Kyojuro Rengoku Ice Heart And Flame Soul

| Chapter Fifteen | Worst Nightmare

I opened my eyes. Kyojuro, beside me, had his eyes closed. I smiled, and then I felt bad. I let my frustration out on him and sent him away last night. I shuffled over and kissed his cheek. He smiled and reached out and pulled me in close.

"I love you. Do you know that?" He whispered.

"I love you too, Kyo."

"Mmm, I like to hear that." He said.

He pulled me in close so that my head rested against his chest, and his chin was above my head. His arms were wrapped around me and I was absolutely content. I loved moments like this. I never wanted them to end.

"Don't scare me ever again..." He whispered.

"I'm sorry."

He ran his hands through my hair and continued to do so. We both laid there while he played with my hair. Eventually, his hand dropped to the bed, and he fell asleep again. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

~~~~~

Recovery was rough, I was weak for a while. Once I could, I went to the yard every day to get back into shape for fighting. Kyojuro helped me a lot with gaining my stamina back. He worried about pushing me too far, but I insisted. I had to return to work quickly.

One near death experience would not stop me from fighting demons. Maybe death would come for me, but not yet. Mostly thanks to Kyojuro. I would have died against that demon if it wasn't for him.

Tsukika. She and I would have been friends. She was one of the people I could get along with. She died. I failed to help her. A dead Kinoto. I couldn't allow that to be me. I had to work hard, and make it to Kinoe, then Hashira. To be a Hashira, next to Kyojuro, and make him proud. That's what I wanted to be. Someone he would be proud to call his wife.

I continued to dwell on that rumour that went around at the butterfly mansion. I didn't hear anyone else talk about it. I returned to missions after going to the mansion for the final checkup.

My first solo mission was easy when I was strong again. Kyojuro continued on missions, and he seemed to enjoy them. We met each night at dinner. He told me about a Hashira that he had clicked easily with, but said he had too many wives. I didn't know which Hashira he talked about until he said the name Uzui. I recognized the name and thought of a tall guy, who acted like a peacock, wanting me to notice how awesome he thought he was. Married three times? How odd.

I couldn't stop thinking about the rumour. Was Kyojuro really happy with me? Injured and almost killed; I was weak. I didn't want him to have to save me. For a long time, I was rank Kinoto. I felt stuck. No, he wanted to marry me. That meant he was happy. I had to keep that in mind.

My crow eventually came to me with orders to join Giyu on a mission. I hadn't joined Giyu on a mission in a while. It was always fun to join a Hashira on their missions. It helped me work hard and practice my skills. And then I thought of something.

"A mission with a Hashira?" I said aloud.

Were the Hashira going on missions with lower ranks this often? Did Kyojuro go on missions with other lower ranked slayers too? I went on my way and met Giyu; he stood silently waiting for me. I smiled and waved at him, and he waved back.

"Hi Giyu, I don't think I ever got to thank you for helping me."

"You don't need to thank me. Let's go find this demon and finish it."

"Right to business with you, as usual."

Giyu and I travelled around a long time, searching for the demon. He eventually sensed it nearby, and we worked together to defeat it. It was definitely a demon that required the skill of a Hashira, and I wondered if I had met this demon alone, if I'd have ended up like I did a while back.