31/03/2026 09:19

Characters react to: Demon Sl...

No one was sure what they should talk about while they waited for the next set of scenes to begin but sitting there in silence seemed just as bad.

"AH! Fight me!" Inosuke yelled before jumping to try and headbutt Tanjiro. Tanjiro quickly dodged out of the way and started to run away from Inosuke, insisting that they should fight. Nezuko, thinking that it was a game, started to run after Inosuke and Zenitsu quickly followed after the girl, a blush on his face and hearts in his eyes.

"Should we stop them?" Kanroji wondered.

"It's fine at least this way they aren't dwelling on what is happening in the scenes" Rengku chuckled. Ubuyashiki didn't say anything and so they all watched amused at the antics of the other demon slayers.

"You better be okay after this fight, Rengoku. If you aren't you better prepare yourself" Uzui turned to his friend.

"I am sure that I will be fine and even if I am not I'm sure that I won't let anyone else die" Rengoku said.

"We aren't worried about someone else's life, we're worried about your life" Kanroji frowned, tears glistening in her eyes. She didn't even want to think about her teacher being killed by a demon, she was well aware that there was a chance of it happening but that didn't mean that she wanted to think about it.

"Perhaps the demon will simply run away," Obanai scoffed. It wouldn't be the first time that a demon simply ran away when they realized that they were outmatched. Of course they never let them run very far.

"I don't think that will happen" Giyuu rejected.

"Akaza is upper moon three and from what I have seen, he is not weak. I'd even go as far as saying that he is slightly stronger than Rengoku" Himejima commented. He didn't want to look down on Rengoku's strength but he was simply stating the truth.

"He is stronger than I am indeed. However, that doesn't mean that I won't fight my hardest to win" Rengoku said. All of the Hashira's couldn't help but wonder, if they were faced with the same situation would they feel the same way. That was a stupid thought, of course they would all feel the same way! Even if they were faced with Kibutsuji Muzan himself, they would hold their heads high and try their damned best to destroy the demon in front of them.

"Which demon were we talking about again?" Muichirou asked. He remembered that they were discussing Rengoku's fight with a demon but he couldn't remember which demon it was. Surprisingly it was Genya who decided to fill in the blanks in Mist Hashira's mind. The other Hashira's decided to leave them to it, happy that Muichirou was (maybe) making friends with other people his age.

"Kanao, we're going to go look at that field of flowers. Would you like to come?" Tanjiro questioned the butterfly girl as he pointed to the field. Nezuko was tugging on his haori, wanting to go to the flowers but waiting. Kanao looked a little like she wasn't sure what to do so she grabbed her coin and flipped it. Looking at the answer she got to her feet and followed them to the flowers.

"I'm glad that Kanao seems to be getting along with them," Shinobu smiled as she watched her sister. Tamayo and Yushiro had moved to the side by themselves, talking about different medicines and what they were going to do if they got back and Kibutsuji got all this information from Akaza. They'd have to change all of their plans but maybe that wouldn't end up happening, perhaps Akaza would be able to keep the information to himself? At least they hoped he would be able to.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" Hikaru questioned as he moved to sit closer to Akaza who glanced at him.

"Why would I need to talk about anything?" Akaza scoffed. He got a look shot at him that actually made him duck his head a little. He knew what Hikaru was talking about and clicked his tongue.

"I don't know" He huffed.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Hikaru questioned.

"You're probably asking about that sadness you saw in my aura right?" Akaza asked. "Well even if I want to talk about it, which I don't, I don't even know why it is there in the first place."

Akaza hated admitting that he actually didn't know why he would have that deep seeded sadness but he knew that Hikaru wouldn't let it go. He also knew that the other male wouldn't hold it against him either, even when Akaza was a demon and Hikaru a demon slayer.

"I see, do you think that it's like Rui? That you forgot what happened when you became a demon. You don't have to answer if you don't want to but I figured if you wanted to talk about it, I wouldn't be the worst person to talk to."

"Who knows if it is like Rui or not, all I do know is that I don't want to remember" Akaza huffed. He wasn't sure why but he felt like having those memories back, finding out the truth behind that sadness, would break him. It would cripple him and he wouldn't be able to continue fighting and growing stronger because having those memories would make him not want to live anymore.

"Okay, then I won't push about those feelings anymore but there is one thing that you should remember," Hikaru started. "No matter what happens those memories will come back and if you aren't prepared for them, they will completely overwhelm you."

With that warning Hikaru went silent and Akaza was lost in his own thoughts. 'I wonder if he is saying that because he has been in that situation.'

"It's starting" Rengoku called out, loud enough for the ones in the flower field to hear and they raced back over. Everyone had a feeling of unease but putting off seeing it wouldn't help them since they needed to know what was going to happen in the future so that they could change what would happen.

Everyone was silent other than Rengoku's breathing as he tried to stop the damage he had suffered from killing him.

"Even if you fight to the death, you can't win Kyojuro. Those impressive slashes you inflicted on me have already healed completely. But what about you? A smashed left eye, shattered ribs and damaged internal organs, all irreparable" Akaza listed.

Everyone winced as the injuries that Rengoku had were listed out like that.

"It sounds really bad when it is listed out like that" Tanjiro whispered, he was pale as he looked at Rengoku in the scenes.

"Can that be healed? I mean he has to be right?" Kanroji worried.

"Some of it can be if he is treated on time but like Hikaru said before, they are in the middle of nowhere and getting to the butterfly mansion would be impossible" Shinobu frowned. She hoped that she would be informed of this battle so she could hurry to help Rengoku. There was a chance to save him still if he didn't get anymore damage.

That's what he thought, I wasn't going to let Rengoku die even if it meant making him drink every drop of blood in my body I would save him.

"Don't even think about it" Sanemi's glare was frosty and Hikaru shivered a little.

"I would prefer if you didn't think like that Hikaru. While I understand that you want to save me and I won't stop you from trying, I'd rather die knowing that you are safe than live with having you die to save me" Rengoku said.

"I understand," Hikaru replied. They could all tell that while he understood where they were coming from, he still believed that it was better for the others to live even if he had to sacrifice himself to save them.

"In the next break, we will start to teach you more about medicine" Tamayo decided and everyone looked at her wondering what she was thinking.

"If you have more knowledge about medicine then you will lean more on that than trying to sacrifice yourself" Yushiro bluntly said, already understanding Tamayo.

"Sounds like a good idea, we could all learn about medicine," Uzui said. No one was going to let Hikaru get out of this, even if that meant that they all had to learn to make him learn as well. Hikaru was already going to accept the lessons but if it meant that people would be able to take care of their own wounds then he wouldn't protest it.

"If you were a demon, you'd heal in the blink of an eye, these would be mere scratches for a demon. You can struggle all you want but a human can never beat a demon," Akaza said. I wanted, no I needed to go and help Rengoku but he had ordered me to stay put. But, that was because of my wound I could tell that it was almost completely healed now. Looking at Tanjiro I saw that he was struggling to get to his feet, rolling across the ground had injured him and he was exhausted from the breathing technique that he used.

"Not you too" Zenitsu groaned as they saw Tanjiro also wanting to run into the battle.

"It's not like we can change what is happening," Hikaru sighed.

"And even if we couldn't we wouldn't want to. When you see someone in front of you fighting, you will naturally want to help them" Tanjiro frowned, daring them to argue against that.

"Of course we would want to help them, but you aren't on a level to be able to help," Uzui pointed out. Hikaru and Tanjiro frowned but they decided that they wouldn't keep fighting about this. In their minds they were doing the right thing and nothing would convince them otherwise.

"Let's not be too hard on them, It is understandable that they want to help and I am sure that they would be able to help in some way" Rengoku said, dispersing the tense air. They all turned to the scenes, most hoping that they would leave the fighting to Rengoku and others hoping that they would be able to help Rengoku somehow.

I let out a gasp and my eyes widened as I watched as Rengoku's aura got even brighter than before, it was even brighter than Akaza's. In fact it was the brightest aura that I had ever since in my whole entire life. I thought that his aura was bright before but now it was like looking at the sun.

"Wow," Hikaru whispered in complete awe. He had never seen an aura like this and couldn't help but hope that he got to see an aura like this again.

"We are truly blessed to be able to see a scene like this" Himejima prayed in thanks for the sight of Rengoku's aura.

"It is really beautiful" Kanroji sighed, she was blushing and looked in awe.

"Tch" Obanai clicked his tongue. He agreed that Rengoku's aura was wonderful but all he could think about is the fact that his aura would probably never be like that. Obanai was also using his annoyance to hide his worry about Rengoku, after all a lot of people forgot that he had grown up with the Rengoku family for a while. He wouldn't admit it but he did see Rengoku as something of a brother and he didn't want to lose him but he couldn't let himself show those feelings.

"It is a wonderful aura" Akaza whispered, awe in his voice. Hikaru, who was sitting next to him, turned and nodded. Akaza's aura had taken on a tinge of eagerness and Hikaru knew that he was thinking about wanting Rengoku to become a demon again. Once everyone had finally managed to contain their awe they got ready to watch the fight that was bound to be amazing.

"Kyojuro, why?" Akaza said.

"I. I will fulfill my duty! I will not allow anyone here to die!" Rengoku announced. If Rengoku wanted any chance of survival he would have to damage Akaza as much as possible in mere seconds.

'Flame breathing, esoteric art' Rengoku said and I watched his aura spread around the clearing. It sent shivers down my spine and gave me goosebumps and watching Akaza's reaction I wasn't the only one.

"What a tremendous fighting spirit! Amazing aura, despite all those injuries, that mental strength, that airtight stance" Akaza said before laughing. Wait aura? Could he see it as well?

"You can see auras as well?" Hikaru exclaimed looking at Akaza with hope in his eyes. It was like he had finally found someone to talk about auras with that would actually understand what he was talking about.

"No" Akaza winced when Hikaru's face fell. He was a demon but seeing the boy's face crumple made him actually feel guilty, perhaps he was spending too much time with these humans?

"I don't see auras like you do. I guess you could say that it's fighting spirits that I see. When I'm fighting strong opponents I can tell how strong they are and how much stronger they can become from their fighting spirits" He explained. He didn't know why he was but he wanted to get that horrible look off Hikaru's face.

"I see" Hikaru nodded and while he wasn't as happy as when he thought that Akaza saw auras but he wasn't as sad as he had been. Akaza wasn't sure what to do with the smiles that Rengoku and Tanjiro gave to him so he decided to ignore them.

"You have to become a demon after all, Kyojuro! Let's fight each other for all eternity!" Akaza yelled with a giant grin on his face. I watched as Rengoku's aura grew brighter where his heart was located and then spread throughout his body.

"Set your heart ablaze! Go beyond your limits! I'm the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro. Ninth form, Rengoku!" Rengoku announced.

"Destructive death, Annihilation type!" Akaza yelled. The ground beneath Rengoku broke as he raced towards Akaza, looking like a mighty fire dragon and roaring like one as well. Akaza just grinned and put his hands up ready to stop the attack with his own attack. A large explosion of dust kicked up and I wanted to keep my eyes shut to stop the dust but I couldn't. I had to watch.

'We know what that feels like' They all thought. None of them were sure how the battle would end and they didn't want to see Rengoku get even more injured but they didn't have a choice. They had to watch this fight, both because they were sure they would never see such an amazing battle again and because they wanted to know the outcome.

"Rengoku!" Tanjiro yelled.

"Kyojuro!" I screamed while watching. Rengoku split Akaza's arm again before aiming straight for his neck but Akaza hit the blade. Instead of stopping the attack Rengoku redirected it cutting straight down Akaza's chest, twisting the blade and pulling it straight up towards Akaza's neck releasing a large tornado of flames.

"Rengoku" Tanjiro whispered.

"No," I whispered.

Everyone held their breath. They weren't sure what they were feeling right now. Watching Rengoku changing how he was attacking without even pausing left them in awe, even the Hashira's weren't sure they would be able to do something like this when it came down to it. Akaza was beaming as he watched, he knew that Rengoku was strong but for him to be this strong, he really needed to become a demon! While most of them were feeling awe, Hikaru and a few others felt their dread filling themselves. From their reactions and also their aura's, they weren't sure what was about to be shown but it wasn't going to be good.

"I see hi.... Ren... Goku," Tanjiro whispered. I heard Tanjiro's pained denials but I let out a scream of anguish at the sight. No this couldn't, NO! Rengoku's sword was raised while Akaza's whole arm was straight through Rengoku's stomach.

"NO!" The scream of denial had come from Obanai of all people as he jumped to his feet. "NO! NO! NO! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!"

Kanroji burst into tears as she looked at what happened and she wasn't the only one. Zenitsu and Tanjiro had started to cry as well while Nezuko patted her brother's head, trying to comfort him. Inosuke was shaking his head, trying to deny what he was seeing, not wanting to believe it at all. Shinobu had her head bowed and if she was any less strong she would have started to cry but she held her tears at bay. Instead she felt her anger at demons burning brightly. Himejima's was praying while crying and Muichirou was looking at the scene in both sadness and anger. He could remember the times when Rengoku would give him food, would help him if he got lost and even patiently explain to him when he forgot something.

'If we have to lose him, please at least let me keep these memories of him,' Muichirou thought, not for the first time he felt himself despising his amnesia.

Genya wasn't sure if he wanted to chance trying to approach and offer comfort to Sanemi but he decided that he would try and comfort Himejima and Muichirou. Kanao was looking around a little lost, she was pale and sweaty. It was like when Kanae had died all over again, she hadn't known what to do at that time and she didn't know what to do now. Thinking about what Tanjiro had said to her about following her heart, Kanao moved closer to her sister and gently grabbed her hand. Shinobu snapped out of her raging thoughts when she felt the hand and turned to Kanao who simply squeezed harder. Smiling the Insect Hashira squeeze back, her sister was trying to comfort her and who was she to turn that away? Giyuu was looking at the scene and his eyes seemed to have lost even more emotions and seemed to be dull. He had lost another person. He wasn't exactly close to the Flame hashira, his past holding him back from really getting close to anyone, but Rengoku was always kind even when the other Hashira's weren't. He always offered for Giyuu to join him to eat and Giyuu had always rejected the offers. Why? Why didn't he accept even once?!

"You fucking demon!" Sanemi roared as he jumped towards Akaza but pulled up short when Hikaru got in the way.

"No" Hikaru's voice cracked as tears were streaming down his face.

"Get out of the way!" Sanemi roared.

"No!" Hikaru snapped back.

"You-" Sanemi snarled and looked like he was about to punch Hikaru. Before he could, however, Rengoku and Uzui grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Don't even think about it," Uzui warned. He was upset about his best friend's death but that didn't mean that they could act rashly.

"Have you forgotten that any violence that happens in his space can impact Hikaru? Do you want to hurt Hikaru and have a chance of permanently damaging him?" Rengoku demanded. He was actually taking the fact that he was going to die in the future rather well for now.

"Please calm down" Ubuyashiki called out and Sanemi stopped fighting them. "I understand your anger but please calm yourselves. This is the future, a future that hasn't happened yet and we can change what will happen."

Sanemi didn't like it but he did turn and walk away to sit down, glaring at everyone and anything. Now that he had calmed down Rengoku turned to calm Obanai down who had hunched over on the ground still crying silently. Kanroji was next to him crying loudly but still trying to comfort the Snake Hashira. Akaza on the other hand, while disappointed and sad, decided that it was best to stay silent for now. He was well aware that the only reason that he hadn't been attacked was because of Hikaru. Not only that but a lot of people might not believe it but he was also hit hard by Rengoku's death, he really hoped the Flame Hashira chose to become a demon. It took a while for everyone to calm down and Tamayo and Yushiro went to the river to bring them back some water to help them re-hydrate after all the crying. They soon calmed themselves down and had to turn back to the scenes.

I could still heal it but I had to be quick and it would take everything I had but I could do it if I moved quick enough once Akaza's arm was gone.

"You'll die! This will kill you, Kyojuro! Become a demon! Say that you'll become a demon, you are strong and one of the chosen ones!" Akaza screamed out.

"Can you heal that?" Obanai demanded and if he was anyone else, he would have grabbed him by the front of his haori and shook him back and forth.

"If I act quickly I should be able to use my blood along with the medicine that I have to close the wound and stabilize him long enough to get him to butterfly mansion" Hikaru agreed with his futureself.

"That's great, really great" Kanroji beamed even as she had tears streaming down her face, she was trying to stop them but it wasn't something that she could stop instantly.

"I kind of forgot about Hikaru being able to heal him," Tanjiro admitted. All of them had really, after all they were too focused on the fact that Rengoku had an arm through him.

"Can you really heal such a wound?" Shinobu questioned.

"Of course, I wouldn't say it if I couldn't do it. I said before I won't allow anyone to die and that includes Rengoku" He smiled.

"One moment" Rengoku's voice was hard and he wasn't smiling. A lot of people shivered and looked at him worriedly, after all the Flame Hashira was almost always smiling so for that smile to disappear he must be really serious.

"Exactly how much damage would you have to do to yourself to be able to heal me?" He enquired.

"What do you mean?" Hikaru tried to play off like he didn't know what he meant but Rengoku wasn't having it.

"You know exactly what I am talking about! It's obvious that you would need a large amount of blood to be able to heal a wound like that and I doubt that you'd be able to carry all of that in your box so that means that you would have to use blood straight from your body" Rengoku said. Everyone now understood what he was talking about and their eyes widened.

"I'd like to say that he wouldn't do anything stupid like risk his life but we all know that he would" Uzui sighed.

"I understand that this is the future and we can't change what is happening in the scenes but if something like this does happen in the future I hope that you understand Hikaru that we value your life just as much as Rengoku's" Ubuyashiki sighed. He didn't like that Rengoku's life might be taken away by this demon but he was also upset that Hikaru thought that it was okay to give his own life up in exchange.

"I'll keep that in mind," Hikaru replied. Other words, he would think about it but wouldn't change his actions if it meant keeping someone alive. Once again, all of them couldn't help but wonder why it was that Hikaru felt that everyone else deserved to live more than he did? They were all determined that they would figure out the answer to that question before they left this place even if they had to demand answers from Hikaru.

Third person POV

A windchime was shown as it chimed in a soft wind and a woman with black hair was seen looking up at it. Beside the bed that she was sitting on was a tray with some medicine and a cup of water.

"Kyojuro," She said, looking towards a younger Rengoku.

"Yes, Hahaue?" Rengoku asked.

Rengoku let out a woosh of air as he looked at his Hahue. He wondered if this was what Hikaru felt like when he saw his parents again because if he did then Rengoku understood even more why he broke down after seeing them.

"That's your mother?" Uzui questioned softly and Rengoku nodded. The Sound Hashira had never met his friend's mother since she had already been gone for many years when they first met but Rengoku always spoke fondly about her.

"She is beautiful," Kanroji said in awe. She had also only heard stories and couldn't help but mourn that she had never met her.

"Thank you" Rengoku smiled. He might feel like the air had been knocked out of him a moment ago but at the same time he was glad that he got to his Hahue even once more so he would be sure to be thankful for these precious few moments.

"I want you to think hard about what I'm about to ask you. Do you know why you were born stronger than others?" She asked her son, while her other son slept peacefully on the end of the bed. Rengoku started to say something but stopped, he seemed to be struggling with the answer.

"I don't know!" He announced.

"So that you can save weaker people. Those who were born blessed with more gifts than others are obligated to use those gifts for the world and other people" She explained.

"You must never use that god-given strength to hurt others or for personal gain, it is the duty of those born strong to help the weak. It is a mission they must fulfill responsibly. Make sure you never forget that" She said.

"I won't!" Rengoku said. The woman reached her hand out and Rengoku moved forward so that his mother could hug him close.

"I don't have much more time to live. I was blessed to be the Hahaue of such a strong and gentle child, I will intrust everything to you" She whispered as tears streamed down her face and Rengoku's own eyes glistened with tears.

'I see' Akaza thought as he looked at the scenes. 'Kyojuro will not become a demon, not in the future and not now either. He is strong willed and won't ever go against the words that his mother told him.'

Those thoughts made a crushing sadness slam into Akaza but he pushed it away, after all he had no idea why he was feeling this sadness. Hikaru glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, catching Akaza's aura being taken over by that overwhelming sadness that was pushed to the side. He was trying to push it away but there is no way to get rid of it straight away. Instead of bringing it to attention Hikaru simply turned back to the scenes. It seems that Akaza was changing slowly, if he had been shown this scene when he first arrived Hikaru knew that Akaza would have simply scoffed and decided that Rengoku simply wasn't strong enough but now he was actually feeling sad that Rengoku wouldn't accept his offer. Whether this change was good or not, they would have to wait and see.

Hikaru's POV

With a mighty cry that surprised me, Rengoku brought his sword down to Akaza's neck and started to cut, it was a battle of strength between them.

'Hahaue, it was an honor for me to have been born to such a person as you!' Rengoku thought, giving a mighty yell as the sword cut further.

"It is an honor indeed" Rengoku nodded, agreeing with his futureself. While he did not agree or necessarily get along with his Father at the moment with the way that the older male treated him and Senjuro, he would never regret being born to his parents.

"Yes! Don't give up, take that damn demon down with you" Sanemi grinned.

"Make him pay for what he has done!" Obanai hisses. His eyes were burning with hatred still, he would never forgive Akaza for trying to take Rengoku away, never!

"Don't stop, make sure that you defeat Akaza so that he can't do any harm to those around you!" Kanroji cheered. She wouldn't normally cheer out loud for a demon's death but... Well Rengoku was in pretty bad shape and Akaza was the one to make him like that so she felt it was understandable.

'As if that would be enough to defeat me, you might be strong Kyojuro but you are human in the end' Akaza thought.

Akaza quickly used his hand that wasn't in Rengoku's stomach to punch towards Rengoku who used his hand that wasn't on his sword to catch it.

'Please if anyone is out there, please help me. Help me be able to save Rengoku. You can take anything you want from me. I'll give you my blood as payment, my bones are yours if you want, even take my life if you must! But please don't make me watch someone dear to me die in front of me again!' I roared in my thoughts.

"Don't you dare!" Rengoku's hiss was low but everyone felt like it was echoing around the clearing. "DON'T YOU DARE!"

Everyone flinched because while Rengoku normally spoke louder because of his damaged hearing, they had never heard him actually yell like this.

"I-" Hikaru started.

"Don't even try to push this away. Don't try and just ignore the fact that you said t-that!" Everyone decided that they would stay out of this because Rengoku was pissed like they had never seen before and it kind of terrified them.

"I understand that you don't see yourself as important as those around you, it seems that those thoughts are ingrained in you and you can't simply make them go away but that doesn't mean that we can just ignore these thoughts. How do you think that we would feel if you managed to save us only for you to die? Do you think that we would want to continue to live after knowing about this?" Rengoku's questions seemed to punch straight at Hikaru who winced and ducked down lower and lower at every question.

"It is simply better if others survive, they all have people that would care about them but for me... Me, it's different" Hikaru whispered.

"How is it different? Explain it so that we can understand" Rengoku was almost pleading for an answer.

"Because my death wouldn't truly impact anyone" Hikaru shrugged. Everyone sucked in a breath wanting to instantly protest but Ubuyashiki gave them a look making them settle for now even if for the first time they really wanted to protest. "Everyone would be sad if I died but it's not a sadness that wouldn't fade with time because everyone has someone around them to help them with that sadness."

Rengoku instantly hugged Hikaru tight to him, not even leaving breathing space between them. "I'm sorry that you feel that way. You probably won't believe my words but I know that I would be impacted by your death, it's not something that I would ever be able to forget or move on for."

"We all would be, I might still have Nezuko but if I lost you.... I don't know if I'd be able to keep going if I lost part of my family again," Tanjiro said sadly. He knew that Hikaru had thoughts like this but he hadn't thought that they were this bad. Everyone else piped up assuring Hikaru of the same, but they knew that their words wouldn't get through to him. They would just have to prove it.

'I know what they are saying is the truth and I want to believe it, in fact I do believe it but they will have to come to terms with my death sooner or later. After all, I'm already on a time limit.'

Because I was too busy in my thoughts I didn't see the shocked looks that Tanjiro and Inosuke were giving me nor did I see the horrified look on Akaza's face since I had started to glow, yellow, orange and red.

"He's glowing," Kanroji blinked, not sure what was happening.

"This better not be some sort of sadistic god taking up Hikaru's offer!" Sanemi exclaimed. He might have yelled in anger but he was actually really worried.

"I thought you didn't believe in gods?" Obanai couldn't help but ask.

"I don't, but anything is possible with Hikaru," was the reply that he got.

"Maybe it's a good god?" Muichirou suggested.

"What do you mean?" Himejima questioned.

"Well, he does that dance doesn't he? It is him right?" Muichirou tilted his head, not really remembering if it was Hikaru or not. They hadn't thought about it, but maybe this was Amaterasu Ōmikami's blessing!

"Perhaps that is it, last time Hikaru's eyes glowed and now his whole body is glowing. It seems that whatever it is, it's growing stronger," Ubuyashiki said. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not yet but they could only hope that it helped keep Hikaru alive.

"Hahaha, I can do that too!" Inosuke grinned.

'Ah, no, no you can't' Everyone thought.

"Damn! The Akatsuki" Akaza cursed. The sun was starting to come over the train, he only had a few minutes left. When Akaza started to try and pull his arm out of Rengoku he realized that he couldn't. Rengoku wasn't going to let him escape that easily. I couldn't take this, I had to get over there. Grabbing my box I shouldered it before grabbing my swords and running towards them. I wasn't the only one that thought that as Tanjiro got up and started to run with me after getting his sword. I saw the fear and horror start to take over Akaza as he fought harder to get away, he even let out a cry that was so loud it was hurting my ear drums but I continued to run. Rengoku was still determined though, he wasn't letting Akaza's go until he had chopped his head off.

Akaza felt a sense of terror for the first time when he looked at the scenes. It wasn't terror at Rengoku trying to cut his head off, not it was terror of the sun, terror of the fact that it seemed like the sun started to rise earlier than it should have. What exactly happened?

"Good hold him tight" Uzui nodded even as he held his ears because of the loud yell.

"Don't let him get away," Kanroji cheered.

"Yell all you want, that won't work with Rengoku" Obanai rolled his eyes.

"All you have to do is hold him a few more minutes," Shinobu was leaning forward. She wasn't the only one, because if Rengoku managed to hold Akaza there, then they would see the death of an upper moon in centuries.

"Out of my way!" Akaza roared and Rengoku's sword cut deeper.

"Move Inosuke! Move your body for Rengoku's sake!" Tanjiro screamed. Inosuke ran ahead of us and quickly jumped into the air.

'Beast breathing, fang one pierce' Inosuke said. Before his move could hit Akaza, the demon broke his own arms off to get away, letting off a large shock wave that threw the boar mask boy backwards. I wasted no time in running to Rengoku and laying him down, I had seconds to work with. Throwing my mask to the side with my haori I ripped the demon corps top half of the uniform off and grabbed my swords.

"Why are you grabbing your swords? You're focusing on healing Rengoku" Giyuu frowned. None of them liked how he was acting especially when Hikaru wouldn't meet their eyes, already knowing what he was going to do and they wouldn't like it at all.

"Don't run away!" I heard Tanjiro scream out after launching his sword but I didn't have time to do that. Using my short sword I turned and grabbed my hair. Quickly one inch. With a slice an inch of my hair was gone and then with another slice another inch was gone. My abilities would grow stronger the more my hair was cut. After that I grabbed my long sword and started to cut along my arms.

"NO!" They all cried all. Everyone's thoughts were thinking of what Hikaru's father had told him. If he cuts his hair too much he'd become a demon himself!

"You can't cut your hair like that" Kanroji sobbed, more tears in her eyes. She knew that Hikaru had to do this to become stronger to save Rengoku and she really didn't want Rengoku to die. But she didn't want Hikaru to be turned into a demon either!

"Don't even think of doing this in the future," Sanemi warned.

"I told you that I'd only cut my hair if it meant saving someone's life. Cutting my hair that small amount won't impact me too much" Hikaru tried to assure them.

"You should try not to injure yourself anymore, you have already lost blood from your stab wound and now this," Being a doctor Tamayo knew the various things that would happen if the human body lost too much blood.

"I need a large amount of blood in the shortest amount of time possible so this is the easiest way" Hikaru pointed out.

"That might be true but that doesn't mean we should like it" Giyuu glared. He wished that there was another way but there was no one else around that could save Rengoku.

"Don't run away, you coward!" Tanjiro roared.

"Hikaru," Rengoku said.

"Trust me. I'll explain everything, just shut up right now!" I roared, not caring that I was cutting my arms to the bone before ripping Rengoku's shirt and jacket out of the way.

"Cutting to the bone" Tamayo, Shinobu and Yushiro looked horrified at the wounds that Hikaru was making.

"Those are going to scar pretty bad" Sanemi frowned. It wasn't the best thing to focus on but it was either focus on that or explode in anger again.

"Hikaru" Ubuyashiki was frowning. "I know that you want to help Kyojuro and I thank you for that but please remember that you can't help him if you die."

"I'll remember that in the future, I think at this moment that I am so frantic that I'm not realizing the damage that I'm doing" Hikaru was frowning at himself. He could understand needing the blood but if his futureself wasn't careful he could seriously injure his arms and hands. Damage that he couldn't afford since it might impact him being able to fight.

Placing my arm over Rengoku's wound I watched as blood seeped into his wound as best as I could with the part of an arm still there before looking to see Inosuke standing there.

"Don't stand there, get over here and help me" I roared and he scrambled to my side.

"Open my box, there should be a lot of vials in there, third row, second from the start and the last one pass them out now" I ordered.

"Don't run away" Tanjiro continued to scream.

"Do you have to keep yelling?!" Zenitsu demanded, his hands hadn't left his ears since Tanjiro started to yell.

"Sorry Zenitsu, but I can't just let him run away like that," Tanjiro stated.

"You do realize that I'm a demon brat? Even if you whisper I'd be able to hear it" Akaza rolled his eyes.

"You be quiet," Obanai hissed. He was still tense and wasn't going to be relaxing until it showed that Rengoku was still alive and out of danger. No one else was game enough to speak with the anger that seemed to be seeping off the Snake Hashira.

"What the hell is that brat talking about? Doesn't he have a brain in his head? I'm not running away from you! I'm running away from the sun and the person that brought it out earlier! And besides, the battle's already been decided. He'll run out of strength and die soon!" Akaza said to himself.

"Hang on a moment" Rengoku frowned as he looked at the scene. A few people were happy that it was Rengoku who was going to bring up what they had been thinking about.

"Does Akaza actually feel sad?" He questioned.

'Ah, that isn't what we were focusing on.'

"You're right," Shinobu realized in shock. So far while the demons that had been shown had mostly died with sadness, it was a sadness for their own deaths not sadness for the person they had tried to kill.

"Didn't think a demon would feel sad over killing someone" Sanemi scoffed, not believing it for a moment.

"Why wouldn't I feel sad? Kyojuro was a worthy opponent but instead of becoming a demon he chose to die" Akaza rolled his eyes.

"Rengoku won't die, I won't let him," Hikaru announced.

'Can he really save him?' Yushiro thought. While he knew some medicine he wasn't a doctor like Tamayo but even he knew the only way to heal a wound like that was to become a demon. Everyone had their doubts but decided to wait and see. It would be easier to comfort Hikaru afterwards rather than try to convince him that he was wrong. It's not that they didn't want to believe him, they really wanted to, but they didn't understand how it was possible even with Hikaru's unique blood.

"The demon slayer corps is always fighting you demons in the dark of the night where you have the advantage! That's right, us flesh and blood humans! Our wounds don't close up that easily! And we cannot regenerate a limb once lost! Don't run away, you bastard!" Tanjiro roared in anger and distress.

"Ha! How flashy" Uzui complimented."That is right," Rengoku nodded, his beaming smile back.

"Why don't you keep running after him instead of just yelling at him?" Muichirou huffed.

"I don't think that I'd be able to keep up with him" Tanjiro admitted and he wasn't wrong.

"It sucks that he is getting away but at least no one died" Kanroji smiled shakily. She was trying to keep her tears at bay but it wasn't working. Obanai gripped her hand and she smiled at him in thanks, not blushing for once. No one wanted to admit that it was only a matter of time before Rengoku passed.

Ignoring his yells, I took the two vials from Inosuke and ripped the stoppers out with my teeth and poured them around the wound. If I could get it to start closing up before the arm disappeared then I had a chance.

"Rengoku is way more amazing than you! He's stronger! Rengoku didn't lose! He didn't let anyone die! He fought to the end, protected until the end! You're the one who lost! It's Rengoku who won!" Tanjiro screamed as he started to cry loudly.

"Exactly, Rengoku won!" Tanjiro nodded vigorously.

"Young Tanjiro, while I admire that you believe that and I am happy that you have declared me the winner, I can't agree that I am stronger. After all, it seemed that Akaza didn't even unleash his full fighting abilities" Rengoku interrupted.

"Then you'll just have to keep training once you have healed so that when you guys meet again you will be able to be stronger than him and beat him" Hikaru shrugged. Trading looks, they all decided that they would just wait, surely Hikaru would understand when Rengoku didn't heal. They would all be devastated and mourn but they would also be able to change what happened in the future so this didn't happen.

"Next, first vial of the fifth row" I ordered Inosuke who nodded and quickly handed it over.

"Drink this, it's not going to be pleasant but you'll survive" I said, tipping the vial down Rengoku's throat. He looked like he was going to spit it back out again but I slapped a hand over his mouth forcing him to swallow. That would help with the internal damage for now until I could fully deal with it.

"Good, focus on making sure he doesn't lose any more blood" Shinobu nodded.

"So long as the internal damage has been stabilized you should focus on the most pressing injuries" Tamayo agreed. Everyone else wondered if they were really buying into Hikaru being able to save Rengoku. They hadn't given up hope of course but it was just hard when they really saw the damage that was done.

"I might regret asking but what exactly was in that vial?" Rengoku questioned. It took a lot for him to want to spit something out.

"It's a medicine that helps close up wounds but with more of my blood in it than normal. If I had to guess the taste is why you nearly spat it out. The taste of the medicine is bad but add the taste of blood, well it's understandable" Hikaru explained and they nodded. If they had no explanation and Hikaru suddenly shoved a vial of blood down their throats they would also try and spit it out.

"In the future I'll be sure to try not to spit it out," Rengoku promised.

"Stop yelling already" Rengoku said and Tanjiro looked over to see that I was working on Rengoku.

"You are still injured Tanjiro, if you die young Kamado, it'll mean I'm the loser" Rengoku said.

"Tanjiro is injured but he isn't going to die from those wounds" Shinobu pointed out.

"He probably just wanted to calm Tanjiro down," Giyuu said.

"I'm kind of glad that I'm not there at the moment," Zenitsu muttered. It was hard enough hearing the yells here but if he was there in person they were bound to be even louder.

"Rengoku," Tanjiro said.

"Come over here, let's talk a bit, one last time" Rengoku said and I smacked him on the forehead.

"Don't be stupid! I ain't losing all this blood for nothing you know? You are going to survive and I won't allow anything else. Have your talk but know that I will save you" I snarled out before ordering Inosuke to get another vial that I shoved into Rengoku's mouth again and forced him to swallow.

"Are you seriously going to give up as easily as that?" Hikaru demanded.

"Hikaru, while your blood is amazing and can heal wounds. This isn't a simple wound, it's a hole straight through his stomach" Shinobu was trying to be kind when pointing it out but Hikaru was stubborn.

"I told you I can heal him and I will. As my futureself said, I'm not losing all that blood for no reason, I will save Rengoku. You might not believe it but I will simply have to show you that you're wrong" Hikaru huffed.

"I believe in you Hikaru, so when you prove them wrong they have to promise that if something like this happens in the future they will be quiet and listen instead of throwing away your efforts" Tanjiro puffed up. He knew that Hikaru could save Rengoku because if he couldn't then he would have stated it straight out instead of giving them hope only to destroy it. While the others would think that Hikaru was in denial, Tanjiro knew the truth, he never lived in denial. He figured out what would really happen, accepted it if he had to and tried to change it if he could. And right now, Hikaru was fighting with everything he had to change what was happening because there was a chance that he could save Rengoku.

"There's something that I remembered while I was dreaming. You should go to my parents' home, the Rengoku residence. There should be some notes there, left by the preceding Flame Hashira, my Chichiue reads them often but since I never did I don't know what's in them. There might be some kind of record of that Hinokami Kagura you mentioned" Rengoku said and the arm started to disappear.

"Oh that's right. I never thought that maybe there might be something in those notes about the Hinokami Kagura" Rengoku realized. "When we leave I'll be sure to bring you to my home."

"Thank you" Tanjiro smiled.

"Maybe you'll be able to find out what's in them while we watch this?" Kanao suggested.

"You're right" Tanjiro smiled and Kanao froze a little. Tanjiro always smiled so brightly.

"Do any of the other Hashira's have something like this or is it just the Rengoku family?" Hikaru questioned. He would like to know more about the different breathing styles but even if they had journals like that, he was sure that he wouldn't be able to read them since they probably were only for the people that used those breathing styles.

"Unfortunately not, several Hashira's have journals that they left behind but not ones that are passed down to the next Hashira like the Rengoku's" Ubuyashiki said. Quite a few journals had been lost over the years or destroyed if they were found by demons.

"Urokodaki-sensei keeps a journal from back when he first started training," Giyuu spoke up.

"Gramps has one as well, he always read it to me while we were training" Zenitsu added.

"Maybe I should keep a journal about my travels and battles. I kept one while training but stopped after I actually became a demon slayer, what about you Hikaru?" Tanjiro asked.

"I have several journals that I keep," He replied. No one asked about what was in them since journals were normally private and if Hikaru wanted to tell them then he would.

Grabbing another few vials I ripped the stoppers out with my teeth and continued to pour them around and not partly into the wound. I also pulled my arm back and added a few more cuts ignoring the others.

"R-Rengoku, please don't talk any more. Please concentrate on stopping the blood, since Hikaru is healing you, your wounds will surely close up" Tanjiro cried.

"No, I'll be dead soon. I'm going to tell you all I can while I can still talk so listen will you?" Rengoku asked.

"Okay, I won't say I fully believe that Hikaru can heal you but would you not just give up like that?" Obanai demanded. "Just think of Senjuro? Do you really want to leave him?"

"Of course not but my futureself doesn't know about Hikaru's abilities so he probably has no idea what Hikaru can do therefore for him, he is just stating the truth" Rengoku explained.

"Can we just forget that for a moment, would you stop trying to bleed yourself out?" Sanemi demanded, glaring at Hikaru. He understood the need to bleed since he used the same tactic against demons all the time but he also knew how much blood he could stand to lose and Hikaru was getting really close to having lost too much blood.

"I need to work fast, I can deal with my own wounds after Rengoku is stabilized" Hikaru said.

"Idiot, that's not what I'm getting at. You are still human so you need to leave some of your blood in your body" Sanemi snapped.

"Oh, I have medicine that can help my body create more blood," Hikaru reminded them.

"Then take some of it!" They all yelled and Hikaru flushed. He was probably working frantically on Rengoku so he didn't realize how much blood he was actually losing.

"I'll keep that in mind." He promised and he actually meant that. After all, if he remembered, then it would mean that he would have more blood to use. If anyone heard his thoughts they were sure to smack him on the back of the head and scold him something fierce.

"Tell my Otouto Senjuro to follow his heart and to walk down the path that he feels is right. Tell my Chichiue that I want him to take care of himself. One more thing, young Kamado, I believe in your little sister. I accept her as a member of the demon slayer corps" Rengoku said. Rengoku and the others might not have realized it but Rengoku wasn't bleeding anymore.

Everyone was silent as they realized what was happening.

"He's actually doing it," Obanai whispered out.

"Rengoku isn't bleeding anymore, he's actually starting to heal" Shinobu was dumbfounded. It shouldn't be possible but it actually was working.

"YAY!" Kanroji screamed out her happiness and threw herself at Hikaru pulling him into her chest as she hugged him tightly. Obanai was instantly glaring, sure he was happy that Hikaru was saving Rengoku but that didn't mean that he should be hugging Kanroji!

"Breath... I need-" Hikaru tried to gasp out.

"He needs to breathe" Giyuu bluntly stated and Kanroji quickly pulled back with apologies. She had forgotten her own strength in her happiness.

"It's fine, just caught me off guard" Hikaru smiled as he reassured her.

"It seems that I'm going to survive" Rengoku's eyes were wide. He hadn't thought it was possible, he had been preparing himself to watch his own death but now it seemed he didn't have to.

"It seems that we'll be able to have a re-match" Akaza grinned happily at this outcome. HE was sure to be angry and punish Akaza but if it meant being able to fight against Rengoku again once he got stronger, then he was all too happy about it.

"Don't even think about it!" They all yelled.

"I know that this is a bit off topic but thank you Rengoku," Tanjiro smiled. He was glad that the Flame Hashira accepted his sister in the future. That meant that there was a chance for all the Hashira's to accept her.

"I agree with my futureself. It may not have happened for us but what he said is true, I accept Nezuko as part of the demon slayer corps" Rengoku beamed.

"Thank you" Tanjiro sobbed. They gave everyone a few moments to calm themselves down from their excitement and Tanjiro's gratitude before they turned back to the scenes.

Quickly grabbing a few more vials, I forced them down Rengoku's throat, stopping his talking for a moment.

"I saw her bleeding as she protected the humans inside the train, anyone who risks their lives fighting demons to protect humans is a rightful member of the demon slayer corps no matter what anyone else says. Go ahead and live with your head held high! No matter how devastated you may be by your own weakness or uselessness, set your heart ablaze. Grit your teeth and look straight ahead. Even if you stop and crouch down, time won't wait for you or snuggle you and grieve along with you" Rengoku said and I cut him off by giving him another three vials to swallow and also tipped four more on his wound that was now fully free of that arm.

"That is some good advice" Ubuyashiki complimented. Everyone was sure that they would remember those words, after all it was good advice.

"Thank you Oyakata-sama," Rengoku smiled. The others were jealous that he got complimented like this but decided that since he had almost died they would let him have this one.

"Don't feel bad that I'm going to die here, as a Hashira of course I would shield my juniors. Any other Hashira would've done the same thing, we never let the young buds get nipped. Young Kamado, Boar headed boy, Yellow boy, Hikaru, keep learning and growing. And then become the next Hashira supporting the demon slayer corps. I believe in you, I believe in you all" Rengoku said.

"You know, I think that they might just be part of the next generation of Hashira's, after all Hikaru can all be put on the list for being a Hashira with more training" Uzui smiled.

"Huh?" All the younger slayers tilted their heads.

"You have to defeat one of the twelve kizuki's to even be considered for the position and while it was a team effort, it was Hikaru that dealt the killing blow" Himejima explained.

"I see, that's wonderful" Tanjiro smiled.

"No way, there's no way that I'll ever become a hashira" Zenitsu denied.

"Don't look down on yourself, remember you are a lot stronger than you think. Just remember your fight against that spider demon" Hikaru reminded him and Zenitsu blushed a little. He could hear how sincere Hikaru was.

"Of course I'm gonna be Hashira, Lord Hashibara Inosuke is the best!" Inosuke yelled.

"They definitely have a lot of promise," Rengoku chuckled.

"They are all still weak," Muichirou huffed.

"Give them some time and I am sure that they will become stronger and stronger" Shinobu smiled at her sister. She knew that if she failed her sister would be able to defeat that demon. All of them (even the ones that wouldn't admit it) felt happy and hopeful that these demon slayers would grow stronger and stronger, until they brought Kibutsuji to an end.

Tanjiro was crying again, Insouke I could tell was crying and I wanted to cry as well but I didn't have time after all the wound was starting to close up now. There was one more thing I had to do. Grabbing a vial I tipped it back, getting the liquid in my mouth. I leant forward and sealed my lips on Rengoku's, making his eyes widen.

Everyone was wide eyed, not sure how they should react to this. They just had a wonderful speech from Rengoku and now they were watching Hikaru basically kiss him.

"I mean... It's a good way to get someone to swallow something without spitting it out" Shinobu offered.

"Or Hikaru just wanted to kiss him," Sanemi bluntly stated.

"I won't comment on either" Hikaru hummed when they turned to him. He honestly wouldn't say no to kissing Rengoku even now but he didn't think that he should just announce that.

Using my tongue I made him open his mouth before using my free hand to massage his throat and force him to swallow. Pulling another vial out I did the same thing again and again until finally I collapsed back while Rengoku laid on the ground with his eyes closed but his chest moving.

"H-Hikaru" Tanjiro whispered.

"He is still in bad shape but he has a heart beat and a pulse, check for yourself" I panted.

Everyone cheered when they finally saw that Rengoku's wound had fully closed up. Some had burst into happy tears and the more enthusiastic couldn't help but throw themselves at Rengoku in happiness. For several minutes people continued to celebrate and Rengoku got up and walked over to Hikaru. Kneeling down, since Hikaru was sitting on the ground, he wrapped his arms around him.

"Thank you, I am never going to be able to repay you for this but thank you" He whispered.

"It's nothing, I told you I would save you and I did" Hikaru didn't know how to accept the thanks. Out of respect everyone stayed silent even when Kanroji and Obanai wanted to pull Rengoku away since Hikaru was still sitting pretty close to Akaza. Instead of moving back to sit where he had been, Rengoku sat next to Hikaru.

The loss of blood was starting to get to me but I still had a lot to do to get Rengoku in any shape to survive. So I wrapped my arm up in my haori and grabbed another vial out of my box. I wasn't going to stop until he was in good enough condition so we didn't have to fear for his life.

Everyone paled, they had been celebrating Rengoku's survival and had forgotten how wounded Hikaru had gotten to make it possible!

"Please tell me that someone will arrive soon to help them," Sanemi gritted his teeth.

"At least he is covering his injuries up" Uzui tried to look on the bright side.

"But he is still focusing on Rengoku's wounds," Tanjiro frowned.

"I'm there so I won't let anything happen to Kiruha" Inosuke scoffed. He and Tanjiro were there but neither of them had medical training but at least they would be able to stop Hikaru from pushing himself too far. At least they hoped that they did.

"When the train went off the rails, Rengoku had unleashed all these techniques, he must've kept the damage to the cars to a minimum" Zenitsu said as he joined us, Nezuko in her box on his back.

"You two are okay as well" Hikaru sighed in relief. They had sort of known that they were okay but this was the first time they had been shown since the train went off the rails.

"I can't believe I survived that," Zenitsu whimpered.

"And you made sure to put Nezuko in her box, thank you" Tanjiro smiled and Zenitsu nodded. Of course he would, after all he wouldn't allow anything to happen to the lovely Nezuko.

"You're telling me that Rengoku fought like that against Akaza even after unleashing technique after technique to protect people in the train?" Genya wondered as he thought of the battle they had watched.

"That's how Hashira are," Sanemi scoffed. Maybe seeing this would make his brother give up? Highly unlikely but he could hope.

"I'm looking forward to fighting you in the future Kyojuro, especially when you aren't exhausted" Akaza beamed.

"Of course, I won't lose this time," Rengoku said. He would have to train so that if this happens in the future he won't have to worry about his friends and rely on Hikaru so much.

"I guess he did, I just can't believe that Hikaru managed to save him" Tanjiro whispered.

"I can't believe he is in this bad of a condition, I mean, did an upper rank demon really show up?" Zenitsu asked.

"Yeah" Tanjiro said while I grabbed another vial and massaged it down Rengoku's throat. I was working on the internal damage at the moment. The hole that Akaza had put through Rengoku's solar plexus was nearly completely gone after me putting more of my blood on and in it. Speaking of blood I was nearly blacking out from how much blood I had lost but I continued to drink medicine I had made that boosts the reproduction of blood so it was fine for now.

"I am already healed so please focus on yourself now" Rengoku sighed.

"Once you are fully stabilized I will" Hikaru was really stubborn and they wished he wasn't.

"I still can't believe that his blood is strong enough to heal that sort of wound" Shinobu said and she couldn't help but think about what they could do with that sort of ability.

"This makes it even more important that we don't let the knowledge of this leave the people here" Ubuyahiki frowned. Truly if people found out about Hikaru's bloods abilities it would not be a pretty picture. None of the demon slayers would speak about outsiders or even other demon slayers so they weren't the problem. Yushiro and Tamayo wouldn't tell anyone either, after all they were in hiding and they wouldn't want any harm to come to Hikaru. Akaza on the other hand. Everyone turned to him.

"What?" He demanded.

"You won't tell anyone will you?" Hikaru questioned.

"Do you really think that I will waste my time telling weakling about you being able to heal wounds? The only one that I would tell was HIM and he already knows what Akatsuki's can do so it wouldn't make much of a difference" Akaza rolled his eyes.

"Thank you" Hikaru smiled. Akaza saw a flash of someone else in Hikaru's place, thanking him for something but as soon as it was there it disappeared. After that he just clicked his tongue and looked away.

"Why would an upper rank come here? Was it that strong? I mean" Zenitsu said.

"Yeah, I'm so frustrated, as soon as I master one thing I find another thick wall right in front of me while more powerful people are fighting far beyond it. I just can't make it there yet! If I'm still stumbling around in a place like this, can I, can I become like Rengoku?" Tanjiro cried frustrated with how he hadn't been able to help Rengoku.

"Unfortunately that is just how getting stronger is" Rengoku shook his head. "There is always someone stronger and that is why when you hit a wall you continue to get stronger instead of giving up."

"There is no easy path to be strong," Akaza huffed. Crying wouldn't make them stronger, the only way to train is to fight and train against strong opponents. Sanemi and Obanai wanted to snap at the demon but they couldn't since what he said was actually the truth.

"You can be just as strong as Rengoku, all us can be if we train hard enough and don't give up" Hikaru told Tanjiro and he nodded. Everyone was determined that they would train more and more until they became stronger. The future wouldn't wait for anyone so they needed to grow strong enough so that they could at least change what was going to happen.

Zenitsu started to cry as well and I knew that behind his mask Inosuke was crying as well. To tell the truth I wanted to cry as well. I had come so close to watching someone dear to me die again and had nearly died myself but I held myself back.

"Don't hold back" Kanroji cried out and they turned to her. "You have been through so much so if you want to cry then just cry."

"It's okay Kanroji, I'm sure that eventually I will let go but right now I want to make sure that Rengoku and myself are fine" Hikaru smiled. It was a heartbreaking smile, one that told them that even here he was holding back tears. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to get Hikaru to let go, they decided to just leave it for now. Maybe during the next break he would be able to find some time for himself.

"Stop your whining! Stop saying dumbass things like 'can I or can't I be like him?' He said he believes in you so just think about how you're going to measure up to that! It's not like he is dead! He is still alive and laying right there, if anyone has a reason to cry it's Hikaru and he hasn't shed a single tear" Inosuke screamed out before breaking into even more tears.

"You're crying just as much as we are," Zenitsu muttered.

"Shut up!" Inosuke yelled.

'He does have a point. In the scenes I don't know what was in Hikaru's dream but I could have made a guess so instead of crying, I should be comforting Hikaru' Tanjiro thought. Everything had been so fast paced that Hikaru hadn't had time to mourn his parents' second death and now they had nearly lost Rengoku as well. When Hikaru finally let go, it was going to hit him really hard and Tanjiro hoped that his futureself was smart enough to stay by his side and watch over him to make sure that he didn't do anything stupid.

"Oi you guys be quiet, he is waking up" I yelled out and their tears stopped and we looked at the blonde and red headed man laying on the ground as his eyes started to flicker and open or at least one of them. I couldn't save his left eye, while my blood and medicine had amazing healing properties it couldn't bring back something that had been destroyed.

Hikaru instantly felt his chest fill with guilt. Of all the things that he could heal, he couldn't regrow something that had completely been destroyed.

"You don't need to feel bad about that Hikaru. While I might have lost my eye, I at least am still alive and for that I can be nothing but happy" Rengoku seemed to be figuring out how Hikaru thought better the more time that they spent here.

"But-" Hikaru tried.

"No buts, you are already a miracle worker for being able to heal that sort of wound so let's be happy about that, not upset about what you can't do. There is a limit to what humans can do."

He didn't say anything about it but Hikaru knew that Rengoku was pointing out that only demons would be able to heal his destroyed eye and he was happy that neither of them were demons. What Rengoku said was right, he should be happy about what he could do while still being a human.

"Young Kamado, Boar head boy, Yellow boy, Hikaru" Rengoku whispered out, this was as quiet as I had ever heard him.

"Don't try and move too soon you're still going to be sore and I have a few more medicines to give you but I told you didn't I? That you weren't going to die" I grinned before I felt myself falling backwards. Even though I had now sewn up the wounds on my arms I was still exhausted, missing most of the blood in my body and I couldn't fight passing out anymore even as I heard my name being yelled.

Strangled yells were heard when they saw that Hikaru passed out.

"You better fucking be alright!" Sanemi roared.

"If you aren't okay, I'm never letting you out of my sight" Giyuu promised. He couldn't lose someone else, he couldn't lose them!

"I think that he has only passed out from exhaustion, he is still breathing" Tamayo pointed out. It made them feel a little better but they were still worried so they turned to the scenes again. They would lecture Hikaru again later once they knew that he was okay.

Third Person POV

The three demon slayers and the Flame Hashira all panicked when Hikaru passed out but when they realized that he was still alive and passed out from exhaustion they sighed in relief. It also seems that he was running a fever as well.

"This should be impossible" Rengoku said looking at his stomach that he knew had a hole through it just an hour ago.

When it was confirmed that Hikaru was just exhausted and he hadn't sacrificed himself for Rengoku's life they deflated in happiness.

"They all got threw it alive" Kanroji whispered before she sobbed. It seems her crying set off others as Himejima was crying, giving a thankful prayer, Zenitsu was sobbing that they were okay and Tanjiro cried in happiness. He wouldn't admit it but he was terrified that someone was going to die but they had all gotten through this alive.

"I'm glad. Another lower moon is dead and we didn't lose anyone" Ubuyashiki smiled.

"It would have been better if they killed the upper moon but we will take what we get" Obanai huffed.

'I wonder how HE will react to this, two lower moons have been defeated and I failed as well. I wonder what HE will do?' Akaza wondered. There was sure to be some sort of punishment but he wondered if this thing would show what happened.

"Hikaru will explain everything when he wakes up but I can tell you that you are not a demon if that's what you're worried about after all you are in the sunlight" Tanjiro said before handing him vial after vial and I had set out for him. They couldn't believe that Rengoku was alive even after Hikaru had told them as well as feeling and hearing his heartbeat so they kept on looking at Rengoku in awe.

"Looks like I'll be able to take you to my family home by myself" Rengoku smiled, making them all smile as well. They were all hurt, battered and bruised, some more than others but just as Hikaru had promised, no one had died.

Meanwhile a kasaga crow flew away from the train and went to Shinobu reporting that Rengoku had been fatally wounded but had been stabilized by Hikaru.

"Is that so, Rengoku-san is alive at least," Shinobu said in relief.

Another crow was talking to Mitsuri and reporting about the incident as well. She let out a gasp of horror but also of relief since they were all still alive.

Next was a crow following a boy through a forest of bamboo. He showed no outward change after hearing the news.

The next was a crow reporting to Tengan who was sitting on the roof of a building.

"So even Rengoku couldn't beat an upper rank demon? It nearly cost him his life" Tengan said his eyes narrowing into a glare, if Rengoku was hurt badly he was terrified of what condition Hikaru was in but he didn't let it show.

"You don't have to worry, most of Hikaru's wounds are self-inflicted," Sanemi scoffed.

"I'm a little curious, are you only worried about Hikaru because of what you know about his family or is it something else?" Tanjiro wondered.

"Hikaru is a flamboyant person so why wouldn't I be worried about him? It might be a little about who his family was but also because I want to be able to get to know Hikaru more than just his last name and if he gets killed I won't get that chance" Uzui shrugged and got a nod of understanding in return.

Obanai was the next one to be told by his crow.

"I don't believe it," He denied both the possibility of Rengoku being nearly dead as well as Rengoku having been defeated.

Himejime was next, he was out in the forest training with Genya at the time. Like normal he started to cry and pray when he heard the news.

In a training area was Sanami as he was told the news.

"I'll exterminate those repulsive demons!" He swore with a hard glare, hoping that Hikaru was okay.

Giyu was just leaving his estate as his crow flew down and spoke to him.

"I see" Was his only reaction.

"Is that the only reaction that you have?" Obanai scoffed.

"Seriously? Did you expect something differently?" Sanemi asked.

"Ha, Tomioka, this is why no one likes you" Shinobu slipped up. Tanjiro and Hikaru were both scowling now.

"I am touched that you are all worried about me but please don't speak to Tomioka like that. I am sure that everyone shows their worry and relief differently so we shouldn't judge him on how he shows his emotions" Rengoku scolded them with a frown.

"You are literally being shown his emotions in colours and you don't even realize the difference so it's clear that you just don't want to see his different emotions" Hikaru scoffed. The three of them winced, especially when they saw Ubuyashiki's disappointed looks. When Giyuu had gotten the news it seems that they hadn't paid attention to his aura as it had gone from normal to dull, almost like he was stuck in memories and also trying to lock the emotions away before he could feel them.

In a garden in front of a waterfall was the Master, his wife and one of his daughters.

"So not one of the 200 passengers lost their lives? Kyojuro did a great job then and Hikaru made it so that we did not lose Kyojuro so there were no deaths. What remarkable children. I'm not sad that they got hurt and wouldn't be sad if they died. I don't have much longer to live either. Soon I'll be joining the others that we have lost in the land of the dead," Master said.

"Please don't speak like that Oyakata-sama" Himejima frowned. He had been with Ubuyashiki the longest and really hoped that they would be able to defeat Kibutsuji before he lost his friend to his illness.

"I am simply stating what is to happen no matter how much we might not like it, it isn't good to turn away from the truth" Ubuyashiki smiled sadly.

"Thank you for the praise Oyakata-sama" Rengoku beamed, getting their thoughts away from the sad thoughts they had started to think about.

"Of course, you did a wonderful job protecting everyone," Ubuyashiki replied. Rengoku brightened even further and Hikaru had to turn away slightly, since he was so close his aura was nearly blinding but he was happy because that meant that he wasn't dead or hurt right now like in the future.

Even as he said this he couldn't help but think about what a red haired boy had once asked him.

'Your illness, I am sure many doctors have told you there is no cure to it but if there was a cure. Would you take that cure no matter how disturbing and disgusting that it may be?' He remembered the words well. He had managed to heal Rengoku of wounds that would have killed him so perhaps Hikaru truly could cure him. He wasn't going to get his hope up but if there was a chance he was going to grasp it with both hands.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. They had heard Hikaru's offer since the scenes had shown it but they had all pushed it to the side. After all, Ubuyashiki had tried all sorts of medicines and nothing worked, however if Hikaru could heal a wound like the one that Rengoku got, then his blood would likely help Ubuyashiki. At least there was a chance and all the demon slayers hoped that Hikaru would continue to bring miracles to them so long as it didn't bring harm to himself.

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