Demon Slayer (Rengoku x OC) The Tale of Moriyama

Chapter 9: The 7th Form

"Mastering breathing. It will open many doors for you. Now it may not solve everything but it will help. You will continue to grow stronger. As for the others. They are safe now. So rest up"

Tanjiro smiled at the older man. "Thank you. I will"

"Good."

A sudden vibration was felt and Rengoku, now alert, turned around. Smoke filled the air and hid the figure. As soon as it cleared up, a human-like figure with blue marks on his chest and face was on the ground.. But Rengoku knew better. It was a demon. But that wasn't what had him frozen. There was a girl, lying unconsciously and the demon's left hand supporting her head. Mori...

The demon then rest Moriko's head on the ground before going after an injured Tanjiro. But Rengoku was quicker, launching an attack before he could touch the boy. The demon leaped back and regenerated his arm.

"Why would you go after a wounded person instead of me?" Rengoku asked.

"I thought he would get in the way of our little chit chat." The demon replied, gently scooping up Moriko.

Rengoku's grip on his sword was tighter as he watched the demon carrying Moriko to a nearby tree. "What is it would you like to discuss?" Rengoku asked, "While this is the first time meeting you I already dislike you."

"Is that right?" He then rested Moriko against the tree and walked back to his previous spot. Rengoku relaxed his grip a bit. At least she's not in harm's way. Why did he spare her but went after Kamado? "Well I dislike weak human beings," the demon continued, "The condition that girl is in now isn't even my doing. In fact before she could draw her sword she's out cold. The sight of weak beings like that makes my skin crawl."

Looking back at the demon Rengoku declared, "In that case. I don't think we'll ever get along."

The demon introduces himself as Akaza and soon their small talk turned into a battle that their movements couldn't even be seen. Just the bright red blade and blue demon art. Striking, dodging, maneuvering and more small talk were involved with Akaza taunting Rengoku.

"Why don't you become a demon, Kyojuro?"

.

.

.

White.

Just a white space surrounded her as her eyes opened.

This is my mind...

She jumped a bit at the sound of her own voice. She was talking through her thoughts. As Moriko got up, the white then faded out as she was now on a path which was surrounded by grass and a bit further on the horizon was a line of trees. She looked up and found the path leading to a small house that was so familiar that she felt afraid to even step closer to it.

The door was open and she peeked in. The scent of stale alcohol mixed with dust stung her sense of smell. It reminded her of the room of the Rengoku senior except it wasn't messy and wasn't as bad as this. Furniture was scattered. Some were broken while some were still intact. She almost bumped into a lump if it wasn't for the light from the window. As she stepped closer she found an old man lying on his stomach on the ground. Blood leaked from his head while pieces of a broken jug scattered around his hand which held on to the rest of it. He was dead.

She narrowed her eyes and put her hand on her nose to try to block out the sickly scent. Voices were heard and she rushed outside. She would've mistaken them as demon slayers because of their outfits but they looked too familiar. It was her sister who looked to be around her age walking with a woman. "Mother," her sister said, "You didn't have to come here if you didn't want to."