Chapter Two: Shinobu Kocho!
『RYON』
Enjoy~~
The atmosphere was calm in the Butterfly Mansion, as the midday sun sent its warm rays through the wooden panels.
Inside one of the open training rooms, Kocho Shinobu stood with her usual poise, practicing the movements of her light and swift sword, while in front of her stood her disciple and younger sister.
Tsuyuri Kanao stood facing her, holding a wooden sword, executing the basic forms of "Flower Breathing" that she had learned from the late Kocho Kanae.
"Kanao, your breathing is irregular," Shinobu said calmly, her violet eyes observing Kanao's slow and hesitant movements.
"Flower Breathing requires lightness and constant motion. Speed is everything, especially when you lack the power to cut off a demon's head. Focus on rotating your waist and the speed of your footwork."
Kanao, who still relied on flipping a coin to make decisions, only responded with a silent nod and resumed her movements.
Shinobu could only sigh inwardly. How much she wished Kanao would abandon this dark path. She did not want Kanao to share the same fate as her older sister.
The dark and dangerous path of the Demon Slayers.
A strange, irritating sound suddenly cut through the quiet training.
"Kwaa! Urgent! Urgent! A distress call from Mizunoto! Kwaa!"
Shinobu's sharp gaze lifted toward the sky. This was no ordinary crow's voice—it was a crow flying at full speed, filled with panic.
This was Ren's narcissistic crow. After nearly dying of fear from its master's words, it flew straight toward the nearest place it trusted would have Demon Slayers. Since the Butterfly Mansion was relatively close, it headed there directly.
The crow circled around Shinobu, and upon seeing the Demon Slayer uniform and the distinctive butterfly-patterned haori, it was certain it had found its target.
The crow screeched sharply, almost colliding with her head.
"Kwaa! Urgent message! A new Mizunoto… disciple of Urokodaki Sakonji, the former Water Hashira! His name is Yukihara Ren! Kwaa! He encountered a Lower Moon demon in Koyama Town! He requests immediate reinforcements! Kwaa!"
Shinobu froze in place. Her violet eyes widened in a shock she was not accustomed to.
A Lower Moon?
How could a Mizunoto—the lowest rank—and a new Demon Slayer at that, face a Lower Moon so soon? This had never happened before.
This was an unlucky boy. Fighting a Lower Moon was practically suicide. Even the Hashira struggled against the Moons.
If Ren were here, he would have mocked the situation, saying: "Why the shock? My future colleague Kamado Tanjiro met the Demon King Muzan himself not long after joining… and even recognized him! A demon no one had ever seen before, not even the Hashira."
Shinobu calmly gestured to her shoulder, and the exhausted, trembling crow landed on it.
"Calm down. What exactly did you see? Describe the situation in detail."
The narcissistic crow explained the situation in panic. It described the abandoned house, Ren's sudden warning, and how it left as Ren entered the building.
It did not mention Ren blasting the Lower Moon out of the house, because it had already flown away in terror before the explosion occurred.
"So he's inside now, facing the Lower Moon alone!"
Shinobu did not hesitate for even a moment. A Lower Moon was a disaster for an entire town. A Mizunoto's power could not withstand a Lower Moon.
"Kanao, continue your training," Shinobu ordered sternly.
She looked around and quickly gathered all available Demon Slayers in the Butterfly Mansion, even those recovering from minor injuries.
"Everyone, listen! There is a Lower Moon in Koyama Town! We must go immediately to save the Mizunoto and kill the demon. Anyone who can fight, follow me!"
Shinobu moved with astonishing speed, and the professional Demon Slayers behind her followed without question.
But Shinobu was surprised when she saw Kanao walking behind her with quiet steps.
"Kanao? I told you to continue training. This is a dangerous mission. You don't need to go."
Kanao looked at her with her clear eyes and said nothing, but she did not stop walking.
Shinobu sighed inwardly. She remembered her fear of losing Kanao. Perhaps seeing a real Lower Moon—even if dead—or witnessing the consequences of real combat would convince her to abandon this insane path.
…
At that time, Ren had finished a brief meditation on his increased power.
He was now level 53—a qualitative leap. He was lazily sitting under an oak tree, above which the beautiful girl Akemi had been sitting, before climbing down after she calmed from the shock.
She had been talking to him for a while, and she did not seem bored at all, despite Ren's lukewarm and lazy responses.
"You're amazing! You're the strongest person I've ever seen in my life!" Akemi said in awe, her eyes shining with indescribable admiration. "But… why do you do this? Why did you join the Demon Slayers?"
Ren suddenly frowned, in an artificial and perfectly executed manner. His beautiful, gentle face filled with feigned sorrow and despair.
"What kind of question is that?" Ren said in a low, deep voice. "Akemi-san, that's a very cruel question to ask a Demon Slayer."
Akemi's eyes widened in fear. "Ah… I'm sorry! I didn't mean—"
"When you ask a Demon Slayer why he joined," Ren continued in a tragic tone, "you remind him of his past, of the family he lost, of painful memories he doesn't want to recall… you remind him of blood, pain, horrific nights… and endless sorrow."
Akemi covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes full of regret. "Please forgive me! I didn't know… I'm so sorry!"
At that moment, Ren couldn't hold it in anymore. He let out a short, quiet laugh and gently patted the girl's head.
"I'm just joking," Ren said with a lazy smile. "But what I said is generally true. That question shouldn't be asked to most of them. Fortunately, I'm different."
Akemi looked at him with mild anger, then gave in to his charm. "You're terrible! I almost cried!"
"I'm sorry," Ren said, though his eyes sparkled with amusement. "But I didn't join for revenge. Demons never attacked my family. I joined simply because I had power, and I believe the strong should help the weak."
Ren looked at the destroyed house and the remaining ashes of the Lower Moon.
"Good people shouldn't die because of monsters. That's all."
Akemi sighed. "Even though you enjoy teasing people… you're very kind, Yukihara-san."
At that moment, Ren stopped smiling. His emerald eyes sharpened as he looked toward the northeast.
"They finally arrived," Ren muttered.
On a distant tree branch, Kocho Shinobu stopped. Her eyes were fixed on Ren, who was sitting lazily in his official Demon Slayer uniform, wearing a black haori with bright red patterns.
He was calmly talking with a delicate, beautiful-looking girl. The image was completely contradictory to the scene nearby: a half-destroyed house and a crater filled with ash. It was clear that an extraordinary battle had taken place here.
"Mizunoto?" Shinobu thought in shock. "That's impossible."
Ren stepped out from under the tree and walked toward Shinobu. He looked at her and spaced out for a few seconds.
"Amazing. Shinobu is actually much more beautiful than in the anime. Her violet eyes are clear, and her facial features carry a mix of kindness and coldness… her sister's death truly affected her."
Ren regained his focus and straightened with dignity. He took two steps forward, raised his right hand to the left side of his chest over his heart, and performed the Demon Slayer salute that Urokodaki had taught him—a formal greeting befitting a Hashira.
"Greetings, Insect Hashira."
Shinobu was surprised twice. First, by Ren's very formal salute, and second, by his ability to recognize her rank immediately.
Shinobu gracefully descended from the branch.
"You are Yukihara Ren? Urokodaki-san's disciple?"
"At your service," Ren replied with calm respect. "I hope I didn't cause you too much concern, Hashira Kocho."
"Concern?" Shinobu said coldly, hiding her tension. "Your crow arrived in a panic, requesting urgent reinforcements, claiming you were facing a Lower Moon. Where is the demon? And where are the remains of the battle?"
Ren pointed lazily at the ash-filled crater behind him.
"It was there," Ren said indifferently. "Lower Moon Four. It's been dealt with. Sorry, I couldn't wait for the reinforcements."
Wait? Excuse me… this was his chance to become the youngest Hashira in history, and also the fastest to ever become one.
Shinobu felt a sharp sting of disbelief, but the ash and evaporated blood were extremely dense. This could not have been an ordinary demon.
A long conversation followed, during which Ren told the story in simple terms. He lied skillfully and convinced Shinobu that he had merely been passing by when his sharp senses detected the demon's presence, and he guessed it was a Lower Moon.
"But I didn't use my sword to cut off its head," Ren added honestly. "I used a set of martial arts, enhanced with Thunder Breathing, and struck it with enough force to send it straight into sunlight. It wasn't a real fight."
"I only attacked it with the intention of knocking it out, since it was morning and the sun was shining!" Ren said with a smug smile, thinking, How humble I am!
Shinobu frowned and looked at the destroyed house. This level of destruction made sense if it had been purely physical combat.
"You are the disciple of the former Water Hashira," Shinobu said sharply. "Why did you use physical strength and martial arts? And did you say you enhanced the strike with Thunder Breathing? Did you fail to master Water Breathing and switch to Thunder?"
Ren smiled. This was his chance to boast in front of the beautiful Hashira.
"Not at all, Hashira Kocho. I mastered all forms of Water Breathing, as well as Total Concentration Breathing, under Urokodaki-san." Ren slightly raised his crimson sword. "But after mastering Water, I was inspired to create another breathing style… something that combined the flexibility of water with speed. That's how I ended up learning Thunder Breathing…"
Shinobu fell silent for a long time. It was insane—impossible… yet the evidence spoke for itself: a Mizunoto had killed a Lower Moon on nearly his first mission.
At that moment, the Demon Slayers arrived and were stunned by the scene. Even Kanao stood silently, looking at Ren with unusual focus.
The house was thoroughly investigated. The presence of old, concentrated demon blood was confirmed, along with many corpses, proving that the demon had lived here for a long time.
After the investigation concluded, another crow arrived from headquarters.
"Kwaa! A message from the Master! Yukihara Ren and Kocho Shinobu must return immediately to headquarters! Kwaa!"
Ren looked at Shinobu and smiled lazily. "Looks like I became famous quickly."
Shinobu nodded seriously. "The first Mizunoto to kill a Lower Moon. The Master must see this with his own eyes."
As the group prepared to depart, Ren spoke to the silent Kanao.
"You there, with the pink haori," Ren said calmly, tilting his head slightly. "It's kind of you to come rescue me. But you're not a Demon Slayer yet, are you? How were you allowed to come?"
Kanao did not respond.
"You refuse to talk… that'll be troublesome. The road to headquarters is long. Wouldn't it be better to talk with someone your age along the way?"
Kanao's face remained expressionless, but her eyes moved slightly.
"My goodness, you're tougher than Lower Moon Four," Ren sighed with a smile, chuckling softly as he set off with Shinobu toward headquarters.
Shinobu walked behind him, thinking seriously: This child… is very strong, but he doesn't seem like someone who suffered because of demons.
Shinobu was confused. Most Demon Slayers had suffered and been driven by pain caused by demons, including the Hashira, who gained motivation to grow stronger for revenge.
But Ren seemed indifferent—lazy, narcissistic, arrogant… and even chasing after girls.
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