Purple Lotus [Kimetsu no Yaiba]

~Thirty-Five~

"Nii-nii," Tsubasa called the Water Pillar as she watched him train from the patio of his estate. "What does it take to become a Hashira, again?"

"Time, patience, and strength," Giyuu replied automatically without looking away from his target. 

The twelve-year-old Tsubasa sighed. "I mean what does it actually take to become a Hashira? Every Demon Slayer has to be strong to some extent. So why isn't every Demon Slayer a Hashira?"

"Because they're strong but they're weak as well," the ravenette gave her a look. "What are you trying to play at?"

"I'm gonna become a Hashira!" she exclaimed. "Then you won't have to worry about me and check on me after each and every mission."

"We've both mastered Water Breathing. There can't be two Hashira on the same post," he countered. "And I doubt any breathing technique with the first form named Loveshot will land a twelve-year-old a spot as a Pillar."

"I'm not done creating Emotion Breathing yet!"

"Then at what point in time do you plan to become a Hashira? After I die so you can easily take my spot?"

"You're not dying!" the girl gave an exasperated sigh. "Just have faith in me. Kyo has faith in me."

"Kyo?" Giyuu looked at her again, abandoning his training completely. The child has always been talking about the mysterious man ever since she came back from a mission smiling for the first time in her life. But every time he'd ask about it, she'd laugh and brush it off with an 'It's not a love interest, Nii-nii, relax.' and the conversation would move on. Now she'd given him a name. "Who's Kyo?"

"Kyo said that if I took pride in my gift and learnt to enjoy my work, I'd soon have the prowess of a Hashira, even at my age!" she beamed.

"So that's why you don't hate your gift so much anymore," Giyuu sighed. Tsubasa was so easily influenced it was scary. "Because Kyo told you not to."

"Mm-hm! And when I become a Hashira, Kyo and I will work together!" she acclaimed. "He said so himself! We're gonna be a tag-team!"

*****

"Oh wow, are those Demon Slayers I see?"

The whole party froze when they heard the voice. No one had sensed him. Tanjiro hadn't smelt him, Zenitsu hadn't heard him, Tsubasa hadn't felt him. He just arrived. And his presence was not settling, despite his lighthearted tone.

The new demon they'd encountered had pink hair and lines all over his body. He looked at them all with a wide smile which slightly faltered when he set his gaze on Tsubasa. A child. Tsubasa denoted as she felt him. A child on a sugar rush with way too much energy. His feel gave her the creeps. But still, she smiled. "And who might you be?"

It didn't take long for them to see the characters reading Upper Three in his eyes. That's when they knew they were in trouble. The demon smirked, "My name is Akaza! And you are?"

"Flame Hashira; Kyojuro Rengoku," Rengoku introduced with a serious face. "And this is Emotion Hashira, Tsubasa Tsukishiro."

"Kyojuro!" he beamed. "And Tsubasa, would you mind if I called you Tsu-chan?"

"Yes I very much would," Tsubasa added with a small giggle at the end. "But I know you'll do so anyway."

"Well, Tsu-chan, you're in luck!" Akaza said. "You can go on home now, I don't devour women, not even Hashira."

"Oh, how fortunate of me," she smiled. "That means you'll go down without a fight, I presume?" Her hand went to the hilt of her sword. She had the advantage. Even if Akaza showed resistance, it was only a matter of time before he either tried to run or forfeited, since he couldn't attack Tsubasa because she was a girl.

She was about to draw her blade when Rengoku placed his hand on her shoulder. "Tag me in," he said. Tsubasa furrowed her brows at him.

"But, Kyo... If he's serious about not attacking girls, then I have the advantage. Why..."

"Trust me," he said with a smile. "Now, tag me in, partner."

There was a moments hesitation before she smiled and gave a small nod. They gave each other a low-five and Rengoku walked forward as Akaza took on an excited expression.

"It seems I'm facing Kyojuro after all!" he beamed. "Good, I wanted to fight!" 

"Enough," Rengoku spoke. "Your reign of terror ends tonight, Akaza!"

And with that, the battle began. Rengoku was holding back to see just how Akaza fought. The problem was, Akaza was holding back too. And even though both weren't using their full power, you could barely keep up with them. At a point, the trio and Tsubasa were just staring at a cloud of dust and streaks of pink, blue, yellow, and red in the air.

Rengoku had sliced off Akaza'a arm, and Akaza had left a nasty gnash on Rengoku's face. Tsubasa could tell he was struggling, even though he fought through it all with determination. She couldn't help but worry. Tag me in, tag me in, tag me in! She repeated the chant in her head as if she expected him to read her mind. 

Next thing she knew, Akaza had slashed one of the Flame Pillar's eyes, rendering it half blind. Tsubasa flinched. She should help help. She really should have. But...

"Even if we tried to help him," Tanjiro spoke. "We'd only get caught in the crossfire and get injured in the process."

"You're saying we have to leave Mr. Rengoku to fight on his own?" Zenitsu asked, terrified for the Hashira's life. 

"Can't you give him a hand, Brat?" Inosuke asked, coming to stand right next to her. "You're a team, aren't ya? The best? Shouldn't you work together?"

"I can't do anything unless he tags out," Tsubasa replied monotonously, refusing to look away from the battle. "That's how we work together, we pick up where the other left off. So until he..."

"Come on, Kyojuro!" Akaza laughed. "Just become a demon! We can have fights like this every single night until one of us gets stronger! What do you say?"

Rengoku wasn't having any of it. Even after obtaining severe injuries, he wasn't going to give up. Ever.

"Flame Breathing, Ninth Form:"

Rengoku took on a high stance with his blade in the air before dashing towards Akaza at an extremely high speed and delivering one devastating straightforward slash.

⁘•⁎Rengoku!!⁎•⁘ 

A dragon of flames followed him as he tired to slash the demon's neck, even carving out the ground in its wake. But the blade stopped barely halfway, only managing to wedge itself right in the middle of the neck. Using even more of his strength, Rengoku tried to push the sword farther in, he was determined to behead the Upper Moon Demon. 

Now could be my chance! Tsubasa thought. Completely forgetting their tagging out rule, she drew her blade and was going to slash Akaza's neck from the other side. That was when it happened.

Akaza, using the last of his strength, punched Rengoku right in his abdomen and it went right through him. The girl froze. Akaza smirked. Rengoku pushed his blade farther into his neck. 

"Consider my deal again, Kyojuro," Akaza said, seriously. "It would be a waste to kill of such a powerful person as yourself. And poor Tsu-chan might not recover as well." The demon laughed. "Become a demon, Kyojuro! Otherwise...

With a wound like that, you'll die."

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~✨Blu<3✨