As blood spilled out of his mouth in a painful stream of crimson red, dripping to the ground in a large pool, Rengoku kept his shaky eyes down at the wounded demon staring up at him in terror. He had managed slice his sword from Akaza's abdomen through to his right shoulder, severing off a portion of his face along with it. He had raised his arm high to bring it back down at the demon when overwhelming pain pierced his chest. He could no longer feel the erratic beating of his heart. Instead, he felt his lungs jump out of his throat, gagging on the blood forcing its way out.

In the background, above the blood rushing to his head and clouding his vision, he heard the horrified wails of Kamado and Yamato screaming behind him. The demon's arm, Akaza's arm, had been shoved clean through his chest creating a large cavity within. His eyes never left the yellow irises but, if he could feel his heart, he knew it would've ached to a horrendous degree at their despair.

"Kyojuro, you must know this wound will kill you!" Akaza gasped out healing the pieces of his sliced body back together in mere seconds. "Save yourself! Say that you'll become a demon! Can't you see?! Your strength makes you truly special!"

Then, every noise that plagued his pounding ears ceased to exist.

A soft breeze blew by his head, lifting his drenched bloody hair slightly off his shoulders, and the gentle sound of wind chimes accompanied it. His shaky, hazy vision of his destruction, of the demon, of the destroyed train in the background darkened to nothing. With a small, weak blink of his eyes, the world reappeared to something more beautiful. To something more serene and angelic.

His eyes slowly took in everything around him. He was inside a room, a home, with the doors slid wide open revealing beautiful greenery from outside. Hanging on the doorway shifting slightly with the cool wind was the light blue round wind chime. He knelt in front of a futon bed occupied by a pale woman with long black hair and beautiful red eyes. Sitting beside her was a plate holding a bag of medicine and a cup of water. At the foot of her futon, resting and sleeping by her feet sucking on their thumb, was a small boy with fiery golden hair just as he. Her stern but kind eyes that had been gazing outside turned to him. The feelings of pain, terror, and agony left instantly at her warm but firm gaze.

"Kyojuro," She had spoken his name.

"Yes, what is it, Mother?" He immediately replied straightening his back and focusing all of his attention on her.

A small moment passed between them. "I want to ask you something, and I want you to answer honestly," She began to speak through her airy and tired voice. "Do you know why it is you were born with greater strength than so many others?"

"Uh..." Rengoku almost answered but faltered. He didn't think of himself as someone with greater strength and power. He was only a kid, he didn't think he had reached any of his potential yet. Not even close to the power his father has. To hear such a question from her baffled him but he wasn't going to leave her without an answer. "No, ma'am, I don't!"

"It is so that you can protect the weak," She didn't hesitate to answer. Rengoku's eyes widened slightly. "Those who are born blessed with more bountiful gifts than others are obligated to use those gifts for the sake of the world, for all of our fellow brothers and sisters. You must never use that God-given strength to bring harm to mankind or for your own selfish desires. It is the duty of those born strong to help those who may be less fortunate, a responsibility you must carry onward with due purpose. Be sure to never forget that."

The words of his mother reverberated deep in his heart. "I won't!" He confidently replied with the firm shake of his head.

Slowly, she held out her arms to him. Rengoku's eyes wavered at the gesture and swallowed the lump in his throat. He crawled to her and almost gasped. His mother drew him close to her chest and hugged him firmly, protectively, and lovingly. With his face pressed gently against the white kimono of hers, feeling the soft cradling of her hand against his head, he felt her place her chin delicately at the very top. He stared wide eye at the wind chime still blowing gently with the breeze, trembling slightly at the overwhelming affection of his mother no matter how small or grand the gesture is, and let himself... melt in the embrace.

"Kyojuro... I don't have much time left," She gently said above the peaceful but sorrowful atmosphere, "Having such a strong, gentle child... was a true blessing. I believe in you."

Rengoku's body shook at her last words to him. I believe in you echoed in his head, mind, and heart. Feeling the tiny droplets of tears fall from his mother's eyes on to his yukata made his heart tremble at the thought. She was dying and going to leave him soon. At first, he couldn't understand how a world could exist without a woman, a mother, like her. Strong, gentle, protective, steadfast, and loving. Those were all the characteristics she was... and those he wanted to be. She was counting on him to protect the weak and helpless. He won't ever let her down!

Gripping the hilt of his blade so tight the veins in his hands popped out of his skin, Rengoku let out a ferocious scream and slashed it downwards! The blade designed with the flames roaring along its length lit up a bright red meeting contact with the demon's neck. Akaza gasped and gagged at the sudden and quick movement. The demon didn't seem to believe there was any strength left in Rengoku's body but there was still more! There was still enough!

Mother, it was I who was blessed to have been born to such a woman as you!

A snarl, big and wide like a wolf's, spread across Rengoku's lips as he applied more, more, and more pressure to the sword that wasn't making a dent in the demon's skin! Roaring out what anger and determination he had in his body, he pushed the momentum and wave of its energy straight into the blade! Finally, it managed to sink inside a quarter of the way into the demon's neck!

Akaza growled loudly and flexed his fingers before clenching them in a tight fist. Rengoku watched in slow motion as the demon's clenched hand drew closer and closer at the speed of light. Steeling his core, he immediately whipped out his hand and grasped the demon's wrist, stopping it in its track just inches from his face! Akaza's eyes widened and narrowed at the move. He didn't believe Rengoku could stop such a move in his weak, battered, and broken state but he will not fail! He will see his duty fulfilled!

Rengoku fought against the excruciating pain that was spiking throughout his entire body like a lightning bolt. He fought against the urge to gag out the blood that was forcing its way out of his throat, to hunch over and collapse on his knees wheezing and heaving, and ultimately give in to the begging and crying of his muscles. He had never felt such agony before but he won't give up! So many people were counting on him; Kamado, Yamato, the boar-lad, and many more, especially the innocent civilians that were still evacuating the train. If Rengoku were to give up now just because of his fatal wounds, they would all die. He won't let that happen!

He barely had the strength to continue pushing his blade into the thick, rock-like neck of Akaza, but that was okay. He just needed to buy time. The faint rays of sunlight were already beginning to peek out from beneath the horizon.

Akaza's eyes widened in terror seeing the darkened sky beginning to light up with daylight. He quickly positioned himself closer to the forest and tried to pull his arm out from the cavity he created in Rengoku's chest but he couldn't. No matter how much he tugged roughly he wouldn't be able to escape! Having taken advantage of the demon's shock at his sudden burst of energy, Rengoku had forced his chest to heal and close around the demon's arm. Not to mention the grip he had on the demon's wrist was tight, so tight he could bend a thick bar of metal with one hand. The demon, Akaza, was not going anywhere! Rengoku ignored the agonizing feeling of his broken ribs scraping against the skin and organs inside his body but he won't yield.

What ensued was a game of tug-of-war.

With every tug and shove of Akaza, Rengoku made sure his strength will not yield to that of his. The demon was staying where he was to meet the grim fate of the sun's burning rose on to his skin! The ever-growing terror in his eyes watching the sun rise closer and closer to the horizon, the violent trembling of his body, and the impatient, constant foot-switching were all signs that the demon feared the sun above everything else, even Muzan Kibutsuji.

"Let go of me!" Akaza growled pulling his arms harsher and harsher.

Both of them growled and roared at the top of their lungs. Neither one of them was going to fall to the other. Akaza was determined to live and escape the sun's merciless wrath but Rengoku was determined to let him meet the deadly rays the demons couldn't stand to gaze. Rengoku roared more savage and forced his blade to sink in halfway in Akaza's neck!

"Inosuke, move! If we don't help him now, it'll be too late!" He heard Kamado scream in the background.

Hearing three different pairs of feet running towards him, Rengoku had the sudden, frighten urge to finish the battle quickly! Akaza, no matter how immobilized he is, will still not hesitate to kill whoever got in his way from fleeing the sun!

As the boar-lad's jagged blades almost met Akaza, he did a move that Rengoku almost didn't foresee. Akaza broke and ripped his own arms clean off, snapping the edge of Rengoku's blade letting steel ring harshly through the air. He immediately pushed a heavy foot into the ground, crackling it underneath, and jumped away. The heavy wind forced the boar-lad, Kamado, and Yamato to hesitate just slightly but it was enough for him to make a quick retreat.

"Mr. Rengoku!" Yamato cried running towards him even in her weakened state and falling in front of him.

Rengoku had collapsed on his knees, no longer able to feel anything in his legs, and hunched over from the arm of the demon still embedded in his chest. His senses were leaving him, his breathing becoming shallower, but his eye was able to lock on Kamado running to where Akaza had fled into the forest. The young boy stopped at the edge and drew back his arm with his sword gripped tightly in his hand. A sharp-pitched breathing accompanied with red hot flames spewed out of his mouth and he watched the blade fly true into the darkened forest. He heard the faint sound of skin snapping and gasping knowing the blade pierced the body of Akaza as he fled.

Kamado's fists clenched so tightly blood dripped to the ground. "Don't run away! I'm not done with you, coward! Turn and face me!" He screamed harshly not caring if Akaza was listening or not. "Don't forget the Demon Slayer Corps is always fighting you demons in the dead of night, where you have the advantage! We're not like you at all! We don't regenerate as fast, and when we lose a limb, it's gone for good! Don't run away, you bastard! You're a coward, a coward! Mr. Rengoku is stronger than you'll ever hope to be! Much stronger! You didn't win against him! He kept everyone safe! He fought to the very end so no one would die! You're the one who lost! Rengoku... is the true victor!"

Rengoku trembled at his words, his eye wavering on the shaking boy, as the rest, Yamato and the boar-lad, watched on in silence. The sun rose above the horizon, lighting up every darkness and shadow with its bright rays of yellow, and illuminated the boy's violently shaking figure. They watched as Kamado immediately broke down into tears, collapsing on his knees, wailing into the sky in agonizing pain.

Rengoku gazed at the tearful boy and pictured his brother, Senjuro, in his place. Both of them were much alike; gentle, passionate, and strong in their own ways. They both would break down into tears but Rengoku never gave his brother grief for it.

A small smile spread across his blood-stained lips and he lightly chuckled, "Don't work yourself up like that."

Yamato gasped and gazed up at him through tear-filled eyes. Kamado slowly rose his head from the ground and placed his eyes on his. "You would reopen your wound... and that would be very bad. You dying, my young Kamado, would truly spell my defeat," He quietly spoke barely managing above a whisper.

"Mr. Rengoku," Kamado cried softly.

"Come here, lad. Let us speak one last time."

Yamato, who had been trying to keep her tears in her eyes, failed. At his words, at the prospect of speaking just one last time for his inevitable death would be arriving soon, a sob choked out her throat and a wave of fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. She immediately tried to hold herself together, swallowing the lumps that were growing from her chest, and stifled the whimpers threatening to spew out. Kamado gulped and slowly stood from the ground. He joined the crying Yamato's side and gazed up at him with wide eyes.

Rengoku barely held their gazes. He felt his strength fleeing quickly and he did the best he could to retain some of it just for them. "When I was dreaming of the past... there was something I remembered," He said through an airy, weak voice, "My old resident... you should go pay it a visit. There are notes left by the previous Flame Hashira there. I recall my father used to read them often, but I'm afraid I don't know their contents myself." He groaned in pain when the arm inside his body disintegrated when touched by the sun's light. "Within those notes..." He continued fighting through the painful gasps and emptiness that now filled him, "You may find the dance, the Hinokami Kagura, and the dragon ancestry you mentioned there."

There was nothing to keep his body from holding together. The demon's arm kept his wound closed and bought him more time to speak. Now that it was gone, his wound had reopened. He could feel the thick, iron-smelling substance drench his body and clothing. He didn't have much time anymore.

"Please! Mr. Rengoku..." Yamato cried holding up her hands in surrender, "Enough of that talk. You're going to be fine. Y-You can... h-heal yourself up, like how Tanjiro did!"

Rengoku smiled down at the young girl. "I can't. Very soon, I'll be dead."

Kamado and Yamato gasped in terror.

"Before that happens, I need you to hear me out," Rengoku again started almost begging, "I have a younger brother named Senjuro. Please tell him to follow his heart and walk down the path he feels is right. Tell my father... that I want him to look after himself. Tell Angela, my beloved angel, it has been an honor. And lastly, about your sister..." Rengoku gasped at the pain numbing his entire body and gulped down the blood from his throat. He saw their frightened gazes falling on the blood pooling out from underneath his body but he didn't want them to focus on that. He wanted them to focus on his words. He firmly held the gaze of Kamado and chuckled, "Know that I believe in her."

Fresh tears poured down their faces seeing his kind, gentle smile speaking of Nezuko Kamado. "I accept her as part of our ranks. Your sister shed blood to protect the people inside that train from demons. And anyone who does that, regardless of what is said to the contrary, is a rightful member of the Demon Slayer Corps. So hold your head high. If you're feeling disheartened, that you are somehow not enough... Set your heart ablaze."

He watched the light in their eyes illuminated by the sun twinkle and sparkle at his words, just how his once did at his mother's. The whimpers of grief and sorrow couldn't be held back by the young Demon Slayers anymore. Their gazes held pain and sadness, despair and desperation, and no words needed to be said they didn't want Rengoku to go. They didn't want him to leave them alone. He had promised them to be his Tsugukos. In those last moments of courageous acts performed by the three, they already were.

"Dry your eyes, and look ahead," Rengoku added keeping his voice steady. "You may feel like digging your heels in, but the flow of time waits for no one. It won't patiently stand by as you grieve. Don't feel bad that I'm going to die. As a Hashira, it's natural I'd protect you all. The young buds must be allowed to bloom. Any other Hashira would have done the same as I. Young Kamado, Young Yamato, Young Boar, Boy of Yellow... you must continue to grow. And eventually you will lend your aid by becoming the next Hashira. I believe... in each and every one of you."

He kept the weak smile on his face providing what reassurance and comfort he could give as each of them broke down into sobs and whimpers. Yamato sobbed loudly into her hands, crying and wailing, Kamado kept one hand to his eyes, his shoulders shaking heavily, and he heard the boar-lad's stifled whimpers and cries in his mask.

Rengoku's vision began to fade and grow dark. It was going in and out of his existence... but something behind the young Demon Slayers made him gasp.

Standing just a few meters away, basking and glowing in the beautiful rays of yellow and orange of the sunrise, was his mother.

Mother.

She looked just as beautiful as she did then. Her kind but stern red eyes never drifted or strayed from his. With her hands clasped in front of her, she stayed locked on his eye and didn't move. Nothing else in the world mattered at that moment. Everything else faded from his vision. It was he and her alone in the clearing.

Mother... Did I do well? The responsibility I-I took upon myself to fulfill... Was I successful?

He waited patiently, almost fearful, of what she was going to say. Her stern gaze faded into one of sorrow before lifting into a gentle smile. "I'm so proud of you, my son," He heard her delicate yet strong voice speak proudly in his head.

Oh... how he longed to hear those words.

Rengoku's heart lifted and fluttered high in his chest. He smiled widely and chuckled softly before letting his head... softly fall... to his chest... letting out his last... ever... breath...

Kagami watched as Mr. Rengoku's smile widened into one of pure joy, felt the last breath leave from his body, and his head slowly tilt forward. "No... no..." She whimpered clutching the battered ground beneath her. Her chest raked violently with sobs she could barely contain and whispered to no one, "Mr. Rengoku... Please don't leave..."

Mr. Rengoku was surrounded by the young Demon Slayers who looked up to him; she, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and finally Zenitsu who carried Nezuko's box on his back.

"I can't believe he's gone. W-Was it really an Upper Rank demon?" Zenitsu shakily asked.

"Yeah," Tanjiro quietly answered.

"Why would something like that come here, something that strong? I don't get it," He whimpered gesturing to everything around him.

Kagami felt absolutely useless from the sidelines. She watched the colors of blue and red clash and collide at the speed of light, zipping and zooming across the clearing, rising dirt and dust to cloud their battle. Her eyes weren't able to keep up with the intensity and speed but she had watched, horrified, as Mr. Rengoku got slower, weaker, and increasingly overpowered by the demon. He suffered injuries and wounds that impacted his ability to fight but not the hope and determination he had to keep everyone safe. It was truly... inspiring. Even when he was dying, he never gave up.

"I'm so frustrated," Tanjiro cried to the ground gripping his pants tightly, "Soon as I manage to break through one wall... it feels like I just hit an even higher, thicker wall. And all the while, I can hear the sounds of my h-heroes fighting just beyond it... but I can't make it over to join them! If I'm still here f-fumbling around in the dark... how can I ever... Is becoming someone like h-him even possible for m-me?"

Kagami gazed at her hands and looked at someone who was useless. Fresh tears spilled from eyes and dripped to her hands. If she had been stronger, if she had been enough, Mr. Rengoku would be alive. She wouldn't have to go home and tell his brother, father, and girlfriend he died protecting them all because she was weak. That she couldn't do a thing about it because she wasn't enough. She wasn't ever enough.

"Stop blubbering like a little baby!"

The three of them gasped and stared at Inosuke, seeing the mask's tear-filled eyes.

"This "can I or can't I" talk is really pissing me off!" Inosuke screamed through the cracks and tears in his voice. "He already said he believes in you, so you just have to worry about how to get there! All living things just go back to the earth when they die! Feeling sorry for yourself isn't gonna change that! Remember what Bug Eyes said to you! No matter how pathetic or humiliated you feel, you just gotta keep on living!"

"But you're crying, too," Zenitsu cried. "I can see all the tears coming out of that headpiece of yours."

Inosuke immediately charged forward and bashed his head into Zenitsu's. "I am not crying!" He denied even though tears still leaked out of his mask.

As Zenitsu collapsed to the ground, Kagami continued to wail and cry into her hands. She and Tanjiro leaned on one another for support, their sobs and weeps mixing together to form a chorus of despair and... rejuvenation. She couldn't believe she was beginning to allow herself to feel incompetent and useless. Mr. Rengoku already said he believed in her, in all of them, that they could become stronger. That they had the potential to become Hashiras. She just needs to... set her heart ablaze.

A Kasugai crow flew all over Japan delivering the news of Kyojuro Rengoku's death.

Karasuma Tsuyuri let his Kasugai crow perch on his arm when it approached he and his sisters Shinobu Kocho and Kanao Tsuyuri walking around the nearby city. They weren't surprised by its presence at first, believing it was a new mission for them, but gasped at the news delivered. His heart tinged with rage and his fists clenched in anger, especially at the heartbroken look spreading across Shinobu's face. Another comrade and friend fallen to the hands of filthy demons, an Upper Rank at that... It will get what it deserves.

Mitsuri Kanroji had been picnicking when she received the news. Her eyes glossed over with her tears and a hand flew to her mouth in horror. Muichiro Tokito had been walking through a bamboo forest but didn't seem affected at all. Tengen Uzui was staking out the Entertainment District when his dazzling crow approached him. Anger flared through his core and growls dripped from his mouth at the loss of his brother to an Upper Rank demon. Obanai Iguro, overlooking the city of his home, refused to believe the death of his fallen comrade. Gyomei Himejima and Genya Shinazugawa were training but immediately gave a moment of silence, the former praying to the loss of his friend.

Kurai Sato sat by on the ground watching Sanemi Shinazugawa practice his sword-skills with a fluttering heart. He allowed her special permission to observe and offer constructive criticism. She was overjoyed but it was soon replaced with despair. A gasp left her mouth at the words of her Kasugai crow perched on her arm and Sanemi growled angrily with his fist clenched tightly around the hilt of his sword. Tears welled up in her eyes and she immediately thought of Angela, Rengoku's most beloved.

Angela and Giyu had finished leaving the Butterfly Mansion after seeking treatment. Their mission was unsuccessful; they weren't able to locate the demon luring young women into the forest with the powerful persuasion of music. They had encountered demons but none of them were strong enough to create such devastation.

She lifted her hand in the sky hearing the flapping wings of her Kasugai crow, Himari. "Any news of Kyojuro's return?" Angela asked her with a small smile.

Her crow didn't answer at first. The eyes of black gazed up at her in despair and sadness. Then, she opened her beak. Not a second later did the light and life inside of Angela's heart wilt and disappear in a sea of ashes. The smile that had spread across her lips fallen into a frown, to a glare, then finally... to nothing. "Is that so?" She mumbled in a low voice.

Giyu turned to look over his shoulder, his eyes widened just slightly at the news of his fallen friend and comrade. They glanced over Angela who stood deathly still in her spot. The light that always illuminated her body, the bright yellow irises that sparkled in the light, and bright pink cheekbones were gone. There was nothing in her eyes, nothing around her body, and her cheekbones were all but pale. Darkness fleeted between those pupils of hers with no sign of the person she was inside. The angel... seemingly fell out of heaven.

Without a word, without a single tear forming in her dark eyelids or the slightest tremble of a cry or sob, Angela unfurled her wings from her back. Not a moment later did she soar powerfully into the sky and to... nowhere.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki had been walking the property of his home with his wife and daughter right alongside him. He no longer held the ability to gaze upon the world. It was always basked in a bright white light but it never dampened his love for walks. He loved smelling the beautiful green of trees, grass, and dew, the feeling of the cool breeze against his skin, and the love from his devoted wife gently holding his arm. His daughter, Nichika, accompanied him and gave him the grave news of one of his children's passing, Kyojuro Rengoku. He had sent his child on a mission to save the innocent civilians going missing on the Mugen Train, along with Kamado, Yamato, Hashibira, and Agatsuma. To hear such news was painful but he was proud nonetheless.

"Not even a single one of those 200 passengers lost their lives? He did a splendid job indeed. A remarkable child," Ubuyashiki gently but proudly spoke above the waters of his pond. "I feel no sadness. My life will soon reach its end as well." He reached his head up towards what was no doubt a clear blue sky. "And then I'll be able to see Kyojuro and the others again... in the world after."