My Missing Piece {Uzuren}

38

Almost chapter 40.. AND IM STILL NOT EVEN CLOSE TO DONE :violent sobbing: I thought this would be a shorter book... 20 chapters at most.. but NO. ITS ALMOST FLUFFING 40.
:incoherent screeching:

Anygays how about we go see how Uzui's doing?

——————— (imagine they're already back at the demonslayer headquarters)

There had been no crow. No kasugai crow flew overhead bearing news of what had happened to Rengoku, which left Uzui and everyone else in the dark.

What happened to him?

Where is he?

Is he dead?

Is he hurt?

Everyone seemed to be thinking the same things. Of course, Uzui had immediately rushed to the Ubuyashiki mansion to give his report on the mission's success, and tell the master that Rengoku had last been seen running to deal with Uppermoon Two of the twelve kizuki. Kagaya's expression boasted worry for his missing child.

"I searched the entire remnants of Yoshiwara, but by then the sun had risen and I wouldn't have found a trace of them anyways." Uzui cursed his inability to do the simplest of things: keep Rengoku safe.

"Don't worry yourself too much, Tengen.. Kyojuro is a remarkable child; I'm certain he's alive and whole." The master smiled softly from his bed, looking exhausted despite the brave front he'd put on.

Uzui frowned. "I trust you, Oyakata-sama." Dried blood had long since sealed his left eye shut, and the wound stung like hell. Tanjiro's demon sister had been able to burn all the poison out of his and Inosuke's bodies, but there were still other injuries to tend to. The sound hashira's wives (platonic) had tried to get him to go straight to the Butterfly Mansion for treatment, but he'd refused under the excuse that the comatose children needed it more than he did. He knew from the start that he would be going blind in his left eye, anyways.

Kagaya hummed, then paused. "Tengen, if you could, help me sit upright for a moment..?"

Not one to question orders straight from the master, Uzui scooted closer and gently raised his head then back off the mattress. He kept a steadying hand on Kagaya's spine, even when he was in a position where he could hold himself up. Exhaling, Uzui noted how he could feel the bones underneath the master's skin. He's getting so much worse so quickly..

Kagaya relaxed, simply waiting for the pain. Without fail, two seconds later he doubled over, coughing harshly as breaths were torn out of his throat.

Amane, who'd been in the adjacent room, rushed in at the sound of her husband coughing. She took a seat across from Uzui, rubbing Kagaya's back and holding a clean rag under his head to catch the blood he was hacking up. Uzui sat back, watching stiffly as one of the young Ubuyashiki girls came in with a medicine. When his fit began to slow, Kagaya took the small cup and thanked her, downing the contents. The girl took the cup back out, leaving the door open for whoever was leaving next.

After a moment, the master continued with "Take some time to rest and recover, Tengen. Remember that at any time you can choose to withdraw from the front lines."

Uzui shook his head. "Without Kyojuro, it wouldn't be a very flashy retirement. I'm sticking around until we get him back, at least!"

Kagaya smiled again, his gentle expression bringing a moment of peace to the sound hashira's buzzing mind. "I won't be alive for much longer," he remarked, his voice barely above a whisper, "but I have a feeling I'll be around to see that happen."

Unsure how he was supposed to respond to that, Uzui thanked the kind man and bid them farewell. On his way the Butterfly Mansion, he brought a hand to his injured eye and wiped away some of the blood. He frowned at the dark red streaks the warm liquid left on his fingertips. Sighing heavily, he continued walking.

"Uzui-san!" Mitsuri came running from somewhere behind him at some point, waving hello. "How'd the mission g-" She froze when she saw the many small cuts all over him, more concerned about his closed, bloodied eye than anything. "Are you OKAY??"

"Completely fine!! I'm going to go blind in this eye, so now I get to wear a flashy eyepatch!" Uzui exclaimed proudly.

Stunned, the love hashira grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards Kocho's estate. "That's not something to be proud of!We're getting you medical attention!!" She squeaked the last sentence, speeding up so they'd get there faster.

"I'm not Kocho's priority right now," Uzui pointed out. "Both Kamado and the boar child are in comas, and that scaredy one messed his legs up pretty bad."

Mitsuri hesitated before replying, but never stopped dragging the sound pillar. "Still, if that gets infected, you could die!!" Her nervous tone was enough to make Uzui shut up.

As they reached their destination, Mitsuri skipped ahead of Uzui to search for Shinobu. She found her friend hovering over Inosuke's bedside, looking like she was lost deep in thought. Idling quietly outside the doorway for a few seconds, she wrung her hands. She didn't want to interrupt if the doctor was doing something important, but also wanted to get Uzui looked at before he snuck off. Shinobu eventually glanced up and noticed Mitsuri standing there. Smiling tiredly, Shinobu greeted the love hashira with a kind "Hello!" and asked what she was doing in the Butterfly Estate.

"Well," Mitsuri started to explain, gesturing back into the hallway as she did so. "Uzui's just returned from the master's mansion, and it looks like his left eye is pretty badly injured.. could you..?"

"I'll take a look at him, don't worry!" Shinobu pat her friend's shoulder reassuringly.

"So what we're you looking at him for?" She asked, pointing to Inosuke. 

Letting out a small sigh, the insect pillar blinked. "That one never ceases to confuse me," she muttered. "Nevermind that, where's Uzui?"

Something about her tone made Mitsuri reluctant to subject the sound pillar the whatever Kocho was thinking of doing. "Out in the hallway.."

(Reminder that the interaction with Uzui, Aoi, and the other butterfly girls went exactly as it did in the anime/manga)

"Thanks!"

"Of course!"

———————

In the end, Shinobu got Uzui all patched up. She had to give him stitches on his face to help the cut over his eye heal, and did, in fact, confirm that he'd be blind in that eye for the rest of his life. He took the news well, having already predicted that result, and made sure to check on all three of the younger slayers before leaving the estate. It was the least he could do for them, and it's definitely something Rengoku would have done if he was there.

You'd better be okay, Kyojuro.

———————

Anyone else just.. not eat? I never feel hungry even when I know I should, but then I get really bad stomachaches when I do eat- it's weird.

List of Rengoku's current BDA abilities:
1. Flame tiger/honō no tora (he manifests a sentient tiger made of fire to fight beside him)
2. Fire sword (flame tiger takes residence inside his blade and can heat it up/set it on fire)
3. Fire claws (bright blue fire on his nails makes his hand-to-hand combat more effective)
4. Skeleton guardian (explanation is at the end of chapter 36)

If anyone was curious, Shitnobu kicked Tengen in the [ahem]. Yeah no I hate that word I'm not saying it :)