Above image: before and after he met Akaza :') (at least my interpretation- you all can have your own idea of what demon rengoku looks like ^^)
Daily fun fact about cats: In Japan, the unlucky cat color is gray or orange, not black! Black cats are seen as lucky or signs of good fortune!
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timecheck: roughly 3pm
suncheck: not safe, high in the sky with very small, if any, shadows
Daki pulled her obi back in, the fabric once again merging with her body as her hair turned white. Ugly brats.. how'd that demon escape? I felt like I was burning for a second there- Uppermoon Six glared at the tightly shuttered windows on one side of her room. If it weren't daytime, I'd go deal with the hashira myself.
She turned back to the floor, eyes focused on nothing in the suffocating darkness. The master will be so pleased when I kill that hashira! And Douma should be here tonight to collect that pesky fire demon. It doesn't matter if I can contain him or not; a more powerful kizuki can deal with him easily. I just have to make sure he doesn't leave the district.
Sighing, Daki began fixing her hair. There wasn't much she could do when her movements were restricted to the shadows.
Onii-channn..
"What."
There's a hashira!
"You've been thinking about nothing but that for the past ten minutes. I'm ready to come out and kill it if you get cornered."
I won't!!
"Yes you will. You always do."
Daki huffed in annoyance, deciding to just ignore her brother.
"Temperamental and childish.. like usual."
Gyutaro fell silent again after saying that, leaving his sister to simmer in her own pool of anger. She'd cool down eventually, he knew.
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Letting out one last guttural growl, the flames leapt into Rengoku's katana, the fire swirling around it for a moment before dissipating completely. A faint red glow surrounded the metal, heat radiating from it. As Rengoku slid the sword into its sheath, the blade cooled slightly to allow it to sit there without burning through the sheath. It'll be interesting to see what else I can do with my blood demon art! Throwing a few ideas around in his head, Rengoku turned to Zenitsu. Is he asleep? Strange!
"Kyojuro, we're going to keep looking for the demon's main body, okay? You stay here until the sun goes down," Uzui instructed.
Rengoku hesitated before reluctantly agreeing. He was of no use during the day. So he nodded, staying tucked into the shadows.
Uzui smiled reassuringly at the flame pillar before helping his wives out of the cavern. The thunder user was able to jump out on his own, chasing after the three.
Watching them leave, Rengoku inhaled as his stomach rumbled angrily.
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timecheck: 7pm (sunset!)
suncheck: safer than before, but still dangerous in some open areas.
Hunger was a powerful thing. It was the driving force behind the urge to eat, to fill the stomach with food. Something Rengoku was not permitted to do. Sure, he could eat normal food without issue, a feat most demons couldn't achieve, but it never cured his hunger.
Rengoku's stomach hurt, a dull ache that plagued him as he moved around. It'd been growling more often, as if yelling at him to go get something to eat. He'd been doing his best to ignore it, telling himself that he'd buy some sweet potatoes when they were done with this mission. But his more demonic side wasn't convinced. He remained starving even after he leapt out of the cavern, wincing at the slight pain of the fading sunlight. As he ran down the street, searching for Uzui and Kamado's little squad, he had to consciously focus on anything but the few people still outside. He could feel the hungry warmth of his katana through his pant leg, the flames inside it growing in anticipation for when the demon might snap.
No. I need to focus on the mission. Make sure no one gets hurt. It is my duty as a hashira to support the corps, and to slay any demon I come across. Slowing his pace, Rengoku doubled back, running in the opposite direction. It might not be the best idea to try and follow Tengen. We'll cover more ground this way, too.
Rengoku stole quick glances down each alley as he passed them, keeping his eyes open for any sign of the pink obi. He'd only been on the move for about three minutes before the distinct scent of a powerful demon reached his nose. Slowly, his gaze dragged up from the ground to a closed window on the building next to him. Atop the same roof, Tanjiro gave the pillar a small wave before dropping down onto the ledge outside the window, and swing it open.
(Letting you know now that I pulled some scenes from the anime manga from this point forward. I tried my best to change as much as I could, but I still had to use some)
Inside, Daki turned her attention away from the courtesan wrapped in her obi, to the ugly boy crouching outside the open frame. Her gaze was focused, but relaxed, as if she were expecting company. "You're a demonslayer, aren't you? How many of you are there? I've counted three so far, including you. Two brats and a hashira. Where's he? I'd be wasting moonlight spending it on trash like you."
Tanjiro balked, flinching back when he saw the numbers in her eyes but quickly regaining his composure. "Let that person go!" He drew his sword.
On the ground, Rengoku took his out as well, readying himself to jump to the window at a moments notice.
"How dare you tell me what to do!" With a single swing of her obi, Daki sent the child rocketing back into the building across the street. As the upper rank demon climbed delicately out of the window, Rengoku shot forward, sword ablaze. Seeing him in the corner of her eye, Daki jumped back and swat at him with the belt, only to find it sliced in half and burning, having been set on fire by just the pure heat Rengoku's blade was giving off. She grit her teeth, breaking through the ceiling to rise onto the roof. "You brat-" her eyes narrowed. 'A demon with fire-like hair'.. this one? Really? His hair is so weird. Then again, Akaza isn't exactly a looker, either. I can see that he might be drawn to him.
Rengoku inhaled, gathering oxygen in his lungs as he leapt again, raising his katana for another strike.
Tanjiro squeezed the hilt of his sword tightly, searching for an opening where he could join the fight. It's happening again, he stressed, I still can't keep up with Rengoku-san's movements. He's even faster, now, so I really have no chance of getting into the fight without slowing him down.
"Kamado! Take your sister and go tell Uzui that we found the demon." Even locked in battle with Uppermoon Six, Rengoku found he could focus on two things at once. She's remarkably slow for an upper rank, he noted.
Clenching his jaw, Tanjiro gripped the broken strap of Nezuko's box. He dropped down to the street, running in the direction of where he'd last seen the sound pillar.
"Is he going to go get a hashira?" Daki questioned, eyeing the uniform the demon in front of her was wearing. "Anyways, why are you wearing that outfit? That's for demonslayers, not demons." She sent a barrage of attacks raining down on the fire demon, all of which he deflected.
"Yes. And I'm wearing this because I am a demonslayer." Rengoku sliced through her next attacks as well, his heated sword effectively setting fire to whatever part of the obi it touched.
Switching to the defensive, Daki growled, "So you're ugly and delusional."
"Just because I'm a demon doesn't mean I have to behave like one."
The uppermoon glared, concentrating her attack on Rengoku's head. Her obi flew for the demonslayer's neck, hoping to cut it off before he could react. I'll stuff him back into my belt. I don't know how he got out last time, but it won't happen again.
Erupting from the katana like it was a volcano, the fire engulfed the obi, slowly taking the shape of a raging tiger. It shot along the length of the belt, moving to chase Daki as she backed up, staring at the flames in fear as long-forgotten trauma resurfaced. She tried to slash it, but her obi passed through it seamlessly. The only damage she was causing was to herself.
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At about the same time, Uzui was running through the streets on the other side of town, searching the area around the Ogimoto House. Tanjiro had not yet reached the pillar, so he had no idea what was happening back with Rengoku. The shadows were practically an issue themselves, dark and concealing. If it weren't for the moonlight, he wouldn't be able to see two meters in front of his face.
This part of the city wasn't as busy, all of the lights were out, and the streets empty. The silence was unnerving, but would make it easy to hear anything out of the ordinary.
Feet skidding in the dry dirt, Uzui pivoted at a faint tapping noise. He raised his hands to his swords; not unsheathing them, but keeping his hands on their hilts just in case. Out of the darkness padded a cloudy gray cat, it's tail sticking straight up as it regarded the sparkly human with narrowed blue eyes. Almost as if it were questioning the sanity of the human race.
The two just stared at each other for a solid few seconds, the quiet interrupted when Uzui pointed at the feline and declared, "You'd better not make anything bad happen tonight, kitty. If you do, I'll sic my muscle mice on you."
Letting out a scornful mew, the cat turned its back to Uzui and began grooming itself, lapping at its paw and passing it over its ears. "I'm not scared of some stupid buff mice," it seemed to say.
Tengen huffed. "I've got more important things to do than argue with a cat," he muttered. The night was flying by quicker than he'd like. In his haste to make up for lost time, he almost missed the quiet, almost inaudible rustle of fabric leeching through the wall beside him. He turned on his heel, halting his momentum once again. And god, was he glad he did. The next half second of his life was spent breaking through the thin panel of glass, drawing his swords and slicing away the obi imprisoning Hinatsuru. Uzui retreated to the far corner of the room, holding his wife and keeping one eye on the tattered obi.
(This is a reminder that Tengen is married to the girls platonically, in case anyone forgot)
As she explained the situation, Uzui listened intently, worry filling his heart. Hinatsuru was pale, and had told him that she'd drunken poison in an attempt to slip out of the house. He gave her an antidote to said poison, and in a gentle voice, made it clear that she didn't have to do anything more to help.
"When the antidote begins doing its job, leave Yoshiwara. Go meet up with Suma and Makio at the edge of the city, where you'll be safe."
Reluctantly, Hinatsuru nodded. Giving her a quick hug, Uzui set her down and left. He needed to find the demon and kill it, so it didn't get the change to harm anyone else.
As soon as he stepped outside the building, the clattering of feet on the rooftop above made him spin around, cracking his neck to see who was there. It was Tanjiro, breathing unevenly and holding the box he always carried around to his chest. "Kamado!" Uzui jumped up onto the roof. "What happened?"
"We- we found the demon! It's Upper Six, Rengoku-san is fighting her right now!" The lower ranked slayer pointed frantically to where dust was gathering in the sky.
Swearing under his breath, Uzui took off in the direction Tanjiro had indicated. Upper Six.. Kyojuro fought on equal ground with Upper Three, he should be fine for as long as it takes me to get there. Taking his place as the fastest hashira seriously, the sound pillar sped impossibly fast across the tiled rooftops. He took running leaps across the wide streets, the wind pushing back against him with every step he took.
Tanjiro watched in awe of the speed Uzui was able to build up, then shook himself and began chasing after him.
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And so I conclude part one of the two part entertainment district battle.
Battle scenes are my nemesis in writing- how the fluff am I supposed to make it feel action-packed using words??
So I apologize if the next chapter sounds and flows awful TvT