The Demon's Sun (Kyojuro Rengoku x OC)

Chapter 3~

When Rengoku didn't answer she moved away from him and stood up beside his bed. Her smile was small and didn't reach her eyes, "I want to check your wounds." She held out her hands and closed her eyes once more. She looked almost as peaceful as when she was sleeping, but not quite. Her eyes slightly opened, revealing the blue shade hidden under her eyelids. It was only slightly visible since her eyes weren't open like they usually were. He felt the cooling sensation once more, and watched her worriedly. He didn't mean to hurt her by not answering, he just didn't know how to respond, or what words he should've used.

Before he knew it her hands dropped and she walked out of the room without saying else. He could feel the regret creep into him, and he felt guilty. She had saved him twice already and was so kind, not to mention beautiful. Why couldn't he answer her? He wanted to say, he was glad she asked, but was so stunned by the question it took him to long to register what she had asked. He felt stupid, and didn't know if she'd want to see him again.

Meanwhile, Eri walked the hallways aimlessly. It had been a few hours since she left Rengoku's room, but she just couldn't seem to wrap her head around why she felt so calm with him. She soon found herself outside, and with it she could feel herself get overwhelmed with emotion. She walked over to a tree and stood with her head down for a moment. When she couldn't take it anymore, she threw her hand and punched right through the tree, her fist was coming out of the other side with her elbow was inside the middle of the tree. Her hair covered her face, covered it from prying eyes. She felt angry and sad at the same time. Pulling her hand free effortlessly, she stood there once more.

"Tsk, you dumbass." She growled, talking to herself. "What the hell were you thinking..." the tree she punched threatened to fall onto the interconnected building, but she caught it effortlessly with one of her hands. "What is wrong with you..." she set the broken part of the tree down and punched another hole in it. She wasn't mad at Rengoku, she was upset at herself. She felt stupid, and repeatedly cussed herself out.

She kept punching holes into the same broken tree until morning, and even then she still punched it. Tanjiro heard the cracking of wood and went outside to see her standing there with bloody arms. She was sweating, and had basically reduced an entire tree into nothing. She kicked the root of the tree busting it out of the ground.

Tanjiro looked horrified, "ERI-SAN!" He shouted, but his voice didn't seem to reach her. He got closer and watched her punch the trunk of the tree a few more times only creating more blood on her arms. She wasn't regenerating as fast as she had before. It wasn't long befor he heard her mumbling about herself. "Eri-san... what's wrong?" He asked, afraid of getting to close and getting punched like the tree, but when she heard his voice she looked up at him with a surprised expression.

"Tanjiro, when did you get there, shouldn't you be sleeping?" She asked, clearly not aware of the sun.

He gave a puzzled expression, "Eri-san, is everything alright? I mean it's great you got rid of that tree, but..." she looked down at the smashed tree at her feet then to where it had been before. It was only then she realized she'd been punching the hell out of it since last night and that it was morning now.

When her eyes met Tanjiro's, she looked just as confused. "Sorry, I guess I got lost in thought." Her words were simple, and she picked the root of the tree up and threw it over the side of the fence into the wooded area. "I hope that wasnt anyone's favorite tree." She said guiltily. "I should probably go clean up my arms."

"Won't they heal?"

She gave a nod, "just not as fast as they did during the night. It'll be at least an hour before it stops bleeding, maybe another 30 minutes to heal after that." She explained. "Sorry if I worried you." Her smile was cheerful and genuine.