The Descendant (A Retelling and love story of Demon Slayer)

Fourteen

The turbulent thoughts spinning within Rengoku's mind were not reflective of how calm and peaceful the moonlit night was. Standing with his arms crossed as he waited about a full kilometer away from where Tsukaima Renji had made contact with the mysterious swordswoman. The younger slayer had insisted that it should be far enough away that she wouldn't be able to sense them. 'Them' being himself and the Water Hashira Tomioka Giyu, who was currently leaning against the trunk of a tree waiting as well.

"Do you think he can convince her to come willingly?" The flame Hashira questioned lightly as he watched Renji wrap his arms around the woman in question. Even at this distance, he could see them through the foliage with his superb sense of sight. Giyu's eyes opened, though not really looking at anything in particular, he thought about what he had observed of her behavior that day.

She hadn't stopped moving all day. She boarded the kids' house for them. She hunted for them. She cared for their wounds both physically and mentally. Not once did she stop to rest, even after having just fought a demon that was a single meal away from being at the power of a lower-ranking kizuki member. She hadn't even been injured. All without being a certified slayer. If she had been a Hashira, it would be different. Lower Kizuki demons weren't as difficult to slay as their Upper counterparts. This woman wasn't a Hashira though and slayed a demon that most Slayers would find impossible. She was confident in her skills and confidence breeds stubbornness.

Then... There was also what he had heard from her earlier that evening.

"The reason you travel, it's to find that demon right? To take revenge?"

"It's the least I can do to make amends... I will hunt down the one that took my brother from me, and by doing so, stop others from suffering the same fate as us. That is my responsibility. This is my duty."

"No." He turned his head in the direction Rengoku was looking, though he couldn't see them like the other could. "From what I heard, she aims to take out a specific demon and is stubborn enough that getting her to depart from that goal even temporarily is a fool's errand." With that he closed his eyes again, waiting for a signal he knew would come.

Rengoku studied the two in the distance with furrowed brows, his gaze automatically scanning the woman for anything he might recognize. Unfortunately, the hood and mask she was wearing obscured his view of such things. The only thing he saw that might allude to her being the same woman, was that the white fox mask had a red marking on the forehead. He couldn't be certain though. The black hood blocked most of his view of it and he couldn't tell if she was wearing card-shaped earrings or not. He would just have to wait and see what the night offered him. If he was lucky, maybe he would get to meet her again.

Akari wasn't an idiot. She had let her guard down for a moment in her shock, sure, but she wasn't dumb. Tomioka Giyu stumbles upon her in the morning hours that day and all of a sudden Renji shows up that night when the Water Hashira is nowhere to be seen. There was a chess game being played behind her back and they had the audacity to think she was unaware of it. A part of her wanted to be upset, but the more logical side told her that Renji was just following orders, whatever they may be. She would just have to keep her wits about her and not play into their game. Instead of wasting time, Akari decided to just come out with what she needed to know.

"Renji, not that it isn't great to see you again, but what are you doing here?" She asked while stepping away from him. She had to create a small amount of distance. Tomioka was still nearby; she would bet her life on it, she just needed to know why. Akari watched the way he tensed, his hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck in an awkward fashion.