Y/n tiredly opened his eyes. His head was pounding, it was possible that he had a concussion. The side of his face stung from scraping it against the gravel. His nose felt broken. He didn't have time to pity himself. He scrambled to his feet and found Tanjiro, scooping him up in his arms.
"Kentaro! Are you alright?! You got stabbed!" Inosuke exclaimed and dropped to his knees in front of Y/n, fawning over Tanjiro.
"I'm..." Tanjiro groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. "...fine... How about you...?"
"Great! Not even a sniffle!"
"I can't move yet... You go help the others" Tanjiro urged. "Who's injured? How about the engineer up front?"
"Forget about him! He stabbed you!" Y/n exclaimed angrily.
"His leg is pinned under the machine! Theres no way he can walk. If we leave him, he'll die!" Inosuke explained.
"No... He's suffered enough..." Tanjiro murmured and moved slightly. "Help him. Please"
"I'll do it because I'm a good boss and it'll make my underling happy!" Inosuke exclaimed and ran off to the conductor. "But after that, I'm ripping out all his hair!!"
Tanjiro leaned back into Y/n, hardly keeping his eyes open. "You'll be okay... " the h/c promised. "Just breathe, hm?" he said quietly and played with his red hair.
"I need to save them..." Tanjiro whispered softly. "I need to help the injured..."
"You don't have to actively be a hero to save the world" Y/n reminded. "Doesn't make you weak or lazy to take a break..."
"It's getting hard to keep my eyes open..." Tanjiro whimpered.
"It's okay, just sing with me, like we practiced..." Y/n smiled and started singing the lyrics to his favourite lullaby. "Beautiful dreamer... wake unto me..." he sang gently.
Tanjiro weakly hummed along, fighting to stay awake. "It feels like this job is never easy..." he finally broke the song and spoke.
"It'll never be" Y/n admitted. "But that's alright. I know you can do it"
"It looks like you two can do total concentration breathing: constant! That's the first step to becoming a Hashira! But that's just the first of 10,000 steps to take!" Rengoku boomed.
"I'll do my best" Tanjiro breathed.
"Your stomach is bleeding" Rengoku pointed out. "Concentrate. Improve the accuracy of your breath. Focus on every inch of your body. There are broken blood vessels. Concentrate more"
Y/n watched in amazement as the blood stopped flowing from under his palm.
"That's it. No more bleeding!" Rengoku chimed. "Theres a lot you can do if you master your breathing. It doesn't mean you can do anything... but you'll be much stronger than you were yesterday. Everyones safe! A lot of injuries, but no deaths! No need for you to overdo it!"
"See? What'd I tell you, Tanji?" Y/n smiled and used the silly nickname. Suddenly a loud explosion burst from the ground behind Rengoku. The Hashira looked unfazed, but Y/n nearly fell over even though his feet were planted firmly on the ground. Rengoku turned around as a demon rose from the dust. The words 'upper 3' were carved into his eyeballs. the demon suddenly shot from the position he was squatting in, sending a strong punch towards Tanjiro's face. Rengoku managed to stifle the attack using his katana. It sliced through the demons entire arm and split it in half. The demon just smiled quaintly while Tanjiro stared at the sky in horror.
"Nice katana" the demon snickered mockingly.
"Why would a powerful demon such as yourself attack the weak first?" Rengoku asked.
"I thought they might interrupt the conversation we're about to have"
"What are we going to take about? This is our first meeting, and I already hate you" Rengoku shot back, his smile hardly wavering.
"Of course. I also hate weak humans" the demon sneered. "When I see weakness, my skin crawls"
"You and I have very different values"
"Heh... Then I have a great idea" the demon lifted his hand and clenched it into a fist. "Why don't you become a demon? I can tell your strength by looking at you. You're a Hashira, right? You've developed your fighting spirit to the edge of perfection!"
"I am a flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku" the pillar introduced himself.
"I am Akaza" the demon did so as well. "Let me tell you why your power will never reach perfection. It's because you're human. Because you age. Because, eventually, you'll die. Become a demon, Kyojuro, you can train for hundreds of years and keep getting stronger"
Tanjiro rolled onto his stomach and started crawling. Y/n grabbed him by the haori and shook his head. He pulled the red head back so that the injured boy laid rested in his lap.
"Growing old and dying is what gives meaning and beauty to the fleeting span of a human life" Rengoku said firmly. "It's precisely because we age and die that our lives have value. Strength is not a word that means much in regards to flesh. These boy's aren't weak. Do not insult them. I'll say it again..." he sheathed his sword. "...You and I value different things. I have many reasons for not becoming a demon"
"I see" Akaza answered, smirking smugly. He got into position for an attack. "If you won't become a demon, I'll have to kill you!"
The two opponents launched themselves at the other. Y/n watched in awe and shock as his eyes could barely follow them.
"The other Hashira I've killed didn't have flames, still, none of them accepted!" Akaza cackled. Rengoku's intense stare watched him leap into the air. "Why is that?! As someone who also walks the path of the warrior, I do not understand it! One cannot simply decide to become a demon! You must be chosen! But you, who worked so hard to build such significant talent would it simply wither away! I can't stand it! Just die for me! Do it while you're young and strong!"
Y/n continued to watch, in deep surprise at the speed that they were travelling in. Tanjiro moved in Y/n's lap and tried to get up, but Rengoku stopped him.
"Don't move! If your wounds open, you'll die! It's not your time yet!!"
"Don't waste your time on that weakling, Rengoku! Concentrate on me! Focus your strength on me!!" Akaza screamed and the 2 collided again in a mess of fire and raw power.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Apathetic Demon slayer (KNY/Demon slayer x male reader)
फैनफिक्शनA boy ran through the heavily snowed in forest, panting heavily. His lungs were burning. His heart was pounding in his ears. It felt like his head was about to explode. Most importantly, his life was about to get real interesting...
