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I've made a longer version of this, a little bit different but in the same line. Coming soon.
"Please, help me."
You clung tightly to the collar of his Marleyan military jacket.
"I can't take it anymore, Reiner. Please help me." Your voice sounded desperate, you had a knot in your throat and a dull ache in your soul.
Tears began to blur your vision—and his as well.
"You're strong and brave, baby. You can get through this..."
"I can't. It's eating me alive! Please, help me ease this pain, or..."
Tears streamed down your cheeks as you swallowed a sob.
"Baby, please don't do it again. I'm begging you..." he cried, speaking softly yet desperately at the same time. He pulled you tightly into his arms, as if you might disappear in an instant.
"Then help me."
Your lips moved closer to his.
"Please."
The final, anguished word brushed against his soft lips.
"Oh God," he cried. "I love you. I wish I could understand your pain, and I wish you could understand how much I love you, because seeing you like this is eating me alive too."
He kissed away your tears, his nose gently brushing against yours. You could feel the warmth of his mint tea-scented breath as he softly pressed his lips to yours, kissing you more tenderly than ever before. His lips lingered against yours, and you leaned into him, letting out a sound that was half sob, half sigh. Your hands searching his skin under his t-shirt. You needed it, you needed to feel skin by skin, your soft plush body against his strong muscled one, your fading away soul against his gentle strong one. Or at least, stronger than yours.
And he held you. He held you more softly, more tenderly, more sweetly, and more gently than ever before. Every touch was slow and careful, filled with love and reassurance. He devoted himself to comforting you, easing your suffering however he could, patiently searching for every possible way to bring you even the smallest bit of pleasure.
It wasn't enough to make all your pain disappear, nor was it a solution to everything that haunted you. But it was a beginning—a small, warm, and comforting step toward healing.
Future characters in mind: Aizen, Grimmjow, Reiner
It was late at night when you arrived at the hostel. You had booked the cheapest flights and place to sleep to keep costs low, they were not paying much to a beginner as you, and you needed as much the money as begin to build a decent portfolio.
You were very tired after the flights, the cheap ones always were leaving very early in the morning and with one or two stopovers. It had been raining outside, and your suitcase and shoes were wet and dirty with mud. After checking in, you took an ancient lift to the second floor wishing to have a shower and fall on your bed. The corridor smelled faintly of bleach and damp carpet. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, making the place feel even older than it probably was. You were heading to your room when you suddenly slipped, the floor was slightly wet, but adding it to your wet trainers it was a bad match. You let out a small scream. A strong arm caught you from behind, steadying you and avoiding your fall. The hand gripping your arm was surprisingly strong. Whoever had caught you smelled vaguely of soap and disinfectant. Before you could even look at your saviour, he spoke with a masculine annoyed voice:
“Tch. Didn’t you see the bright yellow wet floor sign, you brat?”
The thankful feeling you felt at the beginning disapeared in a flash.
“Yes, I saw it, but my trainers are wet too..” you said looking at your feet and the trail of wet footprints behind you.
“Don’t you know the carpet at the entrance is used to wipe your feet before getting in?”
Wow. That janitor was kindness itself.
Tired and annoyed, you opened your mouth, ready to tell him exactly what you thought of his attitude, and fastly forgot every word. The janitor was annoyingly attractive. Sharp grey eyes, pale skin, dark hair neatly parted to one side, and features so perfectly balanced they looked sculpted. It was difficult to stay offended when faced with a face like that.
You smiled shyly, feeling your cheeks hot.
"I'm sorry. I'll try not to make your job harder this week."
"This week?" he asked. "Are you the one painting the façade?"
"Yup." You nodded with a smile.
"Tch. Paint or spray?"
"Spray, mostly. But I'll mix both for better colours and effects."
His expression immediately darkened.
"If I see a single drop of paint outside that façade, whether it's paint or spray, I'll spray you."
You blinked.
"With bleach."
Your laugh died in your throat when you realized he wasn't smiling. He was still staring at you with the same cold, unreadable expression.
"...You're joking, right?"
"Tch."
That was not a reassuring answer.
You wished the janitor good night and even thanked him for his unique version of hospitality. He didn't reply.
Once inside your room, the irritation you'd been holding back only grew stronger. What kind of welcome had that been?
You stared at the ceiling for a moment before your gaze drifted toward your supplies.
A slow smile spread across your face.
Taking out a fluorescent yellow spray can, you crept toward the door. After listening carefully for a few seconds, you opened it just enough to peek into the corridor.
Empty, good!
You stepped outside and crouched on the tiled floor. With a quick movement, you sprayed a bright yellow circle and added two dots and a curved line.
A happy face.
Admiring your masterpiece, you couldn't help but grin.
There.
You took a step back to admire your work. Now the corridor looked much friendlier.
N/A: This fic takes place in the world of KNY, but I’ve made a few changes, so it won’t follow the canon story exactly, and the world may work a little differently from the manga and anime.
* Reader x Rengoku. Slow burn
*MDNI
*You must be +18 to follow or interact
*KNY characters and KNY world belong to it's rightful owner.
You woke from a surprisingly comforting nap to find the estate cat curled up in Kaname’s usual spot beside you.
It had already been a week and two days since Kyojuro left. Even now, every time your hand brushed against soft fur there was still a small part of you expecting feathers instead. The realization left behind a quiet disappointment you preferred not to examine too closely. Kaname probably wouldn’t appreciate finding cat fur all over his place once he returned.
As you were finally able to walk without relying on a cane, you carefully gathered the bed sheets to wash them yourself. Before leaving, you picked up the wisteria branch and slipped it into your pocket so the cat wouldn’t ruin it with his claws while you were gone.
As soon as Aoi noticed you carrying the sheets yourself, she immediately began scolding you. “You’re still recovering!”
You ignored her and kept walking. One of the Kakushi quickly tried to take the laundry from your hands. You moved it away before he could touch it.
“I can do it myself.”
“That’s not the point!” Aoi protested.
“It is exactly the point, Aoi,” you said softly. “Please, don’t worry. I’ve been doing this since I was little. A bit of laundry won’t break me apart.”
“But, but, Shinobu…”
“I’ll deal with her. She already knows about my stuborness.”
Aoi sighed loudly “So do I… wait! i’ll come with you and wash some clothes too.”
You and Aoi spent part of the afternoon washing sheets near the estate’s stone wash basin. Warm water steamed faintly against the winter air while snow rested quietly over the garden stones.
The two of you barely spoke anymore. Somewhere along the previous days, silence between you had become comfortable.
While rinsing one of the sheets, something white moved briefly at the edge of your vision. You looked up immediately. Nothing. Probably snow slipping from a branch. Or light playing tricks again.
A few minutes later, while hanging the laundry to dry, you caught the movement once more. White smooth silent. This time your eyes followed it properly. A snake.
Your breath caught slightly. “...Beautiful!” You had never seen one so pale before.
You followed it carefully, keeping the distance so it couldn’t feel menaced. It disappeared from the roof and you followed your way, just to find you facing it at the end of the engawa, slithering down one of the the wooden beams.
Kaburamaru stared at you calmly from the wooden beam, tongue flicking once through the cold air. Strangely enough, it showed no signs of aggression. After a few silent seconds, it simply turned away and slithered back toward its owner, a guy resting on a branch of a tree, black hair, mismatched eye colour and bandaged mouth. ¿Another Hashira? The man seemed between surprised and annoyed, by the frown of his brows. He only stared at you with his snake curled around his neck. Then Shinazugawa appeared by his side.
Wonderful. Now he even brought company.
This time you didn’t resist the urge to roll your eyes.
From the very first meeting, you had already disliked the Wind Hashira. At first, you thought you could deal with him. After all, you had dealt with far worse men before. Worse, but not more persistent. During the entire past week, there hadn’t been a single day he didn’t appear somehow.
On rooftops. In trees. Watching from impossible places like some oversized stray cat with anger issues. Shinobu kept telling you to ignore him, but little by little he truly was getting on your nerves.
Since arriving at the estate, you had been forced to deal with a life completely different from your own. People. Trust. Kindness and care without hidden prices. New routines. New emotions. Misunderstandings. Agreements. And beneath all of it… something important you still had to hide.
All your life, all you had ever wanted was to live normally and peacefully. Before the fire, you had even started wondering whether your life could coexist with other ways of living. Then everything burned down. And afterward, the only thing you wanted was freedom. No matter where. No matter how.
Shinazugawa felt like the opposite of that freedom. Like someone constantly clawing at the walls you built around yourself.
But realistically, what could he possibly know? That you survived? How terrifying. There was no way he knew what truly lay beneath the bandages on your left arm. Not even Shinobu fully knew, despite already seeing it with her own eyes.
Because there were still parts even you didn’t understand completely. The darkest parts. The truths Mother never wanted you to know yet. The ones that disappeared alongside her journal in the flames.
Despite resting more during these past days than in your entire life… you had never felt this exhausted before.
You waved at them with the softest smile you could reach: a tense one. Then, you went back to help Aoi with the laundry. You knew he would follow. He always did.
“A white snake?” Aoi repeated, sounding half alarmed and half surprised. “That’s Kaburamaru, Iguro-sama’s snake.”
“I see…”
“What is he doing here? Is Iguro-sama injured?”
“Nope. Safe and sound.”
“I don’t get …oh.” Judging by her expression, she suddenly understood.
“Ah, you know, it’s getting far too cold to stay outside!” Aoi said quickly. “My fingers are already freezing. And there’s too much laundry to hang here anyway.” She grabbed one of the baskets almost aggressively. “We can hang the rest inside. Come on, I’ll show you where.”
You felt unexpectedly grateful. You weren’t in the mood while hanging the rest of the laundry.
Your hands trembled slightly, not from the cold, but from nerves. Without fully realizing it, you began humming a quiet song your mother used to sing whenever your wound ached badly during childhood. “That’s a lovely song,” Aoi whispered softly. “It sounds… peaceful.” You didn’t answer.
“Look,” she continued after hanging the final piece of laundry, “that’s the last one.” She dusted her hands together dramatically. “After all that hard work, I think we deserve tea and sweets, don’t you?”
Tea and sweets. You knew she was trying to distract you from your unwanted visitors. Unfortunately, your mind refused to let them go. Still… you were willing to try almost anything to ease the heaviness sitting in your chest. So you quietly accepted.
Crossing the garden toward the main building, you found Shinazugawa and Iguro sitting on the engawa stairs, fully blocking the way.
You stopped in front of them, raising a brow.
“Ah, the ladies need to pass,” the Wind Hashira said with a malicious grin. “Where are our manners, Obanai?” His grin widened. “Wait. Did I say ladies? The lady and her stray little thing would be more accurate.”
Thing? Really?
Your hand slipped instinctively beneath your clothes, fingers tightening hard around the wisteria branch as you searched desperately for the little patience you still had left.
“Shinazugawa-sama, please…” Aoi said quietly, respectful despite the fear in her voice.
“Of course, of course.” Both men stood aside at last, finally leaving enough space to pass.
But then Shinazugawa noticed your hidden hand. “Oi,” he called lazily. “What’re ya hidin’ there, thing?” He suddenly caught your sleeve before you could react.
“A branch, you idiot,” you hissed through clenched teeth, showing it to him. “It’s only a branch. Now leave us alone.”
“HA!” The wisteria branch vanished from your hand so quickly you barely processed what happened. “Look at that, Obanai,” Shinazugawa laughed. “The thing’s carrying a stick around like a damn dog.”
Then he threw it across the garden as far as he could. “Go fetch, thing!” He threw the branch, with his strength in a second it was lost in the afternoon sky, nowhere to be seen.
Your heart slammed violently against your ribs.
No. No, no no…
Cold rushed through your veins so suddenly it almost hurt.
No.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” You yelled, letting go all the contained anger. Your fist moved before your thoughts did. The punch landed so fast Shinazugawa barely had time to react, and hard enough to send him crashing straight through the wooden entrance door.
Neither Aoi nor Iguro managed to move before you yelled again.
“You want me to fetch?” you snapped, voice trembling with fury. “Give me a second. I’ll show you what I fetch, you moron.”
You stormed toward the infirmary, unaware of the strange heat beginning to spread through your left arm. And returned only moments later holding your Nichirin sword.
Shinazugawa was already standing again. Blood stained his lower lip.
And the moment he saw the sword in your hands, he smiled.
A victorious, vicious smile.
Your anger burned so violently that every other sound disappeared. Shinobu’s voice. Aoi’s panic. Even your own thoughts.
You never saw Iguro stopping Shinobu from interfering. You only saw Shinazugawa. And the moment his sword left its sheath, you attacked.
Green wind crashed against wisteria-purple light with enough force to shake the entire estate.
You atacked recklessly, fast, losing control. Shinazugawa blocked and avoided all your blows.
“Wassup thing? Ya only got this? How boring!” His evil smile never leaving his lips.
You hated that smile, you wanted to erase that fucking smile from his mouth. Although you couldn’t fully use your breathing, because he wasn’t a demon. And it wasn’t your main arm. You jumped and stroke a blow that make him go back, his feet marking the ground.
---
Sanemi’s pov
“Come on! That’s all ya got? Pathetic!” Sanemi scoffed while easily blocking another strike.
No. This didn’t make sense. Someone fighting like this couldn’t possibly kill demons. That wasn’t what Tengen and Rengoku reported. It couldn’t just be the injuries. There was something else.
His eyes narrowed.
Wait. Those movements… awkward. Forced wrong, fucking wrong. Her stance wasn’t natural. Then he noticed it. The way she kept avoiding pressure on her left side. The hesitation every time he attacked that arm.
…
What if she’s left-handed? A vicious grin slowly spread across his face.
Bingo.
----
He noticed it. That bastard had started directing all his attacks toward your left side. And he was strong. Too strong. You weren’t fast enough to keep compensating anymore. Your left arm burned violently beneath the bandages. But this time… it didn’t feel the same. It wasn’t pain. Or at least, not only pain. It felt different: warmer, sharper, alive.
Your breath caught. Oh shit. That was new. Mother had never warned you about this feeling. It had always hurt before. Only pain. Always pain. But now… the burning almost felt good. The realization shattered your concentration.
Your breathing faltered for half a second. More than enough. Shinazugawa’s strike crashed against you, sending you hard against the snowy ground while your sword slid several meters away.
You forced yourself upright immediately.
No. You couldn’t lose. You couldn’t let him treat you like that. You rushed forward and grabbed your sword with your left hand.
The moment your fingers wrapped around the handle, the burning sensation eased, almost as if the arm itself was feeding strength back into your body.
And then you attacked again. Stronger, faster. Sharper. Every movement flowed unnaturally well compared to before.
The sudden change forced the Wind Hashira onto the defensive for the first time since the fight had begun.
Finally. That arrogant smile disappeared from his face.
And you enjoyed it. Every clash. Every impact. Every strike. The difference between fighting with your right arm and your left was so overwhelming that nobody watching could possibly miss it.
Your eyes gleamed with something dangerously close to greed. You wanted to win.
No. You needed to.
The clash of blades echoed violently through the estate. Green and purple light tore through the snow-covered garden again and again.
Your body moved almost on its own now. Faster. Hungrier. Every successful strike sent another rush of heat through your arm. And somewhere deep inside, something wanted more.
“HAH! There ya are!” Shinazugawa barked with something almost triumphant in his voice while blocking another attack.
You barely heard him. You only wanted to break through his guard. To force him down. To wipe that expression from his face completely.
Then… a familiar caw cut through the chaos. Your movements froze for half a second.
Kaname.
The crow circled overhead frantically.
And suddenly you saw yourself reflected in his terrified cries.
The snow destroyed beneath your feet. The broken wood. The violent purple light pouring from your blade. The hatred twisting inside your chest.
And suddently, Kyojuro’s gentle smile.
Your breathing became uneven.
What…? What was happening to you? Your grip on the sword trembled.
No. No, no, no. This wasn’t right.
You never saw the wind strike coming.
It crashed into your left side with brutal force, sending you violently across the ground. Pain tore through your arm immediately.
Then came the sound. Fabric ripping apart. Your breath stopped. The loosened bandages, stained dark with blood, fell one after another into the snow.
No, not now, not in front of them, please don’t...
You curled around the exposed wound immediately. Shinazugawa’s strike had barely cut your arm, just enough to rip the bandages away. Panic hit you harder than the pain. You tore at your own clothes with shaking hands, desperately trying to cover the exposed skin before he could see it properly.
Footsteps crunched against the snow behind you. Too close. Cold steel suddenly touched your cheek, forcing your head slightly upward.
“Hey,” the Wind Hashira growled. “What the hell are ya hidin’?”
It wasn’t Shinazugawa who made you turn your head. It wasn’t the cold blade against your skin that transformed fear into terror.
It was the breeze. Warm. Familiar. Carrying the frantic caw of a crow and a scent you recognized instantly.
Your breath stopped: he was there, watching you. And the fear in his eyes shattered something inside your chest. No. Anything but that.
Faster than thought itself, you grabbed your sword. “Wisteria Breathing… Second Form: Blindness.” Purple light exploded across the estate, bright enough to swallow the entire garden whole.
N/A: This fic takes place in the world of KNY, but I’ve made a few changes, so it won’t follow the canon story exactly, and the world may work a little differently from the manga and anime.
* Reader x Rengoku. Slow burn
*MDNI
*You must be +18 to follow or interact
*KNY characters and KNY world belong to it's rightful owner.
The wisteria petals proved effective on your other wounds. By nighttime, when Shinobu changed your bandages again, the injuries already looked noticeably better.
“Just as I suspected,” Shinobu murmured while examining them carefully. “Your body reacts to demon cells… and demon cells react to wisteria.”
She carefully adjusted the bandage around your arm. “The main wound seems to be the key to everything.” Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “As I understand it, your entire body has recognized demon cells since birth.”
You remained silent.
“Wisteria shouldn’t affect humans this way,” Shinobu said quietly. “Yet your body responds to it almost instinctively.”
She looked at your arm thoughtfully.
“It calms the main wound… and somehow stimulates the healing of the rest.”
“Great,” you muttered dryly, rolling your eyes. “So I really am a weirdo after all.”
Shinobu smiled faintly while writing another note.
“You know,” she said softly, “I haven’t seen you smile once since you arrived here.”
Your brow furrowed slightly.
“And yet,” Shinobu continued, glancing at you briefly, “you’ve already had several opportunities to.”
A tiny pause.
“Even because of your own sarcasm.”
You looked away. “Do you really think so?” you murmured quietly. “I haven’t found a reason to smile yet.”
Shinobu’s expression softened almost imperceptibly. “Maybe you're too focused on the trees to see the forest”
You weren't entirely sure what she meant.
Shinobu only smiled.
---
You woke up in the middle of the night, shivering slightly. Something felt wrong, missing.
“Kaname?”
Silence. The crow’s usual spot beside the window was empty.
Right. He had left together with Kyojuro for that long mission.
Your fingers tightened around the wisteria branch instinctively. It no longer carried Kyojuro’s scent and the realization left an uncomfortable emptiness inside your chest.
Then your mind returned to that brief moment earlier. The subtle shift in Kyojuro’s expression when Shinobu mentioned the burned temple. Your stomach tightened....What if… No. It couldn’t be. Could it? As the Flame Hashira, perhaps he could discover things villagers couldn’t tell to Shinazugawa’s crow.
But how many years had passed since then? Would anything even remain? You swallowed hard, feeling a little bit dizzy.
…And why were you so afraid? It wasn’t your fault. Right?
…
It wasn’t your fault. But if traces still remained there after all this time… then it would become your word against the evidence. And as the only person who survived that night… you already knew which side people would believe.
---
Time passed slowly and dully. For the first time in years, you found yourself waiting for someone. Steps echoing through the corridor. Wings flapping somewhere in the gardens. Soft voices drifting into your light sleep. You had lived alone for years, and yet… you had never felt time wrap itself around your heart so tightly, dragging you into a hollow kind of loneliness.
Day by day, your bond with Shinobu grew stronger. Slowly and carefully. The two of you were alike in that sense: both had something to gain… and something to lose. So there were still words left unspoken between you.
---
The urge to move became impossible to ignore. You had always been an active person. If there was work to do, you did it. If there wasn't, you found something else to occupy your hands. Resting had never been a habit. It was something you allowed yourself only when the pain became impossible to endure.
Now, your right arm had healed enough already. At the very least, you could practice holding your sword again, even if only from bed. Your belongings rested on a small table near the end of the room. Carefully, you shifted toward the edge of the mattress. One leg first. Then the other. You waited a moment before lowering yourself down, your fingers gripping the mattress tightly for support.
You found yourself thinking about all the times you had nearly fallen lately.
The sudden jolt of panic when you realized you were losing your balance. Followed by the surprise of strong, warm arms catching you before you hit the ground.
If you fell now, no one would be there to catch you this time. You immediately pushed the thought away.
It shouldn't matter. You had spent your entire life relying on yourself.
And yet… For some reason, the idea left a strange emptiness behind.
Once you were sure you could remain standing, you began moving slowly through the room, using the walls and furniture for support. Step by step. The fact that you hadn’t fainted encouraged you slightly, and eventually your movements became a little steadier.
“Already movin’, huh? Need to go somewhere?”
You were only a few steps away from your backpack.
The sudden voice at the doorway startled you hard enough to break your balance instantly. Your foot slipped. Pain exploded through your body the moment you hit the floor. Your head throbbed.
Your left arm burned as though hundreds of heated needles had pierced beneath the skin at once. Fresh red stains slowly bloomed through the bandages.
You knew that voice.
Anger curled your fingers into fists while you forced yourself upright again, carefully keeping your expression blank.
“You’re not welcome here,” you said coldly. “I thought we made that clear last time.”
“Huh?” Shinazugawa leaned casually against the doorway, sounding almost amused. “This is the infirmary, isn’t it? I came because I need treatment for a wound.”
“I’m not Shinobu, am I? Go look for her, then.”
Internally, you prayed he would leave. Your mood was already hanging by a thread. The last thing you needed was Shinazugawa standing there provoking you again. You refused to look weak in front of him And even more than that, you refused to lose control.
Sanemi’s gaze locked onto the blood spreading through the bandages around your left arm.
“Tch. Still bleedin’?” He tilted his head slightly. “What happened? Demon bite you?” His eyes sharpened immediately after. “’Cause that would explain a lot.”
You forced yourself to remain still.
“I just fell to the floor while already injured,” you replied coldly. “That explains enough.”
Sanemi clicked his tongue softly. “Does it?”
“Sanemi!” Shinobu’s voice cut through the room smoothly before he could continue. “Long time no see.” She smiled pleasantly. “How’s Sorai doing?”
You hated how relieved you felt hearing her voice. A part of you longed for someone to rely on. Another part immediately feared the consequences of it.
“I’m here for treatment,” Sanemi scoffed, finally turning his back on you. “And if ya threaten Sorai again, En’s gonna be the one needin’ it next.”
Shinobu’s smile never changed. But her eyes definitely did. Her gaze dropped briefly to the cut bleeding along Sanemi’s side.
“That only needs a few stitches,” she said calmly. “It won’t take long. Come on.”
She turned toward the corridor, and Sanemi followed after her with an irritated click of his tongue.
Before leaving, Shinobu glanced back at you one last time. It wasn’t a warning about Sanemi. It was about your bleeding arm. And about the fact that you were clearly thinking of doing something reckless.
---
Still, you took advantage of already being near your belongings to retrieve your sword. Shinobu was already pissed with you anyway. One more reason wouldn’t make much difference.
Slowly, you made your way back toward the bed, relying mostly on your right arm and using the sheathed sword almost like a cane. By the time you sat down again, your breathing had become uneven from the effort alone.
Your fingers curled instinctively around the handle. You needed to keep practicing with your right arm while winter lasted. Before the spring solstice came.
Mother had been right-handed. Lucky. But you had been born naturally left-handed. So when you decided to learn the sword… you had been forced to divide your training between both hands from the very beginning.
“You took your sword.” Shinobu approached with fresh medicine and clean bandages. “Why am I not surprised?”
You avoided her gaze.
“The Wind Hashira is gone,” she continued calmly. “For now.” Then her eyes shifted briefly toward your left arm. “But don’t forget what Tengen said. He’ll keep coming back until he gets what he wants.” Shinobu raised one eyebrow slightly while preparing the medicine. “So our job is making sure he doesn’t.”
Your grip around the sword tightened faintly. “I’m trying my best to behave,” you muttered. “But there’s something about him that makes me angry, and I don’t even know why.”
Shinobu sighed softly.
“He’s an angry person.” There was no mockery in her voice this time “He had a very difficult past.”
She kept preparing the medicines, adding some ingredients you hadn’t seen before.
“But many of us did.” She added after a pause. Her expression sharpened slightly. “And most of us learned not to throw our burdens onto others.”
“Anyway…” Shinobu adjusted the bottles and bandages beside her. “You’ll have to excuse me.” For the first time since entering the room, she sounded slightly hesitant.
“I studied your mother’s medicine.”
Your eyes lifted immediately toward her.
“I’m sorry,” she added calmly before you could speak. “I should have asked for your permission first… But the nature of my work made me… very interested in it.” Shinobu lowered her gaze briefly to the notebook in her hands. “I’ve been thinking about a few modifications.” Then she looked back at you. “Would you allow me to try them on the main wound?”
Her voice softened slightly. “I’ll understand if you refuse.”
You were tempted to say no. Part of you felt betrayed. Mother’s medicine was one of the few things that still belonged only to the two of you. Dealing with others had a price, and that one was really high.
The more people entered your life, the less control you seemed to have over it.
And yet… Shinobu had helped your other wounds heal. She had bought you time to prepare yourself. She had protected you from Shinazugawa. Slowly, your fingers loosened around the sword handle.
“…Okay.” You looked away before adding quietly: “Let’s do this.”
---
Your small trip from the bed to your belongings, despite the unfortunate fall afterward, was apparently enough to convince Shinobu to finally allow you into the garden.
Feeling fresh air again helped ease some of the anxiety that had been tightening inside your chest for days. Slowly, you began taking short walks through the estate grounds, stopping often to observe the plants growing beneath the snow. The warmth of the winter sun against your skin, the cold snow beneath your feet, birds chirping in the distance, even the estate cat purring beside you, all of it felt strangely close to heaven. And somehow, it helped your recovery more than medicine alone.
One morning, you crushed your breakfast bread into small crumbs before sitting outside on the engawa. The pale winter sunlight felt pleasant against your face. You scattered the crumbs around yourself and lifted your gaze toward the sky, searching for the morning birds. But instead, to your annoyance, you spotted the Wind Hashira sitting atop a tree outside the estate walls. Close enough for you to notice him. Close enough for him to notice you. Your jaw tightened. Didn’t he have anything better to do?
Refusing to let him disturb your peace, you closed your eyes and focused on breathing slowly. It took longer than usual with him watching nearby, but eventually several small birds gathered around you for breakfast.
Little by little, you also found yourself observing the triplets’ games more attentively. Memorizing the rules. The constant laughter, the hugs, the playful pushing and tickling… it all felt painfully different from the life you had known. In your world, love and happiness had existed too. But they had always carried a different meaning.
That day, the girls were playing with a colorful temari ball. Although your legs still felt clumsy from the healing wounds, you eventually gave in and joined them. The first throw landed directly in the snow. But you managed to catch the second one. The triplets quickly explained the rules, and you learned the game with surprising ease. A strange warmth settled quietly inside your chest.
It was the kind of simple joy you had longed for as a child. The kind Mother had never allowed.
Eventually, the ball landed in your hands again. You prepared to throw it toward Sumi, but suddenly, something shifted at the edge of your vision. Your head lifted instinctively. Shinazugawa.
Again. This time resting lazily atop the infirmary roof. Your focus broke instantly. The ball slipped from your hands and rolled far away through the snow instead of reaching Sumi. The little girl looked at you with an adorable pout, completely unaware of what had distracted you.
It was Tengen who picked up the ball before it disappeared into the snow. With an easy grin, he tossed it back toward Sumi.
Then he waved at you casually. You waved back. Not smiling exactly… but not annoyed either.
With Shinazugawa constantly lurking nearby, you had slowly begun to think Tengen wasn’t that bad after all.
—
“Someone’s going to be happy seeing how much she’s improved,” Tengen commented while watching you from the engawa.
Shinobu followed his gaze briefly. A faint smile softened her expression. “I think so too.” Then she glanced sideways at him. “He asked you to keep an eye on her, didn’t he?”
“Yup. Of course he did.” Tengen crossed his arms loosely. “Especially after the way that meeting ended.” A brief silence followed. Then his expression shifted slightly. More serious this time.
“Kocho… there’s something about Shinazugawa’s behavior that’s making me uneasy.”
Shinobu’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
“I heard you two exchanged a few words,” Tengen continued. “But he’s still hanging around here every single day when he could just let Sorai handle the surveillance.”
“En and I also exchanged a few words with Sorai,” Shinobu replied dryly.
Tengen snorted softly. “Yeah, but that’s not the point.” His gaze drifted briefly toward the infirmary roof. “Crows have been sent and received since the very beginning.” A pause. “Do you think there’s a chance he already knows something he hasn’t told the rest of us?”
“Ah…” Shinobu hummed thoughtfully. “How could I possibly know? The wind is notoriously unpredictable.”
Tengen stared at her for a second longer. “You know it’s not that simple.” For once, there was no teasing left in his voice. “As Hashira, and as people, we all have different opinions.” His expression hardened slightly. “But this time, I think Shinazugawa’s crossing a line.” Another pause. “And despite my patience… I’d really like to know why.”
Shinobu avoided his gaze “Yes, me too”
---
Kyojuro was returning from his mission thoughtful, silent, and unusually without his usual smile.
He planned to stop by his home before heading to headquarters to deliver his report. It wasn’t the standard procedure. But then again, this had never been a standard mission.
Demons. He had killed several during the journey back. But those were not the demons he had truly gone searching for. The ones he sought were far harder to see. They lingered in burned wood, in broken remains, in scars left behind long after flames had died. They changed shape depending on who remembered them. Yet in the end, all of them carried something disturbingly similar.
The temple ruins still clung stubbornly to his mind. The smell of ash. Melted wood. Burn marks that years of snow and rain had failed to erase completely. Something about the place felt wrong.
The shape of the destruction. The violence written into the remains of the buildings. Small fragments of frost-covered clay scattered unnaturally far from the main ruins. Even the graves troubled him. There were fewer than there should have been. Far fewer, considering the number of residents and guests the temple records had listed back then.
Some villagers, former Kakushi, and nearby families still remembered a mother and daughter who had lived at the temple during its final year and a half. Quiet. Polite. Efficient. They moved everywhere together. That description fit you disturbingly well. Perhaps that was the information Shinazugawa had received. You were alive. Your mother was missing. And in a tragedy like that, most people naturally focused on the survivor. Especially when so many others who had lived or stayed at the temple remained unnamed even years later.
Guests. Travelers. Temporary residents. The temple had sheltered many people. Kyojuro exhaled slowly. Shinazugawa had probably become so focused on you that he forgot to ask about the guests.
Kyojuro hadn’t.
Arriving at the crossroads leading toward the Butterfly Estate, Kaname suddenly began acting restless. He flew lower than usual, circling anxiously around his master.
“Go ahead, buddy,” Kyojuro said with the faintest trace of a smile. “Let’s surprise her once again.”
Kaname immediately shot toward the estate.
Kyojuro’s chest tightened. He had missed you, but now that you were only minutes away… he wasn’t sure he truly wanted to see you yet. Would he even be capable of smiling naturally? Part of him wished Kaname would simply stay beside you while he returned home first.
Just for a little while. Long enough to think. Long enough to understand what exactly he had discovered. Long enough to decide whether he even should tell anyone.
Then he heard frantic wings cutting through the air. Kaname was flying back toward him. Far too fast. Your name echoed repeatedly through the crow’s panicked cries.
Kyojuro immediately broke into a sprint. The closer he got to the Butterfly Estate, the louder the sounds became. Steel crashing violently. Wood splintering apart. Wind bursting through the garden in sharp green flashes… and purple. Wisteria-purple light.
No. His heartbeat stumbled violently. No, it couldn’t. He pushed himself faster.
Then suddenly… silence. The clash of blades stopped all at once.
By the time Kyojuro crossed the estate entrance, the air itself still trembled from the aftermath of the fight.
Broken wood. Snow scattered across the ground. Deep cuts carved violently into the earth by wind.
And there… his breath caught.
You were kneeling in the snow with your back facing him. One hand pressed desperately against your left arm. Trembling. Your breathing shallow and uneven. Blood stained the snow beneath your knees.
A few meters away stood the Wind Hashira, breathing heavily with his sword still stained red.
For the first time in days, Kyojuro forgot how to smile.
Then you sensed him. Your entire body froze instantly. Slowly… you turned your head just enough to look at him standing there. And the expression in your eyes hurt him far more than the blood. Fear. Not fear of pain. Not fear of Shinazugawa. Fear of him seeing you like that.
Your fingers tightened violently around the torn bandages.
Then, wisteria-purple light exploded across the garden.
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Wisteria and the Flame - Chapter 8: The calm before the storm
WARNING: This fic takes place in the world of KNY, but I’ve made a few changes, so it won’t follow the canon story exactly, and the world may work a little differently from the manga and anime.
* Reader x Rengoku. Slow burn
*MDNI
*You must be +18 to follow or interact
*KNY characters and KNY world belong to it's rightful owner.
The day passsed slowly and quietly. and dull. You laid in your bed with your eyes closed, listening to the triplets play in the garden. You couldn’t fully relax, but at least their laughter was oddly comforting. You wondered if you were too old to play with them. Would it be awkward if you joined them?
Time slipped by while you waited for Shinobu to came back, but when she arrived at the Butterfly Estate she didn’t came to see you. Uneasiness settled heavily in your chest. Pherhaps the meeting had gone badly for you and she didn’t know how to tell you.
Kaname came to spend the night with you, carrying a small bouquet of lush blooming wisterias in his beak. You were amazed by its beauty, softness, vibrant color and intense scent. Someone here must have been taking excellent care of the gardens to keep wisterias blooming even in winter. The first thing you wanted to do when you were allowed outside was see that tree yourself.
The crow also carried a small note attached to his leg, but after so much time without Mother, you had stopped practicing your reading. Besides, you did not want anyone else reading something Kyojuro had written for you.
You already had dinner, but the tray was still beside the bed. You dipped a piece of bread in the stew sauce and broke in smaller bits. The crow nudged your hand and ate savouring his meal. Then you put your face close to the bouquet and barely whispered gently “how can I thank you for that?”
You hid the note close to your heart and put the bouquet inside the water jar, Somehow, receiving the blooming wisterias eased your dark thougths about the meeting. Before you fell asleep, you heard the crow caw “Rengoku-sama wishes you a good night”.
---
The sweet scent of ohagi made you open your eyes early in the morning. It wasn’t a familiar scent, so you looked across the room searching for its source. A man with short white hair and scars covering his face, arms, and chest sat carelessly on the bed beside yours, staring directly at you with large mauve eyes. It wasn’t precisely a warm gaze. You wondered whether Shinobu had allowed this man inside while you were sleeping, but the window beside him stood open. So he had entered without permission. …Alright then. Another Hashira to add to the list. Only five more to meet.
You stared back at him for a moment, but he simply kept watching you in silence. Fine. You had played the stay quiet and stare back game thousands of times before. And usually, the thing that annoyed people like that the most was being ignored. So after a few seconds, you calmly turned your head away as if you were alone in the room.
After a moment, he scoffed.
“You always ignore people when they stare at you like that?”
“Do you always stare at injured people while they sleep without saying a word?”
One of his eyebrows twitched slightly.
“You’re either fearless or stupid.”
“Says the man climbing through windows before sunrise.”
“Tch.” He narrowed his eyes. “So… what exactly are you?”
“Someone trying to sleep,” you replied, swallowing a yawn.
“Ha.” He grinned. Not a normal grin. A sharp, knowing one. The kind of grin that made it clear he knew something you didn’t.
And for the first time since waking up, uneasiness crawled slowly beneath your skin. Shinobu still hadn’t returned to see you. You knew nothing about the Hashira meeting from the previous day.
“Y’know,” Sanemi said lazily, “I got some pretty interesting information about you last night.”
His grin widened, colder now.
“So if you don’t start explaining yourself… I will.”
Stay calm, you told yourself. You still didn’t know how much he knew. He could be bluffing. Or not. Either way, do not reveal anything yet, first, see what he has. You forced your expression to remain neutral.
“A burned temple in the mountains,” Sanemi said casually. “No survivors were ever found.”
Your fingers stopped moving instantly. Just for a second. But he noticed. He was a Hashira. They were trained to notice things that small. Of course he noticed. And then he returned the words to you.
“Go on, then.” A sharp grin spread across his face as he subtly shifted his posture.
Ready.
You recognized that stance immediately. If you tried to run, he would catch you before you even reached the window.
“Shinazugawa.” Shinobu’s voice cut cleanly through the room.
“Breaking into my patients’ rooms through the window this early in the morning is terribly rude, you know?”
“Tch. She reacts interestingly when asked the right questions.”
Shinobu’s smile did not falter. “She is here to rest and recover, not to be interrogated.”
Sanemi clicked his tongue. “If there’s something dangerous about her, I’m not waiting around politely.”
“And are you judging that based on a single crow report?” Shinobu asked calmly. “You sent your crows. I sent mine as well. We’ll examine all the information once it arrives.”
His gaze sharpened slightly. “Do you really think I’d let someone dangerous near Oyakata-sama?”
“I think,” Shinobu replied softly, “that Oyakata-sama will decide that himself.”
Silence stretched for a second. Then Shinobu looked toward the still-open window.
“Now,” she added pleasantly, “my patient requires treatment and proper rest. Preferably without Hashira climbing through windows before sunrise.”
Shinazugawa stared at you for a long moment.
“I’ll be watching you closely,” he said flatly. “So be careful what you do.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t care if you already got yourself a little fan club.”
Then, without waiting for an answer, he climbed back out through the window and disappeared.
---
You didn’t speak to Shinobu immediately. You needed time to process what you had just heard.
Shinobu didn’t speak either. She simply examined your wounds in silence.
The two of you remained quiet, each organizing your thoughts about what had just happened.
Your mind felt crowded. Now there were two people holding different half-truths about you. Two people capable of digging deeper. Shinobu knew about the wound. And Shinazugawa knew about the temple. Between the two of them, Shinazugawa frightened you more. Shinobu had defended you several times already, directly or indirectly. But him… He looked at you like someone waiting for a reason.
And now they were sending crows to the safe houses. They knew you had lived there. But aside from the temple, the others couldn’t possibly know anything important… could they? No. They couldn’t. You had always been careful. Especially after the temple fire. The thought made your stomach tighten. Lowering your guard here had been a mistake. Because of it, your two darkest monsters had already surfaced.
“Beautiful wisterias,” Shinobu said softly after a while. “And such a lovely scent. I see someone keeps taking good care of you.”
The comment pulled you abruptly out of your thoughts.
“What? Who— oh.” Heat rushed instantly to your face.
“Uhm… yes. They’re… magnificent.” Your hand moved instinctively toward your chest, suddenly remembering the note hidden beneath your clothes.
Shinobu smiled slightly, and you hid the note below your pillow while she was preparing some more bandages.
“It seems that with the wisteria branch and bouquet your wounds are healing better” She said when she finished. "Maybe I’ll have to turn the infirmary into a wisteria room.”
“I won’t complain about that” you said softly.
Shinobu took a deep breath. “It’s time we talk about serious things, don’t you think?”
“Yes.” Your answer came too fast.
You looked at each other for a few seconds.
“As you may have already noticed, some Hashira don’t trust in you.” Shinobu said quietly “But not all of them. Some don’t trust you, some do.” Although she was measuring her words, she ended abruptly.
“But?”
“But you need to understand that you are a mistery to all of us and I didn’t tell them about your wound yet, still… please, try to understand that we mean you no harm, but our duty as demon slayers not only is slaying demons, we have a Master and a whole organization to protect too.”
“I won’t...”
“I know” She said “But we all need to know it. There are some companions that want to have more information about you before they decide.”
“The crows”
“Yes, for now. Your wound would be another breaking point.” She sighed “It’s all very delicate to say, and don’t want you to misunderstand it. As a scientist, I can’t blame those who want more information, and as a Corps member neither can I blame those who don’t trust you.”
“So” You said more dryly than intended “You trust me. But you also want more information about my wound, because of your job, and because you think that if you could help me you could help your cause too.”
“Yes.”
A simple yes. The truth was always easier to hear, even when it worked against you. At least then you knew what to expect. Truly honest people were rare when serious matters were involved. That remembered you that trust was something that had to be earned in either ways.
Sharp knocks against the window interrupted the silence, followed by quick footsteps in the corridor. This time, Kyojuro entered the room before Kaname did.
He looked worried.
“Hey, what happened?”
“Good morning to you too, Rengoku,” Shinobu said dryly.
He immediately straightened.
“Good morning! I hope the unwanted visit didn’t ruin the atmosphere too much.” His expression sharpened again as he looked back at you. “What did Shinazugawa want?”
“To take a look at the weirdo resting in your infirmary,” you replied flatly.
Shinobu smiled faintly.
“Huh?” Kyojuro looked around the room exaggeratedly. “I don’t see any weirdo here.” He tilted his head thoughtfully. “Perhaps Shinazugawa was looking for a mirror?”
Your lip twitched slightly. It could hardly be called a smile, but the comment genuinely amused you.
Shinobu noticed Kyojuro’s eyes brighten at that tiny reaction, but you were already turned to the window, trying to reach it to let Kaname inside.
“Ah, we may not have a weirdo here,” Shinobu said while opening the window herself, “but one stubborn patient is already more than enough. Now, if you excuse me, I’ll go prepare the medicine for the next bandage change.” She said, looking at Kyojuro and you with half a grin.
She glanced between the two of you with the faintest hint of amusement before leaving.
Neither of you noticed. You were busy petting Kaname. And Kyojuro was busy watching you with a broad smile.
“Uhm… I…” You stroked Kaname’s feathers carefully. “Thank you for the wisterias. They’re beautiful… and very well cared for.”
“Oh, that’s nothing! There are thousands of them at the headquarters!”
Your eyes widened immediately.
“Thousands?”
“Yes! There’s a large path full of them, and they bloom also in the inside gardens! Our Master knows how to keep them at full bloom all year!”
“All year?” Your expression looked almost disbelieving now.
Kyojuro’s smile softened. “Did you read the note?”
“Ah, ouch…. I… I…” Heat crept into your face instantly. “I wanted to but… you see… I can’t read properly so… I… I kept it…” Your fingers tightened slightly around Kaname. “I wanted to be alone to read it carefully…” You had never been ashamed for not being able to read, but now, in front of him it felt like an enormous flaw.
“Don’t worry about that!!” Kyojuro said immediately, with absolute sincerity. “The note only said that once you’re fully recovered, I’ll take you to see them myself!”
You blinked “You will?”
“HAHAHA of course!!!” he replied proudly. “If you’re already this excited over a tiny bouquet, I want to see your face when you witness the real thing!”
“Thank you…” you whispered softly. “I would really love to see them.”
“I know,” he answered gently.
For a few seconds, neither of you looked away, until you remembered you were surely looking like a child discovering the world for the first time. Embarrassed, you quickly lowered your gaze back to Kaname’s feathers.
---
Kyojuro grew quieter when Shinobu returned with fresh bandages and medicine.
“So,” he asked, looking between both of you, “what exactly did Shinazugawa want? Did something happen?”
You and Shinobu exchanged a brief glance.
“Shinazugawa received information about a burned temple,” Shinobu answered calmly.
For the first time since entering the room, Kyojuro went still. Just for a second. Then his usual smile returned immediately.
“A burned temple?” he repeated lightly. “How curious.”
But something in his expression had changed. So slightly most people would never have noticed it.
You did.
“Ah! In that case, I should probably leave you both alone for the bandage change!” he said suddenly, standing up. Too suddenly. “Kaname, behave yourself!”
The crow cawed proudly.
And before either of you could say anything else, Kyojuro was already gone.
---
After treating the rest of your wounds, Shinobu sat back down without reaching for fresh bandages immediately.
“Do you remember our previous conversation? she asked softly. “I told you I noticed your blood recognizes demon cells and reacts to them.”
You nodded slightly.
“I also noticed your wounds respond positively to wisteria. Especially after Rengoku brought you the branch and flowers.”
She hesitated for a second.
“Would you mind if I tried something new?”
“Go on.” What did you really have to lose? Mother had already tried countless remedies after the generations before her. She had kept detailed notes about what helped, what failed, and what made things worse. But your kind had always been hunted. Some diaries had been lost over time. And Mother’s diary had disappeared with the temple. If Shinobu’s attempt failed, you could endure the pain. If it worked… then all the better.
“Forgive me for this,” Shinobu murmured. carefully, she picked several wisteria petals from the bouquet Kyojuro had sent you. Then, one by one, she placed them over the wounds before wrapping fresh bandages around them.
You shivered faintly.
Shinobu looked up immediately.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not much. It’s more like… a prickling sensation.” You flexed your fingers slightly. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
Shinobu nodded and wrote something inside her notebook. “Then the wounds are reacting to it,” she said thoughtfully. “Even if you can tolerate the pain, tell me immediately if you notice any changes.”
She paused briefly. “Have you tried this before?”
“Not on normal wounds.” You frowned slightly. “Or maybe… yes. I’m not sure anymore.”
“That’s alright,” Shinobu replied calmly. “We’ll observe the results tonight.”
Her expression softened slightly afterward. “And the main wound? How has it been lately?”
“Fine. As always.”
Shinobu gave you a very pointed look. “I’ll need a more precise answer than that,” she said gently. “You’ve already proven to be unusually resistant to pain.”
You looked away for a moment, thinking. “It’s… always uncomfortable,” you admitted quietly. “But it reaches its worst point during the spring solstice.”
Shinobu’s pen stopped moving.
“Then it calms down through spring and summer. In autumn it starts itching again… and winter makes it worse.”
You lowered your gaze slightly. “Still, I have Mother’s medicine. It has to be adjusted depending on the symptoms… and during the spring solstice, it becomes absolutely necessary.”
Shinobu remained silent for several seconds. Her pen no longer moved.
“A seasonal cycle…” she murmured almost to herself. Then her eyes lifted back to yours, sharper now.
“Does the pain worsen gradually as winter advances… or suddenly?”
“Gradually.”
She wrote that down immediately.
“And during the spring solstice…” Shinobu’s voice became quieter. “What happens if you don’t take it?”
You already had a lie prepared. Too many years surviving had taught you to think ahead. Long nights alone with no one to speak to had their advantages. But before you could answer, hurried claws tapped against the wooden frame outside.
Kaname suddenly stiffened.
A crow landed on the window.
“En!” Said Shinobu “What happens?”
“Sorai! Sorai!” Said En, Shinobu’s crow.
Shinobu’s expression changed instantly with Anger. She stood up so abruptly even you flinched slightly.
“Sorai?!”
Before you could react, Shinobu jumped out of the window into the garden.
“Tell your master that if he wants information,” she shouted upward, smiling far too sweetly, “he can come and get it himself if he dares.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “And if I catch you spying around my infirmary again, I’ll make crow soup for dinner.”
Sorai cawed loudly in alarm and took off immediately. Kaname and En chased after him at once, helping the terrified crow escape Shinobu’s wrath.
Silence returned to the room.
You stared at the open window for several seconds.
“…She was serious about the soup,” you murmured quietly. “I hope Sorai doesn’t come back.”
“Knock knock!” Tengen appeared at the doorway with a broad grin.“May I come in? I promise I’m a far flashier visitor than Shinazugawa’s crow.”
“Hm. If you misbehave, we already threw Shinazugawa himself out once today, you know?” You said dryly.
“Sanemi? Really?” Tengen laughed openly. “Brilliant! That would had been a really amusing thing to see.”
You frowned slightly. You still weren’t exactly Tengen’s biggest admirer.
Tengen raised both hands dramatically. “Alright, alright, I’ll behave. Promise.”
The mischievous grin on his face made that promise extremely questionable.
“Tengen,” Shinobu sighed while returning through the main door, “what are you doing here?”
“Oh, come on, even you too?” he complained theatrically. “I only came to visit our patient. Is that a crime now?”
“Not yet.”
Tengen entered anyway and dropped himself comfortably onto the chair beside your bed. This time, however, his expression softened slightly.
“I see you’re recovering well.”
“I am,” you admitted quietly. “Thanks to Shinobu.”
“Ah, you’re forgetting someone else.” His gaze drifted toward the wisteria bouquet.
Before you could answer, Shinobu crossed her arms lightly.
“I thought you were on Shinazugawa’s side.”
Tengen’s smile faded just enough to become serious. “And I am. Partially.” He leaned back slightly. “But I don’t approve of his methods.”
Then he looked directly at you. “Don’t misunderstand me, honey. I have nothing against you personally. My loyalty is to Oyakata-sama first.” His voice remained calm now. “And objectively speaking… you have to admit we know almost nothing about you.”
You said nothing.
“But unlike Shinazugawa,” he continued, “I can be patient. I can wait for information before deciding what I think.”
You lowered your eyes slightly. “Still… if you had to throw a demon at me, you would.”
“Definitely,” he answered immediately. Then he grinned again. “Not right now, of course. But once you recover? Be careful.” He winked playfully.
“Still, I’m not here to tease you today.”
His eyes briefly moved toward: the bouquet, the branch in your hand, and finally Kaname.
“Rengoku’s been sent on a mission.”
Your stomach tightened instantly.
“He’ll probably be gone for around a week.”
A week? What kind of mission lasted an entire week?
Tengen stood up and gently scratched Kaname beneath the beak. “And I’m afraid your friend here has to go too.”
Another small emptiness opened inside your chest. Kaname had been the first constant thing in this strange place. Then came the branch. Then...
“Don’t worry, honey.” Tengen looked at you knowingly. “He’s strong. He’ll come back safe and sound.”
Your chest tightened further. Why would he say that? Had your expression betrayed you somehow?
No. It couldn’t have. It shouldn’t have.
“Anyway!” Tengen clapped his hands once, instantly lightening the atmosphere again. “Take care of those wounds. A week passes in the blink of an eye.”
Then his smile sharpened slightly. “And keep an eye on Shinazugawa. He can become dangerously obsessive once something gets stuck in his head.”
He walked toward the door. “Come on, Kaname! Goodbye, beauties!”
And just like that, he was gone.
Leaving behind a strange feeling of emptiness. Deep down, you knew exactly where it came from. But years of surviving had taught you to ignore those kinds of feelings before they became dangerous.
WARNING: This fic takes place in the world of KNY, but I’ve made a few changes, so it won’t follow the canon story exactly, and the world may work a little differently from the manga and anime.
*KNY characters and KNY world belong to it's rightful owner.
Silence filled the room completely. Even the sounds outside seemed distant suddenly.
Shinobu did not move for several seconds. Not because she was frightened. Because now she finally understood something terrible. Not fully, but enough. And for the first time since waking up in the Butterfly Estate, you saw a Hashira look at you not like a warrior, nor a mystery or a danger. But like someone who had been suffering since the very beginning.
You swallowed hard, feeling your heart beating against your ribs. Goosebumps spread across your arms and neck.
Shinobu slowly raised her hand, doubting. You moved slightly away your arm, and she put her hand back immediately. You studied her face carefully. She was paler than the snow that covered the fields outside. Her poker face was good, but still, she did not look afraid nor disgusted by the sight of your wound. Then, hesitantly, you offered your arm again, trusting for the first time in someone who wasn’t Mother.
The doctor took a deep breath. There was shock in her eyes, and concern. She did not look at you with pity. Nor with fear, not even like a warrior. Only like what you truly were: a survivor. Somehow, that mattered more than you expected.
For some minutes, she didn’t speak. Her eyes move slowly analizing textures, shapes, smell, the skin around the wound.
- “Does it spread?”
- “Oh, uhm, for now it has just grew as I grew.”
- “Does it react to sunlight?”
You hesitated. “I’ve never tried myself, but Mother said that it hurt like hell itself.”
Shinobu looked up immediately
“...your mother knew about this?”
The question made you remain silent for a second too long.
“...Yes.” you answer sounded a little bit reluctant.
Shinobu remained silent for a long moment, thinking carefully. Her fingers adjusted slightly over her sleeve before she finally stood up.
“I need to attend the Hashira meeting,” she said softly.
Your entire body tensed immediately.
She noticed.
“I won’t speak about this carelessly,” Shinobu added. “But this… is beyond ordinary medicine.”
Your grip tightened around the wisteria branch.
“Will you tell them?”
Shinobu looked at you for a moment.
“I don’t know yet.”
Somehow, honesty felt more frightening than reassurance.
Shinobu brought you fresh bandages and your backpack so you could renew the medicine properly. Then, she left.
An uneasy silence filled the room. You were alone again, but your ghosts remained with you. Holding the wisteria branch close, still with a slight Kyojuro’s scent, you wondered if trusting the doctor had been a mistake. You didn’t fully understand why you trusted her, but the fact was that you did. For years you had Mother, she had been certainty itself. Even after losing her, you kept following her advices and rules, but somehow, without her, they had slowly begun to feel... empty. You hated to admit that Kyojuro had been right, you were tired and pushing your limits, not only physical limits, mentally too. For years, surviving had been enough. Keep moving, fighting. hiding. Never stop long enough to think about anything else. But now, lying there surrounded by warmth, food, medicine, and quiet voices…you realized you missed having someone to rely on.
Your fingers tightened slightly around the wisteria branch. Maybe Shinobu deserved a chance. She was the first person who had looked at your pain and tried to understand it instead of fearing it.
Maybe… you could stay a little longer. The real question was whether the others would ever understand it too.
---
Shinobu made her way to the headquarters with no rush, despite she was already late for the meeting. She knew you were different, but she had not expected to find what looked disturbingly close to a demonic mark carved into your body. The others would not accept that easily, what meant that she had to choose what to say and what not to say, to keep you safe. If only she had more time, she could have sent crows to the safe houses first, asking questions about you to soften the impact before revealing it to the Hashira. Thinking about you, you did not resemble what they would imagine. You were cautious, withdrawn… but gentle. Kind to Kaname, overwhelmed by the triplets and Aoi rather than irritated by them. Almost vulnerable. The only moment you had turned feral was when she tried to remove the bandages. But now Shinobu understood why.
---
Shinobu paused along the wisteria path before entering headquarters. The flowers bloomed lush and vibrant despite the winter cold, and inevitably, they made her think of you. You would probably love this place. And perhaps fresh wisteria would soothe your wound better than the dried compounds inside your medicine. If Kyojuro had not thought about it already (which seemed highly unlikely) she would bring you some blossoms later.
After entering the estate, she paid her respects to Amane-sama and the children before heading toward the meeting room.
She knocked softly before entering, waiting for Oyakata-sama’s permission. Once inside, she apologized for her delay and took her place among the Hashira, immediately feeling eight pairs of eyes fixed on her. For the first time in a long while, the attention felt heavy.
Shinobu took a slow breath and swallowed subtly before lifting her head, waiting for Oyakata-sama to speak first.
“Shinobu, how is our guest recovering?” Said Oyakata-sama
“She arrived with several serious injuries caused by a demon attack, just as Rengoku and Tengen had reported,” Shinobu began calmly. She measured every word carefully, her voice composed despite the slight tension beneath it.
“She also showed symptoms of extreme exhaustion, chronic pain, malnourishment, and… a certain reluctance toward receiving treatment.”
From the corner of her eye, Shinobu caught Tengen rolling his eyes at her diplomatic wording. A delicate way to describe someone going feral the moment anyone touched the bandages on her arm.
Thankfully, for once, he kept the comment to himself.
“I treated her wounds following my usual procedures, including blood analysis and the appropriate medication depending on the nature of each injury.” Shinobu folded her hands neatly over her lap. “I also adjusted her meals accordingly. Her body has been under severe strain for a very long time, and proper nutrition will be essential for her recovery.”
“She is reacting to the treatment as expected, maybe a little slow due to malnourishment, but except the first moments, now she is not reluctant anymore to being treated.”
“Of course she is not” Sanemi scoffed, “She’s getting treated for free”
Shinobu’s smile did not move “She has never expected of being treated for free, Shinazugawa. In fact, some wounds reopened when she tried to help the girls with their chores” Shinobu replied.
“Two witnesses here” Tengen added lazily, pointing at Rengoku and himself.
Rengoku and Shinobu resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Technically, it was only half true. But they appreciated that, for once, Uzui had decided to cooperate.
“Oh, so she is a saint now?” Sanemi snapped “What about that big demon thrown at you both? Forgot it already?”
“We handled it without difficulty, Shinazugawa” Kyojuro replied evenly.
Still,” Obanai interrupted calmly, “she ran from you. I heard it took four days to track her down.” His mismatched eyes narrowed slightly. “People with nothing to hide do not usually run.”
“Running from someone can be due to fear too” Rengoku answered
“So what? Fear or guilt, nobody runs for no reason.” Sanemi cutted sharply “There’s something extra there that she is not telling us, beginning with that new breathing technique and how she got her nichirin sword”
“Hm…” Muichiro tilted his head slightly. “Crows usually don’t trust people for no reason either.”
“Exactly!” Rengoku added “Kaname accepted her from the very first moment”
“I’m not sure we should base our judgment on a crow’s instincts,” Obanai replied flatly.
“I agree” Sanemi muttered
Tengen shrugged lightly. “Well, she has some strange vibes, that’s true… but for now I don’t think she is a threat.” His gaze shifted briefly toward Kagaya. “Still, I would like to have more information about her to have a proper opinion.”
“That poor child was frightened enough that she developed her own breating style” Gyomei said quietly “But we can’t forget our duty as demon slayers”
“I’ll reserve my judgment until we have more information,” Tomioka said quietly. His expression remained unreadable. “For now, I do not trust someone who hides things. But… if there is a reason behind it, my opinion may change.”
Mitsuri hesitated before speaking, fingers nervously twisting together over her lap. “I-I mean… we probably shouldn’t rely entirely on a crow’s behavior…” she said softly, clearly uncomfortable disagreeing with Obanai. “But Shinobu is always very rational, and Rengoku-san is kind-hearted, so…” Her green eyes lowered slightly. “Maybe learning more about her would help.”
“So, we all agree that more information is necessary,” Oyakata-sama said quietly.
“Forgive me for interrupting, Master,” Sanemi spoke with the particular respect reserved only for Kagaya himself.
“If she has been staying in our safe houses, I can send crows to gather information about her.”
Shinobu and Kyojuro exchanged the briefest glance.
Too quick. Neither of them had expected Shinazugawa to move immediately toward investigation.
“Well then, we shall meet again once we have gathered more information about the girl. Go in peace, my children.”
Everyone bowed respectfully.
“Oyakata-sama.”
As they left the headquarters, Sanemi and Obanai were already nowhere to be seen. Kyojuro guessed they had begun sending crows across the country already, and felt his stomach tighten slightly.
Mitsuri looked back at him before leaving.
“Don’t worry, Rengoku-san. I’m sure everything will be alright.”
Kyojuro gave her a warm smile and bowed lightly in return.
Then he sensed Tengen approaching from behind.
“You’re in trouble.”
“Why?”
“Because you care.”
“Of course I care! She’s injured and alone, Uzui.” He frowned slightly. “Besides, you did not help much with that.”
Tengen laughed under his breath.
“I only said what I thought. And I know you wouldn’t want me to do otherwise.”
“Hm… true… but…” Kyojuro paused and took a deep breath “…Never mind.”
Tengen watched him for a second before grinning to himself. “Oh no. He really has no idea.”
Before the meeting had even fully ended, Kasugai crows were already being sent across the country.
Shinobu remained silent for a long moment, thinking carefully. Her fingers adjusted slightly over her sleeve before she finally stood up.
“I need to attend the Hashira meeting,” she said softly.
-
“Oh, so she is a saint now?” Sanemi snapped “What about that big demon thrown at you both? Forgot it already?”
“We handled it without difficulty, Shinazugawa” Kyojuro replied evenly.
Still,” Obanai interrupted calmly, “she ran from you. I heard it took four days to track her down.” His mismatched eyes narrowed slightly. “People with nothing to hide do not usually run.”
Chapter 8
Kaname came to spend the night with you, carrying a small bouquet of lush blooming wisterias in his beak.
-
“Y’know,” Sanemi said lazily, “I got some pretty interesting information about you last night.” His grin widened, colder now.
New ideas
+ For now, I have many chapters of "Wisteria and the flame" in my mind. It won't end soon. I have many endings in mind though, from happy to bittersweet to sad. But there's still story to tell to get there.
+ I'm trying several fics called "The muralist (you) x character", as an experiment.
+ I also have in my mind to write "A burning flame", and "Two burning flames" as precuels of "Three burning flames"
I hope all of them to be out this year! (except WaF's end maybe)
WARNING: This fic takes place in the world of KNY, but I’ve made a few changes, so it won’t follow the canon story exactly, and the world may work a little differently from the manga and anime.
*KNY characters and KNY world belong to it's rightful owner.
Kyojuro left you with Kaname without waiting to hear your name. He knew already your reluctance to answer questions and prefered to let you tell him when you felt ready to. Besides, you bonding with Kaname was a nice surprise. For him, it was obvious you were not a bad person. But watching you welcome the crow so gently despite your distrust made this certainty even deeper. From now on, he would let Kaname come to you whenever the bird pleased, and so he would have an excuse to visit you too.
---
A delicious smell made you stir in your dreamless sleep. You opened your eyes when you felt a cold space where Kaname was resting. He must have gone home with his owner. Kyojuro, he said. Kyojuro, flames, warm, strong hands… the smell lingering in the air made you turn your head toward the night table. There was a wooden tray with a bowl of warm stew, a couple of onigiri, an apple and a glass of water with two pills. It was all carefully settled, looking like a perfect piece of art you didn’t dare to touch.
“You’re awake!” said an excited childish voice.
“We’ve brought you dinner!” Said another one.
“Eat before it gets cold, it’s much better while it’s warm!” Said a third one.
You blinked one, two, three times, confused. Three identical little girls with different hairstyles stood in the front of your bed, smiling happily. You weren’t sure what felt more overwhelming: the triplets, or the hot meal.
“Oh, hum, is that... for me?”
“Of course!”
“From whom if not?”
“You’re our only patient now.”
“You fell asleep with Kaname, Rengoku-sama dind’t want to wake you up and he went home.”
“It got late while you were sleeping, so we made you some dinner.”
“We hope you like it!!”
The triplets kept talking one at a time, but as if they were one person. With the stew’s scent lingering in the air, you felt your stomach growl, and you realized that you hadn’t eaten anything in two days at least.
“Aww, your stomach is growling”
“Come on, eat”
“You’ll feel better!”
Their gazes were all three cute, tender and innocent. A freckled face from your past came suddenly to mind. It had been a very long time since someone had looked at you that way. Somehow, it hurt… But before your brain could process the meaning of those memories an angry voice broke the moment, startling you.
“Enough you three, let her eat in peace.” An older girl with two pig tails tied with beautiful butterflies came angrily to the triplets. “Come on, go to finish your night tasks!”
“Okay!”
“Enjoy your meal!”
“Sleep well!”
And the three of them were gone in a blink.
“Sorry if they bothered you, sometimes they can be really overwhelming” said the older girl.
”It’s ok” You said. In fact, it was beyond overwhelming, but it wasn’t fair to blame the girls for you being not used to deal with so much attention.
“So, here’s your dinner. I hope you like it!” She said in a kindest tone “Don’t forget to take the pills when you finish. They’ll help with pain and sleep”
You turned to pick the tray, but the girl picked it quickly before you. “Hey, you are the patient. Let us do our job, and do yours, which is resting and getting well”
“Oh, uhm, i’m sorry…”
“There’s no need to apologize” she said, lowing her tone “Just rest and let us take care of you. I’ll come later for the tray, enjoy your meal, and don’t forget to take the pills!”
You swallowed as she went out the room. Your stomach was yelling for food, and your brain was full of new things to process. Rest. Do nothing but eat, sleep, and take pills. It couldn’t be that easy, could it? You were prepared for a long night thinking too much, but your dinner was the most delicious and conforting that you could remember ever tasting. When you finished, your body went to the next stage and you fell alseep before your head touched the pillow.
---
The temple was on fire. You tried to reach the engawa, but the fire was out of control and the air too thick to breathe. People covered in fire were throwing themselves to the snow, desperate to soothe the burns. Others, simply died where they stood, burnt alive.
You wake up suddenly, gasping for air, looking around the room as if it was an illusion. You blinked due to the excess of light. Warm sunrays filled the your bed and all the room, announcing a cloudless winter day. Cloudless days, frozen nights, Mother used to say. You pushed yourself upright with effort, ignoring the sharp sting pulling from your wounds. Leaning on the bedside table you reached for the window and slid it open slightly, letting in some fresh air. A dull ache throbbed immediately through your wounds. You saw some fresh blood on some bandages beneath your yukata, the doctor would not be pleased. Flapping wings and caws outside made you know that Kaname was there, pherhaps with two more crows, as you could distinguish three different tones among the caws. You were already laying on the bedside table, and despite the pain, you found yourself moving toward the window again, intending to open it wider for the crow to get in. The outer frame was frozen, and your hand slipped, making you lose your balance.
“Hey! Careful!” A pair of strong arms caught you before you could fall. Again. At this point, you wondered how many times this man had already stopped you from falling. You froze, he was close, far too close. his hands steadied you, carefully avoiding your injuries.
“I… I just wanted to..”words felt awkward on your throat.
“I know” Kyojuro said gently behind you, like someone who has already been there. Oh God, his face was so close to yours that you could feel his warm breath brushing near your ear “But your wounds are still fresh, it’s too soon to get up.”
Before you could protest, his arms shifted carefully, one beneath your knees. And the other supporting your back. Suddenly, you were no longer standing at all. He carried you back to the bed as though you weighed nothing.
The door slid open at that exact moment. You turned in fear it was the doctor. But it was someone worse. “Well, well,” Tengen’s amused voice drawled instantly. “Practicing already? That was fast.”
You stiffened so suddenly Kyojuro almost stopped walking. “What?” he asked, genuinely confused.
Tengen grinned shamelessly, leaning against the doorway. “The bridal carry. Very flashy.”
Realization arrived on Kyojuro’s face a full second later. “AH.” His ears went red.
Your entire body went rigid. “I-it was necessary...” you started at the exact same time Kyojuro said: “She almost fell!”
Tengen looked between the two of you and laughed openly. “Oh, this is going to be entertaining.” he slipped to the corridor in a second “Shinobu! Can you take a look at my knee please?” And he was gone.
In the room, you could cut the air with a knife. There was another thing you hated about people, that awkward moments when you didn’t know how to react and what to say… and the feeling of being ashamed. Since you met these pair of men, you have felt uneasy more times than in your whole life.
Kyojuro left you in your bed and helped to cover you with the sheets.
“I..I heard Kaname outside.” you said avoiding his gaze.
“Yes! Your ears are very accurate! He is here, we have a meeting with our master in an hour, i thought I could pass and see how were you doing.”
“I am f... well, you see… I’m… uh…. Pierced and attached to a bed.”
He laughed out loud. You looked at him, wondering what was funny about that, because you weren’t joking.
“Oh, I forgot. I brought you this.” He said, handing you a thick wisteria branch. “It was lying on the ground. I think the snowstorm and the wind must have broken it.”
Your eyes widened. Wow. Usually, you would have noticed the scent the moment he stepped into the room. But with all your senses helplessly embarassed and confused, your mind had completely failed you. How could you ever repay such a perfect gift?
“¿Rengoku?” Shinobu appeared at the doorway.
“¿Yes?” He turned back immediately.
“Tengen is waiting for you outside” Shinobu’s smile softened almost knowingly. “Don’t wait for me, I’ll join you in a minute.”
“Allright then!” He looked back at you “Take care and let your injuries heal properly, or you’ll be pierced and attached to a bed even more” He added, with a playful wink.
Your cheeks turned pink, but he was already leaving. He didn’t see the faint blush spreading across your face, just like he hadn’t noticed another things before.
Shinobu did.
---
Rengoku found Tengen at the training grounds, practising with his swords. “How’s your knee old man?” He greeted him with a broad smile.
“Ouch, it hurts, you’ll have to carry me all the way to headquarters” He replied with a mischievous grin and an exxagerateed limp.
“Hahaha shut up!” Kyojuro drew his sword and lunged at him immediately, catching him off guard for half a second. Tengen reacted as fast as sound itself.
“Whoa! Easy man!” he laughed, blocking the strike. “Your bridal carrying is too sloppy and stiff, I was only offering myself as practice, since your damsel is grounded in the infirmary.” Said him, keeping the teasing.
“She was injured and in pain Uzui, you would have done the same.” Kyojuro replied, without letting him land a proper blow.
“HA! My bridal carrying is far more skillful and spicy than yours, injured or not. Want me to show you how it’s properly done?”
Rengoku intensified his speed, attacking faster and heavier the sound pillar, Flames burst through the air as Tengen barely avoided another strike. “Oh? Touchy.”
“You are still talking too much, my friend.”
Tengen grinned wildly. “And you’re still denying what’s obvious.”
The next clash forced him back a full step. Then another. Then Kyojuro swept his leg hard enough to throw the Sound Hashira to the ground, sword stopping right beneath his chin. For a second, neither moved. Then Tengen burst out laughing.
“There it is! That’s the face!”
Kyojuro blinked. “What face?”
“The one you make when someone mentions her.”
“…I do not make a face.”
“You absolutely do.”
Kyojuro pulled him back to his feet with one hand. “You are imagining things, Uzui.”
“Oh, I’m not imagining anything,” Tengen said, still grinning. “You brought her flowers.”
“It was a broken branch.”
“You carried her.”
“She was injured and couldn’t walk properly.”
“You visited her first thing in the morning.”
“She almost fell on the floor, she was bleeding.”
“You looked ready to kill me when I joked about your wedding.”
This time Kyojuro froze for just a fraction too long, and Tengen noticed immediately. “…Oh,” he said slowly, amusement fading into genuine surprise. “Wait. You actually don’t realize it yet.”
Kyojuro frowned slightly. “Realize what?”
“I’ll tell you if you win me in a race to headquarters!” Tengen said, beginning to run.
“Wait, Uzui!” Rengoku ran as fast as he could, but the sound was always faster than the flame.
---
You laid on your bed holding the wisteria branch, caressing it tenderly as it was a precious diamond. Its scent was still mixed with Kyojuro’s, and you wanted to enjoy both scents together before his faded away. Pain in your arm lowered, while warmth in your heart lit. You didn’t realize Shinobu’s presence until she talked.
“Your pulse changes a lot when he’s here, you know?”
“My wha… No. Wisteria and Kaname always bring quietness and softness, and I like that” You said, trying to avoid her point. Since when were you so transparent to people?
Shinobu smiled a little broader. “You’ve understood me well. But I’m not here to talk about that” She said, approaching your bed and sitting on the chair beside it.
The warmth inside your chest immediately turned defensive again. Of course. Nothing good came without questions after.
Her gaze lowered, not to your face, but to the bandages disappearing beneath your clothes. Observant. Clinical. Too perceptive. “The wounds from the demon should already be closing faster,” she said softly. “But they aren’t.”
You stilled.
“And that pain in your arm…” her eyes lifted back to yours, “that wasn’t caused by yesterday’s fight either.”
Silence.
Outside, you could hear distant voices from the Estate gardens. Someone laughing. Swords clashing in training. A peaceful place. Too peaceful for this conversation.
“When Rengoku and Tengen brought you injured, you were unconscious. I could treat all the wounds the demon inflicted you, but when I got to the bandage in your arm you went feral suddenly. You didn’t let me remove it.”
Shinobu folded her hands neatly over her lap. “I won’t force you to answer,” she continued calmly. “But if I’m going to help you, I need to understand what is happening to your body.”
Your fingers tightened slightly around the wisteria branch. Help. The word still felt foreign, and completely out of place in your case. There was only one way to help, and it wasn’t medicine.
You looked away toward the window. “It’s not an illness.”
“No,” Shinobu agreed immediately. “I don’t think it is.”
That made you glance back at her. Most people insisted first. Fever. Infection. Weakness. Human things. But Shinobu had looked at your blood already, and she was too intelligent.
Carefully, she reached inside her sleeve and pulled out a small notebook.
“Your blood reacts to demon cells,” she said quietly. “Not like poison exposure. Not like contamination. It behaves as if your body recognizes them.”
Your heart stumbled once, with recognition. That woman was really smart.
Shinobu noticed. “You already knew that,” she said softly.
Your grip tightened around the branch. “I know enough.”
“And yet you keep fighting demons.”
You frowned slightly. “What else am I supposed to do?” Your answer came too fast, too honestly. It was the first time someone had come that close to understanding. You looked directly at her with your heart full of mixed emotions that you didn’t know how to handle.
Shinobu watched you carefully then. Not your words. Your exhaustion. Your habits. The way your shoulders stayed tense even while resting. The way you held the wisteria branch like medicine instead of something beautiful.
“May I see it, please?” she said, soft and respectfully.
No. The answer rose so naturally inside you that it almost came out aloud. Not because of shame, because exposure meant always danger.
Shinobu noticed the reaction immediately and sighed very lightly. “…I see.”
“It’s nothing important.”
“That,” she said gently, “is usually how people describe the things that hurt them the most.”
You hated how carefully she spoke. How she never cornered directly. How she somehow made silence feel louder.
“It hurts constantly, doesn’t it?” she asked.
You looked down at the branch in your hands and lied “…Not constantly.”
Shinobu did not call it out. “Then periodically.”
“…Yes.”
“How long?”
Your throat felt tight suddenly.
“All my life.” you whispered.
That answer finally changed her expression. Not visibly for most people, but you noticed the small shift in her eyes: shock.
“…I see,” she repeated quietly.
You moved the branch slightly in your hands to distract yourself.
“The medicine you carried,” Shinobu continued after a moment, “it contained processed wisteria compounds, pain suppressants, and something else I still haven’t identified.” She tilted her head slightly. “Did you make it yourself?”
“No.”
“Someone taught you.”
You hesitated.“…Mother.” The word left your mouth before you could stop it.
Shinobu’s gaze softened, gently “She must have cared about you very much.”
Your fingers froze. Of course she did. Mother had protected you. Fed you. Taught you how to survive. Stayed awake through the worst nights. Killed for you. Loved you. So why did your chest suddenly hurt at hearing someone say it aloud?
You swallowed hard.
Shinobu noticed the reaction too. Carefully, she leaned slightly closer. “Forgive me to insist on it, but if you want my help i’ll have to see it sooner or later.”
Another unavoidable truth. For some seconds, you hesitated. Only Mother had seen it before. But things had changed. Too much. You weren’t raised to surrender, but to fight. And Shinobu understood. Or at least… she was beginning to. Your fingers begun to unwrap the bandage slowly. And when the last layer fell away, Shinobu’s face lost all color.
“What happened to you,” she asked quietly, “to leave a wound like that?”
The answer came before you even thought about it. Flat, automatic, honest.
WARNING: This fic takes place in the world of KNY, but I’ve made a few changes, so it won’t follow the canon story exactly, and the world may work a little differently from the manga and anime.
*KNY characters and KNY world belong to it's rightful owner.
The light was fading when you entered a small clearing full of wisterias. It wasn’t fully night, but it wasn’t day anymore, shadows were stretching and everything seemed to hold its breath. Usually, at this time of the day you would be attending the dinner tasks at a safe house, or getting ready to kill if you were away from civilization. But today you wish to have a good rest, you needed strength if you wanted to keep going south. And since the last fight, your forces seemed to be fading away quickly.
With a quick sight at the clearing you picked the tree that seemed the safest and the biggest, and you sit leaning against the trunk. Your favourite scent lingered from it and nearby trees, making you exhale in relief. You had nothing to eat since this morning, but hunger wasn’t your first priority. Your arm had been in waves of pain all day, you had ignored it, but now you decided to renew the medicine, hoping it to give you a break and let you climb the tree to pass the night. Wisterias could keep demons away when they were at full bloom, but at winter, the faint scent of the plant wasn’t enough. If the demon was strong, it could enter the clearing and fight you away from it. When you were about to open your backpack, another wave of pain left you breathless. You closed your eyes and stood still, breathing as deep as you could, which wasn’t much. You just needed a moment, a moment of complete stillness and shut up all your senses, waiting for the wave to fade away.
---
Kyojuro slowed as he stepped into the bare wisterias clearing. There weren’t any blossoms, and yet, you were there. Not hidden this time, not above, just leaning still against the trunk. For a moment, he didn’t speak. Something was wrong. You didn’t move when he approached, didn’t react to his presence. Your breathing was too slow and controlled, forced.
“You should not be here alone” he said.
You opened your eyes slowly. In your pain, you recognized him, his companion standing a few steps behind. You felt really annoyed, cursing the winter, the snow, the pain. How timely.
“You again” you wished your voice didn’t sound as thin as it did. You pushed yourself away from the tree. Your balance slightly shifted, but he saw it. Of course he did.
“We don’t mean you harm”
“That’s irrelevant” you replied.
“Is it?” Tengen tilted his head, studying you openly. “You threw a demon at us to get away.”
You didn’t flinch. “You handled it”
“That wasn’t the point”
“You saw more than you should have” you were direct this time, no denial.
Kyojuro’s expression didn’t change. “Then explain it.” he replied.
“No.”
Tengen exhaled softly, almost a laugh. “See? That’s the problem,” he said. “People who have nothing to hide don’t answer like that.”
Your jaw tightened. “People who don’t trust strangers don’t explain themselves,” you corrected.
Kyojuro stepped forward half a step. “You are not a stranger to us anymore,” he said. “Your technique, it prevents regeneration. You’re just not killing them, you’re altering the outcome.”
The pressure in your chest sharpened. You took a slow breath. “You’re making assumptions.” your voice barely held.
Tengen smiled, interested. “Then correct them.”
Silence. You couldn’t. Because correcting them meant explaining, and explaining meant exposure.
“It doesn’t concern you,” you said.
Kyojuro shook his head once. “It does.”
“Why?” you snapped.
Kyojuro didn’t react to the tone. “Because you are putting yourself in danger,” he said.
Wrong answer. Your expression hardened instantly. “That’s not your concern.”
“It is if you collapse in the middle of a fight,” he replied. “You are not well” he continued.
“I’m fine” you said too fast again, annoyance turning to anger. You straightened forcing your posture, forcing control.
“You should rest” He added.
You rolled your eyes, mentally. You would be resting if they hadn’t appeared. Before you could reply, the air changed. Subtle but unmistakeable. You felt it first, your head turning slightly to the blood and rotten scent. Another timely visit. Shit. Not now, not here, not with him there, watching.
Kyojuro and Tengen’s pose shifted “Demons” he said.
In the shadows you could perceive a movement, then another... and, another more? Your vision was still a little bit blurry.
A first round shape emerged, smiling wildly. Too many teeth. The second stood behind, watching “We have Hashira for dinner, boys” said with a goofy voice.
Another voice came from the shadows, sounding more intelligent than the other: “Beware about the woman. From what I’ve heard and sensed, it wasn’t a Hashira who killed our stupid weaklings living in this area.”
You could feel three pairs of eyes fixed on you. Your breath faltered, but you inhaled with all your willpower and stepped forward before they could move. Your hand reached your sword, pain shot through your arm sharp and inmediate. You tightened your grip anyway.
Inhale “Wisteria breathing…” exhale “first form…” You moved fast, too fast for the round ball of teeth to move. Your sword cutting it in half, letting him bleeding on the snow trying to regenerate.
You push forward again, but now your breath broke and your rythm slipped. Your body didn’t follow, pain surging again, stronger this time, getting not only your arm, spreading through your head and chest. Your vision flickered. Not now, not now…
The second demon moved faster than the first one. You saw it when it was too late. You twisted and the attack grazed your side. You stumbled. That hadn’t happened before. Not like that. Your footing failed for half a second. And you saw the demon’s huge mace falling on you.
“Flame breathing, first form: unknowing fire” It was a fast attack, more than yours. With one single slash, the demon’s head rolled through the snowed floor covered in flames.
Your eyes widened at the sight of the flames. A sudden memory stung your brain so quickly you couldn’t even say what it was, a formless body, flames, heavy fire, all blurry. You could only say that it was terrifying. You forced yourself up, forcing your breath and the pattern “Second…” Nothing came out. Your chest tightened. Your lungs wouldn’t follow. Your technique collapsed. A long big hand caught you by your waist luring you into the shadows, far out from the clearing
You raised your sword too slow, steel meeting flesh, but not clean enough. Your arm shook. You couldn’t… Another wave of pain, deeper and colder this time, not only from your arm, from the demon’s hand a pile of spiky bones emerged, digging sharp into your body. You gasped, unable to scream. The demon’s grip was still tight on your waist, but the arm was clinging from your sloppy cut. You moved your blade again, it was enough to tear away the thin piece of flesh that had the arm attached to the hand. You fell, the ground tilted. You barely caught yourself, using all the strenght you had left to let go off the demon’s grip. Your breath came out broken. Too weak
You saw movement behind you, a fast and controlled flame in a single strike, clean and decisive.
The demon’s grip opened, ash scattering into the cold air. What remained of the hidden one tried to flee, but it didn’t get far. A flash, sound and impact. Tengen landed lightly as the third demon collapsed behind him. “That was getting messy,” he said.
You barely heard him. Your focus was elsewhere. On your own hands, on your own body, pierced by the demon’s bones, now shaking. You couldn’t finish it, your fingers tightened around your sword. You stepped forward, but your body didn’t follow. A firm and steady hand caught your arm. Warm. You froze. That… again. You tried to pull away, but didn’t manage it, you strength wasn’t there anymore.
“Enough,” Kyojuro said, his voice firm and low, soft gaze. You shook your head. “I’m not…” Your voice broke. “I can still…” You couldn’t. The heavy truth sat there, unavoidable, for the first time in years, you couldn’t. Your vision blurred. You failed, your blood was painting the snow in red. You hated that he saw it. That it was real, your own fragility, your own mortality. You hated that it was real. Your grip loosened. Your sword slipped from your hand. You didn’t try to catch it. Your knees gave in. Darkness closed in slowly. And just before everything disappeared, you felt it again. Warmth. Real comfortable warmth.
---
Something opened in the darkness: fragments of a memory. Snow falling quietly over the temple grounds. Your hands smaller and colder. The smell of iron mixed with something sweet. Blood, too much blood. A voice, far away, calling your name. Then, light. Violent flames rising against the night like something alive, wild, uncontrolled, sharp and terrifying. Shadows moving through the darkness, breaking, moving, burning. A tall figure standing inside them, still, unmoving while everything was not. Your chest tightened in fear. Warmth turned to hot, burning you. Gold and red eyes, gold and red… but this time they were not lost in madness, now they were looking gently at you “Stay with us” The voice cut through everything breaking the fire, shattering the memory, and the darkness took you completely.
----
The first you noticed was the smell. Sweet, familiar, wisteria, too clear to be far, it was overwhelming. Your breathing slowed just before you opened your eyes, your body felt dull, heavy in the wrong places, empty in others. You tried to move your hand, it responded, slowly. Your eyes opened. Soft light filtered through thin cotton curtains. Unfamiliar, but safe, an awkward cozy safety. You tensed instantly while your memories came back.
Your breath caught. You pushed yourself up too fast, pain answering immediately, sharp and deep. Your body dropped back against a cozy mattress. That lowered your guard a little, waking up your curiosity. You looked around. The room was simple, windows showing a quiet and cared garden. Three beds and three small bedside tables with a jar and a glass of water. The two other beds were empty, it was good to be alone. Meeting him had been a big change in your life, and you didn’t need all changes comming at once. The least, the better.
A quiet voice cut through the room. “Careful. You’ll undo the work I’ve done.”
You turned your head. Shinobu Kocho stood near the doorway, observing you smiling calm and serene, maybe too observant.
You said nothing. Waiting. Not wanting to say anything that exposed you more than you already were.
“You’ve been asleep for a while.”
Of course you were. The mattress was softer than anything you remembered sleeping on. ¿Where were you? Your throat felt dry. “Where…?” Your voice barely came out.
“The Butterfly Estate. I’m Kocho, Shinobu. Your doctor. Here, drink some water, it will do well.” she said filling a glass from the nearest bedside table.
“Thank you.” you said, shyly, taking carefully the glass and sipping slowly.
So, she was a doctor. Not only someone with healing knowledge. And she offered you a glass of water with a cute sweet smile. Kindness was something that always puzzled you. You looked at her colorful haori, another Hashira. Of course. Of course it had come to this. Your fingers curled slightly over the sheets. Too exposed. Would it be any way back to your life now? Or was it messed up for good?
“You collapsed,” she added. “Badly.”
You looked away. Silence stretched between mss Kocho and you. You knew it was rude not to say your name to someone who had already introduced herself, but you felt so shocked by the place and the sudden break of your way of life that you didn’t knew how to manage the situation to came out of it in the way that suited you the best.
Then, footsteps.
Steady, familiar. Your body reacted before your mind did. Tension, alert. The door slid open. And there he was. Now you realized that you didn’t even know his name. But names didn’t matter. Never. Still...
He smiled bright. for a second, your chest tightened and you could feel your heart beating harder than usual. Then you noticed: his haori. It matched with the one you saw in your memories, did it? Or there were too many flames that you didn’t know what you had seen and what you didn’t? It was all still blurry, all but the uneasy feeling, it was crystal clear.
You looked away immediately. No… it couldn’t… how old could he be? A little more than you but not much more, that was too young. And too gentle. Your thoughts cut themselves off as he stepped closer without hesitation.
“You are awake!” He said, happy, relieved, in a natural enthusiast tone. His flame coloured eyes smiling with him.
You didn’t answer. You couldn’t. Because something inside you had already started pulling back, by pure protection instinct.
“You pushed yourself beyond your limits,” he continued. “That was dangerous.”
There it was. You hated that certainty tone. It made you frown. “I handled it.” Your lie came out sharper than intended.
He didn’t react to it. “You did not.”
Nothing hit as hard as plain truth.
Your jaw tightened. You turned your head away. “I’m fine.”
“Now you are. And you’ll get better! But you could have died back then.”
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Again that enthusiasm that insisted in breaking you in half, followed by another truth. That was the part you refused to look at. You pushed it down immediately. “I didn’t.”
Quieter now. But still resisting. Still holding. Still you.
“We wouldn’t let it happen either. Now you can rest and recover, it’s a demon free place here, and you have plenty of wisterias as you may have noticed.”
You couldn’t help but look through the window. A black crow was standing on the window frame. When he met your eyes, he poked twice at the crystal, recognizing you.
Instinctively, you turned to open the window, but Rengoku was faster. His warm fingers took your hand avoiding you to make the effort, and opened the window himself so you could pet his crow. The soft brush of his calloused hand on yours made your cheeks feel hot, and you thanked he wasn’t looking.
“Kaname was worried about you too. He came here a few times to check on you while you were sleeping”
The bird entered the room and stepped on his owner’s forearm. Kyojuro approached so you could touch it. You raised your hand hesitantly, but the crow put his head inmediately down your palm.
“Kaname” you said in a whisper, caressing its soft feathers.
“Oh, and I’m Rengoku, Kyojuro. Nice to meet you in a normal place!”
You looked at him and lowered your eyes quickly to avoid his happy caring gaze. You were about to say something, but he stepped away, leaving the crow with you.
Across the room, Shinobu Kocho watched the exchange carefully. Interested. Because this wasn’t stubbornness. As Oyakata sama said, it was a way of life (yours) crashing with another (theirs) And it came with fear. Well hidden, but not enough.
“Shinobu” Rengoku said to the doctor “can we have a word?”
“Of course” she smiled.
Rengoku went away to talk to the doctor, leaving you alone with Kaname. The crow’s presence was a relief, you always dealt better with animals than humans. The touch of its feathers was really relaxing. You offered it some water, and he drank a bit. Then it seated quietly next to you, letting your hand petting him gently.
And as you lay there comforted by Kaname’s heath and light weight, wrapped in wisteria scent, body weakened, mind restless, one thought settled beneath everything else. Not the demons, nor the pain. Him. And the fire you couldn’t forget.
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WARNING: This fic takes place in the world of KNY, but I’ve made a few changes, so it won’t follow the canon story exactly, and the world may work a little differently from the manga and anime.
*KNY characters and KNY world belong to it's rightful owner.
* Reader x Rengoku. Slow burn
*MDNI
*You must be +18 to follow or interact
Prologue, chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3
Morning came quietly. The temple moved as it always did, early steps across wooden floors, water being carried, low voices beginning the daily routine. Nothing had changed. Except… “Has anyone seen her?” The question passed from one voice to another. Soft at first. Then again. A little sharper.
Tengen heard it before he saw the shift. He glanced sideways, catching the tail end of the conversation between two attendants.
“She didn’t return last night.”
“Maybe she stayed in the village?”
“She would have said something.”
Tengen’s brow lifted slightly.
Across the engawa, Rengoku paused mid-step. “Who are you referring to?” he asked.
The attendants turned immediately, looking at the Flame Hashira with respect and a bit unsure. “One of the girls helping at the house, sir. She was given leave yesterday evening. Someone saw her in the corridors after dinner, but she hasn’t appeared to her morning shift.”
After a brief silence, Tengen let out a quiet breath through his nose, not surprised at all. “How troublesome.”
Kyojuro’s gaze didn’t shift. “If she was tired maybe she is oversleeping?”
“No, sir. I’ve already gone to her room and she’s not there.” Answered the kakushi in charge.
“Can we see her room, please?”
The attendants hesitated, but the kakushi in charge nodded immediately and lead the guide.
The door slid open with a soft sound. There was nothing unusual ar first glance: a clean, orderly, undisturbed room. Tengen stepped in first, eyes scanning quickly the room’s walls, floor and Corners. “No struggle,” he muttered.
Kyojuro followed more slowly. His gaze moved with less haste paying more attention to the details.
The futon was flawless, perfectly folded so skillfully that it seemed untouched. He turned his head toward the window, it was slightly open. He stopped there. A faint current of cold air slipped into the room. Tengen noticed it too.“Huh.” He walked over, pushing the frame a little further.
Snow outside without any clear prints. “She left on her own.”. It wasn’t a question.
Kyojuro didn’t answer immediately. His gaze lowered slightly to the floor near the wall. There was a detail most would miss. A barely visible shift in the wood. He didn’t touch it or point it out, he just noted it. “She was prepared,” he said.
Tengen glanced back at him. “You sound impressed.”
“She minimized her presence.” Kyojuro’s tone was calm. Matter of fact. “No unnecessary belongings. No trace of attachment.”
Tengen’s expression shifted. Interest sharpening. “That’s not normal for someone living here.”
“No,” Kyojuro agreed.
Tengen leaned lightly against the wall, arms crossing. “So. Strong. Fast. Doesn’t trust anyone. Disappears overnight.” A small grin. “You’ve found an interesting one.”
Kyojuro didn’t react to that. His gaze moved once more to the open window. Then, beyond it. Toward the grounds. Toward the wisteria tree. Bare now. Still. “She did not leave in fear,” he said.
Tengen tilted his head. “No?”
“She left because she decided to.” He said, certainly.
Tengen watched him for a second longer. Then smiled. Slow. Knowing. “And you’re going after her.”
This time, Kyojuro did pause. Just a fraction. “If she continues alone, she will be at risk.”
Tengen huffed a quiet laugh. “Right. That’s what this is about.”
Kyojuro didn’t answer, he was lost in his thoughts: “It seems she’s been hunting demons for a while, her breath seems almost flawless and so does her precision. Her technique is completely unusual. If Muzan doesn’t already know, he will be aware soon, and surely he won’t be happy to know that. She seemed really tired. I wonder why she ran from us, but if she keeps killing unprotected that can end really bad for her.” He stepped closer to the window. Just enough to look out properly. The branch where you had fallen. Still there, but empty now. “We will meet again,” he said quietly. In his words There wasn’t hope, but certainty.
----
The garden of the demon slayers headquarters was quiet. Wind moved gently through the trees, even in winter, the faintest trace of wisteria remained in the air. Kagaya Ubuyashiki sat facing the open space, his posture relaxed, hands resting lightly over his knees. His eyes—clouded, unfocused—seemed to look far beyond what was in front of him.
Measured and respectful footsteps approached to the edge of the engawa. Rengoku and Tengen kneeled and bowed to their Master.
“Oyakata-sama.”
A soft smile touched his lips. “You may speak.”
The report came clear and precise, without any embellishment, there was no need to emphasize anything, what happened was already surprising and important enough: A girl with an unknown background and no attachments, working within a safe house, showing an unusual behavior, with an exceptional combat ability, a technique “that appears to interfere with demon regeneration”
Kagaya let the silence take the garden and the engawa, processing quietly what he had just heard. His presence was always serene and peaceful, and had the power to influence those around him. The wind shifted, brushing lightly against the wooden floor. Kagaya tilted his head ever so slightly. His features didn’t show surprise or alarm, just understanding. “I see. And now she is gone.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Did she leave traces?”
“None, Oyakata-sama.”
He smiled again. Softer this time.“How careful.” His fingers moved slightly, resting one over the other. “A child who prepares to leave before being asked to stay…” The words were quiet, almost to himself. “That is not a habit learned in safety.”
“And yet,” he continued gently, “she chose to remain near wisteria.” A faint inhale. “That suggests necessity, a body that seeks what soothes it… while hiding what harms it.” The air seemed to still with him. “And a technique that halts regeneration…” For a moment, a faintest shadow of recognition crossed his expression. “How curious.”
The silence stretched. Then settled. “We will find her, discreetly.”
A soft shift of fabric as someone bowed deeper. “Yes, Oyakata-sama.”
“Do not pursue her as prey.” That came just slightly firmer. “She has already lived that way.”
A gentle wind moved again. “If she runs, she will only go further. Instead…” His head tilted faintly, as if listening to something far away. “Let us become a place she does not need to run from.”
Silence answered him, that wasn’t an order of pursuit. It was something else. “Do you understand,Uzui, Kyojuro?”
A slight smile came to Tengen’s lips. “He has already crossed her path.”
No need to explain further. Kagaya’s blind eyes turned slightly to Rengoku, smiling gently. “You will know how to approach her, then.”
“Of course, Master, I really hope so!” He said with his enthusiast voice, firm and certain.
“Remember, do not force her hand.” The scent of wisteria lingered faintly in the air. “Some bonds,” Kagaya said quietly, “are not formed by capture… but by recognition.”
“Understood!”
The garden remained still. But something had already begun to move.
----
- ”Okay, let’s figure out how to not pursue agressively someone who has already thrown a plus size demon to us to run away” Said Tengen ironically, rolling his eyes.
- “There is no reason for agression if understanding is possible.” Replied Kyojuro, his voice showing no intention to harm you.
- “Riiight, I won’t hurt your princess if she behaves… haven’t you thought that she may be dangerous?”
- “Dangerous doesn’t mean unreachable. It only means she has not yet been understood.”
- “I know, I know. I won’t go against Master’s orders, neither against your touched heart” He said with a grin “But she is strong and elusive, and that’s a matter of fact.”
- “Strength is not something to fear, it’s something to guide. We just have to find the correct way to approach her, without any harm or force.”
Kyojuro somehow felt the urgent responsibility to find you. He knew you were strong, but he kept remembering and he kept seeing you tired in each memory. If you didn’t stop or get some help, you would be heading toward exhaustion, and that was a huge weakness for a slayer. Though they mapped all safe houses around where you met, he was sure that now you knew that they were aware about your existence, you would not search shelter in one again. Still, the apparent need from being close to wisterias, and the amount of them that were around their hideouts may lure you nearby.
And he was right. You decided to remain around the closest safe house, because if they were going to search you, the first thing coming to their minds would be that you went as far as possible from them. The closest one would be the last place they would look for. And from there, you could kept heading south avoiding the headquarters and winning time to disappear again. Or at least that was what you hoped. Mother taught you well how to keep a low profile. Also, there were places and times of the year when finding wisterias wasn’t easy, so you also learnt how to live with the least contact with people and making use of what the forest and fields provided .
You could never have a bond with people, so you chose nature, the only thing that could ease your pain. During wisteria season, you collected the amount you needed to pass the year and kept it treated so you could use it until the next season. With time, you found out that being close to the branches attached to the tree were also a relief. They didn’t ease the pain like the flowers, but they helped to ease your mind and let you rest properly. Even if it was for a few minutes, you could forget about everything and truly rest.
So, you didn’t really need to stay in a safe house, it was enough for you to stay near the one plant you needed the most.
---
It took four days for Tengen and Rengoku to search the areas around the safe houses. They’ve sent crows with your profile to each of them, and, as Kyojuro expected, they came with negative answers.
“Of course.” said Tengen, “She has already proved to be smart, and hiding somewhere we can track with a single crow would have been a stupid move.”
“Indeed. Still, it was necessary to try. Now, there’s only one area left. If it wasn’t winter time she would already have four days of advantage, but we have been lucky with the snowfalls and frost.” Snow cracked softly beneath their steps as they continued through the forest path.
He spoke to his crow “Kaname, you remember her well, right? Go ahead, and search carefully. Do not let yourself to be seen.” The crow cawed once before disappearing into the pale winter sky. “With a little more luck, we will find her around the closest safe house, half way to our headquarters”
“The closest one. The most she avoids us the more I like her, brother. Be careful or I’ll court her to be my fourth wife.” Kyojuro didn’t even blink. “Okay, Okay, no joking. Your lack of response means you are really worried. That expression doesn’t look very flashy on you. Let’s go then.”
“I am. I don’t understand why someone would hunt demons alone while refusing the Corps support. And it’s not like she only doesn’t want to join, it’s that she is running from us. That’s what bothers me the most. And if something happens to her after we noticed the danger and did nothing…” His expression hardened slightly. “I would not accept that. I think that if something happens to her it’s on us for not having done anything before. You know I hate thinking I could have helped when I did nothing. Let’s go.”
Tengen stared at him for a second longer, then sighed through his nose. “Yeah,” he muttered. “You’re already too invested.”
Kyojuro blinked once. “…Am I?”
That earned a short laugh from Tengen. “Oh, you’re doomed.”
Imagine Aizen using Kyoka Suigetsu on you to make you feel like he is stimulating all your sweet spots at once in the way you like the most. Back, neck, earlobe, mouth, tongue, nipples, tummy, tights, inner tights, ass, the borders of your underwear, groin, clit. All licked, bitten, kissed, sucked, pinched, nibbled, caressed, slapped, whispers with soft brush of his lips. Everything while he fucks you as he wishes in an endless loop, enjoying with his mesmerizing smirk all of your moans, whines, tears, screams, mewls, pleas for more, to stop and for more, while you cum again and again, losing your mind and soul to overstimulation, your cunt aching, swollen, soaked, squirting and tightening spasmodically his huge cock.
WARNING: This fic takes place in the world of KNY, but I’ve made a few changes, so it won’t follow the canon story exactly, and the world may work a little differently from the manga and anime.
*KNY characters and KNY world belong to it's rightful owner.
* Reader x Rengoku. Slow burn
*MDNI
*You must be +18 to follow or interact
Prologue, chapter 1, chapter 2
The knife slipped. Not enough to cut you. Just enough to ruin the slice. You stared at the uneven piece of daikon for a second longer than necessary, then moved it aside and reached for another.
Steady. You had done this hundreds of times, you knew how to deal with this kind of task much better than any cook. The second slice came out worse, so did the third.
“You’re too tense for a knife, would you like to try with onigiri?” Said your kitchen helper partner.
“Yes please, if you don’t mind. Thank you.” You exchanged the task, and still, rice slipped through your fingers at the first try. You had never been so sloppy with your chores, especially in the kitchen. You frowned, starting again. The rice was warm. Warm. His arms were warm, too warm. Focus, just focus on the rice. Steady your hands. Water, salt. Use your palms, not your fingers, pick the filling, be soft. Ouch.
Water boiled somewhere behind you. Someone laughed in another room. The usual rhythm of the house moved on, untouched.
You were the only thing out of place.
Soft. Rough. Your fingers brushed against each other unconsciously. Rough hands. You frowned. They were not rough. They were… Ok, you weren’t a princess, you had to work with your hands (you weren’t precisely constant enough applying Mother’s magic balm though) but besides, who was he to talk about rough hands?
Another ruined rice ball. What was wrong with you? You’ve had an encounter with two Hashira, and you were worried about warm arms and rough hands. ¿Why did it matter?
It didn’t. It shouldn’t. A drop of water slid from your forehead down to your sleeve.
Careless. Your jaw tightened. You had been careless. The thought settled heavier than the mistake itself.
Hashira. Bright. Loud. Unpredictable. Dangerous.
Without any word, you left the onigiris and proceeded to another task washing and drying your hands. The cloth slipped into the water basin. You pulled it out again immediately, squeezing harder than necessary.
If they stayed...
No. If you stayed. That was the problem. You stilled for a moment. The cloth twisted in your hands.
Leave. The idea came clean. Simple. Familiar. You had done it before. Disappear before questions came. Before eyes lingered too long. Before names meant anything.
“…That’s enough.” The voice cut through your thoughts. You looked up.
The kakushi in charge stood nearby, watching you with a slight crease between her brows. Not angry, worried. That was worse. Affection brought more questions than indifference. “You’re not paying attention,” she said. “Go rest. You’re no use like this.”
You lowered your gaze. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not.” No sharpness. Just certainty.
You didn’t argue. That, more than anything, confirmed it. You set the cloth down carefully. “I’ll step out for a bit.”
She hesitated, then nodded once. “Don’t be long. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Dinner. You nodded back. “Yes.” You didn’t mean it.
__________
The evening settled quietly over the temple. The soft clatter of dishes, low voices, the faint crackle of firewood—everything in its place. And yet, something was missing.
Tengen leaned back slightly, arms crossed, watching the courtyard with narrowed eyes. “Two days.”
Kyojuro, seated across from him, nodded without hesitation. “Indeed! The reports were clear, yet we have found nothing so far!”
Tengen exhaled sharply through his nose. “Nothing. Something’s off.”
That earned a brief pause. Kyojuro tilted his head. “How so?”
Tengen glanced at him sideways, a smirk forming. “You didn’t notice?”
Silence, just for a second. “I noticed many things today!” he said with amusement.
“Yeah,” Tengen said dryly. “I’m sure you did.”
Kyojuro blinked once, focusing on his job. “The area’s too clean. No tracks. No scent lingering. No disappearances since we arrived.” He gestured vaguely toward the darkening forest beyond the temple grounds. “Demons don’t just… stop.”
Tengen’s gaze followed the direction of his hand. Thoughtful now. “What if someone else is handling them?”
“Hmm. Killing a demon is not as easy as pie. If someone is that strong here or in the whereabouts, people would know, or at least, the Kakushi would have noticed. Do you really believe that there’s someone else killing them?”
“Not believe. I’m telling you. There are a little coincidences in our world. And there have been no oddities since we’re here except…” Tengen said, giving Kyojuro a significant gaze.
Kyojuro looked back at him. “The girl from the wisteria tree?”
Tengen raised a brow. “You remember her after all.”
“Of course!” he said with a small grin. There was no hesitation in his voice. “She fell.”
“…Right.” Tengen rubbed his temple briefly. “That’s what’s stuck with you.”
Tengen let out a short laugh. “You really let her go just like that.”
“She seemed well,” Kyojuro replied simply. “There was no reason to trouble her further.”
Tengen stared at him for a moment. Then: “You’re unbelievable.”
“Falling from a tree doesn’t make you a demon slayer”
Tengen stated, more quietly: “She wasn’t normal.”
That landed. Kyojuro didn’t answer immediately this time. His friend always had a sixth sense with people, specially with women. And he had to admit that in your case, he couldn’t be as impartial as he would like to be.
He remembered that afternoon, this time paying attention to the details. The way your expression shifted when you fell: surprise first, then confusion quickly hidden. How you had gripped his sleeve without thinking, more focused on not hitting the ground than on who had caught you. The faint scent of wisteria that lingered around you—subtle, but unmistakable. The way you answered his questions. Direct. Simple. As if there was nothing unusual about any of it. He wasn’t going to mention any of that to Tengen. It felt… irrelevant. And knowing him, he would only make unnecessary comments about it.
“Her presence was… calm.”
Tengen snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”
“And yet,” Kyojuro continued, “She denied it, but It seemed like she was hiding something. Her body was toned up in a way regular service can’t have it with daily chores. Her hands were rough, what can perfectly be due to her work. I didn’t see her palms properly but when I touched them there was a familiar pattern” he said, rubbing with his fingers his sword hand.
Now Tengen smiled, slow and satisfied. “There it is.”
Kyojuro looked at him again. “You noticed it as well.”
“I noticed you noticed it.” He said with amusement. Then serious, speaking as the Pillar of the Sound more than his friend “When we approached, her breath was steady and calm, nearly sleeping. And It's not easy laying like that on a tree branch if you're a newbie. Former shinobi's word.”
“And still, you left me alone with her.”
“Oh come on, we are talking about a woman, not a succubus. Unarmed woman by the way. I thought you would be able to dig deeper.” He said with a broad grin, playing up and down with his seathed sword and avoiding his friend’s smack.
They walked, lost in their thoughts for a while.
“So, her body was toned up huh? She also had a nice ass i guess.”
Kyojuro laughed out loud, blushing “HAHAHAHAHA Shut up!!!” said, his smack hitting his friend this time. Then, he changed the subject on purpose, before Tengen could say anything else: “She works here.” Kyojuro added. Shrugging. “She said so herself.”
You left the kitchen and stepped outside, staying at the porch. The cold hit you immediately.
It settled into your lungs, sharper than before, cleaner. Better. You hated cold, but a little bit always was like a slap on your mind when your thoughts were struggling. For a moment, you stood still under the dim light of the engawa, letting it sink into your skin.
Your hands steadied first, then your breathing. Not enough. Thinking was winning, getting into your nerves for the first time in years. It circled. Repeated. Stuck. Warm. Rough. And the most important sentence: “We will surely meet again”. That voice, manly, firm, without any doubts.
Your fingers curled slightly at your sides, rage filling you up from your left arm to the rest of your body. “No”. You stepped down into the snow. Pain was simpler. Pain could be measured. Silenced. Healed. You adjusted your sleeve without looking at it.
The forest waited beyond the edge of the temple grounds, dark and quiet. Familiar. Safe, in its own way. You exhaled once. Slow. Then moved.
____
A few questions were enough.
Yes, she worked there. Yes, she helped regularly. No, she was not around at the moment. “She was given a break,” one of the attendants explained.
Tengen hummed. “Convenient.”
Kyojuro nodded. “Rest is important.”
Tengen glanced at him. “That’s not what I meant.”
The meal ended without further mention. But the quiet remained. Kyojuro set his chopsticks down. “We should resume our patrol.”
Tengen was already standing. “Took you long enough.” A faint grin. “Let’s see if your ‘resting temple girl’ shows up again.”
Kyojuro rose without protest. “If she is indeed involved, we must ensure she is not in danger.”
Tengen let out a low chuckle. “Sure. Let’s call it that.”
The forest felt wrong. Too still: no wind. no insects, not even the distant rustle of branches. Only the faint crunch of footsteps over frost. Rengoku slowed slightly, his gaze shifting across the darkened trees. Beside him, Tengen clicked his tongue under his breath. “There. Finally.”
A sound. Low. Wet. Something moving ahead. They didn’t rush. Didn’t need to. A shape emerged between the trees, twisted, hunched, dragging something across the ground. The smell reached them a second later. Fresh blood. A victim.
“¿are we too late?” thought Kyojuro, feeling a sting of fear.
The demon lifted its head, lips peeling back into something between a grin and a snarl, dropping half man body to the ground. “Hashira…” It didn’t get to finish.
A blur crossed from above their field of vision. not toward them, past them. Fast, too fast for a normal human. Tengen’s eyes sharpened instantly. Kyojuro’s hand moved, then stopped, because it was already over.
__
You landed low, your blade already drawn. Without hesitation. No warning. Breath steady. Controlled and focused. The world narrowed. Pain… still there. Always there. But quieter now. Useful. “Wisteria Breathing…” A single inhale. Cold air burning through your lungs.“First Form: Amputation.”
The strike was clean. Single, elegant neon pale purple arc. Precise. Almost gentle. Your blade passed through the demon’s arm, taking a little part of his chest and torso. Without resistance, the limb fell.
Silence.
The demon blinked and looked down, then laughed, a surprisingly high childish voice laugh for such a big demon. “That’s it, filthy bitch?” The flesh at the shoulder twitched, his muscle shifted, bone began to push forward… Then stopped for a too long time, being a demon. His grin faltered. Something dark crept along the severed edge, thin as veins, spreading where the cut had been.
Its body shuddered once. Twice. The demon yelled “…What the hell????” It tried again, forcing it. The wound trembled violently, the demon gritted his teeth, making you frown with its annoying sound. Nothing grew back.
Tengen straightened slowly. For once, he didn’t speak. Kyojuro’s eyes narrowed, something sharp settling behind the usual brightness.
The demon let out a strangled half rage, half fear sound. “What did you….?”
You didn’t let it finish. Another step. Another strike. Faster. This time, the head. Clean, final strike. Ash scattered into the cold air. Gone. And silence returned.
Your breathing slowed little by little. The familiar weight began to settle again under your skin, heavier than before. You ignored it. Wiped the blade. Turned, you were sure that there had to be another demon nearby.
And then you saw them. For a moment, no one moved.
Tengen’s gaze flicked once, from you, to the place where the arm had fallen… and hadn’t regenerated. A slow grin pulled at his mouth. “Well… that’s new.”
Kyojuro stepped forward. Not threatening nor relaxed. Something in between, focused. “That technique…” A pause. His eyes met yours. Bright. Intent. “What was that?” The question hung in the air. Clear, direct, unavoidable.
And for the first time since you had struck, the unease returned.
It wasn’t the first time you’ve seen a Hashira. If you spent enough time on a safe house, sooner or later they appeared. But Mother told you to always avoid them. Bow, pay silent respect and leave. Never give them a reason to look twice. Besides your pain, that was the other reason that made you decide to go out for some demons, to forget about them. It wasn’t your lucky day.
That afternoon they have seen you up the tree, you fell, and had to face the flame haired one questions. The other one had left, but he seemed strong and smart enough to sense things at one sight. And now they’ve seen you kill, that was no longer a mistake, that was exposure. You clicked your tongue under your breath.
A few years ago, you thought Mother was paranoid about her rules, about keeping a low profile, about speaking to people, about leaving suddenly some places without leaving a single trace. She wasn’t. You thought you had everything under control, you took it for granted, but this time you had learnt that sometimes, small or stupid things like falling from a tree could ruin it all. Now, they knew. You took a deep breath of iced air, turned against them and began to walk forward, leaving them behind.
“Wait!”
“You’re not even going to say hello?”
You didn’t answer, you’ve already said too much. A crow stepped gently on your shoulder. You turned your head slightly, resting it briefly against the crow’s, barely whispering
“Hey buddy”.
The crow nudged you lightly in response. “Wait, please!” it croaked.
You exhaled quietly. “Not now,” you murmured. “Sorry.” You tilted your head just enough to send it off, not harsh, but firm. It took flight reluctantly.
You were thankful that wasn’t the first talking crow you’ve seen. You were used to understand nature’s language, flowers, plants, animals. But talk like a person, that was another thing. If you weren’t raised in the Corps’s safe houses it could have been a huge surprise.
You didn’t run. That would have been really suspicious. So you walked steady and measured, as if nothing had changed. They kept your pace behind you without rush. Of course they were.
“You’re fast,” came Tengen’s voice, light, almost amused. “But not fast enough to ignore us.”
You didn’t answer. Trying to run away being them that close would be a ridiculous waste of energy anyway.
“You should stop,” said Rengoku.
You did, but not because he told you to. Because you didn’t want them to think you were running from them, to notice your urgent need to keep them away.
“You’re really strong! But you shouldn’t keep killing alone, you can get hurt or worse!” The flame haired one said smiling kindly. It seemed he was like this, a loud, kind, warm, happy caring person.
“Yeah well, the last kill says otherwise, that was really flashy. But being lucky till now doesn’t mean it will keep that way, do you know that?” The white haired kept his sarcastic tone.
“I do. What does it have to do with you? Why do you even care?”
“People deserves caring. If nobody cared, demons would rule our world. That’s why we slay them. You should consider to join the Demon Slayer Corps.”
“No. I am not interested.” You could deal with hate, indifference, sarcasm, but you weren’t used to caring. It always unsettled you. People didn’t use to care for you, and that was ok. With time, especially while you were training to kill, you learnt to respect the Corps’s duty, but that wasn’t something you could chose. You had to end this asap, you couldn’t afford to speak and do more than you already did.
The scent hit you before the sound. Rot and blood were getting closer. Luck came to your help at last. You just needed to be faster now. You turned to run and jumped as fast as you could. The demon was bigger than the other one and looked pretty much stronger. Perfect.
It lunged toward you. You moved, not away, sideways. Your blade struck once, just enough to shift its trajectory, not to kill, to redirect. And the demon crashed toward them instead. You didn’t look back. By the time they finished it, you were already gone.
___________
Ash drifted for a moment in the cold air before settling into nothing. Silence followed, too brief to be called calm. Tengen rested his blade over his shoulder, watching the direction you had disappeared with a slow, amused grin. “She just threw a demon at us. This really is a novelty.”
Beside him, Rengoku remained still, eyes fixed on the empty space between the trees. “It was deliberate.”
“There is no reason to be.” That answer came quick and clean.
Tengen’s grin widened. “Right. Of course. Why would there be?”
No response. Only the faint shift of snow under Kyojuro’s step as he turned slightly, still looking into the dark. “She identified the threat before we did.” he added.
Tengen let out a quiet laugh. “Oh, you noticed that too?”
Kyojuro didn’t answer immediately this time. “Her reaction time was exceptional. And her technique...” He stopped just for a fraction.
Tengen caught it instantly. “Go on.”
Kyojuro’s gaze lowered briefly to the ground where the demon had fallen. “It interfered with regeneration, I have never seen that before.”
“Neither do I. Doesn’t that bother you?”
Kyojuro looked at him again. “It is… unusual.”
Tengen raised a brow. “That’s it? She lies. Avoids questions. Disappears when pressed. And just used us to cover her escape. Still not bothered?”
Kyojuro held his gaze for a moment. “She chose not to trust us.”
Tengen tilted his head. “That’s a very generous way to put it.”
“It is the correct one. It seems she already knew about our Kasugai, there wasn't any shocked response when Kaname stood on her shoulder. She accepted him and talked to him gently. A bad person wouldn't do that.” He replied, without doubt nor hesitation.
Tengen studied him for a second longer. Then smiled. Slow. Knowing. “You’re interested.”
Kyojuro blinked. “In understanding the situation, yes.”
Tengen laughed under his breath. “Sure.”
Kyojuro’s gaze drifted back to the trees, quiet and thoughtful. “If she continues to act alone, she will eventually be cornered, or worse.”
Tengen watched him carefully. “You're planning to save her?”
That made Kyojuro frown, just slightly. “I intend to speak with her again.”
Tengen’s grin returned instantly. “Try not to let her throw anything else at us next time, alright?”
Kyojuro didn’t answer. But he didn’t look away from where you had disappeared.
__________
By the time you arrived at the temple, the pain had settled into something dull. Manageable. Familiar. The lights were still on, soft and unchanged, as if nothing had happened. You stood at the edge of the grounds for a moment longer than usual. Watching. Listening. Voices inside. Movement. The quiet rhythm of all the tasks before dinner. Normal.
Your fingers tightened slightly at your sides. No, it wasn’t normal. There were too many variables now: Hashira, questions, eyes that noticed too much. “We will meet again” Your jaw set. No, you wouldn’t.
Calm and measured, as if nothing had changed you stepped into the service’s space. You were supposed to be resting, so no one stopped you, no questions. why would they? You belonged there. You moved through the corridors without hesitation. Past the kitchen. Past the storage room. Past the familiar turn that led to your quarters. Established routine. That was the key.
Inside your room, nothing looked out of place. Because you never allowed it to be. You closed the door softly behind you. Not fully, just enough. Your gaze moved across the room once, quick and precise, checking what mattered and what didn’t. Easy, there never was much. You knelt and reached beneath the floorboard near the wall. Fingers finding the loose edge without needing to look. A small cloth wrapped bundle, already prepared. Always prepared. You pulled it out and checked it. You already knew what was inside, so there wasn’t need to check. Clothes, basic supplies. Nothing that could be traced. Nothing that tied you to this place.
You stood by the window slidding it open just enough. Cold air slipped in immediately. Better.
Just for a second, your eyes drifted, almost against your will, toward the direction of the courtyard. Toward the wisteria tree. Bare branches now. Still. Quiet. Warm. You frowned. No.
You opened the window further, stepped onto the wooden edge without a sound giving one last glance inside. Nothing personal left behind. Exactly as it should be. You didn’t sigh. Didn’t hesitate. You just moved. A soft drop into the snow. No trace but the slight shift of powder beneath your feet. And even that, gone within seconds.
You didn’t take the main path. Didn’t look back. You never did.
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When you're reading a fic and find a quote that explains exactly how you're feeling, in a way much better than you could explain in your own words. This feeling.
One shot: random day at Rengoku's state while you are pregnant.
I can also see that happening, somehow
** angst + fluff
** I won't use caps for screams, to make it easy reading.
** Rengoku men's names are shortened to make it easier.
Oh, I forgot. In This "Rengoku x pregnant reader" series, he had survived the Infinity train. I can't kill him, not yet. Ouch, I don't know If I would be able to do it in another fic, it seems so unfair and painful.
___
Spring could be a season with crazy weather. If pregnancy only made it worse, driving your hormones insane, the weather helped a little more. You never knew how to dress. A thin piece of clothing could be the difference between hot and cold. One hour the sun warmed the engawa so gently that you thought summer had arrived early; the next, cold wind slipped through the cracks of the house and settled deep into your bones.
Your body no longer belonged entirely to you: one moment too warm, the next freezing, then dizzy, then hungry, then emotional for reasons even you couldn’t explain.
Kyojuro was on a mission, and wasn't expected to come back until next day. You promised him you wouldn't worry, and you had already your nerves under control. But just in case, Shinjuro and Senjuro managed to keep you busy enough, trying hard for you to not to think about your husband's safety. Maybe they tried too hard, but you tried to take a deep breath, and focus on the bright side:
Since the day you had shared the news of the baby, something inside him had shifted. The bottles disappeared. The smell of alcohol vanished from the house. His clothes were clean, his hair tied properly, and although roughness still lingered in his tone, there was effort now, visible effort.
He was trying. For his sons. For you. For the child that had not even been born yet. And somehow, that moved you deeply.
That day you woke up exhausted. You stepped in the kitchen at early morning, and a delicious healthy breakfast and full morning schedule were already waiting to keep you busy. They were trying hard, yes, and they were always so cute and caring you couldn't help but love them and easily shut up your hormones. But that day you felt really tired. You didn't stay in bed just to not worry them and made them plan a new whole schedule at home, of course don't letting you do any effort.
After breakfast, you picked the dishes from the table to wash them, but Shinjuro stepped between you and the sink, stretching his hands like it was obvious that you were going to give them to him.
"Thank you, dear." He said with a quick smile, taking the dishes gently from your hands. It looked awkward, but it was a nice gesture from him.
"You're welcome" you smiled.
Then, as it was surely planned, Senjuro stood up:
"I'm off to do my homework. I'm having some trouble with that new exercises" Said Senjuro leaving the kitchen, not before sending you a fast puppy glare with blushed cheeks.
"Do you want some help?" You smiled, he was so adorable trying to fake a need he surely didn't have.
His gaze brightened and he smiled broadly "Yes, please!!!" Aww, Senjuro's sweet kindness always made you melt, but since you were pregnant the feeling got more intense, he was going to be more a big brother than a young uncle.
"Senjuro."
"Yes, father? " It was so comfortable to see that his answer to his father wasn't fearful anymore.
"Remember Mrs. Kuriyama told us he would have our order ready for today. When you finish your homework you both can go to the village and pick it."
"Would you like to come with us, Mr. Rengoku? It's a beautiful spring day today. " And you were sure that he was dying to see the special order.
He stiffened.
“Uhm… I have things to do… but… perhaps… I can make time.”
"Please, do. I'm sure our little honeybun will be happy to walk beside their grandfather." you say softly.
Shinjuro froze. His ears reddened instantly. He turned toward the sink too quickly.
“Oh… ah… yes… certainly…”
Senjuro and you could see him smiling shyly. While you left you heard him mumbling "Grandfather ¿too stiff?, grandad ¿too serious?, grandpa, grandaddy, gramps, granda... hum... which one sounds better?"
Senjuro and you exchangedd an amused glance, and he had to cover his mouth to hide a laugh.
The little walk to the village was very pleasant with the warm breeze under the morning sun. You all wanted to see the order, but in the end, you all agreed to wait until Kyojuro was home, to see it all together.
But after lunch your tiredness begun to sting hard.
"You look tired" Senjuro said quietly.
"I'm fine. What about a mahjong round? I want my revenge!" You blinked to Senjuro, who won last match.
"Senjuro is right dear, you're pale. You should have a rest."
Both of them were looking at you with concern, and Shinjuro had that warning look of "You shouldn't say no" that you have seen so many times in Kyojuro's eyes. It wasn't an angry look, but in his father wasn't as soft as in Kyo, it was a parent look to a daughter, or someone he felt like his daughter. So you gave in. You were truly exhausted.
It felt really annoying not to be able to do anything normal without ending tired. You smiled for yourself, with the baby, tiredness would reach a new whole level.
You fell asleep before touching the pillow. It was a heavy, uneasy sleep. You didn't remember dreaming anything, but you woke up feeling dizzy and shivering. You had slept more than you thought you would. You left the window open, and the warm breeze was getting cold with the early sunset. You stood slowly, closed the window, then looked toward the cupboard. Blankets.
Two knocks.
"(self insert) Are you okay?" Senjuro's worried eyes leaned out the door.
"Yes, just feeling a little cold, but don't worry, I can pick something to warm me."
"I'll make tea, it will help."
"Thank you Senjuro, your're an angel"
You heard him running to the kitchen. Caring for you, he wasn't as strict as Kyojuro or Shinjuro. But he was always close just in case you needed somehting.
The blankets were higher than expected, so you dragged a chair to the cupboard to be able to reach them. You looked through the window, sundown was really close, that sudden shivering... "Shut up, Kyo is strong and you'll have him here by tomorrow" you thought. Your baby gave you a kick. "Mom's being silly, right honey bun?"
You climbed carefully up the chair and tiptoed to reach the blanket, lost in your thoughts. And of course, it had to be your favourite blanket, the softest one, settled almost in the top, buried halfway inside the pile. It wasn't that easy with all the blankets in there, your fingers reached the edge of the fabric and tried to pull it out.
It resisted. You frowned, focused entirely on pulling it free, too distracted to notice how your foot had shifted dangerously close to the edge of the chair.
One stronger pull...The blanket came loose all at once. You felt the cold sunset breeze. And the chair slipped beneath you.
In one second a scream tore from your throat. Panic exploded inside you thinking about your baby, and felt panic as you've never felt it before.
Everything was so quick. But before impact, strong arms caught you. Hard. Fast. Violently protective.
Kyojuro had arrived.
He had thrown himself beneath you without hesitation, taking the entire fall against the wooden floor.
His back hit first. One arm locked around your waist. The other shielded your stomach completely. The breath left his lungs sharply. But you never touched the floor. Kyojuro's quickness was a blessing. You landed entirely against him, tangled in the blanket you had fought so hard for.
For a moment neither of you moved. Your hearts pounded so violently you could hear them. His grip tightened instinctively.
Shinjuro and Senjuro appeared two seconds later. You both were lying on the floor, pale, breathless, the chair laying nearby. Then all three of them freaked out.
"Are you okay??????" They said out loud all at once. Three voices, same volume, same terror.
Silence. All three staring at you, anxious and worried. Kyo was as pale as you. You were so shocked about what happened that you couldn't say a single word. When you fell, both of your hands went instinctively to your belly, trying to protect your baby. You were focusing so hard on finding the slightest sign of life inside you that you barely heard them.
"Is she okay????" Senjuro and Shinjuro asked Kyo.
Kyojuro looked up, pale.
K- "How could you let her do that?????"
Shin- "How??? We what???? She climbed herself! I would never ever let her!"
Sen- "Neither do I!!!" Senjuro cried with teary eyes. "Are you ok? Is the baby moving????"
Shin- "Are you in pain?????"
Sen- "Is the baby moving?"
K- "Sweetheart please, say something!!!!"
Shin- "Is she bleeding????"
K- "Of course not!!!! I protected her!!!!!"
Shin- "She is wrapped in a blanket, how can you be so sure?????"
K- "Because I know!!!!" Kyojuro shot back while unwrapping the blanket frantically, his hands going straight to your tights. He was as shocked as you were, but your reactions were different "She is not, I told you!!!!" Then both palms settled over your stomach with trembling warmth.
Sen- "Is the baby moving????"
K- "I don't know, can't feel anything!!!"
Shin- "Of course you can't, she's the pregnant one you idiot!!! And you won't feel anything either if she has an anterior placenta!!!!"
K- "A what?!!!!"
Shin - "I have two sons dumbass! I know more about pregnancy than you do!!!!"
Sen- "Are you feeling any contractions????"
Shin- "Please, speak my dear, we need to know if the baby is ok!!!!!"
K- "She is in shock, can't you see that???"
Sen- "We need a doctor, right now!!!!! I'll..."
Shin- "No!!! I'm faster, i'll go..."
K- "Bring Shinobu here asap!!!!!"
Hell, that was insane, The falling, the fear, your panic, the three man in panic, same eyes, same face, same intensity, yelling at each other and at you.
"Please, calm down, i'm fine, i think I felt them move..." Your voice sound weak, but all three heard you and stared at you.
K- lowering his voice "Are you sure my dearest flame?"
"Yes, I am honey, it's just been an awful moment, but the baby is okay. I just need to rest, we all do."
You weren't that certain, it was just a feeling. The baby moving only meant it was moving, nothing else. He could be harmed in some way. You above all understood all the freaking out, but at that moment you needed peace, calm, your husband holding you tight. You felt guilty. You always used to do all by yourself. Grab a blanket seemed so easy you didn't even think to ask for help. You felt guilty for all of them, because you know they were feeling guilty too. And if something really happened to your baby it would be all your fault. Your worst exagerated thoughts made you feel as a murderer.
Kyojuro raised slowly with you in his arms and sat with you in your futon, never leaving the embrace.
Sen- lowering his voice too "If the baby is moving, does it really mean it's all okay?"
Shin- "Of course not!!!!!"
"Shinjuro, please, I know we are all deathly scared, but I feel It's ok, I just need calm and rest, it's mother's intuition. Let's calm down. As you know, the placenta is also a shield for the baby. It's all okay, Kyojuro's quickness softened the falling. They are fine, I feel it. please stay."
It was the first time you called your father in law by his name. All three Rengokus stared at you in silence. Three faces, three identical expressions, that could perfectly be the same flame at three different ages.
Maybe it was the fright, the fear, the shock, the hysteria, the guilty and all the awful feelings running inside your mind. Whatever. Looking at them, you began to laugh, a snort that ended with in laughter, as loud as your husband's and family in law.
K- "Sweet pie, it's not funny."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry, i'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry." You said, laughing and sobbing at the same time.
Their seriousness didn't help you stop laughing and sobbing, hysterical tears falling down your cheeks.
Shin- "I'm going to the Butterfly state"
K- "Please. Thank you, father."
----
When Shinobu Kocho finished examining you, the room finally breathed again.
“The baby is perfectly safe.”
Everyone visibly exhaled.
“The placenta protected the child, and Kyojuro’s reflexes prevented serious impact.”
Kyojuro sat beside you, still not letting go of your hand. Shinjuro stood rigid. Senjuro looked close to tears.
Shinobu’s smile sharpened slightly.
"Now the most important thing is for the mother to be calm, i've given her some natural herbs that will help with nerves and let her sleep well. But now comes the difficult part: no guilt.”
Her gaze moved deliberately between all three men.
“Because guilt can wound deeper than accidents. Babies need to feel happiness around. I know it?s something that won't be easy to forget but you are strong enough to help each oter to leave it behind, right?"
Shinobu gave everyone that smile that warned without warning directly.
Sen- "Of course Mss Kocho. Thank you very much for everything."
K- "Thank you Shinobu, i have no words to thank you enough"
"You can thank me taking good care of her, sleep, calm, warm tea, no chairs... no heroic blanket retrievals without supervision. I'll have a birth to attend in a couple of months, you know?" She winked to all three man, giving you a deep hug.
----
"Okay, I know neither of us is in the mood to eat anything, but our small flame would probably appreciate to get some food." Your voice was weak, but firm.
Kyojuro’s eyes lowered immediately to your belly, that same protective softness appeared in him again, so intense it almost hurt to look at.
His hand moved carefully over the blanket, resting there with reverence.
“You are right,” he murmured. “Our child must not suffer because their parents nearly lost all reason.”
“Nor because their grandfather and uncle nearly screamed the roof down,” you added, trying to lighten the room.
That finally earned the smallest breath of laughter from Senjuro.
“Yes! And now that brother is here…” he said, smiling shyly, “we still have a small package to open, don’t we?”
Kyojuro blinked.
“A package?”
Immediately Senjuro looked excited, almost forgetting the fear of a few moments earlier.
“The one from Mrs. Kuriyama!”
At that, Kyojuro looked from Senjuro to you, confused. But before either of you could answer, Shinjuro cut in sharply:
“You two,” he said, pointing first at you, then at Kyojuro, “don’t you dare move.”
Kyojuro opened his mouth—
“Father, I...”
“No.”
The answer came instantly. Firm. Absolute. Then he turned toward Senjuro.
“Senjuro. Kitchen.”
“Yes, father.”
“We will call you when dinner is ready.”
For a second, the room fell into surprised silence, because the phrase sounded so natural, so unlike the Shinjuro of months ago.
Senjuro obeyed immediately, though his smile betrayed how much that simple normality meant to him. Before leaving, he turned back.
“But the package...”
“After dinner.” Shinjuro said.
Then, after a pause, with a rough awkwardness that almost sounded embarrassed:
“If your brother opens it now, he will forget to eat entirely.”
The two left together, their footsteps fading toward the kitchen.
And finally silence settled. A softer silence now. The kind that arrives only after fear begins to loosen. For several breaths neither you nor Kyojuro spoke. Then suddenly...
His forehead lowered against yours. His shoulders trembled very slightly. So slightly another person might not have noticed. But you did. His voice came low, rougher than usual.
“When I opened the window and saw you falling…”
He stopped. His fingers tightened around yours.
“I have faced demons without hesitation.”
Another pause.
“But I have never known terror like that.”
Your chest tightened. Because now that everyone else had calmed, his fear finally surfaced. Slowly, you cupped his face in your hands and kiss a tear going down his cheek.
“I’m sorry.” Your voice was a soft whisper.
“No.”
His answer came instantly. His forehead rubbing softly yours, a soft touch nose to nose, a soft brush on your lips.
“You are not apologizing for needing a blanket.”
You smiled weakly, guilt keeping punching you.
“It was my fault.”
“It was an accident.”
His lips never leaving the soft brush on yours, his eyes finally lifted to look at you.
And there was something very young in them now, almost boyish beneath all that flame. Then, softly, almost accusingly:
“You climbed a chair.”
You bit your lip, nearly laughing, and having a knot in your throat at the same time. That kind of feeling you have when the storm has passed away and you're still hurt, but relieved for the happy ending, and the feelings mix in a battle between laugh and cry.
“Yes.” Soft smile.
“While pregnant.”
“Yes.” Tears falling freely.
“For a blanket.”
“It was my favorite blanket.” You said, sobbing and laughing at the same time again, but quieter.
He stared. Utter disbelief. Caressing your hand, wiping your tears with a thumb. Then exhaled through his nose.
“The baby truly chose a fearless mother.”
You smiled faintly trying to stop sobbing.
“The baby also chose a dramatic father.”
At that, one corner of his mouth finally lifted. Then his hand moved again to your stomach. Gentle. Careful. As if asking permission.
A small movement answered beneath the blanket.
Both of you froze. Then Kyojuro’s eyes widened like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.
“There...”
You smiled sobbing softly and nodded.
Another tiny kick. This time unmistakable. His entire face changed. Relief flooded him so visibly that it nearly made you loose your control again.
“Our small flame…” he whispered, another lonely tear falling down his cheek, you kissed it tenderly.
And for the first time since the fall, his smile returned fully — softer than his usual blazing grin, but infinitely more precious.
"Kyojuro I.."
He silenced you with a soft, tender, sweet kiss.
"Shh, that's okay my sweet flame, it's all okay"
"I know, I just was going to say that I love you so much"
He smiled and squeezed you.
"You were going to apologize again" He said kissing your forehead and the tip of your nose.
"I wa... sn't.. oh..." Tears betrayed you again "You know me well." you said, squeezing him.
"I love you with all my heart and soul."
You opened your mouth to say you didn't deserve that, but instead you made the effort to turn the bad thoughts away, and kissed him short, again, and again. And he joined you, beginning a sweet kisses battle smiling and giggling like teenagers.
From the kitchen, Shinjuro’s voice thundered:
“If you are smiling, that means you are both alive. Good. Stay seated.”
Senjuro’s laugh followed immediately.
And this time, even Kyojuro laughed openly.
You all still were processing what happened, but the house, little by little, sounded like home again.
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