41. Reckless

The heavy, metallic scent of blood and the suffocating smoke of the Entertainment District began to fade, replaced by a strange, tingling heat.

Hana felt a strange, soothing warmth spreading through her body. It was as if she had been submerged in a freezing lake and was suddenly pulled into a hot spring.

Her eyes flickered open. The first thing she saw was the blurry shape of pink eyes.

Then, she saw a face hovering over her. It was Nezuko. Her little sister had her hand pressed against her forehead. Pink flames were flickering over Hana's skin, but they did not burn her. They were destroying the black poison instead.

"Nezuko?" Hana muttered, her voice sounding like it had been scraped with sandpaper.

The moment she spoke, Nezuko let out a small, muffled cry of joy and threw her arms around Hana's neck, hugging her so tightly that Hana almost lost her breath again.

"Nezuko... wait... I can't... breathe..." Hana managed a weak laugh, patting her sister's head. The burning fire in her veins was gone. The heavy, crushing weight on her chest had vanished. She felt weak, but the poison was completely gone.

"Hana! You're awake!"

Tanjiro scrambled over, his face covered in soot and tears. He knelt beside them, his hand trembling as he touched Hana's shoulder. "We were so scared..."

Hana reached up, her hand shaking slightly, and brushed a smudge of dirt from Tanjiro's cheek. "It's okay, Tanjiro. I'm right here. Don't cry. You did so well."

"What happened?" Hana asked, rubbing her temples. "The last thing I remember was the demon's face....and then everything went black."

"We won," Tanjiro said, giving her a smile. "Uzui-san, Zenitsu, and Inosuke... we all worked together. Both heads were cut off at the same time. And then Nezuko used her blood art to burn the poison out of us."

Hana looked at her younger sister in awe patting her head. "You did that, Nezuko? Thank you." Nezuko just hummed happily and nuzzled into Hana's hand.

"Where is Uzui‐san?" Hana asked, trying to sit up.

"I'm right here, you reckless girl!"
The voice was loud and booming. Hana turned her head. Tengen Uzui was sitting a few feet away. His three wives Makio, Suma, and Hinatsuru were hovering over him, crying and wrapping bandages around his many wounds.

Tengen looked terrible. He was missing an eye and a hand, and his face was covered in cuts. Despite his injuries, he was glaring at hana. His expressions were stern. He stood up, shaking off his wives for a moment, and stomped over to where the Kamado siblings were sitting.

He loomed over Hana, his shadow casting a long dark shape over her.

"You!" Tengen said, his voice booming.

Hana blinked. "Yes?"

"Are you a complete idiot?!" Tengen roared, pointing his remaining hand at her. "I told you to back away! I told you to get to safety! You were poisoned to the point where a normal person would have been a corpse in ten seconds, and yet you stayed there swinging your sword like a lunatic! You completely ignored a Hashira's orders!"

Hana stared up at him, surprised. "I couldn't just leave you there. You were hurt too!"

"I don't care about that!" Tengen shouted. "You could have died! You're a brat with zero sense of self-preservation! You were reckless, unflashy, and incredibly stubborn!"

"Do you have any idea how stupid that was?" Tengen shouted. "You are not a Hashira! You are a low-ranking slayer! You should have retreated the moment that poison hit your bloodstream!"

Hana blinked, her mouth falling open in shock. She had expected a 'thank you' or maybe a flashy compliment. She didn't expect a lecture the moment she woke up.

Suma wailed loudly, clutching Tengen's arm. "He's right! We thought you were going to die Hana. It was so scary!"

​"But I-" Hana started.

Tengen didn't let her finish. He kept scolding her for her reckless behavior. He pointed toward Tanjiro and Nezuko, who were watching with wide eyes. "Look at them! Did you even think about them for a second? Do you know what you would have done to them if you had died right in front of them? Look at how scared they are!"

Hana turned her gaze to her siblings. She saw Tanjiro's trembling hands and the way Nezuko was clutching her sleeve as if she would never let go. She saw the tear stained faces and the terror that still lingered in their eyes.

Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. She looked down at her lap, her shoulders shaking. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I didn't mean to scare you.. I just... I couldn't let anyone else die."

​Tengen's eyes softened completely then. He saw the tears and the exhaustion. He reached down with his remaining hand and ruffled Hana's hair with surprising gentleness. "But... fine. You fought well. Better than well..You were flashy out there..Real flashy and brave. Now, wipe those tears away...No crying."

Hana nodded and sniffed softly, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
Before she could say anything back to Tengen, she felt two sets of arms wrap around her. Tanjiro and Nezuko hugged her tightly

"It's alright, Hana. We did it.." Tanjiro whispered against her shoulder. Nezuko hummed softly. Hana buried her face in Tanjiro’s shoulder and let out one last shaky breath.

​"You better not move now," Tengen said, sitting back down heavily as his wives swarmed him again. "Stay put, or you'll die."

​Tanjiro stood up, his face set in a look of determination. "I'm going to go look for the demon's heads. We need to be absolutely sure."

​Hana tried to push herself up. "I'll come along...I need to see it too..."

​"Stay where you are, brat!" Tengen barked without even looking at her, his voice muffled by the bandages Hinatsuru was wrapping around his jaw.

​Hana sulked, her shoulders dropping, and sat back down in the dirt as she watched Tanjiro and Nezuko walk off.

Just as the group began to breathe a sigh of relief, a shadow fell over them. It was Iguro Obanai, the Serpent Hashira. His mismatched eyes swept over the carnage with a look of cold disapproval. Kaburamaru, the white snake around his neck, flicked its tongue out, sensing the lingering scent of demons.

Obanai hopped down, landing lightly on the debris near Tengen. He looked at Uzui's missing hand and bandaged eye.

"I should praise you or something," Obanai said.

Tengen leaned back against a rock, looking utterly exhausted. "I don't really need your praise, Iguro. You're late."

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Suma suddenly shrieked, popping up from behind Tengen and pointing a shaky finger at Obanai. "YOU'RE PRETTY LATE! Y-Y-YOU'RE SO LATE! WERE YOU ACTUALLY COMING? OR WERE YOU JUST STROLLING AROUND?!"

"YOU'RE SO LATE!" she wailed, her eyes streaming with tears.

Obanai didn't even blink. He simply turned his head toward her. Kaburamaru let out a sharp, menacing HISSS, baring its fangs at the crying woman.

"GYAAAA! AHHH!!" Suma scrambled backward, tripping over her own feet and hiding behind Makio.

Obanai turned his attention back to Tengen, crossing his arms. "What were you thinking, losing your left arm and left eye? It was just a fight against Upper Moon Six, at best. How long will it take for you to recover? Who'll take your place while you're doing that?"

He then shifted his gaze toward Hana. His eyes narrowed as he took in her tattered uniform and the blood on her face. "And you," he said, his voice like a whip. "You look like a mess. A weakling who barely clung to life. Why are you even sitting here? You're an eyesore."

She glared at him, her eyes flashing. "I'm sitting here because I just helped fight an Upper Moon, Iguro-san. What's your excuse for standing there doing nothing?"

Obanai's eyes flared with a cold light. Kaburamaru hissed again, more aggressively this time. "Watch your tongue, girl. You're talking to a Pillar."

Tengen let out a huff, looking at the sky. "Lay off her, Iguro. I'm retiring. I just can't fight anymore. Oyakata-sama will probably allow me to do so as well."

"Well, screw that, I won't allow you," Obanai snapped back immediately. "Right now, too many youngsters die off without showing any signs of growth. And there are already vacant Pillar spots thanks to Rengoku dying. Having you in the shape you're in is a lot better than losing you. Fight to the death."

"Oh no," Tengen countered, a small smirk playing on his lips. "The young ones are definitely growing. Well, the siblings you absolutely despise are growing. Especially this one."​

He gestured with his chin toward Hana, who nodded happily at the praise from the Sound Hashira, looking at Obanai with a smug, defiant expression.

Obanai's eyes widened slightly as he followed Tengen's gaze. He looked at Hana, then back at Tengen. "WHOA." He pointed his hand at Hana. "She fought with you? This low-rank brat?"

​Hana smiled at him, a smug, weary expression. "That's right, Iguro-san. And I'm still breathing."

​"You're kidding," Obanai muttered, his mismatched eyes scanning her again. "You survived? This fight? Against an Upper Moon? You should be dead."

Hana let out a dry, raspy laugh. "Well, sorry to disappoint you. Maybe if you had arrived earlier, you could have seen it yourself, Iguro-san."

​"You're a nuisance," Obanai glared, and Kaburamaru hissed at her again, sensing the defiance in her tone. "Do you think surviving makes you stronger? It just means you’re lucky."

Hana looked at Obanai, her eyes momentarily losing their defiant spark She knew deep down that she hadn't done enough during the battle. In her own mind, she felt as useless as she always did, a heavy feeling of self-hatred settling in her chest because she had spent more time gasping for air than swinging her blade. She hated that feeling, hated the way her body always seemed to hit its limit and crumble just when Tanjiro needed her most.

The sound of many footsteps interrupted her, pulling her out of her thoughts.
​From the edge of the district, a group of people in dark uniforms, their faces covered by cloth masks, appeared. They carried stretchers and medical kits, moving with practiced efficiency through the rubble.

​"The Kakushi are here." Hinatsuru whispered, her voice filled with relief.

​A group of Kakushi arrived. They moved with shock in their eyes as they took in the scale of the destruction.

​"Hashira-sama! Are you alright?!" one Kakushi cried out, rushing toward Tengen with a stretcher.

​A pair of Kakushi approached Hana. "Lady Kamado, Please, lie down! You're covered in blood and your pulse is all over the place!"

​Hana sighed, feeling the last of her adrenaline evaporate. The fight was over. Now, only the long road to recovery remained. She looked at Obanai one last time as he stood silhouetted against the rising sun.

​"See you around, Iguro-san. Try to be on time for the next one," she said, waving at him with a tired, cheeky grin.

​He didn't look back, but the slight stiffening of his shoulders told her he had heard.

As the Kakushi lifted her stretcher, Hana closed her eyes, finally letting the exhaustion take her as she was carried away from the ruins of the Entertainment District.