The raucous, metallic shriek heralds the train, indicating a plunge as it inched forward, moving in an excruciating pace. The sound was unremitting, the continuous rustling of iron ringing through their ears. The train was never-ending and boundless as it traveled through the vast scenery at a ceaseless speed.
The [E/C]-eyed who stood just right outside the metalic transport, watched as each tree, bush and other plants pass by. Heck, even the specks of dust emitted from the train's smoke. She witnessed it all in a flash, blurry and a haze.
She wondered, if it was given the chance, would the landscape that she had omit be as breathtaking and captivating as she imagined it would be? Just like she had told her burgundy-haired friend, she wanted to view it with her very own eyes, experiencing it all, even just a glimpse.
"[First Name]?"
A gentle yet muffled voice called out her name beyond the door, but she paid no mind to it, proceeding to focus on the bleary terrain.
Then, the metal door leading to inside of the train - opened, making a subtle creaking noise.
"[First Name]?" Tanjiro repeated her name as his eyes slowly dart around the small platform. Once his eyes finally landed on a familiar [H/C]-haired girl, he smiled. He closed the door, slowly making his way over to the female in mentioned. "What are you doing out here?" He asked curiously, copying the female who had her arms rested on the railing. "Why don't you head inside? You've been here since we got on the train."
[First Name] sighed, glancing at him in the corner of her eyes. "You're right, I should." She replied, nodding. "I'll head inside in just a moment."
"It's just.." She paused, stretching out her limbs, "We've been coped up inside since Rehabilitation Training started, and.. I miss this." She paused. "I miss traveling on missions to be honest. And I'm glad, I get to do it again with you, Inosuke and Zenitsu." and her arms soon fell back to her sides as she finally turned to look at Tanjiro. "Have you found Rengoku-san? It was your intention to go in this train-mission, wasn't it?"
The boy in question shook his head reluctantly. "I haven't.. And to be honest, I've kind of forgot what he looked like." He admitted, rubbing the nape of his neck.
"Really?" [First Name] deadpanned, earning a nervous chuckle from him. "Yes, really, so that's why.." A hopeful gaze made it's way to his eyes, he took a hold of the both of her hands. "I was hoping you could help me...?"
[First Name] still had a displeased expression on her face. How could have he forgotten such an important person in the Corps? That was sure to get him trouble. She sighed, "Alright, lead the way." She accepted his request, causing him to overjoy.
"Thank you, [First Name]! I knew I could count on you!"
[First Name] gave him a questioning look as he started dragging her inside. "How kind of you..?" She muttered, sounding confused herself.
As they entered each section of the train, [First Name] couldn't help but feel like something was off.
Each step they took... felt odd. She couldn't quite describe it. The atmosphere around her didn't feel quite right, it was tense and heavy. She took the time to observe the people who sat on the soft-cushioned sit, there were adults, adolescents and children.
Each compartment felt like it had their own little world. Some laughing, some blankly staring out of the window and others just did whatever random things [First Name] hasn't mentioned.
Too lost in her own thoughts, [First Name] bumped into a conductor, who was currently punching holes in the ticket. Although, she kept her balance, it was enough to break off her and Tanjiro's intertwined hands. She closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead where it had collided with the taller staff. "Forgive me, I wasn't looking at where I was going." She bowed slightly, opening her eyes in the process as she brought her head up. "Sir, are you-"
Instantly, her eyes shot open at his appearance. There were eyebags formed under his eyes, his cheekbones were so sucked in that it made his bone visible. His hair was greasy, and not to mention the agonizing and terrorized look in his eyes. His clothes were unkempt and untidy, it looked like it hadn't been washed in years.
Not wanting to sound rude, [First Name] dropped the topic off her mind. Giving the conductor one last bow and apology, she walked over to Tanjiro, placing a hand on his shoulder as to hurry him away from the conductor. "Something seems off about him, it's best if we continue our route to the front." She whispered in Tanjiro's ears, causing his eyebrows to furrow.
"What do you-"
But, before he could question any longer, [First Name] was the one who gripped his wrist this time, forcing him to leave at once and not turn back. "What was that about?" Tanjiro asked, after they were a good distance away from him.
[First Name] shrugged, "I don't know, but something felt off. Nevermind that, I think I was just imagining things. The cold air must've messed up my head. And, we're getting sidetracked, let's find Rengoku-san."
Tanjiro nodded, trusting her senses. He knew that she had intuition and didn't doubt that. But, he also kept note of the previous remark of hers.
"WE'RE IN THE BELLY! UWOO-OOH!" Inosuke chortled, spewing out random things as he began to rub his palms evilly. "We're in the belly.. This is the beginning of an epic fight!"
He turned to Zenitsu, "OI, MONITSU! DON'T WORRY, THE GREAT INOSUKE-SAMA WILL PROTECT YOU PATHETIC WEAKLINGS!" He puts his hands on his hip, laughing proudly.
An irk mark appeared on Zenitsu's forehead, "SHUT UP, YOU PIG HEAD! [FIRST NAME]-CHAN CAN DO A BETTER JOB AT THAT! AND MY NAME IS ZENITSU! NOT WHOEVER'S NAME YOU JUST SAID!" He pointed at him, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"So, [First Name], do you know what he looks like? He's the Flame Pillar, right?" A background voice started to fade in, alerting Zenitsu.
He snapped his head to the side, finding Tanjiro and [Name] began to walk towards him and Inosuke.
[First Name] nodded, "He is. He has a flashy appearance. He has flaming yellow hair that fades into various hues of red and orange, to describe in short. Just by that, you could already distinguish him among crowds of people." She said, before something clicked in her. "Couldn't you detect him by scent?"
"You have a point. But with so many people on board in this train, it's sorta hard to differentiate which is which, and who is who. Their scent is almost mixed up." Tanjiro explained, earning an understanding nod from her.
Suddenly, a loud voice boomed, making them flinch. "TASTY! TASTY!"
Tanjiro and [First Name] shared a look of confusion.
"TASTY! TASTY!"
The voice came again, confusing them even more.
"TASTY!"
And as if reality had smacked her in the face, [First Name]'s expression changed - realizing something. She remembered the seemingly familiar voice. She took steady steps towards the man who owned the voice, placing her hand on his shoulder hesitantly. "Rengoku-san..?" She called out in a tentative manner.
She was 99.9% sure that it was him. Mad sure. But, in case someone else has fiery and bright yellow hair with red streaks, black forked eyebrows, and golden eyes, and wears a white-yellow gradient patterned-cloak, along with red flame-like ridges at the end - then, that was for another story.
The male in question turned his head towards her while still chewing on the packed food he had with him. His eyes lit up, "Ah, young [First Name]!" He beamed, grinning widely. Although, his words were terribly articulated due to the food still in his mouth. "My! My! What a surprise seeing you here!"
A shocked expression crossed Tanjiro's face as his jaw hanged agape. On the other hand, Zenitsu - who was beside him, twitched his eyes in disbelief. "That guy's the flame pillar?" He joined in, popping into the scene.
"Yup." Tanjiro sweatdropped, smiling nervously.
"Isn't he just a glutton?"
"Yup.."
"Young [First Name]!" Rengoku continued. "Look at this meal, it's really tasty, isn't it?" He jollily showed her the bento box he had with him, rice speckled all over his mouth.
The said girl sweatdropped at his childish manner despite being a pillar.
"Tasty, it's very tasty!"
"I understand, Rengoku-san. You seem to be enjoying it very much, it looks very delicious." She replied awkwardly. "You might want to be careful, though. You might choke on the food.."
Kyojuro continued devouring his food like a beast. In the speed of lighting, he had finished it all, it was as if it disappeared into thin air or it hadn't been there at all. The pillar quickly tucked his box away, a jovial smile still plastered on his face. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" He laughed out loud.
This catched her off guard, but [First Name] nodded, exiting her distracted state. "Actually, my friend, Tanjiro here was the one who wanted to talk to you." She said.
"I see! Well then what is it?"
"Hm. So that's it!"
"But I dunno," Rengoku exclaimed happily. "This is the first time I've heard of this 'Dance of the Fire God'! I'm actually delighted that you were able to apply the dance your father performed in your battles."
"So-"
"But, enough of that story!" Rengoku interrupted Tanjiro, giving him an innocent close-eyed smile.
"Huh?!" Tanjiro's eyeballs were popping out of his eye-sockets. "Could I maybe have a little more-"
Again, Rengoku cut him off, "You should become my Tsugoko, I'll look after you!" He crossed his arms, offering the first option. "Or, you could train under me like [First Name] here did! Even if it's just temporary!"
Tanjiro turned to [First Name], begging her to turn the topic around back to where it originally was. She sighed, "Rengoku-san, I wouldn't want to be rude, especially to a Hashirs. Forgive me, but aren't we getting a little too sidetracked here..?"
Ignoring her comment, the Flame Pillar proceeded to drift farther into another topic, "The breath of flames has a long history! Swordsman who can use water and flames have become Pillars in every age, no exception!" It seemed that the topic was turning around back to what Tanjiro questioned, and Tanjiro was thankful for that, whether the Pillar did it intentionally or not. "The basic breaths are flame, water, wind, rock and lightning! And the other breath styles are branched out from those. For example, mist was derived from wind!"
Tanjiro nodded to every statement Rengoku had said, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Young Mizoguchi, what color is your blade?" Rengoku questioned, snapping him from his thoughts. Tanjiro shook his head, straightening his back. Clearing his throat, Tanjiro mustered up, "I'm Kamado and it's black!"
Rengoku couldn't help but let out a booming laugh, running a shiver up Tanjiro's spine. "That's rough, buddy!" He commented, arms still crossed.
"That's rough..? How so?"
"I've never seen a swordsman with a black blade become a pillar! What's more, I understand that you don't even know what swordsmanship to master!" Rengoku added, closing his eyes pridefully. "I'll train you at my place, so be at ease now!"
Tanjiro's eyes twitched, 'What a helpful guy..'
"What about a translucent blade?"
"Huh?"
[First Name] grimaced, locking her eyes with the Flame Pillar. "While I was training at your place, Rengoku-san, you lent me an unused blade in the mean time, since mine was still being reforged." She said. "What's more baffling was that my blade used to be just.. A blade, it didn't change color despite being a Nichirin Blade. But after Haganezuka-san - mine and Tanjiro's swordsmith, came back with our newly made swords, mine turned transparent.." She mused, furrowing her eyebrows - deep in thought, before bringing her head up, sighing, "Perhaps, you may know something of it?"
However, before Rengoku could answer, it was interrupted by a familiar voice, howling, shortly followed after a series of cackles. "UWOOH-OWOOH! WOW WOW!" Inosuke cheered, raising his arms up. He had the upper-half of his body dangling out of the train's window, raisings his arms up daringly. "IT'S SO FAAAST! I'M GONNA GET OUT AND RUN! I'M GONNA HAVE A RACE TO SEE WHICH ONE OF US IS FASTER!"
"It's dangerous, moron!" Zenitsu scolded, trying to pry him off there. He tugged on Inosuke's boar-hide, in an attempt to pull him inside. "There are limits of idiocy!"
"I would be careful, if I were you. I don't know when the demon might appear." Rengoku adviced. Zenitsu flinched, the timid yellow-haired boy slowly rotated his head towards the pillar. The color in his face drained to a pale white, dread visible on his face. "H-huh? Y-you're kidding... Right?" He stammered, still perplexed. "A d-demon's going to appear on in this train?"
"It will! In a short period of time, more than 40 people have disappeared on this train!" Rengoku stated, not minding the obvious fear on Zenitsu's face. "We sent a number of swordsman here, but none of them reported back. So that's why I'm here as a pillar, to-"
"WE'RE NOT GETTING ON THIS TRAIN TO THE PLACE WHERE THE DEMON IS?! BUT RATHER, THE DEMON IS ON THIS TRAIN?!"
Rengoku nodded at his exclamation.
"HAAH! I SEE!" Zenitsu screamed. "I'M GETTING OFF, NOT TODAY! GOODBYE!"
The conductor [First Name] and Tanjiro had encountered before, proceeded to carry on his duty. Confirming the ticket by punching holes in it. "I will.. Look at your tickets." He murmured, practically done with life.
"Oh, hey. It's the man we met earlier" Tanjiro perked up, until suddenly, a scent slowly slithered it's way to his nose, making his eyes widened. 'What's this.. I smell something bad...' Tanjiro's nose scrunched up, eyeing his surroundings wearily.
Beside him, Rengoku and [First Name] seemed to notice something was off as well. The latter girl's eyebrows seemed to furrow down in conflict, but her distress came to a halt when Rengoku had stood up. "Conductor, it's dangerous, so stay down. It's an emergency, so I would prefer it if you don't ask why I have a sword with me." He smiled determinedly, saluting to him, while his other hand rested on his sword.
The platform rumbled as heavy footsteps could be heard making it's way to where the demon slayers were. [Name] and Tanjiro stood up in sync, ready to back up Rengoku if needed.
And then, the monstrous being known as a demon appeared. The people on board the train had no clue what was going on and screamed in fear at the ghastly-looking creature. His appearance was horrific, it looked like several heads were botched into one as his head. Along his neck were large veins, traveling down until the ends of his body. Spikes were visibly coming out of his body as his scruffy hair swung around in a disorderedly manner.
"Big guy! Were you hiding your blood demon techniques?" Rengoku exclaimed at the demon as he began drawing his sword. "It was hard to find your presence, however! If you're baring your fangs at sinless people, then.. The red flame sword of Rengoku will burn you down!"
Just as the pillar said so, he dashed forward at a lightning speed. The younger demon slayers who had watched him from afar were in equal shock. He wasn't visible in their eyes, it just showed how fast and skilled of a demon slayer Kyojuro was.
'Breath of Flames, First form: Unknowing Fire!'
And with one swift motion, Rengoku's blade had pierced through the demon's thick neck, leaving a trail of smoke behind for theatrical effect. The demon's blood splattered everywhere, causing the people around it to screech and back away, pressing themselves onto the wall of the metalic train to get as far from the demon as possible.
The demon's decapitated head soon fell to the ground, it's blood pooling and stamping down the surface-floor of the train.
From afar, [First Name] and along with Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Insouke's eyes sparkled in admiration, "That was awesome, Aniki! That was awesome swordsmanship! Please make me your disciple!" Tanjiro cheered, crying tears of joy.
"Sure thing!" Rengoku smiled, nodding at his request. "I'll make you a into a fine swordsman!"
"Me too!" Zenitsu chimed in.
"Me three!" Inosuke unexpectedly joined in as well.
Rengoku laughed proudly, "I'll take care of every single one of you!" He crossed his arms, prompting them to cheer louder.
"Rengoku Aniki! Anikii!"
"How about you, [First Name]? Care to join us?" Rengoku turned to the girl, making her sweatdrop.
"No th-thank you.." She shook her hands nervously. "I think you've got enough in your hands as it is. Besides, I'm already grateful for the time you had trained me.."
"No sweat!" Rengoku assured her, but she still declined politely. "No really, thank you, I'm fine." [First Name] nodded rapidly. The Flame Pillar lets out a booming laugh once again, making her flinch. "Really, it's no trouble!" He convinced her.
"Thank you, but.."
"I'm sure I have plenty of time to train you!"
"Yes, however-"
"Come on! It's okay!"
After they cheerful chatters were done, the five demon slayers decided to take a nap, whether it was intentional or not, all of them fell asleep at the same time.
Rengoku was the last one awake, taking watch in case any demons appeared. Suddenly, he felt the both of his shoulders became heavy, causing his eyes to shot wide open. However, when he came to look what had caused it, it made him laugh softly.
Tanjiro and [First Name] had used his shoulder as a pillow, simultaneously.
Rengoku turned to the [H/C]-haired girl. He smiled, patting her hair. This caused her to instinctively snuggle up to him even closer, making him chuckle. If by now she was awake, [First Name] would've slapped herself and apologize.
The Flame Pillar yawned, before he himself started to feel his eyes getting sleepier by the second. And after a few minutes, he had finally fell to a slumber as well.
Somewhere Else...
"I did as I was told, I punched their tickets and put them to sleep!" A voice sobbed desperately, kneeling on the floor. "Please put me to sleep quickly! Please.. Let me meet my dead wife and daughter, I beg of you.." He rested his head on the hard wooden floor, continuously pleading to the hideous talking hand before him.
"Sure thing. You've done a great job." It stated with a dangerously low voice. "Now sleep and have a good dream where you can reunite with your family."
The person who had beg to this stomach-churning palm with a mouth attached to it, was the conductor. Instantly, he felt his a shockwave hit his body causing it to freeze for a moment, before his body completely went limp, dropping onto the floor.
"Um.. What about us?" Another voice resounded, belonging to the four people who sat wearily beside the conductor.
"Hm.. Let's see.. " The palm of the demon grinned. "You'll get sleepier very soon, so don't worry. Just wait here. The sharp witted demon slayers might wake up because they'll sense the demons and their thirst of blood. Be careful to not touch their bodies when you get close and fasten the cord."
"I cannot move from the locomotive for a while, just do your best until everything's set." It added, reffering to the demon's physical body up in the said locomotive. "So you can have a wonderful dream..."
"Okay.." The four of them replied hesitantly.
On top of the train was the demon's physical body, standing there, witnessing what was happening from above. "Being able to die while dreaming is such a blessing, isn't it..?" He lazily smiled at the thought, waving his arms around. "It doesn't matter how strong the demon slayers are.."
"The driving force of the humans beings is the heart and soul, I should just destroy the 'Core Spirit'. If I do that, they'll be living corpses and it'll be easy to kill them." He 'hm'ed. "All human hearts are the same, they're brittle and weak as if they're made of glass..."
To Be Continued.