[center][h1]TENKO MARIA THOMPSON[/h1][/center]
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Tenko closed her eyes solemnly as Takaya was listing the names of the deceased demon slayers in the past three years. She remembered the names well, as Tenko had prayed for their souls in purgatory. It was the least she could do for those who gave their lives in the fight to protect others from the demons, just like her mother.

Many among her peers have used their dead comrades to fuel their anger toward the demons. Tenko did not think of it that way—or at least, she tried not to. Murder, even in self-defence, left an indelible mark on the soul, even more so when killing the innocents or the good people who fought for the protection of the innocent. Such a thing was not good for the soul, and thus was a testament as to why demons were to be pitied. Barring a few exceptions, they were an existence driven to commit such acts by their very nature. Granting them death would be their salvation.

As Takaya then assigned Tenko to work under the Dragon Hashira, she turned to Jae-eun, as he finished saying how he would take care of her and Eizo. She gave him a smile, "Thanks! That's reassuring," she let out a small giggle, "But don't forget that goes for you too, Hashira or not. Take care of yourself too, and don't be afraid of asking for help from Eizo or me if needed."

Before long, they were interrupted by the arrival of the Mirage Hashira, Kairi, who dragged a dishevelled man along with her—apparently the famous, or rather infamous, Sun Hashira, Kamado Ryunosuke. Tenko had heard of him, of course, the so-called Dragon of Shinjuku, renowned for being a bit of a renegade and hard to work with in the corps, most recently going AWOL after being brought from Shinjuku to Tokyo.

Nevertheless, something that even his harshest critics can’t deny was this man’s skill as a demon slayer, seemingly stumbling into high-profile demons and proceeding to skillfully slay them with his Sun Breathing, bolstered even more with…

Tenko’s eyes darted to the mark on his face. The Demon Slayer Mark. The thing that took away her mother’s life. She wasn’t sure how Ryunosuke felt about the mark, but either way, it was both a blessing and a burden.

Tenko herself wasn’t sure what to make of Ryunosuke. His stint of being AWOL certainly supported the bad rumours surrounding him, but it wasn’t quite right to be judging him, especially when she had just met him.

Or, just judging him in general. Speck in the eye and all that.

As he stumbled to the ground, Tenko approached him as she rummaged through her purse, “Umm…Kamado-san? Are you all right?”

Finding what she was looking for in her purse, Tenko then offered him a water bottle along with a packet of medicine, “I have aspirin if you’d like.”

[@xAlter][@JrVader]