His songbird [R. Kyojuro × Reader]

一 | The Tale

3rd person pov

Long time ago, only few people among the livings knew about the tale of a beast that can heal any deases or curses, but only one or two of them have seen the beast with their own eyes.

Shinjuro Rengoku, the current flame hashira searched for any cure for his wife who developed an untreatable disease and was left bedridden. He was in despair, until a doctor told him about the tale: a tale about an unknown creature who can heal any diseases.

He traveled every land in Japan in order to find this creature whether it was dangerous or not, as long his wife can be cured, then it was worth it.

After so much travelling, hope was slipping away, until he saw it; a glowing red golden bird, no, a phoenix flying in the distance dissappearing behind an inactive volcano.

He chased after it and reached a cave. The phoenix was aware that there was an intruder and was angered.

But the man begged them to heal his wife. He told them about his travels, how he was eager to find them. Then he mentioned his family, he wished that his wife could see her children growing up and he himself wasn't ready to let her go.

Moved by his deep love towards his wife, the mythical bird accepted his request and transformed into a small version of themselves which would be practical for traveling. The man let the bird rest in his bag while he traveled back home. He ran as fast as he could and arrived home on the next night. The phoenix inspected the sick woman and asked him to leave them alone. He did as told and after some minutes he heard the feminine voice of the phoenix outside instructing him not to tell anyone about the event that night nor about their existence, then as he opened the front door he saw the phoenix flying away who's feathers glowed under the starry night.

He checked on his wife and he burst out in tears, she was well again standing there and questioning who was there with her some minutes ago.

"It was a very skilled doctor." that's all what he said as he embraced her.

Little did he know that he had brought misfortune to the mythical bird. As she returned back to her cave, a man with red eyes was already waiting inside for them. The phoenix didn't know how news spread this fast and for helping a demon slayer, the demon king punished her. In milliseconds, the demon king teared the bird apart and snapped something away. It was their core and he left with it. Outside, he threw the core somewhere and left to return to his fortress. The phoenix was sad because she couldn't leave without her core and her eyesight turned bad. She had to stay no matter what because she felt that her core was still here somewhere, but she never found it.

Some years later...

"Mom, this must be the place. Hold on, we're almost there..." a small boy supported his blind sick mother, and the temperature here made her condition worse.

The cave was well hidden and it took them a lot of effort to find it. The path inside the cave was long and the strange sounds made their heart beat faster.

"Son, let's go back..." her son interrupted her, "No mom! You will be well again! Definitely!"

"Who dares to disturb me?" a feminine calm voice echoed making them flinch.

"P-please heal my mother! S-she's sick!" the boy yelled, yet his voice wasn't offending because he didn't know how long the path was and in front of him was pure darkness.

They received no answer so they hestiantly walked deeper and deeper until they arrived in front of a large room.

In the dimly lit cave chamber, stalactites dangled ominously from the ceiling, resembling sharp icicles ready to plunge at any moment. The room exuded a perilous warmth, while a mysterious fog veiled the path ahead. Amidst the mist, the glowing yellow eyes of a deity peered, making the boy gasp in fear.