Demon Slayer - Tale of Flame and Dream : A Fan Story

Chapter Eleven: Ren's Reflection

As Ren and Shinobu walked through the main gate of the butterfly mansion, they were greeted to the barks of Yushi as he bounded towards them his tail a blur with the speed it was wagging. "Oh you're back" the voice of Koba called over the dogs barking. "I was wondering where he was running off to" he smiled at them and began to walk towards them. Yushi was attempting to lick Shinobu's face as Ren looked at Koba and said, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be" and she began to explain what had happened during the meeting. His eyes wide in amazement, stared at Ren in awe and shock. "You turned down the offer to be a Hashira, are you mad?" She nodded her head, "It didn't seem right for me to accept the offer" she said dismissively "Plus" she added, "There's already a Flame Hashira, we can't have two now can we" she concluded smiling. "But you still have all the Hashira benefits?" Koba pressed. She nodded once more. Shinobu cleared her throat, "I believe that The Master sees great potential in Ren and does indeed plan on appointing her the Flame Hashira should Rengoku be killed" The irony in her words were not lost on Ren, if intentional or not, for she knew that The Master was blind due to his curse but understood that he also has a great deal of faith in all demon slayers. She felt herself begin to swell with pride. "Anyway, it's getting late, shall we turn in?" Ren asked the others, they agreed. Entering her annex, Ren looked at Yushi, who looked as though he'd been bathed and brushed, his fur was defiantly a lot cleaner, his fox red fur was a lot brighter and shinier. The two looked each other in the eye as Ren asked. "You hungry?" Yushi gave a bark that clearly told her, though she couldn't really understand dogs, she understood his bark to mean "No thanks, Koba fed me" She smiled at him and began to undress, sliding the door closed, though leaving a small part open, large enough for Yushi to freely go in and out. She lay in bed, Yushi lying down beside her bed, looking up at the ceiling, her eyes unblinking. She did like the idea of being a Hashira, but also felt like she made the right decision, she wasn't ready for that. He eyelids began to feel heavy, unable to keep them open, she fell asleep.

She was running along a railway track, a number of Kakushi following close behind her, Koba running alongside. Her Kasugai Crow was leading them along the tracks towards the derailed train. She had received word that one of the Twelve Kizuki was on that train, if it was derailed like this, it must be dead. She heard the faint sound of three boys crying hysterically, their misery plain for everyone to hear. The crying got louder as they got closer to the Mugen Train. Rengoku was tasked with this, he'd have been able to keep everyone safe. However, with the crying now clear as if she were next to them, Ren couldn't help but feel dread rising up her body, making it harder to move. "Koba" she said clearly. "Take half the Kakushi and tend to the civilians" He nodded and broke away from Ren, who continued to run towards the crying. Rengoku was kneeling down surrounded by three young demon slayers, one with a checkered  black and green haori, one with a yellow one that matched his hair and the third wearing a severed boar head on his own. They were surrounding him, crying while looking directly at him. Ren's fear and panic rose to breaking point, she sprinted away from the Kakushi towards where Rengoku knelt.

She slid to a halt, almost falling over when she got to him. he was covered with blood, his sword broken and a gaping hole through his torso. Ren fell to her knees, hands flying over her mouth. It was impossible, Rengoku couldn't be. Dead. The scene around his body showed evidence of a vicious and heroic final battle. His blood splattered the floor around them. How could he have been defeated? Someone as strong as Rengoku, beaten. Ren began to feel a mixture of misery and rage build up inside her. She wanted to kill the demon that did this. No. Not kill. Brutalise. It was the only form of a sort of justice she could think of that satisfied her. But she didn't let these thoughts permeate any further in her mind. Ren's eyes swam with uncontrollable tears as she stared at his body. She wanted to not believe it, that he was not dead, that he could recover from this. But she knew he had already passed into the next world. She looked into his face and found herself in further disbelief. He was smiling. As though he was remembering the happiest moment possible. 'He must have been thinking of his mother' she thought to herself. The cries of the boys fell distant once again, the Kakushi were clearly taking them away. There was nothing she could do, she seized his body in her arms, held it close to her own, even staining her uniform with his blood, and began to cry, just as hysterically as the three boys. She felt as if she had just lost everything, her family all over again, the feeling made her feel weak and insignificant. She couldn't bare it. Koba turned the corner, "Ren, all civilians are safe and those young ones are being taken to Shinobu..." he said, though stopped dead when he saw Ren clutching Rengoku in a hug like hold. "Oh no" he said sadly.

Ren jolted awake feeling her eyes swimming as if she were still in that dream. But was it a dream? It felt so real. She then felt the presence of two others in her room. "Ren... Ren" the voice sounded panicky as it got louder and more in focus. Looking up, Ren saw the faces of Shinobu and Koba looking at her, pale and scared. "Are you alright?" Shinobu asked. Ren nodded, wiped her eyes on her bedding and turned to sit up straight. He held out his hand to stop her from standing. "Yushi came to get us" he said, "He was obviously worried about you" "When we got here, you were crying and almost screaming in misery" Shinobu said quietly. "I..." Ren began faintly. "I had... it was almost like a vision, of Rengoku" she said, her hand supporting her head. When the others began to question her she told them exactly what happened in the dream. "I think that because of what was said earlier, your scared about everyone's wellbeing a lot more than you were normally" Shinobu stated smartly, "It just so happened that Rengoku was the first one you dreamt about"  Ren looked at her but shook her head. "It felt so real though" she said dismissively. "Maybe you just need to talk" Koba said, folding his arms. "That's a good idea" Shinobu chimed in. "I agree that talking about something, not necessarily about the subject in question, can help relieve tension" Ren nodded, maybe the were right, maybe talking might help. "OK" she said. "Not here though, I want to look at the stars" Ren stood up and moved to the door, the others following her out. They walked a short distance, seating themselves on a bench near Ren's annex. As she sat down, Ren looked up at the sky, Yushi jumping onto her lap and curling into a ball. "You know, I've known you a long time" Koba said seating himself to her right, "But I've never heard to talk about your past" "I have to admit" Said Shinobu, seating herself on Ren's left, "Neither have I" Ren began to stroke Yushi's ears as she said "Ok" before ploughing on.

"I was born into a middle-class family in Hokkaido, my father was a banker and mother a seamstress for the local tailor. I had two brothers and one sister as well. We lived in peace my whole life, until my tenth birthday. On that day, I was playing in the snow, ice skating, enjoying my time alone, my parents had taken my siblings to get me something for my birthday. They told me to be home by sundown for the celebrations, Which I did. It was then, when the monsters I believed as myth, as stories told by mother's to unruly children to get them to behave, were revealed in all their horrific splendour. My mother was knelt over the rest of my family, just as blood covered as the walls of the house. I stood there in horror as I watched her eat my younger brother, she smelt me and leapt at me, hunger etched on her face and reaching into her soul. I panicked, flailed about trying to break free from her. I couldn't break her hold. She pressed her teeth to my shoulder and was about to bite when her grip slackened and I saw her hand fall. My father, had cut her arm off with a knife in his hand. He shouted at me to run away before she was on top of him. So I did. I ran for my life. Ran as fast as I could, the sounds of my father being torn apart still haunt me. I ran for what felt like days. Snowstorms were frequent in the north, and by the blessing of some watching deity, I managed to evade her in one, though I found myself just as lost. I had nowhere to go, no one to go to. I felt as if I was going to die in the snow. Until I stumbled into a foxes den. When I regained consciousness, I was face to face with the family that occupied it. Foxes. They were as shocked I was there, as I was to them. The youngest of them bounced around me once I had climbed out of the den. It decided it was going to lead me somewhere. With no other option I followed it. Fortunately it led me into the path of Shinjuro Rengoku, collapsing at his feet, starving and exhausted I looked around for the fox that led me to him, though there was no sign of it, no tracks in the snow, nothing. I only realised it may have been a spirit a few days after, when I was still recovering at his estate. His son, Kyojuro looked after me, he tended to me as if I were his own sister. He was so sweet, just as caring as he is now. When I was able to walk again, he offered to teach me to use a sword, he told me about the demon slayers and even taught me about Flame Breathing. It wasn't long until we were training together, we studied out of books, Shinjuro didn't really teach us. We trained against each other, soon becoming as good as the other. We went through final selection together and passed with no difficulty. We didn't really see each other as often as we used to once becoming demon slayers. I did tell him about my mother but I have no idea if she was killed or is still out there." She said all this staring at the moon. Koba and Shinobu decided it would be best to let her talk without interruption. Both of them, now feeling a deeper understanding of Ren's past. "So that's why you're scared of Rengoku dying, it's like anyone's fear of losing a sibling" Shinobu said. Ren made a noise of confirmation. "Anyway, there's not much after me becoming a demon slayer that you two don't know" Koba looked as if her wanted to place his hand on Ren's shoulder but thought best against it. "I think we can all sleep easier now" Shinobu said standing up. Ren felt she was quite right; she waved good night to the others and went back to bed. Falling asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.