The Souls In The Flames: A Rengoku x Reader Story

Chapter 17

                           New P.O.V.
                     Third person limited

   One of my newest mission after recovery from the Entertainment District was supposed to be a new threat. I had no idea, a demon this powerful was here.

   As the young boys kimono swayed at the harsh and cold winds, he gripped his Nichirin sword tighter. The smell of this demon, was almost the exact same sent of Muzan. This had to be a upper moon, at least upper moon 4 or at most upper moon 1. It didn't seem like it cold see me, do this would be a perfect opening.

    The boy leaped into the air, with utmost grace. He kept his total concentration beathing and got ready for his attack. He did, however, feel himself stutter for a moment. He could smell pain, and sadness on this demon. It may have once been human, so it still feels human emotions. But he still had to keep going, he couldn't stop now.

   Just do it Tanjiro! This is a dangerous demon!

   "Hinokami Kangura! Clear Blue Sky!"

                     Back To Original P.O.V.

   There was a sudden clash of Nichirin Metal. I had faced the demon slayer that had dared to attack. I felt myself pale anymore. This was the young demon slayer that was killing the upper and lower moons at an alarming rate. His face was one of fright too. His hanafuda earings swayed like his checkered kimono. His sword was still in place from my blocked attack from my bladed fan.

   How peculiar, the box on his back... it must have his demon sister in there I suppose. I became distracted for a moment when he quickly tried another attack. It was one that was aimed to strike like an uppercut, but then slice my head off. Just barely when it was about to strike me, I blocked it.

   "Who are you!" The boy yells, "what kind of a demon are you? I don't even know if your an upper moon anymore." He tried repositioning himself to attack again.

   "I can assure you I'm not an upper rank. It is your sense of smell, right? That's how you depict which demons are more powerful and closer to his power." The boy seemed to pause with his attack, trying to relax his muscles and steady his breath.

   "If you are referring to Muzan Kibutsugi as 'his' then you are correct. Why aren't you fighting back, may I ask?"

   "Why not strike me when I'm this weak? I'm still fast and can kill but I won't." The boy still had gripped his sword tightly, ready to attack again. This is getting tiresome. I would have thought any other demon slayer would gladly listen because of their will to live and fear.

   "Am I not right to believe you must have killed humans and other demon slayers?" Anger, hatred, but also pure questioning in his voice. It was all I could hear.

   "No... no you aren't mistaken for things I have done in the past. A great deal of these things deserve punishment, deserve a truly gruesome death. Not to mention my relations." The boy still held his stance, and remained listening intently.

   "Then why do you do it?" Taken aback from the question, I think on it. Why exactly would I start my change now?

   "I know I have no excuse for my actions. There is no way I can ever change the fact I hurt other people. All I can do at this point is stay away from everyone else if I want to continue living without hurting again. The only problem is that I may never be able to survive without the sustenance of human flesh."

   "But that isn't true, my sister is still alive after Muzan turned her into a demon. She never ate a single person. She sleeps and she becomes stronger."

   "So it's true, your sister won't eat people and she's still alive? She's been a demon for years, and she never hurt somebody? I haven't heard of such a thing."

   "For most of the time, she was asleep for two years before she woke up. She still needs sleep though."

   "Interesting... May I ask, what is your name?" The boy seemed to hesitate for a minute, wondering if this could have an affect on him if he told me his name.

   "Is there any reason I should trust you?" I began pondering the question.

   "I don't have a specific reason, no. I do know I can be useful with helping the demon slayer corps know where Muzan is. Though I doubt the hashira have any reason to trust me if I did tell them." There was a quiet pause between us, nothing but the moonlight and the wind was what we could see and feel.

   "Tanjiro... my name is Tanjiro Kamado." I smiled at the Tanjiro, finally placing down my weapon. I felt myself grow quite week from hunger. The toll my body takes on not eating is like what a human experiences.

   "Dear boy, I have done things that the gods we know will only think should be punishable by death. The Buddha, or God, whichever you believe in, knows that I shouldn't have existed, meaning I do not know where I will truly go in the afterlife. I will make right, but that doesn't mean I can escape the punishments." Tanjiro seemed to understand, but he still didn't drop his guard. He was smart and resilient, and that was good.

   "I know, you seem to not be lying and you don't really of evil. If I can trust you, will you help me?" I paused. My own father would be dead. But he never thought about me, only himself. If I did this, I wouldn't be like him, I would help others instead of hurt. I nodded. He dropped that guard he had and put his sword away. At a moment like this, I could've attacked and killed him, but he trusted me. I smiled gently at him.

   "Tanjiro, I'll do everything in my power to help. There may not be much I can do right now, but I have the information the Demon Slayers seek."

   Tanjiro got his kasugai crow and told him a message, wanting the crow to tell the information just found by him to their master. Now that I think about it, the master of the Demon Slayers has had it pretty bad with his illness, hasn't he. Only time will tell of what happens. As the crow flew away, Tanjiro stayed standing.

   "You won't relax, why is that?" He just looked back with confidence.

   "I haven't fought so I still need to stay strong and ready for anything. Plus, the kasugai crows are fast. I need to tell master Ubuyashiki about you. He gives the decision and more than likely if you are agreed to assist us, you'll have to meet with him." I nodded. Everything was quiet and awkward for a long while.

   "..."

   "..."

   "Wanna get to know about each other better?"

   "Sure."