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Eira's lungs expanded as she slowly stared at Asumi, her eyes were wide with shock, the faint light in the room that was soft on the eyes, shadowed Asumi's face as she stood up. Eira looked up at Asumi, had she heard her right? Asumi was going on a solo mission?

"Wait… I'll come. I'm not too badly hurt, I can still fight" Eira gripped her sword and stood up as well, she faced Asumi and smiled slightly. Asumi didn't return the smile.

"No Eira, I… asked for a solo mission." Asumi gulped and her throat choked as she stated the truth. This sentence punched Eira harder than any demon ever had, tore her heart more than any blade could, and left her more breathless than any amount of sprinting could. Asumi's pink aura was soft and flickered softly from left to right as Eira stood still. Kaze looked at the two, he was going to interfere and ask why, but he stayed quiet, he would rather let this situation unfold by itself. He was in no position to try to become relevant, after all, Kaze had only been with them for a short few weeks, Eira and Asumi had been friends for months now, this was their business now. Kaze just calmly watched on as Eira's fists clenched and she cleared her throat. 

"But… why?" Eira's mind was frantic with worry, the only thing that she felt secure about, her friendship was now about to collapse. "What if you get hurt? Me or Kaze won't be there to save you." 

Eira's words struck Asumi right in the nerves, this was the exact reaction she didn't want, Asumi's jaw tightened and she looked at Eira with a slight spite. Of course, Asumi calmed down almost instantly but she still hated the fact she was almost seen as "weak". She didn't want to be the person to always get saved, she didn't want to gain such a dishonourable reputation. 

"Eira, I don't need saving. I just want to improve myself, by myself." Asumi lightened the mood by slowly smiling, "Besides, my eighteenth birthday is in a couple of months, and I want to go back to my home to celebrate it with my family." 

Kaze broke his silence, after hearing what Asumi said, he couldn't stay silent. 

"Oh, Happy Birthday in advance." Kaze smiled as he interfered in the conversation. Asumi glanced at Kaze and her face lit up with gratitude, Eira's face did the opposite as she turned her body towards Kaze, her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed and she glared at him.

"Sorry…" Kaze sighed and leaned back and allowed the two girls to continue. 

Eira looked back at Asumi, she felt so… vulnerable in this situation, Asumi had been with her every step of the way as a Demon Slayer, how would she be able to go on without her closest friend? Eira's heart pounded and she felt her throat tighten as she stared at Asumi, who knows when they'd meet again? Eira crossed her arms tighter and she gripped the sides of her clothing. Her heart pounded with pain and hurt, this couldn't be happening! Asumi and her were friends, friends don't leave friends. 

"Why can't you improve yourself while with us, why do you have to go alone?" Eira spoke bluntly, she avoided eye contact with Asumi, she knew she'd end up tearing up. Instead, she fixed her gaze on the wooden floorboards. Her left foot slowly moved right and left in an attempt to distract herself.

"I feel weak." Asumi spat out her words, something she had bottled up for so long, a sort of emotion that kept growing in the confines of her heart finally unleashed. Her pink aura darkened and flared wildly, and the bold red line that symbolised guilt inflated and grew. Kaze and Eira were silent alike, a cloud slowly moved across the sun. The room went dim and dark. Asumi's breathing became quick and frantic, her stomach turned and she finally spoke her mind.

"You, Kaze and… Ali. You all just… made me feel weak. You're so talented, so masterful at your style, you defeated two Lower Moons! You got acknowledged by Hashira and got offered to become one. Kaze is so strong, his swordsmanship isn't the only source of power, even without a sword he can still hold his own, just… like Ali. Ali never gave up, he kept fighting no matter the circumstances, he fought Akaza in the end and sacrificed his own life to save us. You guys are so strong… You recover so fast, you deal and take so much damage and.. I'm none of those things. I can't take as many hits as Ali, I can't be strong like Kaze and I'm not extremely skilful like you." Asumi closed her eyes. Eira's chest rose and dropped as she listened to Asumi. Asumi's chest pounded as she unloaded her thoughts, she took another deep breath. 

"But if I learnt anything, anything from you, Kaze and Ali. It was to never give up and keep working on yourself. That's why I want to go on solo missions, so I'm not a burden and can grow on my own. So I can become as strong, as skilful and as resilient as you all. I can only build those things if I go on missions myself where you and Kaze aren't doing the majority of the work." Asumi finished speaking and she looked at Eira, who continued to stare at the ground. The cloud slowly moved off the sun, the light bounced into the room again and illuminated the trio as they all stayed silent again. 

"Will… you be safe?" Eira quietly whispered. 

"I'm a Demon Slayer, am I ever safe?" Asumi smiled and wiped at her moist eyes. Eira looked up and inhaled slowly, for once, she used her superhuman speed for something else than battle. She quickly bolted forward and hugged Asumi tightly, Eira's eyes flooded and flowed with tears. She cried into Asumi's shoulder as Asumi smiled and returned the hug. Eira's blonde hair hung over Asumi's shoulders. Kaze smiled and took a deep breath as he watched the two friends have an emotional goodbye.

"When will I see you again?" Eira spoke through her sobs. 

"I don't know. Maybe we'll get another mission assigned together, or maybe we'll cross paths." Asumi slowly broke away from the hug and wiped at the moist area that Eira had left. Eira wiped her eyes and looked at Asumi. The small silences included in the conversation were filled by sniffs and sobs.

"I'll miss you." Eira sniffed, she stepped back and looked at Asumi. The two beautiful pairs of eyes, one blue as the sea, the other pink like cherry blossoms, both soft in colour and kind in nature stared at each other. In this conversation, Eira had understood, a friendship did not grow weak because friends saw each other less. A friendship did not have to have frequent interaction to be strong, she knew no matter where her best friend went, she would still be her best friend.

"Me too." Asumi smiled, she waved at both Eira and Kaze as they said their final goodbyes. Asumi slowly turned away, her dark hair slowly flowed alongside the wind. Her pink aura had lightened up again, the red outline even thinner now. 

Eira took a deep breath and took a final glance at her departing friend, she slowly sat down on a chair next to Kaze.

"I know it hurts. You two were together through a lot, it made you close." Kaze spoke softly, he understood exactly how Eira felt. "But she isn't gone forever you know? Not everyone can hang around forever. They go on their own adventures and follow their own hearts. She's still around, just not around you." 

Kaze patted Eira's shoulder gently and smiled, just like any time, his purple aura was effective in calming her down. 

"I feel like writing all of a sudden," Eira looked down at her thumbs as she fiddled, inspired by Kaze's words, "The way you said all that... was nice." Eira felt a little embarrassed for some reason, she didn't often tell people they sounded nice or even complimented anyone on anything so she got flustered when she did.

"Yeah… Well, I had someone as well." Kaze removed his hand from Eira's shoulder, took a deep breath and looked towards the swaying trees outside.

"Did they go on their own adventure and follow their own heart?" Eira looked up at Kaze as she softly spoke. Kaze's eyes looked deep in memory, he turned towards Eira once again. His shoulder still throbbed with pain, but the soreness of the injury felt somewhat relaxing, he finally got a good moment to relax and lay down for a bit.

"Yeah, they did." Kaze smiled. His injury wasn't the only part that throbbed, his heart pounded with pain. 

"Do you want to see them again?" Eira asked questions that dug deep at Kaze.

"Of course, I'd love to see them again," Kaze closed his eyes and exhaled. Eira felt peaceful, ironic for the amount of heart attacks she had been given in the past 48 hours.

"I guess it's just me and you now." Eira looked at Kaze with a slight smile. Kaze opened his eyes suddenly and looked towards Eira. The glance he gave made Eira's heart sink again. 

"About that. After this injury gets a little better, I want to go visit my mother for a while. Then I'll do a couple of solo missions like Asumi." Kaze let the news onto Eira lightly but suddenly. Eira's nose scrunched and she frowned. 

"Ok, you can all leave me." Eira crossed her arms and shook her head as she looked away. She looked back at Kaze with a smile on her face and they both laughed. She came to terms with it much easier than she did with Asumi. Eira was happy that her friends were happy.

"I hope you both have fun doing what you want. I know you two will be just fine." Eira sighed and looked at Kaze. Through an open door, Eira's albino crow flew in. It wasted no time and quickly alerted Eira of her new mission. A mission in a swamp, a weak demon yet annoying. Eira looked at the crow and nodded. Eira stood up and looked at Kaze.

"The Ice Hashira should get to her missions." Kaze laughed and waved. Eira turned without waving and started to walk away.

Eira immediately turned back and hugged Kaze, she kneeled by the side of the bed and wrapped her arms around him. Kaze's shoulder stung in extreme pain as she pulled him in. He grunted in pain but didn't break from the hug. He laughed in pain and patted her on the back. 

"Thank you for everything." Eira stood up again and wiped her eyes again. 

"We'll meet again. Don't worry." Kaze comforted his shoulder which was in agony, he gave a final smile to Eira before she left the room. 

The sun shone brightly, the clouds floated and formed in shapes of many different things. The three friends had parted ways, but they didn't feel a single metre away from each other. Eira, Kaze and Asumi, Ice, Shadow and Flower. All unique and special. 

The wind slowly breezed, it made its way onto each of them, it grazed each of their faces gently. The wind reminded them of what a remarkable life it was. A life that they could be proud of.