With a Flame in my Heart [Rengoku x Fem Reader] -DISCONTINUED-

Twenty - にじゅう

 Tanjiro was in a state of shock. He never expected for Tengen to retire all of a sudden.

"Well? Help me up! You should know how to help your god! Otherwise, your god won't give you any good luck or blessings for the rest of your lives!" Tengen hustled the three young Demon Slayers.

"Did Y/N-chan get poisoned, too?" He turned to Kyojuro, who pulled Y/N closer to himself and farther from the other Hashira.

"Yes, but she's fine, thanks to Kamado-shonen's sister!" Kyojuro smiled happily at Nezuko, creeping away from Tengen and towards her brother.

"Good, I was worried," he sighed with relief. Kyojuro narrowed his eyes and pulled Y/N ever closer to him, who looked at him in confusion.

"Why so protective? I don't need a fourth wife!" Tengen teased the protective Kyojuro. He blushed, hiding his face in Y/N's purple hair. She chuckled, leaning back into him. The Sound Hashira watched in amusement and maybe a little bit of pride, watching the two younger Hashira grow up.

"Wow, Y/N-chan is so big! Rengoku-san has grown so much, as well!" he said, wiping invisible tears off his cheek. Y/N glared at him, and he shied away from the couple slowly, not wanting to interfere.

"I'm older than Suma-chan! I'm not that young!" she growled.

"She doesn't count."

"Whatever!"

Tengen stood up with difficulty and help from his wives. Y/N looked up at Kyojuro's face.

"We need to get all of you to the infirmary. I might be the only one who's not super injured right now. I don't know how that happened, but it's probably because you men won't let me play my part. Come on, the Butterfly Mansion is not that far... I think," she said, and wriggled her way out of the Flame Hashira's grasp. She took his hand and started walking through the scorched Entertainment District ruins. The group followed her, Tengen stumbling with help from his wives.

"Hey, don't leave just yet," a cold voice hissed from behind them. The startled Sound Hashira turned around to see Iguro Obanai, the Serpent Hashira.

"Iguro-san? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused.

"Are you really thinking of retiring? You should be ashamed of yourself. You sustain multiple wounds. A gouged-out left eye? A missing hand? This is from the lowest of the Upper Ranks, mind you. You had two other Hashira on your side. I bet you could have done much better! You can still fight in your current condition. If you retire, we will have an empty spot in the Hashira. As a pillar, you must fight to the death! Put the Demon Slayer Corps before anything else! It is your top priority and your duty as a Demon Slayer!" he angrily said. His white snake coiled around his neck, hissing menacingly at Tengen.

"And you, Rengoku-san!" he pointed at Kyojuro. "A girl? I noticed your fighting deteriorated. Is it because of the girl you have here? If anything, your fighting would increase in quality if you knew there was a girl you had to protect!"

Kyojuro sighed, and Y/N squeezed his hand.

"I knew she could protect herself, so I didn't try to intervene. Don't you have somewhere to be, Iguro-san? We don't want to keep you," he replied, trying to sound kind.

"Yeah, go seduce Kanroji-san or something!" Tengen teased him. Iguro scowled at the Sound Hashira.

"You are a professional Demon Slayer, not some stupid teenager! You should act like a mature adult!"

"Not anymore!" he replied with a cheesy grin. Iguro sneered at him.

"Think about what Oyakata-sama might say, Uzui-san."

"He would allow me to retire. He is a kind and caring man. I'm sure he will understand. Besides, I'm getting too old to fight anyways. I'm twenty-three!" the Hashira laughed.

"Fine, then. It's not my choice. You'll regret it later, though."

And with that, Iguro vanished into thin air.

"What a party pooper!" Tengen complained, and kept walking in the direction Y/N was originally walking in. Kyojuro frowned.

"Should I have protected you, Y/N-chan? Am I doing a bad job?" he asked her.

"Bad job at what?" Y/N asked.

"At... being your lover," he replied, hiding his face in his wild hair.

"No. Why?" she said.

"I don't know. Don't worry about it, Y/N-chan. Just keep being yourself. I'll do the rest."

"Okay," Y/N smiled, walking beside him.

In a few hours, the battle-weary Demon Slayers finally arrived at the Butterfly Mansion. Kanao was at the front entrance. She was staring silently at the approaching visitors,

"That girl gets on my nerves..." Y/N whispered to Kyojuro, who smiled.

"I'm sure she's not that bad!" he ruffled her hair.

Kanao opened the door of the mansion and went inside, leaving the entrance open. They assumed it was because she was welcoming them in. Tanjiro was the first to enter.

"Kanao, wait!" he called. She turned around.

"How have you been without your coin?" he asked, panting at the doorframe. Kanao only smiled at him. Tanjiro looked a bit disappointed.

"Well, we'll keep working at it!" he said enthusiastically, and walked inside. Zenitsu followed, angry that Tanjiro is trying to get himself a girl. Inosuke ran in, laughing maniacally.

"TEMPURAAAAAAAA!" he screamed. His yells echoed from one end of the house to the other. Y/N and Kyojuro walked in to be greeted by Shinobu.

"Shinobu-chan!"

"Umi-chan!"

The two female Hashira ran up to each other, hugging. "Goodness, all of you look so beat-up, Heh, such a handful... Always having me take care of you all..." she trailed off, her face darkening. Y/N laughed nervously and followed Shinobu down the corridor. Kyojuro followed closely.

Once they got to the infirmary, Shinobu opened the door. Tanjiro was lying on the bed

"Oops, wrong room..." she muttered, irritated, and shut the door. Inosuke's yelling shut off immediately. Shinobu opened the door on the right and invited Y/N and Kyojuro in. Aoi was in the room, preparing her medical equipment.

"Lie down," Shinobu instructed, pointing to two beds on the far right of the room. The two Hashira each took a bed.

"L/N-san, you took less damage than everyone else, but you still are injured. There is a large wound on your arm and some other minor cuts that we probably won't have to worry about. The arm wound seems to have traces of demon venom, but we can take care of that," Aoi explained while applying who-knows-what to Y/N's arm.

"On the other hand, your boyfriend here is pretty injured. Of course, not as injured as his donut phase, but still pretty injured. Rengoku-san, you have several medium-sized wounds on your back and abdomen, and your head is bleeding. That's not as bad, since you had Uzui-san's help."

Y/N sighed and sank into her comfortable bed. Her arm felt numb and heavy. She desperately wanted to itch it, but it was covered in bandages. She wondered how Iguro survived with his bandages 24/7. Shinobu applied some sort of cream to both of the injured Demon Slayers' wounds.

"See, I told you I needed to come!" she said, disappointed. She then left the room to tend to the junior Demon Slayers and left Aoi to take care of the Hashira.