GHOST RIDER X DEMON SLAYER: Book 1: Imps and Prayers

5-1: Seizing Charity

"You are sure we'll find this 'Niten-san' you speak of in a place like this?" Kanae asked, sitting side-saddle atop Akai while Ritsuki guided him from a loose cord.

Passing through a withered and discoloured torii, the trio spared wary looks around, unable to help but feel unnerved by the decrepit state of the feudal-era houses that lined the streets.

"He is the only one besides two others back at Bizen who knows of my condition," Ritsuki says with a grunt as they begin to climb up the town.

"You refer to the two brothers from that night?" Kanae almost rhetorically asks.

Ritsuki responded with a nod, then turned to look a bit uneasy.

"About Niten-san," he began, "I actually can't guarantee we'll encounter him," he admits with a scratch of his head.

Kanae knits her brows as she tilts her head to the side.

"He only claimed that he'd be here when I came back. He said that he was 'homeless' and that 'the abandoned houses here don't have rent'. I'm not even sure now if he was messing with me or not." Ritsuki shakes his head as he reflects.

"How did you meet each other?" Kanae instead asks, perhaps probing for clues to find this person quicker.

"I woke up over there," Ritsuki pointed to a nearby open shrine with withered fences just like the rest of the abandoned town, "It was the first time it happened, the night I killed those two bandits... He found me passed out," he recalled as his expression fell somewhat.

"Did he happen to come by you while you were still... on fire?" She delicately asked.

"Hmm... no. He knew all about the rider though. As he put it, he had experience in dealing with people of my... affliction." Ritsuki stated idly with a shrug as they came upon the open shrine. The boy had brought them here as there was a cobbled basin of clear water for Akai to have a drink.

Kanae took the time to take in the withered offerings and dry leaf wraps that were discarded on a porcelain plate, presumably used to wrap some onigiri. The wooden base of incents with burnt tips, old coins and medallions, and a ripped drum with a faded Kanji on the face. She pouted her lips in thought.

Turning her attention back to the boy who was busy tying Akai's straps on the nearby withered fence, she made a rustle as she jumped off, causing the boy to turn up.

"Perhaps I'll have a look around for this friend of yours, Momota-san," she stated, "You've been walking the entire way haven't you? Why don't you rest here a moment and wait?"

Sparing no time for the boy's argument, Kanae practically vanished in a dash towards the heart of the abandoned town, leaving the boy to watch over Akai by himself as he began taking great gulps of the water inside the cobbled stone basin.

Ritsuki chuckled to himself at how such a dainty-looking woman was capable of such displays of strength and speed. He heard Akai pause mid drink, and almost turned around to look,

"I never said you could bring someone here," The boy suddenly heard the familiar voice of the man they had come to meet from behind him.

He was startled slightly that his hand darted for the blade on his hip as he turned on his heel, squaring up his body and arm in preparation for a swift strike, yet his poise and stance were yet casual.

"Also, you brought a girl? I never figured you were such a socialite." Niten-san looked mockingly unimpressed by the boy's actions. Sitting cross-legged under the ripped drum, the man was busy unwrapping some onigiri.

Setting the leaf wrapping aside on a nearby porcelain plate, he asked while taking a bite, "Oi, would you like some? I made extra..." he offered.

"Ah..." Ritsuki released a sigh and perked a brow, he nodded as he scratched his head, "Well I would have warned you, Niten-san, but I don't suppose you have an address I could send a letter to?"