My Missing Piece {Uzuren}

20

Chapter twentyyyyyyy!!
:D
20 is such a December number- idk why

Uzui glanced at the corpse laying limply on the ground. A family would be missing him come morning. Giving a regretful nod, he chased after Rengoku, leaving it behind. How many lives are going to slip through our fingers before this all ends? I saved that woman back there, and I'm glad Rengoku could at least kill this demon, but there are so many more people we won't be able to save.

So lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize he'd caught up with the other pillar. Grinning, he took off and ran ahead, shouting over his shoulder "I'll race you back!"

Rengoku smiled despite knowing he'd lose to the faster hashira. He took a deep breath, quickening his pace.

After a minute, he was surprised to find himself gaining ground on Uzui. I wasn't this fast before. His legs burned after days of just sitting around, yet he was running faster than he thought he could. Now side-by-side with Uzui, he wondered: Is this what Akaza meant when he said I'd get stronger? He narrowed his eyes. If anything, the Uppermoon 3 had only given the demon slayer corps that much better of a fighting chance.

As Uzui gazed at him in wonderment, Rengoku shot his friend a smile. Seeing it as a challenge, the sound hashira pushed himself to go faster, pulling ahead of the demon once more. Happy to remain in second place, he simply kept up, trailing a few meters behind.

———————
Timeskip to when they get back

Uzui closed the door behind them, shutting out any rays of light that would come with the eventual sunrise. All the window curtains were drawn as well, granting his demon guest free roam of every room in his house.

Rengoku frowned as his stomach growled, looking around for something to distract himself with. He wasn't tired enough to sleep, and he couldn't go out to do anything with the sun rising soon.

"I'm starving," Uzui decided aloud. Turning to Rengoku, he asked "Want to help me make something?"

He blinked, and, grateful for the offer, nodded. "What do you want to cook?"

"Anything we have the ingredients for," he shrugged, heading into the kitchen to check the pantry. And it has to be something I know how to make. If he listened hard enough, he could practically hear Makio warning him to not burn the estate down.

Following the taller hashira into the room, Rengoku laid eyes on a bag of groceries lying in the corner. Most likely, Uzui had bought food and tossed it aside, not bothering to put it away. He picked it up and dug through the contents, pulling out a bunch of sweet potatoes. This should be easy enough! "Uzui, how does sweet potatoes and rice sound?"

"They don't make any noise, but I'll bet they taste delicious," he chuckled, taking the potatoes from the demon's hands.

Rengoku laughed, wracking his brain for a return joke. Quickly calming down, he grinned and began preparing rice to cook. "If you have ten apples in one hand, and ten oranges in the other, what do you have?"

"Ten apples and ten oranges."

Facing Uzui for a brief moment, he exclaimed "Big hands!"

The sound pillar let out a snort, shaking his head as he returned to cutting up the sweet potatoes. "Alright, I've got one, if that's how you wanna play."

"Shoot!"

"How many types of dick are there?"

Rengoku hesitated, already aware of the direction the joke was going. "How many?"

Both were facing their respective kitchen  tasks, yet all of their attention was on the other.

"Three."

The demon raised one eyebrow, but made a small noise for him to continue.

"Okay-" he had to break to give a short huff of amusement. "They come in stages. When a boy is young, it's like oak, strong and hard." He was already cracking himself up, trying to contain his laughter. "When he's in his late thirties, it's like a birch- flexible but reliable. And when the boy's gotten old, it's like a christmas tree. Dead from the root up and the balls are just for decoration." The last sentence had Uzui dying laughing, having long since set down the knife for safety reasons.

(Note- I did not come up with that joke, I found it online because Mira isn't very funny and needs help to make jokes 🥲)

Rengoku took a shaky breath, steadying it before he too fell captive to the contagious emotion.

"See, dick jokes are hilarious," Uzui grinned, glancing over his shoulder at the demon, who's shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter.

"You've been telling them to the wrong people," he pointed out as soon as he could talk without his voice wavering.

The sound pillar nodded in agreement. "The only one Shinazugawa finds funny is Tomi-"

"-oka's." Rengoku finished rinsing the rice.

"You read my mind!"

"I just knew who you were going to say."

The two settled down and focused on cooking. Soon, the small meal was finished, and they relocated to the table to eat. It was delicious, both demonslayers enjoying the potatoes and rice together.

———————

So. After 20 chapters, barely anything has happened. They've bonded and gotten a bit closer, but that's it 🥲 I almost added questionable fluff, but decided not to >:)

Fluff- I'm really sorry for the delay, little demons, I just had a lack of ideas and motivation :')