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

57

As quickly as I had seen master and he granted me permission, I was dashing through the night to get to the place I was comfortable calling my home-my true home.

Darting through the forest, passing the dark tree trunks, shadows, overhanging limbs across the path seen at the last second, clumps of bushes, barely visible black trails snaking through the undergrowth, the moon shining through a lattice of leaves, patchy sky & stars seen in glimpses through tree breaks all would vanish and transition into the snow terrain I had come to love before becoming a Hashira.

As much as I loved the rich earth, rotting leaves, pine needles, fresh air, a slight scent of flowers, earthy fungus, and tree sap, I need to get away from it all. I couldn't have the upper moon use my feelings as a way to gain leverage and use him as bargaining...human being with that woman did make my decision a bit easier...though it ached my heart and made my stomach drop to my chest.

"Life only gets more complicated," I mumbled as I jumped up from the ground and began darting through the trees as the wind raked through my silver locks. However, my body quickly dropped down from the tree I was in the moment I heard the whizz of crescent blades cutting through the trunk I was intending on landing on.

I slowly rose from my crouching position to see Kokushibou slowly walking in my direction with his blade in hand. The crescent moon gave little enough light, though, that he would not be surprised if she missed his presence altogether. All six eyes narrow, kanji in the middle pair partially obscured.

"It wasn't wise for you to decide to travel during a time demons prowled at night," he commented.

Chilling fear crept into my extremities hearing his voice reverberate throughout the forest.

"I have urgent matters to attend to," I mumbled while turning my body towards him and having my hand at my sword ready to unsheath it.

"You're making an assumption that you will actually live tonight?" Kokushibou questioned.

Those words are all the warning I had received before I quickly took off. The loud sound of steel against a sheath hits my ears as my blade kissed Kokushibou in battle.

"You have grown since we first clashed," he praised, "yet, it seems that your thoughts are  still clouded by something."

I only gritted my teeth at his statement, was I really that predictable. I practically gave up my emotions on him and still, he was able to see I was troubled. It irked me that demons were able to see a form of weakness.

My blade struck out against his, dancing like a distant memory. The way he moved with his sword was as if his sword was like a waxing and waning moon. My sword was received with the impact of his weapon and a clanged sound thanks to the contact.

He thrust his sword from the side to which his blade caught on the mid-length of my hair. Multiple strands of hair fell to the floor as the blades of the sword ran together in a satisfying swipe at me, littering the forest floor.

For a fraction of a second, I couldn't even process what just happened. Kokushibou had cut half of my hair off. Up to where I could feel it on my shoulders or the base of my neck. It swept down into my eyes. Yet, he cut it until a weight fell off of me heavier than the hair on my head.

Again, I blocked a Kokoshibou's blade with my own and grimaced at the impact of it. The hilt felt heavy and uncomfortable in my hand, the more he pressed his blade against mine. I can feel myself being pushed back by him.

"You may be his descendant but you are far from the strength he once was at, his line has surely been a disappointment."

I huffed, a short sharp sound of frustration, and readjusted my grip on the hilt and my stance to prevent myself from being pushed back any longer. I had never felt so vulnerable, so wounded - despite the fact that was just a mere word.

"Disappointment," I thought back to myself.

That word struck a chord at me as it brought me back to the times of training with Uzui's father and him telling me how much of a disappointment my father was to the clan to have a child outside of the clan and how much of a disappointment I would be...

That was one word that was a trigger.

Without warning, I pulled my blade back from his and brought the steel down on Kokushibou's shoulder, hard. It cuts through muscle, tissue, and bone easy enough, embedding itself deep into the dirt beneath him and keeping him in place.

In all the battles that Kokushibou and I had, this was the first time that I had reigned victorious. Kokushibo's six eyes widened ever-so-slightly with shock.

The emptiness of my expression puzzled him as I was just frustrated before.

"Why are you holding back from taking my blade?" I questioned, "Why are you defying his orders?"

Without answering the question, he disappeared into the night.

I only sighed at the outcome and sheathed my sword turning my attention back toward the sky. The sky faded to a comforting black, a chance to rest well before the new day arrives. It explained why he ran...twilight was foreshadowing the inevitable rising of the sun.

I soon shifted my focus toward the outcome of the battle. My gaze met the disintegrating flesh of Kokushibou's arm as well as the thick strands of my hair. The smell of ash and blood permeated the air. I clenched my jaw at the disappointment in front of me. Only his arm was cut...should have been his damn head!

I sucked my teeth and soon I focused my attention forward from that direction, knowing I should rush back to let the master know about my encounter.

"Let's go," I mentioned while glancing at the crow that only turned his head slightly out of confusion but obediently followed the command.

"Kori will protect the woman at the Wisteria mansion..." I thought to myself as I walked forward, disappearing away from the vicinity of the area with the intent of returning home.