Chapter Text
Food.
All you could think about was food.
But not your typical meals like a steaming hot bowl of Ramen or even something as simple as a rice ball.
No, the type of food that your body seemed to crave was human flesh.
It was all you could think about. Sinking your newly sharp canines into soft skin, feeling as the warm taste of iron floods your mouth and drips down your chin. Before finally ripping your mouth away to pull a chunk off of whoever was unfortunate enough to cross paths with you.
Your stomach growled at the thought, but you quickly dismissed it. You may be a demon now, but you have kept some resemblance of humanity.
It was well past midnight as you trekked through a forest you had stumbled upon. The sound of leaves crunching under your bare feet. As a breeze of cold air would occasionally pass through causing you to shiver.
While you have been a demon for some time now, you could only guess how long it's been since you've turned. Those memories of a past that had been yours are a blur now. All you do these days is wander aimlessly. Hoping maybe you'll die of starvation soon enough.
As you continued to stroll past the trees, you suddenly paused. There was a high-pitch sound coming from in front of you in the distance. Your sense of hearing was superior to most now that you've become a Demon but even now you were straining to hear the far away noise.
You wondered who or what was making the sound. As well as who would even dare to be out in these parts of the woods in the dead of night. Still, your curiosity got the best of you and it's not like you get much company now and days.
So with that you made your way towards the sound. The noise got louder and clear as you continued forward. It was still high pitched but it sounded like a cry.
A human cry.
Your eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Why would a human be here of all places? You couldn't quite wrap your head around it but that didn't stop you from getting close enough just to see the outline of their body. The moon in the night sky allows you to see just enough of them.
You stopped a few inches away from them. They were curled up in a ball, slightly rocking back and forth. By how small they were, you deduced that this was actually a human child as well.
You took a deep breath in and that's when it hit you.
The smell.
It was strong and enticing, instantly drawing you towards the child. Your mouth slightly opens as it is filled with saliva. It has been a long time since you've smelled a human.
Or tasted one.
You thickly swallowed, shaking your head rapidly to snap yourself out of it. Both of your arms wrapped around your stomach as you stumbled back away from the child.
No, no, no. Stop that. Don't think such things.
Your breathing grew heavier and it was harder to restrain yourself from doing something horrible.
I need to get away from here.
Quickly, you turned around to leave but the sound of a soft voice made you pause in your movements.
"E-excuse me?"
The voice was quiet but not so much that you couldn't hear it. The little girl's voice cracked and was hoarse from crying for who knows how long.
You remained still. Moving one hand up to harshly pinch your nose so you couldn't smell anything.
Silence filled the air. Only the sound of your heavy pants mixed with the child's sniffles could be heard.
After a few moments, the child spoke up again.
"Can—could you help me, please?"
You closed your eyes in hopes of calming your persistent hunger. What could you do? Stay and possibly kill a child or leave and possibly get a child killed.
"Hello?"
The child spoke up once again. She obviously must be desperate to ask a complete stranger for help. Then again, this child didn't even know what kind of stranger she had stumbled upon.
With your mind made up, you slowly turned around to face the girl. Removing the hand that was covering your nose. You remained a good distance away, for her safety of course. Then crouching down on the ground so you could at least be at eye level with one another.
"Hey, what are you doing out here all alone?" You said before internally cringing at yourself. Could you sound any more creepy?
You heard some shuffling before the little girl answered. "I-I was gathering some berries at the edge of the forest b-but I went too far, and now I'm lost."
Your hands clenched at your sides but you composed yourself. Nodding along and humming in confirmation at her words.
"I see. Do you live close to here? Maybe I can help you find your way back."
Even though it was dark, the young girl immediately brightened up at your words while nodding vigorously.
"Yes, yes! There's a village near here where me and my family live.
A small genuine smile formed on your face as you then stood up and dusted yourself off.
"Well then, I'm sure I can help you find your way back."
The girl then quickly stood up as well, looking up at you expectingly.
You walked past, giving a quick glance over your shoulder to make sure she was following you before heading in a random direction.
You'd never seen a village near here, so you honestly had no clue where you were going, but with your keen sense of smell, you were sure you would eventually pick up on something. As you and the little girl continued to walk, she quickly warmed up to you and chatted your ears off.
You found out her name is Yamada Fumiko and she was twelve years old. She lived with her father, mother, and two brothers which she complained about a lot. Apparently they teased her a lot, as older siblings tend to do but she loved them anyways of course.
Hearing Yamada talk about her family had you thinking about yours or more like what your family could have been like. You couldn't remember anything about them, only guess. Maybe you had older siblings or perhaps you were an only child. Many days have been spent imagining what your family was like and the thought always made your chest heavy.
Like you had predicted, you eventually picked up on the scent of food. Then humans as you got closer. The lighting of the village peaked in through the trees in the distance. This caused Yamada to squeal out in joy. You didn't know she had started running until you felt her tiny hand wrapped around your wrist, tugging you along with her.
"Come on! We are almost there!"
Even though her strength was nothing compared to yours, you allowed her to pull you towards the village. A small clearing appeared at the edge of the forest. Allowing you both to see more of the village as you both ran towards it.
Then you suddenly remembered a very important thing that caused your eyes to widen with realization before pulling both you and Yamada to a stop.
Yamada stopped in front of you, her hand still gripping onto your wrist. She quickly turned her head around to see what you were doing only for you to quickly turn your head around as well so she couldn't take a glimpse at your face.
"Hey what's wrong? My village is right there."
You could hear the concern in her tone as well as the way she impatiently tugged at your arm to try and make you follow her.
"Yamada-san I-I can't go into the village with you." You choked out, twisting your head further away from her wandering eyes to the point your neck was beginning to ache from the strain.
"Huh, why not?"
"I just—It's complicated, alright."
The little girl muttered something to herself that you couldn't quite catch, mostly because you were more focused on not letting her see your face. You're pretty sure that not everyone knows the existence of demons or if they chose to believe in or not but you're confident that if you walked into that village, chaos would ensue.
"P-please."
You were pulled out of your thoughts by the sound of the child's whiny pleas which caused you to tense up. This had to be some form of guilt-tripping and you're pretty sure she knows it too. Still, you heaved out a heavy sigh and admitted defeat.
"Yamada-san. I can't go into the village with you."
"But why not?"
"Because I'm—I look different and people might be scared of me." You admitted, cringing at your own words.
"I don't understand. Why would people be scared of you? The people in the village are nice!"
Another sigh slipped through your lips. "Still, even if they're nice I can't risk it. I'm sorry."
They both stood in silence. You were almost expecting her to let go of you and leave. Surely she knew how to get back home from here. But it seems she was as stubborn as you.
"Hey, I have an idea!" She blurted out excitedly while shaking your arm in her grip. "Why don't you use my haori to cover your face! That way no one will see you!"
You took a glance at her over your shoulder, seeing the way her smile widened as well as the hopeful look in her eyes almost made your heart melt.
"Uhm it might be a little small but I suppose it could work."
"Great!"
Yamada then quickly let go of your wrist, letting it fall back to your side as you continued to face away from her. You heard the sound of fabric rustling together and then felt her poke at your arm.
"Here you go! I'll turn around so I can't see."
She pushed the haori into your hand, almost causing you to drop it on the dirt ground. Then you heard her take a few steps away, giving you space.
You glanced down at the haori that you now held in both of your hands. It was still hard to see but you could tell it was white fading into a light yellow. Flowers patterns were across the bottom of it. It must've been new because it was relatively clean and in good condition besides some specks of dirt on it that must have been from sitting on the ground earlier.
It was small but big enough to wrap around your head. Covering some of your pale face along with your unnatural hair. Your eyes on the other hand were a different issue. You guess you'll just have to keep your head down and hope no one notices.
With that you slowly turned around to face Yamada.
"Alright, I'm ready."
As soon as the words came out of your mouth, Yamada spun around to take a look at you. Since most of your face was covered and it was dark, to her you didn't look too different. The only thing that might attract attention is the haori weirdly placed over your head.
You shrunk under the weight of her peering gaze, wondering if she noticed what you were. Only for her to abruptly grab your wrist again to tug you forward.
"Good, now let's go!" She yelled out in excitement, acting like this was a game to her.
As she pulled you into the village, you squinted at the bright lanterns that were hung around. Even though it was well into sleeping hours, this village seemed to pay no mind since it was bustling with people that strolled up and down the dirt roads and pathways.
Instinctively, you shuffled closer to Yamada as she led you both through crowds of people. You kept your head down and your eyes on the ground.
Everything was overwhelming to you. The sound of people conserving with one another, footwear against the ground. The smells of different foods as well as the strong scent of every human you passed made your senses go haywire. It was taking everything within you to not rip yourself out of Yamada's grasp and go indulge yourself in a large feast.
Drool trickled out of the corners of your mouth which you quickly wiped away. You noticed from the corners of your vision that some people were giving you weird looks but most of them didn't say anything, only stared.
You really needed to get out of here.
So you bent down slightly so Yamada could hear you amongst the noise.
"So, where are we going?"
She glanced up at you, her grip on your wrist remaining strong.
"We are going to find my mother and father! They should be around here somewhere, maybe looking for me."
You nodded along before straightening your back and standing tall once again.
You didn't know exactly what her parents looked like but still you kept an eye out just in case.
Although every one of your senses were being overwhelmed, you both continued through the roads. There weren't any signs of her parents yet and after a short while of looking without any luck, you both decided to take a break. The both of you standing to the side of the roads observing all the people that walked around you.
You weren't really paying any attention to your surroundings, but you did notice a very unnatural heat on your right side. Before you could turn your head to look, the sound of a deep voice came first.
"Excuse me!"
You instinctively tensed at the loud sound, but looked anyways and what you saw was a very unusual man. He was tall and his striking features were very unique but strange. His hair was unruly and unnatural in its color which almost resembled flames in a way. His eyebrows were full and weirdly shaped. His eyes wide and matching his hair in color. A smile ever present on his face. Along with his unusual clothing which consisted of an all black outfit with a white belt and a flame like haori and a swo—wait is that a sword attached to his hip?
After analyzing him, you finally looked him in the eyes and it unnerved you how intensely he stared at you.
All of this coming from the demon, by the way.
You were reminded of the small presence beside you as you felt Yamada tug at your shirt. Giving you a wide eyed nervous stare.
Well this obviously wasn't one of her parents.
You turned your attention to the man, twisting your body to face him slightly.
"Yes? How may I help you."
If he took notice of your confusion, he didn't say anything. Only crossing his arms with that infuriating grin still plastered across his face.
"Are you a demon perhaps?"
What? WHAT?
Your eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. So many questions were racing through your head. First, how did he know you were a demon and second, who casually just asks someone that? Let alone a stranger.
You didn't know what to do. So you did the first thing that came to mind. Deny.
"What? A demon? I'm sorry I don't know wha–."
"Don't deny it! I only asked because I wasn't sure from afar but now that I'm closer it's obvious."
As you watched his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword, your heart dropped.
"Wait!"
Yamada's voice cried out as she stepped in front of you with her arms stretched out, as if she was protecting you.
You reached a hand out and placed it on her shoulder, desperate to pull her out of harm's way.
"Yamada-san, don't!"
"What is this?"
The both of you redirected your attention to the man in front of you. He had his hand rested on the hilt of his sword but didn't make any moves to unsheathe it.
Yamada looked up at the man with wide pleading eyes. "Please, don't hurt them!"
"Young lady, do you know who you're protecting? That's a demon behind you."
The young girl's face contorted into one of confusion as well as anger, her face turning red from such strong emotions.
"No, they are not and demons aren't real."
Even with her statement his smile didn't falter. "Demons are in fact real and one is currently standing behind you! Now please, stand aside!"
Determined, Yamada shook her head vigorously. "Please, wait and listen to me! They helped me when I was lost in the woods just now."
The flame-headed man looked between the two of you, raising an eyebrow as if to say, "Really?"
You, who has been very quiet during all of this, shrugged your shoulders at the man. "I mean, yeah it's true."
No one said anything for a moment. The sounds of the busy roads filling the air between the three. In a beat the man's grip tightened on his sword's hilt again.
"Nevertheless, one good action does not change all the wrong doing you've done, demon!"
As the man then takes a step forward, Yamada abruptly spins around and wraps her arms around your torso. You grunted at the sudden movement, instinctively wrapping an arm around her. You could feel her shaking as hiccups escaped her. Tears soaking the front of your shirt.
The flame head, noticing this, stopped in his spot a frown now placed on his lips.
Ignoring the man, you rubbed soothing circles into her shoulder blade while hushing softly in hopes of comforting her.
As she started to calm down, you then took the moment to take in your surroundings. Instantly noticing how some strangers had paused to watch the scene that was unfolding. While others' eyes wandered on you three but continued to walk past. This caused your face to heat up in embarrassment, a shade of red flushing your cheeks.
You cleared your throat before eyeing the man again, acting more confident than before. "Look, I'm just trying to find her parents. Maybe we could put this whole 'I'm a demon' thing aside for now?"
His eyes landed on the little girl whose sobs were slowing down now as she basically hung off of you. He stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
"Alright! I'll assist you in finding the little girl's parents but you are never leaving my sight!"
You sighed.
"Whatever you say."
After you and the sword man (still don't know his name) came to an agreement, sort of. You finally had managed to calm down Yamada, promising her that the man wasn't going to hurt either of you. Apparently the little girl had grown quite fond of you in your short time spent together. The three of you then wandered around the village in search of the young girl's parents.
Despite the bug-eyed man's first appearance, he wasn't all that bad. He and Yamada especially bonded even though he had caused her to cry initially. Although that was easily remedied with some Strawberry Mochi that someone was selling at a stall nearby.
Fortunately we did finally find Yamada's mother and father who had been looking for her ever since she had gone to gather berries near the forest. But then may have wandered far past what her parents agreed to. To say that the girl got a scolding was an understatement. You must have had an impact on her because as you said your goodbyes she gave you a warm embrace and hoped that you two met again someday.
She also allowed you to keep her haori. What a sweet little girl.
You'll have to give it back to her someday or purchase a new one and deliver it to her.
So both you and bug-eyed (yes that's his official name now) made your way down the roads, you wondered what he was going to do now. You glanced over at him. For a man who's possibly about to kill you, he seems as composed as ever. Like this is just another Tuesday for him.
Awkwardly, you cleared your throat to catch his attention as you continued to walk alongside him a few inches apart.
"So, what now?"
He didn't even glance over at you while that damn smile is still present on his face. "Now, I behead you and continue my mission!"
You abruptly stopped walking alongside him. At this point there were less people wandering around but still a few who walked around you two.
"Behead me? Just like that?"
He followed your movements, stopping just a few inches in front of you. "Well of course! You're still a demon after all!"
"But I—who even are you anyways?"
"I am Rengoku Kyojuro, the Flame Hashira!"
You blinked.
"Flame Hashira?"
"Yup!"
"And what, pray tell, is a Flame Hashira?"
"I'm the Flame Hashira!"
The both of you stared at each other while you held back the urge to sock him in the jaw.
With a sigh, you pinched the bridge of your nose. "I mean what exactly is it, do you do?"
Rengoku (finally learnt his name) hummed at your words as his grin grew slightly larger. Is that even possible?
"Isn't it obvious? I'm a Demon Slayer!"
Now that caught your attention.
"Huh, a Demon Slayer. Can't say I've met one of you before."
"Mhm, well that makes sense! You would be dead already if you encountered one! For a Demon, you're exceptionally weak!"
Your head shot up at this. "Alright, smart guy. I haven't been a Demon for very long so that could explain it as well."
He hummed. "Unlikely!"
You heaved out a sigh before walking past him.
Rengoku easily caught up with you, shooting you a glance. "And where do you think you're going, Demon!"
You shot him a glare before looking at the ground again.
"The woods. Do you really want all of these people to see you slay a Demon?"
"It doesn't matter!
"You're probably right. With how loud you are, they all probably know by now."
At this, you heard Rengoku laugh but he didn't stop you as you continued towards the woods. The both of you walked far enough into the trees so any bystanders wouldn't come across you two. Not that it mattered to him.
You both stopped randomly once you had deemed it to be far enough away from the village. As uncaring as you seem, the prospect of death has always terrified you but when you've been unwillingly turned into a man-eating monster, sometimes death is just better.
Slowly, you reached your hand up to grab the haori that sat around your head. You pulled it off and reached it out to Rengoku who stood a few feet away while eyeing you suspiciously.
"Please, return this back to Yamada-san."
Rengoku stared at the haori that you held within your grasp. Uncharacteristically, he frowned, and was confused. He's never seen a demon act like this before. For as long as he's been a Demon Slayer, all Demons have been the same. Blood thirsty and murderous beings but something about the way you acted tugged at his chest.
He's been watching you the whole night you were together. He could tell that you were hungry, starving even. By the way you would glance at every person who walked past, staring for just a moment too long before snapping yourself out of it. Rengoku has seen the massive amount of restraint you've had, he noticed it, admired it even.
The man has only seen one other demon with that kind of restraint and perseverance. Could you possibly be like her too?
Slowly, he reached out and took the haori from your pale hands. Carefully folding the soft piece of fabric before stuffing it into the side of his belt.
"I will make sure she receives it."
For the first time since he has met you, your eyes soften slightly. A small but genuine smile forming on your lips.
With that, Rengoku began to unsheathe his sword. The sound of his blade filling the space between them.
You noticeably tensed at the sight of his sword. Quickly slamming your eyes tight to prepare yourself for the inevitable.
This is it. I'm going to die.
So you awaited the feeling of the cool sharp metal pressing against your neck, cutting you down. You would probably choke in your own blood for a few minutes before finally passing on. Despite being a Demon you hoped that the afterlife would be a tiny bit kind to you. After all it's not like you–
The sound of a sword being sheathed cut you from your thoughts which then made you snap your eyes open.
Your heart was pounding so loud you swore it was all you could hear. On one hand you're grateful not to be dead on the other—what the hell is going on?
Meanwhile Rengoku just stood there with that damn smile on his face as usual. His arms folded across his chest looking as if he's about to give you an inspirational speech.
"Rengoku-san," you choked out. "Aren't you going to... you know?" Mimicking what you thought a slashing motion with a sword would look like.
"Tell me, have you ever killed someone?" He said bluntly while completely ignoring your question.
You froze at the question. Out of anything, you hadn't expected him to say that.
Have you ever killed someone?
Goosebumps were scattered across your arms and legs. You then opened your mouth to speak but no sound came out. Something was stopping you from speaking, maybe a part of you knew that if you told him the truth.
He would kill you.
You swallowed the lump that was growing in your throat. Pushing down the urge to vomit as you clenched your hand tightly, digging your sharp nails into the palms of your hands.
"No. I haven't killed anyone."
Rengoku hummed at this, taking small strides towards you until he was in your personal space. Looking down at you. "So this whole time you've resisted the urge to feast on humans?"
Tilting your head to look up at him, you stared at him while resisting the instinct to back away to a comfortable distance.
You nodded.
The staring contest between you two went on for a few more seconds until Rengoku huffed through his nose. Taking a small step back.
"If what you say is true then I will have to bring you to my Master. He will want to meet you."
You snapped out of your stupor at his words. "Wait, Master? But why?"
"Because Demon, he will be the one to decide your fate!”