"Ah...hello, Rengoku-san."
He turned around, his haori flushing around him slightly by the action.
"Fujihara-san, thank you for coming."
You smiled, approaching closer. "It's no problem. Thank you for inviting me to assist with this. I'm sure you could have done a great job even if I was not called."
He gave a small grunt, eyes flickering briefly to the side before he closed them and crossed his arms. "Well...you may be right, but I would appreciate the assistance now. Multiple recruits follow the water style, and I know you know both that style and the flower style."
"That's correct, but..." You trailed off, looking around. "Wouldn't it have been better if you had called..."
"Urokodaki. Thank you for coming."
You nearly jumped out of your skin when you noticed the looming shadow behind you, turning to see the masked man standing idle behind you. You could see his pupils trained on you before shifting to Rengoku and slightly bowing his head.
"Thank you for having me. I am sorry I arrived late."
Rengoku shook his head, "No need to apologize. Fujihara just arrived moments ago," he said, a slight smugness to him as he said so.
You scowled lightheartedly, "Hey now, I was caught up in some affairs..."
The flame-haired man chuckled briefly before leading the two of you over to the training grounds.
You had heard from Taniguchi-san that Rengoku was tasked with giving a workshop to the many recruits that had entered only a few months ago. It would be that the Flame Hashira was assigned to ensure that the new batch of demon slayers were up to par. Demon slayers needed to be able to slay actual demons, as the name entailed. Or, at least, that's what the consensus was among most men. You agreed to some extent but believed that people could improve even after passing the test. It did not mean that they would remain "weak" forever.
Rengoku took you before a large group of young demon slayers, all but a pair or two composed entirely of fresh, baby-faced teenagers. It wasn't a rarity to see, but you knew any outsider who could see this would think you were losing your mind. Teenagers? Children are being sent out to fight demons.
It was a harsh reality.
"Currently, they are sparring with one another in order so we can gauge their current strength," Rengoku explained to the two of you.
A few pairs were clashing and dodging their partners' attacks, most displaying a technique you were familiar with in the initial stages of your past training. Water breathing was easy to grasp and the most basic style of fighting a demon slayer could learn. Not every slayer learned it, but it was one of the five basic styles, so it was used more in the corps.
Rengoku wasn't taught it, and in your case, you were taught only briefly to use it as a stepping stone to learning flower breathing. The one who would be more familiarized with the breathing style would be Urokodaki. So, as much as you were flattered to be invited to help with the workshop, you felt Rengoku would benefit most from having Urokodaki around and not having you take up space here.
You hummed in response, eyes falling on a pair that caught your attention. "I see. Are these all the recent members? Such a large group..."
"I agree," Rengoku replied in turn, crossing his arms. "That is why I proposed this workshop along with Yukimura and Amano. We do not doubt the success of the Final Selection, but we want to guarantee that we are not just recklessly sending all these young men out to their deaths."
The little cynical voice in your head whispered to you that they would all be sent out to their deaths one day. The mortality rate for a demon slayer was extremely high, and that is also why young people were readily accepted at such young ages if they proved promising. Even you were prepared to go out on a mission one day and not return. It could be tomorrow, or it could be the next. That is why you trained often, regardless, so that you could fight to see another day.
"That one has an interesting style," Urokodaki said.
You and Rengoku looked over where his gaze was being held, and the three of you fell into a small silence and watched as a teen with white-and-black peppered hair overpowered his sparring partner.
As Urokodaki said, his style was interesting because he mostly deflected his partner's attacks using his sword. He made movements that would be considered unnecessary, and a waste of energy was put into dodging and avoiding his attacks. But when he was given an opportunity, he struck harshly. It seemed like he was able to predict them with how quickly he was able to maneuver.
"Have you seen anything like that before?" You asked the two, figuring that their seniority in experience might provide something to use as contrast.
Urokodaki shook his head while Rengoku hummed out in defeat and closed his eyes momentarily.
"I have not seen anything like his technique before," the Fire Hashira mumbled, watching as the young man with the peppered hair tried to land a finishing blow. "But it does...remind me somewhat of you—"
He cut himself off when the wooden sword that pepper hair's partner had used was knocked out violently from his hands, spinning out to aim between you and Rengoku. Whether you had seen it faster or were the most prepared for something like that, your hand shot up first to catch it. You felt the brush of warm skin on the back of your hand and glanced over to see that Rengoku had tried to stop it like you, but you were the faster.
He gave a crooked smile, lowering his arm as you spun the wooden sword to sit snugly under the palm of your hand, mock-blade touching the earth. "You beat me to it."
You gave a closed-eyed smile, a little happy at your feat. Rengoku, despite his slightly intimidating presence, was easy to get along with. At first, he was a little standoffish, but it didn't take long for him to warm up. You were glad to have kept talking to him so your relationship as fellow Hashira and acquaintances could get this way.
You were also happy that you could beat him in something trivial as this because he overpowered you in strength by a fair amount. He was a powerhouse, and you admired his abilities.
You could feel Urokodaki shift his weight next to you, and you glanced over to see him looking to his right, away from you. Hm, were you imagining his gaze on you?
But paying attention back to the pair, their sparing had no doubt concluded with one of them missing their practice sword. The one your trio had taken an interest in let his partner gather his bearings before each bowed.
"Do you know his background?" You asked Rengoku, to which he shook his head. "I don't even know his name. I know that Kuwajima told me he was an interesting case. He might be more familiar with him."
"Kuwajima-san..." you mumbled.
"Why not meet him for ourselves?" Urokodaki asked, and he called out to him before you could say anything.
The young swordsman looked over his shoulder, muttering something to his partner before walking over. While appearing to be a few years younger than you, it surprised you that he looked taller up closely, beating you by some good centimeters. But he wasn't as tall as the two men beside you, so he wasn't as intimidating, and for sure, he wasn't as tall as Yukimura, who looked like a giant compared to all.
"You called me...?" He trailed off.
This time, Rengoku took charge by asking him a question.
"We were watching you during your match," he said, crossing his arms. "What breathing style do you use?"
The young man blinked and answered, "Water. Is there something wrong with my technique?"
"No, I wouldn't say that it's wrong," you assured him, "It just looks slightly different when you use it. There's nothing bad about it, right, Urokodaki-san?" You looked over to your coworker.
You hoped he could give better insight on it since now it was confirmed that this unnamed corps member was a user of water breathing.
The masked man was silent for a few seconds before answering. "No, I agree. It's not something to be looked at negatively."
"Thank you, senpai."
Senpai? How cute.
You wished you could see Urokodaki's reaction to being called that, but his mask kept his face hidden.
But if being called that affected him, you wouldn't know because he moved on to ask him another question. "Have you considered becoming a user of a different breathing style?"
That was bold of Urokodaki to say. You didn't think he could be so cutthroat.
Kaede was more interested than offended by his suggestion, however.
"Like which one?"
It would be that the two men beside you would look over at you, and you blinked in surprise at their gazes.
"What? Me?" You pointed to yourself, "My...style?"
"If you don't mind me asking," the young man muttered, "but who is this?"
The look on your face must have said it all because he looked guilty right after asking.
"I'm...the Flower Hashira," you sighed, feeling a little victimized.
He bowed his head, "I apologize—I had no idea."
No idea, he says. And yet the two imposing men beside you who looked flashier than you should have tipped him, right? At least Rengoku should have, right?
"Your style of fighting is agile and nimble," Rengoku commented back on his sparring match, "And yet you weren't using any techniques that could be deemed solidly that of the water breathing technique. Is there a reason for that?"
"It's not like I have anything against what my master has taught me, nor do I dislike the water breathing style..." the young man defended, not seeming to be meek about speaking out. "...I just truly don't think that fighting style suits me. It utilizes the fundamentals of swordsmanship but fails to maximize their strengths by giving too much variety in techniques."
Very bold. You'd think this young man wasn't afraid of being criticized, even by someone ranking higher than him.
And yet, you couldn't help but be amused.
You instinctively turned to look at Urokodaki, yet again disappointed to know he was wearing a mask. "What do you think about what he said, Uroko-san?"
You hoped he didn't mind you shortening his name, but maybe he'd let it slide.
There was a pause as if he was genuinely thinking about the youth's words.
"What's your name?"
"Mori Kaede."
"And how old are you, Kaede?"
"Sixteen, senpai."
"You're still a child, so I'll just pretend that's where your ignorance comes from."
Ah, that's right. Urokodaki was defensive about the water breathing style, as he was entrusted to pass it on to a successor.
Then, the mask wearer turned to look at you.
"You haven't started searching for a tsuguko, have you?"
It was your turn to pause, "Are you saying I should take him under my wing?"
Urokodaki pulled back a little, "It was only a thought. His natural talent might pair well with the flower breathing style..."
It was Rengoku's turn to jump in, "I have to say that I agree with Urokodaki. The boy can potentially become a great flower style user."
You sighed, "It seems like a sound idea...but I hope that this isn't attracting any negative energy my way. I just became a Hashira a month ago, and what if I die so soon."
Rengoku almost laughed at your woes, and you felt a little skittish to be scrutinized by him.
Luckily, he was warming up to you because he gently clapped your shoulder with an amused smile. "Please give yourself a little more credit."
That gave you more confidence. You could practically feel yourself grow a little taller.
"Well, if the two of you seem to agree," you chuckled, scratching your face shyly at the praise, "I guess I could see if he has the makings of a future Flower Hashira."
Kaede frowned at this. "Then I don't get a final say in this? What kind of breathing technique is based on flowers? Aren't they delicate and dainty?"
"Delicate and dainty doesn't slice off demon heads, you see, Kaede. And I've done plenty of that with flower breathing."
This guy sure had a mouth. It would do him good if you could teach him how to hold his tongue sometimes.
Urokodaki seemed to radiate with approval at your matter-of-fact retort, crossing his arms proudly.
Once you could see that Kaede didn't want to open his mouth anymore, you smiled happily and gave him rough pats on his shoulder, nearly toppling him in the process. "So that's settled then! I'll run you through a trial period, and if you suck, I'll hand you over to Uroko-san to discipline you."
"Discipline me...?" He muttered in an almost mortified, breathy whisper.
You and Rengoku laughed at how regrettable Kaede had become after being rung out. As far as you could remember, Urokodaki became nothing short of a figure Kaede was weary of from that day on.