Caught By Flames (Kyojuro Rengoku x Reader)

4 : Final Selection (1)

A/N: this will be in 1st person, hope you enjoy!

Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. No, what am I thinking, I have to save them. I promised I would. Stand strong, set your heart ablaze. There's a reason I know both fire and water. Don't run, I got this. Be brave, think. Oh shi-

I get slammed into a tree, hard. It was worse than the night of the attack on my family. It hurt, I'm dizzy. No... Sabito... I have to get back up-

Hi, you're probably wondering what the hell I've gotten myself into. Well, let's start from the beginning!

"Sabito, are you and Giyu brothers?" I asked out of nowhere. We were headed towards the final selection exam sight and the silence was awkward. I prefer questions over silence, and they seemed oddly nervous.

"Not biologically, but in a sense we are. He and I have just been training together for awhile. My turn, how come you came to train here with us, even though you're already so skilled?"

I smiled with kindness and remembered the fondness and excitement I held for training. "My teacher refused to send me to the final selection. He said it wouldn't matter if I became a swordsman or not, that my existence in the demon slayer corps would be pointless. That I'd die because I wasn't Chosen or naturally skilled."

"But you're amazing! You're so good at everything we've worked on! You were the only one to actually make it through the boulder completely!" Giyu sounded enthusiastic. Something I didn't hear from him often. It made my heart swell, why did I deserve such friends? What if I can't protect them?

"He's not lying, I haven't seen many swordsmen, but even Mr. Urokodaki was impressed by you. And he has high standards." Sabito added with a smirk.

They were nice things to hear, and boosted my morale, but I only felt more pressure on me to protect them. They're like brothers, I can't let them die. I won't let them die. None of us will, I'll make sure of it. "Thanks, but I didn't really care what he told me. Kyo-san always encouraged me. Besides he said the same thing to Kyojuro, that he wasn't a chosen user. It was obvious Kyojuro had natural skill."

"You really look up to this Kyojuro person. Is he family? Come to think of it, you haven't mentioned anything about a family." Sabito said suspiciously. His smile portrayed his tone differently, though. He was completely curious.

I looked at the ground, while pulling my haori off. Pulling the fabric off my shoulder, I reveal the three large scars that ran the length of my back
"My family was attacked by an unknown demon. They told me to run, so I did. As a result, I lived, but not unscathed. In fact, I have several scars from that night..." I pulled the fabric back to my neck and put my Haori back on. "Then Rengoku Shinjuro killed the beast and took me to the butterfly mansion, where I met more of the pillars. They didn't know how I was still alive, but I was."

"That sounds horrible."

"It wasn't as horrible as it sounds, though. I was so young I don't remember much about my family, so I always thought of the demon slayers as my family."

"Ouch- Ow, Sabito!" Giyu grabbed his head where Sabito had slapped him.

Sabito gave a displeased facial expression, "Don't say anything that'll make it worse, you big dumdum."

I laughed, I didn't pity the past or think what I could have done to save my family. I knew I couldn't do anything but run. If I had stayed, I would have died, but I ran, and here I am. My family name and blood can continue, and I won't let it die out. "It's okay, Sabito. Giyu probably didn't mean anything by it. Besides, it's been a few years-"

"What?! But you're still so young! You're younger than us!" Giyu started to freak out. It wasnt like him, so I threw my arm around his shoulder with a bright and energetic smile. He knew it still bothered me, but he could tell I tried to forget. He knew what it was like, so he let me play it off. His normal awkward facade took effect and I pushed against him slightly. He was taller, but because he slumped so much it was easy to be taller than him.

"My turn to ask a question! What's your goal for when you become a demon slayer?" My question was a bit strange, but if they were to ask the same, my answer would be strange as well.

"To eradicate all demons and put an end to them once and for all." Sabito said confidently. It was a dark kind of confidence, but soon took over a more happy turn, "Giyu lost his sister due to demons, and you lost your family. Lots of other people suffer, and I believe the demons suffer as well. Some of them at least. What about you? What's your goal?"

I knew he was going to ask the same question. Why am I so dumb? "Well, I want to know why demons accepted it... I want to know why they prey on people the way they do... I want to know why Muzan would go as far as he has for his goals. I want to know what drives them. There's so much we still don't know... I think It'd be helpful to understand demons better than we do now. So my goal is to know demons more, and ultimately, put an end to Muzan." My smile was kind, gentle even. I don't resent demons, I just resent him. The father of them all. I don't understand him at all.

"You sure like to know everything, don't you?" Giyu chuckled nervously.

I giggled in return and watched the setting sun. "We should stop at the next town, if we keep going we won't have the energy to do the final selection, or we could run into a demon on the way, I'd rather avoid that if possible." The other two nodded at my words, and as soon as we came across a town, we stopped and stayed there for the night. It was peaceful, at least, and put the other two at ease. Not me. I'm more anxious than ever. Nervousness forced me to have night terrors again. The only people I even told them about was the nurse and Mr. Urokodaki. They understood why, but not these two. They wouldn't understand. I reached up with a scream. I was panting, but noticed Sabito and Giyu both standing over me with worried expressions.

"Are you okay? That sounded like a nightmare..." Giyu shyly stated.

I blinked a few times, not completely understanding, then lowered my arm over my face with a smile. My voice sounded strained when I finally spoke, "I'm alright, just go back to sleep." I peeked through my elbow to see two small worried smiles still staring down at me. They laid down and wrapped their arms around me in a comforting notion, and closed their eyes. It made me smile at the ceiling. 

Yeah, I'll protect them. No matter what, they're family, and I'm not losing anymore family. They'll live, even if I have to die in order to make sure they do.

A/N: Sorry this is a short chapter-