Sunflower || Kyojuro Rengoku

Chapter 1┊Meeting

Sun beamed down onto your back as you squinted your eyes. The rays alone were enough to burn your sensitive irises. The sun was certainly an enemy in your eyes, even if it was your biggest aid in defeating those demons. How you wanted to wipe the sweat off your brow.. Summers were always hot, especially when you wore an all black, long sleeve, uniform and haori. It was inconvenient during the day to say the least. Luckily, you always worked in the cool of the night.

"Welcome, my children." The master started, causing everyone to bow to one knee. You followed suit, feeling the mildly uncomfortable stones dig into the skin of your knee through your thick uniform.

The master carried on, and you eventually zoned out. You were never one for conversation. Rude, yes, but it was never a strong suit of yours.

"This is L/n Y/n, the new Shadow Hashira." You finally heard Master Kagaya call your name, perking up. You didn't love hearing your last name. Actually, you despised the mere mention of it, but you weren't going to correct Master Kagaya. Perhaps you could just ask the other hashira to call you by your first.

You stood, slowly nodding your head in acknowledgement to the others. Your sharp gaze traveled over those standing before you, silently judging them. Tall, really tall, short, really short, few of average height. Guessing by muscle density alone, the tallest must be the strongest. What was his breathing style again?..

Right. Stone breathing.

"Is she going to say anything or what?" One of them snarled. He had white hair and purple eyes. His skin was coated in scars, his shirt buttons long forgotten as his chest was wide open.

'Must be one of those men who crave attention..' You thought, glancing him up and down before simply turning your attention elsewhere.

"I agree! She isn't nearly flashy enough for my liking!" Another one called. This man also had white hair. He wore a red paint design over his left eye. Odd. It made him stand out.

Despite the two's protests to get you to speak, you still hadn't uttered a word. Perhaps it was your stubbornness that drove you to stay silent, or your lack of conversational skills. You simply looked around, essentially ignoring the two.

Which seemed to really anger the one.

"Hey! I'm talking to ya!" The one with the open shirt called out. Your eyes slowly trailed back over to him. He was clearly angry with you, but you still didn't give him the time of day.

"Shinazugawa, behave." The short girl called out. Shinazugawa.. Well now you know the angry chihuahua's name. "We don't want to upset the master." The girl was calm and quite mature, an ingenuine smile plastered across her face. Within seconds, you could discern her personality as fake. You had a natural talent to read someone in seconds due to your breathing style.

Shadow Breathing ran in your family for years. Your father was a Hashira and his father before that. You had taken the technique for your own and even seemed to perform it better than your father. Good. You would do anything to beat that drunken prick that used to call himself your father.

A hand on your uniform collar suddenly snapped you out of your daze. Your gaze met that of the angry one, Shinazugawa. His jaw was clenched as his hand fisted tighter into your clothes.

Three minutes in and you've already managed to piss him off.

Wonderful.

"Speak when you're spoken to!" He grunted, his eyes narrow. "Or do you not know how to show respect?"

Your eyes narrowed, your hand flying to his wrist, clenching it tightly.

"Let go." You finally spoke. While your voice carried an edge to it, your voice was mostly on the softer side, not doing much to scare him off.