Icy Flames- Rengoku Kyojuro-Demon Slayer/ Kimetsu no Yaiba

24

"Don't allow for trivial feelings if the situation before you tells the tale. You cannot afford for any distractions in this world rid with demons because when the enemy sees that you have a weakness, they will utilize it and use it against you."

I lowered myself down to pick up my apple. It was covered in the chalk dust of the gravel. A once gold star radiating from the stem, gently blending with that color as vibrant as love's blush and now mixed with tints of white from the dust.

"Y/N!"

I lifted my head to see those orbs that had a sea yellow, encircled by crimson. They were no longer on the Love Hashira but mere nanometers in front of me.

"Train with me!" Rengoku boasted enthusiastically.

"Was that I was to him...just a means to test his strength?" I thought as I observed him and soon drifted my sight to Mitsuri. She simply looked at him and smiled at him. Even though I just wanted to give her snide, backhanded compliments, I couldn't help but admire her beauty and recognize her worth. Rengoku, Kyojuro chose her after all.

"Focus!"

I moved my eyes back towards Rengoku. His brows quirked in amusement, his smile...his smile never dampened. It was still as exuberant as it was the day we finished Final Selection.

"Remove distractions!"

Cold, golden eyes trailed from his lips face up to his hair seeing how that halo of light grazed the edges of his impossibly fiery hair as it slightly moved with the small draft wind. My eyes soon went back to his.

"Hnn," was my only reply as I walked around him and over to the other side of the building to wait for the other Hashira for the master to give us our orders. My actions only left him confused about what just happened. But that look in his eyes showed concern, his smile almost broke, and the bright confidence in his aura dropped.

My eyes shifted towards the blue sky to see Tengen looking down towards me with a more serious look.

It didn't take a genius to know that Tengen was watching the whole interaction from above the estate and he was going to interrogate me. He knew aside from my behavior with him, my stoic mask was cracking. In our clan, occasionally when my father would visit him, his father would often comment his disdain on my strong, regal, and controlled attributes and would always announce his desire for me to be more submissive and act more breedable.

I shifted my attention back towards in front of me to see the boy with the black unruly hair beside me.

His gaze was hard and calculating— as if one wrong move from anyone would make him react. But it quite puzzling to see how close he was to me to the others...maybe he too didn't want to be so close to them.

"Tomioka, Giyuu."

I blinked a bit lost at what he just said but from the sounds of it, it may have been his name. He was very aloof.

"Uzui, Y/N," I replied.

He looked at me and blinked. I looked back and blinked. No words left either of our mouths as we simply stared at each other. It was when he nodded acknowledging me and turned his attention forward, our contact broke. 

"Tomioka speaks?" She laughed quietly in her not-quite-so-nice way.

Tomioka's held a steady gaze ahead of him through those dark blue orbs held an expression that seemed as if he was annoyed. Maybe this has been a common thing between them.

My eyes moved back to Rengoku. There went that pang of that feeling I first felt when I saw him with the Love Hashira, fluttering through my stomach. I quickly turned my head away and closed my eyes while pulling my arms up and folding them against my chest.

"After this, we need to talk."

I opened my eyes to see Tengen looking down into my golden pools that clashed with his own wine-tinted ones.

"I rather not."

"It wasn't a choice," Tengen said with amusement in his tone. It was irritating to see that smirk plastered on his face while he was stretching his arms over his head, the muscles rippling under his skin.

I bore my eyes into him a bit longer and sighed in annoyance. Even if I chose to run from headquarters the moment Master Ubuyashiki gives me my mission, I just know that Tengen would find me. He was the only one who was faster than me while his wives were about the same speed as me.

"The master has arrived."

I turned my attention towards the front to see the master walking up towards the engawa with two children beside him.

"Nice to have you back, my beloved children..."

His voice was so calm and soothing in a way.

I simply watched as the master stepped into the light through the guidance of the kids.

"I am still pleased that you have accepted the position, Y/N."

I simply lowered my head at his content as my strand moved to the front of my face. I am only happy he understood why I rejected it in the first place and allowed me to bend the rules a bit due to the situation.

"Now for your missions..."