With a Flame in my Heart [Rengoku x Fem Reader] -DISCONTINUED-

Eighteen - じゅうはち

Y/N covered her mouth in shock. She pushed Kyojuro away and leapt off the roof.

"Y/N-chan!" Kyojuro shouted, reaching out to her. He jumped off the roof after her. She was kneeling at Tengen's side. Gyutaro emerged from the shadows, darkness seemingly clinging to his very being. He wore a sinister smile.

"Yes... he's going to be dead! My deed is done. Now it's time for you!" he screamed, lunging at Y/N. Kyojuro immediately stepped in front of her. Gyutaro's fleshy sickle clashed with his bright red sword. Sparks flew, and Kyojuro pushed harder. Flames boiled around his sword.

"You won't touch Y/N-chan!" he yelled, fire erupting at his feet.

"I HATE COUPLES!" Gyutaro screeched. He overpowered Kyojuro, his sickle reaching his arm. It made a deep cut in Kyojuro's arm. Y/N was furious. She knew she couldn't move in that moment or else she would die, so she used a form that required barely any movement.

"Music Breathing, Seventh Form- The Piano's Highest Note!" she yelled, bringing her sword down in the air. The sound coming from the metal and friction was enough to make Gyutaro clutch his ears in pain. He let go of his sickle, which was wedged halfway through Kyojuro's arm.

"How annoying! That's not music at all!" he growled. Kyojuro staggered backwards, but kept his footing. Out of the corner of her eye, Y/N saw Tengen stir a little. He got up shakily, picking up his swords that lay beside him.

"Hey! I'm awake again! Oh, Rengoku-san... you have a little thing in your arm... you might wanna take care of that. Y/N-chan! Was that a noise that you made that woke me up? It might have burst my eardrums!" he said, laughing. His left eye was bleeding and his left arm was turning purple.

"Uzui-san! Are you poisoned?" Y/N cried, running up to him.

"Hmm, well, I was, but now I'm not!" he laughed. Y/N shook her head. She heard a strange noise cutting through the air. She turned around, and she saw a red figure whiz past her. Tengen leaned to the right as a sickle crashed into the building behind them. It pulled itself out of the rubble and came flying towards Y/N at lightning speed. Kyojuro jumped in front of her and pushed her out of the way, and she fell onto the ground.

Y/N fainted. The last thing she heard was Kyojuro screaming at Gyutaro and Tengen's familiar loud attacks. She collapsed onto the charred ground. A million thoughts raced through her mind.

The first thing she saw was Inosuke. She remembered all the times she had with him, may they be short-lived. She may not have known him as well or spent too much time with him, but deep down she knew that he was a good person.

Her unconscious mind wandered to the battle with Akaza. She recalled every attack. She certainly didn't want to, but then she remembered what Kyojuro told her right before he fell unconscious.

"L/N-san, if I die, just know that I love you," she remembered him saying. "Don't ever lose faith."

Y/N's eyes shot open. She sat up quickly, and looked around. She was in the middle of a raging fire. Scraps of wood were thrown about haphazardly around her. Fire was crackling and dying out, and the smoke made her cough. Kyojuro and Tengen were nowhere to be seen. Then, something shuffled behind her. She stood up and turned around, drawing her sword. The deformed figure of Gyutaro appeared in the smoke.

"Hmm... you're still alive! I thought I poisoned you!" he said in frustration, shaking his head in disapproval. Y/N growled.

"You! Where's Kyojuro-kun?" she shouted at him. He gave her a sadistic smile.

"Oh, you don't need to know," he told her. Horrible thoughts ran through Y/N's head as she imagined what the demon had done to the Flame Hashira. She stepped closer to the demon.