Chapter 51: Tis but a scratch

Eri looked just as confused as me, unsure of how she ended up in my arms. Nezuko, who had been asleep in Zenitsu's arms, stirred awake and locked her gaze on Eri. Without a word, she slipped from Zenitsu's embrace who woke up from the movement and ran toward me.

"Nezuko, are you alright?" I asked, glancing back at Ryou-sensei. 'How did he get here?' I wondered, still stunned. I looked down, realizing Eri was no longer in my arms, Nezuko had already taken her into hers, both of them watching Ryou-sensei intently.

We saw only the back of Ryou-sensei, but something was wrong. His right side, smeared with blood caught my attention. I frowned. He was bleeding, and the smell confirmed it. 'Shinobu-san told him to take it easy. Ryou-sensei, what are you going to do?' My thoughts raced.

I blinked, and they were gone. Ryou-sensei and Akaza clashed in another area.

-Ryou's POV-

'Fuck.' That was my first thought as I stopped Akaza from landing the final blow on Kyojuro. My right side throbbed like Heracles had smashed his club into it again. I released Akaza the moment he moved and barely managed to block the kick aimed at my head. I countered by shifting my weight onto my toes and landing a palm strike to his nose, snapping his head back and forcing him to retreat.

Once he recovered, Akaza launched another attack, this time aiming a punch at my midsection. I redirected the blow, but in doing so I had to push a slight amount of cursed magic through my body, which only made the pain in my right side flare up more. I had stopped using cursed magic as soon as I arrived, that was my first mistake.

While I managed to pierce his chest with a lance-like strike from my right hand, his earlier punch still damaged my other hand. 'Fuck.' I thought bitterly, just as Akaza landed a kick that sent me flying further away from Kyojuro. Yet, he didn't pursue him. Instead, Akaza focused entirely on me, a wide grin splitting his face as he laughed.

"You're even stronger! You should become a demon!" he taunted, shifting into a stance.

"Destructive Death: Air Type!"

He punched forward, and I barely saw the distortions in the air. I dodged it just in time and blitzed toward him, but Akaza kept firing more of those air attacks. I was forced to dodge repeatedly as I advanced. One of them grazed the left side of my face, and blood began pouring down, forcing my left eye shut.

I found a gap in his attacks, and with cursed magic pushed into my toes, I blitzed faster than before, closing the distance between us. Akaza reacted quickly, and we engaged in a brutal exchange of martial arts. I stepped on his foot and drove an elbow into his chest, sending him stumbling back. But he countered with a swift kick to the side of my head, one I couldn't react to in time.

Before I could recover, Akaza shifted into another stance, his arms by his side.

"Annihilation Type!"

There was barely any space between us when two powerful shockwaves erupted from his palms, crashing into my midsection. I reinforced my core with cursed magic as I felt my ribs rattle and my organs shudder from the impact. Just as I was about to be thrown back, I grabbed Akaza's arms, pushing cursed magic into my hands and fingers, and tore them off.

I followed up with a reverse kick to his chin, and I heard a satisfying crack. Akaza retaliated with a reverse axe kick.

"Leg Type: Crown Splitter."

The kick connected with my left shoulder, shattering it, and I felt the shockwave tear through my body. 'Shit. Definitely ruptured something.' I gritted my teeth and gripped his leg with my weakened left arm as best I could. Stepping forward, I cracked the ground beneath me and delivered a palm strike to his chest, this time using cursed magic to create my own shockwave.

Akaza crashed to the ground, but in moments, his arms began to regrow. 'That would be nice to have.' I thought bitterly.

We were about to clash again when Akaza stopped suddenly. He glanced behind me, and I turned to see the sky lightening. The sun was rising.

I looked back at him, watching as he turned and fled into the forest. I let out a deep sigh of relief.

I turned and watched as Tanjiro suddenly got up and ran toward the fleeing demon. 'What is he doing?' I thought, watching closely as he assumed a throwing stance. 'He isn't... is he?'

Then something shocked me. Tanjiro started breathing fire as he prepared to throw his katana. I stared in disbelief as the blade flew toward Akaza's retreating back, piercing his chest. Akaza stumbled but kept running for a few steps before Tanjiro shouted.

"Don't run away!" he yelled, even louder. "Don't run away, you coward!"

As Akaza came to an abrupt halt. For the first time, I saw his expression, furious. But instead of turning to fight, Akaza turned and bolted again into the forest.

Tanjiro undeterred, kept shouting. "You're the one who lost! The Demon Slayer Corps is always fighting you demons in the dark of the night, where you have the advantage! That's right, us flesh-and-blood humans! Don't run, you coward!"

With that Tanjiro collapsed, and I watched as the others rushed to his side.

I started walking toward the now stumbling Kyojuro and caught him before he could fall. "Take it easy, Breathe." He nodded gratefully.

"Thank you for coming to the rescue, but who are you?"

I swung one of his arms around my shoulder, helping him as we headed back to the others. I noticed Inosuke was shoving Nezuko back into her box while Zenitsu was watching over Tanjiro, Eri was perched on Inosuke's shoulders. 'If he drops her, I'll make him wish he were dead when I train him again.' I thought.

I replied to Kyojuro. "Sasaki Ryou. But just call me Ryou. I was in the area when I heard the train derail."

He hummed in acknowledgment but didn't say anything further.

"Ryou-sensei!" Tanjiro called from the ground. I waved back with my left arm, wincing as I felt my shattered shoulder grind painfully. 'Not just broken, shattered. Great.' I thought bitterly.

A cough escaped me, and with it came a small splatter of blood. Eri's eyes widened in concern.

"Ryou!" she cried out on the now approaching Inosuke.

I glanced at her as I gently helped Kyojuro sit. "I'm okay, Eri. It's just a slight wound." I reassured her as Inosuke gently let her down, I started kneeling beside her. I patted her head with my right hand, trying to soothe her while my thoughts drifted back to the fight.

'I hope Akaza didn't notice anything off about me. The more cards I have hidden, the better.' I thought to myself. I was aware that I couldn't kill him, not without revealing more of myself.

It wasn't long before other members of the Slayer Corps arrived, the Kakushi they were called. We were informed they'd take us to the Butterfly Mansion to recuperate. 'Human taxi?' I mused as we were hoisted onto their backs and they began the journey back.

The trip would've been peaceful if it weren't for Inosuke yelling every few minutes.