Chapter Text
A gentle breeze carrying a warm-like feeling startled me awake. Shivers passed through me.
My stomach started to ache with a weird feeling of realization. This certainly wasn’t my room, for one. I was somewhere totally and extremely strange.
~*~
My feet were on the brink of falling off, and I was definitely about to pass out, but I couldn’t stop.
I was very aware that I was getting one step closer to society, and that meant one step closer to answers. That’s when it hit me. Literally hit me. On the head. A stone, was it?
I looked at the mere thing, embarrassed at how it knocked me over so easily. “Hey! You, there!” Japanese? I spun around.
“Hello?” Those Japanese lessons were really about to pay off I guess. I shrugged to myself and studied the person. He was wearing traditional Japanese clothes. That’s different, I guess.
“Why are you out at this time of day?” He asked. I wasn’t about to tell a stranger the truth so I simply shrugged again.
“I-I don’t know- why shouldn’t I be?” I knew the countryside was bound to have maybe a few wild animals, but it was still practically light out.
“It’s when the demons come out.” His face became really grim and serious. Like reminiscing a tale that he didn’t want to remember, which made me even more confused. “Come on inside, you can stay until night passes.”
“I’m not sure sir, I-” And like my body was disagreeing with me, my legs gave out and plummeted me right to the ground. The man rushed over to me and helped me back on to my feet. I mumbled my thanks to him and he nodded. One night surely couldn’t hurt. Plus I was desperate for some warm shelter from this breeze that was nipping at my bare legs. And if that meant listening to a stranger then so be it. “Maybe staying for one night couldn’t hurt.”
~*~
Despite how old the man looked he was pretty fast. His name was Hiyashi-san and he had lived in this area for over 70 years. “Thank you Hiyashi-san.” I said bowing my head.
“Oh, of course (Y/N)-chan.” He responded, handing me a cup of ginger tea and a bowl of rice with cabbage (which I gratefully ate and drank.)
“So…demons.” I said lifting the cup up to my lips before taking a sip. “What exactly are they?” Hiyoshi-san’s face dimmed for the second time that night.
“Man-eating monsters who rely on human blood and flesh to live.” My eyes widened. And wondered where the hell I had ended up. Clearly I wasn’t in my time period, especially with all the traditional clothing. And there’s no way it could be a realistic universe if what he’s saying has true meaning.
“How are we still alive?!” I exclaimed. Hiyoshi-san’s face softened.
“The demon slayers protect us.” He must have seen my expression because he went on. “They slay demons while we sleep, so we can remain at peace, and rest easy. Fine souls.” He added, taking a sip from his cup.
“So, like…superhumans?” The man surprised me and laughed.
“No! They train in a special method that allows their body to be stronger than that of a regular human body.”
“That’s so cool.” I said obviously gawking at his words. He nodded. “Wait- How do you become a demon slayer?” Surely you don’t just wait for a demon to appear to ask one of these ‘slayers’.
“You have to be trained by one of the knowers.”
“And how exactly do you know all this Hiyoshi-san?”
“I was once saved by the slayers.” He must have seen my eyes go wide, because he quickly added, “I was fine, just in shock.” I guessed, if I was going to be stuck in this ‘universe’ I might as well have some fun.
“Hey, Hiyoshi-san.. do you think I could be a demon slayer?” The man set his cup of tea down and had a curious expression.
“Why do you want to be one?” He asked gently.
“Well, I mean, helping people, right?,” I added, “Plus I’ve got nothing going for me right now.” I lied, “No money, no friends, no family..” He surprised me by smiling at my answer.
“Well, (Y/N)-chan, I think you’re very noble for wanting to help people in this way. I also think you’re very brave. I think I can help. My eyebrows raised as he got up to look through his shelf before selecting a wooden box. I looked at it as he lifted the lid to reveal what was inside. Papers? He grabbed one of them and laid it across the table.
“A map?”
“Yes. It leads to the place I was saved. The slayer that saved me said that he frequents that place. Maybe we can find him.”
A smile spread across my face.
“Alright! When do we leave?”
“Dawn. We should get there by the afternoon.”
“It’s a plan then.” I said smiling.
Hiyoshi-san put the letter back into the wooden box, “You should get some rest, it’s late. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go.
I yawned, nodding.
“Okay, thank you, Hiyoshi-san.”
~*~
I stretched as I sat up on the mat. The silvery dawn sun peeked through the curtains leaving a shine on the floor. I shuffled my feet to stand up and get dressed. I wasn’t a huge fan of the dressy outfit but I'll get over it for now. “Ohayo, Hiyoshi-san-!” I chirped.
“Ohayo, (Y/N)-chan-!” He responded, “Are you ready to go?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
We set off for the nearest civilization near us, where Hiyoshi-san said his rescuer frequented. Each step left my feet aching more and more. We passed a lot of greenery, including fields and farms. Hiyoshi-san saw me fascinated with the water filled farming lands and chuckled. “Lived in a city, ah, (Y/N)-chan?” I quickly nodded embarrassed at the fact that I had been looking for so long. “Ahh, almost there!” Thank god I whispered in my head. I squinted my eyes towards the now-teeny looking village.
“Is that it?” I asked, my feet filled with the possibility they might rest soon. Hiyoshi-san looked over at me smiling,
“That’s it (Y/N)-chan.” As I continued to look at the beautiful city that would most likely soon be havocked by a demon, my face twitched. Was I really doing this? And What about Hiyoshi-san? He has been so helpful to me, I don’t want to leave him.
“Hiyoshi-san-” Before I could say anything else he waved his hand in front of my face, and spoke. As if he read my thoughts.
“While I have treasured my time with you (Y/N)-chan, soon I will take my leave of you, and I cannot hold you back any further. I can tell you are going to do great things as a hunter.” He smiled at his last words. He motioned for me to walk down the hill.
I held his words with me. He doesn’t want to hold me back? I was slumping now, I really hoped we could keep in touch.
We made it to the bottom at last and Hiyoshi-san motioned for me to sit down. I complied and sat beside him as he removed some items from his bamboo and twine knitted basket. He removed a small box, similar to the one he showed me before.
It was small, and light enough to almost fit all the way in my palm. He glanced at me expectantly, so I quickly opened the box. I revealed what looked like paper and a calligraphy pen. “For you,” he nodded towards me, “To keep in touch.”
I grinned. So we were going to be able to keep in touch after all. Before thinking of my actions I embraced him in a friendly hug. He returned it happily.
Letting go, he gave me a mini bag of his that held money, food, and clothes for my journey. Hiyoshi-san told me the details of where I needed to go and how to get there. I again embraced him, thanked him, and I was off.