|| Rengoku's moving castle || a Rengoku x reader fanfic

vii

Morning had quickly arrived in only a matter of a few, simple hours, the sun peeking over horizons as it's bright rays trickled in through the dirtied windows of the castle. A perfect streak of light seeped into the gloomy room, landing directly on your shut eye.

You gave an annoyed huff of air, rubbing the exposed eye as you slowly woke. Akaza sat ever brightly on his fireplace playing with a piece of wood—beside him, turnip head leaned on the wall. You weren't entirely sure if he was awake or not honestly. Finally gaining back your full senses, two heavy weights dawned on your lap and chest.

Shinobu and Mitsuri laid peacefully on you, huddling together almost as if in search for warmth. Which wouldn't be surprising considering the castle was freezing.

A loud, repeating knock snapped you out of your thoughts, your body jumping as you turned to look at the wooden door. A moment of silence followed before the knock sounded out once more—this time, louder.

Thudding footsteps hurried from the floor above, spooking you as you quickly shut your eyes and pretended to sleep.

"Huh?" A young voice gasped from what sounded like right in front of you.

Akaza chirped up, seemingly gaining the attention of the new, unseen visitor. "Kagaya's kingdom door!"

"Right.." the young voice trailed off, their footsteps sounding out followed by the rustling of fabric. Again, the knock sounded out, slightly aggravating both you and seemingly now the young one. "Coming! Coming!" They called out, their voice now dropping significantly low.

Curiously, you peeked an eye open to look at the new voice. A short figure stood by the door, fiddling with the lock connected to it before a disk connected on the wall turned rapidly. The arrow landed on the red section of the four colours, the door opening to now showcase a bright, buzzy road.

"Hello!" A charming voice called from the doorway. "I'm here on behalf of Oyakata-sama. Do Tengen Uzui, Rengoku Kyojoru, Sanemi Shinazugawa and Obanai Iguro still reside here by any chance?"

The smaller person seemed to hesitate, but soon replied. "Yes, they do."

"Great! Oyakata-sama requests their participation in the war for our kingdom. May I please speak to them?"

"They are not here right now. If you wish to give them a message, I can pass it on to them for you."

The bushy moustached man seemed to be taken aback for a second, his smile reappearing without missing another beat. "Very well. If you could please pass on these cards to them for me then I'd be extremely thankful! Have a wonderful day, sir." He tipped his army hat politely before strictly turning and leaving, allowing the hooded figure to shut the door once the guest left.

Turning back around, he skipped up the steps, allowing you a full view of his appearance. To your surprise, despite the youthful voice, his appearance rivalled that of the crazy old man back at your home town. His eyes were long and droopy, surrounded by wrinkled skin that looked almost melted. Long, straight strands of hair cascaded down from just below his nose, forming a large bushy beard.

"You." The man called out, eyes landing on you. "Who are you?"

Panic coursed through your veins as you looked around in search for your book, not wanting to leave a bad impression on the man. However, thankfully, Akaza spoke up. "That's Y/N I think. Those three came in last night with this snake," the fire nodded to the scarecrow beside him. "something about them being friends with Kyojoru."

The man turned from the fire back to you, his hands reaching up to snatch his dark hood off his head. To your surprise, the bushy moustache along with all the olden features disappeared immediately—instead, being replaced by a young, kind (almost sad) looking boy. His striking yellow hair with red tips spiked out giving him an almost wild look, a stark contrast to his kind looking eyes.

"My brothers' friends? You guys must have been his friends from before we got vanished." He hummed. Quickly, he shook his head. "Sorry for my attitude earlier, my name is Senjuro—Kyojoru's younger brother." He stuck his small hand out toward you.

Carefully, you reached out and shook it with your own, making sure not to wake up the two peaceful girls cuddling into you.

"I take it you're cursed, right?" You nodded and turned to Akaza, a pleading look in your eyes. The fire sighed.

"Someone placed a mute curse on them." The fire explained briefly.

Senjuro let out an 'oh'. "I figured. It was rather odd how quiet you are." He giggled. Turning back to Akaza, he walked over and placed a generous three logs of wood into his flame. "And I take it you know the other two girls as well?"

"Shinobu Kocho and Mitsuri Kanroji." The fire replied, playing with the wood that cracked and splintered in his heat.

Senjuro looked over the two girls. "They do sound awfully familiar."

"Kyojoru has mentioned them before." The fire confirmed. "Him and scarecrow over here." He scoffed.

Senjuro smiled before looking over to you. "Part of being cursed is not being able to speak—or in your case sign or write—certain details about your curse or even life. Our friend over here," he motioned to the scarecrow. "got it really bad. He can't say or sign anything."

You tilted your head. Almost as if reading your mind, he continued. "We don't know who exactly cursed him but we do know it was on accident. We were hanging out with some kids and one of them must have been trying to play a joke on him, eventually placing a permanent curse on him."

A silent snicker left your lips, feeling the menacing aura that radiated from turnip head.

Deciding to move on, Senjuro turned and headed towards the kitchen, grimacing at the sight. "I told them it was their turn to clean..." he sighed. Turning back to you, he shook his head. "I'm mostly busy practicing my own magic and witchcraft so I don't have much time to clean, leaving it to those who love with us. Apparently, not even that they can do."

A low whine caught your attention as you snapped your eyes away from the younger boy, looking down at Shinobu who begun to sit up straight. The girl placed a tender hand on the side of her neck, applying soft pressure as she moved her head from side to side with a painful cringe on her face. "God, remind me to never sleep in a crooked position again." She stared at you with sleepy eyes before softly going to shake Mitsuri awake. "Wake up. I'm sure Y/N's legs are numb now because of you." She joked, watching the girl stir before giving a deep yawn.

Green eyes peeled open slowly, drowsily winking before looking up skyward, her gaze landing on the ceiling. Silence lingered between the three of you before she suddenly shot up. "WHAT SPIDER IS THAT?!" She cried, shooting up from the sofa and running away, pointing at the ceiling.

Grimacing, you and Shinobu slowly looked up, eyes landing on a huge white spider. A shrill yet short shriek left the lips of the dark haired girl as she shot out and stepped away from the sofa, eyeing the insect. Mitsuri turned and eyed her down. "Aren't you into insects Shinobu?! Kill it!"

Said girl turned to her friend as if she had just grown another head. "Do you want me to die?! Do you see the size of that thing?!"

Senjuro cautiously cleared his throat from behind the two, startling them as Shinobu flinched and turned to him. Mitsuri, on the other hand, had jumped into your arms. Senjuro snickered but gained his composure. "I ask of you three not to kill Rui."

The two girls looked at the boy with wide eyes, barely even listening to his request before they leaped up and lunged at him.

"Senjuro!!"