A second chance

Enter Kyojuro Rengoku

Two months later

Demon Slayer Headquarters

The master's garden

Kyojuro Rengoku was the flame Hashira; he had flame-like hair and a smile that never faltered, even in the most dire of circumstances. He believed in the Corps and their mission to rid the world of man-eating demons.

Today the sun was shining bright as he stood outside the master's garden. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Gyomei Himejima, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Tengen Uzui, Shinobu Kocho, Inosuke Hashibira, the beast Hashira, who has only spoken when necessary in the past month of becoming a piller, and the newly appointed serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro leave the garden, going off to do varying tasks before a mission or returning to the butterfly estate to continue their healing.

The flame Hashira then turned his attention to the man sitting before him in the shade. He has light skin and black shoulder-length hair. He wears a plain black kimono secured with a tan-colored braided obi over a white juban. He is also wearing a white, calf-length haori with a unique design of gradient flames of the colors purple and salmon pink rising from the hem up to the half of the sleeves.

The skin appears as if it's rotting, and a curse mark covers the man's forehead, including the area surrounding his left eye. It seemed to be more active today as the curse mark attempted to move further down his remaining working eye, but there appears to be an invisible force preventing it from doing so.

Kyojuro kneeled and bowed before speaking. "What did you want to talk to me about, master?"

Kagaya Ubuyashiki smiled gently before explaining himself. "Yes, my child, as you and the others have noticed, Giyu was absent during the meeting today. As I told everyone, I gave Giyu permission to not attend."

The master gazed fixedly into his child's eyes for a long time before continuing. His voice was calm and collected, but in reality, he was greatly worried for his missing child and the one in front of him. "Unfortunately, there's a reason why I did not speak truthfully to everyone. There hasn't been a single sign of Giyu or his crow in the past few months."

Kyojuros muscles tensed as he stared fixedly on the ground, not saying a word. His heart clenched in worry while his stomach twisted with a growing sense of fear. If a Hashira was hunting a particularly powerful demon, then they would update daily and send in their reports; if they were not hunting down a notably dangerous demon, then they would update at the end of every week.

Unless excused personally by the master, which the master had, a severe injury rendered the Hashira unable to move or was in an unconscious state after a mission, a Hashira would be excused from the meeting. However, if none of these conditions had been met, the Hashira would have had to attend any and all mandatory Piller meetings.

There was another reason why a Hashira wouldn't be present at a meeting, but Kyojuro's heart clenched with pain whenever he began going down that train of thought.

"I see!" He exclaimed, forcing himself to look at the master. "Giyu, is he all right? I haven't heard or seen him around for the past two months. And... Why only tell me?"

"You observe situations and people's actions before doing so yourself..." The master trailed off and peered at the beautiful sky and the sun's warm glow. A butterfly landed on a nearby potted flower, its wings fading from blue to red and its black-lined borders speckled with white dots standing out. While the day was genuinely peaceful, his troubled thoughts would be considered the opposite.

He closed his remaining eye and remembered the repetitive dream he'd been having ever since his child's last report to him nearly two months and seven days ago.