Caught By Flames (Kyojuro Rengoku x Reader)

1 : Prolouge

Run. That's all they said. Run and run, no matter what. Run. It's a simple word, yet at that moment in time it was incomprehensible. Run. It sounded distant as she heard the screams of torture, of agony. Run. That's all they had time for. No 'goodbye', no 'I love you', no 'see you later'. Just run. Her long brown hair flowed gracefully in the wind. She had no time to pull it up. They told her to run, and stop for nothing. She barely got out the door with her shoes on. It was cold, and the snow stung her cheeks, but she ran. She was an expert at running, she could out run any boy in the village at the base of the mountain. Her white, pink, and grey patterned haori was barely enough to keep her limbs warm and covered. Her legs were exposed to the cold dancing of the wind, but she ran.

Why was she running? Why were they screaming? What was happening that they didn't want her to see? What was it? Why did she do as they told her? Why didn't they tell her goodbye? Or I love you? Why were they in such a rush to get her to leave?

Her eyes widened as a sudden pain clawed its way into her shoulder and back, and spread through her entire body. She could feel the warmth of her own blood seeping through her clothing as she fell hard onto the ground. She didn't give in though. She would do what her family told her to do, and as her vision started to blur she got up and started to run once again.

Was this why she was running? Was there a feral beast on the loose? No, it was much to big, no animal around got so big it could kill an entire family, or frighten hers as much as it did. So what was it? Why were the claws so sharp? What was it? Why was it so vicious? She didn't understand. The family always babied her, is that why she was the only one running? Why did she always obey? Would she have been better staying?

Her breathing became rushed, and almost nonexistent as she started to stumble on the snow. It was dark, and a wooded area on top of a mountain. She yelped, though, as her foot slid against the snow and she started rolling down the steep side of the mountain. She hit the ground in loud thuds, and rolled into and over a rock. Nearing the bottom of the mountain, she landed upside down with her back against a tree. Her legs fell to the side, and she gasped for air like a fish out of water. She couldn't breath, her vision was blurry. Her heart was pounding so loudly, she couldn't hear anything. Everything hurt. But despite that, she got up again and started walking towards the village. She wasn't far now, maybe she could make it.

She was wrong. She felt the harsh impact of a hand hit her and send her flying into another tree. Maybe it was a bear... She no longer thought about the words of her family. She didn't think about anything. She couldn't. She fell harsh onto the ground and coughed blood up in the process. She couldn't feel anything but the bitter cold. It was as if her entire body was numb. She refused to give up, though, even after seeing the red snow beneath her. She knew she was in bad shape, but she was going to do what her family told her too.

Her legs wobbled as she used the tree she was thrown into as a helper to get up. She could tell just by the pain she had several breaks, but that didn't mean anything to her. She had never felt such enormous pain, but she knew she couldn't give up. Not when she was so close. Her vision was almost completely gone with black specks tainting it. She shook her head in disbelief, she was going to get our alive. She had to, for the sake of her family. She was sure they were dead, but couldn't check to make sure. All she knew was that it was getting harder and harder to breath, much less move at all. Her limbs were heavy, but she couldn't. Not now. Not ever. She picked up the pace once more, not traveling nearly fast enough to get away. But it was something. She felt warmth slide down her cheek and off her chin. She reached up to touch her face, and sure enough, her cheek was bleeding, along with the other side of her forehead.

Her feet stumbled again under her as she lost one of her shoes. Run. It echoed in her mind as she stood back up not daring enough to look for the missing shoe. Run, the voices of her family sang. It was simple. A little to simple, but she finally understood. Run. It's what she's known for. Her speed is unmatched, unheard of.