Demon Slayer; Kyameron Kamado

Chapter 62.

'Kozo... do you...?' Kyameron muttered. His wine red eyes peer back at him from the slight reflection of the black blade.

'I-I'm sorry, master Kamado... but Ive'nt the slightest clue. This should not be possible.' Kozo replied, mirroring Kyameron's reaction and observing the blade.

Shinobu stepped forward. She ran her hand along the top of the katana gently; even the top was somewhat sharp. It was a marvel of craftsmanship. 'This is the colour of your brother's weapon, no?'

'Yes, it is,' Kyameron replied, squinting as a ray of sunshine hit his eye from the reflection, 'But I can't see that having anything to do with it. I used to be like him, before this whole demon slayer thing. But now, we couldn't be more different. So I don't see why we would match up now, and not before...'

Haganezuka suddenly sprung upwards and sprinted over, ripping the sword out of Kyameron's hand and fondelling it like a child. 'NOOOOOOOOO!!!! YOU SAID IT TURNED RED?!?!?!'

Kyameron took a step back, startled by Haganezuka's sudden outburst. 'No... why do you ask?' He asked wearily.

Haganezuka sighed with contempt. Despite his mask, you could tell his face was crunched into a vicious frown. 'In all my years of making swords, I've never seen a single one turn red...' He said in a disappointed tone.

'... better luck next time, I guess?' Kyameron says, snickering a bit. Haganezuka shot him a dirty look, but didn't answer. 'Now, I should probably start heading to Shinjuro's. I don't want to keep him waiting.'

Kozo and Haganezuka take this as their cue to leave. Kozo bows to Kyameron and Shinobu, while Haganezuka leaves in a huff. He shoots Kyameron another glance, clearly unappreciative of his teasing. The two swordsmiths leave the courtyard, and disappear into the forest. 'I hate leaving you hanging like this. I know we were supposed to do more hashira training today.' Kyameron says to Shinobu.

'Oh, don't worry about it. Visiting Shinjuro is much more important. It's a one time thing; this will be here tomorrow, and the day after that. But, perhaps you should bring your brother along?' She replied.

'Tanjiro?' He answered, 'You know him and I haven't gotten along well the last while. I don't think bringing him along is a good idea.'

Shinobu's eye twitched, but she keeps the smile painted on her face. 'Are you sure? I thought you and him have been doing very well lately! Surely it wouldn't hurt to bring him.'

He shakes his head, 'I'm sorry, Shinobu, but I just... I can't walk that long with him alone. It's too awkward. I don't want to say something wrong and make things worse...'

She sighs and gives up hiding her displeasure. Her smile fades away into a stone-cold and intimidating stare. 'Kyameron, I know I'm beating my head against a brick wall telling you this, but I'm going to anyway. You have been acting like an absolute child.' Kyameron's face droops, looking annoyed. 'You have this idea that only you are upset about Rengoku's passing. And to be honest, it's starting to piss me off. Your brother has been hit hard by his death, too. I have, the rest of the hashira have; we all have. But here you are, acting like you're the only one. You're taking your brother with you. That is a direct order from a hashira; and since you're too "afraid" and "embarrassed" to accept what your master left for you and take up the role he trained you to do, you're required to obey it.'

Shinobu turns her back, walking off into the mansion without another word. Kyameron stand in the courtyard frozen. He's speechless. It's like he's been hit over the head with a massive plank of wood, emblazed with reality. He feels an urge to be angry, to talk back... but he can't. The words die in his throat. He stares at the ground while rubbing his neck, sheathing his new katana. He taakes a deep breath, trying to find something to say, but he's unable to. He'd normally have something on his tongue. A rebuttal, an excuse, a joke, a fact, anything. For the first time in his life; he's been silenced.

He silently follows Shinobu into the mansion, but heads to the training room while she heads to her office on the top floor. There's plenty of screaming and shouting coming from the room, most of which being Inosuke chasing Zenitsu around trying to fight him. Kyameron slides the door open, and the room goes silent. 'Where's Tanjiro?' He asks. His voice is monotone.

Zenitsu and Inosuke look at each other before the former replies, 'He-he's with n-nezuko in the medical ward...'

Kyameron leaves without another word, sliding the door shut. Zenitsu and Inosuke look at each other again, and unspoken agreement comes between them. They follow Kyameron to the medical ward, making sure he doesn't notice them. It's very difficult with his enhanced senses, but they avoid detection. Kyameron opens the door to the medical ward and steps inside, walking past the beds lined across the walls to the adjacent room at the back where Nezuko sleeps. Inosuke and Zenitsu slip inside and close the door behind them, hiding behind the closest bed.

Kyameron walks into the room, 'Tanjiro?'

No answer. He takes another step inside and does indeed find Tanjiro with Nezuko. They're play wrestling. He peers at the scene, silenced yet again. He could speak if he wanted to, but his mind was so preoccupied thinking of all the times he and his siblings had done this in the past that he didn't have enough brain power left to create speech. Tanjiro laughs and smiles while Nezuko lets out muffled sounds of joy as Tanjiro spins her through the air. Kyameron's face sinks into an abyss, staring through the floor to the core of the earth. His mouth is not frowning or smiling, it's simply stagnant. If his face looked like an abyss, he truly felt one where his heart should be. It made his stomach lose all blood, spin and churn while the black hole in his chest consumed him.

Tanjiro finally caught a glimpse of him in the corner of his eye, 'Oh- Kyameron! H-...hi,' He sputtered, gently moving Nezuko out of his sight.

Kyameron drops his head and takes a deep breath. As painful as this all is... he remembers his promise to his family in his dream on the mugen train. He has to be strong for Tanjiro and Nezuko, no matter the challenge. He's failed at that up until now, but he's determined to right those wrongs. 'You're... coming with me,' He says in a blank voice.

'With you?' Tanjiro asks, 'To where? You haven't taken me anywhere in months...'

'To my master's father's house. We leave now.'

Tanjiro is confused and a bit taken aback that after all this time, Kyameron is finally taking him somewhere, but he quickly gathers his things and gets ready. 'Should I... bring Nezuko?'

Kyameron's face again sours. '... yeah. sure.' He mutters.

Tanjiro ushers Nezuko into her box, sealing the door and liftng her onto his back. He looks at Kyameron, and takes a sniff. 'You okay?'

Kyameron looks down. 'I haven't been okay for a while, Tanjiro. But... I'll be fine. I promise.'

'Okay... just, don't beat yourself up too badly. I love you.' Tanjiro says, making Kyameron feel just a little bit better. He looks at his brother's waist, seeing the new sheathe. 'Hey, did you get a new nichirin sword?'

Kyameron looks down at the handle of his new katana, knowing the colour of it. He taps the butt of the handle, flirting with the idea of showing him... but decides against it. 'Yeah... I did.'