Without realizing it, Kagerou's footsteps quickened along with the pounding of his heart.
*Step*
*Step!* *Step!*
With every step, the newborn's cries grew louder, clearer, piercing through the house like fragile bells.
Then...
*Stop*
Kagerou halted at the sliding door, left wide open. He stood frozen on the threshold, his gray eyes scanning the room.
The midwife was rinsing a cloth in a basin of red-stained water. Shinjuro knelt on the floor, shoulders trembling, cradling something against his chest with desperate care. Ruka lay propped on the futon, her face hidden from Kagerou's sight by Shinjuro's broad frame.
Kagerou's heartbeat stumbled. He didn't want to think the worst, but in that instant, his chest felt hollow, as though the world might collapse.
*Step*
This time his foot fell softly, carefully, as if hurrying might shatter the fragile moment.
When Shinjuro shifted slightly, Kagerou finally saw Ruka's face. Her eyes were open, tired, sweat-soaked, but alive.
A breath escaped him before he even knew he'd been holding it.
Kagerou's gaze drifted down. There, in Shinjuro's trembling arms, was the source of the cries.
A tiny face, red and scrunched, a tuft of downy hair damp with sweat. The small body wriggled weakly in its swaddling, fists no larger than Kagerou's thumb. Yet the sound he made, so thin, so frail, filled the entire house with life.
Shinjuro's tears fell freely onto the cloth, but his hands never loosened. They held the newborn as though one wrong move might make him vanish.
"Kage-kun…" Ruka's voice was hoarse, exhausted, but warm. Her lips curved faintly despite her pale face. "Come closer. Meet… your little brother"
For a moment, Kagerou couldn't move. His legs felt rooted, his chest still tight from fear. Then, slowly, carefully, he stepped forward.
The closer he came, the louder the cries rang in his ears, not painful, not frightening, but… alive. Each wail struck deeper than any blade, unraveling the tension coiled inside him.
Shinjuro looked up, eyes red, but instead of anger or distance, there was something else in them. Something raw, unguarded. He shifted slightly, tilting the newborn toward Kagerou.
Kagerou leaned in.
Gray eyes met the newborn's barely opened lids. For a fleeting second, he thought he saw a glimmer of the same fire that burned in Kyojuro's gaze, warm, unyielding, destined to shine.
The cries quieted for a moment, replaced by a small, shuddering breath.
Kagerou's throat tightened. His hand, almost on its own, reached forward until his fingertip brushed the baby's tiny hand. Instantly, impossibly, the newborn's fingers curled around his own.
"…"
Kagerou swallowed hard, his vision blurring, though no tears fell. Not yet. His lips trembled as he whispered...
"…Welcome," Kagerou whispered, his voice trembling as he greeted the newborn. For a heartbeat, he could only stare at the tiny life in Shinjuro's arms, fragile, yet loud enough to fill the house.
Then it struck him. His eyes snapped toward Ruka. She lay pale and drenched in sweat, but her eyes, still open, still shining, met his at once.
"Moth-"
"I'm fine, Kage-kun," Ruka said softly, almost as if she had read his thoughts before he spoke them. Her lips curved in a faint, weary smile. "I'm fine… and I'm alive. Did I make you worried?"
"Hmm…"
Kagerou tried to answer, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, a single tear slipped down his cheek, warm against the cool night air. Then another. And another. Silent, steady, falling faster than he could stop them.
Ruka's eyes softened. She didn't need any words. That single tear carried everything, his fear, his relief, his love.
Shinjuro glanced at his son, his jaw tightening as he looked away, unable to bear the sight.
The Flame Hashira had seen demons tear men apart without flinching, yet here, before his family, his heart felt unbearably fragile.
The newborn squirmed faintly, his tiny fist still wrapped around Kagerou's finger. The cries quieted to a soft whimper, as if comforted by the warmth around him.
#A/N: "Shinjuro ware likes this because he fully knows Ruka's condition, and because of what he had done to Kagerou, the truth about Ruka, and the guilt toward Kagerou, that was a deadly combo"
Kagerou leaned closer, his gray eyes glimmering. For the first time in what felt like forever, his lips curved into a real, unguarded smile.
"…You're not alone anymore," Kagerou whispered, so softly only the baby could hear. His lips trembled into the faintest smile. "I'll protect you… no matter what"
Almost like magic, the newborn's cries softened into tiny hiccups before settling into silence. The midwife, caught off guard, froze with the damp cloth still in her hands. Her eyes shifted toward Kagerou.
A boy who looked nothing like Shinjuro or Ruka. A boy whose dark gray hair and gray eyes marked him as an outsider. And yet, in that moment, he was the one binding this family together, an anchor, steady and unyielding.
The midwife realized she had stared too long. Clearing her throat, she turned back toward Ruka.
"Ruka-san," she said gently, "it's time to give the baby a name"
Shinjuro lifted his gaze, wiping hastily at the corners of his eyes, though his shoulders still trembled faintly. Ruka shifted, exhaustion heavy in her frame, but her eyes shone with quiet warmth.
She looked first at her husband, then at the child in his arms. Finally, her gaze drifted to Kagerou, lingering there with something tender, almost wistful.
"Yes," Ruka whispered, her voice frail yet resolute. "Our third son… shall be called Senjuro... Rengoku Senjuro"
The name lingered in the air like a blessing, carried by the quiet of the night.