Secret of the Spider Lily

Chapter 17 - True Feelings

 Yuki and Rengoku decided to walk around the outside of the mansion, finally getting some time alone after the Hashira meeting, as well as Tanjiro's trial. The first bit of their walk was quiet, neither of them saying much. They both needed to clear their mind, especially Yuki.

After a while, Rengoku finally broke the silence, "Are you doing alright Yuki?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm alright, just a bit shaken after that meeting."

"I understand. That must have been scary to have Sanemi try and attack you like that."

"It was terrifying. The entire time I was telling everyone about my true nature and past, I was fearing for my life. It was right for me to fear though, even though I wish I didn't have to in the moment. Thank you, by the way."

"Hm? Why are you thanking me?"

"You protected me from Sanemi, when I didn't have time to react. You saved my life Rengoku, and I couldn't be more grateful."

Rengoku let out a hearty laugh, before giving Yuki his signature smile, "There is no need for thanks. It was only right for me to protect you, since you were not finished telling your story."

Yuki lightly began to blush at his sentiment, but brushed it aside. The two had walked a bit further up the path, soon coming across a bench. Rengoku asked if she'd like to sit for a while, and she agreed.

They both sat on the bench, looking up into the sky. The sky was a bright blue with only a few white clouds floating in its expanse. Yuki took in the sunlight, taking in a deep breath of the warm air, letting it relax her mind.

Rengoku stared at her while she had her eyes closed, admiring her, but cleared his throat to catch her attention, "You don't have to answer if you are not comfortable, but what exactly can you do with your powers? You didn't go into detail during the meeting."

Yuki was caught off guard by the question, but looked at her with a serious expression, "In all honesty, I have a few different abilities. It's possible I could gain more as I grow stronger, but I'm not sure about that for now. All I know about my powers so far is that I can see the strength of other demons, and have super speed and strength."

"I guess that would explain how you beat Tengen in that fight against him."

She lightly chuckled at his statement, looking back up at the sky, "Yeah. It was a nice feeling to defeat him in combat, even though it didn't feel like a true victory since I used my powers. It feels more like I cheated."

"Why would you consider that cheating? You're using your abilities to your advantage."

"I don't know... It just felt unfair to me," She explains. She turned her gaze to Rengoku once more, a curiosity now in her eyes, "But other than that, I have a question for you, Rengoku."

"Hm? What would that be?"

Her eyes filled with guilt, as they found their way to gaze at the ground, "Why did you protect me from Sanemi?"

He looked at her, his expression filled with surprise, and a sadness as well, "Why wouldn't I protect you? You're a dear friend of mine. I wouldn't want any harm to come to you."

"But, you said that all demons needed to be eradicated. I... thought that would also... include me..."

"Why would that include you? Just because you have a small amount of demon blood in your system, it doesn't mean you're a demon."

Yuki looked up at him in surprise, but a soft smile formed on her face, "Thank you, Kyojuro. That means a lot. I'm sorry for not telling you about my powers."