Blood in Flame and Water

Market Trip

Ever so slowly, the sun began to rise over the horizon. Rather unfortunate for the people of Mizūmi Village, due to the bowl of earthy terrain wrapped around them, it took longer for the sun's light to breach past the hill tops and to spread its light across the valley. 

For one such person, the rise of the sun gave way to wakefulness. With comes the rise of the sun, so comes the rise of a certain fiery headed man. Due to the stressful night when the moon called this valley its home, adrenaline had kept the poor man up till the birds were singing their morning songs. Fortunately, however, he had been able to catch some shut eye before the sun forced him to awaken. 

Allowing himself a prolonged moment of silent motionlessness, Rengoku breathed deeply both in and out. Knowing the type of day that awaited him, he allowed himself this moment of silent reconciliation. Laying on his back, gazing up at the ceiling of the minka farmhouse through half lidded eyes. The faint sound of the local chirping insects and cawing birds was a noise Rengoku would soon associate with mornings. What he was not accustomed to, however, was the ever so faint sound of the Water Pillar snoring to his side. 

Letting his head drop to the side facing Tomioka, all Kyojuro was able to see was the lump of a body hidden beneath a thick and warm blanket that was pulled all the way up and tucked beneath his chin. Half of the Water Pillar's face was obscured by the pillow it was laying on and a hand peeking out from beneath the blanket to rest against the pillow as well. Dark locks of ebony blue hair fell and curtained the only other half of Tomioka's visibly remaining face. Faint breaths from the snoring man blew the thinner strands of hair before the inhale placed them back in their original position. 

Taking in the face of Tomioka as he slept was always a gamble for Rengoku Kyojuro. Sometimes he would get lost in the sight of seeing his fellow Hashira with his usual stoic facade in place. These were the moments where Rengoku tried and failed to decipher the differences between Tomioka's waking and unconscious facial expression. The man before him has built his mask meticulously, bit by bit with the strongest adhesive to keep it together. However, Rengoku was almost sure that he had seen the impenetrable mask almost crumble after his brief meeting with the demon they had traveled here for. 

To imagine the gull the demon must have had. Confident, or perhaps arrogant, enough to face the man that could possibly be slicing its head in the inevitable future had put Kyojuro on edge, and had his adrenaline running rampant. It did not help, especially, that it seemed Tomioka had completely shut down after the brief confrontation. Whatever the oni had said must have put Tomioka on edge as well. 

It also greatly pained him that his comrade would rather excuse Rengoku's presence himself than take the help that the other had been meaning to provide. It irked Kyojuro greatly that Tomioka had not accepted his help, or had at least seen how worried Rengoku was over his health. Perhaps it was how the older man had been raised; to see help from another as weakness and a liability instead of strength or support. However, Rengoku may be oblivious to some things, but he wasn't completely helpless. He knew not to jump to conclusions like his other fellow Hashira have done. They call him insults and names, trying to get a rise out of the man as cool as river water, but only angered themselves when they received a blunt remark at most, or silence at best from the targeted individual. 

Instead, Kyojuro gave Tomioka the benefit of the doubt. Like his student, Rengoku and Mitsuri both tried to get along with the elder, but it seemed both had little success in the beginning. The only reason Kyojuro himself had learned more about Tomioka was because of this forced pairing assigned to them by their master. Had this not happened, Rengoku would likely not even be in this situation to begin with. The Serpent Hashira's crush on his student didn't help matters either. Rengoku knew of Iguro's fascination with Kanroji-san, it was rather hard to miss, even though Kyojuro had to abashedly be told by Uzui-san that Kanroji seemed to have acquired a leach to figure it out.