Chương 7: Pillar of Flame

Tsuki saw the man easily cutting off Kyojuro's technique, before starting to berate him, "Brat, as far as I know, this is supposed to be a sparring match, and I'm sure I told you that you're not ready for that technique yet."

"Haha! I apologize father! It seems I got a bit carried away." Kyojuro said without missing a beat.

Kyojuro's father stared at him intently for a while before he sighed, "Fine, I'll let it slide this time, don't let it happen again."

The older Rengoku gazed over at Tsuki who simply stood there watching their exchange

"I'm Shinjuro Rengoku, what's your name kid?"

"My name is Anenokoji Tsuki,Shinjuro Rengoku-san," Tsuki answered, Shinjuro hearing his name squinted his eyes slightly before asking, "Are you… Masayoshi's kid?"

"Yes, he is my father, Are the two of you close Shinjuro Rengoku-san?" Tsuki asked curiously, "Hmm… well I guess you could say that, we were friends before he disappeared, so, how is he? Is he doing well?" Shinjuro answered and asked another question of his own.

"Yes, he's doing well, though he was extremely sad when I left." Tsuki responded

Shinjuro chuckled, "That is very much like him, though... I'm surprised he let you become a demon slayer, considering his... History." Shinjuro rubbed his chin, and then he suddenly started stretching.

"History? What are you talking about, Shinjuro Rengoku-san?" Tsuki asked seriously, as Shinjuro simply stared at him as he continued stretching, "It isn't my place to talk about it if you wish to know ask him yourself."

Shinjuro then suddenly stopped stretching, "As his son, you are capable of using hamon right?"

"Yes, I can use it, though it did take quite a bit of practice and I'm not as good as my dad yet."

"Is that so? Alright then I see that your sword skills, are good for your age, let's see how well you strike, surely as Masayoshi's kid you should be capable of hand-to-hand combat, as you have learned hamon," Shinjuro questioned Tsuki while grinning as he awaited the boy's answer.

Tsuki grinned as he simply nodded, that's all Shinjuro needed to see, "Kyojuro, get off the field and give us a countdown."

"But father-" Kyojuro was about to say something but he was interrupted by his dad, "Stop worrying so much, look at your friend, does he look worried to you?" Kyojuro looked towards Tsuki, as Shinjuro said he didn't look worried at all.

"Tsuki, are you sure?" Kyojuro for the first time, didn't yell but asked calmly and seriously.

"I'm sure." Tsuki gave a short answer, Kyojuro nodded and got off the field.

Tsuki took a regular boxing stance, while Shinjuro simply stood there. (menacingly.)

"3...2...1 Start!" Kyojuro yelled.

Tsuki still in his stance quickly closed the distance between him and Shinjuro as he threw out a straight punch directed towards Shinjuro's chin.

Shinjuro casually slapped away his punch as Tsuki, quickly spun around and struck towards his face with his elbow, which was also blocked by Shinjuro.

Shinjuro then threw a hook, which Tsuki barely blocked, followed by a front kick towards his chest which he also blocked, but due to the raw force behind the kick he was off the ground flying back, but he regained his footing albeit barely and came to a stop as he started panting.

'This kid…' Thought Shinjuro as he clicked his tongue.

"Alright, kid we can stop now, I've seen enough." Shinjuro suddenly said as Tsuki paused for a second, "Huh? Already I can still go on..." Tsuki said in between breaths.

"I figured you'd say that, but I've seen enough. you body moves a lot like Masayoshi, it feels as if I'm looking at his attacks... But you lack the physical attributes your father once had."

"Physical attributes? But I trained my body exactly like my father told me to..." Tsuki muttered while still contemplating what Shinjuro said.

"Well, there is really no need to worry about that, as you won't have to use your fists and kicks to fight demons, your sword skills are enough. You're still young, your body will fix the problem itself as you grow older, that doesn't mean you shouldn't train though. So don't slack off." Shinjuro spoke as he scratched the back of his head.

Shinjuro yawned and walked back to the house as Tsuki followed him.

As soon as they got close Kyojuro swung his arm over Tsuki's shoulder, "Amazing job Tsuki! Don't be sad about your loss! You did well against a Hashira."

'Hashira? So that man is... The pinnacle of Demon slayers?' Tsuki thought with his eyes widening, as he stared at Shinjuro.

"We have a long way to go before we become Hashiras Kyojuro." Tsuki suddenly said, as Kyojuro responded with his iconic smile that seemed to shine as bright as the sun itself, "But of course! Isn't that obvious?!"