Fuyume suddenly awoke with a start, opening her eyes to blinding bright light.

It took a minute, but once her eyes had adjusted she quickly discovered that it was about midday and she was being carried over Tengen's shoulder…again. She grumbled quietly but before she could say anything he noticed her stirring and set her down so she could walk on her own.

"It's about time," he commented almost sarcastically as the two of them started again at a steady pace. "You were out cold for a while - almost a day and a half."

"Well I'm sorry but when you have to stay up just about every night in order to protect yourself from demons like I have to, then you'd understand why I was out for that long." The brunette rebutted with her arms crossed.

"Not only that but the technique I used drains a lot of stamina, especially if I use it in succession." The comment he made at the beginning now registered in her mind and she continued curiously. "Wait, you really carried me for a day and a half?"

"Roughly. Took a few breaks. You're not that heavy and there weren't any demons near us last night so it wasn't that bad." He replied simply.

Despite his statement he did look the tiniest bit miffed while rubbing his possibly aching neck. "I couldn't afford wasting any time waiting for you to wake up after all." he added.

There was a small awkward pause and then Fuyume quietly uttered a genuine sounding "…Sorry."

The hashira grumbled inwardly then looked curiously towards his traveling companion, who seemed quite downcast. It was then that he happened to notice something quite interesting.

As they walked the brunette didn't seem to be fully focusing on where she was going and yet she was unconsciously and effortlessly evading any obstacles in her path. It didn't matter if it was big or small - if it was a threat to her, she would simply just avoid it.

Tengen observed her movements silently for a while longer before deciding that he had to test something. With no warning at all he swiftly turned and attempted to strike her. The brunette happened to notice just in time yet barely dodged by stepping backwards, resulting in a small cut forming on her cheek.

After recovering from the sudden attack she shot a bewildered glare at him and said, "Are you really so mad about carrying me that you'd go so far to outright attack me?! I did apologize you know!"

Her question was blatantly ignored however when he continued with a string of attacks, each one increasing in vigor. Fuyume was still ultimately confused but focused on the oncoming strikes, dodging each one effectively. Tengen paused at the end of the small bout, smirking pleasingly at her display of reflexes but he decided he wanted to test her a bit further.

He then began with his second assault, aiming to lead her into any obstacles with his strikes to see if she would avoid them in much the same way. As he did so he observed that while she continued to evade (and even started blocking some of) his attacks, her focus was fully on him but at the same time she would also avoid running into anything that would harm or corner her.

This girl was more skilled than he thought and he was close to being fully satisfied but he felt that he could push a little more…

"That's enough!" Fuyume suddenly shouted, sounding fed up. "No more…" - she paused while winding up a punch of her own - "Relentless attacks!"

She put all of her strength into throwing it at him, but he caught her fist instantly with no effort at all. "That barely felt like a bug's sting." Tengen stated uninterestingly with a bored expression.

She was thrown off and angered by his comment, pouring her emotions into another strike. He dodged that one and swiftly knelt down to aim a swinging kick that would knock her off her feet. For a moment he almost believed that it would play out just as he thought it would, but she defied his expectations by jumping up and climbing onto the tree branch that happened to be above them.

He was mildly surprised as he stood up but quickly burst into laughter at the sight of her. "Looks like I'm actually traveling with a monkey! How exciting!" He remarked loudly with a large grin.

"I am no such thing!" Fuyume argued angrily, clinging to the branch while blushing with chagrin. "I only did this to get away from the crazy maniac attacking me for no reason!" Unfortunately her comment was ignored…as usual.

"Oh, but I did attack you and for a very good reason," the white haired male explained, still grinning. "I was gauging your ability to evade my attacks as well as your spacial awareness and I must admit, I'm quite impressed." - he lowered his voice and continued quickly - "Your punches could use some work though."

Upon hearing his explanation Fuyume became irritated. "That's all that was?! Do you even have manners?" She asked incredulously while jumping down. "Because you could've just commented on it or asked like any normal person would."

"But I am no 'normal person'," the hashira argued quickly with immense confidence. "For I am Uzui Tengen, Sound Hashira and the god of all things glamorous and flashy!"

The brunette was almost impressed that he had said something like that with such confidence and a straight face.

She was starting to regret agreeing to the deal he had made with her but she was stuck with him now, so all she could do was let out an exasperated sigh and accept her fate.

They continued on their walk in silence for a while until the white haired male suddenly asked, "So…with your skills as commendable as they are, why are you not a demon slayer?"

"I actually could've been one, had I not missed the Final Selection." The brunette answered unexpectedly. "I'd left home and my brother to head over there when I suddenly had this uneasy feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't ignore it so I rushed back and that's when I found my brother…" - she trailed off, then finished quickly - "Anyway beyond that it just never occurred to me to try and participate in another one, considering I had his nichirin and an urge to enact vengeance on that demon."

"Your mother is a slayer too though, isn't she?" Tengen inquired further and his traveling companion nodded in response. "Where was she at that time then?"

"She had accepted a mission that upon completing would grant her the hashira title. Some time had passed since she left and she hadn't been keeping in touch with us so we were a bit worried, but we knew she was more than strong enough to hold her own…" Fuyume explained, trailing off and realizing something that made her tremble with fear. "Oh my gosh if she knew what I was doing now she'd kill me!"

"Is she really strict then?"

"No. She's unnervingly calm all the time, even when she's angry. It's kind of scary." She paused and added. "She's generally a kind and nice person actually."

"Hmm, and if she was considered to become a hashira then she must be quite strong." The silver haired male surmised. "I assume she's the one who trained you?"

"Her and my brother both taught me, from the moment I could hold a weapon efficiently." The brunette replied. "We had no choice but to learn how to defend ourselves and slay demons or we'd get devoured. Our blood is special and greatly desired by them."

"Does that make you a marechi then?" Tengen asked somewhat curiously, remembering how that demon from the other night acted in her presence.

"No, my blood is rarer still. My mother told me its smell and taste has been likened to the most tempting fruit you can't help but want to devour - that's what a demon told her anyway. What's more, if a sizable amount of blood is consumed by a demon, it can boost its blood art."

"That may be why I need to take you to Headquarters." The hashira concluded. "You'd be far safer in the corps than on your own."

"That's what my mother believes too, but even so there's no escape from the demons at all…" Fuyume replied gravely, looking as if she's experienced some truths of her own.

She finally started to dress her cut, wiping away the excess blood with a piece of bandage before plastering a clean piece on it with some sort of ointment. She pointed to the cut and continued.

"This is a small cut but just in case we should be on alert tonight. Any demons within…about half a mile may come now due to this open wound. Covering it with a bandage helps conceal the scent but only to an extent. It'll just make it so they detect me a bit slower." She forewarned him with a serious confidence, giving off the impression that she had gone through situations much like this one many times.

"We can also place this stained bandage somewhere but that will only throw them off for a minute or two." She then paused, a little unsure of how to continue but did so anyway. "I also…may have to rely on you to take care of any demons that actually find us. I may look fine but my body is still recovering from the other night so I won't be able to use my technique effectively."

Tengen took her plan into consideration. It was quite foolproof he had to give her that, but the problem with this technique of hers was very odd to him. She was out for nearly a day and a half and was able to evade his attacks earlier but she still hadn't fully recovered from using it?

Perhaps it was time he consider offering her a hand…

"Your plan sounds very well thought through and I'll go with it, but I want something in return for protecting you again." he stated. "So after tonight I want you to explain to me how your technique works so that I may understand it better."

The brunette looked to him with a shocked expression. "I can't share my family's technique with you just like that! It's a secret!"

"You're weak and I need to know why before I can start training you."

"I…am not weak! It's just that the only strong move I have is-." She stopped short when realizing what he had said after that. "Wait. Train? Me?!"

"Yes, but we have to survive the night first since apparently you're a live lure for demons. Let's see if your strategy can get us through it."