Breath of Flames, Fourth Form: Waltz of Blazing Flames!

Kyojuro leaps into the air, sword igniting as he blazes through the gun demon's Blood Demon Technique in a dizzying spiral, scorching the wolves that threaten to devour him alive to ashes. The flames crackling and hissing from his sword flutter into the night sky, reaching the same moon both of you are gazing at.

As vials full of gasoline fall upon him, setting him ablaze, you absentmindedly pick at your dinner. It is one of your favorites- shrimp tempura- but you just can't seem to enjoy it fully tonight. It doesn't have any flavor and the golden-red combination makes you think of Kyojuro's hair.

You wonder if he's doing alright.

As he deflects bullet after bullet, steel clanging against steel, you hunch over stacks of reports, writing in data on the patients you treated today. After you finish one set, you dump them into a crate and hobble over to store them away. You are getting them done as fast as you can, but the end is seemingly nowhere in sight.

As you sigh in exhaustion and stare at the remaining workload in front of you, Kyojuro pauses momentarily to take a breather. The pain from the bullets that have scraped and pierced him is starting to catch up to him. His entire body is on fire, muscles screaming in pain each time he breathes. His head pounds and he winces in agony, a growing pressure on the back of his eyes that makes him feel nauseous. Bile rises in his throat and he lurches to the side, thinking that this is it for him.

I made a promise with mother, he thinks to himself as he hears the next round of bullets being reloaded. There is no time for him to rest. The demon is unrelenting in his pace to kill him, so he gets back up and steadies himself, sword in hand. It is all he can do; wield his sword better than the day before.

As he charges at the vile demon, sword igniting to exorcize it from this world, his mind drifts towards you. You aren't as physically strong as him, he knows that. But even so, you show your strength in other ways. Instead of a sword, you wield a syringe and a scalpel that could strike more fear into a demon's heart than any sword ever could. In place of Total Concentration Breathing, you possess intelligence and mental fortitude that outweighs that of any demons', slayers', or even Pillars'. In place of a specific breathing style, you wield the balance between life and death in your hands like a pair of scales.

There are countless ways to show one's strength, he thinks to himself as he defends himself against another incoming barrage of bullets. Two bullets hit him in the shoulder and he collapses to the ground, blood dripping down his arm and off his hand in steady droplets. But despite the screaming pain, he hauls himself back up and manages to slice off the barrels of the guns.

But to fight their own way to the very end is truly beautiful.

A bomb goes off in the background, the boom from the shockwave traveling outwards in waves from the city.

You look up out towards your window where the moon is hanging overhead in the night sky, full and yellow. A low rumble emanating off towards the distance makes the foundations of your villa and even the earth shake and groan. The tea in your cup sloshes side to side, spilling over the edges and staining the edges of the report you are working on. You curse loudly and rush to clean it up.

What was that I just heard? Thunder? No, but the sky is clear...

Furrowing your brows, you stand up and draw the curtains. The only source of light left in your office is the flickering flame of the kerosene lamp sitting on your desk and balancing atop a mountain of leather-bound tomes.

You set your fountain pen down and stare at the small flame, dancing side to side in the confines of the lamp. It flickers precariously, almost extinguishing itself at one point, and you cannot think of Kyojuro for the umpteenth time that night.

Kyojuro goes in for the kill, gripping his sword and preparing to unleash the fifth form to end this duel once and for all. But he gets thrown to the ground once more, and with much more force this time. There's a searing pain in his back now and he groans, looking up and wondering what just happened.

The sight that meets his eyes is horrifying. All of his shadows have merged to form a distorted monster of a wolf with narrowed eyes that shift and ripple across his body. Instead of guns, he is now wielding a sword.

"I am Hairou. Allow me to slay you as a warrior of the sword, Rengoku Kyojuro."

"Shit," you curse as the flame extinguishes itself in the lamp. Striking a match, you relight it. The flame sways side to side, growing in size until it was larger than it was before.

"... Fine," says Kyojuro, feeling his energy and fighting spirit come back. "A duel is just what I wanted."

The demon is much taller than him, but strangely, Kyojuro feels no fear. It is as if another person is lending him the strength and courage needed to take the demon down.

Is it from mother? Or perhaps (Y/N)? he wonders to himself as he readies his stance once more. He is calm, steadying himself and taking a deep breath before lunging forward with an explosive force that shatters the stone floor beneath him.

The loud clang that results from the clashing of their swords makes his ears ring and the impact makes him nearly drop his sword, but he perseveres, clinging to his sword even as the demon attempts to drive him into the ground.

On the verge of death, his sword suddenly ignites, exploding in a brilliant haze of flames that burn away at the demon's shadows and leave him reeling. The light from the flames is blinding and burning white-hot, setting fire to everything else around it. They singe and burn at the demon, like the flames of purgatory and divine retribution as Kyojuro swings his sword up to his neck to deal the final blow. Hairou realizes his mistake too late; there is no time left to stop Kyojuro's incoming attack.

Burn!

Burn!

"Set your heart ablaze, Kyojuro," you murmur as you watch the flame flicker and warp wildly inside the lamp.

Set your heart ablaze!!

Breath of Flames, Ultimate Technique: Ninth Form, Purgatory!

He blazes through the air like a white comet, majestic and awe-inspiring. Administering divine punishment, the demon's head is lopped off in an instant, the flames of retribution singeing and burning him alive until he is numb and can no longer feel pain.

"... Nice... swordsmanship..."

He dissolves in a heap of foul-smelling ashes that quickly disappears. The fight is over. Kyojuro has won and defeated Lower Moon Two. He is now the rightful holder of the Flame Pillar title.

But he's in horrible condition. He's been hit with bullets in multiple vital spots and he can no longer hold out. His breath comes in shaky wheezes and the world warps and convulses before his eyes.

Not yet... I have to defuse the bombs... I can't collapse here right now. Move! Just... move...

Kyojuro collapses onto his side. He can no longer fight. His lifeblood is slowly seeping out into the ground beneath him, staining it red.

Somebody... please... defuse the bombs and save everyone else. Don't worry... about me...

It is then when you receive the news.

"Rengoku Kyojuro has defeated Lower Moon Two! He has sustained severe injuries and is on the brink of death. (Y/N), you are needed at the capital!"

You nearly drop the flask you are holding. He... did it?

He did it!

But your joy is short-lived when the weight of the second half of your dove's announcement sinks in. Your blood chills in your veins and the flask you are holding finally slips from your grasp, shattering to shards at your feet.

"Take me to where he is!"

»»————　♔　————-««

You have never run so fast in your life before.

Your hair, pulled into a messy braid, streams out behind you like a carp banner fluttering in typhoon-level winds. Your medical kit bangs awkwardly against your thigh and sharp stones and sticks dig into the soles of your feet beneath your shoes, eliciting hisses of pain from you. But you don't stop. You can't stop.

You won't allow what happened to Kanae-san to happen ever again.

Your chest feels excruciatingly tight and you are wheezing loudly, fighting for air but receiving very little in return. It feels as if someone is sitting on your chest, not allowing you to breathe.

Just... a little bit more!

Soon enough, you arrive at the capital. You pause for a few precious seconds and pull out a bottle of coffee from the medical kit you keep in there at all times. Unscrewing the cap, you quickly gulp some down before wiping the corner of your mouth.

A few seconds later, you find that you can breathe easier now; that feeling of chest tightness dissipating. The coffee was working and you'd need it. You had a long night ahead of you.

What happened here?

The city lies in shambles before you. Buildings are crumbling and in ruin, with only the foundations of some remaining. Piles of rubble, the size of a person, lie in heaps around the city, and the smoke covering the city like a weighted blanket makes you cough and choke. Your eyes water and you stumble back and forth, running while blind.

But there is no time to dwell on the damage done. Spotting a somewhat intact building, you hurry over and launch yourself into the air, somersaulting twice before landing on the roof. This new angle allows you to survey a wider area for the injured. You can see the Kakushi scurrying around, tending to those injured and hauling them away on stretchers to safety. In the distance, you can see the tents that they set up for those who need more intensive care.

"Coo, coo!"

Your dove's worried cooing catches your attention. Looking down, you see Kyojuro lying on his side in the middle of his street. Even from up here, you can see the large pool of his blood that he is lying in and it is only growing larger by the second.

The back of your throat goes dry and your hands go numb and clammy.

It's an exact repeat of what happened to Kanae-san. The ocean of blood, the feeling of despair and hopelessness- it's all coming back to you.

Your dove angrily bites the back of your hand, yanking you back to reality. You yelp in pain and tug your hand away from his beak, but he doesn't budge.

"Stop thinking about the past! Treat Rengoku Kyojuro or else he'll be another figment of your memory like Kanae-san!"

"I know!" you scream, finally managing to tear your hand out of his painfully tight bite.

You back up to the edge of the building and take a running start. Your foot leaves the railing and you twirl gracefully in the air, air rushing around you as you fall to earth. Your pleated skirt billows around you like a hot-air balloon and your hair flutters above you.

The full moon behind you illuminates your descending silhouette.

Kyojuro pants and groans as he attempts to steady his breathing when he hears the rustle of fabric... above him?

He turns his head despite the excruciating pain in his neck. The moonlight is too bright for his eyes and he is forced to squint, but as the figure comes closer, he can slowly make out it's you. The long, flowy sleeves of your white haori flutter behind you like a pair of wings sprouting from your back, and your white butterfly hair clip glows against the indigo sky.

You look like an angel to him.

"Kyojuro? Can you hear me?"

He blinks, and you're kneeling at his side, worry painted all over your pretty face. Your hair is messy, loose strands haphazardly are blown across your face and you're still panting from your dash to and across the city.

You're an absolute mess.

But in Kyojuro's eyes, you're still just as beautiful as the day he first met you.

"An... angel," he croaks out. "(Y/N)... you're an angel. Please...marry me?"

You feel your face flush despite the situation. How do you respond to an unsolicited- yet not unwanted- comment like that which left you feeling as if there were butterflies in your stomach and as if you were on cloud nine?

You shake your head. You could gush over him later but now was not the time.

"We're too young for that right now, Kyojuro."

But is it wrong for me to say that could be a possibility in the future?

You examine his wounds. There are so many, it's mind-boggling as to how he hasn't died yet. Some bullets have pierced his vital points and organs multiple times, a broken right arm- you can already diagnose it from the look of it alone- and a moderate concussion at best, to name a few.

"Please, stay with me," you beg as you bandage up his wounds to at least stop the hemorrhaging. "I don't want you to die either."

The Kakushi come over and lift him up onto the stretcher, carrying him off for further treatment. Your job here is done for now. You'll meet him back at your villa for surgery and further treatment, but it doesn't stop you from watching his retreating figure until he is out of sight.

"I can't... I can't lose you too...

"I can't let anyone else I love die on me."

»»————　♔　————-««

You're done. Finally, you're done. 

You stumble out of the operating room, woozy with fatigue despite all the coffee you drank to keep you going through the night- you lost count of the exact number long ago. Most of the injuries you had to treat were minor, such as patching up wounds and stitching them shut. Others required a bit more care with broken bones that had to be set and repaired.

And then there's Rengoku Kyojuro.

He required the most intensive care. You had spent hours operating on him. He had severe internal bleeding, a moderate concussion, a fractured arm, a broken leg that had escaped even your keen eyes, and more injuries that you didn't want to think about. He had also lost too much blood and required you to perform a blood transfusion; the most nerve-wracking one you'd ever performed in your life.

While you were in the operating room, your mind kept going haywire and thinking of worst-case scenarios.

What if I didn't give him the correct blood type in his transfusion? What if I didn't set his broken bones properly? Did I treat his concussion correctly? Did I stop his internal bleeding or has it opened up once again? Have I-?
   
It was a never-ending cycle.

You sigh and rub your eyes. Glancing at the clock hanging on the wall, your eyes all but pop out of their sockets. The hands are pointing to 3:30 am. That meant you had been working nonstop for... six hours. At the very least.

A loud groan escapes you. You want to go to sleep immediately, but you know you can't. Tonight, all the beds in your house are occupied and you need to be ready in case someone's condition takes a turn for the worse. You supposed you could just hand it off to the Kakushis while you took a short nap, but that wouldn't be very responsible of you, would it?

You walk to the kitchen and pull out another bottle of coffee from the icebox. It's the last one and you curse at the realization.

Looks like I'll have to send a Kakushi out soon to get some more, you think to yourself as you mix some milk and sugar into the chilled beverage. It makes the bitter concoction go down smoother and makes it more enjoyable to drink.

Drink in hand, you walk around your villa, making your last rounds around the house. You quietly peek into each of the wings, checking to see if anyone needed anything. But everyone was silent, fast asleep.

Lucky them, you think to yourself as you head into your office and set your coffee down. Lighting the kerosene lamp, you take a seat and begin your work. Even though everybody was treated, your job still wasn't done yet. You had to write up prescriptions for medicine, write up reminders for the slayers to take them and anything else of importance, and then fill out a boatload of reports. You'd probably be up way past dawn still working on these reports.

You loved your job, you really did, but it was exhausting at times, to say the least.

The mountain of reports waiting to be filled out seems to mock you from its place on your desk. You glare at it and stick your tongue out, wishing that they could fill themselves out.

But they can't do that, and after contemplating how long you could procrastinate and still get the reports done in time, you begrudgingly pull one over and begin filling it out.

It seems as if this night will never end.

»»————　♔　————-««

Rengoku Kyojuro suddenly wakes up in the middle of the night with the worst headache he's ever had in his life. It feels like someone is banging incessantly on his temples with a hammer that makes him feel as if he's about to hurl and pass out at the same time.

Where... am I?

His vision blurs and it takes a moment for it to refocus. Cream-colored walls and a ceiling come into view, although they're dim.

It dawns on Kyojuro that it must be extremely late at night, or very early in the morning. The walls and flooring are familiar and he realizes where he is instantly.

Ah, I must be at (Y/N)'s villa.

A rolling wave of pain passes over him, making him hiss and break out in a cold sweat. He grasps and fumbles at the sheets, but he notices something cold is gripping his bandaged hand.

It's your hand. Or so he thinks.

He shakes his head and now he knows it's you for sure. Your hair has fallen out of its messy braid and is now sprawled out across your face. Your lips are parted slightly and faint snores escape them, a strand of hair fluttering and falling as you breathe.

Kyojuro frowns as he takes in your appearance. Just how long have you been working? Your undereye circles give you the appearance of a raccoon, your skin is paler and duller than normal and your eyelids are swollen.

Your hand is freezing. He runs his thumb over the back of it, feeling the fragile bones and veins beneath the paper-thin skin. Turning your hand over slowly so as to not wake you, he finds a pen still held lightly between your fingers. A fallen report is lying in your lap as well.

Kyojuro gingerly plucks the pen out of your grasp and with some struggle, drops it onto the nightstand beside him. The pads of your fingers are surprisingly firm and flattened, not to mention callused.

He absentmindedly taps his fingers against yours, wondering what the story behind them was. Your hand is beginning to slowly warm up, the heat from his own transferring to yours.

Squeezing your hand gingerly, he takes this fleeting opportunity to savor this moment of peace shared with you.

Sleep tight, (Y/N).

»»————　♔　————-««

"Um, (Y/N)-sama?"

Huh? What do you want? I'm so warm right now, let me sleep...

"(Y/N)-sama... I think it'd be best if you wake up right now."

You begrudgingly but curiously peel an eye open to be greeted to the sight of an injured but energetic Rengoku Kyojuro grinning down at you and a nervous Kakushi at his side.

"Good morning, (Y/N)!"

You feel the heat zoom to your face.