Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc "Kyojuro and Akari"
BY: RENEE PHYLLIS
FANFICTION
Chapter Two
"The Encounter"
When Shinobu became a hashira, they all celebrated this recognition, along with Giyu who didn't even want to celebrate. Akari was there for Shinobu as her guidance. Since she was to take Kanae's place, Akari made sure that she was well-trained and ready. Gyomei, Tengen, Sanemi, Akari and Giyu had a celebration at the Butterfly Mansion. All of them had fun, except for Giyu, who for Shinobu seemed heartless. Akari and Giyu had a lot in common, that's for sure, the only thing is, if Akari was the one who was sent to Tanjiro's place, she would have killed Nezuko in a heartbeat. Luckily, Giyu had a sense of humanity.
Kyojuro Rengoku, was a lively man. You could never see him sad. He was the son of the former flame hashira, Shinjuro Rengoku. He was a skilled swordsman and a strong hashira no doubt. He brightened the mood of all the hashiras, except Akari. It was as if Akari hated him, and for Akari, he was only a bug you can squash. Kyojuro and Akari's first meeting was a bit strange. Kyojuro smiled at Akari with the sweetest and the biggest smile, Kyojuro could make. But Akari, as she is, rolled her eyes upon seeing Kyojuro, scoffed and continued walking towards her destination. Though it was not their first meeting.
A pillar meeting was requested by Kagaya himself. Kyojuro's father was in the position of Flame Hashira, but he did not attend for he locked himself in his room. He changed for the worst when his wife died. Kyojuro went instead, in place of him and delivered the news of his current situation. Kagaya was glad enough for Kyojuro to be his father's representative, but Sanemi had to ruin the peace and challenged Kyojuro into a fight. "Shinazugawa, don't disrespect our master", she scolded him, her arms crossed, brows in a downward position. She remained in her knees as Sanemi looked at her, laughing slightly. "Akari, don't worry, I'll be very gentle with him, besides he seems tough", Sanemi said in the most devious way possible. Akari beamed her eyes at him. Sanemi stood up and challenged Kyojuro into a duel. Kyojuro had made a remark of becoming a hashira as a replacement of his father. Since his father is unfit to be a hashira with his current dilemma, the others were worried about losing another number, but Kyojuro interrupted the conversation by saying that he wanted to be a hashira himself. Sanemi kicked Kyojuro in the face and continued punching him, but Kyojuro did not budge, instead he only protected himself. "I will not fight for it is forbidden; besides, I don't want to fight you. I see you're a serious guy, but you have a burning passion within you. I'll do my best to surpass you", Kyojuro laughed. He stopped Sanemi's arm in an instant. Shinobu looked down saying in thought that Kyojuro was weird. Giyu remained quiet. Gyomei was impressed and so was Tengen in which he said Kyojuro was flamboyantly cool and that he liked the guy. Akari, on the other hand, did not pay much attention. She didn't care even a single bit about their quarrel. Who cares about a fight between men? "Oyakata-sama, forgive Sanemi for being, well, himself. I beg you to stop him", Akari bowed down as low as her head can reach the floor and Sanemi did the same when Kagaya called his name. "Kyojuro, you know the requirements in becoming a hashira, so you must do well. I entrust you a mission about a demon, probably one of the Twelve Kizukis. If you succeed, then I and the others will accept you", Kagaya said in a very low tone, but soft like the grass that day. "Oyakata-sama, don't you think we should be the ones going instead of someone inexperienced?", Akari declared which was an insult to Kyojuro. "Akari, we must give him a chance, after all we have a lot of vacancies we need to fill", he said and she nodded. Kyojuro was only a Kinoe that time, but even then, he was the one who trained Mitsuri Kanroji, the love hashira, only she wasn't a hashira yet. Kyojuro surely survived the battle with lower moon 2. When he was decreed as the new flame hashira, the others were quite happy, not that all of them were. Kyojuro and Akari would occasionally see each other, especially when he was in the care of Shinobu healing his wounds because of the fight. Kyojuro would grin at her, but she would just ignore it. Her neutral expression was always plastered on her face. She didn't smile, laugh, nothing seemed joyous in her everyday life. But that did not stop Kyojuro from making friends with her.
Whenever Akari would be alone, eating, Kyojuro would appear out of nowhere and eat with her. "I don't want to eat with you", Akari says as Kyojuro sat beside her. The bright-eyes guy would look at her in pure innocence and smirked at her. "That's fine, you don't have to acknowledge me", Kyojuro replied. Akari, sighed loudly and angrily, but she did as she was told, and acted as if Kyojuro wasn't there. But, with each food entering Kyojuro's mouth, he would shout "Umai!". The first time, Akari was shocked, gritting her teeth, but she controlled herself by staying calm and continued eating. Kyojuro's voice got louder and louder, and Akari, became furious. She thought to herself, "Is this man doing this on purpose? Why the hell is he so loud? What is wrong with him? Can he please shut the hell up?". Kyojuro continued eating while being so deafening. Akari tried closing her ears by putting her hands in both sides, but it was too loud to even conceal. She was about to charge at him, when suddenly Shinobu grabs her by the waist and holds her tightly as Kyojuro fixes the plates and chopsticks he used. "This is fine. This is normal. She'll relax", Shinobu says, a light smile plastered on her face. "She will calm down eventually", Shinobu thought to herself. Imagine Kyojuro with bloody nose and a concussion if Shinobu hadn't stop the angry-looking girl from punching a poor man enjoying his food. Kyojuro plainly looks at Akari while on the hold of Shinobu, looking like a cat about to scratch her prey and eat it. He looked away, stood up and went outside without a care for his surroundings. "That smug face of a man. How dare he interrupts me? I'm seriously going to kill him! Just because he became a hashira, doesn't mean he gets to be on my nerves!", Akari growled like a demon, much to Nezuko's growl when she's mad. Shinobu continued to smile while hugging Akari as she tried to get out of her grip. Shinobu may be small and sometimes weak, but she is a strong-willed person.
As soon as Akari calms herself down, Shinobu lets her go and she proceeded in eating her food in peace. Shinobu runs to Kyojuro to apologize for how Akari was acting. "Rengoku-san!", she called out to the man walking around the property. "I want to apologize for Akari's behavior, she much prefers quiet when eating", she said and bowed down as a sign of sorry and respect. Kyojuro smiles widely and laughs. "I see, she looked cute angry anyways", his smile was on the top of the world, his eyes hidden and went on his way. Shinobu noticed something in Kyojuro's words and that made her smile as the man in front of her kept walking, slow and far. Later that evening, Akari was in the backyard of the estate where the strong-scented flowers are. She looked at the bright big moon and thought of Kanae. "She will be avenged, Akari", Shinobu says as she sits down with her and Kanao on her side. Akari smiles at Kanao. She lays her head on Shinobu's shoulder and held her hand as she held Kanao's. "She's very proud of you, I'm sure of it. You've grown up", Akari says closing her eyes and thinking of a moment where they were all living their normal lives. It was a beautiful thought in a beautiful night. Akari fell asleep on Shinobu's shoulders as she always has, whenever she feels comfortable with someone. Shinobu smiles and looks at the moon, in thought of her sister. "I miss you, Onee-chan".
In the morning, Akari woke up and prepared herself for another mission about a demon and missing persons. She and Kyojuro were called for the job. Although she didn't like the idea of having him as a partner. He pretty much was a liability to her. Oyakata-sama told them of the news about a village in the north. Every night, random people would go missing and found dead in the morning. Akari believed it to be a rogue demon. They were dismissed by Oyakata and Akari went to go find Tengen. Kyojuro followed her, and she didn't care if he did so. After all, she wanted Kyojuro to hear what she was going to say to Tengen. "I'm sure you're not busy at all, can you accompany me on a mission?", she asked as she entered the room of Tengen's house and his wives making them food. She was mostly close to Makio than the other two, but Suma and Hinatsuru were still family for her. "I heard you're going with Kyojuro", Tengen said as he helped his wives in cooking food. "Can't you just come with me instead?", she asked, more like demanded, arms crossed and eyebrow raising. "You are an amazing and flamboyant person, like me, but I still have a region to protect and we are headed there now. Give the guy a chance, you might like him. He's cool", Tengen says putting a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't say another word. Tengen was right, each hashira has a region to protect, if not having mission, they protect the people of that region. "You are not good at convincing people", she smiled and it was the first time Kyojuro has seen her smile. It was mesmerizing. She looked like she was a flower blooming after the rain had poured down.
Kyojuro ignored the conversation. He was known to be optimistic. He thought to himself that everyone has a reason for acting the way they are. And he was sure that Akari has hers. As they set off the journey, Kyojuro tried to make a conversation, but she wasn't much of a talker. They arrived early as expected of hashiras and blended in with the people. They rented a place, separate rooms, and started investigating. Akari was eager to get back as soon as possible. Because of Kanae's death, she didn't want to leave the Butterfly Estate unattended, even though Shinobu is a hashira now. She still wanted to protect them. They got an intel that the abandoned house at the back of an alley, was usually where the people would disappear. So they investigated that place first and surely, it felt like a graveyard. Demons don't work in pairs, but by the smell and feeling, it seemed like it is more than a pair. Kyojuro wanted to help Akari with the mission, but it seemed like Akari didn't need any help. When they heard a cry for help, Akari disappeared and so did Kyojuro, running faster than the wind. They saw a woman almost being eaten by just one demon. It seemed easier, until the demon spotted them and using its blood demon art, it multiplied into 20 demons. Akari was being reckless, something a hashira should not do in times of dealing a demon. But she is as hard as the mountain rocks. "Breath of the Phoenix: Twelfth From, ShÅkyaku tatchi". Akari swoops in toward the demon, thinking it was the right one. Kyojuro tried to stop her, but she was already inside the abandoned house. She tried slicing the demon in half with her form, but then it disappears into foam and she was wounded in the back of her shoulder. "Akari!", Kyojuro shouted. "Breath of Flame: Shi no kata: Sei En no Uneri", Kyojuro comes to her rescue and slashes all the demons appearing at once. He grabs the woman and Akari outside of the house and hides the woman in a bush, calming herself as she gives her gratitude to her savior. When he turns around, he saw Akari chasing the demon. He runs to her and to the demon, before it could kill someone else. It wasn't a demon who was part of the Twelve Demon Moons, but its blood demon art was exceptionally hard to predict, especially when a hashira isn't using her head. She fought the demon, using most of her forms. Akari managed to corner the demon. It was wounded. Both arms and legs aren't regenerating as fast as it usually could. It pleaded Akari to not kill him. He only said he was hungry and needed to eat. Akari with her sword ready to kill, in position above her head, she looked at the demon. "You are not worthy to live in this world and for that, you shall die", Kyojuro noticed that she was full of hate and anger, but she was crying as she positioned herself, the demon looking up at her. She shouted with all her might as she was about to kill the demon, but then, Kyojuro stopped her. He held his wrist and the seriousness he had was ominous. "Stop", Kyojuro says not letting go of her wrist. She gazes upon the sunset-haired boy in front of her in pure shock. Her tears were flowing out of her eyes. Kyojuro slashed the demon's head in one slash of his sword. He puts his sword back as swift and as elegant. Akari lets down her sword and puts it back in its case. She looked away and walked, wiping her tears. Kyojuro ran to her. "What is wrong with you? I had him!", she turned around facing him, their faces inches away from each other. She didn't look sad anymore, it was back into a vengeful look. "Nonetheless, you shouldn't be harsh and aggressive", Kyojuro snaps back at her. "They have the audacity to be monsters and I don't? Well, that doesn't seem fair! They don't deserve to live; they don't deserve to have feelings. They don't deserve anything!", she shouts at him. She started to breathe fast and raspy. She was hurt and Kyojuro knew that, but she needed to hear what he was about to say. "You talk about demons not deserving feelings, when all you know is hate", he looks down as he said this in his serious tone. She gasped as those words hit her like a stab in the chest. She had forgotten she was wounded. But the bleeding already stopped, she knows how to. She could not believe that because of all the deaths surrounding her, she became a monster herself. Kyojuro turns his back on Akari and walks away from her. She breaks down in the middle of the street. "You don't know what I've been through, you don't know who I am. How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!", she screamed so loudly.