Set Your Heart Ablaze!

In a quaint and small town in Equestria's countryside, Cloverfield. Voices resonated through the street of a market strip, ponies bartered and chatted up storms among the clerks and stands while the waves of ponies passed by a quaint little food stall with decorative banners advertising the various meals of the day, and special offers for any enraptured by the aroma coming from the stand. One such customer voiced their delight.

"Tasty!"

The person was anything but a pony, or even a dragon or minotaur. They had a tall stature and athletic build. Bearing an enthusiastic smile on his face. 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, black forked eyebrows, and golden eyes that fade to red with white pupils.

He wore a paler brown gakuran jacket, a white belt around his waist and hakama pants. Over this, he wore a haori with a white-yellow gradient pattern and red flame-like ridges at the end. Finally, he wore red kyahan with yellow flames erupting from the bottom up, with pale brown tabi socks and a pair of white zōri with red straps. Resting against the bar stand was a katana with a white handle and flame crest guard, carried in a standard sword sheath that was white and grey in color.

"Tasty!" He repeated after every bite into his bowl of noodles, it wasn't anything spectacular or bursting with flavor like the specials, but it left a mouth-watering sensation with every bite. He gulped down the last remnants of the pasta, slapping the bowl down with an envigorated smile, "Tasty!" His shout caused the other two bowls stacked beside him to tremble, another customer almost losing control of his magic.

"Uh, I... heard you... the other twenty times," The mare running the stand sweatdropped at the peculiar creature's mannerisms about her food, she accepted the compliment, but this was a little much for her tastes. The unicorn compared to the strange creature eating happily at her stand was bland in terms of appearances. She had silky charcoal hair and mane, soft honeycomb fur, and heterochromia eyes, the right light blue and the left a forest green. Even her cutie mark wasn't anything spectacular, a cauldron with a few bubbles.

The person never let his smile leave his face, taking a sip of his drink before meeting her gaze. "Your culinary skills are amazing, thank you for the meal,"

She gave him a slight smile. "You paid so all's fair," Then she eyed his katana curiously. "You're... a swordspony?"

"Ah, is that how it's pronounced here?" He marveled, then nodded. "You are correct, I am a Demon Slayer, Kyojuro Rengoku."

The clerk had to give him a quick stare of skepticism, blinking a few times. "A... what? 'Demon'?" Then she scoffed. "Equestria's a big place and all, but... doubt you'll find a demon anywhere, maybe Tartarus but..."

"She's sayin' yer crazy," The other customer blurted out, placing his Bits on the counter. "Quality as always, be back tomorrow,"

"Bye, Jumper," The mare waved, collecting the Bits with her magic before passing on a small snort at the still smiling 'Demon Slayer'. "He's right, you know? If you go around spouting off stuff like that, ponies will be more suspicious of you, heck, you've already drawn eyes since you got here!" She exasperated.

"Well, you are all quite a colorful bunch yourselves, though I mean no insult," Rengoku replied, tapping the counter with a fiery gaze. "However, the moment I passed through this town, the evidence of a demon made itself known, perhaps to lure me, that I am unsure of."

The clerk frowned at him. "Fine, whatever you say, but-" She pointed a hoof at him. "-Keep it down at least," She scanned the few ponies nearby, some passing the pair odd, insensitive looks. "Honestly, there's no such thing as demons, not even in Equestria's history."

"A world without demons is a world that is perfect," Rengoku replied much softer this time, surprising her with how... earnest he became. It was something you'd hear from a pony with experience. But that didn't make sense, she thought, not unless... "Well, I will be off, do be sure to close up before dark,"

"H-hey, wait... a moment..." And like that, he picked up his sword and was gone into the small crowd of ponies without another word, his cape billowing in the wind that felt awfully cold that it made the clerk's fur stand on end. "...what an idiot... demons..." Shaking her head, she went back to work.

Nightfall had settled in faster than expected for the food clerk, she had finished up her last service for the day and was caught cleaning down her stand, safely locking her belongings away for the next day with a heavy sigh of relief at her completed work. "Guess it's the spicy special tomorrow... or maybe a broth?" She tapped her chin but shrugged, tomorrow's problem, she supposed.

"Hey there," A cool, deep voice rattled in her ears, causing her to jerk sharply to whoever spoke. No one else was present on the street, the last of the stands had closed nearly twenty minutes ago, anypony outside was at the tavern or at home. "So sorry, I startled you..."

"Red flag, crimson," She wasn't stupid, considering she couldn't see anypony else around her. "Yeah... what do you want?" She charged her horn with a faint grey aura, trying to pinpoint the voice's location with her flank against her stand.

"I doubt that horn will do you any favors, but if you insist..." From the shadow of an alleyway directly across from her, a large body shambled into view like a specter, dragging the darkness with it toward her position. Her hooves felt like they were caked in ice. "There? Now we both can greet eye to eye."

"..." She didn't speak, keeping her distance.

"Oh, you asked me a question? Right-right, I'm looking for someone... someone dangerous," He hissed off his tongue like a bad taste.

"What do they look like?" She swallowed the lump in her throat but gasped when she felt an ice-cold palm close around her throat, pinning her against her stand. Her magic shot a bolt in reflex, but the small burst merely fizzled on contact with the shadowy creature's face, his body shaking out a throaty, unsettling laugh.

"I know you know... that human... the one with the flaming hair," He brought a claw to tap at his shrouded scalp. "His scent is tainting this place, like burnt coals,"

"I-I don't k-know - ngh!" His grip tightened, and she started to gasp for a breath, tears stinging her eyes.

"So he's gone off on a wild goose chase?" He mused, then cackled for a few seconds. "Hehehehe, that's rich, perfect, finally off my case..." Breathing a sigh of relief, he brought his other arm back, the fingers elongating into dark claws. "I'll make it quick since you've been such a good sport, little farm animal."

This... this Thing... it was a demon, wasn't it? She wasn't an idiot, but she certainly felt like one. That 'human' it referred to, it was Mr. Rengoku, wasn't it? He had to be far away from Cloverfield by now, and the street was deserted for the night. Her eyes widened as she quivered in fear, this was it, his claws were starting to ache around her neck, one twist and she was certain her head would pop off.

The air grew hotter around the mare...

In a roaring spiral of flames, the shadow had barely a second to react and dodge accordingly, evading the helix that spun a tunnel of scorching flames through the street, not once burning the buildings and empty stalls nearby. Blood dripped from the demon's calves and back, barely avoiding the blast radius as it slithered away, reforming a good few meters away. "Tch, kill her!" With a snap of his fingers, three shadowy creatures lunged for the clerk who continued to cough in relief.

"Hm, so this is where you ran to, what an ugly mess," Cinders were scattered underfoot. "To think I let a demon slip away under my watch - I feel ashamed!"

Rengoku had arrived.

Grasping his sword within its sheave, he took in a breath through his teeth that whistled between him and the mare he protected. "Flame Breathing - First Form-" With a sudden rise in temperature, the unicorn's eyes practically glowed in tangent with the horizontal arc of flames that tore through the three monsters, following his blade. "-Unknowing Fire!"

"You, it's you again..." The clerk mare found her voice as the flames shielded her from the disintegrating bodies. Tears welled up in her dried eyes. "..."

"Do not shed tears yet, miss clerk," Rengoku turned toward the road, his sword clasped in both hands by his right hip. "The danger is still present,"

"How did you get here so quickly!?" Appearing far from the Hashira's stance, a shadowy abomination took the form of a bipedal wolf, a shroud of black miasma smothering its once human form. It bore its white fangs with silver eyes narrowed through the darkness, fists trembling. Then it suddenly quelled its fury, ears perked. "No matter... I've killed your kind before, I'll do it again and again, and when you're gone, this world is ripe for the picking!"

"Then it seems you are mistaken!" Rengoku chimed, taking two steps forward, eyes trained on the demon of shadows. "I will not allow you to escape, nor will you lay a hand on these strange but kindhearted creatures!" His flames swelled around his body, blanketing the man in roaring embers as he drew his sword against his hip, the blade behind him. "For I am the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku!"

The demon's posture jolted back, darkness gathering in clusters around its fists, small orbs of black and white light emerging from the earth. "Who cares what you call yourself! Rot in the dark with that rat!" The mare flinched but a great hot gust of wind caught in her mane. Rengoku had seemingly vanished into a spiral of flames again.

Several shadowy demons manifested to guard the summoner as flames expelled from the air. "First Form - Unknowing Fire!" The horizontal streak cremated the shades, the fist of the main demon tossing a wave of darkness in tandem with Rengoku's stroke. He adjusted his stance, drawing his blade up from his feet. "Second Form - Rising Scorching Sun!" The wave of shade was split in two, giving him a chance to press the advantage. Inverting his blade above his head, the swirling embers expanded into a vertical arc. "Third Form - Blazing Universe!"

"Grah - ENOUGH!!" As a large gash sprayed blood from the demon's chest, it didn't relent, releasing a halo of blackish-white light to force the Hashira to leap backward from the cursed light. The Demon brought its arms across its chest, the darkness congregating around its torso in a surge of pressure. "I'll take this whole stinkin' town with me!!"

Rengoku landed with a skid, his frown firm as he adjusted his stance. "It gathers shadows and releases them almost instantly," His palms loosened for a moment to grip his blade better, "In that case..." Rengoku steadied his breathing. "Fifth Form..." His aura expanded, the fires curling at his blade's motions.

"His body, it's completely wrapped in flames!" The mare was breathless, despite the monster mere seconds away from attacking, she felt completely enraptured by the man who never flinched, strangely, she didn't either. "Amazing...!"

"Blood Demon Art-!" The Shadow Demon snarled, drawing his crossed arms toward the sky with a fanged grin. "-Abyssal Descent!"

Rengoku's right foot split the road, flames rising from the cracks as he swung his blade forward, moving at intense speeds to intercept the Demon that hadn't the room to move, a blade descending toward its torso. "-Flame Tiger!" The rapid cross of slashes to the Demon's body curled the flames, blanketing the darkness in an embodiment of indomitable might, taking on the form of a great, blazing tiger that roared, its teeth sinking through the Demon's star-struck face, decapitating with alongside Rengoku's sword slash, severing the Demon's head with a double halo of orange embers.

"What... what happened?" As its head spun toward the dirt, the eyes were bloodshot, pupils the size of pins as they trembled in fear. "I know I cast Abyssal Descent, everyone should've been swallowed up into my body, so why am I... dying?" His body was burnt and shredded, the arms dissolving beside its head as the body tumbled onto its back. "No... not yet! That's not fair! You cheated! You... che... ated..."

The chaos that swept the street was silenced before the mare, her eyes widened with a hopeful smile, and tears dried up in her eyes. Rengoku turned to her, slowly drawing his sword against the lip of his sheath, sliding it back into place with an audible 'click', his thumb running up to the hilt to rest once more beneath his firey cloak. His pleasant smile returned as the last of his embers fizzled away under the swaying lamps. "You are free to cry now, miss, the demon is slain, and my duty is fulfilled."

It took her a second to find her voice again, her smile relaxing into a dry chuckle. "I... don't think I can, I... wow," She gulped, finding the strength in her wobbly hooves to stand. "I-I really didn't know demons existed, I'm sorry for making fun of you earlier today," Her head bowed but stopped when his hand rose.

Rengoku laughed, "Hahaha! A world without demons, as I said, is a world that is perfect," Rengoku replied, and her head rose properly to his gaze.

"Heh, right," She sniffed, rubbing her cheek clean of dirt, "So, what now? Are there other demons?"

"Most likely!" He blurted out, hands on his hips. "But fear not! I shall slay them all!" His body suddenly became gigantic, haori flapping in the flaming breeze, laughing triumphantly.

The mare sweatdropped, "You... sound very happy about that - a-and when did you get so gigantic?" He returned to normal as the mare raised a hoof toward her stand. "Well, before you go, can I get you something? I'd feel bad about you leaving without me thanking you."

"Your kindness is appreciated, but no payment is required," He did linger on the stand. "But I will not turn down a meal for the road,"

"Perfect!" She clapped her hooves happily.

"Tasty!" Rengoku praised, enjoying every bite in the middle of the night with the steaming pot of noodles over the counter where the mare shared a small bowl of her own with him. "Tasty!" He repeated as she sweatdropped, enjoying her noodles in silence while passing another bowl over with her hoof for him to dig into. His body rose with a tremble of delight, causing a few items to fly into the air at his loud tone. "Tasty!!"

"I can see that," She giggled, wiping her mouth as Rengoku finished his meal, placing the chopsticks atop the bowl.

"Thank you for the meal!" He praised, standing up to retrieve his sword. "While I must cut this short, I do hope your days will be free of strife!"

"And yours too," She offered a small wrapped box. "I dunno how long you'll take to arrive at the next village, so take it for the road," She shrugged. "Even you can't make a dent in my food supply, though I'm not willing to test that tonight," She gulped.

"Rest assured!" His voice jumped, startling her when their eyes met. "When I return, I promise to repay you, and be safe," His voice lowered a little, Rengoku's honesty reassuring for the mare whose night would be unforgettable.

"I look forward to that then," She bowed her head. "Goodbye, Mr. Rengoku - oh, right," She hit herself on the head, forgetting something so basic that it made her blush a little. "My name, It's - huh?"

She blinked, looking around the stand to find the whole street completely vacant as if not a soul had stirred all night. Faintly, the wind felt warm toward the right, two impressions on the dirt road.

She rubbed her eyes, even checking her stand that looked as fine as when she served Rengoku mere moments ago. "How did he...?" Blowing a raspberry, she took back the bowl with the chopsticks on top, it was still warm. "The way he breathed, it allowed him to move like that, not a single burn mark on the buildings either..."

Alone, the mare took a moment to relax and steady her breathing like she saw Rengoku do, it was a little tricky but maybe he taught her something after all. "'Flame Breathing', huh?"

End

Author's Note:

Surprise one shot! This time, about Demon Slayer and the Flame Hashira that set many hearts ablaze! I always wanted to write about Breathing Techniques and about Rengoku, I hope I got his personality right.

Well, I hope you enjoyed it, I appreciate the support as always; seeya next time! Set Your Heart Ablaze 🔥

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