บท 3: Chapter 3
(Third POV)
The night had just begun and on a mountain that was completely covered by trees, there was a 10 year old boy crying in pain on the ground. All around him lay dead animals that tried to take him as food, but ended up getting killed themselves.
The boy had pale skin, black hair with two bangs that framed his face, but the most noticeable thing about him weren't his veins nor his weirdly long nails. It was his eyes. The part of his eyes that would usually be white are now pitch black and his eye color changed into a shing blood red color.
Around his eyes were red veins that came out and down to his cheeks. There was blood smeared over his mouth, hands, arms, and legs. His blue kimono was completely covered in blood and dirt along with him.
The boy laid there crying not only because of the pain, but because he failed himself. To be more specific, he failed to kill himself. While killing the animals trying to see if he could eat them, he found out his nails were as tough as a blade and that the animals meat was also disgusting.
And so, with his final ideas not working he decided that he didn't want to live anymore. No family, no home, and in pain all day…who would want to live like that? So he tried to slit his stomach.
He used the knife his mother gave him, but that snapped as soon as it made contact with his skin. So he decided to use his claws and they worked beautifully. That was until, during the process of him bleeding out, his stomach started to heal although slowly and for the last few hours he laid there in even more pain.
All of his courage was gone when his first attempt failed and he couldn't go through with it again.
*Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump*
The sound of thumping reached his ears as the rustling of leaves also seemed to grow closer and closer to him.
'Another animal…' He thought as his unnatural eyes looked to the left of him. His nails grew sharp and he waited before suddenly jumping up and shooting in the direction he heard the sounds coming from. He thrusted his claws forward and suddenly felt them collide into something.
*Ting*
Kyoshi was pushed back as he slid to a stop and looked up towards whatever it was he hit. It walked closer and stepped into a spot where the moonlight hit and Kyoshi saw him clearly. A guy with black hair and black eyes in some type of black uniform.
He had baggy pants and a fitted jacket that was also black with white lining. He looked to be like 15.
"It's a kid huh?" The boy spoke to himself.
"No matter, it's still a disgusting demon. If I leave it alive I'm sure it'll just kill more stuff." The boy said as he held his katan in front of him.
Kyoshi sniffed the air and that delicious smell returned.
'No, no no no no no…'
"So demons do feel fear. That's good." The guy said with a vicious smirk.
"S-stay back." Kyoshi said as he backed up.
"No, I don't think I will." The guy said before running forward and slashing his sword. Kysoshi ducked and saw an opening so he took it and kicked the guy in the stomach which sent him sliding back.
"That packed quite a punch." The guy said with that same smirk on his face. He shot forward again and started sending slashs towards Kyoshi who was able to dodge them nicely. Suddenly a wave of pain hit him, making him falter in his step.
With a wide swing the guy slashed Kyoshi's chest. Blood splattered out and Kyoshi was sent to his knees breathing heavily.
"So that's it?" The guy asked. He slowly walked over towards Kysohi who was crouched on the ground with his head lowered. The guy raised his sword over Kyoshis' neck and as he was swinging down, he stopped and dropped his sword.
Blood slowly flowed from his mouth as he coughed up more. He looked down and saw Kyoshis' band sticking right through his stomach. He yanked his hand out and with tears in his eyes he licked the blood on his arms.
As the taste coursed through him, he froze and cried more as he licked his entire arm clean and started devouring the dead body in front of him. The taste was better than anything he'd ever eaten before and he hated the fact that he loved every moment of it.
…
—5 Minutes Later—
"What now? Where do I go?" Kyoshi asked himself as he sat on the tree branches. He already knew he had no chances of having a good life around humans, especially if he can't have something to aid in saturating his hunger.
"Animals won't work and neither will normal food so what can I do?" The wind blew strongly as leaves were blown into his face.
"What the-…"
"Boy…"
Kyoshi immediately jumped up to another branch and stared at the man that was below him. His body was shaking with fear as chills ran down his back.
'Who's this guy?' Kyoshi thought to himself.
"Don't be scared, I'm only here to talk." The man said. He was quite tall, had pale skin, eyes as red as tomatoes, and he had wavy black hair that stopped at his chin. He would be described as extremely handsome by demons and humans alike, but right now he's giving off the aura of a beast.
He wore a black kimono and a black haori over it.
Kyoshi choked back his saliva as he stood up while balancing perfectly on the branch.
"W-what do you want?" He asked.
"What's your name?" The demon asked.
"W-why should I tell you?"
"Hmm, you don't have to, but I do have questions for you. Do you mind following me?" He asked. His cat-like eyes looked up towards Kyoshi with no emotion.
"Why should I?"
This time the man's eyes narrowed, but went back to normal after a second.
"You're a demon are you not?"
"…Y-yes."
"Those clothes and the body down there must have been your doing right?"
"…Yes."
"Do you know who you've killed?"
'Was it someone he knew?'
"No."
Suddenly he vanished and reappeared on a branch closer to Kyoshi.
'He's fast.'
"Do you see the kanji on the back of this jacket? You can read it right?" He asked as he held up the jacket of the dead guy from before.
"Destroy?"
"Correct. The person you killed is what's known commonly as a demon slayer. No need to feel bad about killing him. It was either he killed you or you killed him." The demon said.
"…My name is Kyoshi." Kyoshi said lowly.
"I see. Call me Muzan, shall we go on a walk?" Muzan said as he dropped down from the tree. Kyoshi stalled for a moment before hopping down himself and landing at Muzans side.
"Hmm, a change of attire is in order." Muzan said as he walked down the mountain. Kyoshi looked confused but continued to follow him. As they descended the mountain neither of them spoke a single word to the other, but they kept their thoughts to themselves.
Once they made it down the mountain they walked on the dirt road for an hour before making it to the next village. Kyoshi's bloodied face and clothes were covered by the haori, Muzan gave him to cover up with.
As they walked through the village they made it towards a house and Muzan walked straight in. He took his sandals off at the door and watched as Kyoshi walked right in. He was barefoot, but they were dirty so dirt was trailed right into the house.
"…sorry." Kyoshi apologized.
"It's fine. This way." He replied in a calm fashion. With a quick swipe of his hand the floor was clean again without a trace of the previous dirt. Muzan guided Kyoshi towards the bath and told him to wait in there after filling it with hot water, moments later, Muzan came back with a black katan that fit his size along with some socks and sandals.
"When you're done, meet me in the dining room." He said before closing the door and leaving Kyoshi in the bathroom. Kyoshi stripped himself of his former garments and soaked himself in the tub and was utterly disgusted at the dirt and blood that started to change the water's color.
"No way I was that dirty." He said to himself. He got the shampoo that was sitting around the tub and used it for his hair and wrapped the soap in his towel before scrubbing himself with it.
'Well what now? I've just followed some guy into his house and now I'm using his bathroom and even got clothes. Is he planning something? He's obviously stronger than me by a lot.'
'Also, demon slayers? Do they just go around killing demons all willy-nilly because they can?'
Kyoshi thought long and hard about everything that had happened up till now and had questions on top of questions. He already knew demons existed, but knew nothing of demon slayers. His mother just said the demons are killed by people who can kill them and that was all.
After a while he rinsed himself off and dried up before putting on the black kimono and socks. Once he left the bathroom while the water was draining he put on the sandals and turned to the right and walked down the hall.
After leaving the bathroom, you have the rooms to the left and the front area to the right. He made it to the dining room and saw Muzan sitting at the table with his knees on a pillow. Kyoshi was about to walk in but Muzan raised his hand up and spoke.
"Leave your shoes at the front door."
"…sorry." Kyoshi said as he walked over and took his shoes off before walking back into the dining room. He sat down opposite of Muzan and copied his posture as he sat on his knees which had a pillow under them.
In front of them were two cups and Kyoshi smelt the greatness of it. It smelt minty and slightly frosty as it entered his lungs.
"So…tell me about yourself." Muzan said as he sipped some tea.
"Well, my mother, no, my whole village was killed by a demon and everyone was killed beside me and my sister. At some point on the road I passed out and when I woke up, I was in some shed and my sister was gone." Kyoshi said.
"I see, how did you escape and what happened to your sister?" Muzan asked. Kyoshi picked up the cup like Muzan and hesitantly sipped the tea.
'It's good!'
"Ahem." Muzan cleared his throat and gained Kyoshi's attention and answered his question.
"I killed it with…where is it?!" Kyoshi panicked as he started patting himself before realizing he must have lost it in the forest somewhere.
"What seems to be the problem?" Muzan asked.
"My knife, the one my mother gave me that I used to kill the demon with, it's gone!" Kyoshi answered.
"I see, no need to panic. It won't do you any good will it?" Muzan said. Kyoshi calmed down and sipped some tea, but was biting the inside of his lip.
"No then, you said you killed a demon with a knife? How so?"
"It was really weakened because of the wisteria flowers my mom had everywhere. It's healing was slow and it was as fast as an adult man. I think as I am now, I could beat him even if he was at full power." Kyoshi answered while looking at his hands.
"I see. Do you have anywhere to go?" He asked Kyoshi. His eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for his answer.
Kyoshi's eyes dimmed and his tone was low and somber as he answered.
"No, the village was burned down and I don't think I can live well with humans. Even now, I can still smell the faint smell of human flesh and meat from the neighbors. It's delicious and the desire to eat them is almost uncontrollable."
"I see. Tell me something. Why do you care so much about these human lives?" Muzan asked Kyoshi.
"What! Because they're human. I can't just kill them because I need them to live!" Kyoshi answered with a raised voice.
"What's the difference between them killing pigs to eat so they can live and you killing them so you can live? Are they more deserving of a life than you because you're a demon?" Muzan asked with his usual calm tone.
"…"
"Perhaps you want to die or maybe you don't understand what happens to demons who don't eat?" Muzan thought aloud.
"No, I know what happens. I-It's torture. The pain from every cell in your body, the raging headaches, the dizziness and that stupid voice in your head screaming to find a human to devour. It's hell!!" Kyoshi said.
Muzan's eyes narrowed. He'd never heard of conditions like these. The most he knew was that your body would continue to get weak as time went on. Maybe it's an even more prolonged state of starvation that would bring about these types of symptoms.
"Tell me, how long have you been a demon?"
"A day at most."
"…I see. I'll make you an offer." Muzan said.
"I'll provide you with power, freedom from your starvation, and a place to live a happy life, but under one condition. You must keep in contact with me at all times." Muzan said.
"Huh? All that just to talk to you? Are you lonely?" Kyoshi asked.
"I won't repeat this offer again." Muzan said with a dangerous arua around him.
"Umm, I accept." Kyoshi said. He saw Muzan smirk and in the next moment he saw Muzan vanish before he passed out. While Kyoshi got slumped by Muzan, the progenitor demon's arm started morphing into some huge, disgusting, muscular thing with a stinger on the end.
The stinger was stuck right into Kyoshi's neck and Muzan started pumping some blood into him. His body started shaking and wiggling around violently as veins started to bulge from all over his body.
Muzan saw the boy's hand slowly clench together and his teeth started to become gritted as he stopped the procedure. After all the boy was a fine specimen he didn't want to damage too much.
'Hopefully this boy is more useful than those lower moons. Still though, did he kill the demon after becoming one himself or did something else happen? Either way, this boy will be of good use.' Muzan thought as he picked the boy up and put him in a futon in some room.
He had plans to create and research to perform. First though, he needed someone to watch the boy in his absence since he was sure the Kyoshi would have many questions when he woke up.
Muzan snapped his fingers and suddenly two demons appeared behind him kneeling down. They weren't a part of his Twelve Kizuki, but they were more like lowly servants he would use at his disposal.
"Take the boy in the room to your secret hideout and take care of him for a while." Muzan said. The two demons froze once they heard he already knew they had a hideout. Without a word more Muzan vanished and the two demons went into the room and got Kyoshi.
These two demons were nothing special, but they weren't weak. They did receive some of Muzan's blood at some point after all. Sadly they just had to reach their limit of growth and got surpassed by the current lower moons.
One was a boy, the other was a girl. The boy's name is Habuki Takiyosha and the girl's name is Keiko Mitsuhida.
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