The Dying Flame Lights Many More

Hello everyone and welcome to the newest chapter of Breath of the Rifleman! First off, thanks to everyone who gave their vote on Mukago's fate and it shall be expanded upon in the coming chapters. And of course a quick shout out to groche9655, LoneTaker, Noble Eight and all my other readers who've contributed to making this story better! And to DCDGojira: I most certainly will. When I start writing 'em again I'll leave an announcement in my AU's for other stories. Now then, onto the chapter!

Before Sunrise: Wreckage of the Mugen Train

There were times, rare but still times, that Subaru actually hated having such good eyesight. While everyone else probably had to squint and strain their eyes to get an idea of what was happening, Subaru could see it all in relatively clear detail. The Flame Pillar and Upper Moon Three had clashed with two exceptionally powerful techniques which seemed to shake the ground and kicked up a mass of dust. The result, Rengoku succeeded in making a massive cut in Akaza's shoulder and arm, nearly slicing everything from his left shoulder downward off.

Despite the ferocity of the Flame Pillar's technique, however, Upper Moon Three had been just a bit stronger, faster, or more precise with his blow and had succeeded in plunging his arm straight through Rengoku's chest. And all of that was on top of the injuries the Hashira had already sustained during the melee such as a wounded left eye, some broken ribs and now a wounded organ or two. By all accounts, Rengoku should be dead or dying. Akaza certainly thought so as he spoke up. "You're gonna die now, Kyoujurou!" he exclaimed, "So tell me you want to become a demon! You are one of the chosen strong ones, so let me hear you say you want to become a demon!"

Silence reigned for a moment as Rengoku was either pondering his words or wasn't able to answer due to his injuries. Then, all of Subaru's regrets about his good eyesight were forgotten as the Flame Pillar held his sword up with an iron grip and swung it into the demon's neck with a force that belied his wounds and began applying immense pressure to push the blade through his flesh. The very clearly surprised Akaza took a moment to react to the situation, throwing a desperate punch towards Rengoku's face, who promptly managed to catch it with his left hand and held it in a death grip. It became a struggle of will then as Rengoku kept trying to drive his sword further into Akaza's neck while the Upper Moon tried to pull himself away from the Hashira's grip.

"Subaru, Inosuke!" Yelled Tanjiro, being the first to break out of his stupor from witnessing the sight before them. "You two help me out. We need to cut the demon's head off now! Zenitsu, get Nezuko back to her box before the sun comes up!" A collection of affirmatives answered Tanjiro's call as Subaru moved onto the next car to find a better vantage point while the other two charged into the fray.

As the Matagi was about to set up, he noticed the crate he was going to use had split open, revealing a very convenient weapon inside. "I really need to thank that Shinobi more often," commented Subaru as he set his current rifle aside and pulled out the familiar scoped Enfield he'd used back in Asakuza. Izayoi had mentioned stashing a number of weapons for discrete travel and use aboard the Mugen Train, but Subaru hadn't thought to use them for anything short of an emergency. And now that he thought about it, while checking to make sure the ammunition was wisteria-laced this time, the current situation most certainly qualified as an emergency.

It took but another couple of moments for the Rifleman to mount the Enfield on the ruined crate and find the demon in his scope. Tanjiro and Inosuke were also close, with the Boar Fighter managing to take the lead as he attempted one of his attacks, Breath of the Beast First Fang: Pierce and Extract! His aim was true, but as his blades approached their target the ground seemed to explode with Akaza jumping clear of all three of them. It was not without taking a bit of damage, however.

In order to escape, Akaza had lost most of his right arm and his left hand past his wrist. He also still had most of Rengoku's now snapped blade in his neck. Whatever his next move was going to be, Subaru wouldn't let him have it as he slowed his breath, aimed and fired. The Upper Moon must've been distracted by the rising sun as he didn't anticipate the round hitting him in the leg.

'Now what the fuck am I dealing with?' Thought Akaza as he moved to dodge the next round, his eyes roaming the train wreck in search of the source. He spotted it with the next muzzle flash as he moved his head just in time for a round to graze his cheek. 'I could launch an attack from a distance while I'm moving. Then at least one of those pesky…well now, that's a little interesting.' There was something strange about the shooter's aura.

His musings would have to wait, however, as he picked up the pace and sped into the nearby forest, very conscious of the fact that the sun was coming up. He was fortunately able to pull the blade of the Flame Pillar out of his throat when his arm grew back, but the fight had dulled his senses a bit. Between that and his slight panic to get away, he didn't notice the sword that came flying out of nowhere and impaled itself in his chest. Looking back, he saw the source of his current pain, the boy with Hanafuda earrings.

"DON'T YOU RUN AWAY YOU COWARD!" Tanjiro yelled as loud as he could while trying to give chase after recovering from Akaza's explosive escape. "DON'T YOU DARE RUUUUUNNN!" He collapsed to his knees then, his strength spent from all the fighting. "Rengoku won, you hear me! He protected everyone and fought to the very end! That's why he'll always be more amazing than you, you coward!"

Subaru could do little more than watch and grip the stock of the Enfield with enough force to turn his knuckles white until he finally let out a breath to calm himself. 'I can't see the demon anymore,' he thought irritably, 'the bastard got away.' The hunter slung the rifle over his right shoulder while also grabbing his Winchester and proceeded slowly over to where Rengoku and the others were gathered. Tanjiro had gotten there just before him and seated himself in front of the Hashira while Inosuke stood close by. Subaru did likewise as he caught onto the fact that he was about to hear the man's last words.

"I remembered some things when I saw the dreams of my past," said Rengoku as he sat cross-legged on the ground. "You should try to go to the Rengoku household, my parent's house. You should find some notes there which were left behind by the flame pillars of old. My father read them often, but I was never able too so I can't tell you what they say. But a chance exists that this 'Hinokami Kagura' you were talking about is recorded in there."

"R-Rengoku," said Tanjiro as tears fell from his eyes, "please don't say anymore, you need to conserve your strength. Isn't there any way to stop the bleeding or plug the wound?"

"Not one of that size," said Subaru, easily recognizing the damage caused by such a punturce wound, "his solar plexus was hit and by the looks of it, he's bleeding internally. Unless there's some highlevel recovery breath known only to Hashiras, he won't last long." Tanjiro was about to whip his head around and scold Subaru for being negative but was stopped by Rengoku speaking up.

"There is no recovery breath for something like this," said the Flame Pillar, "and your friend is right, Tanjiro, I will die soon. So, until that moment comes I want to tell you as much as I can. Tell my little brother, Senjurou, to proceed down the path that his heart tells him is right. Tell my father, to take care of his body and also, Kamado my boy. I believe in your sister and I accept her as a demon slayer. I happened to catch several glimpses of her both on and off the train, protecting humans despite her bleeding out and fighting alongside other slayers. Those who risk their lives to protect humans from demons are demon slayers, no matter what anyone else tries to say."

He had to stop and take a ragged breath for a moment before continuing. "Live with your heads held high. If you get knocked down by your own weakness or cowardice, enflame your heart, grit your teeth and keep moving forward. You can't stop the flow of time by cowering in your tracks and don't be saddened by the fact that we're all reaching the end."

"And don't worry about me dying here. As a Pillar it's only natural that we become the shield of our juniors. You'd do the same thing if you were a pillar, because you know that young buds can't be plucked. So Kamado, Inogashira, Genjirou and even golden boy, you all have a lot more room to grow and in time you too can become pillars that will support the demon slayers. I believe in all of you."

His eyes closed then as a smile crossed his face, satisfied with what he was able to accomplish in life. The three slayers simply bowed their heads as tears flowed from each of them to one degree or another. Zenitsu arrived shortly after that with Nezuko's box on his back. "The good news is that the passengers only got minor injuries," said the blond slayer, "Rengoku used a bunch of techniques to minimize the damage when it derailed so-oh. Is he?"

"Y-Yeah," Tanjiro managed to answer, rather quietly.

"So an Upper Moon really was here," said Zenitsu in disbelief, "but why was he here in the first place, and was he really that strong?"

"He was," said Subaru, "but he ran. It might be difficult, but it looks like even Upper Moons bleed. And if they bleed, we can still kill them."

"But not as we are right now," said Tanjiro with tears streaming down his face, "I hate just thinking about it. Even though I was able to do at least one thing, there was just another huge wall right in front of me. As hard as I tried, I still couldn't get to him. I felt like I was stumbling the whole time, so can I even become like Mr. Rengoku?"

Subaru was about to comment on his own negative attitude, but Inosuke beat him to it and with way more force. "DON'T GO SPEWING OUT LAME ASS WORDS!" Exclaimed the Boar Fighter, "all this talk about whether you can or can't be like him is pointless! He said he believes in all of us, didn't he?! Bawling about it won't bring him back so don't think about anything else other than living up to his beliefs! Even if you regret, don't cry! No matter how miserable or embarrassed you are, you just have to keep living!"

"But you're crying so hard tears are coming out of your headpiece," Zenitsu pointed out.

"I ain't crying!" Shouted Inosuke as he headbutted Zenitsu and likely knocked him out before waving his arms around and snarling, doing everything he could to distract from the fact that he actually was crying. Subaru merely sighed at his antics before helping Tanjiro up and offering his final words to the man who'd given his life to protect their lives and the lives of so many others.

"May you hear pleasant sounds in the next life," said Subaru with a bowed head. As he was doing so, a photographer was attempting to snap their pictures from a distance. 'I don't know what in the world's been happening tonight, but those swordsmen and that hunter have all have some kind of matching uniforms beneath their cloaks and hakamas. What does it all mean, why were they here and what were all of those monsters?' This and several other thoughts swirled around in his head as he was about to press down on the button of the camera before realizing that it wasn't in his hands anymore.

"A vest pocket Kodak," said an unfamiliar voice as the photographer turned and stared wide-eyed at a young man in torn up black clothing wearing a mask, "quite the interesting model. More and more of my co-workers are recommending it to me."

"W-Who are you?!" Exclaimed the Camera Man as he backed away slightly, "y-you aren't here to silence me are you? Is that what you are, some kind of secret organization?"

"What we are, are protectors," answered the stranger as he pulled the reel out of the camera he was holding, "and it is a job we can accomplish more easily without any unwanted interference. You may tell the story if you wish, but I'll be taking all the camera reels you've used tonight."

"But without pictures, no one will-," the Photographer started to protest before the stranger pulled out a sickle with a chain link.

"That's the point, no one will believe such a story as this," said the apparent Shinobi, "unless you wish for me to pry them from dead hands tonight." His message was loud and clear as the Photographer gave him his other two reels. Then with a nod, the stranger seemed to disappear without a sound. 'That was way too close,' thought the Photographer as he sat and waited for a few minutes, making absolutely sure the young man was gone.

When he was certain the coast was clear, he reached down and pulled one final reel from his shoe. He'd been afraid that he'd lose it if he put it in his pocket. Never did he imagine such a move would wind up saving his life. And it was thanks to such a stroke of luck that he would now be able to show the people a strange and terrible world that was happening right under their noses.

A Few Days Later: The Butterfly Estate

News of Rengoku's death spread quickly through the Corps, and it was a bit disheartening for all to hear. Despite saying not to cry, Inosuke bawled his eyes out the whole trip back after the Kakushi showed up and helped tend to their wounds. Izayoi also contacted some help from his network to remove whatever remaining weapons happened to be stashed on the train before it wrecked. Though he was in a sour mood because the demon he'd been chasing had gotten away. As for the remaining slayers, they were sent back to what was becoming the familiar hospital ward in the Butterfly Estate to heal their wounds.

The atmosphere was, expectedly, a bit depressing as everyone continued to process the events of the Mugen Train. Subaru busied himself during that time by cleaning and maintaining his weapons while also mixing new concoctions for his bullets and bladed weapons. The lethal poison he'd used against the Upper Moon was supposed to have a bit of a paralyzing effect, but it hadn't been strong enough to hinder the demon's movements. And when he wasn't doing that, he was cuddling with Nezuko, who was doing her best to console him and Tanjiro as she knew the whole experience had taken a toll on both of them.

Tanjiro, of course, tried training before his wounds were fully healed and got a slight scolding from Shinobu about minding his condition before promptly sending him back to the hospital ward. It would be the day after that when Tanjiro made a declaration to Subaru, he was going somewhere. The Matagi had only one response to that declaration: 'I'm going with you'. And they took their chance as soon as they knew Shinobu and Kumon were away to sneak out.

"You know we're still gonna get a lecture and extra pain in training when they come back and find us gone, right?" Said Subaru as they walked down the town's dirt road. Subaru had managed to contact Izayoi with Shika who, in turn, managed to get Rengoku's crow sent to them. And now, the Kasugai crow of the former flame pillar was leading them to his household.

"T-That's fine," said a tired Tanjiro, his bruised body still healing, "but I need to do this. Those notes could help us. And more importantly, Rengoku asked us to give his family his final message."

"Fair point," said Subaru, "I just wonder if anyone's gonna be home."

"If they're not, I guess we'll figure something out," said Tanjiro as they followed Rengoku's crow to a large house surrounded by a stone wall with a fair-sized wooden gate. It was currently open right now as a boy with a white robe top and black bottoms stood sweeping out the entrance. The slayers knew who he was in an instant thanks to the fact that he looked like a younger, and much more depressed, Rengoku. "Senjurou?"

That seemed to snap the boy out of whatever daze he was in as he turned to look at the newcomers. They both bowed respectfully before Tanjiro spoke up again. "Have you heard about Rengoku Kyoujurou's obituary? Subaru and I were given a message to convey to his father and to you."

"You have a message from my brother?" Repeated Senjurou, "I heard about what happened. Are you two alright, you look like you have injuries?" They were cut off from answering by a loud, and rather irritated sounding voice.

"Stop right there!" Ordered a man in the doorway of the house. If Senjurou was the younger looking Rengoku, then this man was his older, grumpier version. "They've just come to tell us useless crap anyway! I already know why he died, because despite having no great talent he became a swordsman anyway! In the end pathetic Kyoujurou's just a fool of a so-BAAAMM!" The man recoiled as the gourd of alcohol in his hand was blown to pieces.

"The only useless crap I see is standing in that doorway and spilling out on the ground," replied Subaru in a dangerous tone as his Webley was held smoking in his right hand. He'd left his rifle at the Butterfly Estate due to the little escapade being a day trip but kept the revolver and knives just in case. "While I have a fair idea who you probably are, I can tell you clearly don't know shit."

"S-Subaru!" exclaimed Tanjiro in disbelief as he moved in front of his friend, "what are you doing?!"

"Telling it how it is," said Subaru as he holstered his revolver, "are you telling me you're gonna stand there and listen to the ravings of a drunk?"

"I know a lot more than you think," spat the older man, apparently too inebriated to understand what had destroyed his gourd, "people's powers are decided upon the moment they're born. A small fraction of 'em have talent while the rest of us are just riff raffs. Garbage without any value! Kyujurou was like that, possessing nothing in the way of great talent so of course he was going to die!"

"And yet I somehow doubt you're drinking to that fact in celebration," Subaru pointed out.

"And drunk or not, that's a really cruel way to phrase it," added Tanjiro, "so please stop talking that way!"

"Oh, what's up with you two," slurred the man, "get outta here already."

"We're from the Demon Slayer Cor-," Tanjiro started to respond before they both noticed a shift in the man as his eyes widened.

"Those earrings, I see," he said, dumbfounded at first before taking on a fierce look, "you're a breath of the sun user! Aren't you?!"

"'Breath of the Sun,'" repeated Subaru as he glanced at Tanjiro, who was just as confused as he was.

"I don't know what you're talking-," Tanjiro started to say before the man was suddenly in their face. 'Shit,' thought Subaru as the swordsman was shoved to the ground, 'please tell me this guy isn't what I think he is?' The Rifleman reacted and moved to pull him off of his friend, barely stopping the arm swung at him before trapping it in an arm bar.

"Father wait, they're both hurt!" Exclaimed a stunned Kenjurou.

"SILENCE BOY!" Yelled Senjurou's father, greatly frightening his son.

"ENOUGH!" exclaimed Tanjiro as he punched the man square in the face. The blow was powerful enough that it sent the man rolling off him and several feet away where he came up to a half-kneeling position. "What's your goal in badmouthing your own son who gave his life for others?!"

"You're just here to make fun of us, aren't you?" Questioned Senjurou's Father with an evil look in his eye, ignoring Tanjiro's inquiry.

"The fuck are you even talking about," said Subaru, "we came to deliver a message like we said we would."

"You think I don't know those earrings, Breath of Sun user?!" Said the man, "It was written that the Breath of the Sun was the original breath, the first one ever created! It's also the one from which every breath is derived! Every breath form is nothing more than an imitation of it! Flame, water, wind, all are inferior copies! But don't get full of yourself just because I said you're a Breath of the Sun user, brat!"

"HOW COULD I EVER GET FULL OF MYSELF?!" Tanjiro yelled back, "Do you know how badly I've been beaten down recently you shitty old man?! So quit speaking ill of Rengoku!" Tanjiro charged straight in then with Subaru right behind him.

"Watchout, Father's a former pillar!" Exclaimed Senjurou.

"I know," said Subaru as he watched Tanjiro take a strike to the face. But he knew that wouldn't be enough to knock his friend down as he moved in with an unexpected tactic. He kicked Tanjiro's head right into the old man's chin, staggering him with its exceptional density. Subaru took this moment to punch past his friend and land a strike on the man's throat before both him and Tanjiro uppercutted the man, knocking him out. "and he's a disgrace to the name."

It would've been a proud moment, if not for a couple of issues. "OOOOOWWWW!" both slayers exclaimed as they felt their hands and Tanjiro rubbed his head. "Did you really have to kick my head into his?" Questioned Tanjiro.

"I half-suspected he was a former slayer from the way he moved the first time," said Subaru as he examined his throbbing hand, "had to catch him off-guard. Even so, ow, he's got a tough jaw."

"Yeah, but now that I think of it, we probably shouldn't have done that," said Tanjiro as he looked at the unconscious man.

Later: Inside the Rengoku House

The inside of the former Hashira's home was rather nice, with numerous tropical designs on the sliding doors. The main room itself wasn't too bad either with plenty of places for all of them to sit and a tea kettle going in the middle. "Here's some tea for the both of you, please drink it," said Senjurou in a friendly tone.

"Thank you," said Tanjiro with a look between haunted and worried, "I am truly sorry that we hit your father. Is he going to be alright?"

"I think he'll be okay," replied Senjurou, "he went out to buy some alcohol after he woke up."

"Now that he actually needs it," said Subaru, "and Tanjiro might be but I ain't sorry for laying into the prick." Tanjiro was about to express his frustration at Subaru's attitude when Senjurou suddenly spoke up.

"Thank you both," he said, drawing confused looks from the slayers, "I'm actually relieved. I couldn't say even a single thing despite the fact that my brother was being badmouthed. I wonder how his final moments went."

"From what little I was able to see," said Subaru, "his battle with Upper Moon Three, was nothing short of spectacular. It's honestly hard to believe a human being is capable of performing some of the feats he pulled that night." Senjurou looked at Subaru quizzically, likely realizing what he was getting at.

"We were both there when it happened," said Tanjiro, "we can give you the details, if that's what you want." Rengoku's younger brother looked unsure for a moment before nodding for them to continue. Subaru and Tanjiro told him every last detail about the Flame Hashira's final moments then, and by the end of it, Senjurou had a look between happy and mournful.

"So that's what happened," said Senjurou with fresh tears in his eyes.

"He fought and went out gloriously, even in his final mo….," Tanjiro trailed off as the memory became a bit too painful to continue reciting.

"Thank you both so much," said Senjurou as he bowed his head.

"No, you shouldn't thank us," said Tanjiro, "in fact we should be apologizing for not being able to help more."

"My brother would've said something along the lines of 'please don't worry about it'," stated Senjurou as he rubbed his eyes, "he was always like that, never wanting anyone to beat themselves up over things they can't change. Now I can guess which book you two need," Senjurou got up and went to the door, "I see my Father reading it a lot, so just wait a little bit and I'll bring it over." The boy exited the room and returned after a couple of minutes with a wornout book bearing the title 'The 21st Generation of Flame Pillars'. "Hopefully this has what you're looking for in it."

"Thank you very much," said Tanjiro as the three of them began flipping through the old pages. But when they got to a certain page, they were met with surprise, disappointment, and in Subaru's case a bit of anger. The pages that very well may have detailed what the Breath of the Sun was, had several tears in them to the point of being indecipherable.

"I take it this isn't how the pages are supposed to be preserved," Subaru asked more for confirmation than anything.

"No, The Generational Flame Pillar Record is supposed to be preserved really well," affirmed Senjurou.

"Then that dumbass father of yours probably tore it up," surmised the Matagi.

"I'm really sorry you both came all this way for nothing," apologized Senjurou.

"Don't be," said Tanjiro, "what happened to these notes isn't your fault. And I'm pretty sure I know the answer anyway. I'll just have to keep training until I can perfectly perform the steps of Hinokami Kagura."

"Some better control on the output would be nice too," added Subaru, "we could all do without another train wreck."

"Yeah that's on me," said Tanjiro, "and when I use it with Total Concentration Constant, my body gets a lot less mobile too. So that's also on me and my body not being able to catch up with the technique. With time my stamina will keep improving, but I still won't be able to get stronger right away. As much as I'd like there to be, there's no convenient methods or shortcuts. So, for now I just have to keep moving forward as much as possible, no matter how painful it is or how much I regret. I will keep going and one day, I'll become a strong pillar, just like Kyujurou."

Tanjiro's somewhat out of nowhere speech brought tears of joy to Senjurou as he smiled. "My brother never had a successor, or a tsuguko training under him," he said, "originally I was supposed to be his successor, which required heaping up a lot of achievements as a reserve pillar. I practiced as hard as I could to acquire the degree of swordsmanship necessary to change the color of my nichirin blade. But no matter how much practice I put in, it never changed. So I gave up on becoming a swordsman."

"I decided to pursue other things that can help people. I know I'm breaking the succession of the flame pillars and making a scar in a long history, but I think my brother would definitely forgive me."

"His message to you was 'follow your heart and do what you believe is right'," said Subaru, "if you think the path you're going down now is right, then keep on pushing forward."

"And if anyone badmouths you," added Tanjiro, "I'll headbutt them."

"It would probably be a good idea if you stopped that," Senjurou pointed out, causing an embarrassed look to cross Tanjiro's face.

"Would you prefer I pistol whip them then," asked Subaru as he pointed to his sidearm.

"I appreciate the thought, but I'll be fine," replied Senjurou, "for now, I'll try to restore the Flame Pillare Record and look it up in other books. I'll also….try to ask father. If I figure something out, I'll send a crow over." Both slayers bowed in thanks to Rengoku's little brother before getting up and heading out to the main gate. Senjurou bowed in thanks to them one more time before pulling something out of his kimono. "And before I forget, this is for you Tanjiro. It's the guard from my brother's nichirin blade."

"I-I can't accept something so valuable to you!" Exclaimed Tanjiro in minor worry and confusion.

"I want you to take it," said Senjurou, "I'm sure it'll protect you." Tanjiro wanted to argue but found no reason to before accepting the wrapped-up sword guard. Then, bidding one more thank you and a farewell, the two slayers were on their way back to the Butterfly Estate.

"So, all things considered," said Subaru as they walked along, "I think that went pretty well."

"We beat up a former pillar," Tanjiro pointed out, "I doubt that's something we should be especially proud of."

"The jerkoff started it," Reminded Subaru, "He's lucky he had such a forgiving son. Rengoku didn't despise his attitude, even in his final moments. But then again, I guess I'd do the same if I was in his shoes."

"He set a good example for all of us," said Tanjiro, "now we just have to do what Inosuke said and live up to the potential he saw in us."

"Still weirds me out a little that we're actually following advice that boar boy gave us," said Subaru, "though it wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's happened in the last few days. Now I guess we'd best ready ourselves for a highend scolding from Ku-." The Rifleman's sentence was interrupted by the sudden arrival of his falcon, Shika, landing on his shoulder. "Hey Shika, what's the issue?"

The falcon made a couple of low screeches in Subaru's ear, explaining what was going on before holding out it's leg with a message of the details on it. "They want me, just me, to go to Okinawa? And not necessarily for demon slaying?" The falcon bobbed her head while Subaru took the info off her leg and began reading through it.

"What's it say," Asked Tanjiro, curiosity getting the better of him as he glanced at the message.

"Well as you heard, they want me all the way up in Okinawa," said Subaru, "apparently they want me to attempt some diplomatic duties for them. Though specifically why they'd want me to attempt diplomacy is beyond me. Just the last couple of hours is a clear demonstration that dealing with people is not my strong suit."

"Maybe they need someone with a Matagi's viewpoint," suggested Tanjiro, "It's highly possible that you and your Father aren't the only-huh?" The two slayers noticed a figure was waiting outside the gate of the Butterfly mansion, wearing a clown mask. But he also had a carving knife in each hand and two more strapped to his head with a polka-dotted bandana. Most noticeable of all, however, was the murderous aura emanating from the man indicating that he was royally pissed off. "H-Haganezuka?!"

"What the fuck were you thinking losing that sword you bastard?!" Howled the Swordsmith as he advanced on them. "You deserve DEATH, DEATH, DEATH!"

"AAAAAAHHH!" exclaimed Tanjiro as he began running, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm truly and honestly sorry!" Subaru sighed as he realized it was going to be a long evening. One that would involve a lot of pistol whipping.

May Rengoku the Flame Pillar rest in peace, his time in the spotlight was way too short. But hopefully I did his passing some justice in this chapter. Let me know what you all think in our comments and reviews as well as what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as Subaru bumps into a couple of familiar and unfamiliar faces in the land of Okinawa. 'Til then.