It's killing me not watching the new season of Demon Slayer but my wife and I agreed to sit down and watch the entire thing in one go when it was completely out. Also if anyone has any questions about this story please feel free so send me a PM and I'll do everything I can to get back to you. Enjoy.

Akaza stood underneath the steaming hot water, his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the heat. Most of what humans enjoyed he considered frivolous luxuries, as a demon he was superior in almost every way. He didn't actually need to sleep, drink water and one meal of human flesh could keep an older and stronger demon like Akaza going for several months if needed. However one of the few things that humans and demons both enjoyed and required from time to time was a good bath. Most people would likely be surprised to learn the demons bath and shower like normal humans, at the end of the day demons dislike feeling grimy and dirty as much as any human.

Akaza had always enjoyed taking long soaks in the many hot springs across Japan and if that was possible there were few things more refreshing than standing under a waterfall or diving into a river to wash the blood and grime from a good fight off his body. This invention he stood under now that combined the heat of a hot spring with the feeling of standing under a small waterfall, it was easily one of the human races greatest achievements in Akaza's personal opinion.

After nearly half an hour Akaza turned the water off and stepped out of the shower and lowered himself into a squatting stance, slowly he pulled his right fist back while holding his open left palm out in front of himself. Remaining still for several seconds he took in a breath before punching forward faster than any bullet and creating a loud crack sound much a whip as it broke the sound barrier, the force of the movement behind the punch sent a small shockwave through Akaza's own body causing all the water clinging to his body to fly off of him leaving the demon completely dry with only slightly damp hair.

Reentering his room Akaza pulled on his clothes and soon after exited and made his way up to the ground floor, he didn't have any jobs to do tonight and Junior didn't like him acting as a bouncer. Apparently his hair, tattoo's and unique eyes didn't really fit with the 'theme' he was going for with his club staff. So on nights like this he was given the freedom to do most whatever he wanted as long as he was able to respond quickly incase of an emergency.

A customer getting to rowdy after a few to many drinks, a fight on the dance floor or someone getting pissed because they got turned away at the door, these were all things Junior left to his bouncers and usual staff to deal with. If a rival gang were to storm the building, a huntsmen gets drunk and starts wrecking the place or 'another guy like Akaza shows up' as Junior put it when he was hired, this was what he was tasked with dealing with. Unfortunately only two things had happened so far that had happened that required his involvement, both of which were Beacon students that had a little to much to drink and started acting up.

The first was a guy yelling at a girl for turning him down after an advancement on her, after sending a bouncer flying Akaza gave one powerful blow to the back of the teens neck knocking him out cold, after that he just took him and tossed his unconscious body into the alley behind the club. The second had happened only a couple nights before when a girl pulled her weapon after Junior cut her off at the bar. To deal with her he simply kicked the weapon out of her hands and wrapped her up in a bear hug pinning her arms to her sides and keeping her like that until the police arrived, she struggled the entire time but she never had a chance of actually breaking free. That was also the night Junior learned about his stance of fighting women.

Stepping out onto the main floor of the club Akaza looked around at the staff moving about, the sun wasn't going to fully set for another hour and a half so the club wouldn't be opening for another two at least. Moving over to the bar he sat down on one of the stools across from Junior who was practicing something he called 'flare' while mixing drinks. "I think you've actually gotten worse at that." Akaza said grabbing one of the drinks the tall man had already made and took a sip, alcohol didn't effect demons but he was curious about the flavor. "To sweet."

"That's coming out of your pay." Junior replied ignoring the jab. "Sense you're here I need to talk to you." Junior put down the mixers he'd been flipping around and leaned against the bar. "I recently received a request from one of our benefactors in Mistral, I seems that one of the their people have gone rouge and are on their way to Vale."

"They want you to deal with them." Akaza continued for him earning a nod.

"Drugs, arms, dust, information brokering even a little bootlegging. We dabble in all of this, assassination is not in mine or any of my boys wheelhouse. I don't know anything about your past, according to every source I have in Vale and abroad you don't exist by the way. Even still I could tell the first time I looked at you that you've killed, so I wanted to ask you. Akaza would you be willing to take care of this for me, obviously it wouldn't be for free." Junior explained in a tired voice. "I'm not gonna lie, this is the kinda work I do my best to stay away from. Normally I'd politely decline and refer our benefactor to another group in Vale who were more experienced but they made it clear they were calling in a favor and want a Xiong to do it."

Akaza listened as he continued tasting the other cocktails. "I don't fight women." He said without looking away from a white colored drink that peaked his interest with it's scent.

"The target is a man, you made your stance on that clear already. He's a Haven academy drop out, worked as a mercenary for about ten years before getting recruited into the group we are on good terms with." He explained.

"And then he did something stupid and now they want him dead, not the first time I've dealt with this type of thing." The demon shrugged sipping at the white drink. "What is this, I like the aroma it gives."

"It's a Pina Colada, so will you take care of this for me?" Junior asked sounding hopeful.

Akaza thought for a few moments. "Do you need the body or head for proof?" He asked before taking a bigger swig of the drink.

"Normally a picture of the corpse would be enough, but that does lead me to another detail. Our benefactor is sending a pair of their own agents to assist and verify, they should be arriving tomorrow evening." Junior said.

"Very well, I'll deal with it, on one condition though." Akaza raised a finger.

"What." Junior was slightly nervous at what the 'teen' wanted.

"After he's dead and these agents verify it, I get the body." He smiled with an almost hungry look.

Ansel

Jaune sat silently in his room, the door was locked and the lights were off. One of the few advantages to being the only son in a house with seven sisters was that he was the only person in the entire house to have his own room. His TV and stereo system were both off, the only noise was the large box fan he had in the corner of the room and the heavy rain slamming into the window.

It had been six days since his father had told Kyojuro he'd have to leave town, something he'd heard from Kyojuro himself the next day after he'd snuck off for their daily work out. Unsurprisingly the older blonde didn't seem upset about it in the least, Jaune on the other hand had been furious. Never before had he actually screamed and swore at his parents. He hadn't cared in the least about the threats of punishment or the tears in his mothers eyes, he'd called them embarrassments to the Arc name, he told his father he was a disgrace of a Huntsmen, he'd told them he was ashamed to call himself their son and was disgusted that he'd ever looked up to them.

That had been the last time they'd spoken in the past week, since then it had only been cold shoulders and awkward silences. It made him sick to his stomach, he loved his family. Jaune was a mama's boy to the bone and had grown up idolizing his father, but for him to kick someone as kind as Kyojuro out of the town the day he was discharged from the hospital, it was cruel.

"Jaune?" He heard his mothers voice through his bedroom door. "Dinner is ready down stairs sweety." He didn't reply, he'd go down and get some food in a few hours after everyone else was asleep. After another minute he heard foot step lead away from his door.

Jaune looked around the dark room until his eyes landed on the wooden practice sword Kyojuro had been teaching him with, leaning over he grabbed it and laid it across his lap. Closing his eyes he took in a deep breath the way he'd been taught to, it was hard and it felt like his lungs were going to burst after he did it for to long but he'd started to notice minor effects when he did it. He felt like he'd drank several energy drinks without feeling wired, his thinking felt more clear and when he did it before their workout he could go longer without feeling exhausted. He'd started doing it before bed and found he wasn't nearly as sore the next morning.

Standing up after a few minutes he was about to drop into the stance Kyojuro had made him practice for hours when he heard it, it was barely audible over the thunder and rain. Moving to his window he quickly pulled it open ignoring the rain it let in, he heard the bells. The bells along the wall that only rang for one reason. Grimm were at the gate.

Jaune was about to close the window and head down to the basement like his father had drilled into him and his sisters to do when this happened, then he stopped as he looked at the wooden sword in his hand. "Would Big Bro hide while someone else protected him?" He asked himself as an extremely stupid idea entered into his head.

Elsewhere

Kyojuro marveled at his demon slayer uniform, the last he'd seen of it it was soaked in his blood and riddled with cuts and holes, not to mention the single massive hole where he'd been impaled. Now it looked good as new, even his flame Hashira cape was blood and tear free.

Once he was physically cleared to do light exercise he'd taken to helping out around the hospital and nearby businesses, the head nurse apparently took a liking to him and as a thank you she'd paid the town tailor to repair his uniform. When she'd given it to him he'd been overjoyed. Turning to the mirror in the bathroom Kyojuro looked himself over, it was ever so slightly looser on him then it had been. He was sure he'd lost weight and muscle during his recovery.

His smile widened a bit. "Nothing a few weeks of real training can't fix!" He laughed.

Stepping out of the bathroom he walked over to the window and looked out at the rain pouring down over the village he'd called home for the past few months, the same one he'd be leaving the next morning. It was disappointing that he'd be departing on such a sour note, it was also sad the young Arc wouldn't be able to follow his dream but that was simply how things had to be.

His thinking was interrupted by a sound coming from the distance, the sound of bells if he wasn't mistaken. "Mr. Rengoku, please follow me to basement." The head nurse said as she quickly opened the door to his room.

"The basement, do you need my assistance lifting something?" He asked the elderly woman with his usual bright smile.

"No no, those bells mean that grimm are attacking the walls. We need to take shelter in the basement until the all clear is given." She explained to the young man.

Kyojuro looked back to the window. "I see." He nodded as he followed the woman out of the room but stopped at the main entrance to the building. "The walls are at the end of the main road correct?"

"Yes why?" She asked as she turned back just in time to see the blonde Hashira walk out the front door and take off in a sprint through the rain.

Vale

Akaza sat in the back of the clubs VIP limo, his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the drink in his hand. He'd never understood why some demons still wasted their time eating and drinking human dishes and beverages. Sake didn't taste good and he couldn't get intoxicated so drinking it was pointless, as for the food, human flesh tasted far better than fish, beef, chicken or pork. Then he tasted this drink made with the flavors of to plants he'd never even heard of, pineapples and coconuts.

After the first one Junior had made he asked for another without any alcohol, a 'virgin' Pina Colada as it was called. It was delicious and the one time one of Junior's boy laughed at him for drinking a 'pussy drink' he flicked the man hard enough to send him across the dance floor a crack his orbital bone, nobody had laughed after that. "Eh Three Eyes, the agents have made contact with our boys inside and should be here in a couple of minutes." The drivers voice came through a crack in the small window that divided the front and back of the limo.

"Got it." He responded setting the drink in a cup holder he leaned back in his seat, he was agitated, he had been since Junior had given him this job. It had been a couple weeks since he last ate and the thought of finally getting a taste of Huntsmen flesh had his blood boiling in his veins, it was like being tempted with marechi after a month of fasting.

He was brought out of his thoughts as the door to the limo was opened by the man that had been driving. "Your luggage will be collected by the man you spoke to inside and delivered to your rooms at the club." He heard the man explain.

"Let him know if he loses our stuff he's dead." A female voice said.

"It's worth more than he is." A similar voice added.

Then without waiting for a reply the two climbed into the back of the limo revealing themselves to be a pair of twin girls that looked to either be in their late teens or early twenties wearing distinctive red and white outfits. "Uh, did you ask for a tattood pretty boy to greet us?" The white themed girl asked.

"No, younger guys has always been your thing." The red one responded.

"My name is Akaza and I'm the one you'll be shadowing to verify the job is completed." Akaza said ignoring their comments.

"Really, you're who he sent?" Red asked.

"He didn't have anyone more experienced?" White asked.

"Or older?"

"Taller?"

"Stronger?"

"Enough!" Akaza snapped sending a glare at the two, a small amount of his considerable bloodlust leaking out causing the two to tense up and a small amount of sweat to form on their foreheads. "Give the last known location of this rouge agent we're meant to kill to the driver, I want to get this done before sunrise." He growled as he tried to calm himself, these were women, there was no honor in harming women.

"Someone more polite would've been nice." White muttered.

"Better dressed to." Red added.

Akaza grabbed his drink in frustration and dumped the entire thing down his throat, the brain freeze being preferable to the two girls.

Ansel

This had been a massive mistake.

Jaune couldn't help but think that as he held his families sword in front of him, while everyone had been heading for the basement he'd grabbed the sword from the mantel and ran out the front door towards the walls where the grimm were attacking. His father was likely deep in the thickest of the grimm keeping them busy while the rest of the militia fought of the rest. Jaune figured he'd be able to help by killing a few of the smaller stragglers that might have gotten close to the walls, he hadn't expected the wall to have a large hole smashed in it with nobody else around and a pissed off nine foot tall beowulf stepping through.

He could hear the fighting and gunshots in the distance and the grimm didn't seem to have noticed him just yet, he shifted on his feet to prepare to run off towards the militia, he couldn't do this on his own. Then he realized, if he ran now this thing would have free reign in the town until the main gate was safe. Still shaking Jaune placed his hand on the handle of Crocea Mors, the weapon that had seen his grandfather through countless battles. Taking in a deep breath Jaune drew the blade.

The sound of the sword leaving it's sheath caught the attention of the monster, Jaune heart pounded in his chest as he dropped into the stance Kyojuro had taught him. He adjusted his grip on the blade, the grimm dropped onto all fours. The two were still for several agonizing seconds, only the rain which continued to pour made noise. Then he reached the point he couldn't take it anymore. "COME ON!" Jaune screamed causing the beast to take off in a sprint covering the thirty or so yards between them in the blink of an eye.

Every fiber of Jaune being was screaming at him to run away but as the grimm approached he slowly released the breath in his lungs, then in a act of instinct he stepped to the side and thrust the tip of his sword towards the monsters chest. His aim was off but the blade managed to tear a gash in the monsters side causing it to stagger, seeing an opportunity Jaune turned and stung with all his might into the grimms back. The blade dug more than an inch into the monsters flesh earning a howl of pain.

A small laugh escaped Jaune's lips as he realized he was doing it, he was actually fighting a grimm and winning. Then as if hearing and being offended by the laugh the grimm spun around causing the blonde boy to loose his grip on the sword, then with a single sweep of it's claws it ripped four gashes in the young teens chest sending him onto his back on the muddy ground.

Time slowed down and everything was silent as Jaune fell into shock from the wounds now leaking a worrying amount of blood from his abdomen. He watched as the grimm stood over him, he wasn't afraid, he was to in shock to full comprehend what was about to happen. The monster raised it's claw.

"Flame Breathing Third Form, BLAZING UNIVERSE!" And then a wave of intense heat washed over Jaune as the beowulf was cut cleanly down the middle bright flames reducing the two halves to ash before they could hit the ground. There Rengoku stood holding Crocea Mors heat waves visibly rising from the blade.

"Young Arc!" He called out as he dropped to his knees next to the bleeding boy and began looking him over.

"Big...Bro." Jaune choked out.

"Stay quiet, you are bleeding heavily." Kyojuro said firmly as he ripped open the boys shirt, the rain was quick to wash away the spilled blood. "It's deep but it doesn't look like any of your vitals were to terribly damaged, but the bleeding is troubling. Damn, if you were more advanced in your total concentration breathing you could slow the bleeding enough to move you." Kyojuro thought aloud to himself, his smile absent from his face.

"Is that... how you... survived... being impaled? Sounds... useful." Jaune laughed weakly.

Rengoku's eyes widened, that wasn't how he survived. Nicholas Arc had saved. "Aura." He said to himself. After being informed that his aura had been unlocked he'd done research on the topic, what it was, tips on how to use it, ways to train it and finally how to unlock anothers. He hadn't had any chance to sit down and try anything yet, he'd been to busy recovering and getting his body back into shape.

Quickly he placed his hand over the boys chest and his other on his forehead, from what he read he was to push his soul into the other persons being until he made contact with their soul and then pull it to the surface. He wasn't sure how to actually do this but he'd read that it helped to imagine reaching into a deep pool of water and pulling something out, it also supposedly help to recite a chant or prayer of some kind. The words didn't really matter, it was more of a way to help focus and ad a bit of ceremony than anything else.

Rengoku closed his eyes and reached into that pool of water. "There will be times when you feel useless, when you weakness will leave you devastated. But no matter what, you must never give it to your despair. You must grit your teeth and look straight ahead, and should you ever falter I say to you this. Set your heart ablaze." With those words he felt the power deep within the boy being and pulled with all his might.

A bright light shined for several moments from the younger blondes body as a wave of fatigue washed over Rengoku for a few moments, looking over the teen he smiled as he saw the bleeding and stopped and the wound had largely closed. He would still likely need medical attention but for the moment he wasn't in danger.

Standing once again Kyojuro turned to the hole in the wall, now standing at the breach were nearly a dozen more of the creatures of darkness. Looking at the blade in his hand he gave a couple quick practice swings. "The weight and balance aren't what I'm use to and it's a bit shorter than I prefer." He said to himself before turning to the monsters and raising the blade high. "But it shall suffice for you mindless creatures, now come. It's been far to long since I last put my body to real work!"

Vale

"So he took one of your branch gangs recipe of this drug called 'Sunset', and if anyone else gets their hands on it you'll lose power." Akaza summarized as the limo made it's way towards the industrial district.

"Yeah, the Spider has been like really careful to keep it a trade secret." Red answered.

"If it got out we'd lose our monopoly of that part of the market." White added.

"I'm surprised you've never heard of it." Red said.

"You've got the whole delinquent huntsmen wash out look about you." White nodded.

Akaza shook his head. "Drugs and alcohol don't work on me so whats the point? I once killed an opium dealer I bumped into in an alley and tried some but didn't feel a thing, same for sake. Drank a bucket full once, nothing." Akaza waved his hand. "What does this sunset stuff do, is it really so valuable?" He asked mainly as a way to kill time.

"It's not just about the money, if it's made wrong even just a little it's lethal." White said.

"More lethal anyway. If you don't have aura and take it then you die no matter what." Red said with a look of distaste.

"It's actually a type of poison that specifically targets the nerves, if you don't have aura you'll end up bleeding out of every hole in your body." White explained.

"But if you do have aura the passive healing effects of aura repairs the damage as quickly as appears. Add in the sensitivity enhancing drugs as well as a couple other chemicals that play tricks on how the brain interprets signals from the body." Red continued.

"And boom, it's basically a fully body orgasm for about an hour, then you puke like you never have before in your life. If it's made wrong then it kills even those who do have aura." Akaza was getting tired of how the two would pick up where the other left off as he listened.

"And sense most aura users are either huntsmen or in training to be huntsmen that means most casualties would be huntsmen." Red sighed.

"And nothing will get governments to crack down faster than fucking with huntsmen, we go from the seedy underbelly of the kingdoms to public enemy number one." White crossed her arms.

Akaza nodded his head, it made sense that when something started effecting those that kept society going that everybody would happily stand up and put a stop to it. "So we're going to stop him before he sells the recipe?"

"Yes, though if our information is correct he's heading straight to a rival crime family to the Xiongs as soon as he landed in Vale. Chances are he's already there." White told him with a frown.

"Our plan was to deal with the thugs and gangsters while you dealt with our run away, but if don't think you're up to it we could switch and you can let the big girls handle this while you play with the small fries." Red said in a teasing tone that reminded Akaza to much of a certain rainbow eyed freak he knew.

"No, he will die by my hands. Neither of you are to interfere under any circumstance." He said clenching his fists as he felt a gnawing in his stomach, it was time to eat.

"We're here." the driver called back through a crack in the dividing window.

The twins climbed out before Akaza who looked up at the condemned apartment building. "Let's go."

Elsewhere, several hours later

An old man massaged his temples as he stared out the window of his tower, the moon was nearly gone as the sky started to brighten ever so slightly and everyone with any sense was wrapped up under blankets in bed. Not he however, far to much work. Keeping the world turning was no easy task as it were. A tapping at his window pulled his attention, a black bird with red eyes perched on the other side of the glass. Walking over to that pane he opened it letting the bird in.

"Qrow, I wasn't expecting you until next week." The old man said walking over to his chair as sitting down.

The bird had vanished leaving a tall red eyed man standing next to his desk. "Yeah well, I wouldn't to talk to you before the papers spoiled my story, though it is an ugly one."

The old man tilted his head in interest, Qrow had seen some of the worst humanity had to offer. If he considered something ugly it was worth hearing. "What happened."

"The Cannibal has struck again, and this one had huntsmen training."

And I think thats a good place to stop, like I said before it feels really good to be writing again, I'd forgotten the satisfaction of finishing a chapter again. For those about to start going on about how Rengoku didn't actually create flames when he swung his blade, you are correct but I implore you to wait and see whats in store. Leave me a review and let me know what you all think. LATER.