u/zuomarechi1

Hagane was moving swiftly toward the village in the depths of the night. He hadn’t spotted any signs of life or light so far. He advanced with steady steps between the trees.

When his instincts began to test him, he slowed down. From a point where he could observe the open terrain on the mountain slope, he felt something moving among the trees.

Someone. A demon.

It was watching him.

When Hagane pushed his gaze through the tall bushes to see it, the demon didn’t bother hiding anymore and stepped out in front of him.

Black hair fell over its neck and across its eyes. It had a third eye on its neck, and two horns on top of its head. But most importantly…

There was a mark above its left eye. Just like Kaito’s.

Its deep blue eyes stared at Steel Hashira with hunger. A wide grin stretched across its face.

“I’ve been waiting for this day!”

Hagane stopped. “Kaito…?”

The demon said nothing, keeping its grin.

“Who did this to you?” Hagane continued, concern clearly visible in his voice. Just two days ago, he had seen that boy, someone who admired him so deeply. And now he was seeing him as the most disgusting form of life? Was Kibutsuji somewhere nearby?

More importantly… what would Hagane do?

He thought he might be able to restrain him, like Kamado siblings did. Even if Kaito was a demon, he didn’t necessarily have to lose him… or did he?

He said nothing more and quickly passed by the grinning demon. If he could protect the village until morning, maybe he could figure this out somehow. But when he approached the village, the sounds and the sight he encountered made him feel ashamed for the relief he had felt.

There were four more demons. They had the real Kaito pinned against a tree, choking him.

Hagane’s blade cut through the head of the furthest one instantly, and all their eyes turned toward him.

Genzo’s scream filled his ears as Hagane pointed his sword at the demons.

“I suggest you put the boy down.”

Kaito used the opening to slip free from Genzo’s grip, grabbed his sword from the ground, and distanced himself. He filled his lungs with air, trying to steady his spinning head.

“Such a pain in the ass, aren’t you?” Hagane said.

Raiga crossed his arms, smiling. “Things are getting interesting… Look at his eyes.”

“Yes,” said Kuroe. “They’ll be perfect to carve out.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Hagane replied. He knew it. Even if demons didn’t admit it, looking into his crimson-tinted eyes made them uneasy. Without his armor, Hagane was still frightening enough for demons.

The wind seemed to grow harsher. Everyone was waiting for someone to start the battle.

The demon Hagane had left behind approached them. “Looks like you’ve met my nephews.”

His eyes drifted to Kaito, standing in the back with his sword tightly gripped. “Well, you look like me.”

“Don’t,” Hagane said sharply.

When the demon suddenly appeared right next to Kaito, Kaito swung his sword and cut off his arm. Raiga laughed.

“Look at that, Shidon! He was about to die a second ago, and suddenly he’s full of courage! This is going to be fun!”

Shidon laughed. A loud, ringing laugh.

“I bet you have plenty of dreams, kid,” he said as his arm slowly regenerated. “I used to, too. I was just like you.”

“Then why did you choose this path?”

“YOU THINK I CHOSE IT? YOU THINK I REALLY WANTED THIS?!”

As Shidon threw a punch at Kaito with his newly regenerated arm, the others also moved toward Hagane.

Kaito raised his sword and defended himself. When he flipped backward, Shidon’s third eye twitched wildly. “I’ll feel no guilt devouring you, kid!”

“I doubt you could digest it,” Kaito said.

Shidon was sent flying. As he tried to swing at Kaito again, his attack was blocked by the sword. When he struck directly against the blade’s edge, his arm split in two. Despite his anger, his laugh remained.

“So what breathing style are you using? I’ve never seen a purple katana before.”

He exhaled. It was time to use Water Breathing.

Blue waves tore through the air and shattered Shidon’s split arm, but the demon immediately began regenerating again.

“Isn’t Water Breathing a bit too hard for you?” Shidon said with a laugh.

“I’m surprised you even know breathing techniques. You look like you only became a demon yesterday.”

“SHUT UP!”

His arm regenerated again.

“If we’re using our powers,” he continued, “Blood Demon Art: Glass Rain.”

Millions of tiny shards of glass formed from his blood. Floating in the air, they surged toward Kaito.

The boy dodged, but they followed him.

“Water Breathing, Sixth Form…”

A rising vortex of water blocked most of Shidon’s glass needles. A few slipped through and pierced Kaito’s arms. He cursed the fact that he had changed his uniform. “Damn it…”

It felt like thousands of needles were stabbing him at once. His blood felt like it was flowing inward instead of outward. The pain was unbearable.

But Kaito didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop.

“I don’t even need to waste more time on you, you know?” Shidon said calmly. “If I leave you here, you’ll die slowly anyway… but I want to watch. I’m sure the others will handle your friend .”

Kaito noticed the third eye reacting to his emotions. It narrowed slightly, shifting upward.

“I’ll enjoy watching you writhe in pain!”

---

On the other side, Hagane was fighting the remaining four demons alone. While dodging Kuroe’s sharp threads and preventing Genzo’s nearly invisible particles from distorting his movements, he pressed forward.

He managed to decapitate Raiga, which only enraged Genzo further. His grief over failing to protect his family fueled his power, and his body spun violently out of control.

During this time, Hagane had already deciphered their Blood Demon Arts. Kuroe and Genzo were becoming easy to avoid. Each time he defended himself, the demons grew more furious.

The third demon never attacked. He stayed in the corner, watching. Hagane wanted to finish the other two quickly and deal with him, but something felt off.

The quiet ones were always the most dangerous. As Genzo lunged, Hagane’s sword froze mid-air. Where his blade should have struck, a mirror appeared.

He didn’t see himself in it. He saw Kanae.

His attack halted.

When he turned toward where Kuroe should have been, he saw something else; his family abandoning him.

Turning again, he saw Hina in the mirror.

He felt his mind fracture.

The images were too real. They begged him not to attack.

They reminded him of how helpless he once was.

At some point, he could no longer even recognize that they were illusions.

How could he erase Kanae’s memory? How could he swing his blade at her while she spoke to him?

How could he focus while his past kept strangling him?

---

Kaito’s body was slowly being killed by the glass spears embedded in him.

Shidon was fast, mocking, and endlessly talkative. This was easily the hardest mission Kaito had ever faced. If he had to fight the others too, he had no idea what he would do.

But he was slowly beginning to read Shidon’s movements.

Shidon now created glass spires. Kaito dodged them using consecutive Water Breathing forms. He tried to focus, but Shidon never stopped talking.

“I could’ve become a swordsman like you! If only my father hadn’t sold me out!” he said, throwing shards after every sentence.

Without his demon form, Shidon looked almost identical to Kaito. Same black hair, same blue eyes, same pale skin, same birth mark… On both sides, there were unfulfilled dreams. A lost family. An unchosen fate.

“On the bright side, your father must have thought you were strong enough to give away.”

Shidon stopped. He hadn’t expected that.

“…Did yours not love you?”

“No,” Kaito said. It was his turn. He had found an opening.

Water Breathing, Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought.

Shidon felt no pain.

His head fell to the ground, separated from his body.

“My father loved his children more than anything.”

Shidon’s eyes widened. “This kid… he showed me mercy? Why does it not hurt?”

His arms, still reaching toward Kaito, froze.

Kaito sighed and sheathed his sword. “I hope in your next life you can achieve your dreams.”

Shidon accepted his peaceful death. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his mother and little brother were in front of him. His brother hugged him.

For the first time in years, Shidon cried uncontrollably.

The fate he did not choose had been enough to drag him into hell.

When he was human, he had spent his entire life protecting his little brother. He had been the best son his family could have asked for. Even when he had the chance to leave home, he hadn’t.

And he had become the victim of his father’s selfishness.

Anyone could have been in his place.

---

The mirrors Hagane couldn’t bring himself to look away from were becoming a real problem. He felt that even if he closed his eyes, he would continue seeing them. He questioned reality without pause.

Then one of the mirrors shattered.

Hagane returned to the world around him.

Right in front of him stood Kuroe, preparing to strike. His blade swung through the air and severed the demon’s head instantly.

Kaito still hadn’t recovered from the damage Shidon had inflicted on him. His movements were heavily restricted now, yet he had still managed to bring Hagane back to his senses. And now there were only two demons left.

“I’ve wasted more time on you than necessary,” the Steel Hashira said, staring at Genzo, whose body had become completely unstable.

Driven mad by the frustration of failing to protect another family member, the demon abandoned all self-control. Even so, his Blood Demon Art wasn’t enough to push Hagane back. Glass fragments distorted the air itself. Some pierced the Hashira’s skin, but it wasn’t enough.

“Steel Breathing, Fifth Form: Mimicry of the Gods!”

Electric currents wrapped around the blade. Hagane launched himself forward and drove the sword into the demon’s neck.

Genzo’s head flew into the air from the sheer force.

“YOU CUT OFF MY HEAD? YOU CUT OFF MY HEAD? YOU CUT OFF MY HEAD? YOU CUT OFF MY HEAD?!”

Failure forced the same screams out of him endlessly.

“I COULDN’T KEEP MY PROMISE! I COULDN’T KEEP MY PROMISE! I COULDN’T KEEP MY PROMISE! I COULDN’T KEEP MY PROMISE!”

He repeated the same phrases like a madman: “You cut off my head… I couldn’t keep my promise.”

He hated himself. He cursed the fact that he had failed to protect anyone, neither as a human nor as a demon. He cursed the days he promised his family he would do anything for them, that they would stay together forever.

When he reached limbo, no one was waiting for him.

And hell welcomed him with open arms.

Kaito stared at Hagane in admiration. This man truly was something else.

Hagane’s eyes shifted toward the last remaining demon. The demon who forced him to confront his stitched-together wounds once more.

This time, the woman focused on both of them. The mirrors appeared again. They whispered to Hagane once more, but now he could distinguish illusion from reality.

For Kaito, however, it was completely different.

The mirrors surrounding him forced him to relive the day his family was slaughtered. His sister drenched in blood. Giyuu grabbing his hand and running until his legs nearly gave out. The screams of the villagers…

He relived all of it, over and over again.

He raised his sword and tried to reach them, but this time he couldn’t shatter a single mirror.

His mind raced uncontrollably. His hands trembled. When he dropped to the ground and looked into his palms, he realized they had gone pale yellow.

His eyes filled with tears. He endured it. He refused to give up. He couldn’t.

He had to keep his family’s memory alive.

He couldn’t die here.

Otherwise, his sister would have died for nothing.

Hagane shattered every mirror the demon created before they could show him anything. It lasted only milliseconds. He had to move fast.

When the demon realized she was going to die, she tried to flee. She ran.

It wasn’t enough.

Hagane leapt forward and swung his sword.

The last thing the demon saw before dying was a pair of crimson eyes glaring at her with hatred.

Her death wasn’t as merciful as Shidon’s. Unlike Genzo, she hadn’t gone mad enough to stop feeling pain.

Electricity wrapped around her body and burned through her. It felt as though every cell in her body was being torn out one by one. Her breath caught in terror.

“Reika.”

Her skin was no longer that pale shade of violet. It had regained the warmth it once held as a human. She hadn’t seen the owner of that voice in decades.

Her fiancé smiled at her.

“Hell is waiting for us.”

“You- no! You’re supposed to go to heaven! I killed you!”

“Darling,” the man said, taking her hand. “That doesn’t stop me from loving you.”

---

The mirrors were gone.

Kaito had collapsed onto the ground, hands pressed against the grass. His skin had become far paler than it should have been. Shidon had been right. He really was dying slowly. He tried to stand, but failed.

When Hagane approached him, he hesitated for a moment. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine… that Blood Demon Art-” He coughed. “God… I’m nothing but dead weight.”

“Are you kidding?” Hagane said. “The demon you killed was almost one of the Twelve Kizuki.”

“Almost,” Kaito replied. Unable to find the strength to remain upright, he lay back on the ground.

“I didn’t think I’d die like this.”

“You’re not dying, Kaito,” Hagane said.

He could see the pain on the boy’s face, but he couldn’t tell whether it came from his body slowly shutting down or from how inadequate he felt. Hagane merely cursed himself for never getting along well with antidotes.

“That demon looked so much like me, didn’t he?”

Hagane nodded. “When I first saw him… I thought they had turned you into a demon,” he admitted. “That’s why I didn’t kill him.”

Kaito exhaled slowly.

“He never wanted to become a demon,” he said while staring at the sky. “Honestly… I could’ve been in his place too. He was just another soul who was failed by fate itself…”

Hagane placed a hand on Kaito’s hair and brushed it back gently.

“Son, there was nothing we could do. Even if he didn’t choose this, we can’t ignore the fact that he devoured dozens of people.”

“I know…”

He narrowed his eyes, allowing the pain to course through his veins as he thought.

Every minute he fought Shidon, he had kept noticing their similarities. He had wondered what would happen if he himself became a demon. If fate had led him to Kibutsuji too… how different would everything have been?

Isamu approached them with hesitant steps. When he saw how pale Kaito had become, worry overtook his expression. Kaito was literally yellow

“My wife may be able to help… come inside. I’m sure you’ve had enough of the wind tonight.”

Hagane helped Kaito to his feet while Isamu supported his other side.

When they finally brought him home, Mrs. Koharu was already waiting inside. Clearly, she hadn’t slept at all.

“Lay him down.”

A few minutes later, she returned holding a glass filled with a strange-looking liquid.

“What is that?” Hagane asked.

“A mixture of antidotes and wisteria… it should slow the spread.”

As Hagane lifted Kaito’s head, Koharu helped him drink the medicine and continued speaking.

“I don’t know how to completely stop a demon’s effects, but I’m sure you know someone who does… At the very least, this should help until you return.”

Kaito drank the medicine easily. When his head touched the pillow again, a painful chuckle escaped him.

“Shinazugawa was right.”

“About what?” Hagane asked.

“That if he were as incompetent as me, he’d leave the Corps this instant.”

The Steel Hashira frowned.

“He told you that?”

Kaito nodded.

Hagane muttered a curse under his breath. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Thank you,” Isamu said, tears gathering in his eyes. “For saving our village… You sacrificed yourselves for us. You’re honorable people.”

---

When they returned, Shinobu had already prepared medicine for Kaito. Within two days, he slowly began recovering.

While he was recovering in the Butterfly Mansion, Ubuyashiki gathered the Hashira together for the annual Hashira meeting.

Sanemi was already grumbling to himself when Hagane stepped into the courtyard. His footsteps practically slammed against the ground as he walked straight toward him.

He stopped in front of Sanemi, frowning deeply and pointing a finger at him.

“You think you can insult lower-ranked slayers and call them useless every chance you get?!”

Sanemi frowned back. “Yes? If their ranks are low, I’ll say whatever the hell I want!”

“Call Kaito useless one more time and I’ll test technologies on you that you’ve never even seen before!”

“Wait, wait,” Tengen interrupted. “You called Kaito useless?”

“YEAH I DID, BECAUSE HE IS!”

“Too bad, Shinazugawa, because that kid saved my life and slaughtered four demons!”

“What the fuck were you doing then?” Iguro called from the side.

“What do you mean what the fuck was I doing? I was doing my damn job!”

“If that brat killed four demons, you should’ve killed at least twenty,” Iguro continued.

“And how do you know he didn’t?!” Kagero snapped back.

“CAN YOU ALL BREATHE FOR A SECOND?” Sanemi shouted. “Fine, Ryujin makes sense, he’s got that weird father-son thing going on with the kid. Uzui too, he’s probably jealous of it. But Hayami, why the hell are you mad!? The kid’s actual brother is standing right there stiff as a board, what’s wrong with you people?!”

“I’m supporting my brother!” Kagero said.

From the side, Tsubasa let out an exhausted sigh.

“Sanemi, you really need to stop bullying younger slayers.”

“They’re already too comfortable!”

Hagane was just about to speak when a completely unfamiliar voice interrupted him.

“Did I arrive at a bad time—?”

“Who the hell is that?” Tengen asked as he turned around.

The moment he saw the newcomer, he swore loudly.

“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHAT KIND OF CREATURE ARE YOU?!”

“…What the hell are you wearing?” Sanemi added.

The newcomer was extremely tall. He spread his arms slightly and looked down at himself.

“Aren’t we supposed to arrive in uniform?”

“That’s your uniform?”

“Yes. I made it myself. Is it bad?”

“You look like you got kicked straight out of hell,” Sanemi muttered. “At least take off the hood.”

When the man removed his mask, a pale young man with green-tipped hair appeared beneath it. He wore a smile as he brushed a hand through his hair.

“Good. Now explain why you’re at a Hashira meeting,” Iguro said.

“I’m a Hashira.”

Everyone looked at one another. None of them had expected that answer. The young man kept smiling.

“Shinkotsu Yomigawa. Bone Hashira.”

Tengen stepped forward and held out a hand.

“Pleasure to meet you, my friend! I am the God of Flashiness, Tengen Uzui!”

“…You seem more like the God of Second-Hand Jewelry. Nice to meet you, Uzui.”

A snort escaped Mitsuri before she quickly covered her mouth.

Tengen was about to protest, but Shinkotsu walked past him and turned toward the group that had been arguing moments earlier.

“I’d like to meet the rest of you as well.”

He shook hands with everyone who greeted him. He learned Hagane’s name, complimented Kagero’s armor, introduced himself to Tsubasa, learned Mitsuri and Shinobu’s names. Sanemi didn’t approach him, but Tsubasa introduced both him and Obanai. Gyomei offered a quiet prayer for him…

Just as someone was about to speak again, one of Ubuyashiki’s children announced,

“The Master has arrived.”

As though he had attended dozens of meetings before, Shinkotsu immediately joined the others and knelt beside them.

“My beloved children… thank you for coming here today. Before we begin our annual Hashira meeting, I see you’ve already met Shinkotsu.”

Shinkotsu smiled at the eyes turned toward him,

people who could not see the pain hidden beneath that mocking expression.

The purposes he once thought he had lost had begun to surface once again...

remember these are kaito's opinions, not mine!!

i think you guys all have incredible ocs

and im sorry if i misunderstood anything about some of your ocs, i saw some of them for the first time and had to do a research

high five is just chilling he has nothing to do with these freaks

Years and years ago, there was a man whose under-eyes were dark purple from sleeplessness, his hands and feet no longer able to function properly from exhaustion and hunger. He was the only working member of a family with five children. Famine had hit their household hard, and the smell of starvation had spread everywhere.

The children of the Kagamikawa family couldn’t sleep because they were hungry and the air was freezing. Father Jirobei was searching for dry wood on a foggy night where snow slowly fell and covered the ground. He could barely see anything, and because of the first snowfall, the wood they found was soaked through. He kept a few dry pieces inside his clothing, doing everything he could in desperation. His wife’s weakening body, his children’s cries that never stopped from hunger, and his own helplessness all tore him apart. He wanted to give up, to stop. But not now. He couldn’t die tonight.

Through the wind-blown snow, a tall man approached. His pale skin blended into the white of the snow, and the only thing that made him visible among the birch trees was his coat. Jirobei stopped, wondering what a well-dressed stranger was doing in the village at this hour.

The man had a gentle smile on his face. “Poor thing, do you need help?” he said in the same polite tone. Jirobei froze. His eyes were crimson, his pupils like a cat’s. His presence was so unnatural that he didn’t feel human. Jirobei couldn’t speak. He just stood there, mouth slightly open. “Let me free you from these troubles. What’s your name?”

“Kagamikawa,” he said. “Kagamikawa Jirobei.”

“Jirobei, I can offer you a different life.” Jirobei stayed silent, unable to say a single word despite his mouth being open. “If you become a demon, you can live as long as you want. You won’t suffer. You’ll become stronger, Jirobei. You need this.”

“What?” Jirobei dropped the firewood he was holding under his clothes. Fear took over his body, and he could no longer look away from the man’s crimson eyes. “I can’t! I have to take care of my family… they can’t survive without me! My children are still so small!”

“Ah, then I suppose I’ll have to kill you… what a pity. You’ve seen me after all,” the man said, extending his long, claw-like hand.

“No!” Jirobei shouted immediately. “I’m sorry— I swear I won’t tell anyone, I swear on my children’s lives, I won’t say a word! Let me go!”

“Then let’s do this,” he said, lowering his hand. His smile was still so gentle it made Jirobei feel sick. “You owe me. By the time I return, you will have fixed your life. If you succeed, you live. If you fail, I will take one of your children.”

Jirobei swallowed hard, having no choice but to nod. His trembling hands, now driven by fear instead of exhaustion, reached for the dropped firewood. He grabbed what he could and ran home with all his strength, leaving the man behind. He couldn’t catch his breath. He threw himself into their collapsing house so violently that everyone inside shuddered from the tension. His wife approached him, asking with worry, “What’s wrong? Why are you so frightened?”

Jirobei hated the emotion in her voice. After an unknown amount of time, his family would be destroyed. When he realized what he had done, he felt disgusted with himself. “I… saw… a bear… that’s all.”

~~

Nine years passed.

For nine years, Jirobei worked harder every single day. His children grew up. Some got married and left the village. He personally sent them away, hoping that when the red-eyed man returned, he wouldn’t find anyone to take. His two youngest sons remained, one twelve, the other fifteen. Every day of those nine years, Jirobei lived in fear. When would that man come? He didn’t know. His efforts changed nothing. They were no richer than before. They were still hungry, the children still couldn’t sleep, but they no longer cried.

Then, on another winter night, the devil knocked on their door. Jirobei had no choice but to open it. The red-eyed man stood there again. There was no sign of aging on his face. The same pale skin, the same black hair, the same figure. His polite smile hadn’t changed even a millimeter. It was just as nauseating as before. “How have you been, Jirobei?”

Jirobei couldn’t answer. His hands were shaking. His eyes were filling with helpless tears. He let the man inside and led him to the room where his wife and children lay on the floor. “I see nothing has improved,” the man said.

Jirobei knew what that meant. He grabbed his fifteen-year-old son Shidon by the arm and forced him to stand. Tears wouldn’t stop anymore. Shidon was the same— confused, terrified. It was the first time he had ever seen his father cry. “Father, what’s going on!?”

“This gentleman…” Jirobei said, but couldn’t continue. He hugged his son tightly one last time and kissed his black hair. “It’s all my fault… you were always responsible, Shidon. There is nothing you cannot overcome… forgive me, my son…”

Shidon tried to pull away, horrified. Had his father sold him? He didn’t understand. No one did except Jirobei and the red-eyed man. The man’s gentle voice filled the room. “You will keep me company for a while, Shidon.”

“NO! NO NO NO! FATHER, LET ME GO!”

Shidon was crying too now. Tears poured endlessly, just like his father’s. “I HAVE DREAMS! THIS IS NOT MY DESTINY!”

The man grabbed Shidon. His kindness vanished. One of his long claws slid across the boy’s neck, leaving a deep wound, and Shidon collapsed to the ground. “Do you regret failing your debt, Jirobei?” he said.

Shidon lay there, holding his neck. He didn’t feel like he was dying— his body felt like it was regenerating. His fingers scratched the wooden floor as a low growl escaped his throat. When he turned his head, the first thing Jirobei saw was the change in his son’s eyes. Shidon, now in a monstrous form, lunged and grabbed his father. What followed… was pure brutality. His younger brother ran toward him but was pulled back by their mother. “Brother! BROTHER!”

“You tried to fool me and push away the rest of your family. You sacrificed them to save yourself. People like you are destined for hell, Jirobei.”

Jirobei, bleeding at the hands of his own son, wanted to scream that it wasn’t true. That he had only tried to keep his family alive. But he couldn’t.

And no one in that room ever learned that the man who walked out of that house was Muzan Kibutsuji.

~~

Later that night, no one was around. Kaito moved across rooftops. The village was silent; the villagers were afraid. They wondered who the demon would take tonight.

The only sound was a couple arguing inside a house, which irritated Kaito. He wanted to kill the demon that would come and go home. He was thinking about Genya and his unfinished work, stuck here listening to relationship problems for a demon that might never appear.

Then a crash. A man came out of the house. Middle-aged, muttering angrily as he walked toward the edge of the village. Kaito narrowed his eyes and watched him. He landed on the roof of the house the man came from. The moment the man stepped a few meters away from the village entrance, something attacked him.

A demon.

Kaito jumped down from the roof. Inhuman speed— he grabbed the man before the demon could touch him. “Go home.”

The man stared in fear between the demon and the boy holding him. “What the hell is that thing!?”

“A demon.” The demon didn’t move. It just stood there, drooling, strangely calm. “You should have trusted Fujikawa,” Kaito said, carrying the man back. “Go inside. And listen to your wife!”

The man ran off in panic. Kaito and the demon stared at each other. He drew his sword. But instead of attacking, the demon ran. It was as if something was calling it.

Kaito was shocked and chased it into the forest. Just as he was about to strike, he felt something. His sword stopped mid-air, and his arm moved on its own, as if pushed. A deep cut appeared on his arm. There were glass-like fragments everywhere.

He realized then—there were four demons in this village.

When he steadied his sword and looked around, he saw three more demons similar to the one he had chased. One was nearly bald, with short black hair and strange patterns, his head constantly twitching as he looked around. Another was a gray-haired woman with a long tongue like a snake, hissing, even having a horn. The third smiled at Kaito. All of them wore black and white striped clothing. It was a terrifying sight.

The short-haired one spoke as his head kept twisting. “How dare you draw a sword against our family?”

“You’ve got some stupid courage,” the woman added mockingly.

“Genzo… Kuroe… don’t push him too hard, he’s clearly a rookie,” the third said. As they approached, he continued: “Look at that mark in his eye! He must be special… I’m sure he tastes delicious…”

“Then you’ll be the one to start the feast, Raiga.”

They had surrounded Kaito. He knew he wasn’t special. True special people were those who became Hashira, or those who mastered breathing styles, or those who fought demons with sheer will, or those who turned electricity into weapons and made demons suffer. People who could change the world.

Kaito wasn’t one of them.

He took a deep breath. Water Breathing third form: Flowing Dance.

Genzo and Kuroe were strong. When Kaito attacked, they used their blood demon arts.

Genzo struck first. “Blood Demon Art: Exploding Glass!” He turned his blood into shards of glass and attacked, disrupting Kaito’s balance and restricting his movement. Before he could recover, Kuroe’s technique joined in, thin glass threads slicing into him.

Raiga moved in for the kill while Genzo and Kuroe created openings. Kaito was trapped. Either he would hold them off until sunrise, or he would die. The threads cut his arms again and again until Genzo grabbed his throat and slammed him into a tree. The boy struggled, trying to pull away.

“You don’t even have a family protecting you. That’s sad, isn’t it?”

Kaito’s vision darkened. His sword fell. He tried to pull the demon’s hand away, but he was too weak. Sanemi’s words echoed in his mind from earlier that day. “If I were as useless as you, I would’ve left the Corps already.”

Sanemi was right. Kaito never deserved to be a demon slayer. He was ready to die. Everyone would be happier that way. He closed his eyes tightly, using his last breath—

A sound.

Something hit the ground.

A head.

The first demon Kaito had chased earlier was now on the ground.

Genzo slowly turned his head 180 degrees. When he saw what was behind him, his grin disappeared. “KAZANE!”

A familiar, heavy voice filled the air.

“I suggest you put the boy down.”

​

It was a sunny summer day. In the courtyard of Sanemi’s house stood Sanemi, Tsubasa, and Kaito. Since Kaito could never stand the heat, he had decided to change his uniform. —Tengen was quite happy about that.—

While Tsubasa watched the two, Sanemi and the young man were sparring. Though, it wouldn’t really be right to call it training. Kaito was barely managing to defend each strike, struggling more with every move and taking hits frequently.

Simply put, he was getting beaten by Sanemi.

The sound of their wooden swords clashing echoed through the courtyard. Kaito kept provoking Sanemi with occasional remarks, and whenever Sanemi’s temper flared, Tsubasa would step in to hold him back. The young man had, in his own way, established a perfect system.

“If this is the strength of the Wind Hashira, we’re in trouble,” Kaito said after blocking one of Sanemi’s attacks.

“YOU LITTLE BRAT!”

Sanemi launched himself into the air and came down at him from above. Kaito dodged to the side, raising his sword over his head. Unable to withstand Sanemi’s strength, he fell to the ground. The Wind Hashira straightened up and wiped his forehead.

“Again!”

“Looks like your pride’s hurt because you can’t beat a Tsuchinoto.”

“Hah! If I were as incompetent as you, I would’ve left the Corps already.”

“Sanemi.”

Sanemi glanced at Tsubasa, took a deep breath, and raised his sword again. Kaito did the same.

“Attack, brat.”

“You attack.”

“No.”

“Scared?” Kaito smirked.

Sanemi inhaled sharply. “WIND BREATHING, THIRD FORM—”

“SANEMI!” Tsubasa called out.

“What?” Sanemi snapped. “He uses Water Breathing, he can handle it.”

“You’re not on the same level. Are you trying to break his bones?”

Sanemi was just about to argue when Kaito’s crow cut through the air with a loud cry. “Kuyozan Mountain! Kuyozan Mountain!”

The bird swooped down and landed on Kaito’s head. “People are disappearing on Kuyozan Mountain!”

Kaito narrowed his eyes. “Alright, I’m going. Stop yelling…”

The crow took off again. Kaito picked up the sword he had set aside and tucked it into his belt. Tsubasa rose from where she was sitting.

“Will you be alright? Do you want to take someone with you?”

“It’s fine,” Kaito said. “Let Genya catch a break. I’ll probably be back by tomorrow.”

The Avian Hashira let out a sigh, pulled the boy she saw as a younger brother into an embrace, and gently fixed the hair Sanemi had messed up.

“Be careful.”

As Kaito stepped back, there was a small smile on his face- something rarely seen.

“Don’t worry.”

“Try not to die, brat,” Sanemi added.

Kaito said nothing. He turned around, left the courtyard, and began following his crow, breaking into a run to catch up with it.

Tsubasa sighed in concern. “Is it normal for me to worry every time he leaves for a mission?”

“Don’t worry. It’ll take more than demons to kill that ugly face.”

---

Running under the blazing sun was exhausting for Kaito. By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, it was already late afternoon. The lights in the village houses were just beginning to turn on.

As he walked along the stone paths, he noticed an old man shouting in the square.

“Demons!” the man cried to the people gathered around him. “They’re demons! They’ll devour all of us! Don’t leave your homes!”

No one was taking him seriously. The villagers either rolled their eyes and walked away or stared at him as if he were standing there naked. Kaito heard someone mutter, “Poor man… he’s finally lost it…”

The man was struggling to catch his breath. Kaito approached him. “Please, take a moment.”

“They don’t believe me!” the man said, his eyes filled with tears. The fear was clear in the way his irises trembled. “They don’t believe in demons! But I know- I’ve seen them!”

Kaito gently guided him aside.

“I know,” he said calmly. “That’s why I’m here.”

The man’s gaze shifted over Kaito’s uniform.

“You…”

“I’m a Demon Slayer, sir,” Kaito said. “Please calm down. I was sent here to protect this village.”

The light in the man’s eyes changed- not fear this time.

“Thank the heavens! Thank the heavens!” He grabbed Kaito by the arm. “Are you tired, young man? Hungry? Let me offer you a meal— so you can keep your strength up.”

Kaito let out a quiet breath. Before he could protest, the man had already stood up and was practically dragging him toward his house, looking almost deliriously relieved.

Kaito didn’t resist. He should have been investigating, but he didn’t want to be rude to this hopeful old man.

They entered a simply furnished Japanese house on the higher side of the village. The scent of incense drifted gently through the air. It felt… like home.

For a moment, Kaito forgot his mission. He found himself breathing in the memory of his mother’s cooking—the scent of udon from his childhood.

“Koharu! We have a guest!” the man called, likely to his wife.

He seated Kaito and set a low table in front of him.

“Sir, you don’t have to—”

“You’ve walked a long way. Eat.”

Not wanting to be rude, Kaito lowered his head slightly and gave a quiet thanks.

“My name is Fujikawa Isamu. And you, young man?”

“Tomioka Kaito,” he replied. “I’m sorry, but I need to continue my mission… What can you tell me about the people who went missing here?”

Isamu hesitated.

“No one disappeared during the day—which is to be expected… But around the village, they’ve been finding things that belonged to the missing.”

“Personal belongings?”

“No,” Isamu said.

“…Body parts.”

Kaito froze.

The weight in the man’s voice sank deep into him.

“…I see,” he managed.

“And the missing people? Who were they?”

Isamu took a deep breath.

“They took Daichi first. He was a blacksmith. He vanished one night… and when we searched the forest the next morning, we found his arm.”

“…Then Emi. She worked in the fields. Never harmed anyone. Just tried to bring food home.”

It was clear how much it affected him. He kept going.

Fumiko—his closest friend.

Kenta—a strong young man, gone without a trace, leaving only a piece of himself behind.

The list went on.

Most recently, two nights ago, a young girl named Yui had disappeared.

Kaito wrote everything down.

Koharu Fujikawa came in at that moment. She was a silver haired old woman, her emerald-green eyes were shining with sympathy. She set down a tray filled with food, and Kaito finally put his notebook aside. Steam rose from the udon. There was a carefully prepared bowl of rice, with a few pieces of boiled vegetables placed neatly on the side. A full cup of barley tea accompanied the meal.

They fell silent for a while, focusing on eating.

Kaito murmured a small thanks, said a quiet prayer to himself, and began.

While Kaito ate, Isamu—who was only drinking tea—spoke again.

“You remind me of someone.”

Kaito looked up, silent but attentive, urging him to continue.

Isamu paused.

“When we were in our thirties… Koharu and I nearly died. Two demons had cornered us. They were terrifying. They still had other people’s blood on their teeth…”

He exhaled slowly, as if the memory settled heavily in his chest once more.

“Then a man appeared. He wore a blue haori with a cloud pattern. I remember it like it was yesterday—the way he cut them down in a single strike.”

Kaito went still. A faint warmth filled his chest, though it didn’t show on his face.

“You must be talking about my master.”

The old couple smiled.

Kaito finished his meal, stood up, and said, “Thank you for the meal.”

“Is there a place where I can see the village clearly?” he asked.

Isamu stood as well. “Not from within the village, I’m afraid. You’ll have to climb the mountain a bit.”

“Thank you.”

Kaito adjusted his sword at his waist and stepped outside. The sky had darkened, and silence was slowly settling over the village.

“Son,” Isamu called.

Kaito turned his head.

“Be careful.”

“…Have a peaceful night.”

With a push from the ground, Kaito leapt onto the roof of a house. Instead of heading up the mountain, he intended to move across the rooftops and observe the village from above. The sounds of cicadas filled the air. As the hours passed, the lights in the houses went out one by one…

But no one was truly asleep. Everyone was wondering the same thing: Tonight… who would the demon take?

////// Thanks to everyone who paid attention! And specially thanks to u/Apart-Athlete-2029 for giving me the motivation and idea for writing this thing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll try to answer them without giving spoilers. :)

i wont be able to draw for 2-3 days so this event ends here, thanks to everyone!