"You all done packing?" I peeked into the trouble trio's room, "The girls are almost done preparing for our departure, dearies!"

"Hai, Aneki!" Tanjiro hopped off his bed and gently grabbed the wooden box Nezuko was in, "We are ready to go!"

"Good," I nodded as I entered the room and looked around once more, "You sure you checked for everything? Don't leave anything behind which you would need later on—"

"Don't worry, Aneki, we have checked." Zenitsu reassured me before yawning loudly, "Although, I still don't get why we have to leave so early in the morning."

"Because the station is pretty far away from here, Itsu-kun." I answered as I followed Tanjiro and Inosuke out of the room while Zenitsu followed me, "Not to mention, the train will leave by today evening."

I heard Zenitsu off-handedly hum back as we arrived at the yard and while I sat down on the porch, the three of them approached the humongous gourds placed right in the middle of the yard.

And goddamn were those huge.
What do they even use it for, I wonder?

Once they took their respective positions, I was chosen to tell them when to start— which was an adventure in itself as Inosuke made a scene as he tried to go first while the rest of the boys tried convincing him that they should start and finish together.

'These three...' I shook my head in amusement as I loudly started counting, snapping all three back into position.

"Start!" I loudly exclaimed, watching as the boys blew into those flasks with all their might, exploding them within a minute or so after starting.

Meanwhile, the girls encouraged them in the background and jumped in celebration when they managed to explode the gourds with the sheer pressure of their breathing alone.

I patted Tanjiro and Zenitsu in a way of congratulations before turning to Inosuke, teasing how he didn't do bad either.

"Hah!" He roared as he pointed his finger at me, "You didn't even try! I did better than you ever will!"

"Sure," I shrugged and turned away before replying off-handedly, "But I did know how to perform this even before you did; so, maybe you should consider listening to us once in a while? You can learn new things from us if you do!"

I immediately skipped out towards the gate of the Estate while Inosuke roared behind me— for the past few days, I've been trying to see what riled Inosuke up and what didn't while also trying to decipher how to get him to behave or at least listen to me.

'Especially considering our next mission.' I thought wryly as I opened my satchel to see Inosuke's upper portion of the uniform neatly folded in it, 'I'll need to keep him at least a bit well behaved before we get ourselves into the train. Or else it'll be an unnecessary pain to deal with the police there.'

I nodded to myself silently as I noticed the three stooges finally arrive; Inosuke as still huffing when he reached me and was going to say something before the girls interrupted him by presenting us with a basket full of riceballs for our journey.

"Ah, thank you!" Tanjiro thanked them as Inosuke tried to get his hands on some to eat. Thankfully, Zenitsu interrupted him before he could take one, giving me enough time to gently take the box away and pack it away in my satchel.

"Thank you so much for these, sweetie!" I gently patted them as they beamed at me and wished us luck on our 'mission'.

I smiled as my eyes wandered, noticing that Tanjiro wasn't standing with us; instead, he left the group and went to— was that Tomioka?

My heart skipped a beat when Tomioka looked up towards us, his eyes almost naturally meeting mine as I waved at him slightly.

He nodded to me before turning to Tanjiro, which honestly made me smile as I turned back to our group and noticed how admirably Inosuke was looking at the girls while Zenitsu asked if they were 'heartbroken' to see him go.

"Itsu-kun, it doesn't work that way." I teasingly replied, "Give the girls some space and please respect their gift instead of trying to make excuses to stay behind."

He deadpanned at me while trying to defend himself, "I-I was not doing that!"

"Ara, ara," I ruffled his head, "No need to pout. Also, you really need to learn how to talk to girls, dearie."

"...hai."

"I'm feeling giddy."

I laughed as both the stooges gave completely different reactions while Tanjiro joined us and thanked the girls again.

"We'll be leaving now, then!" I finally called out as we waved them farewell, a nervous feeling already starting to grow in my chest as soon as we started our journey.

"Oi, woman!" Inosuke sudden interjected when we were halfway through the forest, making me turn to him as I sped up to walk beside him.

"What happened, Ino-chan?"

"You said you knew more things than me!" He almost shouted, making Zenitsu jump while Tanjiro tried to calm him down, "What are those things that I don't know?!"

I blinked twice as I turned completely towards him— is this really happening?

Was Inosuke really giving me the chance to... teach him?

"There are many things I'm sure I know that you don't." I answered simply, "And I'm sure there are many things that you know that I don't. In the end, one can learn new things from everyone— only if they want to, that is."

"Hah?" I could almost hear his frown under the mask as he gruffly asked, "And what are those things?!"

"Mm," should I take this chance to explain to him what trains and police exactly are? "Do you know... what a train is?"

I almost chuckled when Inosuke couldn't give a proper reply— I could hear Zenitsu scoffing and calling him (as well Tanjiro, I presume, who turned to Zenitsu to ask what I was talking about) a country bumpkin.

"Trains," I started, "Are these huge metal vehicles that are made by men to travel long distances in a short time."

"Vehicles?" Tanjiro asked innocently as I nodded and tried to explain to the best of my abilities.

"Yes, Vehicles. Vehicles are... machines— metallic things made by men to do the work for them and make their lives easier. Vehicles, in particular, helps us travel much faster and more comfortably than when we do by foot."

"Trains," Inosuke pronounced the term a few times, "It walks for us?"

"In a way?" I rubbed the back of my neck as I wondered how to explain it to him, "It's like, you sit in it and it runs for you and helps you reach your destination faster."

"So, it's a creature?"

"Nope!" I immediately denied it before he somehow sets that idea permanently in his brain, "It's more like your sword— not alive and made by us for our convenience."

I almost heard Tanjiro nod behind me as Inosuke grumbled something under his breath.

"Rengoku-san is currently investigating some demonic occurrences on a train." I decided to inform them as we almost exited the forest, "That's why I was trying to explain it to you— we might have to travel with him for a while too since we don't want to hold him back while he is on his mission."

"Also," I decided to continue after a beat of silence, "Maybe we should... you know, hide our weapons before we enter the town— well, especially you three."

"Eh?" Tanjiro tilted his head slightly, "Why? Isn't Rengoku-san on a mission to kill demons?"

"Of course he is, but other humans are not accustomed to seeing people armed, dearie." I gently explained as I showed them how I hid my own weapons under my flappy violet haori and its sleeves, "Not to mention, it'll be troublesome to deal with the police if they arrested us thinking we are criminals."

"Why should we be scared of them anyway?" Inosuke asked genuinely.

"Because our organisation is not recognised by the government, idiot." Zenitsu decided to explain it for me, "Even if you talk about demons and the like to them, they won't believe you for the most part. So, walking around the swords will cause chaos."

Tanjiro's shoulders sagged as grumbled how it was unfair since we indeed were putting out so much work for the people too.

"Police are not completely unaware of the existence of demons." I decided to pitch in, making Zenitsu look at me like I was crazy, "Trust me, I do know some... well, a lot of them. Government does know about our cooperation, but doesn't acknowledge it since it'll be disastrous if the existence of demons came into the knowledge of the common people."

"Not to mention," I continued, "Not many people in the police or the government are aware of it either. So, yeah, we should avoid being caught by the police even if we could get out of there."

"You know policemen?" Zenitsu asked sceptically.

"I do. Many of my informants either work in the police or for them." I admitted as I noticed the town on the horizon of our sight, "I can get us out of the jail if we ever get caught, but it still may take time to reach out for my connections. So, let's just avoid the hassle."

I turned to the three of them as I stared them down while pointing towards their very apparent weapons, "And if we want to avoid them, we have to hide those."

All three of them looked down at their waists before looking up at me in confusion.

"How?"

"Well..." I stopped walking completely, making the three of them stop too as I fiddled with my satchel, "Jiro-kun and Itsu-kun, you both can cover it up by strapping it behind your back and as for you Ino-chan..."

I took out the uniform and handed it to Inosuke, making him look at me in utter bewilderment as I smiled at him, "Wanna learn how to fool the police and sneak in with weapons on a train, Ino-chan?"

"Hah!"

"Just for a little while more, Ino-chan, and then you can take it off." I comforted the disgruntled slayer, trying my best to stop him from tearing up the uniform top I somehow got Shinobu to bring up for me.

Apparently, the sewing department already had a new, proper set of uniform made for Inosuke but he never even showed up to look at it since he tore up his last one.

"You look very good in it, Inosuke!" Tanjiro genuinely complimented as we reached the train station— meanwhile, Zenitsu kept snickering at Inosuke's distressed noises.

"Maybe we should have made him remove his boar mask too!" Zenitsu half teased as we entered the station; almost all the people were staring at us (more so at Inosuke) as we passed the gates and tried to deduce which train Rengoku-san might be in.

"That would be going beyond his capacity, Itsu-kun." I gently teased back, making Zenitsu snort before he shook his head and turned serious.

"Do you know what train he was supposed to be on?" Zenitsu asked as he turned to Tanjiro, who nodded and handed him a piece of paper, "Oh, Infinite Train? Well, according to this paper, it should have already arr—"

"Hey..." Inosuke suddenly started, "Hey, Hey! Wha... what is that?!" He pointed vigorously at the train, shivering as he muttered how great of a 'creature' it was.

"It's a train, Ino-chan!" I immediately reassured him as I reached out to caress his (first time) clothed shoulders, "Calm down, dearie, it's not a creature!"

He looked at me like I had grown another head before Zenitsu pulled us both back by our haori.

"Oi, calm down, you animal!" Zenitsu glared at Inosuke before handing me the paper and pointed towards the station counter, "Aneki, can you go buy some tickets for us? It's hard to walk when I'm hiding my swords like this... and I don't want Inosuke to make any more scene than he is already trying to." He heatedly glared at the boar-boy, who was still staring at the train in awe.

"No issues!" I took the paper and read in the details of the train and the boarding time mentioned on it, "Give me a few minutes and please don't stir in any trouble!"

I gave out a short wave as I quickly made my way to the counter to purchase four tickets- wait, should I purchase four or five?

'Let's just go with five.' I thought absent-mindedly as I paid for the tickets, 'Better safe than sorry, right?'

My heart thundered in my chest as I looked back at the train.

It was really happening, huh? I was finally here— would I be... able to do it? To save him?

'Was it wise of me to even do this all alone? Without informing anyone?'

"Aneki!" My head snapped towards the approaching trio, "We are here!"

I nodded soberly as I jogged towards them, my rapidly beating heart not calming even a little bit as we boarded the train while they kept on with their usual antics.

Zenitsu almost screamed at Inosuke as he tore open the front of his uniform, but strangely enough, he didn't remove the torn shirt— he just opted to keep it open and untugged, giving him the space to breathe and yet covering his swords pretty well.

"Calm down, you oaf!" Zenitsu dragged Inosuke back with the collar of his uniform before turning to Tanjiro and me, "Do you know how this Rengoku-san looks, Tanjiro, Aneki?"

I hummed back affirmatively as Tanjiro gave a general description of the flame pillar; meanwhile, I scouted the train to find a trace of that flaming hair, and moved forward to the next coach when I didn't find that in the one we currently were.

Zenitsu, Tanjiro, and Inosuke followed me patiently as we looked for the trace of that familiar hair, my heart dropping little by little with each coach we passed.

'Please tell me we are not late.' I internally prayed as my eyes almost frantically looked around for him, 'Please tell me my hesitance didn't just cost us his li—'

"Umai!" My heart stuttered as I stopped in surprise at the loud exclamation, "Umai! Umai!"

'Is that...?'

"Rengoku-san!" Tanjiro confirmed what I saw, making my worries ease up a bit before Zenitsu stopped us to ask if we actually got the right person.

"You're sure that guy's the flame pillar and not just a glutton?"

"Yup...?" Tanjiro sweatdropped at his friend's phrasing, though I couldn't help but smile at his words.

We calmly approached the (enthusiastically eating?) pillar, making him turn to us as Tanjiro tried to introduce himself.

"Umai!"

"...We know?"

After the initial confusion (or maybe chaos might be a good word for that?), the four of us settled in for dinner with the flame pillar as we introduced ourselves.

"Good evening, everyone!" He greeted us all, his cheerful smile almost feeling contagious as he took another bite, "Did Oyakata-sama sent you here?" He asked, his eyes finding mine... as if he was asking me?

"Um, no." I softly answered while I handed my empty lunch box to the crew members, thanking them for their service as they nodded in appreciation, "We, uh, Tanjiro actually wanted to talk to you about something."

Rengoku blinked in surprise at my admission, his eyes focusing on the burgundy-haired slayer beside him instead as Tanjiro immediately started explaining about the fire dance his father used to do.

My smile strained as he recounted his fighting experience with Rui— and while I did know an abridged version of it, hearing it from Tanjiro himself made me realize even more how much danger he actually was in.

A shiver (of fear? nervousness? excitement?) went through my spine as I closed my eyes, pretending to sleep as I sorted through my thoughts. Thankfully enough, Inosuke and Zenitsu were sitting in the seats beside us while Nezuko's wooden box was neatly kept on the seat just in front of Tanjiro— and beside me, of course.

'At least it's better than handling Inosuke's inane shenanigans.' I thought absent-mindedly while almost chuckling as I heard Inosuke yelling and driving Zenitsu nuts.

'It's calm right now... at least.' A frown involuntarily formed on my face as I tried to recount what I remembered of this arc, 'After the train started moving... and the passengers fell asleep, right? But how? I think Enmu's power was to make them fall asleep by sending their conscious mind deep into the subconscious level...'

But how can I stop it then?
I know their blood art would most likely not work on me— especially with the nature of my blood and all, but how did they even administer it to every single passenger in the train?

'Was it through the train itself?'
But, shouldn't that be too early for it? I couldn't feel any demonic aura as of now either; just the normal auras of the passengers travelling alongside us and Rengoku's— which was, as expected, quite overpowering than those near him.

'It's almost as bright as the Sun while the warmth is much more tender and soft.' I mused wryly as his aura overpowered Tanjiro's calm, breeze-like aura, 'It's quite ironic how his aura is much more subdued than Tomioka's—'

"This is the first time I heard of the 'Dance of the Fire God'!" Rengoku loudly declared, startling me as I snapped out of my musings, "I'm actually delighted to see that you were able to apply the dance your father performed in a fight, but enough of this story!"

I looked at him strangely as he brushed Tanjiro's story off and asked him to be his tsuguko right off the bat, making me feel very... uncomfortable, for some reason.

'Is this guy serious...?'

"Can you please tell us a bit more about breath styles though, at least?" I pitched in for Tanjiro, making both the slayers turn to me as I smiled kindly at them, "We did come here to decipher how Tanjiro could incorporate something like a dance into a breathing style that literally portrayed fire-like illusion— especially since even new breathing styles need a lot of practice and training before one gets to the stage of showing 'illusions' of the style while doing the forms."

"Of course," Rengoku agreed as he smiled back at me, "I don't know much about the 'Dance of the Fire God', but the Breath of Flame has a long history and is much different from it!"

Both Tanjiro and I nodded as Rengoku gave us a brief run down over the breathing styles— from the colour of the swords each breathing style claims to their branches and generations.

"Mist is branched from the breath of wind!" Rengoku continued as we eagerly listened to him, "While breathing styles like snow and insect branched from water!" He suddenly turned to Tanjiro and asked what the colour of his blade was.

"It's black, Rengoku-san!"

"Black!" Rengoku nodded thoughtfully a few times before crossing his arms and declaring, "That's tough!"

"I-It's tough?"

"I've never seen a swordsman with a black blade become a pillar!" Rengoku admitted as he turned to Tanjiro in all seriousness, "What's more, it means that you don't even know what kinda swordsmanship to master!"

Tanjiro sat there in shock as he absorbed the words just being told to me— it was true though, especially if we considered how Tanjiro leaned towards using the fire breathing style from his ancestors as well as his water breathing style during his future fights.

'At least that's how the manga justified it, didn't it?' I mused as the train slowly started moving, making Inosuke look around in excitement.

"Don't worry, Kamado!" Rengoku patted Tanjiro's shoulder as he smiled at him in a form of encouragement, "I'll train you at my place. So, be at ease now!" Tanjiro nodded mutely as Rengoku opted to turn to me now, "Say, Sarota! What's the colour of your blade?"

"...It's, uh," I hesitated to tell him, not knowing properly what kinda colour it was myself, "...Orange-kinda?"

Rengoku blinked twice at my statement, making me almost want to chuckle as Tanjiro straight up asked if I could show him my swords.

"Not now, dearie." I teased him as I reached under the sleeve of my haori, "We are in public and I would rather like to stay on the train~! However," I tugged the fan off from its holster, pulling it out gently as I showed them its blades instead of my sword's, "I hope this will do."

I heard Rengoku's hum as he reached out for my fan; his eyes immediately meeting mine with an obvious question, for which I just nodded and handed him the weapon.

He carefully opened and analysed the metallic fan in his hand; since its structure was more artistic than anything, it looked more like a display art than a weapon— which was pretty useful in public scenarios.

"I think the colour of the blades is... orange?" I unsurely stated I rubbed my neck, "I mean, I'm not quite sure as they took a very strange colouring while I was preparing my forms."

And it was true.
The blades of the fans (as well as my swords) had taken a very dark shade of orange (I think it's orange? It looks so different on a metallic blade—), making it almost look like some kind of rust or something.

'Maybe I should call the colour 'rusty orange' then?' I mused wryly.

"You made your own breathing style?" Rengoku asked me enthusiastically as he handed me my fan back, "That's amazing! And yes, that is the colour orange! I never saw any blade of that colour— it almost looks like red, even!"

"Exactly, that's why I was confused." I nodded in affirmation, "And as for my breathing style— yes, I made my own: the, uh, 'Breath of Blood'."

I low-key cringed as I said the name of my breathing style, almost regretting all of it before Rengoku beamed at me with praises I didn't expect nor deserve.

"That's amazing!" He beamed at me as he placed his hands on his knees and leaned towards me slightly, "Making a new technique takes a lot of dedication and practice! On two weapons, no less! Can you tell me what breathing style is it branched from, Sarota?"

"Uh," I frowned, genuinely surprised about how I never thought about it this way, "I don't know? I just incorporated my own fighting style into a set of forms for the breathing technique..." I answered regrettably before I realized something.

"Oh wait," I shook my head at my own stupidity— how a could even forget that? "I think you can say that my style has branched out from water? Tomioka-senpai helped me a lot to practice my forms and I did notice that some of the aspects of our styles were quite similar."

"Tomioka trained you?" Rengoku asked earnestly before laughing and nodding as I tilted my head in confusion, "That is great! You are very interesting, Sarota!"

"...eh?"

"Tell me," Rengoku turned from me to Tanjiro, "How did you find me here? You know I'm on a mission, right? A demon can arrive on this train any minute!"

"D-Demon?!" Zenitsu yelled in surprising, "H-Here?!"

"...Shinobu-san did say you were on a mission." I replied simply, pointedly ignoring Zenitsu who was doing his regular theatrics despite me informing them about this earlier, "But Tanjiro needed a bit of your guidance— so, we decided to join you in."

"I apologize if we disturbed you." Tanjiro sincerely apologized, making Rengoku laugh as he patted his shoulder.

"You didn't, Kamado! I was just surprised you came to me even after knowing I'm on a mission! Many slayers have gone missing from this particular train and I've been trying to find the demon causing it!"

I nodded along to his explanation while I heard Zenitsu squeak over beside us, "Is this the mission you were talking about to Oyakata-sama?"

"Hai!" He gave me a short nod, "It took me some time to pin down the exact train and the number of casualties, but yes, this is the mission!"

Well, that is understandable since there are many other trains with the same name as this— trains are no different than the brand of vehicles we common folks usually buy, just with the small difference being that only private companies or the Government can buy them.

"Rengoku-san," I started after a beat of silence, making his heterochromatic instantly focus on me, "Do you... have any information on the demon whom you are hunting?"

"Not yet!" He shook his head lightly, making me marvel at how expressive he was, "But it shouldn't take me much time to remove it!"

"I hope so." I genuinely replied, wondering if Enmu was the demon behind all this after all— but I don't think it was shown like that in the manga? Though, were there any other demons other than him and Akaza in this arc?

'Who knows.' I sighed at the lack of my memories, 'If only I had paid a little more attention...'

"Sarota-san?" Rengoku called my attention, making me blink as his eyes smiled at me warmly, "Would you like to train under me, with Kamado?"

I blinked in surprise at the sudden question, involuntarily making him think I was asking for further clarification.

"I know you trained under Tomioka for your breathing style—" I opened my mouth to add something, but he immediately continued loudly, "—and! I also know you are not keen on being a tsuguko! I wouldn't force you either, don't worry!" I tilted my head as he smiled at me, "I just want to help you train if you need! With a new breathing style, you need a lot of practice. Even if you have been using it as your fighting style for years!"

"I..." What can I even say to such a kind offer? "I will love to train with you, Rengoku-san." I smiled genuinely as I noticed his face brighten, "However, I did want to add Tomioka-senpai only helped me with correcting my posture and stance while I performed my forms on the swords— I was, uh, quite out of practice with them, after all."

Rengoku nodded understandably, "Are fans your main weapon then, Sarota?"

"Primarily? Yes." I explained, "I only got the swords in case my fans, uh, malfunctioned or something. One can never be too cautious, after all."

Rengoku quirked a brow as he quickly pitched in, "But being too cautious can make you paranoid about everything, Sarota. Sometimes it's better to act than wait the danger out. Never let fear stop you from achieving your goal!"

"I'll keep that in mind, Rengoku-san." I replied wryly, the irony of that advice being told in this situation not escaping my notice while Rengoku innocently nodded at my reply.

"You seem like you plan a lot, Sarota." He suddenly stated, making me blink as he pointed at my satchel and fan, "You seem well prepared! Is it because you had to fight demons on your own, before?"

I shrugged as I leaned back onto my seat, noticing how Tanjiro was now looking out of the window, "I didn't particularly seek out demons— at least not initially. And even if I did, preparation is a significant part for me, considering the nature of my blood."

"Yes, your blood can be destructive, even for you, too." He nodded again as a thoughtful look passed on his face, "Say, Sarota, have you ever been severely injured by demon blood before?"

"Not severely." I admitted, "At least, leaving out the time where Muzan attacked me. Any other time demon blood injured me was very minor and could be dealt with easily."

"About Kibutsuji," his eyes sharpened as he leaned towards me again, his voice no longer loud but rather sombre and deep, "You said you had informants on him, right?"

"Right."

"Is there any recent news on him, then?"

"Unfortunately, no." I replied honestly, "Most I've gotten is that he disappeared suddenly, leaving his human 'family' behind while they were in police custody." I shrugged again as I decided to add, "He has most likely taken a different form and has relocated to a different part of Japan. It might take some time before we can trace him out again."

"Your network seems quite extensive!" He returned back to his cheery attitude, "Thank you for sharing that information with me!"

I chuckled lightly as I shook my head, "You're too kind, good sir." I replied back almost automatically, "There wasn't much I could offer; so, do forgive me for that."

"No need to be hard on yourself, Sarota." He said serenely as a shiver went down my spine, "Any information you can add is already more than we have!"

I smiled appreciatively at him before I detected a demonic aura at the edge of my consciousness; it was sudden enough to make me freeze, but the aura itself wasn't dense enough to make me panic.

'It doesn't feel like a lower moon's aura...?' I thought absent-mindedly as I smiled at Rengoku and Tanjiro again before getting up; my only motto right now was to dispose off the unknown demon with as fewer casualties as possible caused— especially with these many people present on the train with us.

My heart thundered against my chest as the lights in the train started flickering— that's why when Rengoku's hand lightly touched my shoulder, it almost scared the living daylights out of me.

"Calm down, it's me." He strangely whispered as he lightly pushed me behind him, "Fall back... And let me handle it."

I gulped and looked around the coach— the demon was not visible, neither was it here yet.

"That demon's not here." I whispered back to him as I felt him turn to me, "He is most likely in the coach next to us—"

"Can you feel its aura?" Rengoku bluntly asked as his red-gold eyes met mine. As I nodded briskly, he looked behind me for a moment before looking back to me, "Lead me there."

I nodded vigorously as I passed him through to lead him to the next coach, wondering — not for the first time — if this even was in the plot, as I approached the demon whose aura I felt shifting.

"Sarota," Rengoku called out my name, making me turn back as the demon finally showed himself upon being discovered, "Stand down!"

I reluctantly followed his command, looking hesitantly over to the terrified people still in the coach, 'This is a very dangerous situation—'

"Aneki?" Tanjiro's voice broke me out of my thoughts, "What are you—"

"Big guy!" Rengoku interrupted Tanjiro unintentionally, "You were hiding your presence through your blood art technique, huh?"

I heard the passengers gasp around us as the lights above clicked to show the two-faced demon.

The demon roared as it approached Rengoku, making the Hashira grin, "Baring your fangs at sinless people? The red flame sword of Rengoku will burn you down to the bone!" He exclaimed before stepping up to take his form and decapitate the demon in one clean swing.

I blinked in surprise at the speed of the attack— my mind soon realizing it was not the time to fangirl or rejoice as I pushed Tanjiro (as well as Inosuke and Zenitsu, whom I didn't notice until now) out of this coach to our own. The lights of the coach were still out and it would be way better if the panicking humans didn't see us at the apparent crime scene.

My heart almost skipped out of my chest when I felt Rengoku's hand on my shoulder, his cheeky grin directed at me as he led us to our seat and calmly sat down across from me.

The chaos unfolding in the next coach died down once the lights flickered back on properly, making me look at Rengoku suspiciously as he smiled at the four questioning stares directed towards him.

"I threw the body out of the train while coming back!" He admitted, making the trouble trio look at him in obvious admiration, "Any other traces of the demon would soon turn to dust! So, don't worry!"

"That was awesome, Rengoku-aniki! That was amazing swordsmanship!" Tanjiro all but fangirled as he leaned towards the Hashira sitting beside him, "Please make me your disciple!"

"Sure thing!" Rengoku replied enthusiastically as he gave us all a close-eyed grin, "I'll make you into a fine swordsman!"

"Me too!" Inosuke and Zenitsu echoed, making Rengoku laugh boisterously as he assured he'll look after every single one of them.

A smile stretched on my lips as I heard the trio chant 'Rengoku-aniki' again and again, making the said Hashira grin ear to ear as well.

"What about you, Sarota?" He turned to me suddenly, making me blink as be smiled at me, "Don't you want to become my disciple?"

I looked at him amusingly as I noticed how his grin had turned slightly teasing when he asked me— he already knew my answer, and noticing him teasing me was a welcoming surprise.

However, before I could reply, Tanjiro grabbed my hand and begged, "Please train with us, Aneki!"

"I-I will?" I blurted out as my hands naturally reached out to pat the younger slayer, "There, there, Jiro-kun! Um, don't worry, I will train with you! I do need to practice my forms properly after all."

"You can train at my Estate if you want!" Rengoku offered, "Even if you don't want to be my disciple." He jokingly (or at least, I was interpreting it that way?) added, making me smile.

"Thank you for your generous offer. I'll be sure taking up on that."

It was surprisingly easy talking to Rengoku than I had imagined— after we got past his initial dorkiness, his kind and teasing nature eased us into an easy conversation as we five (mostly me, Rengoku and Tanjiro) talked about everything and nothing at the same time.

"They seriously talked about me!?" I covered my face in embarrassment as Rengoku relayed how much the twins loved to talk about me and Shigeno-sensei, "Ugh, those two idiots."

Rengoku chuckled heartily while Tanjiro smiled and reassured me that they did so because they missed me— as if I didn't know!

'That doesn't make it any better though!' I whined internally as I buried my face in my hands, 'The Hashiras already know about me and God knows what those two dumbasses had spilled while they were at it! Ugh, I regret meeting those two bloody idiots so much, right now.'

It wasn't like I didn't trust them— actually, I really didn't. They had a filter as efficient as a holed cloth and I swear to Lord, they loved embarrassing me a little bit too much.

Not to mention, I wasn't exactly a well-behaved, typical Japanese girl around them either. I mean, I literally used to sneak in to sleep in their room with them until I was almost eleven!

'Shigeno-sensei sure used to have a fit when he caught us doing that.' I mused wryly as I shook my head.

"You and Kinomiyas are close, huh?" Rengoku asked once my face decided it's done hiding in my hands, "But you are not related?"

I shook my head gently as I leaned back on my seat, "No, we are as unrelated by blood as you and Tanjiro are. We are just... well, we grew up together, and they helped me a lot in maintaining the temple, so."

"They always referred to you as their sister!" Rengoku admitted as the three stooges looked at him in surprise, "So, we thought you three were related!"

I didn't reply back to him as my eyes focused on the incoming figure— it was the conductor of the train, coming along to confirm our tickets. And even though it wasn't much of an unusual occurrence, the sickly appearance of the man and something... something in his aura gave me a very queasy feeling.

'Is he a demon?' I frowned, concentrating all my focus to check his aura when I felt another one from—

"Aneki?" Tanjiro's voice startled me as I focused back into the conversation; Rengoku and Tanjiro were looking at me worryingly as I readjusted my position to calm myself down a bit, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered back as casually as I could while internally panicking because I could feel Enmu on the fucking train roof.

'It all gonna start soon, huh?' I thought off-handedly, my posture turning stiff when the conductor approached us.

"You can tell us anything, Sarota!" Rengoku stated as he handed his ticket to the conductor, "If something bothers you, don't be shy and tell me!"

"It's just," I shook my head lightly as I handed my own ticket to the conductor to punch, "I feel a strange aura and I think—"

My heart dropped when the ticket almost touched my skin; the demon blood on it almost shocking me (figuratively, more than literally) as I let the ticket slip from my hands.

'Oh my motherfucking—'

"Sarota?" Rengoku called my name softly as I turned to him in a full-blown panic now, "Sarota? Are you alright? What's the matter?"

"There's demon blood on the tickets!" I exclaimed, not caring if anyone heard me, "It's... It's—"

Rengoku immediately got up as he looked around for someone— wait, was he looking for the conductor?

"The conductor was not a demon." I replied as Tanjiro stood up to check the other passengers travelling with us while Zenitsu panicked with a strange tiredness in his voice, "And he was not in control of a demon either—"

"Can you feel the demon?" Rengoku directly cut to the chase as he sat down in front of me, his figure already a bit sluggish as he leaned towards me almost clumsily, "I am suddenly feeling very sleepy! It must be the demon's blood art technique!"

"Inosuke! Zenitsu!" Tanjiro sluggishly yelled their name, trying to wake them up but to no avail, "Wake up—"

"Tanjiro! Rengoku! listen to me this instance!" That snapped the slayers' attention back to me, making me immediately relay as much information as I could, "Listen, the demon is already on the train! And since everyone suddenly fell asleep, that means it's due to his blood art technique— do whatever you can to wake yourself up from the dream, do you understand?!"

Tanjiro nodded mutely before giving in to his sleep; however, Rengoku was still fighting to keep his eyes open as he stared at me directly.

"You are not under its effects?" His words slurred as he tried keeping himself awake with sheer determination.

"No," I admitted and I immediately got bottles of my blood out the satchel, "I'll try everything from here to wake y'all up! Please remember this and try to get out of the dreaming state yourself too—"

My heart almost jumped out as Rengoku's sleeping figure fell on my chest, his smooth yet handsome face almost making me blush as I felt his breath directly on my lips while I looked down at his face.

'What the ever-loving Fuck.' I cursed internally as I gently placed him on my seat instead— Tanjiro's sleeping figure was already sprawled across their seat, occupying it completely.

I tried calming myself down as I paced around the coach a few times— I could literally feel the train gradually morphing into the demonic being as I planned my next steps.

'Calm the fuck down, Miyasha.' I took a deep breath, 'I know I don't fucking remember everything, but I remember enough to know that they handled this mission on their own quite nicely.'

In fact, if I remembered right, the only reason Rengoku died was because of Akaza's unexpected arrival— so, if I can avoid that, we're golden, right? I'll be able to avoid the confrontation altogether!

I nodded to myself silently as I looked back at the sleeping figures— Zenitsu was leaning on Inosuke while Inosuke's legs literally laid on his lap. Tanjiro, meanwhile, was sprawled across his and Rengoku's seat and the Hashira was sleeping quietly — and most normally, out of all four of them — on my seat.

'To whoever listening above,' I prayed absent-mindedly as I knocked on Nezuko's wooden box, 'Please give me the strength to protect them.'

Ah, a cliffhanger, maybe?
The next chapter would be the complete fighting scene and by the time you read this, I should be already done revising it. Do review if you want me publishing it within the next few days!

I hope I portrayed Rengoku well here, because I really feel like the Manga didn't give him enough limelight. I hope I did him some justice here!

Also, sorry for the chapter-length! This arc is gonna be a bit big since there'll be a lot of recovering and all after the fight, so I want to finish the fights in a few chapters while still doing them justice!

》Taishou Secrets《
Shinobu and the twins are really good friends! In fact, they were good friends with her sister Kanae as well— and after her death, they helped Shinobu in every way possible that made her appreciate them a whole lot more! However, it's Hiroshi Shinobu is the most comfortable with, since both have almost similar temperament and they both love teasing others!

Now, onto the review replies—

MehScrewIt: Happy New Year's to you too, dearie! Thank you so much for your review and I really hope you are enjoying the train arc so far!

Kayumeee: I'm glad you liked the fighting scene and Miyasha's choice of weapon! And yes! It would've been so hilarious if others had seen in that uniform— but the twins would've been out for blood if that happened, lol. And happy New Year to you, dearie!

natonatonii: Aww, I swear to Lord, your reviews always make me smile! And that Jumaji idea is the best xD Maybe I can try that next year myself— anyhoo! I'm so glad you liked the fighting scene! And I honestly, your review just made me blush and smile like a toddler the whole way through xD And yes! Miyasha IS going for the intervening— in fact, this is gonna be the arc she will start doing so too! I just hope my ass can write those changes down well, lol.

Tsuki: Thank you for your review, sweetie and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! And yes, I totally understand your forgetting about the pairing xD This is a slow-burn after all, lol

lizyeh2000: Thank you so much for your review, dearie! And I'm glad you liked the breathing style! ^^

Shion Lee: I feel ya, sweetheart TwT I really hope I can pull this off too!

Guest 1: Heya, dearie! I'm so sorry it took me so long to reply back! And yes, I am on AO3, but, uh, I don't exactly know how to upload there? Let me see how I can or if I should or not— it takes me a lot of time to familiarize myself with a site and AO3 is a new one for me, lol. Please give me some time!

cruelzy: Thank you for your review and I think there's gonna be a line of people out to kill Miyasha if she doesn't save our ball for Sunshine! xD I really hope I can pull it off though, lol.

ren kageoshi: Thank you for your review and I'm glad you liked her faith! And with how things are going out for her, she sure needs that faith to keep her sane, lol

FyreDraagyn12: Thank you for your review, dearie! And I'm really flattered to hear you liked the fanfic! Thank you for giving it a chance ^^

Guest 2: I'm really glad you liked the highschool AU! Took a bit of creative liberty and dived in deeper— and looks like people really liked it! I'm really glad! Also, I'm glad you liked the Giyuu fluff xD ANd I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Thank you so much for so many, reviews! You guys seriously are so kind TwT

That'll be all for this chapter! Please review if you want to— I love reading from you guys, and honestly, it motivates me like no other ^^

Stay safe and stay healthy!