The dishevelled stampede slowly calmed down as the demons fled far away, the empty streets soon filled again and order returned to the already narrow hallways. Even with a standard of calmness, Ali didn't feel any better. It felt like an endless spiral of emotional turmoil, like a perpetual tumble down an infinite flight of stairs. The only moments where he felt some distance from his grief was when he was ruthlessly smashing another demon's face in. He had to force himself to stand up.
"Done sulking?" Daki spoke with a careless and callous approach to Ali's emotions, a smirk still stayed stationary on her face, "I have some news that might cheer you up,"
The hallway's lights stopped flickering, similarly, Ali's heart was brought back to life with hope and anticipation.
"The Shadow?" Ali took a step towards Daki, a step that communicated his desperate desire to find another outlet. This time, he was stabbing the roots of the tree. His eyes widened as Daki snickered with an evil undertone.
"One of the girls in the neighbouring building knows a bit from a Demon Slayer customer," Daki's tongue furnished the message with a sharp tone, "He's somewhat of a famous figure, The Shadow,"
"I didn't press much," Daki admitted as she circled Ali slowly, her finger brushing on his neck, "Seventh room on the second floor, that's the lady,"
Revenge seethed and boiled within Ali, a fool's desire, revenge never made things right. An endless cycle of violence is the only thing that sprouted from revenge, the seemingly blissful actions would turn out to only push a person further into regret and guilt. Revenge was a wheel that always spun as long as there was sin in the world. Revenge kills all that partake in it.
Ali scrambled to the faucet of information directly. The small room was full of incense and cigarette smoke. The woman was loosely dressed, lying on the cold wooden floor, a slim and long cigarette in her hands as she cherished the small break from the chaos. Her ruffled hair and sleepless eyes told the entire story.
Her door was brutally slid open, the sheer force made the smoke and smog quickly flood out of the room.
"The Shadow," Ali slammed the door behind him, his entire body tense and flexing as he leaned down to the woman's level. His eyes were wide, his heart beating fast and his soul lit on fire. The woman's cigarette dropped from in between her fingers, her lungs contracted quickly as she took in the otherworldly sight. A demon right in front of her, the vicious look in Ali's eyes didn't help his approach for details.
"Who and where?" Ali ignored the frightened expression of the lady and continued to press further in a desperate manner. The woman's mouth opened in shock and horror as she stared at the terrifying demon. The sharp teeth, intimidating physique and unique appearance.
"Please… don't kill me," The lady slowly backed away from Ali. Her breaths were short as a sweat broke out on her forehead. Ali's towering stature got closer in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed as a wave of annoyance brushed over him. He was so close to grabbing the rope, yet it kept slipping away.
"Tell me where The Shadow is," Ali clenched his fists, his jaw tightened at the woman's trembling body. Then suddenly, as he realised the woman's fear, he instantly became flooded with guilt.
"Sorry," Ali took a step and put both of his hands on his head, he took a deep breath and met eyes with the horrified lady once again, "I'm not here to hurt you,"
The woman knew better than to trust a demon, known for their evilness and murder, yet there was a certain sincerity in his eyes. With the twinge of innocence and naivety, she could tell this demon was young, she saw an uncanny resemblance to the son she once had. The son who had died so long ago. His innocent face popped up in her mind for the millionth time today.
"The… Shadow? Yes, I've heard some words of him" The woman held herself tight as she replied to the demon in her room. In the next minute, everything fit together like a puzzle. Ali was fed all of the details.
The Shadow was none other than Kaze. He was currently on a break, living with his mother on the outskirts of a city. Ali's eyes widened, and the gentleness he had portrayed to the poor woman reignited into anger once again.
"My son," The woman seemed to smile a small bit, her eyes flooding with tears as she stepped closer to Ali, she placed her hand on his cheek, "Be safe on your travels,"
The tone of this woman told enough to Ali, she was broken and not in a good mental state. No one would be in this profession that so brutally exploited workers. Ali's heart throbbed with empathy as he watched this poor woman lose the fight with grief, holding onto the impossible notion that her son had come back to life. Ali wasn't sure he could even trust her word.
Yet, this was a gesture that Ali had never experienced, a mother's love. His light brown eyes remained locked on the woman's tear-filled eyes. For a minute, it was as if he was a little boy. He broke out of his trance and left the room. He wanted revenge. Kaze. Kaze. Kaze.
"I'll kill him," Ali's body tightened as he pictured Kaze, he didn't know who Kaze was. But he was going to kill him. Ali knew Kaze, but not by name.
The hunt began. Ali, as much as he hated Daki, said his goodbyes to her and thanked her.
Kaze's eyes slowly opened as the sun peeked through his window. He yawned heavily and stretched enough to make him groan loudly. He stared at his ceiling as he retracted back into a fetal position. He really didn't want to leave his bed.
"You're really just like your father," Silence was broken by his mother's soft laugh, she stood at the door frame. She was still frail but much better than before. Her wrinkled smile and greying hair were shadowed by the dim atmosphere of the house.
Kaze smiled and got up. Today was the final day of his little 'break'. He had dreaded it for the entire break but it was finally here. As he stood up, his eyes darted to the open letter on his bed side table. It was the letter of Eira's squadron request to defeat Akaza, he had received no news from his crow. What happened to Eira? Surely she hadn't...
Regardless, He was determined to make this day worth it. And just as he thought that, just like a blink of an eye, the sun set and it was time to leave. He stood alongside his mother and her caretaker in front of the train station. The crickets chirped in harmony. The train station wasn't very active after the evening rush hour.
Kaze didn't understand, how could the day be jam-packed with so many conversations, meals and activities yet… go so fast? Now he stood, in his Demon Slayer uniform, his sword at his hip and… Ali's sword on his back, ready to leave.
"Kaze, you aren't going to cry are you?" the caretaker teased, a hand slapping on Kaze's back. Kaze smiled softly and shook his head.
"Don't make me start," Kaze laughed and turned to her, they embraced in a hug. Kaze's eyes then met his mother, who was oddly silent for how lively she had become in the past week or so. Kaze laughed out of his nose and smiled softly. He could see his mother avoiding his gaze.
"Are you going to cry?" Kaze laughed as he pulled his mother in for a hug. She was. Kaze's mother started bawling on his shoulder. It's alright though, not like Kaze was going to cry.
Kaze ended up shedding a few tears. The emotional weight was far heavier than he imagined, the very fact that his mother was healthy enough to walk to the train station was enough to make him cry.
"Please… Kaze, when you return, or whenever, just… find an honest job that doesn't have you risking your life like this," Kaze's mother wiped her eyes as the train's light became visible in the distance.
Kaze took a deep breath and took a step back as he looked at his mother.
"I will," Kaze patted her on the shoulder and leaned down to meet her line of sight.
"Hurry now, your train is about to come," The caretaker giggled as she hurried Kaze. She knew if she didn't split this, Kaze might stay another week out of guilt. Kaze laughed as he complied with the caretaker. Kaze began to walk slowly towards the station's gates.
His dark hair roughly moved back and forth as a particularly vicious breeze passed by him. The wind carried an odd feeling, almost a message or warning. A weird feeling erupted in Kaze's stomach, he turned back to see his mother and caretaker still waving tearfully. Something in the atmosphere felt weird, almost as if there were stares burning into the back of his head. Someone was watching him, or at least he felt as if that was the case.
The train's screeching wheels reminded Kaze of a more imminent issue. With a final distance wave, Kaze got onto the train. It was quite empty, only a few other asleep passengers dotted along the carriages.
As Kaze entered his carriage, there was only one other passenger. They were in a black hood and with their arms crossed, oddly suspicious of dressing, almost as if they were someone disguised. Kaze sat down near the window and sighed deeply. The train began to move, the whistle screamed as Kaze departed from his beloved hometown.
Kaze's eyes remained on the hooded figure. There was still a weird feeling, he didn't feel safe at all. He inhaled what felt like his first breath for a while and stared outside the window. Maybe he was overthinking it all. He put his palm on his chin and watched the fast-moving scenery that passed by the swift train.
Kaze wasn't overthinking anything. The rough breeze wasn't a coincidence.
A thunderous slam of metal vibrated through the entire train car. The lights flickered and Kaze quickly reached for his sword. His palm turned white from the tightness of his grip, his heart began to race and his senses heightened quickly. Footsteps on the train's roof above him. A demon? Kaze couldn't tell, but they were a threat if they could jump onto the train like that.
The train's loud whistle screamed again. Kaze's heart dropped as a large impact rocketed into the roof of the train, making the carriage bounce a bit. A large dent protruded from the middle of the carriage's ceiling, where the impact had struck. The dent slowly cracked and completely broke off from the roof, a large piece of the roof fell into the carriage, and dust flew everywhere as chairs were crushed under the pressure. Kaze unsheathed his sword and began to breathe deeply. Whoever was up there was about to get sliced in half.
Shadow Breathing. First Form.
Before he could slice upwards, a figure dropped down. Kaze's balance was thrown off as wind seemed to rush into the carriage, it was if they were travelling in a train with no walls.
"The Shadow, Kaze," Ali spoke through his vicious grin, his eyes wide enough for Kaze to read his new title, but also for him to see the crazed and rage-filled look in his eyes.
"Cute family,"