Crossover Anime: Starting with Bankai from Demon Slayer

"Is this your reason for wielding the knife?"

The bird awoke abruptly from the boundless chaos, its body still shaken as it touched its wounds, only to find that they had healed.

No, it's not exactly a cure, because the space he's in now isn't the real world.

Without needing to look closely, it was clear that he was sitting on the street in the Xudiao district, which could only be his mental world.

He turned his head and, sure enough, found the gaunt boy he had seen before, sitting indifferently at the entrance of a house.

Where's the raccoon? Why can't we see that raccoon wolf?

"It's disappointed in you and doesn't really want to see you." The boy saw through the bird's thoughts, or rather, he didn't need to look at it specifically to understand what the bird was thinking.

The bird felt a dryness in its throat, so the boy quietly handed it some food and water.

Drinking water is emergency food made from the spiritual particles and moisture in the atmosphere.

As souls who have already died, the residents of Rukongai can survive without eating solid food, but at the very least, they need food and water to replenish their depleted spiritual energy.

Otherwise, as the spirit particles gradually wither, they will initially feel hunger, then even the feeling of hunger will disappear, and finally they will completely vanish from the world.

Normally, drinking water resources are public assets, which at least ensure that residents will not starve to death.

However, starting from the Xudiao area, the further into the area, the more chaotic it became. Even food and water were monopolized and sold as commodities.

The birds of the past must have endured countless blows and beatings to barely survive on food and water.

Things have changed, and seeing this in my own mental world inevitably evokes some feelings of nostalgia.

Glug...

The bird swallowed this once most precious resource, feeling its depleted spiritual energy slowly replenished, and its body felt more comfortable.

"Can you tell me what you're thinking?" The boy leaned against the door, his eyes calm and unwavering. "You told me you've found something more important than merely surviving. Does that mean you're willing to take a knife for someone else?"

Asuka did not refute this.

In fact, he himself was not entirely clear why he made such a move.

It felt like my body moved before my brain could even process what was happening, shielding Kyojuro Rengoku from a fatal blow.

He thought for a long time before finally speaking: "...Perhaps I was too arrogant in thinking I wouldn't die."

"I think so too." The boy gazed at the gray sky, seemingly unsurprised by the bird's answer.

If it weren't for the life force that the raccoon had forcibly taken from the evil spirits to sustain Asuka's fatally wounded body, he would have collapsed long ago.

Asuka stood up and pulled out the asaki from her waist.

The blade of the Nichirin Blade has returned to its colorless state.

"So, back then, was the power derived from plunder or from you...?"

At that moment, his Zanpakuto became as hot as flames, and Asuka guessed that the monstrous creature had stolen Akaza's demonic power and ignited the spiritual particles within it.

If Upper Moon Three hadn't repeatedly severed its limbs, the intense heat from them would have almost completely suppressed its regeneration.

"Asuka, what is your wish?"

The boy, still gazing at the sky, interrupted the bird's question: "You told me so firmly that you wanted to escape that terrible place, but now you want to go back?"

He turned his head in confusion and met Fei Niao's gaze: "I once thought your wish was to live."

"Whether it's escaping from there or fighting demons, it's all inextricably linked to your wish..."

"But going back to Soul Society to seek revenge? I feel like that's no different from suicide."

The boy's gaze was deep and enigmatic; even if Asuka tried to probe it using her spiritual pressure, she felt she couldn't see the bottom at all.

"So, Asuka, what is it that you truly crave?"

Upon hearing this, Asuka's mental world became unstable, and the bricks and tiles of Rukongai trembled as the boy questioned her.

Asuka frowned, but didn't think for long before replying, "These two things are essentially the same."

"Really? I don't think so."

"I wanted to escape that dark and dreary experimental chamber so that one day I could go back and end it all with my own hands."

"...You're a bit too confident in yourself, Asuka."

"I don't believe in myself, I believe in you."

These words caused the boy's expression to change for the first time.

Asuka's gaze remained calm: "Although many things have developed to this point, and I'm not even sure who I am anymore, I know that you and Hato have always been there for me."

"With your help, I can become stronger and have the possibility of fulfilling my wish."

"You ask if my wishes have changed, and I can tell you definitively: never."

The boy fell silent, trying to listen to the bird's inner voice, and the answer he received was the same as what he heard.

The two stared at each other for a long time, their breathing barely audible.

Finally, the boy sighed heavily:

"Sigh... I hope we made the right choice, or maybe we should just accept it as fate."

He raised his hand and gently placed his palm across the space on the bird's chest.

Uh--

Suddenly, the bird felt a sharp pain.

He looked down and saw blood gushing from his chest, his bones caved in!

"This is...."

Asuka remembered that this was the spot where Akaza's final destructive attack had struck her, a fatal wound!

Speaking of which, if her injuries as a rogue spirit don't heal, will she die completely...? Was this body prepared for her by Aizen? Or...? He created it for her? Asuka didn't know.

"...Asuka, if you give up this wish, no one can force you."

The boy murmured, as streams of extremely pure and domineering spiritual energy flowed from his hand into the bird's body: "Think about it."

Visibly, his bones were regrowing, his muscle tissue was starting to suture itself, and even his blood was flowing back!

In the blink of an eye, the injury that could have been fatal had been completely healed!

The bird, feeling an astonishing power in disbelief, looked at the boy with suspicion and uncertainty:

"I've always been curious: who are you? And why can you speak to me from inside my mind?"

"...You'll understand, Asuka. Trust me, trust yourself."

Om-! !

As the boy's voice faded, Asuka's mental world finally began to crumble.

He knew that this meant the other party was telling him to leave and that they intended for him to return to the real world.

"Remember my words, Asuka, you can give up this wish at any time."

In the darkness, these were the last words the bird heard.

When Asuka regained consciousness, she was already lying in a familiar Japanese-style room.

Decorative items, incense, and the rustling of the trees in the courtyard.

Is it the Butterfly Mansion...?

Snapped!

What did you drop?

Asuka struggled to look up and saw that Kanzaki Aoi, a twin-tailed girl who was carrying medicine at the door, was staring at her in astonishment.

"Oh my god!! Asuka-sama is awake!! Quick, call Butterfly-neechan!!!"

This exclamation woke up the butterfly house, which was already in the dark.

In an instant, the familiar Butterfly House team members rushed in, checking Asuka's various vital signs.

"Your body temperature is normal!"

"Heartbeat is normal!"

"The bones... My God, they've healed! It's a miracle!"

Seeing their stunned expressions, Asuka could probably guess that it was her unusual recovery speed that had frightened them again.

He endured the dizziness in his head and slowly asked, "What time is it now?"

"Lord Asuka! You've been unconscious for three months!"

Three months! Oh dear....

Asuka thought she must have slept for quite a while, but she didn't expect it to be this long. She felt a little anxious and wanted to get up, but she felt sore all over.

It seems that although that guy healed my wounds, he couldn't get rid of the lingering pain...

boom! !

The door was violently flung open once again, and a figure stumbled in.

No need to go out of your way to see it; you can tell just by looking at these special, fragrant birds.

Shinobu Kocho has arrived.

He trembled as he pulled his hand out from under the covers, raising it high, extending only his little finger:

"As promised, I've returned."

Asuka, mimicking Tanjiro, forced a smile: "I protected everyone, no one died..."

"You idiot!"

Shinobu Kocho, who had a lot to say, laughed in anger when she saw Asuka's disheveled state.

There seemed to be tears glistening in the corners of her smiling eyes.