46 Flame Estate

After the events of Rengoku's father, Hiroto, Rengoku, and Senjuro were sitting and discussing some things.

"Hey, brother. You said that Hiroto would be your Tsuguko from now on, but didn't you say that he already trained in a different breathing technique to yours?" Senjuro said.

"That's right, but I can give him guidance in other fields. Such as the responsibilities of a Hashira, his swordsmanship skill and the to hone his battle instinct!" Rengoku said, with the same stoic face returning to him.

Senjuro looked down, and said quietly, "I'm glad you found someone to be your Tsuguko…"

Renguko approached him and patted his head, saying, "I already told you Senjuro, you're different from me! You have an older brother, and he believes in his younger brother. When you decided to give up on being a Demon Slayer, I know that no matter what path you take, you'll be a wonderful person!"

Senjuro looked up at his older brother, and said a bit sadly, "But, I broke our family tradition of being a Demon Slayer…"

"You should never be disheartened Senjuro! Live your life with a burning passion within your heart, and I'll always be proud of whatever you do!" Rengoku said, hugging his brother. "Do your best! Do your best to live! Even if you get lonely!"

Hiroto left the room to give the two some time alone, as he assumed they haven't seen each other for a while. Senjuro reminded him of Tanjiro, his personality makes him seem like a kind and caring individual.

'Senjuro is quite fortunate to have Rengoku there to support him.'

After a bit, Rengoku came out and said to Hiroto, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect that such a visit to my home would get so emotional!"

Hiroto waved his hands, and said, "It's fine, I understand the responsibilities you have as an older brother to Senjuro, but why did he say he broke your family tradition?"

Rengoku looked down and said. "Come with me." Rengoku brought Hiroto to his old room which was surprisingly still kept clean. 'Senjuro must have kept it cleaned.' Hiroto thought.

Rengoku then spoke up, "Our father… he wasn't like this long ago. My dad became a Hashira of the Demon Slayers. He was a man full of passion. But one day, he suddenly gave up on the sword. He was a man who raised us so passionately. But why? How did he end up like he is now?"

Hiroto looked at Rengoku's facial expression and saw a yearning look in his eyes behind that straight face. "Even when I mull over it, I just think that it was inevitable. And Senjuro is in an even sadder situation than me. He pretty much doesn't have any memories of our mom, who passed away from sickness before he gained his senses. And now our dad is in this situation."

Hiroto listened quietly and felt sympathy for the two brothers. 'Something major must have happened to turn their father into what he is today. They also love a parent to sickness, so I can relate a bit.' Hiroto thought.

Hiroto approached Rengoku and patted his back, saying, "It must be tough on you, but you need to always be there and support your brother no matter what."

Rengoku turned to Hiroto and said, returning to his same stoic face. "Of course! And I thought that I was supposed to be the one to teach you! Haha!"

"Well, what does being your Tsuguko imply?" Hiroto asked.

"It means that you are next in line to become the Flame Hashira! People in the Demon Slayer Corps, who aren't Hashira or other Tsuguko will have to treat you with respect! You also get some certain privileges, but those don't matter! What matters is your training!" Rengoku answered.

"Where will we do this training?" Hiroto asked Rengoku.

"Back at my place! Each Hashira gets their own estate dedicated to them, if they choose! Although, they can choose to stay in their original homes!" Rengoku said, turning to the door.

"Let us leave! We should go back to my place so we can get you settled in!" Rengoku cried out, with Hiroto following him in tow.

As they went to the entrance of their house, they saw Senjuro waiting for them. "I guess I'll see you again the next time you visit, big brother," Senjuro said.

"Mhm, I'll come visit again later so don't worry!" Rengoku said.

Senjuro then turned to Hiroto and said. "It was nice meeting you, Hiroto. I hope the next time you visit, father will be more accommodating to you."

Hiroto nodded and smiled, saying, "Don't worry about that. Next time I come, I'll bring my brother along, I think you two will get along."

Senjuro nodded his head, and Rengoku said, "That's not a bad idea! Senjuro is in need of some friends!"

Senjuro blushed and ushered them off the property and he saw them off. Waving back, Rengoku and Hiroto departed to Renguko's estate.

Running throughout the night, the two didn't talk much and mostly kept to themselves, finally arriving at Rengoku's estate. The layout seemed similar to the Butterfly Estate in terms of size, but the design was different.

While the Butterfly Estate was designed as a hospital, Rengoku's estate, or the Flame Estate, was more akin to a dojo. The garden was full of training dummies, obstacles, and other various training equipment.

"How do you like it?" Rengoku said. "I sometimes help out and train some Demon Slayers at the other Hashira's request or when I feel like it!"

As they entered the estate, Hiroto was led through a series of hallways that were decorated with flame banners and, for some reason, sumo wrestlers.

"Umm… Rengoku… Why do you have so many drawings of sumo wrestlers?" Hiroto asked, unsure if he should even be asking this question.

"Why, that's because I love watching sumo wrestling!" Rengoku said. "The people wrestling have so much passion within them, it's admirable!"

"Forget that I asked," Hiroto said as they continued through the estate. Hiroto saw some people here and there, but they were mostly there to clean the estate, and occasionally reporting to Rengoku about some matters.

"You must be surprised that being a Hashira doesn't only amount to fighting Demons!" Rengoku said, as they came into his study, which had a bowl of sweet potatoes on the table ready for him to eat.

Hiroto sat opposite of him as he listened on. "Since you were at Kocho's estate, you should know that she treats our wounded. For me, I am in charge of overseeing the overall fighting force of the Demon Slayer Corps! The other Hashira have different responsibilities as well, such as Obanai being in charge of intelligence!" Rengoku explained.

Hiroto nodded his head, but then said, "Wait… don't tell me I have to also learn all of that?"

Rengoku said with his straight face, "Of course! Being my Tsuguko, you will naturally have to learn the responsibilities of being a Hashira!"

"Is it too late to quit?" Hiroto said.

"Ever since you entered!" Rengoku replied with his same straight face.

*sigh* "Alright, what about the actual training?" Hiroto said.

"We can start that tomorrow! For now, we should get some rest!" Rengoku then picked up a sweet potato from the table and took a bite from it. *crunch*

"Isshoi! Isshoi!" Rengoku shouted as he ate them. (AT: Actually Canon)

"You can take one of the rooms next to mine, no one is using them right now!" Rengoku said, before continuing to feast on his sweet potatoes.

Hiroto quickly left before Rengoku started shouting.

As Hiroto left the room, he saw some Kakushi walk by as they carried paperwork and were helping wherever they could. From what Hiroto remembered, the Kakushi were a branch of the Demon Slayer Corps comprised of people who were either injured or retired as a Demon Slayer.

Some also failed the examination and wanted to be of some use signed up as a Kakushi. They were in charge of providing services to Corps members such as cleaning up a battlefield after a Demon attack.

Hiroto chose a room that wasn't too close or too far from Rengoku's study and entered in. The room looked decent, having a futon, a desk, closet to store his belongings and… pictures of sumo wrestlers…

Hiroto's eyes started twitching, as he saw the paintings of the large and almost naked bodies of the sumo wrestlers grappling with each other and looking at him. This made him feel uncomfortable, resulting in his stuffing all the paintings into a closet.

*sigh* 'Although Rengoku is earnest, he has too many weird interests…' Hiroto thought.

*knock knock* Someone knocked on the door to Hiroto's room, and a voice came from the other side. "Excuse me, umm Tsuguko, Rengoku-Sama told me to give you something."

Hiroto opened the door curiously, seeing a member of the Kakushi standing outside carrying something. As Hiroto looked at the bowl in the Kakushi's hand, he saw it was full of sweet potatoes.

"Umm, Rengoku-Sama said that… you should get as much nourishment as you can since you are still growing…" The Kakushi said, embarrassed for Hiroto.

Hiroto stared at the sweet potatoes, before looking up at the Kakushi and said, "I'm sorry, but the person you are trying to find is not here."

*bang* Hiroto closed the door, leaving the Kakushi standing there awkwardly with a bowl of sweet potatoes.