The hunger faded.
Slowly, like a receding tide, the gnawing void inside Ren's gut dulled, leaving behind only a hollow, sickening fullness. His senses sharpened—the metallic tang of blood thick on his tongue, the coppery scent saturating the air, the stickiness coating his hands, his face.
He blinked.
The world came into focus.
And then—he saw.
Suki's body lay before him, broken, eaten.
Ren's breath hitched.
"No."
Memories crashed into him like a fist to the chest.
Muzan's blood. The pain. The hunger. The way suki had begged for her life.
A strangled sound escaped Ren's throat—half sob, half scream. He staggered back, his legs giving out as he collapsed onto the blood-soaked tatami. His hands shook violently as he stared at them, at the crimson staining his fingers, his sleeves, his soul.
"I...ate her." He muttered.
The realization tore through him like a blade. His stomach convulsed, but there was nothing left to vomit. Only bile and blood and horror.
Tears burned his eyes, spilling over in hot, silent streams. He wanted to claw his own skin off. To scream until his voice gave out. To undo this.
But he couldn't.
His family was gone.
And he had killed the last one with his own teeth.
The shrine room was silent save for the ragged sound of Ren's breathing. Moonlight streamed through the shattered shoji screens, casting jagged shadows across the carnage. His father's lifeless gaze. His mother's outstretched hand. His siblings, cut down like saplings before they could bloom.
He couldn't leave them like this.
With trembling hands, Ren reached out, gently closing Suki's eyes. Her skin was already cold.
"Nii san, look I caught a butterfly!"
The memory hit him like a physical blow. Suki's laughter, bright and carefree, as she chased insects through the garden. The way she'd clung to his sleeve whenever storms rolled in, her small fingers clutching him like he could protect her from anything.
He hadn't protected her.
Ren's jaw clenched.
He moved mechanically, gathering what little he could—his mother's jade pendant, the one she always wore for luck. His father's black oni mask, a relic from his warrior ancestors, its snarling visage a symbol of strength.
"A true warrior does not run from his fate."
His father's words echoed in his mind.
Ren tightened his grip on the mask.
"Then I won't run."
The first light of dawn crept over the horizon, painting the sky in pale gold and pink. Ren stood in the ruins of his home, the mask clutched in one hand, the jade in the other.
He could wait.Wait for the sun to rise, to scorch him to ashes alongside his family. It would be justice. A fitting end for a monster.
But as the light grew brighter, something inside him rebelled. "Would they want this?" He asked himself.
His mother, who had always soothed his fears. His father, who had fought for their legacy. His siblings, who had looked up to him.
Would they want him to give up?
The thought was like a spark in the dark.
Then—
A sound.
Footsteps. Light, precise, dangerous.
Ren's head snapped up.
Two figures stood in the shattered doorway, silhouetted against the predawn gloom.
One was small, slight, with a butterfly-patterned haori fluttering around her like wings. The other was a young girl with emotionless lavender eyes, her grip steady on a gleaming nichirin blade.
Shinobu Kocho. And... Kanao Tsuyuri.
Their hollow, focused gazes locked onto Ren.
And then Shinobu moved.
_____
"Insect breathing..."
The words were a whisper, yet they carried the weight of death.
Shinobu Kocho shot forward like a bolt of lightning, her blade—thin, needle-like, designed to pierce rather than slash—aimed straight for Ren's throat,he barely dodged.
The sword grazed his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood that sizzled faintly.poison*.*
"Wait—!" Ren choked out, scrambling back. "I didn't—!"
"Dance of the bee sting: true flutter"
Shinobu didn't listen.
Her blade became a blur, striking faster than Ren could track. He threw himself to the side, but not fast enough—the tip of her sword sank into his shoulder, the pain immediate and burning.
Ren hissed, yanking himself free. The wound didn't heal.
"Shit" he cursed.
Kanao stood motionless, her expression blank as always, her sword still sheathed.
"Kanao," Shinobu said, her voice sweet but edged with steel. "Eliminate him."
Kanao's fingers twitched—just slightly—around the hilt of her sword.But she didn't move.
Shinobu's eyes flicked to her, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. "Kanao?"
Ren saw his chance.
He ran.
__________
The forest swallowed him whole, the trees blurring as Ren sprinted, his bare feet pounding against the earth. Behind him, Shinobu gave chase, her movements eerily silent, her presence like a shadow clinging to his back.
But Kanao—
Kanao didn't follow.
"You can't escape."
Shinobu's voice was closer than it should have been.
Ren ducked as her blade sliced the air where his neck had been. He twisted, kicking off a tree trunk to change direction, but Shinobu was relentless.
"Second form: Butterfly dance"
She spun, her blade a silver streak as she aimed for Ren's legs. He leapt but her sword still caught him, slicing deep into his calf.
Ren crashed to the ground, his leg buckling. The poison burned through him, slowing his regeneration to a crawl.
Shinobu loomed over him, her smile gentle, her eyes cold.
"Any last words, demon?"
Ren's breath came in ragged gasps.
Then—
A sliver of sunlight broke through the trees.
It touched Ren's outstretched hand.
And burned.
His skin blackened instantly, smoke curling from the blistering flesh.
He screamed, yanking his arm back, but the damage was done.
Shinobu's gaze flicked to the horizon.
The sun was rising.
Ren squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the end—
—when a shadow fell over him.
Not Shinobu's.
Kanao stood above him, her haori spread wide, blocking the sunlight .
Shinobu froze.
For the first time since Ren had seen her, her perfect composure cracked. Her eyes widened, her lips parting in shock.
"Kanao...?"
Kanao didn't answer. She didn't even look at Shinobu.
Her lavender eyes, usually so empty, were fixed on Ren—on the tears streaking through the blood on his face, on the way his hands trembled not with hunger, but with grief.
And in that moment, Ren understood.
She saw him.
Not just the demon.
The boy who had lost everything.
Shinobu's voice was barely a whisper. "What are you doing?"
Kanao didn't move.
The sun climbed higher.
And Ren took the chance and fled.