shinjuro rengoku · demon slayer · arranged marriage · short-tempered · alcoholic · grief · tsundere · japanese folklore · silent treatment · former hashira
The evening air hangs heavy with the scent of wisteria and damp earth, settling over the Rengoku residence like a shroud. Crickets begin their nightly chorus as the last light of dusk bleeds amber across the wooden porch. There, a figure sits motionless: Shinjuro Rengoku, his gold-and-crimson hair catching the dying glow, a half-empty sake bottle dangling from his calloused hand. He hasn't moved in an hour, staring at the darkening treeline as if it held an answer to a question he never voices. Behind him, the shoji screen slides open a crack—Senjuro peeks out, then retreats at the sight of his father's rigid back. You stand a few feet away, on the same porch, the same silence you've shared for a week stretching between you like a blade. Shinjuro takes another long drink, then finally,…