Down in a Blaze of Glory.

Aftermath of a Loss. (ch 1)

(tw; cursing ig)

"Hey! You! What the hell are you doing here?!"
Hironaka heard yelling towards her side, and she nearly screeched. A Kakushi member. Not surprising though. "U-uhm! Im here for the Hashira meeting! I was invited, I was Rengokus Tsugo-" "I didn't ask for a life story. Get a move on!" "Rude.." Hironaka huffed, and was quickly led by a Kakushi member to a sort of backyard. A few people were there; a very tall male who seemed to be crying and in a tree? was a boy with a scarf over his mouth. There was one girl there so far so, she had that at least. She sighed and headed to a spot not near the others. It was calming there. And quiet- though the tension was super apparent. Reasonably. She was new. Unintroduced. Over the next few minutes, the rest of the Hashira arrived. Nobody really cared to ask Hironaka why she was there, but she did get a few glares. Eh. She kept looking at one girl, pink and green hair. She seemed so incredibly out of place, was all. The other Hashira were so cold and intimidating but she seemed so.. weak. She meant it sincerely but still, why was she even th-
The sound of a door opening shut everyone up. A man walked out, accompanied by two women with very beautiful white hair.
"Good evening everyone."
The man was speaking. And next thing she know, some angry guy with a scar on his face had her shoved to her knees. She gulped and glanced over at everyone before sighing in relief; they were all kneeling too, she was fine.
"As you may know, our flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, has sadly perished in battle."
Everyone fell silent, Hironaka stared at the ground; tears were starting to dwell up behind the mask that covered her eyes. Luckily if she did cry it was very hard to end up seeing.
"Let us not take Kyojuro's sacrifice in vain, he saved those aboard the Mugen Train. We shall remember him and keep him close to our hearts."
Hironaka could hear something hiccup, as if crying. She wondered if it was that girl...
"Furthermore, in a spew of luck, his Tsugoku has already undergone her Hashira training."
All eyes fell on Hironaka.
Fuckin hell.

"Suzuki, please stand forward."
Hironaka gulped again, and folded her umbrella for the time being. She hopped to her feet and took a step forward, locking eyes with the man.
"My name is Kagaya. I understand that you and Rengoku trained with eachother, yes?"
"Yes."
"Wonderful. Now, I hope you understand the responsibility and weight of what im about to give you."
"I do."
"Excellent."

-

Blah blah blah, Hashira talk, Hironaka was half paying attention, half staring at the other Hashira. They all knew something was up. Oh god was it her demon side? Was it how scared she was? Oh god was she burning? No, she was in the shade, phew.
"Now, everyone else, I trust you all to accept Suzuki as the new Flame Hashira. Despite the differences,"
Everyone seemed to flinch, as if theyd been caught.
"im sure she'll be a great companion to all of you."
The smile on his face sort of helped, though she could tell she was super unwelcomed...
"WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!"
That angry lookin guy again.
"So youre tellin us that we have to be around some half demon prick and just GET ALONG?!" "Sanemi, could you shut up."
That kid on the tree spoke up, now standing behind the apparent 'Sanemi'. Hironaka shivered, god they were scary! She backed up to her spot; wincing as the sun blasted her. She put up her umbrella, supporting it with her shoulder. Maybe she could get away early enough to stop at a town nearby and pick up some stuff. While the two boys were arguing, Kagaya had dismissed everyone. Perfect! Just as she had gone to leave, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw her. That girl!
"Oh. Hey, whats up?" "S-so youre the new Hashira! Congrats. Oh, where are my manners, my name is Mitsuri Kanroji." "Hironaka. Hironaka Suzuki."
This girl seemed nice, Hironaka thought to herself. The two briefly spoke before Suzuki spoke up. "Well, I really need to be going. I have to go somewhere, then I gotta get home."
"Could I join?"
...oh.