^ Chapter 22 - Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyōjurō ^
Once their time at the rear of the train came to an end, Tanjirō and Zenitsu walked their flabbergasted mountain-raised friend into the bowels of the train in order to search for the person they were supposed to meet. The whole line itself consisted of thirteen cars not counting the train engine itself, which meant they had quite a fair bit of ground to cover if they were to find the Flame Hashira.
Thankfully most of the passengers onboard the so-called "Infinite Train" were up closer to the front of the train, in the first handful of passenger cars, so they didn't have to spend as much time searching through the rear cars that included the kitchen and dining room cars.
The biggest issue of course was Inosuke, who would either stop and blabber about being within the belly of the beast and how the action was going to start now, or he would gasp and stare in awe over the tiniest little things or details. It was his first time ever on a train, so of course, everything was going to interest him.
Tanjirō even found himself admiring the train from the inside because it was his first time onboard a train as well. Of course he had the prior knowledge of their existence, despite his rural background, to not be in the same state as Inosuke, so he could focus more on trying to assist Zenitsu with their uncultured friend.
"So this Rengoku person we're looking for, he's the Flame Hashira? What does he look like?" asked Zenitsu as they transferred over to the next car in the line, seeing a couple of people in this one. It was more than the previous car, but considering Tanjirō didn't react to any of the people, he wasn't there. "Does he stand out at all?"
"Yeah, quite a lot. He's a guy with flashy yellow and red hair. Thankfully I remember his smell, he should be a few cars up ahead." Tanjirō replied to Zenitsu, the latter nodding.
Keeping Inosuke close at hand they traversed from this car to the next, stepping over the coupling that connected one to the next, and stepped inside through the door right as somebody stepped out of an on-board bathroom and almost ran right into them.
"Ah, we're sorry!" apologized Tanjirō after accidentally bumping into the person. "We're just trying to find a friend of ours!"
"Oh, no worries! Just be more careful from now on, okay?"
The young man placed a hand on Tanjirō's shoulder and gave him a warm smile, the dangling lights of the train car making his short, blonde hair sparkle and glisten. For a guy he was almost like Inosuke with a surprising amount of beauty, and he stood around a foot taller than any of them either.
Tanjirō happened to catch a glance of the man's eyes before they closed during his smile, seeing that they were like the Stone Hashira's in that they were pure white, giving off the appearance that he was blind. Seeing how different he looked, Tanjirō wondered if this man was a tourist visiting Japan, considering his different accent and how dangling from one of his ears was a golden cross earring.
"We will! Again, sorry to disturb you!" responded Tanjirō as he stepped around the man, Zenitsu and Inosuke doing the same, before the three continued on their way.
As they left the man behind, Zenitsu glanced back at him and saw that he was waving at them while they walked away, giving off a kind and friendly demeanor that made Zenitsu do the same thing back to him. After turning his head away when they reached the end of the car and were about to go to the next, his smile faded a little as he looked down at the back of Tanjirō's heels.
Had his ears deceived him? Or did that man they just encountered sound off, compared to the other people that they had passed by before. He had sounded perfectly human, but whenever he spoke it was almost like there was just a tiny little hint of something that didn't quite sit well. What's more is that he even tried to hear the man's inner thoughts, but instead was met with nothing but pure silence. Either that meant he was somehow unable to hear the man's thoughts, or something was preventing him from doing so.
"Hey, Tanjirō?" asked Zenitsu when they made the jump to the next car, Tanjirō stopping when they walked through the doorway.
"Yes, Zenitsu? What's the matter?"
"That guy we walked by, did anything seem off to you about him?"
"Well, I think he's a foreigner that could be visiting Japan, but other than that no...nothing really seemed to be off at all. He actually seemed like a pretty nice guy!"
Zenitsu's concerned look turned to a frown as he looked back at the door and glanced through the windows to the previous car, only to see that the blonde man had disappeared, meaning he had returned to his seat in one of the earlier cars they walked through.
Maybe he was being too paranoid and it was just his cowardice talking. Zenitsu kept his gaze on the window for another few seconds or two before he sighed and shrugged off the strange feeling he had just in time for both him and Tanjirō to jump when they heard a loud and boisterous exclamation come from the front row of seats in the train car.
"Tasty! This food can even rival that of back at headquarters!" the voice said, Tanjirō's eyes looking straight ahead and spotting a head of wide yellow hair sticking up over one of the seats.
He motioned to Zenitsu while pointing at the head of hair and they left Inosuke for the time being in order to approach the person. Once they stopped right next to him, they found that the hair certainly belonged to the man they were going to meet up with, the confident and boisterous Flame Hashira himself.
Zenitsu was actually a little put off by the man's appearance, with his flame-like hair and the way his eyes almost looked as if they were glowing thanks to their yellow color with red pupils and bright white irises. His large, forked eyebrows that contrasted heavily with his eyes and hair due to them being black were highly expressive of his emotions as he chowed down on the food provided by the train staff. From the stack of other boxes next to his chair they could count five in total, which meant his was on his sixth overall, and showed no signs of slowing down.
"Uh...this guy's the Flame Hashira…?" Zenitsu whispered into Tanjirō's ear with a hand hiding his mouth. "Like, for real?"
"Yup...he is, trust me." Tanjirō replied with a slightly awkward chuckle.
"But he's acting like a total glutton…"
Tanjirō frowned a tiny bit and rubbed the back of his neck slightly before taking a step forward so he would be within Kyōjurō's peripherals before raising a hand to try and catch his attention. The Flame Hashira only continued to indulge himself upon the train's food, making loud munching noises while exclaiming again how delicious it was and grunting nasally. Tanjirō blinked and frowned a tiny bit more as he awkwardly adjusted his fox mask hanging on the right side of his head slightly to a more comfortable position, before Zenitsu nudged him a bit forward impatiently.
"U-Uh…" uttered Tanjirō as he rubbed his right arm. "Rengoku-san, we're-"
"Aha! I was waiting for you to say something, Kamado-san! Welcome!" exclaimed Kyōjurō boisterously, practically making Tanjirō leap right out of his skin. The Flame Hashira gave him a wide, confident smile as he finished his sixth meal and set the box down on top of the stack next to him before crossing his arms over and glancing back at his companions. "You must all be the reinforcements from Headquarters. Come, take a seat, relax yourselves for a few!"
"Ah, thank you, Rengoku-san!" replied Tanjirō as he quickly walked around the Hashira and slipped off Nezuko's box in order to take the vacant seat next to him.
Zenitsu and Inosuke took the seats across the aisle from them, with the latter quickly plastering his face against the window to watch the landscape blow by them outside, much to the chagrin of Zenitsu as he rolled his eyes and grumbled a little to himself.
A couple of maids came around to collect any trash from the passengers in that car, and once they got to Kyōjurō's stack they were left stricken for a few moments because they weren't sure if they were going to be able to fit all of the food boxes in their trash bag. They resorted to carrying them out on their own, something that made Kyōjurō laugh a little to himself and apologize to them as they left before he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
"So, Kamado-san, I will say that I'm fairly surprised to see you here. Not that's a bad thing of course, I remember how eager you were the last time we met to prove yourself, so what better way to do so than in front of one of the Hashira themselves!" said Kyōjurō with another laugh and a grin, his enthusiasm and apparent ignorance of how he had been one of the Hashira that supported him being punished severely. He even wanted to ask Kyōjurō about that, and if his opinion had changed at all since then, but he was unsure how he could even approach that topic. "I see something's on your mind, my boy. Is something the matter?"
"A-Ah! Well, actually yes, there is something I'd like to ask you, Rengoku-san. Do you know anything about the Hinokami Kagura?"
"Hinokami Kagura, hm? This is the first time I'm hearing of this...what exactly is this technique?"
Tanjirō made sure Nezuko's box was placed securely against the open seats across from their seat before he began explaining to the Flame Hashira what the dance his father would perform was, including a fairly detailed description of it from his memories, thanks to all the times he watched it be performed.
Kyōjurō, despite his original propensity for outbursts during the meeting where Tanjirō had been introduced to the Hashira, listened attentively to the younger slayer's story until he was done, waiting silently for his response. The Flame Hashira lifted a hand up and stroked the bottom of his chin a few times before nodding his head and grunting.
"Hmn! Like i said, I've never heard of this dance your father performed, but I'm quite delighted that you were able to apply it in the middle of a fight!" he said, his confident grin widening a little as he clapped Tanjirō on the shoulder. "It interests me even further that because of it, you were even able to manifest actual flames while being a Water breathing user!"
"That's the weird part...it's why I thought that there was such a thing as 'Fire Breathing', but Shinobu-san told me that there is no such thing, only Flame Breathing."
"That's correct! Flame Breathing is to never be referred to as Fire Breathing, not even once!"
"Like I thought...now I'm even more confused…"
Tanjirō rested his hands in his lap and looked down at them, sighing dejected at his failure to figure out the truth behind that technique he had used against Rui. It had all felt so natural to him, with even the name seemingly coming to him like he had known it all his life.
What was so special about it, when it was but a simple dance that his father would perform to bring good fortune to their family every new year? He'd given it some thought since then, and he's even tried replicating the same move with limited success. All of it had happened with sheer instinct in the heat of battle, so without being pressed into that same situation, he was unsure if he'd be able to recreate the same results.
Plus his thoughts of Kyōjurō were still preventing him from opening up fully to the Hashira, since he wasn't sure if being in the same room as the eccentric slayer was allowed because of the hostility he had shown him before. Kyōjurō did seem like a good person, and Tanjirō could back that up with his sense of smell, but that didn't mean he was included in the list of people the Flame Hashira was nice to.
"There's something else that's bothering you, isn't there? Is it something to do with the way our prior meeting was at Oyakata-sama's estate?" questioned Kyōjurō intuitively just from reading Tanjirō's body language while sitting next to him. His question was practically answered when it made him stiffen up lightly and hold his hands a little tighter together. "I see...so it is that. You have no reason to be worried, my boy."
"Huh? I don't…?" Tanjirō blinked and raised his head up, staring at him with a surprised reaction on his face.
"While it's true I supported your execution, that was part of my own initial reaction. Seeing you hold yourself back in such a manner against Shinazugawa, and then make that proclamation to kill Kibutsuji, well, it actually got me rather fired up!" stated Kyōjurō with a laugh, his right hand lifting off his arm and giving him a thumbs up. "Your determination reminds me of myself, even! Plus, Kochō-san and I are rather acquainted with one another, so when I heard you had begun training there at her home, I was interested enough to request some progress reports over the few months you spent there."
"You did? So you know about my conditioning to master Total Concentration - Constant? Everything?"
"Exactly! I also know of the color of your blade as well. I myself have never witnessed a swordsman with a black blade become a Hashira, so to see one do so would be something extraordinary!"
As they talked with one another, Zenitsu was watching them from his seat as Inosuke kept excitedly looking outside the window and grunting a little to himself every so often when a tree flew by the window in the blink of an eye. He thought the Flame Hashira was a bit on the eccentric side, considering the way he talked and how he always had a sort of wide-eyed appearance with a confident smile.
Inosuke on the other hand finally noticed the latch that could be pulled on to open the window he had his face pressed against, so he started to jiggle it in order to try and allow himself to stick his head out and feel the wind rushing past. Eventually he got it open and he threw his head out, letting out a whooping yell of excitement from the force of air getting thrown against his upper torso and head as the train kept surging along the train tracks towards its destination.
"Uwhooooaaaa! Wow it's so faaast! Hahaha!" he exclaimed, Zenitsu whirling his head around and screeching at him about how dangerous it was to stick his head out of the moving train. "I want to get out and race this beast! I want to prove I'm faster!"
"There's limits to idiocy, moron! Now get back inside!"
Kyōjurō and Tanjirō paused their conversation to see what the ruckus was about, the two of them laughing together from Zenitsu tugging on Inosuke as hard as he could by his fur pelt to try and get him back inside the train.
"As I was saying, swordsmen who can use flames and water have become Hashira in every age that I've known of, without any exceptions. I'm sure you know the basic breaths are Flame, Water, Wind, Rock, and Thunder. Did you know, however, that the other breaths branch out from those?"
"Really? So Shinobu-san's Insect Breathing comes from one of the original five?" asked Tanjirō, with Kyōjurō nodding his head to confirm. "Which one does it come from?"
"Kochō-san's Insect Breathing is in fact a branch of Flower Breathing, which itself is a branch of the breathing style that you utilize, my boy."
"Insect Breathing's a derivative of Water Breathing?!" Tanjirō gasped.
"Hmn! Exactly!"
Tanjirō was surprised to say the least after finding out that the styles he and Shinobu used were actually related to one another, and after some quick thinking he realized himself that the Flame Hashira spoke the truth. He recalled how similar and fluent Shinobu's skills had been when they sparred together, which made perfect sense to him now.
"But Rengoku-san, I still have to ask...do you really want me to become your Tsuguko? I mean...I'm a demon..."
"That may be true, my boy, but with the work ethic I've heard about you and the determination you showed in the face of all nine Hashira, including myself, if you keep yourself devoted like that, then I see no issue! I'd gladly have you as my Tsuguko!"
Tanjirō's eyes widened as he felt and smelled the emotion of sincerity practically surging out from Kyōjurō, so much that it actually made him forget those doubts about if the Hashira was going to accept him or not. He was sure that he may still have some reservations, but nowhere near as many as when they had first met during the Hashira's trial.
Kyōjurō smiled and laughed a little while patting him on the shoulder, which in turn made Tanjirō smile and laugh with him. Of course, their little moment of connection didn't last very long because they were there on official business, so after finishing he turned to Zenitsu and Inosuke, and exclaimed to them that they had to focus because a demon is going to appear shortly.
"Eh?" murmured Zenitsu as he turned his head, glancing back at him with wide eyes. Even Inosuke had frozen up, his fingers tightening around the window ledge. "You're kidding! A demon's gonna appear on this train?!"
"Mmn! Exactly!"
"One will?! Noooooo! We're not going to a place with demons, we're waiting for one to appeaaaar?! Nooo!"
Zenitsu tried to scramble out of his seat in order to make an escape but one quick grab from Inosuke, who had pulled himself out from the window and closed it, was enough to hold him down and prevent him from running.
"During these last few months, more than forty people have disappeared on this train! We've sent a number of slayers here, but none of them ever reported back." explained Kyōjurō as he crossed one of his legs over the other. Tanjirō noticed that, unlike other slayers he encountered, including Murata, the Hashira was exhibiting an exceptionally calm peace of mind despite the threat of a demon attack looming over head. Perhaps that's another reason why Kyōjurō, Shinobu, Giyū, and other Hashira like them were in the positions they were in. "So that's why the Corps have decided to place me here as a Hashira! Mmn!"
"Eeyyaaagh, I see! I'm totally getting off then!"
Before the comical incident could continue, slow-walking footsteps slowly approached them from down the aisle, drawing Tanjirō's attention to a man in a dark blue button up uniform and a cap on his head with a gold band around it.
He had his head lowered as he took paper tickets from each person in their car, punching a hole in them with the metal hole-puncher in his hand, before giving them back and moving on to the next. As he got closer to them, Tanjirō's intrigued look turned to one of knowing impending danger as an invisible red cloud of stench passed in front of his nose. Something bad was going to happen, the demon was going to appear.
As the man reached for Kyōjurō's ticket, he lifted his head up slightly to reveal his tired, baggy eyes and his pronounced cheekbones. He then murmured quietly to the Hashira about having seen something, a cue that immediately made Kyōjurō stand up, his flame-designed white haori fluttering behind him.
"Conductor! It's about to get dangerous here, so please stand down for the time being. I'll give you my ticket afterwards, I promise!" said Kyōjurō with a confident grin as stepped by the Conductor, pulling out his sword from behind his back. Tanjirō stood up on his knees and caught a glimpse of Kyōjurō's sword as he then switched it over to his left hand side, showing himself to be right hand dominant. "It's an emergency, sir. So I would prefer if you don't ask me why I have a sword!"
Kyōjurō then gripped his sword scabbard tightly while striding towards the back of the car, his haori sweeping behind him with each confident step he took. Zenitsu and Tanjirō looked at one another, then they looked at Inosuke, before the three slayers then scrambled out of their own seats and followed the Hashira as he went to the next car and kicked open the door with his foot after stepping over the gap between cars.
Just beyond the entrance were the passengers of that car, where all of them were huddled in a corner with terrified expressions on their faces because of the demon that was kneeling down at the other end of the aisle. The monster had veins bulging out of his muscular arms and had several protruding horns coming out of his bald head, where looking closer all of them could see there were two mismatched faces taking residence on the demon's head. Zenitsu felt a shiver go up and down his spine at the demon's appearance, but that was soon pushed aside as an overwhelmingly strong and warm aura of conviction came from Kyōjurō as he took one step forward towards the beast.
"Haha, so that's where you were, big guy! It was difficult, trying to find you on this train, but here you are, baring your fangs at sinless innocents." Kyōjurō spoke as his eyes widened a little as more of his flame-like aura seeped out of his body, literally causing his haori to flap behind him and make his hair appear as if it were actual fire itself. The three younger slayers were instantly amazed at the fiery confidence and spirit the Hashira was exhibiting, which was a drastic contrast to Shinobu or Giyū, who fought with beautiful grace and unnerving calm, respectfully. "If you so dare as lung at any one of these people, the red hot flaming sword of Rengoku will scorch you down to the bone!"
As if reacting to his will to protect, the demon's blood lust surged through the roof as he roared from both of its mouths before charging right at Kyōjurō and the cowering passengers. Some of the women screamed at the sight, but before the demons could get anywhere near them, Kyōjurō was right on top of him in an instant, his blade drawn and glistening with flames.
"Honō no kokyū, Ichi no kata: Shiranui!" proclaimed Kyōjurō as with one blinding fast sword stroke, he beheaded the demon in an instant,his dash leaving a blazing trail of flames that left no marks or scratches on the wooden floor of the train car.
The demon's head was lopped clean off and it landed harmlessly a few feet away, the hulking body of the creature collapsing chest forward onto the ground, the threat it posed to the passengers now gone.
As Kyōjurō then sheathed his sword, his warm smile returning with the death of the demon, it's body beginning to slowly disintegrate, the passengers recognized their lives had been saved by this strange swordsman and began to clap for him. He chuckled as he walked back over to Tanjirō, Zenitsu and Inosuke, who were all gazing up at the young man with shock and awe expressions.
"That was awesome, Aniki! That swordsmanship was amazing, and the flames looked incredible!" said Tanjirō ecstatically, his inner fanboy showing itself at the impressive display of skill that he was just witness to. "I really do want to become your student now! Please take me as your Tsuguko!"
"Mmn! Sure thing! I'll make you into a fine swordsman!" proclaimed Kyōjurō with an affirmative nod, before Zenitsu and Inosuke swarmed him at the same time and asked if they could become his Tsuguko as well. Kyōjurō laughed and agreed to take all of them on with a fiery passion in his eyes, the three slayers cheering and calling him "Aniki" again. "Aniki, huh? I wouldn't mind having a few more brothers around, and neither would Senjurō I hope!"
When the commotion had died down and the slayers had returned to their seats and had their tickets punched by the Conductor, all four of them had ended up drifting off into a peaceful sleep in their seats. Inosuke laid strewn across their seats, with his waist and legs flung over Zenitsu's lap and a hand resting on his abdomen while the other hung off the edge.
Tanjirō and Kyōjurō on the other hand were sleeping in a more peaceful position, with the latter having his feet kicked out a little and his arms crossed loosely over his stomach. Tanjirō was only resting his hands on his thighs, and in his slumber had leaned up against the Flame Hashira, his head resting on his shoulder in a way that did paint them as siblings.
Unbeknownst to any of them, as well as the other passengers aboard the train, a dark and insidious presence had worked its way into the walls, the floors, and the very train engine itself without their knowledge. At the front of the engine, standing atop the train itself with his hair fluttering in the wind, the newly enhanced Lower Moon One glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the train behind him with a slightly tranquil smile on his face.
Having managed to acclimate to Muzan's blood after he had received it, veins were now bulging out from his cheeks close to his ears and from his forehead, the power it gave him coursing through his veins unlike anything he had before. His plan was nearing fruition, all it required was the necessary tools to put it into play.
"Truly...being able to die while dreaming is such a blessing…" he murmured softly to himself as he closed his eyes, connecting himself to a detached hand that was currently meeting with the Conductor in the front-most car of the train right behind the engine.
The hand was bulging with veins around the wrist with a single eye protruding from the cranny between the thumb and index finger, with a mouth to its left taking the place of its knuckles. Each of its five fingers operated as legs and feet for the hand, allowing it to balance itself and walk around like a little grotesque spider.
"I did as I was told...I punched their tickets and put them to sleep. Please put me to quickly, please…" pleaded the Conductor with tears running down his cheeks as he prostrated himself before the hand, the mouth's lips curling upwards into a malicious grin. "Please...let me meet my dead wife and daughter...it's all I ask…"
"Sure, sure...you did a fantastic job…now sleep, and have a good dream where you can meet your family." spoke the hand in a sweet voice, several kanji for 'Dream" appearing on some of the fingers as a black orb of energy expanded out from the mouth and struck the Conductor's body.
With a light gasp and wide eyes, his body then collapsed onto his right arm and slumped over as sleep took him off into his dreams. A quiet voice came from behind the hand, its eye glancing back and staring at a group of four children and young adults kneeling behind it. They all had tired, baggy eyes as well, due to suffering from insomnia.
"Just wait here and you'll get sleepier very soon. The sharp witted Demon Slayers might wake up because they can sense a demon's thirst for blood. Be careful not to touch their bodies, then once you're close, you fasten the cord like I instructed you how to do." explained the hand, its lips still curled up in that devilish smile. To the kids wanting to sleep and experience dreams for the very same reason the Conductor did, they hardly cared about the "why" of the situation they were in. All that mattered to them was the hope that they too will be able to go to sleep soon. "I cannot move from the locomotive for a while. Just do your best until everything is prepared...and if you succeed, I'll give all of you wonderful dreams, as promised."
"Okay…" the two boys and two girls replied as one, before they stood up and left the train car in search of their targets.
The hand then laughed to itself before dissipating into purple specks of dust as the main body laughed to itself aboard the main engine. Lower Moon One looked up to the starry night sky as some late night fog began to set in around them, his joy rising with each passing moment as his plan came closer and closer to becoming reality.
"It doesn't matter how strong the Demon Slayers are...the driving force of human beings is the heart. Their soul...if I can destroy that, their spiritual core, they'll be nothing more than living corpses...easily able to be devoured by me." he said in an almost singsong tone as he held his hands out to the side as if he were the conductor of a huge stage performance, where the world was his audience. "All human hearts are the same. They're brittle and weak, as if they're made of glass! Hahaha~!"
Lower Moon One spun around once on his right heels, the tail of his coat twirling around with him through the wind before he returned to looking out over the front of the engine. The cool night's air blew by him as the train kept going along it's path towards their next location, where if all went according to plan, he would have the opportunity to include even more passengers and give them wonderful dreams as well before their ultimate demise.
His hunger was beginning to grow in the pit of his stomach, but he had to remain vigilant until everything was in place right where it should be. One thing couldn't happen too early or too late, it all had to be perfect.
"Have a nice sleep...forget how to breath...so the demons will reap...your bellies from underneath…~" sung Lower Moon One to the night sky, laughing to himself cheerfully as he felt every single dream that was occurring aboard his train as more veins emerged from underneath his collared shirt around his neck. "They're all having wonderful, happy dreams...I'm almost jealous of them~ They're sleeping so deeply...that they have no chance of waking up anymore."
The train's wheels clattered audibly over the train tracks as it continued on its journey, the passengers still fast asleep as a result of the tickets they had punched, which left them completely unaware as to what was going on. As they slept, each and every one of them was experiencing their own unique and vivid dream, all of them purposefully catered and designed to be what they'd want to dream about.
Inosuke's dream involved him and his friends, who had been turned into animal versions of themselves, exploring caves as part of a self-named Cave Exploring Brigade. Zenitsu was happily dreaming with a slightly lewd expression of a date that he was on with Nezuko back in the fields of peach trees that surrounded the home of his curator.
While theirs were happier and more free-spirited, for Kyōjurō and Tanjirō, their dreams were similar in that it brought them back both to their homes, but different in what was going on within each of them.
Kyōjurō's eyebrows furrowed slightly and his fingers unconsciously dug a tiny bit more into the crooks of his arms while sleeping, his mouth turning into a slight frown. Inside of his dream, he was sitting down within his father's room back within their family home that was part of the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, a bright smile on his face. He was there to tell him that he had managed to follow in his father's footsteps and became the next new Flame Hashira for the Corps, one of the most prestigious positions and titles that the organization can offer to a slayer of extraordinary capability. Once he told him the news, however, his father reacted in a manner that was completely opposite of what he was expecting.
"So what if you became a pillar...it's pointless. None of it matters." he muttered while laying down on his side, back facing his own son. "We won't ever become great people anyways, you and I."
Kyōjurō was left with an expression of true surprise to those kind of words that came out of his father's mouth, and in silence he picked himself up and excused himself quietly from the room. As he walked away from the door, he happened to run into his younger brother who, like their father and Kyōjurō himself, shared the same characteristics they all had in the large forked eyebrows, flame like hair, and wide-eyed expressions.
"Oh, Onii-san." said Kyōjurō's little brother as he approached him, a hopeful smile on his face. "Was Otō-san happy about the news? Maybe when I become a Hashira, he'll acknowledge me too…"
Kyōjurō didn't say anything at first to his younger brother, his lips closing and his expression softening as his father's words echoed in his mind again. Long ago, the dad he and his brother knew was a far different person. Their father had become the Flame Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps before Kyōjurō, and he was so full of passion and life that just being around him was enough to catch some of his confidence. It was contagious, which made him one of the most valuable Hashira among his generation.
All of that would change when one day, he suddenly just gave up on being a slayer and stopped training his sons in Flame Breathing. It had been up to Kyōjurō to learn what he could from the writings of their ancestors, and even then, he had been unsuccessful in mastering four of the forms that Flame Breathing offered its users. Thanks to his unwavering dedication, however, he had been able to turn this weakness into a strength by making the five forms he had successfully learned even stronger than what they should, which had allowed him to become the current Flame Hashira.
"He was a man who raised us so passionately...but why did he just give up like that...even when I mull over it, I just think it was inevitable. And poor Senjurō is an even sadder situation," Kyōjurō thought as he slowly kneeled down in front of his brother, who looked at him with a slightly worried expression. Was something wrong? Had their father gone and gotten himself drunk again? "He pretty much doesn't have any memories of our mother, who passed away from sickness before he was old enough to remember her, and now our father is in this situation."
Kyōjurō looked into his brother's eyes and then placed a hand gently on his shoulder, giving him a warm and caring smile while squeezing his shoulder a little.
"I'll be honest, Senjurō...Otō-san isn't happy. He said it was pointless, actually…" Kyōjurō said, his brother's concerned expression turning to one of sadness at the news. "But have no fear! My passion won't falter or die because of that! The flames in my heart will never disappear! I'll never be disheartened!"
Senjurō then watched as his older brother brought his arms down and held his hands and wrists, his smile widening while his head tipped a little to the side, his eyes never leaving Senjurō's.
"No matter what path you take, I know, from the bottom of my heart, that you'll be an absolutely wonderful person! With the same burning passion in your heart! And always remember, you have an older brother right here who believes in you with all his heart, so if you find yourself unable to believe in yourself, believe in me! Believe in the me who believes in you! Hmn!"
A human Tanjirō stood there in between several snowy trees with his warm, vapory breath escaping his lips as he looked out ahead of him in utter disbelief and shock. He was back in his old clothes with his same checkered haori, his charcoal carrying basket strung over his shoulders, and his favorite scarf wrapped lovingly around his neck in the same fashion his mother would wrap it.
He had returned from town to sell the charcoal he would mine for their family to make a living, and up ahead he could see two of his siblings standing outside with a basket of fruits walking towards their home before they turned upon hearing his footsteps a few moments earlier.
Shigeru and Hanako, his youngest sister and second youngest brother, noticed him and they both waved and called out to their oldest brother. With tears of joy emerging from his eyes he ran towards them and collapsed to his knees as he hugged them both as tightly as he could, crying into both of them. His hands gripped the backs of their clothes as he continued to cry and sob while apologizing profusely over and over again, his memories of their deaths occurring over and over in his mind while they looked at him with shocked and confused gazes.
After crying his eyes out, he let go of his siblings and he was walked back into his house where the rest of his family, including his mother Kie, was busy putting away some of their freshly washed clothes. They told her about Tanjirō's crying outburst and it shocked her at first because she thought that something terrible had happened, but after she thought about it some more she wasn't as worried as she was initially.
"Well, you might just be tired Tanjirō. Just rest today and don't push yourself too hard for us, okay?" she told him gently after inspecting her son, Tanjirō's cheeks turning red from her hand being on the left side of his face.
"Y-Yes, I'll be fine...I think it was maybe just some kind of...bad dream. Yeah, that's it! A bad dream!"
Meanwhile, at the very back of the train, where nobody had taken up seats for the trip, one person was sitting alone in his very own seat with his legs crossed over and his foot bobbing up and down to a tune he was humming. It was the blonde man from earlier with the beautiful face and cheery disposition, his one earring swaying side to side as he moved his head to his own beat.
As of right now, he was the only person still awake aboard the train aside from the enlisted help that Lower Moon One had going towards the Demon Slayers, but it wasn't like the demon knew he was there. Not a single person, not even the slayers, could detect him at this point because he wasn't even a person at all. He was an angel, a pure being devoid of any detectable impurities unlike the demons and humans who populated this country.
The reason why he was so happy was because he had met his target earlier after he had bumped into him by chance, the young slayer with the hanafuda earrings. One look at his eyes was enough to tell him that what Father had said about him was true, that he in fact was a demon, which was going to make purifying him all the more sweeter.
"Kukuku, to think I would have managed to find him here, of all places...I was planning on killing that supposed Lower Moon for fun and blaming his death on the Hashira, before devouring him and his delicious looking sword, but now that he's here, that changes everything!" he exclaimed as he stood up from his seat and lowered himself onto his knees, bowing his head and pressing his palms together in front of his face in prayer. "Thank you so much for this, o' gracious, glorious God! Your humble servant will do thy bidding, and purify those who are impure so that they too may experience your promised salvation!"
The man finished his silent prayer and ended it with an audible amen before he stood back up to his feet and sighed happily, his white eyes opening up and looking straight up at the roof of the car before he twirled around again once he heard some footstep approach from behind him. A second demon that had been allowed to roam on the train in order to draw suspicion away from the real mastermind, had wondered its way to the rear car of the train and stumbled upon the man. It figured that this beautiful young man was going to be its next meal, so it licked its lips as it hunkered down on all fours and slowly approached the man.
"Oh, oh dear me! You poor, ugly, bastardized creature! Just look at how sad and pitiful you are!" exclaimed the man with a gasp, his hand covering his mouth in shock. "Did you come all this way to my car in order to seek your salvation? Oh, today is certainly the most joyous of days!"
The demon snarled and then leapt at the man, completely intending to bite down into him and feast on his flesh before moving on to the rest of the train until it was told not to. It only got as far as a few feet before its body was simultaneously impaled and butchered by a flurry of foot-long razor sharp metal feathers that had been flung out of one of the man's large white sleeves when his travel clothes had morphed into black ooze and turned into his priestly wear.
A blood-curdling shriek filled the car when the demon fell onto its back and began to writhe in agony from the metal feathers, the man joyfully approaching and looking down at the demon with a pure smile on his face.
"Cry no more, disgusting creature! I promise to send you off towards your salvation soon!" said the man happily before his eyes widened a little and his mouth opened a little more as his teeth then grew into razor sharp fangs.
His eyes, sclera and all, then turned pitch black and his mouth widened out considerably, stretching ear to ear, his teeth becoming even more pronounced as the true horrors of what was hidden behind his pure smile were revealed. The angelic and sweet-natured appearance of the man was replaced by something that could only be described as monstrous, which was enough to make even the demon be left completely paralyzed in terror. Grotesque and horrific, the man then lunged at the predator turned prey with a wicked cackle that could curdle the blood of even the strongest of men.
In a brutally efficient and gruesome fashion, the demon was brutally ripped to pieces and devoured by the creature who had appeared so welcoming just a couple of minutes prior to his transformation. Blood was splattered all over the floor, walls, and roof of the train car, with bits and pieces of the demon's flesh ending up draped over the seats. Throughout its own dismemberment, the demon yelled and squealed like a dying puppy until its shrieks of terror couldn't be heard any more, when the man had fully devoured his meal and began to return to normal.
"O' God, please bless this miserable creature who I've just sent to be in your care...grant it the salvation it so graciously deserves for all of its suffering…" murmured the man once his human features were restored, his hands coming together for another prayer. "Please continue to bless Father and all of your children with your divine wisdom and strength, fill our bodies with the will and courage to act in your name, as we always have, so that your dream of salvation for all can come true...so asks one of your loyal and faithful Seraphim, in your name and grace, Amen."
The man concluded his pray and opened his eyes, smiling happily and whistling to himself as he once again took his seat, his body from the neck and below turning pitch black as his priestly robes returned to their amorphous, black ooze-like form in order to transform back into the normal traveler's clothes he had on previously.
Regardless of the stench of blood and violent murder filling up the car, the man wasn't bothered by it at all, and was actually made even happier by it as he inhaled deeply through his nose and sighed.
"Haaaaa...the scent of a purified sinner's blood...it truly ignites my heart and soul! I can only hope that I too can grant salvation to the Hashira that the mutt spoke about! To have their bodies purged of their impurities, eloquently splattered all over the ground, ahh! It excites me to no end, kukuku!"
A/N o-0 Well, that just happened. Stranger danger, STRANGER DANGER! (I am having a great time writing with this guy, by the way. :D Anyways, here we are, start of part two! Whoop! Kicking it off with a good start here, especially by bumping the word count of the chapter back to what it should be!
With this chapter we've also officially crossed the threshold of 200k words! Yeah! Round of applause boys! And girls...boys and girls? Would be sweet if there were girls reading this! I love everybody here, you know? XD If I wasn't so GD broke I would have bought myself a Shinobu figure or plush for my desk right now but I can't ;-; Someday though I will!
To those of you who appreciated my previous Author's Note, I was just wanting to make it clear how awesome you guys are. Your appreciation and kind words are much appreciated, but you just giving my story your time is enough for me, ya'll are too kind - I wish I can respond to all of you Guest reviewers too, because I try to respond to every review I get, eheh.
Regardless! Let's get this rolling! Leave a fav, follow, and a review telling me what you thought of this chapter, especially my portrayal of Best Flame Aniki and psycho angel guy :p Also if you're able to catch the reference I put into Rengoku's last line, you'll make me smile! :D
See you in the next chapter! :D
Translation(s):
Honō no kokyū, Ichi no kata: Shiranui
- Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire