Chapter 9: Rengoku Kyojiro!!
[Seiji's POV]
"Hello comrade, my name is Kyojiro Rengoku."
"It's nice to meet you!!"
I still remember that day so vividly.
The warm sunlight peeked through the Wisteria trees and caressed my skin. The brightness was no longer a bother that stopped me from sleeping, instead, it had become comfortable out of habit.
He came up to me with all the loudness of a day, for a moment I thought I had regained my hearing. His presence was like the sun, unapologetic for shining so brighter than everyone else.
I lazily opened my eyes to give him a look and I was awe-struck.
He was beautiful.
In an artistic way of course. If God were an artist, he would be considered a masterpiece.
A tall frame filled with muscles that were designed solely to fight and swing a sword. There was a wild aura - a fighting spirit if you will - that surrounded his body at all times.
His organs were healthy and fresh, like the parts of a brand-new car. They were free of blemishes, no drugs, no tobacco or unhealthy lifestyles had affected them.
His body proportion and bone structure spoke of his genetic blessing. From his great-grandfather, they were a swordsman, and his existence itself was the result of many generations of selective reproduction. Not arranged marriage but more so that he was the direct line of the strongest sons.
He was bred to be a powerful swordsman.
"Hi!! My name is Kyojiro Rengoku, Nice to meet you!!" He announced for a second time.
He was a tall young man who seemed to be about a year older than me. He had long bright yellow hair with red streaks akin to flames along with two shoulder-length bangs and two chin-length bangs on the side of his head.
He had black forked eyebrows, and golden eyes that faded to red with white pupils. He wore a yellow haori with flame patterns.
He had a very unique pair of eyes and I found myself staring at them.
"Hi!! My name is Kyojiro Rengoku, Nice to meet you!!" and that was the third time he said the same thing. I got the feeling that he was the type of person who would never stop unless I replied.
"Hello Kyojiro Rengoku, my name is Shigan Seiji. It's a pleasure to meet you as well." I said to the future Flame Hashira.
He laughed, "What a plain voice you have for someone who seemed to burn with passion!"
It was funny because I got that lot. They said my voice had absolutely no intonation and it sounded completely flat as if I was speaking in the same octave.
"I guess I came to you at the wrong time. I apologize for waking you up." He said but the wide smile on his face told me that he was not really sorry.
"But may I ask why you are sleeping on such a beautiful morning?"
"I didn't sleep last night." I said and got comfortable leaning on the tree again.
Rengoku hit his palm with a fist in a gesture of realization. "Oh! I see you were hunting demons all night! I should've guessed."
It was interesting to meet one of the most beloved characters in Demon Slayer. Unfortunately, like many characters beloved by the fans, he died at the hands of the demon Akaza.
"I actually cried when I saw his death as well."
"Wait, who died?"
Oops, did I say that out loud?
"Nothing." I said and closed my eyes.
Although it was an exciting experience to meet him, I was too tired and sleepy to care. Maybe after a much-needed sleep, I would interact with him more. He said he was here for the final selection so it's not like he would disappear soon.
"Seeing you resting so peacefully makes me want to rest as well. Would it be a problem if I rest beside you?" He asked but I had already closed my eyes so I didn't hear it.
But apparently, Rengoku was the type of person to take silence as consent because he sat down and leaned against the same tree I did and he closed his eyes.
He had also travelled day and night to reach the mountain and he needed rest even more than I.
So the first time we met, we both rested under the same tree, tired from our fighting and journey respectively. The Wisteria tree provided a calming shade which was perfect for a nap.
From then on, Rengoku would stay by my side and quickly take the position of my first friend.
....
A question from the readers:- How do introverts like you make friends?
The answer is we don't.
An extrovert found us, liked us and adopted us.
And that day, Kyojiro Rengoku found me.
.
.
.
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We woke up in the afternoon and I met with an odd realization that Rengoku was actually dead tired when I first met him.
After the nap, he was smiling brighter and became visibly louder than before. But his smile and thunderous character were not annoying by any means, instead, it was an endearing trait that people liked about him.
His charisma was off the charts.
In just a few hours, he became closer to the people living at the base of the mountain than I was ever able to get in two days.
He saw me as a kindred soul, a fellow swordsman who wanted to do good in the world and become a demon slayer who protected the innocents. So he stuck close to me and tried to get me to open up to him.
Well good luck with that, my uncle and aunt failed to do so even after 6 years.
And I think he took that as a challenge. Something about his charisma and extrovert personality wanted to get close to me and become friends.
There was nothing wrong with me per se, I was not some edgy motherfucker who strived to be alone just for the sake of it. I just never bothered putting effort into connecting with other people except for being acquaintances. I believed that was enough.
There was also another reason.
I was extremely bad when it came to people. Being deaf in my past life, I never had a meaningful relationship. And the people close to me in this second life were all brutally killed by a demon. So you could not exactly blame me for my flaws.
Rengoku knew this and he made sure to be vocal about it as well.
"Hey, do you know it's really creepy when you stare at people whenever they talk? The workers told me that's why they didn't like talking to you." Rengoku said. I learned that he was honest like a child and he could also be quite blunt. I liked that about him.
"Is it?" I mused.
"Yes, and the fact that you never respond to most people who talks to you. You seem to ignore everyone else except people who confronted you face to face." He said with a nod of his head as if to affirm his own words.
I had to use my eyes and read lips to know what people were saying. And if they were out of my sight, I could not even notice them when they spoke to me.
"Well, tell them I'm sorry for being deaf," I said and his eyes widened and he stopped walking.
"You are deaf?" He asked but since he was behind me I didn't know it. He put his hand on my shoulder and I turned to him.
"You are deaf?"
"Yes, I am deaf in both ears. I lost my hearing from a demon." I said and I could see he was stunned. I could also see the apology on his face.
Since I had such incredible eyesight, people rarely noticed that I was deaf. And I never liked advertising my disability either so there were often misunderstandings.
"I see...I should have noticed." He said.
"It's fine. It happens all the time." I said and continued walking. Regoku took a few seconds to collect his thought before he followed behind me.
We were currently on our way to another mountain close by. Mount Fujikasane was filled with Wisteria trees so it repelled demons. In order to hunt them, we had to move to another mountain.
Rengoku said he wanted to join me and since I also had an interest in seeing him fight, I allowed him. Now it was the both of us, moving through the mountain road to hunt the creatures of the night.
We had sleep in the morning so we were filled with energy.
We did not encounter any demons during the night. Apparently, the demons knew to stay the fuck away from Mout Fujikasane.
So Rengoku and I spent the time just wandering around under the bright moonlight. We talked quite a bit during this time, it was mostly about how I was able to talk when I was deaf and other related things.
Like I said, he was a charming man so I quite enjoyed the time.
It was only near the break of dawn that we encountered a demon. I was able to see him while we were at a high altitude and I saw him running at the base of the opposite mountain.
The demon had blood all over his body which told us that he just had a successful hunt and he was now running back home to who knows where before sunrise.
We ran down the mountain immediately and with my eyes focused on the demon like a hawk, I led us to a route that directly crossed paths with the demon.
When we caught up with the demon, Rengoku's aura changed and his smile faded away. He ran past me and with his hand gripping the hilt of his sword, he said.
"Leave him to me."
And that's what I did.
I watched Rengoku rush at the demon who tried to run away the moment he saw us. I didn't remember the Flame Hashira to be a speedster but he was extremely fast even at his young age.
I took the chance to observe in detail how breathing style worked. This could be what allowed me to complete my own breathing style.
Rengoku caught up with the fleeing demon with ease and when he did, he sucked in huge volumes of air. So much so that a small vortex formed near his mouth.
My purple eyes released an eerie glow as I used the full power of the transparent world. Then all of the secrets in the world were laid bare in front of my eyes.
I saw the way Rengoku's lungs expanded to a ridiculous degree. His body started producing an insane amount of body heat and that gave him gave him a boost in strength.
I also observed in detail the pattern of his breath. Unlike my breathing where I inhaled to maximize each breath, he did it in a well-formulated pattern.
His yellow haori with flame patterns, lit up and I was stumped when I witnessed the next scene.
There was a trail of fire coming out of his mouth and then his katana caught on fire. The edge of his sword released a trail of fire that lit up the darkness of the forest.
"Flame Breathing : First Form." he said.
"Unknowing Fire."
He swung his blade horizontally and it created a perfect arc of deadly flames. His blade met the neck of the demon with a raging roar of fire and the head was sliced off in an instant.
The headless demon fell on the ground and a few seconds later, his body disintegrated.
I stopped in my track and just stared while Rengoku sheathed his katana and the flames died down. I was confused.
I remembered reading somewhere that the elemental visuals were only put in the anime for imagination and that in reality, there were no flashy scenes.
But what I just witnessed was exactly like the anime.
Was it real or was I able to see it because of my special vision?'
..
..
[IMAGE]
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Author : I am adding the visuals in my story for the simple reason that its cool. But explanation goes that MC is able to see them because of his eyes.
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