Chapter Thirteen: Shhh… This Is a Secret!
『RYON』
Enjoy~~~
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The journey to the headquarters was not easy, especially with Kocho Shinobu leading the way. She moved at the usual Hashira speed—light like a butterfly—but to Ren, who normally moved using Thunder Breathing, it felt a little slow.
Ren followed her with deliberate laziness, keeping a comfortable distance, while trying to keep Kanao—who was walking rigidly behind her older sister—within his field of view.
"I really hope the Master doesn't think I killed the Lower Moon by pure coincidence," Ren thought with annoyance. "I'd be forced to reveal more of my overwhelming power, and that ruins the fun."
Shinobu was the one who broke the silence after ten minutes, the only sound until then being their footsteps on the dirt.
"You, Yukihara Ren," Shinobu called without turning back, her cold voice carrying an interrogative tone.
"Yes, Hashira Kocho?" Ren replied respectfully, though his excessive calm only irritated her further.
"Are you truly certain you are Urokodaki's disciple? His students are known for Water Breathing and extreme seriousness… you possess neither. Storm Breathing… that's just some fabricated nonsense, isn't it?"
Ren smiled inwardly. He knew Shinobu was testing him.
"Hashira Kocho, I am a bit different. Urokodaki-san taught me everything about Water Breathing and the mechanics of Total Concentration Breathing. But I found that Water Breathing was not suitable for my body… it is good, but not the best."
"And why wasn't it suitable?"
"Because Water Breathing relies on flow and flexibility. Unfortunately, I possess overwhelming physical strength and extreme agility. Using a water-style breathing actually suppressed my power instead of enhancing it. I was searching for a breathing style that combined pure power with the high speed I already have."
Shinobu stopped walking and turned to face him, her hand resting on her sword's hilt.
"Power and speed… those are the foundations of Thunder. So you chose Thunder?"
"No, Hashira. Thunder destroys its user if the body is not perfectly refined. And my body is still young… so I combined mastery of Water—for flexibility and bodily protection—with the explosive speed of Thunder. The result was Storm," Ren said calmly, then added with a lazy smile, "Water prevents the body from tearing apart due to insane speed, and Thunder provides power to Water Breathing. It's an advanced breathing style, suited to my body."
Shinobu stared at him in disbelief. Ren's logic—despite his obvious arrogance—was difficult to refute. He was describing a genuine flaw in breathing styles. But how could a child solve it?
"Are you sure you never met the former Thunder Hashira?" Shinobu asked suspiciously.
"I never met him," Ren answered honestly. "But I feel we would agree on certain ideas."
"Very well. Let's put that aside. Back to Lower Moon Four. You said you didn't use your sword. Why?"
Ren had previously stated that he defeated the Lower Moon without a sword. That arrogance angered Shinobu.
"I struggle to defeat demons even with a sword and poison… and he defeats a Lower Moon with just his body?!" Shinobu thought in confusion.
"Hashira Kocho, why do you use your sword?" Ren asked in return.
"Because my sword is the only way to kill a demon. Poison weakens them, but decapitation is the end."
"Exactly. And I use my sword to kill demons that sunlight cannot kill—at night," Ren said calmly. "But it was morning, and the sun was shining. Why should I exhaust myself and risk damaging my blade in a physical fight? My objective was to force the demon into sunlight in the fastest and strongest way possible, without giving it any chance to resist. The Lower Moon underestimated my power, so… a decisive blow was the most efficient solution."
"Efficiency…" Shinobu muttered, contemplating the strange word in the context of demon slaying.
"Precisely. I killed the Lower Moon in under a minute, without injury, avoided civilian casualties, and preserved my blade," Ren said proudly. "That's peak efficiency, isn't it?"
Thinking about efficiency, wasn't Rengoku the best example of this? No one died during his mission.
He fought a Lower Moon with a perfect and dangerous plan, and in addition protected almost everyone with only minimal help from Tanjiro and his team.
He also fought Upper Moon Three, Akaza, and managed to delay him until sunrise. If there had been another Hashira or a high-ranking Demon Slayer with him… if Tanjiro and the others had been healthy and uninjured…
Perhaps Akaza's end would have come at the hands of Rengoku Kyojuro.
Thinking of Rengoku, Ren smiled. He was very excited to meet the man whose death had made him shed tears.
Shinobu felt exhausted by this child's logic. He was right, yet his way of thinking was cold and indifferent to the danger he had faced.
A narcissistic, arrogant, lazy child—but a genius who could not be stopped. That was her conclusion about Ren.
…
Throughout this long conversation, Tsuyuri Kanao walked behind them at a distance, her eyes fixed on Ren.
This was the first time she had seen someone speak with such cold, sarcastic logic about killing and efficiency, and it unsettled her small, quiet heart.
"You there, with the pink haori," Ren suddenly called out, without looking back.
Kanao stopped walking, but did not answer.
"As you know, there's a custom in the Corps," Ren continued lazily. "Slayers talk to each other while traveling long distances. It reduces boredom and maintains alertness. But you're silent like a rock. Why do you refuse to speak? Are you angry with me?"
Shinobu frowned, having expected the conversation to remain between them. "Ren, don't bother Kanao. She is my disciple, and this is my concern."
"I'm not bothering her, Hashira Kocho. I'm trying to develop her social side," Ren said with a sly smile. "Besides, I noticed she's been looking at me with curiosity. Perhaps she's wondering whether she should flip her coin to decide if she should talk to this narcissistic boy."
Kanao's body twitched slightly in surprise. How did he know? She hadn't even taken out the coin! Or had she?
"My goodness, dealing with girls is really difficult…" Ren sighed aloud and finally turned to face her.
"Alright, I'll make this easy for you. I'll tell you a secret, and then I want you to say just one sentence to me. Any sentence, even 'You're annoying.'"
"Should I really do this? Well… it's almost true… almost," Ren thought as he walked toward Kanao with calm steps.
Shinobu looked at Ren, then at Kanao. She knew that Kanao only spoke when directly ordered by her late sister.
"The secret is," Ren began, lowering his voice to a whisper, though it was still audible to both Shinobu and Kanao, "I have a supernatural ability that allows me to see the future… the future of certain people when I look into their eyes."
Ren raised his head and looked at her with his emerald-green eyes. They shone with an unprecedented seriousness, stripped of all arrogance.
"Now, this is my life's secret. What do you think of it? Say something—anything."
"..."
"Another ridiculous joke and an obvious lie," Shinobu thought as she shook her head.
Kanao remained silent for one second… then something happened that Shinobu did not expect at all.
Kanao's lips moved, and a faint but clear voice came out.
"That's an obvious lie."
Ren smiled widely, relaxed and satisfied. "Thank you. That's a complete sentence. You succeeded."
Ren looked at Shinobu, who was completely stunned. She herself had tried to make Kanao speak after the tragedy—and failed.
"Don't look at me like that, Hashira Kocho," Ren said lazily as he resumed walking. "I used reverse psychology techniques along with revealing a dramatic secret. It's all about efficiency."
Shinobu was confused, thinking about his words: very strong, supernatural power… Was he telling the truth? Was all his arrogance and laziness just a cover for something incredible?
Shinobu walked behind him, thinking seriously. This child… is extremely strong, but he doesn't seem like someone who suffered because of demons.
"Hashira Kocho, did all Demon Slayers suffer in their lives?" Ren suddenly asked, as if reading her thoughts.
Shinobu stopped. "Yes. All of us lost something. That is our motivation for revenge, and for becoming stronger."
"Then I'm different. I didn't suffer. I joined you because I want to prevent others from suffering, not because I seek revenge," Ren said, looking ahead at the road. "Motivation can be positive, not always negative."
For a moment, Shinobu felt admiration for Ren—but then she saw his smile, hiding sorrow and pain that briefly appeared in his eyes.
"W-why? Why did he suddenly look sad… as if he lived a life full of pain and sorrow?" Shinobu thought, watching Ren quickly return to his usual self.
"Did we finally arrive?" Ren asked, looking at Shinobu.
"Yes… those are the transport carriages that will take us to headquarters."
With those words, they reached the edge of a dense forest, where comfortable transport carriages were waiting, a sign that they were close to the secret headquarters.
"By the way, Kocho-san and Kanao-chan… keep what I told you a secret," Ren suddenly said with a smile.
-___-
Kanao and Shinobu were already irritated by Ren, and now Ren had suddenly started calling Kanao by her first name.
"…Sigh. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your past," Shinobu said with annoyance.
"Oh… you misunderstood. I didn't mean that… I meant my supernatural ability," Ren said with a strange smile.
"Your supernatural ability? You still haven't given up on that ridiculous joke?"
"Shhh… this is a secret!" Ren said, placing his index finger in front of his smiling lips, a beautiful smile on his charming face.
"Hmmm… I hate to admit it, but he does look kind of cute," Shinobu thought as she looked into Ren's shining emerald-green eyes.
~
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