«Tale of jealousy»

Chapter eighteen.

Kamado let out a heavy sigh, spreading his arms out and lifting his right foot up like a crane (the bird.)
Inosuke noticed, then tried to copy him. But instead he tumbled off the pillar and fell face first into the ground.
Kyojuro let out an audible sigh, and kamado was first to notice something was wrong.
"Are you okay, rengoku-san?" He asked, wobbling a bit.
Kyojuro looked at the child, then smiled. "Yes, I'm fine!" He grinned.
Kamado nodded, then continued with his balancing.
The hashira took a final glance to his bedroom window, then cleared his throat. "I bet you all are hungry, I'll make some food!" He announced, walking inside.
Kyojuro slid the door closed, letting out a stressed sigh.
"Ani?" Senjuro called, stepping around a corner.
The hashira perked, smiling. "Yes, senjuro?" He asked, walking into the kitchen.
The younger kin hesitated, then spoke. "What happens if those.. kids find akaza?"
Kyojuro stopped what he was doing, looking at his little brother.
He softens his face, walking over. Kyojuro placed a hand on senjuro's face, smiling.
"They won't."
Silence followed as the hashira went back to preparing lunch.
Senjuro hesitated, but walked away anyway.
The small child stopped in front of the flame hashira's room, silently opening the door.
Without another word the door was shut, and the hallway now empty.
Kyojuro flipped the rice, seeing as it was fried enough.
He carefully slid the rice onto a plate, watching some fall onto the floor.
Silently he cursed, turning off the stove and walking off to grab the broom.
"Where is it?" He wondered aloud, walking out.
Kyojuro froze in his tracks, eyes wide.
"I-.. Father?" He spoke, not moving.
Shinjuro was in the kitchen, cleaning up the spilled rice.
The old man threw away the rice on the floor, walking over to his son.
"Here, and don't make a damn mess next time!" He handed Kyojuro the broom, walking back to his room.
The hashira was in shock, then a small smile appeared on his face.
He went back to preparing lunch, not saying anything.
Meanwhile, kamado, zenitsu and inosuke were still outside.
The smell of fried rice and eggs filled the air, causing the younger ones in the training area to lose focus.
"Food?" Inosuke lifted his head, immediately running into the house.
"Rice.. eggs.." Kamado took notice of what was in the air.
"Let's go before inosuke eats it all!" Zenitsu yelled, running after the boar masked child.
Kamado chuckled softly, hopping off the podium and calmly walking into the kitchen.
"Looks amazing, rengoku-san!" Tanjiro exclaimed, sitting down.
The hashira smiled, setting down three plates in front of the boys.
"Now, eat up!" Kyojuro exclaimed, walking off.
Inosuke wasted no time and started to dig right in.
"Slow down! You might choke!" Kamado yelled, eating his own food.
Zenitsu was awfully quiet, since he was more focused on thinking about the training.

*ೃ༄ With Kyojuro.˚◞♡ ⃗

The hashira slid open the door to his room, wanting to check up on how the demon waa doing.
Suddenly he was pulled in, a click signaling the door was locked.
Kyojuro blinked, his eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness.
"What-"
He felt something grab his wrist, and his face reddened.
"Akaza?" Kyojuro slightly whispered, a hand still gripped tight on his shirt
"Who are they?" A voice whispered into the hashira's ear, it was low and ominous.
The said hashira wondered who he was talking about, confused.
Then it hit him, he was talking about kamado, inosuke, and zenitsu.
A small chuckle escaped kyojuro,and he backed away from Akaza.
"I'm just training them, they're tsuguko." He stated, looking around the room.
The bed was a mess and random clothes were on the floor.
"I'm sure you were worried because you didn't want to get killed, right?" Kyojuro chuckled quietly, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah, we'll go with that." The demon agreed, kicking something on the floor.
The hashira nodded, opening his closet.
In it were a bunch of shirts and pants. The usual.
Grabbing some smaller and older shirts and pants, he closed the doors and started to walk away.
"What're you doing with those clothes?" Akaza asked, standing in front of the door.
Kyojuro furrowed his brows, annoyed. "You're oddly pushy today, stop."
The demon's eyes widened for a moment, then a creepy smile was plastered on his face.
"Fine." And with that he moved out the way, sitting down on the bed.
The hashira unlocked the door, stepping out and closing it behind him.
Akaza stared at the door, joy flowing through him.
"Maybe he does have a demon attitude already." He said out loud, looking at his wrist.
Kyojuro walked into the kitchen, holding a pile of clothes.
"What's that, Rengoku-san?" Kamado asked, washing his plate.
"It's getting dark, so you three will stay here for the night!" He announced, grinning.
Zenitsu and inosuke were ecstatic, but kamado seemed worried.
"Rengoku-san, may I have a word with you?" The dark red-haired boy asked quietly, yet urgently.
Kyojuro nodded, following the child.
Once the two were out of earshot, tanjiro spoke up.
"Rengoku-san, I've been smelling.. some demon. And they're really close." The boy rubbed the back of his head, hoping the hashira could deal with it.
Yet the said hashira froze, going completely silent.
Akaza. He thought, no wonder he'd been acting a bit strange.
"No need to worry, young kamado! This is the flame hashira's estate, no demon would dare trespass!" He put his usual smile on, crossing his arms.
Kamado nodded, feeling a bit more relieved
"Now, go change! We'll be doing much more training in the morning." The hashira announced, walking insided.
The young demon slayer followed, running to his friends.
Kyojuro felt a bit bad lying to the child, but he couldn't say anything.
Kamado did carry a demon with him, but it was different. She hasn't eaten a single person. Akaza's eaten many.
The hashira looked at the lone box left in the kitchen.
Suddenly it moved, then the door opened.
A small girl crawled out, looking around the flame hashira's estate.
"Hello! You must be Nezuko." The hashira grinned, though it was odd staring down a demon, the master said she was a part of the demon slayers.
Nezuko stood, her size growing slightly.
Suddenly she walked toward kyojuro, and tightly hugged him.
The hashira patted the girls head, confused but the hug was needed.
She then walked off, most likely looking for her brother.
Then a scream was heard.