lit the tobacco, brought the pipe to his lips, and drew in a slow breath.
A moment later, he exhaled.
A thin stream of pale smoke drifted quietly into the night air.
Only then did the relentless pain throughout his battered body ease, if only slightly.
His tired eyes found Kanae once more.
A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Kanae..." he called weakly.
"I didn't get to finish what I was saying earlier... did I?"
There was no reply.
Kanae remained completely still.
Kagerou didn't seem to mind.
He gently reached out and took her hands into his own.
They were warm.
Still warm.
The realization made his smile soften even further.
"For me..."
He paused, gathering what little strength remained.
"...you're a woman I love the most..."
His voice was barely above a whisper now.
"...after my mother"
A look of quiet satisfaction appeared on his face, as though he had finally managed to say the one thing he couldn't allow himself to leave unsaid.
Slowly...
He closed his eyes.
For the first time since entering the forest...
For the first time since the battle had begun...
Kagerou finally allowed himself to rest.
---
High above the battlefield, a Kasugai Crow beat its wings with desperate urgency, flying as fast as it could toward the Ubuyashiki Estate to deliver news of the battle's conclusion.
Neither Kagerou nor the crow noticed the slightest movement beside him.
Kanae's fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.
Her breathing remained faint.
Her eyes stayed closed.
Yet beneath those closed eyelids...
Tears quietly gathered.
She had heard every single word.
Every confession.
Every unguarded emotion he believed would never reach her.
And without him ever realizing it... His feelings had reached her heart.